Canadian Military and the Hessian Troops during the American Revolution 1775-1784

I can't help you, but wish to monitor the discussion, as I have ancestors (Meinecke) who arrived at Quebec in 1776 in Reidessel's regiment from the Duchy of Magdeburg. Wishing you success in your research.

Sorry, no help from here.

Hello, I also have a Hessian ancestor (Schilling) who came over in those years. There is a book at the BanQ with the names (spread out in two books actually). I'm due to go see the book soon, it is in the archives collection in Montreal, and I would be happy to take a look for your ancestor. I can't leave with the book so any information I need I have to take it down there.

I am a descendant of Christian Theodore de Pincier, a Hessian Soldier in Canada. He fought for the British in the Amercian Revolution.

Christian was the illegitimate biological son of Karl I Charles I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Luneburg (Aug 1713 Brunswick, Braunschweig, Niedersachsen, Germany - D:26 Mar 1780 Braunschweig, Germany) and Béatrix Clémentine Désirée DU HAN de MARTIGNY (B:Abt. 1711 Lorraine, France - Abt. 1793 Likely Brussels).

Karl did not acknowledge his biological son. Christian's mother, than, married Georges-Henri Baron(Freiherr) (Johann Heinrich) von Pincier or de Pincier von Konigstein Sweden barons of Koenigstein (Born Abt. 1725 Konigstein, Sweden and died in Sweden date unknown).

If any of these people seem to fit with your research, let me know how I can help you further. Feel free to send me a private mssg; and, if you'd like, share your email so I can share my tree as I keep it private.

Jane

sorry dont know that name

jo,ed alain

I wish I could help you but there's nothing I can offer. Sorry.
Dahlia

Sorry I don´t know about this names

My family came from Zülz Oberschlesien

Gunther Boss

Sorry. Not fimilarvb with those names.

Paul

My husband’s greatx7 grandfather came from Gelhausen. My information is:
On 12 November 1777, Heinrich Schenck from Gelnhausen, Germany, at age 21, was accepted as a jaeger (hunter or in military terms, a infantryman) with the 2nd Company of the Hanauer Jaeger Corps (Chasseurs Corps) and was shipped off to North America to fight for England in the American Revolutionary War. Following the war, he was discharged in Canada in May 1783 and received a land grant in what is now Chateauguay County. Source: "Hessishe Truppen in amerikanischen Unabhangigkeitskrieg (Hetrina)" (Hessian Troops in the American Revolution), Hesse State Archives, Marburg, Germany
Heinrich Schenck's name was spelled "Jean Henry Juingue" in his marriage record in the register for the parish of St. Joachim de Chateauguay. "Juingue" was obviously a phonetic spelling entered by the French-speaking priest as he heard the name being spoken by Heinrich Schenck whose native tongue was German. This, too, was the case with "Kelanse," which was a phonetic spelling of Heinrich Schenck's home town of Gelnhausen, Germany.

Did you use the book by Jean-Pierre Wilhelmy as one of your sources? See;

Soldiers for Sale: German "mercenaries" with the British in Canada During the American Revolution (1776-83)

Here's a link for Google Books regarding the German Soldiers "Mercenaries" that you can access online: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Soldiers_for_Sale/lL8vygAACAAJ...

Sabrina Paulin, Thank you for the offer to look for my ancestor. Michel Süder may have the birth name of Conrad Sietz/ Suetterle/Seutz. I wish there was a way to attach his death record. I did obtain a digital copy from BanQ and saved it as a Jpeg. That is where I got a different name. His Canadian name again is Michael Soudre/Soule. His birth date is listed as 1749 but his death record states he is 87 yrs on 1 Mar 1825 which brings it back to somewhere between 1737-1739, depending on his actual birth date. He was a soldier in an auxiliary regiment, a jæger corps, that left in 1777 but didn't disembark till late 1778. Nuppenau's Jæger Corps, under Captain Nuppenau, was a small contingent of soldiers which, I believe, saw no time in battle. My 4 g grandfather worked as a laborer, though his death record states he was a soldier. He died in the Emigrants Hospital in Quebec and was buried in Holy Trinity Anglican Church Cemetery on 3 March 1825 in Quebec.

Jane Schaefer, thank you so much for sharing your tree.I will go through it and see if our lines cross. I appreciate the lead!

