DON'T YOU READ YOUR E-MAIL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerald Fosdick" <gfosdyck@qwest.net> To: <"Wayne Straight"@mail.rootsweb.com>; <germany-passenger-lists@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 2:24 PM Subject: Re: [G-P-L] [GERMANY-PASSENGER-LISTS] Conscription > Wayne, > Are you related to any Streit? I know that they spell the name in several > ways. My Gr Gran-father came from (Luxemburg) to NY 26 April 1855. Thanks > Gerald > gfosdyck@qwest.net > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Wayne J. Straight" <woichi01@comcast.net> > To: <germany-passenger-lists@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 5:53 AM > Subject: Re: [G-P-L] [GERMANY-PASSENGER-LISTS] Conscription > > > > Hi Folks; > > > > I did a good bit of research to try to understand why so many of my > > ancestors fled Schleswig-Holstein in the mid-19th Century. This led me > > to understand that up until the time of the Prussian takeover, most if > > not all Germans were citizens of "city states", such as Hessen, Hanover > > or Holstein. If a German peasant had any patriotic feelings at all they > > were to one of these city states, vice a German federation (chances are > > that any such loyalties went no further than the local village). Since > > the Prussians required registration for conscription at a very early age > > (15, if I remember correctly), and since the young men felt absolutely > > no loyalty to Prussia, many fled elsewhere to avoid the draft. Once > > having arrived in the US however, their point of view in re citizenship > > often did a 180. Thus the irony that many who fled Prussia to avoid the > > draft ended up enlisting in US Federal or CSA military units. > > > > One interesting sidebar of my research is the discovery that my > > ancestors didn't even speak the same language as their Prussian > > "countrymen". They spoke Plattedeutsch vice German. Also known as > > Low-Saxon, this is a Germanic tongue more closely allied to Danish, > > Dutch and English than to proper German. > > > > Cheers, Masugu > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > GERMANY-PASSENGER-LISTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GERMANY-PASSENGER-LISTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >