Newly Released!
Guide to Hanover Military Records, 1514–1866, on Microfilm at the Family History Library. By Teresa S. McMillin. Published by Lind Street Research, Inverness, Illinois. ISBN 978-1-312-13029-6. 476 pages.
Military records for the former Kingdom of Hanover in Germany can include a soldier's date and place of birth, his father's name, and widow's pensions. This publication is the only English-language guide to this gold mine of information for genealogists. With this guide a researcher can quickly determine all available records for a regiment and time period and know where to find them in the microfilm of the Family History Library (FHL). Researching a Hanover ancestor is not complete without considering these military records.
Military records for the former Kingdom of Hanover in Germany can include a soldier's date and place of birth, his father's name, and widow's pensions. This publication is the only English-language guide to this gold mine of information for genealogists. With this guide a researcher can quickly determine all available records for a regiment and time period and know where to find them in the microfilm of the Family History Library (FHL). Researching a Hanover ancestor is not complete without considering these military records.
About the Book
Military records, 1514–1866, for the former Kingdom of Hanover and its predecessor areas are a detailed body of records. While the originals sit in an archive in Germany, microfilmed images are available to researchers through the Family History Library (FHL), family history centers, and affiliates around the world. Hanover’s military records are largely untapped by many researchers because until now, English-language finding aids were non-existent. Existing guides contained no cross-reference to the FHL microfilm numbers. This book, created specifically for users of the FHL collection, fills that void.
The military records span 130 rolls of FHL microfilm and go beyond simply listing names of soldiers. Muster rolls may include the date and place of a soldier’s birth, a physical description, or a father’s name. Transfers to and from other companies provide clues to additional muster rolls to review. Other types of records in this collection include regimental journals; pension data (including widow’s pleas for pensions); marriage consents; field church books; horse muster rolls, including physical descriptions of the horses and the names of the soldiers who rode them; and much, much more. Research involving a Hanover ancestor is not complete without considering this collection. See a sample section from the book.
Teresa first became aware of this valuable military collection when she was conducting research for a client. She quickly discovered that the only finding aid available was in the German language. Because it was designed to help people access the original documents in the archive in Hanover, it contained no cross-reference to the microfilmed collection at the FHL. Finding the necessary records in the FHL collection was difficult, at best. This publication solves that problem and opens that door to more research possibilities for English-speaking researchers.
This new guide is a translation of major portions of the original German finding aid. In addition, Teresa added the FHL microfilm number for each record identified. This required searching the FHL catalog using combinations of keyword, subject and author searches. Often the catalog descriptions were unclear or incomplete in describing the contents of a microfilm. About 75% of the films were reviewed to verify if content not listed in the catalog was indeed available on the microfilm. In about 5% of cases, the content could not be found on a microfilm. It may have been miscataloged or not filmed. Teresa also added several new chapters, including an overview of the history of the Kingdom of Hanover and details on how to use this guide, demonstrated by following the military career of one soldier.
Questions? Contact Teresa
The military records span 130 rolls of FHL microfilm and go beyond simply listing names of soldiers. Muster rolls may include the date and place of a soldier’s birth, a physical description, or a father’s name. Transfers to and from other companies provide clues to additional muster rolls to review. Other types of records in this collection include regimental journals; pension data (including widow’s pleas for pensions); marriage consents; field church books; horse muster rolls, including physical descriptions of the horses and the names of the soldiers who rode them; and much, much more. Research involving a Hanover ancestor is not complete without considering this collection. See a sample section from the book.
Teresa first became aware of this valuable military collection when she was conducting research for a client. She quickly discovered that the only finding aid available was in the German language. Because it was designed to help people access the original documents in the archive in Hanover, it contained no cross-reference to the microfilmed collection at the FHL. Finding the necessary records in the FHL collection was difficult, at best. This publication solves that problem and opens that door to more research possibilities for English-speaking researchers.
This new guide is a translation of major portions of the original German finding aid. In addition, Teresa added the FHL microfilm number for each record identified. This required searching the FHL catalog using combinations of keyword, subject and author searches. Often the catalog descriptions were unclear or incomplete in describing the contents of a microfilm. About 75% of the films were reviewed to verify if content not listed in the catalog was indeed available on the microfilm. In about 5% of cases, the content could not be found on a microfilm. It may have been miscataloged or not filmed. Teresa also added several new chapters, including an overview of the history of the Kingdom of Hanover and details on how to use this guide, demonstrated by following the military career of one soldier.
Questions? Contact Teresa