Thank you for all of the personal notes about the letter. I hope that if in the future you come across an interesting piece of information that you will also share it! Several of the notes requested that I share the information that I found, as they also had an interest in that type of information. As I expected, a trip to the public library was required to find the "historical" information that I desired on Westfalen/Westphalia. But first, on the way to the library, I stopped at a local bookseller and found a real "gem" of a book. This book will interest any genealogical researcher that wants an understanding of what life was like in America during 1600-1900. The book is a compilation of firsthand accounts, taken from diaries, letters, etc. You read what they experienced in their own words. The first chapter has a few other accounts of what it was like to travel across the Atlantic. I read two chapters and find this extremely interesting and valuable. WITNESSING AMERICA The Library of Congress Book of Firsthand Accounts of Life in America 1600-1900 Compiled and Edited by Noel Rae, Forward by Douglas Brinkley ISBN 0-670-86400-5 Chapter Titles: Arriving Upbringing Pairing Working Housing Eating Playing Praying Erring Ailing Departing Below is are a few of the books that contained the type of historical information that I was looking for. There were books that the library did not alllow to be checked out so I will have to return and spend a few hours (days!) there to read as much of them as I can. RESEARCH GUIDE TO GERMAN-AMERICAN GENEALOGY Copyright May 1991 German Interest Group P.O. Box 16312 St. Paul, MN 55116 This book contained a chapter on the orgins of surnames and how they changed, another chapter on the religious makeup of Germany, a chapter on German immigration and the reasons for it, an appendix with a dateline of German history from the year 400 - 1990, and a few historic maps. GERMAN FAMILY RESEARCH MADE SIMPLE by J. Konrad Summit Publications Now published by Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe P.O. Box 39128 Indianapolis, IN 46239 (317) 862-3330 ISBN 1-878311-12-3 This book contained a chapter on German immigration and the reasons for it, a chapter on the history of "Germany" through the ages, a one page history of Westfalen, and another page on "The Peculiarity in Surnames in Westphalia and other Parts of Northern German." -- \\\|/// \\ ~ ~ // ( @ @ ) ------- oOOo-(_)-oOOo--------------------------- Timothy J. Barron mailto:tjbarro@ibm.net http://www.geocities.com/tjbarro --------------------Oooo.----------------------- .oooO ( ) ( ) ) / \ ( (_/ \_)