I have been searching ships records for my Gr. Gr. Grandfather Frederich
Dranse. I came accross an entry that the occupation, age and arrival date fit the
naturalization information I have for him. The name is listed on the
transcribed Baltimore index list as Frantz Dwezen. The listing states that he is
from Freerden. I really need to see the actual microfilmed entry. I will be
doing this in the near future. I would like to know if anyone has ever heard of
Freerden? Could it be Friesland? Was Friesland ever a part of Prussia? I
want to also add that it isn't until 1910 that any census taker ever spelled the
name Dranse correctly. I have seen it as Darusa, Drause, and Deusen. I know
that it comes down to the incursive style of the census taker being misread
by the transcriber when I see these errors. I'm trying to eliminate dead end
genealogical searches that I run into with this ancestor. Thank you!
Rick Wagner