Alsace is a close neighbor of the Rhein Pfalz. Many early families trace their ancestry to this area. The author has selected five villages in Krumme Elsace or Hilly Alsace, consulted church and civil records, and referred to Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler's and Annette Kunselman Burgert's publications. The villages are Butten, Dehlingen, Diemeringen, Ratzwiller and Waldhambach; the emigrants from these villages are listed along with their family trees.
The researcher will find that the emigrant is numbered 1, his father is numbered 2, mother numbered 3, grandfather numbered 4, etc., in standard numbering form. Abbreviations are clearly explained and names and places are indexed. In addition to listing the name, many entries include additional information such as occupation, dates of birth, confirmation, marriage and death, cause of death, place of burial, and religious affiliation.
Use of this book requires concentration, for all numbers are for a particular emigrant. The same husband and wife will have different numbers depending on the line of descent. When a family name is located in the index, examining the entry for each of the given names will place the individual in that emigrant numbering group. It is somewhat time-consuming but relatively easy to build an ancestor chart for one of the emigrant's antecedents, then bring the relatives from other emigrants together and create family group sheets.
Providing extensive information about a very small corner of Alsace, this book also adds to the knowledge of other areas by the inclusion of the extensive family trees of the emigrants.
Doris Wesner
1995, 6" x 9", cloth, 474 pp.
ISBN: 9781558561854
109-019
