Dear Joel, Many thanks for your informative reply.   Yes, another of the problems with Germany is the language.  I did know know of the existence of the "online" letters, perhaps I could use this method.   My family returned from England c1874 and to the best of my knowledge settled in Hannover. In 1885 they were living in, (from memory) Friedrichstrasse?  I have no idea which part of Hannover that might be located.  I understand that records are not all in a central place, for example, here in England we know most things are in The National Archives at Kew or in a County Record Office for a certain place name, not so in Germany, at least that is my understanding.   People have tried to help in the past but the only thing found was a confirmation that Oscar Dietrich, Head of the family, was a Superintendent with a Hannover Tram Company.  Where that confirmation was found I have no idea, but apparently no records of the company in question were available.  I further understand that the company in question was British owned and that Oscar Dietrich may have obtained that post before vacating the UK.   The family's presence in Germany in 1885 was shown via a Birth Certificate from a relative of the family who was visiting at the time of the birth of her son.    As I mentioned people have responded to requests in the past but with the limited resources at their disposal could not turn up anything concrete and I am nearly always referred to the Staadarchives in Hannover !!.   Therefore, if there is another way I could try to find any possible records on the family I would be more than pleased.   Doreen