In a message dated 9/16/2002 4:02:06 AM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] (Jeanine Theiler) writes: > As a new Switzerland researcher I am not sure where to begin. Am searching > for birth records for Frederick Theiler, b. July, 1866, probably Canton > Bern, who emigrated to the US and married Elise Zeller b. 20 NOV 1890. I > have HER parents, but not Fredericks. Can someone point a newcomer to > sources? Hello Jeanine: The critical piece of information is obviously the name of the town where Frederick was born. Have you already checked his immigration/naturalization records, marriage record, cemetery records, obituary, and death certificate? If you know the name of the Church where Frederick was a parishioner, or the schools his children attended, those records might contain information. If Frederick was active in Swiss/German activities in the town in America where he lived, sometimes histories of those organizations with biographies were written, and might be available in the local library or historical society. If he was involved in any land or real estate transactions, the application papers might contain the name of the town where he was born, and might be available in the County Recorder's office. Do you have any family Bibles or other family records (old letters, pictures from Switzerland with the photographer's ID, etc.) that might list the town name? If you find nothing, the search can be daunting, but you can look up the name in the on-line Swiss Surname Directory to see the towns where that surname appears. (Unfortunately, this Directory is unavailable until about October or November.) You can also click on the link below for additional help. There is a tremendous amount of information here, which should help your search. <A HREF="http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/search-m.htm">Swiss Genealogy on the Internet</A> Also, there is the LDS site, which may be helpful: <A HREF="http://www.familysearch.org/">Family History Center</A> Good luck with your search! Paul C. Miller