Jay,
My great-great grandfather was Lorenz Zimmerman who emigrated to the US
approx. 1872. He and his family settled in Westphalia, Shelby County, Iowa. My
great-great grandmother was Elisabet Boelke. The are many other Zimmerman's, all
related, that settled in Westphalia. I have an entire Zimmerman tree, dating
back to the 1500's, but unfortunately, it's in my other computer. Haven't
quite gotten around to transfering the files yet. I do know that I had uploaded
it on on the Geneanet website. I believe the family went back and forth
between Gerlingen and Attendorn in Germany. I am also quite sure the name Schopf
appears in the file I have. There is also a German site that lists my
grandfather and Zimmermans. It lists the towns they came from, etc. It is:
_http://www.westphalia-emigration.de/Emigrant_lists/emigrant_lists.html_
(
http://www.westphalia-emigration.de/Emigrant_lists/emigrant_lists.html) Click on the
link
for Kries Olpe. That is where Gerlingen lies. A lot of my research also
consists of data I received from a very kind man in Germany, who's wife is very
distantly related. But this man has books on Gerlingen. He has a lot of
information. Email me directly and I will give you his email address. He may be
able to assist you further.