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From: "Liz Allan" <>
Subject: [G-P-L] Lewis Mitchell Glasgow, Scotland/Frankfurt an Main, Germany
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:37:34 -0000


I am re-sending this rather long email as a) I forgot to type in the Subject and b) I received an email saying that mine had not been delivered because of the use of 0Spam.com. I then followed instructions to click on the URL given to allow future messages to be automatically accepted.
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Hello

I am a new member living in Scotland who started family history research over three years ago and I am looking for my paternal great-grandfather Lewis Mitchell. Although I do have him in Glasgow from his marriage there in 1855 and via censuses until his death in 1881 when he was 47 years old. His son, my grandfather and also Lewis Mitchell, died before my birth and the only information I ever had was from my mother. She told me that my paternal great-grandfather was born in Frankfurt an Main in Germany and his name was Louis "Meeshler" - that's how she pronounced it - before it was Lewis Mitchell.

I eventually found my grandfather as a boy on a census and the first confirmation of his father's place of birth which said only "Germany". Later I found his Glasgow marriage registration of 1855, and had hoped it would be in his German name but it is Lewis Mitchell. Born and registered in Frankfurt an Main, Germany, date given as 12 July 1833. His parents were Peter Mitchell and Catherine Smith - British sounding names. Both were deceased by 1855.

I wrote to Frankfurt an Main about his birth registration, in German although I don't speak/write Germany and eventually received a brief reply in German. Although I could not understand the language it was obvious that they had found no record. Big disappointment. I had given the names Louis Miechler or Meichler. Of course I have no proof that he ever was so named. However, my great-grandfather does appear to have been German born.

On my grandfather's death registration his father's employment is given as "surgeon" which I doubted - at first I thought it was "sergeant" but definitely surgeon. His death was registered by his daughter. However on my great-grandfather's marriage registration, when he was a 22 year old glazier (later a slater), his father's employment is given as "barber". I did wonder if perhaps his father Peter was a British soldier (of Scottish or Irish birth) stationed in Germany when Lewis Mitchell was born in 1833. In earlier times barbers undertook certain surgical procedures.

That is the extent of my knowledge of Lewis Mitchell born in Germany. I want to know more about my great-grandfather's roots - including were his parents British or German, when did Lewis Mitchell come to Glasgow in Scotland. Did he come as a child with his parents or later as a young man. I am not well informed about passenger lists but did read somewhere that the further back the harder it is to trace as records were not kept? I'm looking for a date between his birth in Germany in 1833 and his marriage in Glasgow in 1855.

I have tried variations of "Meeshler". Miechler, Mieschler, Meichler, Meischler, Michele and found only one Meichler and one Michele but not my man. When I tried Mitchell I was surprised to find 71 listed, but many unknown first names and most of them seem to have arrived in England rather than Scotland, then departed for Port Philip, Australia.

I thought Mitchell was a British name, but with so many Mitchells listed, was it also a fairly common name in Germany?

Since childhood I have wanted to know about my German born great-grandfather but to date, apart from the British censuses and registrations mentioned above, I have hit a solid brick wall. Any advice, comments - anything! - would be much appreciated.

I was interested to read in the recent post from Brigitte Jahnke that Peter is Peter in Germany. I had wondered about that. Also, in the brief reply from Frankfurt an Main concerning my Louis Miechler/Meichler's birth they referred to him as Luidwig, not Louis.

Liz Allan in Scotland

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