Q&A: How to find ...

Subject: Q&A: How to find ...


Common questions asked in social german genealogy:

*Trying to find anything on paternal great-grandfather
Gebhardt Schlosser, a native of Germany who emigrated
to New York City.  (Dates unknown.) Father of Mary Anna
Schlosser, born in New York City on 3 Dec 1864.*

Answer: 

You need to narrow down the date, and locate his town
of origin.
So: have you looked for him in federal censuses for
1860 and 1850? (New York State took a census in 1855,
by the way.)  How about NYC city directories for the
period preceding 1864?  Did he die after 1900, in
which case his year of immigration would be noted 
in the US census?  Have you checked all volumes of
"Germans to America" covering 1850-1964?
 
For his town of origin, have you looked for obituaries?
New York City or New York State death records?
Citizenship papers?  A marriage record?
Does Mary Anna's baptismal record say what town her
father is from?  Have you looked for Gebhardt in the IGI?
 
Ellen Keyne Seebacher
elle@midway.uchicago.edu