Trish Hurley, I tried to get into that document in the Hesse State Archives but it got too late to figure it out. I will try again today. You may be leading me on the right path though. Thank you so much for the lead!

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read in an effort to help me on this journey. I truly appreciate it! Please let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you!

Hi, Constance,
So far, my search of records in Canada have been more recent for both my Canadian mother (now deceased), born in 1919, in Vancouver, BC and my Jewish sister-in-law's Bossin family in York District, Toronto, Quebec, Canada. They all arrived in Canada between 1898 and 1935 from the Ukraine. The first brothers of the Bossin cousins were motivated to seek relocation from Europe because of the constant pogroms that were commonplace during the reigns of Czar Alexander III and Nicholas II.

I might suggest that you contact the German Interest Group which meets monthly, via Zoom, in Burbank at the Southern California Genealogical Society. Kathy Holland is the contact person and her email address is as follows: kdholland2002@gmail.com. It would be easier to send her a text message regarding your search issues then to try calling her. However, her telephone number is 818-257-2383. She might be able to you in contact with someone for assistance on your research.

This group usually consists of German-based researchers of immense knowledge and who are fluent in both plater Deutch and the older forms of German. They are currently reviewing and assisting others in locating relatives from different periods of German history, where family members emigrated, where and when individual family groups entered the British American colonies and Canada.

They have also concentrated on areas of Germanic states, prior to German unification of 1870 aby Chancellor Otto Bismark, that were particularly important in identifying Hessian members from the German provinces from which their families came from.

This group is phenomenal and should be in a position to answer your queries.

Yours,
Roy E. Atherton, Phd

Hi Constance,

If you can forward to me your email address, I will attach a meeting notification that came to me from Kathy Holland. The announcement is a final reminder for the Fall Webinar: Your Ancestors and the World of Cartography: Pinpointing Time and Location. This is an overview of everything German and the Hapsburg Empire, emigration of German families and settlement into the United States.

The fee is $20.00 and the date is October 23rd, Saturday.

Regards,
Roy E. Atherton, Phd

Hi, Constance,

I'm afraid I am unable to help, but it looks like you have lots of good ideas to follow above.

I would love to follow, though. Good luck on your search.

Yours,
Sherri Wilker
swflordama@yahoo.com

Please let us know when you've located your records and how you were able to do it. I saw online that History Hub sent you this. Good Luck!
The U.S. National Archives does not have records concerning individual members of British military forces or their German auxiliaries. We suggest contacting the Library and Archives Canada and the National Archives of the United Kingdom.

Also the following resources may be of use:

Hessische Truppen im amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg (HETRINA) (Hessian Troops in the American Revolution). Six Volumes. Marburg, Germany: Archivschule, 1971-1976, 1987-.
Muster Rolls and Prisoner-of-War Lists in American Archival Collections Pertaining to German Mercenary Troops Who Served with the British Forces During the American Revolution (Westland Publications, 1976, in three parts)
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_Military_Records#Ameri...

I went into Library and Archives Canada and typed in "Hessian Troops" seveal items came up you moght want to take a look..
Patricia.

I agree with Patricia Hart - The Canadian Archives are a good source. I have nothing helpful to add. Good luck on your search - sounds so interesting.

