Looking for information about the Renie / Hoffner/ Eggenschwiler families

by Madeline
(Ohio, U.S.A)

I recently learned that my surname and ancestry trace bask to Alsace-Lorraine. The furthest back I have been able to trace is my distant relative Jacob Renie who was born in Reipertswiller, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France in 1843 and married Louisa Hoffner in Obersteinbach, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France before moving to Ohio, U.S.A in the early 1900s. His son Jacob Renie married Louisa Eggenschwiler, who I believe is of German descent, in Ohio and they went on to have many children.

I would love to learn more about the Renies in Alsace-Lorraine: whether they were of French or German descent, what their professions were in Alsace-Lorraine, and why they ultimately emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. Some members of my family thought they had gone by Renier, which sounds French, before changing to Renie when they arrived in the United States, but Hoffner and Eggenschwiler sound German.

I would love to find out more about my Alsace-Lorraine heritage and visit Reipertswiller and Obersteinbach where my ancestors came from. Maybe I have relatives still in the area?