This is my first posting to this list, although I have followed it for a while. My great grandmother, Elisabeth Meyer*, came to the U.S. at the age of twelve in 1844. I believe she came with Bartold Meyer (age 49), Elisabeth (age 51), Anna (age 18), *Elisabeth (age 12) and Barbara (age 8). The records in the National Archives noted that there were notations on the back of both Elisabeth's cards, but they weren't photographed. These were from the ship list of the Bark Eliza Thornton, Hamburg to New York City, arriving on 24 September 1844. They were listed as from Bayern. The church records for Elisabeth's marriage stated that she was from Rheinbayern and that her father's name was Nicolaus. The 1855 census states that she came to Syracuse, NY in 1852 with her brother Charles, who would have been about 14 then. I never found a trace of Bartold again, and the older Elisabeth seems to appear in the records of Syracuse only in the 1860's. To get to the point, I'm wondering if it is possible to trace Bartold through Guild records. He was listed as a Baker on the ship list. Did the Guilds operate strictly on a local (town by town) basis or were they regional in scope. I assume that Bartold Meyer, born about 1795, would have been in a baker's Guild (if such a thing existed then) between about 1815 and 1844. Could he be located through such records, if they exist ? Obviously, I haven't a clue as to a town or village in Rheinbayern that they may have come from. I can't be sure that I have the right Passenger list except that the ages correspond, and it's possible that Bartold is a brother to the older Elisabeth and Uncle to the younger one. Where Elisabeth the younger may have been for the eight years between arrival and coming to Syracuse with Charles remains a mystery. Might the Guild query offer an avenue of discovery ? Stumped in Michigan, I'm Jim Glick <jglick1428@home.com>