Finding my Alsatian Ancestors

by Craig Hill
(Atlanta, GA, USA)

My great-great-grandfather and his family emigrated to America from Alsace in the mid 1800s. His surname was Riese.

Can you help me find out what part of Alsace he was from?

Thanks
Craig

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What part of Alsace your ancestors are from
by: Suzele

Hi Craig,

There's no way to just look up a person's name and it tells you the village or town.

Everything's organized by village or town here.

Hopefully you know their first and last names and some other details.

Rieser and other variations like Riese were last names associated with Jewish families.

The good news is it's not an extremely common last name.

Jewish families were required to pick a permanent last name in the late 1700s and early 1800s in Alsace and the rest of France.

Some already had started using a fixed last name but not everyone.

Riese definitely comes from a Germanic culture - and most of them lived in what we call Germany now.

There's not a particular area with a large concentration of Riese last names in Alsace or Lorraine.

They're a bit all over here and there.

If you think this branch of your family was Jewish, it might be a good idea to talk to someone specializing in Jewish genealogy.

From what I've read, Jewish families often worked with matchmakers to find partners for their children.

Especially if they lived in a village without a large Jewish community.

This means that sometimes a family member might not stay in the same village or nearby area when they got married.

Wishing you lots of luck with your Alsace ancestry research,
Suzele

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