Lynn,

Sorry for not responding. I had forgot that I put this query out there and have not looked at genealogy stuff for some time. Please feel free to email me and we can discuss the Blau family.

I actually inherited my mother's genealogy stuff when she passed away and have worked on it from time to time. I have two big family mysteries to solve...one related to my paternal grandmother and one related to my paternal grandfather (Bickel). As I mentioned in my original post, his name was August Bickel and he claimed he was a stowaway on a boat. I don't know if that was true or he was hiding the fact that he may have come over to the US as a hired servant. He never discussed it at all...even with close family members. He eventually settled in Nebraska becoming a farmer.

Anyway, feel free to contact me. In the meanwhile, I will check on the Blau side to see what my mother said about them as I know we are direct descendants of that family name as well.