I am researching my German family who lived in Prussia and Pommerania. My gg grandfather and his wife,daughter plus mother-in-law and other family members immigrated to the United States in the 1880's.

My ggg grandmother, Juliana Schaltz-mother in law mentioned above, was born in Michalina, Sittnow, I believe Dist. of Bromberg (what is now Poland), in 1833. She died in Tacoma Washington in 1922. When I received her Death Certificate, our family was surprized to find her mother's name was Luise Caro, born in Pempersin of the same as above.

I have since searched the Lutheran church records for the Pempersin jurisdiction and found what appears to be 1 Lutheran Caro family, surrounded by many villages with hundreds of Jewish Caros.

We also have some old documentation regarding her family. Her father, Frederich Schaltz, owned a sheet metal company and was the mayor, apparently of Michalina for 30 years.

I have made copies of the Caro Lineage Rabbinical chart which denotes many Caros in the same general area of the State of Posen and the City of Thorn at about the same time. The Jewish Caro family located in Lodz also was in the sheetmetal business and sorrowfully lost many family members in the Holocaust.

So far this is the only Lutheran Caro family I have been able to identify in this area. Their patriarch is a Christopher Caro whose death is recorded in the church records in the early 1800's. He appears to have had 4 sons and several daughers. The sons are Michael, Paul, Peter and Johann.

It just seems inprobable that this family shows up with this name (Caro does not appear to be common name among Germans) as a lone German Caro family.

Does your research or anyone elses have any clue as to whether our Caros are actually Jewish converts to Lutheranism? I know some of them converted to Catholicism in Spain and Portugal and sought refuge from the Inquisition by moving on to the Netherlands.

Any help or recommended areas of research are greatly appreciated.