At 00:40 29/04/2006, Ln769eksa@aol.com wrote:

Recently I became aware of another "Strasburg" (now Brodnica in Poland) which
was part of West Prussia around 1873. >from what little information I've given
above (and below) does anyone think it is possible that this "Strasburg" is
actually where I should be doing research? Or, does the fact that Jacob
referred to himself as being >from France preclude this?

Hello,
If I refer to the book "Where once we walked", the village Brodnica
in Poland had a tiny population of only 56 Jews before WW2. Moreover
this book, which usually gives all different names of a village or
city, does not give "Strasburg" as a variant for Brodnica.
You have also to know that between 1871 and 1918, Alsace was a part
of Germany, so if your ancestor arrived to the US during this period,
it is normal that he declares himself as coming >from Germany.
Conclusion: forget about Poland and concentrate on STRASBOURG
(Bas-Rhin) in nowadays France. There was and still is a large Jewish
community in this big city and ALEXANDRE is quite a common surname
among Alsatian Jews.
Good luck !

Georges GRANER (Paris, France)
georges.graner@wanadoo.fr
Webmaster of Cercle de Généalogie Juive www.genealoj.org

Ellen Alexander wrote:

| I would appreciate any opinions on the following. My husband's grandfather,
| Jacques (Jacob) ALEXANDER was >from France according to his census information.
| His son said he thought the family came >from "somewhere in Alsace, in or
| near Strasbourg." Through the 1900 and 1910 census reports we know that Jacob
| arrived in the US around 1880 and lived in Manhattan, NYC, New York. The family
| was thought to have been Jewish.

Setting up a family tree for the descendants of the Jewish family Joseph
and Caroline LANG >from Sierentz (Alsace) I have come accross their
daughter Madeleine Melanie LANG, born, most probably in Sierentz,
September 15th, 1836, as last child after her four brothers, all born in
Sierentz. The descendance lines of her brothers Jacques, Raphael and
Benoit (Martin died shortly after birth) are quite fully known but,
surprisingly, nobody was able to give information regarding the future
life of Madeleine Melanie; the only facts I have managed to get are that
she married, in Paris, David ALEXANDER, a medical doctor; they are told
to have had two children, a boy and a girl. But this rudimentary
information is not secured by any document. I have no clue about the
reasons why this person did not exist in the memories of her family; may
be because whe was a girl, may be she married a non-jewish man etc. (I
would have liked to follow this line in the family of my wife's
grandmother, but it is just lack of time which prevents me >from doing
it. But, any hint to build up the descendance line of Madeleine Melanie
LANG is, of course, welcome.)

Thomas Bloch
Zurich, Switzerland

I would appreciate any opinions on the following. My husband's grandfather,
Jacques (Jacob) ALEXANDER was >from France according to his census information.
His son said he thought the family came >from "somewhere in Alsace, in or
near Strasbourg." Through the 1900 and 1910 census reports we know that Jacob
arrived in the US around 1880 and lived in Manhattan, NYC, New York. The family
was thought to have been Jewish.

I have found a Jacob ALEXANDER on the Castle Garden website who possibly fits
the age profile (about 8 yrs. old). According to the passenger list, this
child came >from Prussia with his parents and seven siblings. Their port of
departure was Antwerp, Belgium and their arrival date at Castle Garden was 14 May
1880. The father of this child was Joseph Alexander, naturalized in 1888 and
his papers say he was >from Germany.

Recently I became aware of another "Strasburg" (now Brodnica in Poland) which
was part of West Prussia around 1873. >from what little information I've given
above (and below) does anyone think it is possible that this "Strasburg" is
actually where I should be doing research? Or, does the fact that Jacob
referred to himself as being >from France preclude this?

We know the date and place of Jacob's death (in New Jersey) but filing for a
death certificate brought no results. Apparently the death was not reported.
Since he apparently arrived in the US as a child, there would be no
naturalization records. Jacob married Minnie Eisner in Manhattan in either 1996 or
1997. I have sent for a copy of their marriage record in hopes it will provide
further clues. Minnie was >from Vienna, Austria and had been in the US for
about seven years according to the 1900 census. We think that she was Jewish and
that she may have had a brother who was a rabbi. After their marriage they
lived on 48th Street in Manhattan and later moved to Jersey City, New Jersey.

My father-in-law has Jacob's date of birth recorded in his bible as 13
December and Minnie's as 25 November 1872. On the 1900 census report, these dates
are given as Dec. 1873 and June 1872 respectively so I can't vouch for their
accuracy.

Any opinons and suggstions as to how I should proceed will be most welcome
and greatly appreciated.

Ellen Alexander
Jacksonville, Florida