u/Extreme_Storage_8023

I’m posting this as somewhat of a sanity check.

Family lineage:
Great great grandfather, born in 1863, lived in Edelfingen.

Great grandfather, born in 1896 in Edelfingen.

Great great grandfather immigrates to the US in 1902 with his wife and five children, they receive American citizenship in 1912, when my great grandfather was still a child.

Grandmother, married to an American, born in 1925 in NYC, lived in NY Metropolitan area her whole life.

Father, married to an American, born in 1960 in NYC, has always lived in NY Metropolitan area.

Me, born in 2000 in America, have always lived in NY state.

Everyone in this chain was born in wedlock.

From my understanding, because my great great grandfather came to the US in 1902, the 10 year rule would have came into effect and my great grandfather would have lost citizenship in 1912, however, a researcher I hired may have just found the needle in the haystack. He was able to find a ship manifest from 1908 of my great great grandfather and his youngest daughter coming from Hamburg to NYC. The ages line up perfectly and they’re both from Edelfingen. Would this be sufficient to close the gap and mean that I’m a German citizen?

I’ve been working with a lawyer for the past couple weeks regarding a potential descent claim for myself.

Timeline: Great Great Grandfather born in 1863 in Germany

Great Grandfather born in 1896 in Germany

Great great grandfather and great grandfather immigrated to the US (NYC) in 1902. Great great grandfather declared intent for American citizenship in 1902 and received it in 1912, this is how my great grandfather received American citizenship, and he did receive it as a minor.

Grandmother, born in NYC in 1925 (born in wedlock)

Father, born in NYC in 1960, (born in wedlock)

Me, born in NYC metro area in 2000 (born in wedlock)

From my conversation with my lawyer, my claim is dependent on finding a document that proves that my great grand grandfather or grand father had. This is what the lawyer I consulted with said.

*Three archives hold the documents that will give us our answer:

1. The Federal Foreign Office's archive in Berlin (Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amts) holds the consular registration books and passport registers of the German Consulate General in New York for the relevant period. The series is digitized and can be searched directly for Metzler entries between 1902 and 1912.
2. Outbound and inbound passenger records from Bremen, Hamburg, and New York will pick up any return voyage to Germany by George or another household member during that window.
3. The Berlin state archive (Landesarchiv Berlin) holds further consular vital-record series that may also be relevant.*

I tried going through the digitized archives but for someone like me, it seems like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The only potential lead I was able to find was that someone with the same name and same birth year as my great grandfather came on a boat to NYC from Germany in 1914, and while the name isn’t the most common, I have no way to prove that’s the same person.

Would it be worth it to hire a researcher for this? I’m currently emailing with germanresearchers.com, and I might go forward with hiring them for a search.