Re: Henry Bernard Bitter, born 1849 Hanover
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In reply to:
Henry Bernard Bitter, born 1849 Hannover
Clara Luster 9/16/03
Clara, there's one important question I have and it's something that causes great confusion among Americans and often hinders their research:
You mention that all these people were born in Hanover (in German: Hannover).Here's where the confusion comes in:The city of Hanover was the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover, which in 1866 became the Prussian province of Hanover and remained a Prussian province until 1945 and the break-up of the state of Prussia.So when you say that Heinrich Bernhard Bitter (which is what his name would be in German) was born in 1849 in Hanover, do you mean that he was born in the city of Hanover, or that he was born somewhere in what was then the Kingdom of Hanover, which was rather large?
Following World War II, the Prussian province of Hanover, the state of Oldenburg, the small state of Brunswick (in German: Braunschweig) and the small state of Schaumburg-Lippe combined to form the new post-war state of Lower Saxony (in German: Niedersachsen).
I mention this because many Americans researching their Hanoverian ancestry think that Hanover automatically means the city of Hanover and they find themselves searching there in vain and have no idea why they can't find anything there.