My Greatgramdfather and Grandfather immigrated from Speyer in 1883. This past spring I went to visit and had an opportunity to go to the Archives there. The information I received was just amazing. Allowing me to trace my family back to 1633. I wish you good luck in finding your family. LDS Library has most of the BDMs for the Pfalz. However, I had great gaps in the family and was able to put it together in Speyer. Judy Christopher ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Beth Michaels" <50below@pobox.mtaonline.net> To: <pfalz@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 2:50 PM Subject: [Pfalz] Pfalz, Bavaria and France Several people have been discussing the Pfalz, Alsace and Bavaria lately. For what it's worth, here is my two cents worth. I think it was in the 17th century that Louis XIV (L'etat c'est moi.) sent his French armies into the Pfalz region and other areas of what is now western Germany. I have read that during that time many churches and their records were burned. I am pretty sure that the records I am able to access from the town I have been researching begin in the early 18th century because they were restarted after the French left. After that the Pfalz was independent, but it also included part of what is now Würtemburg, which is why Heidelberg, the capital of the Pfalz is now in Würtemberg. As Bob wrote it then became part of Bavaria. But it wasn't straightforward. The ruler of Bavaria died without any heirs. The closest heir was the Elector Palatine, who then did inherit Bavaria. He had to move to Munich from Heidelberg (which made him personally unhappy because he liked it where he was). Bavaria was bigger and more powerful. Munich had a more powerful and glamorous court. So, even though the Pfalz inherited Bavaria, it became a part of Bavaria because of economics really. Then in the early 19th century Napoleon's army took the whole west side of the Rhein River and incorporated it into France for a few years. Armies have been marching back and forth across the Pfalz since the Romans arrived. It is in the middle of everything and very few European wars missed it. My great-grandfather's obit said he was born in Bavaria. I am one of those people who looked all over Bavaria for a sign of him or his family. Nothing. Finally I discovered the Pfalz, which was a part of Bavaria at the time of the records that are in the LDS IGI. After that, when I was talking to my family, my dad popped up and said, "Oh yes, Mom always said her father was from Elsass (German spelling for Alsace). I had looked all over Bavaria for Klingenmünster because I got that name out of the IGI. I finally found it in the Pfalz. That was when my uncle finally said "Oh yes, Mom always said her father was from Münster." This was after I had asked both my father and uncle several times for any little bits of information they could remember. It wasn't until I had some names and places that it jogged their memories. But I had the confirmation I needed. And I found out that my great-grandfather, who had been born there, was completely aware of the historical an social relationships among Bavaria, the Pfalz and Alsace. The history there is confusing, and I do not have it all straight in my mind. German history books don't say much about the Pfalz. It wasn't one of the major players in German history, though the ruler was an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Ottonia Emperors are buried in the cathedral in Speyer. I am thinking of trying a book about the Napoleanic wars and about Louis XIV to get a few more details. Most books about the area are written in German, which I, alas, do not read. I guess I have run out of steam. Marybeth Michaels Alaska, USA ********* Information for list members: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/DEU/PFALZ.html ********* ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PFALZ-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Judy Christopher wrote: <<My Greatgramdfather and Grandfather immigrated from Speyer in 1883.>> F.Y.I. - Speyer was where they kept the emigration records - not necessarily where people lived.