Author Topic: Can't read the town and country  (Read 1540 times)

Offline oldohiohome

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #18 on: Saturday 08 January 22 21:56 GMT (UK) »
1. My guess is Hopfau, Germany. In Southwest Germany, near Alsace region of France.
2. Nassau is a county in the US. I don't think a US Marriage register would record a county as a place of birth, especially without the city within it.
3. This record is a marriage record from St Michael's and Zion [Lutheran] Church in Philadelphia, a German language church, at least at one time. I didn't go into the history a lot. I found the record by looking at ancestry for a more readable name on the page.
4. to the OP - do you have other records for this man that says at least what country he was born in? It would narrow down the guess work.
5. I have no idea of the word before "Hopfau" - it could be a neighborhood in the city ??

Offline bob165

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #19 on: Saturday 08 January 22 22:31 GMT (UK) »
Thank you all for the help. His name is John Michel and written family records believe he came from Alsace Lorraine but the strength of this is weak.
I did a letter by letter comparison and here is the image for that work:


I'm thinking the name of town might be something like Ei?d??kopf, Nassau.

Offline Ruskie

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #20 on: Saturday 08 January 22 23:08 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for details of location oldohiohome :-\.

It’s a good idea to look elsewhere for information of his origins. Would there have been naturalisation at this time which might give details of place of birth?  :-\ Would the father’s place of birth be recorded on his children’s bmds or in his own d/c? Or his immigration or arrival in the USA?

Offline oldohiohome

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #21 on: Saturday 08 January 22 23:34 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for details of location oldohiohome :-\.

It’s a good idea to look elsewhere for information of his origins. Would there have been naturalisation at this time which might give details of place of birth?  :-\ Would the father’s place of birth be recorded on his children’s bmds or in his own d/c? Or his immigration or arrival in the USA?

the record being discussed:
married October 26, 1887, St Michel's and Zion Church, Philadelphia
John Michel, a shoemaker, born in ??. his parents: Emma Schmidt,  Sulo? Michel
marriage to Anna K Brown, born in Philadelphia, her parents: John Brown and ?? Lutz
[the father's name is as hard to read as the birthplace]

The marriage record was in 1887, with him obviously in Philadelphia by this time. The arrivals and naturalization records for that time period would probably not say any more than the country. Later they would include a town or city, but not that early.
The children's birth records would be the best hope for a detailed place of birth since he was alive to fill out the record. His death record would not be as good. It would depend on the memory of his survivors and how much detail the person recording the information wanted to put down.
All vital records would be held by the state and county in Pennsylvania.



Offline oldohiohome

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #22 on: Saturday 08 January 22 23:53 GMT (UK) »
A man named John L Michel died near Philadelphia in 1961. His death record said he was born December 15, 1890, in Philadelphia, son of John Michael and Anna Braun. Parents' birthplaces were not asked for on the record.
------
This could be John L and his divorced mother Anna in 1910
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGZL-VSZ

If so, Anna's husband John, whom we are looking at, was born in Germany.
----------
Haven't found them in 1900 and haven't  looked for John Michel, Sr, in 1910.

Offline joger

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #23 on: Sunday 09 January 22 09:25 GMT (UK) »
Could the letter after Ein be an F?

Offline Ruskie

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #24 on: Sunday 09 January 22 09:31 GMT (UK) »
I noticed a surname which looks like Reif on the previous page … the last letter of your first word looks similar. Because Reis(s) makes more sense than Reif, I am wondering if the last letter is s, or the German double s that looks like a B with a tail.  :-\ (not that that helps)

Offline Zefiro

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #25 on: Sunday 09 January 22 11:31 GMT (UK) »
Maybe we're looking for Lindenkopf, Nassau, Germany

You can find it on the map below. Not really a village (more like a mountain I guess), but who knows?
https://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/browse/id/3/current/41/sn/hkw

Offline davecapps

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Re: Can't read the town and country
« Reply #26 on: Sunday 09 January 22 12:07 GMT (UK) »
Biedenkopf,  Hessen Nassau

https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10166020
Dave