Kyloe I'm nowhere near being an expert, so maybe someone else can correct me if I'm wrong. Wai. and wailand would be more commonly wei. and weiland, (sometimes weyl. or weyland) and means "the deceased", or "the late". Can't help you with "ebel". Are you sure of your transcription? It would appear to be an abbreviation. I can't locate "Bergraben" in my dictionary, however "Beerdigung" is burial, and "Grab" is grave, to it would appear to be an old word for grave or burial. You would have the context for the word. "Geb." is the standard abbreviation for "geboren" which means born. The Scots use "m.s." for maiden surname, while the English tend to use the French "née". "Bei" means near, at or with. "Bei meiner Tante" is at my aunt's (place). "Dressen". It's not in my dictionary and you give no context for it, however Ernest Thode's "German English Genealogical Dictionary" does have "Dressler" as being a joiner (ie "Tischler"). So I wonder if "dressen" is an old dialect verb connected with carpentry? Hope this helps, David Armstrong Maylands, Western Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: kyloe fisher To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 8:15 AM Subject: [SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS] German records what do these words mean? Hello I am trying to translate a couple records from the German church and am stuck on the words wail wailand ebel Bergraben geb bei dressen Thanks for any help Kyloe