Monica, Your first effort is to visit your local LDS Family History Center and rent the approproiate microfilm that contains the records for your family. The online LDS Family History Library catalog (http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp) shows they have a number of microfilms for Aachen. This could tell you if there are still family in the area. Then again you could contact your cousin who submitted the data on that same family to the LDS Ancestral File (see http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp). The Ancestral File entries show a number of children, some of who immigrated to the USA. Some sayed and may have had families. BTW, your cousin says that Peter's mother's name was Henks and they came from Manderfeld. >Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 13:40:18 +0000 >From: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: [TRIER-ROOTS-L] Hilgers > >My grandfather Peter Hilgers was born in Aachen in >1873. He came with his parents andsiblings by ship to >America when he was 12, approx 1885. He married my >granmother Enda Stebbins in Anaconda MT USA in 1898. >His fathers name was Johann and his mothers name was >Mary and I believe her maiden name was Hanks. I realize >these are probably the Americanized spellings. My >daughter will be traveling to Germany this summer in >the German American Partnership Program and I would >like to track down where my Grandfather lived in Aachen >and hopefully relatives. If you have any information to >help my search, I would be appreciative. >Thank you, >Monica Abbott >[email protected] -- mailto:[email protected]