I too have had my eyes and ears perked with the discussion of the Michels family. My John or Peter or John Peter Michels who married an Anna Christine Bluemling/Blueming immigrated to Wisconsin around 1853-1855 and settled in Dane County with some of their children later going onto Richland County in Wisconsin. George, one of their sons was born in Koehln, Germany. I believe this is in the Trier area??? There are many Michels in the Trier area, but as you stated, these may somehow be all related, the ones in Wisconsin. Anyone our there that may have any clues or ideas on these people I would love to hear them. Kathy [email protected] Searching and Researching: Shields,Michels,Kennedy,Koenigs,Bluemling,Muldown,Thill,Evert, Ehlinger,Kraus,Sigler,Ellis,Beck,Geise,Werner,Poppingo,Loucks,Wiley,Cole,Wood/ Woods,Rippentrop,Cornue,Wessels,Toll,Rinckhout,Drinkvelt and many others.... In a message dated 6/16/02 8:26:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > I have been following, with a great deal of interest, the messages > of the past few days regarding the Michels family of Wisconsin, who > originally came from Holsthum (Treves), in the Rhineland. > > I don't believe much in coincidence, especially with German family > names. > > But first a question. The village of Holsthum, was it formerly > known as Treves? The modern city of Trier is some distance away, > regardless of the language used. I wondered at the connection of the > two names, if any. > > My wife descended from a Philip Michals, and he immigrated from the > Rhineland in the early 1850's. His Army discharge in 1865 gives has > place of birth as being Treever, Empire of Germany. [An error in the > spelling of Treever by an Army clerk?] > > I'm grasping at the well known straws, but could my Philip Michals > belong to the same family back in Germany as the Michels family in > Wisconsin? I have noted in the past that it is not at all unusual for > German family names to undergo a change on immigration, by accident or > by design. > >