Hello - I got into my family history 2 years ago and have found a lot of information, but would like to try and fill in some gaps. I have traced my ancestry back to Asahel Hensey (my mom was a Hensey), who in the 1850 US Census was living in Adams with his wife Prudence. I believe he is the son of Andrew and Rachel Hensey, who was also living in Adams in the same census, but a different household. Andrew and Rachel were living in Adams in the 1840 and 1830 US Census' with a male child that was the same age as Asahel. Andrew married Rachel Adams in Connecticut in 1814, then moved to Brownville, NY between then and 1820, where they appear in that years US Census. Andrew was born in CT to John Andrew and Sarah Hensey/Hansey. From Sarah's Revolutionary War Pension Application, I have found that: - John Andrew was a Hessian (German mercenary fighting for the British) soldier that was captured in the Battle of Bennington - He was a POW working on the farm in CT where Sarah lived - He joined the American side in Jan 1781 and fought in a few battles, including the Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown - He returned to the farm, married Sarah, had 3 kids (Andrew was one) then re-joined the US Army and died fighting Indians at St.Clair's Defeat in Western Ohio in 1791 I was trying to figure out why Andrew and Sarah moved to Brownville and found that Henry Hentze was listed as an early settler there in 1814 on your GenWeb page. His wife Triphena received a deed to 25 acres there, so they moved from Vermont, according to the Morris Clan website. They also say that Henry was a Hessian soldier. I suspect that John Andrew was related to Henry (brothers?) and that they came over as soldiers to America together. I have not been able to locate them in German Rev War era muster rolls yet. I think his German name was Johann Andreas Hentze, but was spelled phonetically as Hensey. I suspect that after John Andrew died, Henry sent word to Sarah or Andrew about the town of Brownville, so Andrew and Rachel moved their prior to 1820. Henry and Triphena are both buried in Pettit cemetery in Brownville, Andrew is buried in Honeyville cemetery near Adams. Finally, here is the info I am looking for: 1) Are there any birth/school/etc records in Adams that verify Asahel is the son of Andrew and Rachel? 2) Are there any Jefferson County land/deed/etc records for the Hentze/Hensey families? 3) Any info that may tie John Andrew (or Andrew) and Henry together? I travel to Toronto for work about once every other month and would like to make a side trip to Jefferson County some time (an additional 4 hours of driving), but have not been able to work it out yet, so any information you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks for your help! Steve Ripka 4133 Holly Lane Rochester, MI 48306 ________________________________ From: Nancy Dixon [mailto:nandixon@gisco.net] Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 06:29 PM To: Steve Ripka Subject: Re: Hentze Ancestor Steve, While I cannot help you personally, I suggest you send a free query to Jefferson County Genealogy Society's newsletter, Informer, at <maridavis@aol.com>. Be sure to include your snail mail address, since many of our readers do not use computers. Also free, and reaching a different readership is the Jefferson County Mailing list at <NYJEFFER-L@rootsweb.com> Definitely you should contact the Brownville town historian, town clerk and Dexter village clerk. Their addresses are at http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/brownvil.htm Dexter is a village within the Town of Brownville. Reading http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/search.htm might give you more ideas. Good hunting. Nan Dixon ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Ripka <mailto:Steve.Ripka@flextronics.com> To: nandixon@gisco.net Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 2:06 PM Subject: Hentze Ancestor Nancy - I found your email address on the NY GenWeb for the Town of Brownville. I am an ancestor of Andrew Hensey who shows up in the 1820 census for Brownville. He is the son of a German soldier (John Andrew Hensey, probably Hentze) that initially fought in the American Revolution for the British, but became a POW at the Battle of Bennington early in the war. Later, he fought on the American side. His son Andrew was born in CT in 1787. Andrew got married in 1814 in CT then moved with his wife and kids to Brownville. By the 1830 census he had moved to Adams, NY. I think the reason he left CT was because perhaps his uncle? Henry Hentze (the German spelling of Hensey) was an early settler there. Henry and other family members show up in the Brownville Cemetery Inscriptions in the town's vital records. Henry died in 1841 at the age of 83 years, which puts him at 18 years old when the German soldiers started arriving. That would have been very close to the age of John Andrew when he came over. I am trying to find out if they were in the same unit. The reason I am telling you this is because I was wondering if you could answer or forward my request for any additional information regarding Henry Hentze. I would like to prove or disprove that he is the brother of John Andrew. I am hoping that since he shows up in several places in Brownville history that perhaps one of the Brownville or Dexter town historians may have some more info. Thanks! Steve Ripka