How does a person go about finding out what town in Mecklenburg their
ancestors came from? No documentation says what town in Mecklenburg just
Mecklenburg. Is this like looking for a needle in a haystack especially
when the name is Meyer?
Marlene
South Dakota
The short answer is yes, it is like looking for a needle in a
haystack. Your best bet is try to find some record that will indicate
where in Mecklenburg your ancestor came from. I've had very good luck with
church records in the U.S.-- immigrants often belonged to German
churches, and they sometimes recorded the towns people came from. Do you
know when they arrived in the U.S.? Passenger lists sometimes specify the
town of origin. If they came between 1850 and 1890, the "Germans to
America" series will help you find the passenger list. If you don't know
the date of emigration, try the 1900 or 1910 census, if they were still
living then. Obituaries and naturalization records will also sometimes
include the year or date of immigration.
Heather Olsen