Hi Maurice, Your situation I think is different from Robert's where his family came from Elvange. He thought they came from Belgium but apparently there is no town there with that name, so it's possible his family came from the Elvange in Luxembourg near the border of Belgium. He can easily check this out by using LDS microfilmed records for Elvange. In your case, Chassepierre, Province of Luxembourg, Belgium is indeed located in Belgium. This is a quite a distance from Bofferdange, Luxembourg but of course there can be a tie between the two places. If you are sure that Jean Henri Victor Schoos born July 1, 1833 is your ancestor, then he was born in Belgium as the microfilm indicates. I don't know who "Father Ducat and Sylvan Gardien" are so don't know what sources they use nor where they got their information. If they said Jean Henri was "born in Bofferdange," there is obviously an important discrepancy here that should be checked out. It does seem very odd that they have not replied to your queries about this and surely their response might clear up the mystery. There is a difference in the dates, of course, and this that might indicate that Jean Henri was born in Chassepierre, Belgium and perhaps "baptized" in Bofferdange, Luxembourg? I wonder if Ducat and Gardien obtained their information from church records rather than the civil records such as the film at LDS? If Jean Henri's parents were originally from Bofferdange, they could have taken him "back home" to be baptized in a church there a week after his birth. In that case you would be dealing with two different types of records -- civil (birth) and church (baptism.) This is sometimes overlooked in genealogical research. The LDS film you mention does give the births for Chassepierre, Belgium for the time in question. But, have you also checked the LDS civil registration films for Bofferdange, Luxembourg to see if a Jean H. V. Schoos was born there about the same date? This might help to answer your question about his birthplace. I believe LDS film #1791750 would include births in Bofferdange for the time in question. (Please double check film number before ordering this film however to be sure it has not been recently changed. Bofferdange records will be found with those of the Commune Lorentzweiler.) It is also very possible that someone with the same name was born in Bofferdange so it will be important to carefully check parents' names, etc. Perhaps a cousin was given the same name, for example, as this is always a frustrating possibility. If you believe Jean Henri's parents were born in Bofferdange, Luxembourg you should also be able to find their birth records and marriage record on LDS films as well. If Jean Henri had siblings, perhaps some were born in Bofferdange? It will be important to piece together the whole Schoos family and to be aware of other related families living in the same area. Sometimes a "process of elimination" is necessary to determine who belongs to which family. I don't know that I've cleared up your problem, but in lieu of a response from Father Ducat and Sylvan Gardien as to where they got their information, it seems you may have to dig a bit further to uncover the answers. If your ancestor came to the U.S., what did he give as his place of birth in the census records? A study of the various censuses might indicate that he did indeed come from Belgium but that his parents came from Luxembourg. Also, the "first papers" (Declaration of Intent) in the U.S. naturalization process may also indicate the same. As a personal note I can say you'll find many of us Luxembourgers believe we have always been Luxembourgers, no matter who may have "taken us over" for a brief period of time in history -- more of a cultural thing than political. Regards, Karen B. Whitmer