Hi, I'm a newbie at Hessian research, but am getting started digging into my possible gggg grandfather, Christopher Waggoner/Wagoner/Wagner. He was b.bet 1750-1760, settled in Allegany Co., MD by 1792, and oral family history has it that he may have been a "Hessian mercenary" (I have learned of the misnomer). So, no connection as yet to the Wagners you list, but I'll certainly keep them in mind as I search. Susan King

Hello Susan: I noticed that you were searching for information regarding Christopher Wagner as possibly being a hessian ancestor. I am wondering if your ancestor may have been the Brunswicker Christ. Wagener (Don't know for sure whether this man's first name was Christopher or Christian...Claus Reuter's book shows it as being CHristian, but Riedesel's Order Book just says "Christ.")? He was born in approximately 1753 in Calvorde, within the Duchy of Brunswick, and was a private in the Grenedier Battalion von Mengen. He was captured at the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777, and Reuter's book also shows him as being a POW at Lancaster. Any chance that this is your man??? Michael Kasler ----- Original Message ----- From: "Susan King" <susanking@carolina.rr.com> To: <AMREV-HESSIANS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 2:13 PM Subject: [HESSIAN] Re: Wagner / Bonstein researchers > Hi, > > I'm a newbie at Hessian research, but am getting started digging into my > possible gggg grandfather, Christopher Waggoner/Wagoner/Wagner. He was > b.bet 1750-1760, settled in Allegany Co., MD by 1792, and oral family > history has it that he may have been a "Hessian mercenary" (I have learned > of the misnomer). So, no connection as yet to the Wagners you list, but > I'll certainly keep them in mind as I search. > > Susan King

Thanks for your replay, Michael. The man you mention would certainly be an option. Honestly, I'm at a loss as to how I'm ever going to determine if the Christopher near Oldtown, MD in 1792 was indeed a "Hessian". Other than land records, censuses and tax lists, I don't know that any further documentation exists on my Christopher. And it wouldn't be something he advertised, right? Just to tell you how I've come to this point...I began researching the Hessian possibility as a result of our oral family history. My grandfather, before he died, told me the "Hessian mercenary" story. Then a cousin from an entirely different line said she had been told the same thing by a great aunt. When a recently found cousin from yet another line told me that whenever his grandparents had been asked about our Waggoner roots, they were scolded and told never to ask again because the early Waggoners were nothing to be proud of. So, that, given the dates and the locations in MD and southern PA, spurred me to check into the theory. No doubt of the German origin. Unless I hit paydirt with a record of some kind in Allegany Co., MD, I'm not sure where to go with it at this point. ??? I have noticed that the names Christopher and Christian are often questioned, probably, unfortunately because they are often abbreviated. But, does anyone know if they are basically interchangeable? Could one or the other be similar to a nickname? Thanks! Susan