I would be very interested in your family tree. My husbands Thorn/Thornes come from Germany too. The first ancestor we know of was Peter Thorn who came over on the Crawford in 1769. He first settled in York County, Pa and eventually moved with other German families to Jeffersontown, KY. This migration occurred before 1800. Eventually we will do his DNA too. Paulina
Dear Paulina, The first ancestor I know of is Franz Ludewig Thorns who must have been born in about 1750 somewhere in Germany, I cannot say where for sure. He worked as a shepherd. With his wife Magdalena Benten he had at least two, possibly more, sons who lived in two neighbouring villages in the district of Hameln-Pyrmont, Hämelschenburg and Amelgatzen. Hämelschenburg was the larger settlement then and had a church, while Amelgatzen now seems to be bigger. Through the Family Search Library I could get a hold of church records from Hämelschenburg for the period of 1853-1870 or something. In this period fell the deaths of two sons of Franz Ludewig, one living in Hämelschenburg, one in Amelgatzen, both of them shepherds and born in the 1780s. There were two other Thorns in the village of Amelgatzen whose family connections I couldn't sort out. Anyway, the name was rare enough compared to others to suggest a recent move. However, since the area was thick with shepherds at the time, I assume that also Franz Ludewig Thorns might have been a local of either Amelgatzen or Hämelschenburg. I wrote Hämelschenburg in the pedigrees I submitted because that's where the church records are available. To get further back in time, I need older church records from the state archive in Hanover. There a around 70 "Thorns" listed in the online phone catalogue for Germany now, most of them not too far from Hanover. I have not checked for "Thorn", but it might be of different origin. I have to check the older church records to see if the spelling was consistent. A DNA test would certainly help to establish or rule out a connection. I'll tell you more as soon as I know more. Ann-Kathrin _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/