Genealogy Chat

I hope someone may be able to help me work out where Henry Peter Peffer was born. On the 1861 census it has been transcribed as Loblurty, Germany and in the 1871 it is Gobling, Preussen (Prussia). I can't find any places that even come close on any German websites. In 1861 he is 53 and living in Shoreditch St Leonard, Middlesex. In 1871 he is 63 and listed as Henry Pleffer, living in Shoreditch St Leonard. On his marriage certificate his father's name looks like Cartwright Peffer - but it could be Carl......? and I can't find out anything about him. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful. Jo

Approaching it from another angle - if you have a rough idea when he came to this country, you could try to find records of his arrival - did he become a British citizen? nell

Hi Nell I'm clueless on when he arrived unfortunately but he married in Middlesex in 1839. How would I find immigration records like that? There seem to be quite a few sites devoted to immigrants arriving in America but I haven't come across an English one. Jo

Joanna Certainly looks like Gobling to me;-D. Have you considered contacting the Anglo German Family History Society? Other than that I did a google search for 'Prussia family history' and turned up lots of stuff that may or may not be of use to you. Good luck Sheila

Sheila I've looked at all the Prussian sites and can't find anything that looks or sounds (or tastes!) like Gobling - or Loblurty for that matter. It's embarrassing to ask with weird names like that and Germanic place names don't tend to end in 'ing' or 'ty' from what I can see. Oh well - these things are sent to try us. Jo

This is a link to The National Archives online information leaflet on immigrants - its very long, and much of it will probably be irrelevant. If you find any records that look hopeful, jot down the series numbers. Then you can check the catalogue and see if its worth a trip to Kew. nell