I know this may be a long shot, but I am searching for clues to the ancesty of two GARTMANN/GIRTMANN/GERTMANN brothers, Paul [George] and Philip who were said to have “come from Wurtemburg around the time of the American Rev. as guards for some Hessian prisoners” to unknown area of PA. They are then said to have “looked the other way” as the prisoners and themselves forged a new life for themselves individually in the New World. By ca 1796, the brothers were said to have been around Charleston, SC and by ca 1811 were in MO territory and then in Logan and Sangamon Co IL by late 1820s. One of the brothers is said to have married a Dutch girl, Jane HIPP (don't know if he married before or after coming to the States).

Besides any knowledge of the name itself, does any of the info on the “Hessian prisoners” mean anthing to you historically? I don’t know much about German history.

Thanks for checking!