Dear Listmembers,
Are there any source of records or resources available to confirm whether or not a person served in the military during the Franco-Prussian War?
I have an ancestor who, it is claimed, served in the Franco-Prussian War and then emigrated afterward, in about 1872. Indeed, I have been unable to find him in the 1870 US census while I do find him in the 1875 MN state census. However, his 1900 US census listing states that he emigrated in 1868 (before the war) AND there is an alleged record of a person by his name (Peter Voth), originating from the same village (Hedendorf) and of the same approximate age (23 v. actual age of 25; possible misread) leaving the port of Hamburg in 1868 (see: http://www.genealogy-sh.com/voss.htm ) and a corresponding listing on the ship's manifest of the Steamer Allemannia arriving to the port of New York 7 May 1868.
I imagine that it is possible that he came in 1868 and then returned to Germany to serve in the war. But this would seem unusual (to me, anyway). Also, I do not find other Voth families in the Neukloster church records (covering Hedendorf) when Peter was a child. I DO know that my ancestor was the Peter born in Hedendorf to Christoph Voth, Schuster in Hedendorf. Christoph emigrated later to MN, too.
Are there military records, muster rolls, &c. from the Franco-Prussian war that might solve this mystery?
Best Regards,
Brad