Leonhard Kratz was drafted as a soldier of the Hessen-
Hanau Regiment Erbprinz in 1776 and served with his
Regiment in Canada. He was born in Dudenhofen 12 km
south of Hanau/Main, where still today many families with
this name live. His Regiment became part of the British
invasion army under General Burgoyne which in 1777 was
defeated by the Americans at Saratoga and Leonhard
became a prisoner. His story has been told and may be
found on the internet, and of course in my book "The
Hessians of Upper Canada". He finally settled at the shores
of lake Erie at Kingsville, County of Essex, Ontario, and
there on the Rootsweb Message Board you will find his
biography. Every step of his life is documented. While
settling down and raising a large family, the school teacher
of his children changed the name of Kratz to SCRATCH,
and from there on his descendants are living with this
name, which is a straight translation - kratz - scratch.
The town historian of Dudenhofen has also provided the
ancestry of Leonhard Kratz for several generations.
Just thought this would interest anyone researching Kratz.
Greetings,
John Helmut Merz, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
http://www.cgocable.net/~hessian