Frank, I agree that most of the Hessians were probably able to read and write in German, and some possibly English or French as well. There's a hand-written letter in English, from my Brunswicker ancestor on microfilm, in the NARA records, sent to the U.S. Secretary of War in Washington, D.C., regarding his U.S. Army pension. There were a couple of spelling errors that someone with a German background would have made, but it is understandable and legible. If he could do it, I'm sure that others could, as well. Bill J. Smith descendant of Daniel Engelcke (Angle), private in the Von Specht Regiment, captured at Saratoga then joined Continental Army ----- Original Message ----- From: "Francis T. Watters" Date: Sunday, April 29, 2012 11:24 am Subject: Re: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Rob Lowe's Hessian Grenadier Ancestor To: [email protected] > Nelda; > > What makes you think that "most did not read or write either". > As a matter > of fact, in the Quebec church records (Ancestry.com, Drouin > Collection, > 1621-1967, digitized) you will find that most Germans could > indeed sign > their name. It was the exception who could not sign, and even > then, some > pretended they couldn't sign on one document but signed their > name on > others. Of course, whether they could speak or write in English > is another > matter. > > The question of education, religion, etc. in Europe including > the German > Federation is well covered in a book entitled "Rousseau and > Revolution" by > Will and Ariel Durant (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1967). It > covers the > history of France, England and what is now Germany from 1756 to > 1789, and in > the remainder of Europe from 1715 to 1789. > > > Frank Watters > Descendant of Johann Halbär >
HiWhat makes you think MOST could read and write? Not to get into an argurement here, but in the 1700s education was not a paid for item. No ones government put the common person though any type of schooling. Look at the records we do find, for any of our ancestors from that time period how many signed with an X . Yes, there are some diaries and such but that percentage, if you look at it, is no wheres near most... I'd be happy to find out that the Hessians connected to my families could read and write. Nelda Nelda L. Percival, Administrator of Y-DNA surname projects Gilpin, Cupp, Bonstein and Gillock My Genealogy - http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/index.htm GeneticGenealogy - http://www.geneticsand.us Blog - http://aircastles-lets-talk.blogspot.com/ GilpinGenetics: http://www.gilpingenetics.us/ Web Mistress for LCRG - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~molcgdrg
Frank WattersFrank, Thanks,... How well documented is this book? "Rousseau and Revolution" by Will and Ariel Durant (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1967). Thanks for pointing this out, I'll have to read it. nelda Nelda L. Percival, Administrator of Y-DNA surname projects Gilpin, Cupp, Bonstein and Gillock My Genealogy - http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/index.htm GeneticGenealogy - http://www.geneticsand.us Blog - http://aircastles-lets-talk.blogspot.com/ GilpinGenetics: http://www.gilpingenetics.us/ Web Mistress for LCRG - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~molcgdrg
Hi Nelda; The book runs to almost 1,000 pages, and the bibliographical guide alone comprises 15 pages. So it seems to be well documented. According to what I just found on the Internet, they won a Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for a Non Fictional work. Frank -----Original Message----- From: Nelda Percival Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2012 4:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Rob Lowe's Hessian Grenadier Ancestor Frank WattersFrank, Thanks,... How well documented is this book? "Rousseau and Revolution" by Will and Ariel Durant (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1967). Thanks for pointing this out, I'll have to read it. nelda Nelda L. Percival, Administrator of Y-DNA surname projects Gilpin, Cupp, Bonstein and Gillock My Genealogy - http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/index.htm GeneticGenealogy - http://www.geneticsand.us Blog - http://aircastles-lets-talk.blogspot.com/ GilpinGenetics: http://www.gilpingenetics.us/ Web Mistress for LCRG - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~molcgdrg PLEASE CHECK ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS! ~~~~~~~~~ FOUNDER: John H. Merz 1924-2006 Created 1998 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADMINISTRATOR<Kerri> [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
