Alan, There appears to be at least 2 different Bendorfs in Germany in this area in the late 1800s. One is near Coblenz in the Pfalz area (Principality of Bavaria and the subject of this mail list). The other is not far away in Alsace that was also part of Germany from 1872 to 1918 (another mail list). The following are the entries in the online LDS Family History Library (Salt Lake City) catalog. The microfilms can be rented at your local LDS Family History Center (Kirchenbuch, 1672-1896 and Registres de l'état civil, 1788-1882 ). The third is a "Family Book", sometimes called an ortssippenbuch (OSB) or an ortfamilienbuch (OFB), and unfortunately has not been microfilmed, and is therefore not available for rent at your local FHC. Note: OSBs are usually a "gold mine." If the Bendorf in the Pfalz turns out to be yours, I would encourage you to purchase a personal copy. Google shows there are copies available. (See http://tinyurl.com/y9fwcj) It appears to be 2 volumes and includes Jewish families. ========================== Kirchenbuch, 1672-1896 Katholische Kirche Bendorf (Kr. Coblenz) (Main Author) Roman Catholic Parish register of baptisms, marriages, deaths, and family book for Bendorf (Kr. Coblenz), Rheinland, Prussia, Germany. Familienbuch Bendorf : von 1480 bis 1875 Verfasser: Horst Thiessen, Markus Weidenbach Family lineage book for Bendorf. Inhalt: Bd. 1. Familien A-Lup -- Bd. 2. Familien Lut-Z, Jüdische Familien, Sterbefälle fremder Personen, Index und Ortsverzeichnis. Registres de l'état civil, 1788-1882 Bendorf (Haut-Rhin). Officier de l'état civil (Main Author) Ten year index, births, marriages, deaths. ========================== BTW, I have changed your subject to the generally preferred subject line format for genealogical research. The 1930 US Census entry should give an age that would be more accurate than "the late 1800s." At 04:51 PM 12/3/2006, you wrote: >From: "Alan J. Kleipass" <aj@rockycrater.org> >Subject: [Pfalz] Intro & Q: French Jews in Germany > >Greetings, Everyone! > >First off, a quick introduction: My name Alan Kleipass. I am new to >the list (obviously) and new to the genealogy tracking hobby. This >whole semester, my English class has been focusing on families and >family history -- and the fictional dangers of researching it (The >Swine's Wedding by Daniel Evan Weiss was our first reading >assignment). The last writing assignment for the course was to write >about a dead relative whom we knew. I chose my maternal grandmother. >My mother and I each thought that we had a pretty good idea of her and >her family history, but the very limited research I did for that >assignment turned up several major surprises, and unanswered some >questions we thought that we knew the answers to. Though the paper is >finished and turned into my professor, the desire to answer these new >questions is very strong. > >Now, on to the first question: >Family lore had it that my maternal grandmother's father (Stefan >Kraier) was a French Jew, who moved to Germany in the late 1800s, >settled in Bendorf, married Katherine Decker -- a Roman Catholic -- >and they raised 7 children (in the R.C. faith) there until moving to >the US in the early 1920s. The first crack in that lore was the ship >manifest for Stefan's voyage to the US. It listed his place of birth >as Bendorf. Assuming this isn't a typo, it does raise questions about >how long his family had actually been in Germany. > >So, was there a specific time period in the 1800s where French Jews -- >or the French in general -- were moving to Germany? Or was the area >around Bendorf ever occupied or controlled by the French? > >~Alan J. Kleipass~