Hello Judy, welcome to the list! I think you may be the first poster to the list who is working on Canadian STRAUB/STRAUBEs, so we may not be much help to you. I have created a family group sheet for Valentine & Katarina at: http://dgmweb.net/genealogy/Straub/FGS/ValentinStraube-KatarinaGrzeczkowsa.htm which may help because my site does get a lot of traffic. As for Valentine's origin, the geographical history of the region Valentine is from is very complex. In a nutshell (greatly oversimplified), Prussia once included NE Germany and northern Poland as far east as the Baltics. It then expanded southward to encompass most of what is now Germany. But Germany did not become a nation, as we know it, until the 1870s, so the apparent ambiguity of Valentine's geographic origin -- as being from Prussia/Poland/Russia/Germany -- is entirely understandable. His origin is also consistent with the fact that most STRAUBEs (spelled with an E at the end) come from northern and northeastern Germany, while most STRAUBs (spelled without the E) are from southern Germany, Alsace-Lorraine, or Switzerland. In other words, Valentine's place of origin is entirely consistent with his surname ending in E. There was a huge influx of Germans into the U.S. in the mid-1800s, so the records in the U.S. are voluminous. I can only presume that Canada kept similar records. There are books and CDs and online databases that contain immigration records, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the Canadian ones. Again presuming Canada is like the U.S., there will also be a record of their naturalization as Canadian citizens, probably in a court house in Waterloo Co. It may be that Valentine entered a U.S. port, then moved to Canada, so if you don't find his immigration record in Canada, you might also check U.S. records. As for records in Continental Europe, the problem is that records there are (obviously) not in English. Progess there can be very difficult unless you know the language, or rather, progess can be expensive because you will probably have to pay a professional genealogist there to help you -- unless, of course, you are lucky enough that someone else has already done the work! Sorry I couldn't be more help. Good hunting, Diana STRAUB-L List Admin http://dgmweb.net/genealogy/Straub/StraubHome.htm P.S. Germans spelled Valentine without the terminal "e," so if you're searching computerized records, be sure to try both spellings. elista wrote: > > Hi Straub list. > I'm researching a line of my family tree that has my g.g.grandfather - Valentine STRAUBE, b. 14 Feb.1825 in Prussia/Russia/Poland/Germany?? possibly a place called Greiesen. He married a Katarina Grzeczkowsa about 1853 and had one son (named Valerian) before they immigrated to Waterloo Co. Ontario about 1854. They had 7 more children from about 1858 - 1873 ( John, MaryAnn Elizabeth, Joseph, Valentine Jr., Katherine, Clara Rosella, and Charles Louis ) Valentine was a locksmith, tinsmith. They were Roman Catholics. They moved to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in about 1882 and ran a confectionary store there till 1903, when Valentine died. His wife moved to Vancouver, where some of her sons were living. > I also have found a Francis STRAUB married to a Maria (Scherer) who also lived in Waterloo Co. He is possibly a brother to Valentine. They had many children and I have found marriage records for some of them. > > If anyone has any information or ties to this family, I would love to hear from you. I seem to be stumped on getting any further back. I'd love to find Valentine STRAUBE's parents names etc. from Poland. They spoke Polish but are often listed in censuses as being from Germany or Prussia, or Russia. Would there be any immigration records from about 1854, that would list where they came from? > > Thanking the list, in advance. > Sincerely, Judy > elista@telusplanet.net > >From sunny Alberta, Canada.