Cornelia, I have a tedious and time consuming idea. You might use the LDS IGI to find out what area near Speyer and/or Bergzabern have a lot of families with the names you are looking for. Then you can get the microfilms from those areas and search through them to look for your names. A lot of the namess I was looking for are not listed in the IGI, but are on the microfilm (for various boring reasons). Did you look at records from Bergzabern? Also Schweigen is right on the French border. I don't know what time frame you are looking at, but as far as I can tell, during the Napoleonic years (about 1803-14?) the bishop who came to officiate at the confirmations in the town of Klingenmünster (just north of Bergzabern) was from Strasbourg, not Speyer. I do not really have a clue, but some of these records might be in Strasbourg too. (In fact I just gave myself a really good idea!) Were your people Catholic or Calvinist? Be sure to look at the right records. Did you look at any French records? Good luck. Marybeth ----- Original Message ----- From: <fenenga@connpoint.net> > which ones didn't allow their records to be copied? I can't find a single > trace of > my people in FamilySearch's IGI. yet he gives his home as Schweigen, > Bergzabern, > Speyer. of course, if his home is not the same place as his birth, I'm in > some > trouble...but his children show up as born either in Germany or France, so > they > should most likely show up in Schweigen, but they aren't in the IGI, > either-and I > left the search to the whole of Germany, not focusing on any town or > state. I > haven't looked for everyone in the family, but father, eldest son and > youngest > daughter don't show up in the IGI. going off to check a few more of the > family. > any guidence appreciated... > Cornelia