Hannah Melissa (SPECHT) BAKER (1843-1924) was my mother's father's mother's mother's mother, and it turns out that she had some pretty interesting ancestry on both sides of her family.
She was born Hannah Melissa SPECHT on December 7, 1843 to Anthony Christopher and Margaret Sophia (THURBER) SPECHT in Barton, Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada. She married George Arthur BAKER on Christmas Eve, 1862 in Barton, and was living with her widowed daughter Jennie (BAKER) SANFORD in Barnard, Vermont by the time of the 1920 census. Hannah died there on July 2, 1924, of (according to her death record) chronic bronchitis.
Her grandpa was a Hessian soldier
Hannah's father's father was Ensign Johann Julius SPECHT (abt 1749- aft 1833), a soldier sent from Braunsweig (Brunswick) Germany to fight for the British during the American War for Independence.
A substantial number of troops fighting on the side of the British during this war were from Germany; they were either criminals, desperate men of some sort, or veteran soldiers, recruited and sent over by German princes. Because the majority of these troops came from the region of Hesse-Kassel, they are generally referred to as "Hessians"-- even if they hail from elsewhere in Germany, as my 5th great-grandfather did.
According to an secondary online source I've found:
Ensign Johann Julius Anton SPECHT arrived in 1776 on the ship Ost-Rust.
In 1777 Ensign Specht, under the command of General John Burgoyne, was wounded and captured at Bennington. He spent the next five or so years as a prisoner of war.
After his release, around 1783, he petitioned for and was granted British subjectship and land in Nova Scotia, at the head of St. Mary's Bay. He married Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) and settled down there.
Johann Julius Specht died in Nova Scotia sometime after 1833. He has quite a few descendants through his sons, and the Specht surname has several variations: Speicht, Speight, and Spates, to name a few.
Primary sources:
WILHELMY, JEAN-PIERRE. German Mercenaries in Canada. Beloeil, Quebec: Maison des Mots, 1985. 332p. Page: 263
"An Eyewitness Account of the American Revolution and New England Life", The Journal of J.F.Wasmus, German Company Surgeon, 1776-1783, translated by Helga Doblin.
The Mayflower connection
Through her mother, Hannah Specht Baker was also a descendant of the Mayflower Billington family.
John Billington, his wife Eleanor (maiden name unknown) came to America on the Mayflower with their two sons, John Jr. and Francis. The family did not have a good reputation; John Billington made enemies easily and was known as a "foul mouthed miscreant."
Ten years after arriving in Plymouth, he shot and killed fellow colonist John Newcomen during a heated argument over hunting rights. For this, Billington was hanged in September of 1630. He was about 50 years of age.
Line 1: Johann Julius SPECHT - Anthony Christopher SPECHT - Hannah SPECHT - Jessie BAKER - Estelle SIMMONDS - Henry HOWES - S. HOWES - Me.
Line 2: John BILLINGTON - Francis BILLINGTON - Mary BILLINGTON - Israel SABIN - Jeremiah SABIN - Sarah SABIN - Samuel THURBER - Margaret Sophia THURBER - Hannah SPECHT - Jessie BAKER - Estelle SIMMONDS - Henry HOWES - S. HOWES - Me.
Karen K | ;)
I don't write about every episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, but last night's was neat for me. This one starred Rob Lowe, and his featured ancestor has a lot in common with one of mine.