Hello Barbara,
Thanks for your interest Barbara. I know that this Henry Hess is going to be very hard to find.
Question 1.
"Do you have any census records (or anything) as to the state or area where Henry Hess was born? I am not sure which Henry in the 1880 census might be the right one if he was alive then. If he (or any of his children) said he was from "Germany" or anything else other than Hannover, then he probably was not from Hannover."
The 1850 US Federal Census, St. Louis, Missouri, shows that Henry was age 24, a musician and born in Germany. He had two sons: Charles Magnus age 5 and Henry age 2. (The census shows the sons as Charles age 2 and Henry age 5. We know that is incorrect from the 1860 Census of St. Clair County, Illinois. Henry died in 20 April 1851. On 22 April 1851, the newspaper made a brief statement about him dying. Capt. Henry Hess died yesterday at his home."
It was stated on his Naturalization Paper that Henry "renounced his allegiance to the King of Hannover of whom he is at present a subject therefore the said Henry Hess is admitted a citizen of the United States." He became a citizen in the State of Missouri. That is the only reference I have of Hannover.
The 1870 Census state that Henry was foreign born. Actually, I have not found my ggrandfather Henry M. Hess in the 1880 Census. I have looked in various counties, but had no luck. I am not looking now because I am concentrating on German searching. The 1900 Census state that Henry was born in Germany. Henry M. died in Dec. 1900.
So, actually, I have very little on the first Henry Hess as to where he was born.
Question 2.
"I am confused about where he lived in the U.S. Was it mostly in Missouri? Why would his declaration of intent be from Philadelphia? The Hess/Hass name is so common that it is almost impossible to be sure you have located the right one."
From the Yew York, 1820-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists, I found three Henry Hesses. One was age 47, arrived in New York on 7 Jun 1842, from Bremen, place of Origin Deutschland. My Henry was 24 when he died in 1851, therefore he would have been born about 1827. That rules out this person.
The second made his Declaration of Intend on 10 Oct 1842 and took his Oath of Allegiance on 16 Oct 1844; his place of origin was Germany. It had two signatures 1) Heinrich Hass and 2) Henry Hess.
The third one gave the name Henry Hess, year 1842, Place Philadelphia, source publication code 9297, and primary immigrant Hess, Henry. So this person was probably the no. one person above.
I think the first two Henrys are not the same person because of the dates on the documents listed. A man had to be in America five years before he could become a citizen. The above mentioned Naturalization paper was dated 1 Aug 1848. That would correspond more with the second Henry.
On passenger lists I found four Henry (H., Heinr, Hinr, Heinrich) Hesses. One was age 58, from Germany, from Bremen and arrived in New York on 2 Sept 1841; the second had no age, but was from Bremen and arrived in Baltimore on 22 April 1840 on the Ship Charlotte.
The third was age 16 making him born in 1824, since he came 30 Jun 1840. He came from Bremen to Baltimore on the Ship Charlotte and he was a farmer. He would have been 26 in 1850. I am believing this is my Henry, at present anyway. (Maybe he was a captain till he could move to a farm.)
The fourth was Heinrich, age 19 from Prussia; from Bremen to Baltimore and arrived on 30 June 1840, age 19. (Could be mine, except this Henry would have been 29 in 1850.) Since my Henry was 24 in 1850 and he had to be in America for a minimum of five years before he became a citizen, and he became a citizen in 1848, then he came, at the latest, in 1843. So the second one with the Oath of Allegiance could be mine.
Another Henry Hess came to American from Germany on the Elard on 22 July 1841, age 22. He would have been 31 in 1850. Don't think he could be my Henry.
Question 3.
"I see nothing in your letter that would indicate any specific place for you to search. I have traveled to Germany to do research and I must say, you have to be really prepared before you get there. Going through church or civil records is very tedious and takes a tremendous amount of time. If you are more interested in visiting the birthplace of an ancestor, that is another story. That in itself is very rewarding."
I have the sponsor's names of two sons of Henry Hess and Elizabeth Kreher. They are Karl and Kristina Hess and Adam and Barbara Hess. On a ship record I found an Adam Hess age 19 from Hanover, Haubern. I would think that they may have been relatives since they were sponsors for Henry's children. Maybe Henry was from Haubern.
I made a notation of a Henry Hess b. 30 Nov 1826, Harnheim on the Pfrem, Rheinbaiern. I must have done this after being at the library for quite a while. I made no notation where I acquired this information. Dummy me!
"If your family was Catholic as you indicate in your letter, then you should go the diocesan archives for the region. I have gone to both Osnabr�ck (old Hannover area) and Wurzburg in Bavaria. Most parishes now direct you to the diocese (in my experience). The records are often on microfiche and you have to know which town you need to look in to find your ancestors! If you don't know that, you are probably wasting your time going there."
Question 4.
"Are you aware of the LDS records which have microfilm copies of church records. Few of the records in northern Germany have been copied by he Mormans, but many have been done from the areas of Westphalia and the Rheinland and other areas. That would save a lot of time if you do that in advance of your trip!"
I am aware of the LDS records. I also know that it takes four to six weeks to get the film and I don't have that time right now.
"I have done a lot of searching online for your Henry Hass/Hess, but without further clues, you have a difficult search. The name is so common, as you know!"
Since time is running short, are you suggesting that I don't worry about looking for Henry Hess in Hannover unless I find more positive information before I go? Yes, I would love to even go the the village if I knew a name and where to find it.
This turned out to be quite long, but I know of no other way to give you all the information you requested.
Thanks for your time and help.
Betty in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
R&B Stewart <raybarbara@comcast.net> wrote:Hello Betty,
Do you have any census records (or anything) as to the state or area
where Henry Hess was born? I am not sure which Henry in the 1880 census
might be the right one if he was alive then. If he (or any of his children)
said he was from "Germany" or anything else other than Hannover, then he
probably was not from Hannover.
I am confused about where he lived in the U.S. Was it mostly in
Missouri? Why would his delaration of intent be from Philadelphia? The
Hess/Hass name is so common that it is almost impossible to be sure you
have located the right one.
I see nothing in your letter that would indicate any specific place for
you to search. I have traveled to Germany to do research and I must say,
you have to be really prepared before you get there. Going through church
or civil records is very tedious and takes a tremendous amount of time. If
you are more interested in visiting the birthplace of an ancestor, that is
another story. That in itself is very rewarding.
If your family was Catholic as you indicate in your letter, then you
should go the diocesan archives for the region. I have gone to both
Osnabr�ck (old Hannover area) and Wurzburg in Bavaria. Most parishes now
direct you to the diocese (in my experience). The records are often on
microfiche and you have to know which town you need to look in to find your
ancestors! If you don't know that, you are probably wasting your time going
there.
Are you aware of the LDS records which have microfilm copies of church
records. Few of the records in northern Germany have been copied by the
Mormans, but many have been done from the areas of Westphalia and the
Rheinland and other areas. That would save a lot of time if you do that in
advance of your trip!
I have done a lot of searching online for your Henry Hass/Hess, but
without further clues, you have a difficult search. The name is so common,
as you know!
Good luck,
Barbara