My father is Urban Thinnes (retired USAF Lt.Col.) who now lives in Dayton, Ohio. He is the second son of Carl Francis Thinnes, born in Cheyenne, WY, and Carl was the second son of Jacob Thinnes (who married Anna Kraus). Jacob and two or more brothers worked on the railroad in Wyoming and Ogden, Utah. We think the brothers stayed out west, but Jacob moved his family to Mena, Arkansas, possibly for more railroad work. Carl also worked for the railroad, but raised his family in Indianapolis, Indiana.
We have always heard our Thinnes roots came from the Alsace-Loraine near Luxembourg, but I haven't been able to pin down when they came to the US or where they settled.
My Dad was born in 1920, his father was born in the late 1890s, and Jacob was probably born in 1860-70.
My next step is to find the names of Jacob's brothers in Utah, or to learn if the Peters or Michael I've read about here had a brother named Jacob.
If anyone has light to shed on this, I would love to hear from you. mathinnes@erinet.com
Thanks.
Mary Ann