If you seek information about a Hessian or any German Auxiliary soldier who fought for England in the Revolutionary War and remained in North America, you have found a website that could prove helpful to you. We hope this page of information may be of some assistance and guidance to you in your quest.
Many inquirers have heard of a family tradition that they have a “Hessian” in their background. Even if that is true, spelling of the name may have been changed over the years. Making educated guesses to find a possible candidate for your ancestor among the thousands of Hessians who remained in America can be a time consuming and fruitless task. We cannot participate in that endeavor. You will have to establish a clear, straight-line genealogy from you back to your Hessian and evidence on how his name appears on a church, court or other official record.
You will find four lists of German Auxiliary soldiers in the Registry on our website. One list, titled Registry of Researched Soldiers, contains brief biographies of soldiers who are known to have remained in North America and became the progenitors of an American or Canadian family. Articles of many of those men have been published in the JSHA Journal as noted in their brief biographies. If an article on your ancestor has been published in a Journal, you can order that issue if it is still in print (Ordering JSHA Publications).
The second list contain names of men who are believed to have remained in North America but whose genealogies have not yet been researched fully (Registry of Partially Researched Soldiers). The third is a list of men in the very early stage of study (Open Investigations).
The fourth is titled; Bulletin Board. These are men who remained in North America and who have been positively identified as Hessian ancestors by today's researchers. While certainties of their histories and genealogies are not yet established, the evidence suggests strong connections.There are files on most of the soldiers listed in the Registry in the JSHA collection at Franklin & Marshall College at Lancaster, PA. A listing of the Genealogical materials and Research files can be viewed online within the F&M site. If there is a file for your ancestor, you should send a request to the librarian at Franklin and Marshall College requesting information from the file. Contact Mike.Lear@fandm.edu concerning specifics on ordering information from the files.
F&M has limited resources for assisting inquirers. However, if there is a file for your Hessian, the staff will conduct a brief search to judge the contents and will advise you of their findings. If you would like copies of some or all of the information in the file, they will provide the copies for a nominal cost. The collection at F&M is available for on-site research using their collection.
If you believe you have a clear Straight-Line Genealogy from you back to a Hessian ancestor you may want to submit an application for a JSHA Certificate showing that relationship.
The 6 volumes of HETRINA (Hessisiche Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhangigkeitskrieg) contain the names of soldiers from Hessen-Kassel, Hessen-Hanau and Waldeck who served in North America. Other references include Claus Reuter’s Brunswick Troops in North America, 1776-1783, and Clifford Neal Smith’s Monographs. Those sources might contain the name of your ancestor and may be found in your State or University library. If you find your ancestor’s name listed as a deserter, or discharged in North America, or who did not return to Germany, then you might require assistance to learn more about the soldier.
We suggest you read the page of this site offering guidance for conducting research for Hessians.
If you have information on a German Auxiliary soldier who remained in North America and wish to contribute it to the soldier’s file, send it by electronic or surface mail to:
E-mail address: Mike.Lear@fandm.edu
ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
SHADEK-FACKENTHAL LIBRARY
FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE
P.O. BOX 3003
LANCASTER, PA 17604-3003
ATTENTION: MIKE LEAR