It's been a while since I've participated here, since I haven't as yet found any Hessians in my family tree, although for a while I thought there might be some. The program about Rob Loew prompts me to ask if any of you, probably on your way to looking up something else, have seen anything that would be of help to me. I have a 3x great-grandfather named William Mason, born either in Ireland in 1757 or in Newfoundland in 1760, and died in Country Harbour, Guysborough Co., Nove Scotia in 1832. In 1785 he married Mary Ann Rogers, 1767-1872. I've seen that he was a British POW in Philadelphia. Now come my questions. Did English/Scottish/Irish soldiers as well as Hessians fight in the battle of Trenton? Could that be where he was captured? And what records are there, and where are they, concerning British POWs in the Philadelphia area? William's father, either Peter or John Mason, was born in Ireland in 1735 and died in Philadelphia in 1780. William's mother was Sarah O'Brien, b. ca 1735. I know that what I'm asking is not what most of you deal with, but I would appreciate any light that any of you can shed on this. I'm still trying to find out more about two other British or Loyalist ancestors. One of them is John Cresine/Crescine, ca1758-1816; m. 27 Jul 1784, Guysborough, Guysborough Co., Nova Scotia) Hannah Sowers (or Sower, Sauer, or Sauers), ca1766-1858. He also is listed as Johannes Griesheim or other forms of those names. In the 1871 Canadian census he and his family were listed as German farmers. Hannah might have arrived in Lunenberg, NS, perhaps with her parents. The other such ancestor is James Imlay, ca1755-1813, who is thought to have come from Aberdeenshire. He m. Margaret Cassells (var. sp.), ca1760-1833, 04 Dec 1797. James (and John) settled in Guysborough in 1783 or 1784. They had been in one of the Highland Regiments and were in the Associated Department of the Army and the Navy. I don't know if James was married prior to his marriage to Margaret, although it appears that he wasn't. After James' death, Margaret m. one of John & Hannah's sons. All of these people migrated to Guysborough Co., NS, and died there. Have any of you found new information about any of these people, or have some of you joined the group since the last time a inquired about them and have information about them? Pointers on where to look for information would be helpful and appreciated. Cousins in Nova Scotia have exhausted the resources available to them there. -- Bob Lewis From: Francis T. Watters <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2012 6:12 PM Subject: Re: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Rob Lowe's Hessian Grenadier Ancestor Hi Nelda; The book runs to almost 1,000 pages, and the bibliographical guide alone comprises 15 pages. So it seems to be well documented. According to what I just found on the Internet, they won a Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for a Non Fictional work. Frank -----Original Message----- From: Nelda Percival Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2012 4:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Rob Lowe's Hessian Grenadier Ancestor Frank WattersFrank, Thanks,... How well documented is this book? "Rousseau and Revolution" by Will and Ariel Durant (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1967). Thanks for pointing this out, I'll have to read it. nelda Nelda L. Percival, Administrator of Y-DNA surname projects Gilpin, Cupp, Bonstein and Gillock My Genealogy - http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/index.htm GeneticGenealogy - http://www.geneticsand.us Blog - http://aircastles-lets-talk.blogspot.com/ GilpinGenetics: http://www.gilpingenetics.us/ Web Mistress for LCRG - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~molcgdrg PLEASE CHECK ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS! ~~~~~~~~~ FOUNDER: John H. Merz 1924-2006 Created 1998 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADMINISTRATOR<Kerri> [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message PLEASE CHECK ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS! ~~~~~~~~~ FOUNDER: John H. Merz 1924-2006 Created 1998 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADMINISTRATOR<Kerri> [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Does anyone have access to the book Die-Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen 1777-1783andcould do a possible look up for anyone named Fuss or Fuchs that is listed from Lichtenfels? Thanks in advance, Matt ________________________________
