Hello,
I am looking to find out more about a 4*great grandfather of mine called Georg Classsen. A link to his profile is here:
http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/13617801/person/-18203227?p... Now if the link doesn't work I'd like to say he was born in Prussia in or around 1794 and came to London, England from Rotterdam in 1826, his first wife followed in 1827 but sadly died and after settling he married for a second time to an Eleanor Tindal from Hammersmith.
He had a number of children from both marriages and I am descended from one of his sons, Richard William Classen, 1843-1920 who apparently lived in the UK throughout his life. There is little information we can find about either of his other children, although we have made contact with one from his earlier marriage who is now in New Zealand!
I am keen to know more about where Georg Claassen, whose father may have been called Abraham) originated in order to see if it is possible to go back further down this line, and at the moment the best information I think we can get go on would be to find his birthplace. I know a bit about European history and Prussian is history is particularly complex and as it covered many peoples and covered parts of many modern day countries, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia (well Kalingrad, formerly Konigsberg).
Would anyone be able to advise on the best place to start looking? Would there be anything left in modern day Germany to start from? I know his first wife was I think a Dutch speaker so from that would it be safe to assume he was Dutch too or was there friendlier relations at that time? I have also and probablI am unsure as to wheard rumours of a mennonite link - is there a mennonite organisation that would be able to help?