Famous baseball scout may have Hessian ties

You do remember the Mainer who scouted Jackie Robinson for Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, don’t you? Even if you’re not a baseball fan, many remember the name Clyde Sukeforth, who died three years ago at 98.

I know we’re off track already, but I thought of Sukeforth when Anette Ruppel Rodrigues wrote that Andreas Suchefort was among the Hessians from the surrender at Saratoga during the American Revolution who were brought to Waldoboro as farm helpers.

Others, she wrote, included: Heinrich Isence, John Peter Walter, Dr. Philip Theobald and Dr. John G. Bornemann and Andreas Suchefort.

The names came from Jasper Stahl’s “Old Broad Bay and Waldoboro.” Anette also recommends checking other town histories such as Sibley’s “History of the Town of Union” and Allen’s “Ancient Pownalborough and Her Daughters.”

She points out that we most often think of the Hessians in terms of troops who fought with the British during the Revolution, but adds that not all the Hessians were from the state of Hesse in Germany.

Both Anette and Robert Brooks, who has done a lot of work on the Penobscot Loyalists, have been tracing some of the Hessians who were at Fort George in Castine from that Maine town to their next stop, New Brunswick in 1782 and 1783. Some of the Germans were listed as discharged or deserters, with no further notice.

Anette shares these names with us. In parentheses are possible spellings, if they kept their names.

Gorsch, Andre. (Goersh, Gersh)

Gude, George. (Goode, Good, Goud)

Guth, Friedrich. (Goot)

Herbst, Adam. (Autumn or Fall, both English translations)

Schletterer, Georg. (Shlatterer)

Stucka, Johann. (Stucka, Stuecka)

Venning, Johann Jakob. (Fenning)

Willcke, Friedrich. (Villka)

Wuth, Michael. (Voot, Vout)

“My hope is that people who read your column will recognize names,” Anette wrote, “and be able to help solve the mystery: Did Hessians remain in Maine after the Revolution? How did they get to Maine? What kind of life did they lead?”

You can write Anette Rodrigues at 324 Essex St., Bangor 04401, or e-mail unserM@aol.com.

Back to Clyde Sukeforth. I did just a little research on him, not enough to prove his descent from Andreas Suchefort. But I think there’s a good chance the link is there.

Sukeforth was born in the town of Washington and died in Waldoboro, where Andreas lived. According to the Grinnell Family Association Official Newsletter – available on the Web, Sukeforth was the son of Perl and Sadie (Grinnell) Sukeforth.

Looking up “Sukeforth” on the Mormon Web site at www.familysearch.org, we find more than 20 people by that name in the 1880 census for Maine, many of them in Waldoboro, Washington and Hope, among other towns.

Small world, isn’t it?

The September meeting of the Washington County Genealogical Society will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Campobello Public Library, Welshpool, Campobello, New Brunswick. After the business meeting, Beverly Corey, a member of the library board, will give tours of the library, museum and four island cemeteries.

The Wassebec Genealogical Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at the Penquis Higher Education Center, Mayo Street, Dover-Foxcroft. The meeting will include election of officers and circulation of proposed bylaws. The program will be a round-table discussion by members and visitors of their current research projects, problems and tips. All are welcome.

Sandra Green would like to borrow a 1907 copy of the Brewer High yearbook. Her grandfather, Robert Saunders, was part of the football team, and she’d like to make copies of the pages pertaining to him. If you can help her out, call Sandra at 825-3469.

3235. THURSTON-SEWALL. Looking for information on Hannah Sewall, md. a Thurston around 1700, York County. Joan and Al Cole, 4250 Real Del Sur, Las Cruces, NM 88011-7204; (505) 382-1330.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.