Do not let the differences in names worry you. The family probably called the persons by their middle names, the first name usually being a saints name, or Uncle Johann's name who they were named after. The Swiss also used nicknames a lot, so if you know them by that name, perhaps someone on the list can help you "translate". If your birthdates match, then you are probably close. Just remembering that often the dates given in the church registers are for christening dates. If no birthdate is given also, then you can probably guess that the child was born a month earlier. From my searches, it seems to have been the custom not to christen or baptize until the baby was a month old. As for your last name searches, be sure to check all possible spellings; STREEF, STRIEF, etc. I am constantly finding my ancestors names spelled so many different ways here in the US. Hope this helps. "rwalker" Researching SPERISEN, also spelled Speirsen, Spereisen, Spareson, Spercien