Hi - You might try the listing of just the father's name on
www.familysearch.org for
Germany and see if a man by that name pops up for the village or administrative district,
possibly affiliated with another church. You could also find the mail list for Germany
(go to
www.rootsweb.com and look for the international mail lists) and post there with
your questions. Ferdinand Crouse would have "approx". dates of his age (based
on at least 18 at birth of first known child, probably not older than 50 at that birth of
the youngest - if Karl is the oldest, his father was probably b.bef.1833, and lived at
least until 1851 based on the oldest child. That gives you an age reference to rule
possibilities in or out.
The father may never have even emigrated. The mother may have to escape the stigma of
having illegitimate children which may be why you aren't finding him there.
Another suggestion - any posting you do on a German mail list, use one of the translation
web sites to translate your message from English to German, and apologize for using it.
The German genealogists are much more helpful if you at least make an effort to discuss
things in their language. Chances are that anyone who answers your posts will do so in
English.
Good luck!
----- Original Message -----
From: Kurt Krouse
To: INALLEN-L(a)rootsweb.com
Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2005 9:31 AM
Subject: [INALLEN-L] Roadblock
Hello All!
I am writing for some advice. I have exhausted every avenue that I am aware
of in locating the father of my GG Grandfather (Karl Herman) Harmon Krouse
(Mayer). He was born to Maria Magdalena Mayer on 5 Nov 1851 in the
adminstrative district of Tuttlingen, and the village of Muhlheim an der
Donau, which is located in the German state of Wuerttemburg. He was
illegitimate along with his brother Kosmas. They later took the surname
Krouse. The only reference to a name I have is located in the record of
births, marriages, and deaths at Saint Aloysisus Catholic Church in Yoder,
Allen Co., Indiana and is mentioned in both brothers entrys for marriage as
one Ferdinand Krouse (Crouse)/father. I have since obtained the parish
records from Muhlheim and no mention of a name is recorded (probably due to
illegitimacy). Further, I have been unsuccessful in finding a reference in
the Wuerttemburg emmigration records (the script is difficult and it is in
German). Any ideas on how I can navigate this roadblock would be
appreciated. Thanks for the help in advance!
Kurt Krouse