It was cold, and very rainy in January 2012 in Weisbaden, Germany, where we were living at the time.  We didn’t let that stop us though.  We packed up the car with our beloved 15-year-old dog DJ, and set off to Southwestern, Germany to learn the truth…about the Leuck’s that is. I was armed with only a few tidbits of information, but I was determined to find out the history of who we are and where we came from.

 

This isn’t my first time living in Europe.  Back in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, we lived in Italy and Germany consecutively.  At this time, I was also working on genealogy, but I kept hitting a wall.  Mostly because resources weren’t as available, or my research knowledge was lacking, and there were language barriers.  

 

I knew the family came from Borg, but there were 3 of them in Germany.  So which one was it?  Fast forward 10 years, and we got the opportunity to return to Germany. This time I was determined to find out where we came from. I was also armed with a few more details.  The Borg I was looking for, was located in what is now the Saarland region of Germany, but formerly part of Rhineland, just a few hours drive from where we were living! 

 

Before returning to live in Germany in 2011, I stocked up on some used books to help me learn how to research more effectively.  My favorite was “In Search of My European Roots”.  This book listed where all the possible archives could be found in each of the regions of Germany.  So in this adventure, we set off to the Saarbrucken Stadt Bibliotech.  The Bibliotech (library) had an entire floor of Family History Research.  In the book, I read that I could possibly find a Famlienbuch listing all the families in city along with pertinent information such as birth, death, marriage, and occupation.  I also read that most of the Famlienbuchs were destroyed during the wars, so I didn’t set my hopes too high.  

 

Our trip to the Bibliotech was the next day.  We checked into our hotel in the little town of Orscholz,  just a few kilometers from Borg.  We were looking over the hotel menu and saw an item “Leukbachforellen”.  I knew that bach meant creek and forellen meant trout, but putting it all together, there must be a creek bearing our name somewhere.  I asked the waiter, and he said the “Leuk” was a river just a few miles away.  I immediately got on the internet and looked up the “Leuk Fluss” and found out it was a river that starts in a well in the town of Eft, where are ancestors originated.  This river flows north approximately 15 kilometers to Saarburg, where the river flows through the town and cascades into a beautiful waterfall, (Der Leuk Wasserfall) , before making its final rest into the Saar River.

 

What?  We are named after a river and waterfall!  I did not see that coming.  

 

The next morning, we got up and drove to the Bibliotech and went immediately to the 4th floor where the family research was.  A nice German man, Gunther, was also doing research there and showed me where I could find all the family books.  I scrolled through the shelf and BINGO…there it was, “Famlienbuch Borg”.  These books can be a little difficult to decipher, but thanks to the book I mentioned earlier, I had a table of what the symbols meant.  It didn’t take long to find the section of Leuk’s.  There were a lot of them, and many had the same names, and their children had the same names, luckily, I had some more details to help me find which Peter and Katarina Leuk it was!

 

Fast forward a few months.  Ed was traveling to the Middle East for work, and I had just lost my dog and needed to get away.  I took a road trip back to Southwestern Germany to see what else I could find.  I decided this time to stay in the town of Mettlach, home of Villeroy and Bach, about 10 kilometers from Borg.   Upon checking in to my hotel, I was greeted by the proprietor, Bernard, who was a very interesting character indeed!  He made it very clear how he felt about Americans, and it wasn’t positive.  His mother told him stories about the behaviors of American soldiers stationed there during WWII.  With that said however, he took a liking to me and practically bent over backwards to help me with my research.  

 

After I got settled in my room, he asked me to stop by his antique store attached to the hotel.  Once there, he said he was going to call someone who he knew could help me.   During the call, he scheduled for me to meet this person later that day.  He told me to come back to the shop, and he will take me over there.  Am I supposed to get in the car with this man I just met?  I was nervous, so I sent a text to my friend and said, “this is who I am with if you don’t hear from me in a few hours”.  When it was time to go, I went back to the shop and Bernard said, you will have to follow me there, because I can’t stay.  Phew! 

 

He took me to Reinhold Junges’ house.  Herr Junges was a well-known German historian, who compiled and published the Mettlach Familienbuch, where our family information can also be found.  Herr Junges did not speak hardly any English, and my German wasn’t that great, but we had a nice visit.  

 

After I found the family books, I was interested in finding out more information, like where the family house was, etc.  So I went to the Perl City Hall and met with a man named Bernd, who was also interested in Genealogy and wanted to help me (this was not his job).  He found an old plat map (from the 1800’s), and showed me where the family house was once located.  He also asked me if I was interested in meeting any German relatives, if he comes across any, and of course, I said yes.  

 

A few months later, Bernd contacted me to let me know a German woman, named Elizabeth Biewer, was also researching Leuck family history, so he put me in contact with her.  She lived in Borg with her husband Rudy, who is our relative.  We made plans to visit Elizabeth and Rudy, along with other relatives that lived in the area.  Bernd also joined in the meeting!  We walked around town and Bernd showed me the spot where the house was.  We had a great visit, and Elizabeth showed me lots of photos she had from Cashton.  I said, “there is my dad, my uncle, my aunts, and my grandma!   Our great-grandpa Frank’s brother John used to write letters and send photos back to Germany all the time.  

 

So there you have it.  I finally found out where I came from an now I have peace.