Hello,
I am researching my Lange and Franke families from the area around Petershagen.
My 2nd Great Grandfather was Ernst Friedrich Conrad Franke (b 1 Apr 1860) from Ilvese. His wife was Marie Sophie Dora Lange (b 21 Dec 1859) from Drohne, Dielingen. They came to the United States (NY City) separately around 1870 where they met and were married.
I have discovered a great deal of information on the Frankes from Richard Scheumann's database on Windheim: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~deunrhwf/files/windheim/index.htm
Based upon that database, my Franke lineage includes the surnames: Franke, Francke, Franke-Detman, Kaiser, Wessel, Brandhorst, Lyra, Cruse, Kahle, Kaatze, Baade, Mentzing, Broeking, Peck, Humpke, Nuerge, Nuerge-Caester, Caester, Hempel, Kruskopf, Kade and Lyra-Schmidt
If anyone has expanded upon Richard's work, or knows something about those families from any of the towns in Windheim, I'd like to share information with you.
I have not done much work on my Lange family yet. They were from Drohne part of Stemwede Parish which is about 10 miles west of Windheim. Sophie Lange's parents were Wilhelm Lange and Sophie Schmidt. I am starting research on them now and think there may be a link to Lange's in Quetzen.
Again, anyone who has Lange links, I'd like to share information with you.
Thanks in advance,
Steve DiRose