Jochen Seidel has a list based on Erhard Städtler's, "Die Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg 1777-1783" posted on the Internet: http://www.jochen-seidel.de/ab-troops/ Look under "Database", then click to view the list of names. I don't see Lichtenfels associated with the name Fuss/Fuchs. Marie Rasnick Fetzer -----Original Message----- From: Matt Reardon Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 10:57 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Die-Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen 1777-1783 Does anyone have access to the book Die-Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen 1777-1783andcould do a possible look up for anyone named Fuss or Fuchs that is listed from Lichtenfels? Thanks in advance, Matt ________________________________ PLEASE CHECK ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS! ~~~~~~~~~ FOUNDER: John H. Merz 1924-2006 Created 1998 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADMINISTRATOR<Kerri> [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Thanks Marie! I've already looked through that list. After not finding what I was looking for, I'm trying to find a list that I think is in that book of the names who went back after the war. Matt ________________________________ From: Marie Rasnick Fetzer <[email protected]> To: Matt Reardon <[email protected]>; [email protected] Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 12:26 PM Subject: Re: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Die-Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen 1777-1783 Jochen Seidel has a list based on Erhard Städtler's, "Die Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg 1777-1783" posted on the Internet: http://www.jochen-seidel.de/ab-troops/ Look under "Database", then click to view the list of names. I don't see Lichtenfels associated with the name Fuss/Fuchs. Marie Rasnick Fetzer -----Original Message----- From: Matt Reardon Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 10:57 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Die-Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen 1777-1783 Does anyone have access to the book Die-Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen 1777-1783andcould do a possible look up for anyone named Fuss or Fuchs that is listed from Lichtenfels? Thanks in advance, Matt ________________________________ PLEASE CHECK ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS! ~~~~~~~~~ FOUNDER: John H. Merz 1924-2006 Created 1998 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADMINISTRATOR<Kerri> [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
I disagree, Bill. I'm of the opinion that most conscriptees were "poor peasant folk," who were much less likely to have been literate. I haven't seen the letter you mention--although I'd like to--but another possibility is that the Brunswicker (as my ancestor, Levy Derrow/Levin Doerge/Levien Doerries, was) got someone to write it for him. Just my two cents... Bill Derrow ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: "Francis T. Watters" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Cc: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2012 3:14 PM Subject: Re: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Rob Lowe's Hessian Grenadier Ancestor Frank, I agree that most of the Hessians were probably able to read and write in German, and some possibly English or French as well. There's a hand-written letter in English, from my Brunswicker ancestor on microfilm, in the NARA records, sent to the U.S. Secretary of War in Washington, D.C., regarding his U.S. Army pension. There were a couple of spelling errors that someone with a German background would have made, but it is understandable and legible. If he could do it, I'm sure that others could, as well. Bill J. Smith descendant of Daniel Engelcke (Angle), private in the Von Specht Regiment, captured at Saratoga then joined Continental Army ----- Original Message ----- From: "Francis T. Watters" Date: Sunday, April 29, 2012 11:24 am Subject: Re: [AMREV-HESSIANS] Rob Lowe's Hessian Grenadier Ancestor To: [email protected] > Nelda; > > What makes you think that "most did not read or write either". > As a matter > of fact, in the Quebec church records (Ancestry.com, Drouin > Collection, > 1621-1967, digitized) you will find that most Germans could > indeed sign > their name. It was the exception who could not sign, and even > then, some > pretended they couldn't sign on one document but signed their > name on > others. Of course, whether they could speak or write in English > is another > matter. > > The question of education, religion, etc. in Europe including > the German > Federation is well covered in a book entitled "Rousseau and > Revolution" by > Will and Ariel Durant (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1967). It > covers the > history of France, England and what is now Germany from 1756 to > 1789, and in > the remainder of Europe from 1715 to 1789. > > > Frank Watters > Descendant of Johann Halbär > PLEASE CHECK ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS! ~~~~~~~~~ FOUNDER: John H. Merz 1924-2006 Created 1998 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADMINISTRATOR<Kerri> [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message