June 29, 2000 Dear Listmembers; Hello from Tokyo. I am researching the sirname KAHL. My KAHL line lived in the Saarland area for about 170 years from the 1680s to the 1850s before emigrating to New York City. I have been trying to push back beyond the 1680s but have run into a brick wall. My earliest KAHL ancestor, Johann (or Hans) Peter Kahl, first appeared in Malstatt (now part of Saarbruecken) in the Saarland in 1684 when he married a local girl. He died in Malstatt in 1721. He is said to have been born in 1658 but we do not know where. The Pfalz surrounds Saarland so I thought I might ask whether you have ever seen any record of him. If not, can you introduce me to a researcher in the the area who could do some digging for me? I hope this is not too much of an inconvenience. Thank you and good luck in your search, Daniel Kahl (Tokyo)