Lorie,

Can you give me some dates or ages? When was your father born? When was your grandfather born? When did they emigrate? When we're they naturalized, if they were?

The great Uncle Frank that I spoke of was born in 1901. You can find him on a manifest traveling under the name Ferencz age 3, with his mother Johanna (Semler) Kroboth and his sister Johanna Kroboth (later married as Eberhardt) age 11 months old. That would be about right for the age of the Frank you met. My g.uncle Frank was born near Coplay, but later lived in Catty and Northampton.

Do you know anything about your grandfather Julius' health? Was he sick for a time? My mother remembers our Julius being in a hospital. Did he live somewhere with a lot of land? My mother and her 2 sisters visited her Uncle Julius maybe once or twice when they were little and she remembers being able to just run and run with the cousins. They had a meal together and then went home to Coplay, where she lived in her childhood. She doesn't remember Julius being there, only his wife and children, I think. Mother cannot remember the wife's name, which would probably clear all this up!

Our Kroboths settled in Coplay, Northampton, Stiles, Egypt, Catasaqua and Nazareth, both rural and urban addresses as far as I can tell. They sort of lived close by but not too close by to each other. I haven't found any evidence of any Semlers related to my g. grandmother yet. I know her mother's first name, but all the rest is a guess.

My grandmother was Christine Kroboth, sister to this g.uncle Julius. She was very ill and passed away in 1943, but she married a Messenlehner in 1928. I am searching for those roots, too.

I don't know...I can't put my finger on it, but I really think there's something to connect our families. Once again only a hunch.

Keep me in mind. I have virtually no records from my mom. Her father asked her not to come home anymore once she left for nursing school and her mother, as i said, passed away when my mom was about 10 years old. So, I look everywhere I can for any info that might connect. I'll never know unless I ask, right?

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Gratefully,
Bonnie