Grandfather was from Prussia.He never learned to speak English. How can I find anything out about him?

Question

I don't know his real name. I only know that he came into Boston Harbor around 1900 and was 15 years old. He received a letter from Brandenberg during WWII (in his own language) and sat and cried for several days. No one in the family ever knew what happened.

Answer 1

Ask every relative still alive if they have any information about your grandfather.

Get a copy of your grandfather's death certificate. There may be some valuable information there.

Search the US Census for 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930. See if you can find your grandfather listed.

Look for your grandfather in the World War I and World War II draft registrations.

Search the Ellis Island Immigrant Passenger Lists for your grandfather.

You can find census, draft registration, and other records on http://www.ancestry.com . If you don't have a subscription to Ancestry.com, many Public Libraries and Family History Centers do. Ancestry.com lets you conduct a ranked search, so even if you don't know your grandfather's real name, you might be able to find his records by searching for something similar to the name you have.

Ellis Island Passenger lists can be searched at http://www.ellisislandrecords.org or at http://www.stephenmorse.org

Answer 2

Do you still have the letter? It may give some clues as to what his name was.( you may be able to have someone translate it for you. DO you have a last name? Lets say you find out his first name and last . Go to the local library and in the geneology section ... Citys surrounding Boston have some of the best geneology resourses ... Due to the vast amount of history in the towns. ANYWAY ... they may be able to help you find clues maybe even a census report. ( providing you have the names) then I would put a message on a free geneology message board looking for relatives ..On www.rootsweb.com .. then another free site is www.cyndislist .com I say these because I have found so much free information and faimly members on these sites. You might even be able to put a posting on the town in prussia. Because if you have a last name you can go throught the ellis Island web site and that has I think the place the ship left .. the age of the person .. a bunch of stuff. Finding the real name is the key here .HEY I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING>>>> IF YOU KNOW WHERE he is BURIED you CAN REQUEST the BURIAL records ... THEY HAVE THIS INFORMATION YOU CAN FIND OUT HIS REAL NAME >>>>>>>>>>

Answer 3

Is there anyone in the family that knows his real name like grandmother (if living), mom, dad, aunts, uncle, or cousins. Also you can check the immigration records for that year for Boston Harbor. You must know at least his last name

Answer 4

sure, yet I additionally communicate Spanish, my first language. regrettably, I communicate greater powerful english than my chum, and her first language is english. i could assist you to recognize this, it took me 5 years, approximately to examine to speak english fluently. undergo in techniques that i replaced into nevertheless in trouble-free college, and sons and daughters can study yet another language greater powerful than an older one.

Answer 5

get a detective. One of my friends ex's was an self employed agent and he helpep people find lost loved ones.

Answer 6

U can mail to DISCOVERY GENEOLOGY CHANNEL,NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY CHANNEL or HISTORY CHANNEL.U will sure get perefet guidelines 4m them or they may help u coz they r intrested like this matter n they show also programmes on theirs' channels like matters u have.God bless u.

Answer 7

Wouldn't his name be on your parent's birth certificate?

Answer 8

prussia is a great nation