Help with Reichenau

After years of searching for my grandfather's birthplace, I have a lead that should prove useful. I have followed any number of blind leads, some from his family, but now I believe I have useful data. In March, 1913, he applied for a passport to return to Germany to visit his family. In that application he says he was born in Richenau, Germany on 11 August 1855. I have no information on his religion before he came to the United States, which he says was in January 1883, leaving from Bremen onboard the ship "Werra" and residing continuously in Whitesboro, NY from his arrival in 1881 until 1913. I do have documentation that he was married in Fort Plain, NY on December 31, 1884 to Anna Barbara YOPS. My grandfather's name was Henry (or Heinrich) MICHEL. I also know that for some years in his life, he used the last name MICHAEL. With only this information, I am very interested in learning the techniques by which I might find out more about his birth and family. He lived in Whitesboro, NY until his death in January, 1947, having five children with Anna Barbara YOPS. The youngest of those children was my father, Charles MICHEL. Any suggestions or assistance would be very much appreciated.
Don Michel
3 Tara Lane
Cape Neddick, ME 03902