Hi Scott,
Welcome to RootsChat !
there is a german place name site here:
http://gov.genealogy.net/index.jspwhich allows you to enter "Word beginning with ..."
Altans and Mackbuck weren't there, but
altan... gives
Altanmut Ostpreußen
and Mack... gives
Mäckelsdorf 37284, W3441 Hessen RB Kassel - Werra-Meißner-Kiels
Macken 56290, W5449 Rheinland-Pfalz RB Koblenz - Mayen-Koblenz
Mackenbach, Lohmar 53797, W5201 Nordrhein-Westfalen RB Köln - Rhein-Sieg-Kreis JO30PU
Mackenbach, Kr Kaiserslautern 67686, W6751 Rheinland-Pfalz RB Rheinhessen-Pfalz - Kaiserslautern JN39SL
Mackenbrede, Leopoldshöhe Nordrhein-Westfalen - - JO41IX
Mackenbruch, Oerlinghausen Nordrhein-Westfalen - - JO41IX
Mackendorf 38459, W3331 Niedersachsen RB Braunschweig - Helmsfedt JO52MI
Mackenheim 69518 Hessen - - JN49JN
Mackenheim 67390 JN38SE
Mackenmühle 91785, W8835 Bayern RB Mittelfranken - Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Mackenbach or Mackenbruch are possibilities (swallow the 'en' !)
I don't know if any of that means anything to you (geographically) so a question for you: has anybody ever said anything about which area of Germany, )North, South, Bavaria, etc) he came from ??
Another thought: Mackbuck could be Magdeburg, the G is pronounced so hard that it could be heard as a K
Any info. you have, share it with us !! (please !)
Further avenues to explore:
- did they become naturalised
- did they have to register as aliens (WW1 )
(see the threads on this board on this subject)
Good luck,
Bob