Carol, One name in your email was very familiar. There are Christmanns sprinkled throughout the records I researched in the Feilbingert/Ebenburg/Altenbamberg region, they're all over the graveyards, and there are Christmanns still living in the region, one family running a large nursery in Feilbingert. Grunstadt is southeast of the Alsenz river valley in which the above towns are located. But not too far away to intermarry. The French were in control of the region between about 1789 and 1815, according to the archivist at Speyer (if I understood her correctly). At least it's for this time period that it's very difficult to find church records in the RheinPfalz (apparently the French insisted that all birth, marriage and I think death, records be handled by civil authorities, not the churches). The civil records I found in Bad Munster started up in 1808. They seem to have continued even after the churches resumed record-keeping in 1815. Your Emer may certainly have been French; perhaps located here during their occupation of the Rheinpfalz, and perhaps he fell in love with a local girl. (I'm always one for embellishment...) And if you come across a Leonhard Schmidt b. 1818, please let me know. As I'm sure you know, it's difficult to research the Schmidt surname. I've been hoping to find him in the vicinity of the home towns of his wife's family. So far no luck. He may have had brothers Carl and Philipp (the latter of whom might even be his father-- guessing from marriage witness notes). -- Jillaine Smith, Washington DC http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jillaine > -----Original Message----- > From: Burnstwo@aol.com [mailto:Burnstwo@aol.com] > Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 8:48 PM > To: PFALZ-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [PFALZ] Rheinhessen > > > Interesting message, Jillaine. > > I am researching the EMER family. In a death certificate for Dorothy > SCHMIDT, wife of Jakob EMER, Grünstadt bei Wattenheim, Pfalz, > is listed as > the homeland of the Emers and the Schmidts. Dorothy's > parents were Ludwig > Schmidt and Dorothy Christmann. > > Johann EMER, was born 28.03.1803 in Wattenheim (my > gggrandfather). My > grandmother always said the Emer's were French. I have not > been able to > determine that so far in my search. Perhaps you paper will > clear up a little > history. > > If anyone is researching these families, I would love to hear > from you. > > Carol (Gottschalk) Burns > burnstwo@aol.com > New York, NY > 212-732-3280 (home) > 212-458-2107 (office) > > Villages: Prussia (now Poland): Paproc Duza (Mecklenberg/Kowalowka, > Wilhelmsdorf/Krole, Zaszkow) and Russia: Volhynia (Beresowo > Hath, Sokolov, > and Nowin kr. Pulin in the Zhitomir area). Also Papenbruch > (near Wittstock); > City of Posen and Grunwald, Posen; Grünstadt near > Wattenheim, Pfalz. > > Names: GOTTSCHALK, EMER, ANDERT, DRUGER, OTT, GERTZ, > PAWELCIK, KRITSCHUN, > BUROW, KELM, EICHHORST, LENZ, KRENTZ, KRÜGER, MITTELSTADT, POLTZIEN > (POLIHYNA), FEHLBERG, ROEHL, RINAS, SCHULTZ, SCHINNERBAUM, > SCHMIDT, TROTTNOW, > WILDEMANN > > > ______________________________ >