Hi Kori, Sorry, I can't help with your Stammfuss family, only with general comments. First, the German convention of * = born, + = died, oo = married is not used in the US, so most readers of your message may not have understood the details you posted, which may limit the responses you get. You say you can't find the family after 1900 (Henry and daughter Emma) or 1880 (rest of family) in the censuses and you wonder if the parents divorced and the kids took the mother's maiden name. First, have you searched the censuses for Stammfusses outside Philadelphia? Outside Pennsylvania? They could have moved, and/or the daughters may have married (so were no longer named Stammfuss), which I would explore before assuming a divorce/renaming. If the census doesn't help, you might ask for a lookup in city directories or online newspapers to help narrow down dates of death. From there, you can move on to death certificates, cemetery records, etc., to help find the rest of the family. Philadelphia birth/marriage/death records begin 1 July 1860, and indexes and registers are available for most years through the Latter- day Saints' Family History Centers (see familysearch.org) (so you could search for the parents' marriage and the kids' births, marriages, and deaths). Prior to that date (e.g., for Cordelia's birth), you would need church baptismal/marriage/death records. Philadelphia has a printed marriage index that covers 1885-1916 marriages, so maybe someone could check the Stammfuss index entries for you to see if any of the kids' marriages can be found. The boys would have been 34-41 in 1917, so you might want to look for them in World War I Draft Registrations (on Ancestry and on microfilm). To answer your questions, they could have legally changed their names (and so left a court record), but it's more likely that, if they did change their names, they just started using a different name and therefore there are no records. Divorce is possible, but divorce records in Philadelphia are sealed for privacy reasons (you might be able to get access, but it's an involved process). And hotel keepers (or boarding houses) are listed in the city directories -- maybe someone could look up a few years for you? Hope this helps. Claire K. On Mar 12, 2007, at 4:42 PM, Kori Kruse wrote: > Hi all, > > i search information about family Stammfuss. > i know all about them until the census of 1900. > In the censuses from 1910-1930 there is not any hint about the > family... > > Head of the family: > > Henry Stammfuss( Stamfooz, Stemmfuss, Seammfuss, Stammfuse, Stamfer > and so > on ... ) > * Mai 1839 in germany +? > he came 1868 from hamburg to new york - naturalization in 1875 > > wife: Cordelia *abt 1855 philadelphia +? - no information about her > parents > > they had 6 children (born in philadelphia) and i find nothing about > them > after 1900 > > Amelia 22.09.1874 > Mary C 18.09.1875 > Charles H 13.09.1876 > James 26.01.1878 > Emma 1880 > Frederick C 24.04.1883 > > In 1900 Henry lived only with Emma in 211 Spruce street. > > I think they changed the surname > Are there any lists of changing surnames? > > It can also be, that henry and cordelia divorced and the children > adopt the > maiden name? > > Henry was a Hotel Keeper - lodgings - boarder - landlord. Are they > any lists > of hotels or landlords? > > Where i get the birth certificate or copies of baptismal certificate? > > Thank you very much for your help. > > Kori Kruse > > www.stammfuss.de >