Hello everyone: I am new to the list and am not even sure this is where I belong. All suggestions are welcome. I am searching for the ancestors of Johannes Paulus Bloem (Blohm?) from either Crefeld or Elberfeld in Germany. John Bloem (Lt. Col. João Bloem in Brazil) arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 23, 1823 at age 24 settling here til his death in Porto Alegre, R.S. in 1851. The only information I have about his ancestry is his father's name. Mateus Bloem (Portuguese spelling). Other than that I know nothing about the family in Germany. Documents here show various spellings of his name including Blohm. His birthplace is also uncertain as documents show both Crefeld and Elberfeld and birth year between 1795 and 1799. If I can be of any help from here in Brazil, let me know. Thanks, ********************** Joyce Bloem Cotia, SP - BRAZIL jbc@bloem.org ICQ/UIN: 18658218 - --------------------------- Researching: Bloem (Brazil & Krefeld & Elberfeld, Alemanha/Deutschland) and its variations:Blohm, Boloem, Pluim, Blumm, Blom, Blum; Albuquerque (Brazil & Portugal) Azevedo e Costa Leite (Brazil & Mondim de Bastos, Portugal)