My Hessian Heritage

Learned something interesting about my heritage today. We've known that on my Mom's side (the Welkers), we are German and Irish. Some of Mom's cousins, doing geneology research, discovered that the German part goes back to a Hessian mercenary who fought for the British during the American Revolution, but deserted and settled in southern Ohio. A window into my heritage.

Pam's heritage include the British Tarletons. Major Banastre Tarleton, the son of a slave trader, was a British officer in the Revolution who fought in the Carolinas. In the movie "The Patriot," the ruthless Colonel Tavington (Mel Gibson's counterpart) is based on Tarleton, who was every bit as ruthless as portrayed. So Pam and I both have Revolutionary War roots, and on the British side in both cases. But I doubt that Major Tarleton would have approved of a Hessian deserter.

Posted on February 2, 2008 12:37 PM|

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