JOHANNES SCHWALM HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.

JSHA Registry

And

Advice for Inquirers

Searching for Hessian Ancestors.

The JSHA regrets to inform it's readers that this registry was last updated in late 2004 and at this time no one is updating this list.  If you are interested in helping JSHA update this registry in the future, please contact us.

Looking for a Hessian ancestor?

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. 

What is positive identification?

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.

If I have a positive identification, is there a shortcut to finding information on my Hessian ancestor?

You will find four lists of German Auxiliary soldiers in the Registry on our website.  

• 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).
• Registry of Partially Researched Soldiers - contains names of men who are believed to have remained in North America but whose genealogies have not yet been researched fully.
• Open Investigations - is a list of men in the very early stage of study.
• 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 in the Martin Library of the Sciences 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.  Due to a heavy demand on F&M's limited resources, the staff can not respond to inquiries concerning Hessian genealogy or the contents of files in the collection.   Researchers are welcome to visit in-person and view collection material.  The Library access policy and research tips are available at http://library.fandm.edu/archives/jsha.html .  Library hours of operation are: Monday-Thursday 8am-12am, Friday 8am-9pm, Saturday 11am-9pm and Sunday 11am-12am.

What if F & M does not have a file and I believe my ancestor was a German soldier who remained in North America and I want to learn more about him?

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.

What if I have information on a soldier you list and I am willing to contribute it to a file for other descendants to use?

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
    MARTIN LIBRARY OF THE SCIENCES
    FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE
    P.O. BOX 3003
    LANCASTER, PA 17604-3003

   ATTENTION: MIKE LEAR