I inherited some handwritten notes from my great-grandfather, the German teacher and author Johannes KRUSE and his brother Otto KRUSE. More that 70 years ago they wrote down what they knew about their family history. Their aunt Gretje KRUSE (also: Margaretha KRUSE, called "the aunt with the glasses") was married to Johann Andreas IBS. Gretje died Feb. 9, 1891. Both the KRUSE and the IBS families came from Dithmarschen (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). Andreas Ibs came from Kannemoor (Kannemoorfeld). Gretje and Andreas owned a farm close to Elmshorn, later they lived in Klein-Offenseth and Trennewurtherdeich. They had four sons and three daughters: Heinrich IBS, Johann IBS, Claus IBS, Jacob IBS, Lotte IBS, Ida IBS and Minna IBS. According to the notes all the boys went to Hamburg where they became butchers, and all the girls emigrated to "America". The youngest daughter, Minna IBS, married a Mr. Armstrong. I don't have too much info about the IBS family, I do have quite some about the KRUSE part. Just in case this might help somebody... Best regards, Gudrun von Kowalski