Well, hello all! thank you for responding and all your suggestions. I followed several leads and found some interesting things about my ancestors and Hessians in general, a lot of it very sad. First, I checked in to a few of the German Archives, Baden, and several a few others...Some I could get into and some I couldn't/ I could not find birth or baptism information as yet. I may need to spend more time now in the Jewish records but the Synogoue wasn't built as yet at the time of his birth. I also was in the Canadian archives and the military area where the Hessian records are located is down for maintenance...that is the digital records only. However, I was able to track down many of the recommended books as digital books! I have glossed through them. one I only have for 14 days, 3 others were free, and one I can't get. Itonly seems to be available on the Canadian archives and they are down at the moment.
On my ancestor Michel Süder, it appears he was listed as Michel Süder under Capt Zacharias Nuppenau/Keppenau (same person!) and embarked from Stade in May of 1777 for Quebec, Canada. Long story short, there were problems leaving Germany so they wintered there until the Spring of 78. More problems arose (but I'll cut to the chase) and they finally disembarked in Oct of 78. By that time, the heat of the war had past and the regiment never saw a day of battle. They stayed on in Canada to guard and act as laborers. Some troops were sent to NY to help out there. Some settled in Canada and the states while many went back to Germany after there 4 yr tenure was up. I would say most information was found in the 4 books that I have gleaned from: "The Settlement of Former German Auxiliary Troops in Canada During the American Revolution" by Virginia Easley DeMarce, "Mercenary Troops from Anhalt Zerbst, Germany, Who served with British Forces During the American Revolution by Virginia Easley DeMarce, Surnames Ku-Z (I also used pt 1 for the code legend in the front of the book), "The German Allied Troops in The North American War for Independence 1776-1783", by Van Eelking, J.G. Rosengarten (English Translation) and "German Mercenaries in Canada" by Jean-Pierre Wilhelmy. The one thing that I felt really important: I think that the death record attached to my Grandfather's record is incorrect. I found a man with the name listed in his regiment, as well as my ancestor. The man, Conrad Sitzler, was not born in Grotzingen while my 4th g grandfather was listed as being born there. So its back to the drawing board for vital records. I would highly recommend these books for research which can be found on google books or the World catalog can help locate them for you!

Thank you Roy for that information! I will contact Kathy Holland regarding the German Interest Group. That sounds very informative! I cannot make the meeting on the 23rd but maybe the next one.

Thank you again for the leads and all the information!

Hi Jane! I wasn't able to get into the site with the "Hessische Truppen im amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg (HETRINA) (Hessian Troops in the American Revolution). Six Volumes. Marburg, Germany: Archivschule, 1971-1976, 1987-." information. I can't remember if the site was down or if I got an error code but I know I couldn't get in at the time so I will have to try again.

I just borrowed the "Muster Rolls and Prisoner-of-War Lists in American Archival Collections Pertaining to German Mercenary Troops Who Served with the British Forces During the American Revolution (Westland Publications, 1976, in three parts)". I'll keep you updated on that book after I go thru it.

Thanks again for all your help

Proving your Jewish roots might be more available in German records. I have asked my family in Germany if they could look into the German Records. I will pass along information as soon as the person responds.

I have come across the book: -register-of-german-military-men-who-remained-in-canada-after-the-american-revolution, by Johannas Helmut Merz, in MyHeritage. At quick glance, I did not see your ancestor's name listed. The book is said to be very inaccurate, though, due to multiple name changes, etc.

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~amrevhessians/military/a/amhessians....

Jane Thank you so much! I so appreciate it! I will try this lead as well

Constance,

I contacted my family in Germany. They suggest that you try to locate the exact name & town on https://historyhub.history.gov/thread/13265. Once you find that let me know and my cousin will try to find birth records etc of your ancestors in the town or church files in Germany.

Let me know how it goes.

Jane

Thank you so much! I am working on it as we speak!

And still, no luck verifying anything but a place of birth, which was Grotzingen, but it was not from a vital record. I gleaned it from a book and I have gleaned from so many I will need to go back and check my sources!

Good luck!

Yes Hi Constance.....looks like our interests andxfamy tree collide. i have DeRosier and Carter as well in my family tree. im tge famiky historian and an academic researchist. i recognise msny of the surnames qnd places you all mention on this discussion board. i want to tell you all that many of these family surnanes abd lines are old Metis and Native Indian trading families, which traverses the Great Lakes regions....Chippewa/Ojibwa.....as well as several tribes from New York state which also connect to tribes in Quebec and Ontario. Weve lines to Brant abd Johnson families of New York with ties to the Mohawk...Seneca...Montauk and Shawnee trives of NY state sbd tge Ohio river valley. Many of German settlements were among Native Indian settlements in PA..OH..NY. So often these people intermarried, especally those tgat were Traders, merchants, or Trapper families working for the HBC and NWC...Hudson Bay Company and NorthWest yrading Co's. Its very obvious that many Hessian soldiers were among these Gernan settlements....some were Officiers tgat i suspect came from very wealthy powerful aristocratic families...Royal abd Noble houses of Germany and tgey internarried with high birn Native Indian women along their routes. Would like to know more...and would luv to correspond...my Cousins are rocunentibg their Metis ancestry. and slowly thier applications for Metis status are being approved!