I have just returned from several wonderful and amazing weeks (June 15-June 30, 2010) in Europe where I was able to visit with Ingrid Lenz (a cousin on the Goergen family line) in Neuerburg, Germany. I also was able to enjoy research in the archives in Arlon, Belgium on the Hemroule line (Jacob Goergen’s mother was Catherine Hemroule) and drive through Bastogne and Neffe where that family was from. In the research I learned that her mother (Jacob’s grandmother) was from an area now in the country of Luxembourg.
For the next week, my son Dan joined me and we were able to visit Ditzingen (the town from which the Seitz family immigrated in 1828), Renningen, Calw, Funfbronn and Nonnenmiss villages related to the Holzinger family line. Christine Holzinger was born in Funfbronn and the family immigrated from Nonnenmiss. Christine Holzinger later married John Seitz in Amherst, NY.
Dan and I also visited Horrheim, the village where the Nevel (Nuebel in Germany) family lived before he immigrated to Ohio. This line is connected to Joel’s mother, Edith Slusser Schwartz.
I had many great experiences and feel so grateful for all of these ancestors who made the sacrifices for a better life so that all of their descendants can be blessed with the great opportunities of America. I’ll be posting details of the trip, photos and research shortly