Von Hess or van Hess family name in Alsace

by Jacquelyn
(Sea Cliff, NY)

Our family name is von Hess and was formally van Hess (germans made us change is when they took Alsace)

Just curious of any information i can find, i believe it is a very small town there, we know our family was there before they came to America i believe early 1900's

Comments for Von Hess or van Hess family name in Alsace

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Rating

by: Suzele

The hardest part and most important part is finding which villages your family comes from in Alsace.

All records are grouped by village or town.

If you don't have a town or village name, or even a general part of Alsace (like Northern Alsace), it will require a lot of research.

As soon as you have a village name or can narrow it down to an smaller part of Alsace, your work becomes much easier.

For example Northern Alsace has 100s and 100s of villages. You would have to look through all of them - even if you have an exact name and birth date of a relative.

And if their name is not unique, you can never be sure it's your ancestor.

There are so many Kleins and Mullers and Meyers for example. And everyone named their kids the same first names a lot.

This is just what I've learned from researching records here in Alsace.

Good luck with your searching,
Suzele

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to France and Genealogy.

Need More Alsace Vacation Ideas?

23 Adorable Alsace Villages
to Discover
(with Local Advice)

9 Alsace Towns and Cities
You Should Know About

Planning Your Alsace Vacation:
Get Started Right
(with Local Advice)

The Alsace Travel Guide
(Written by Locals Who Love it)