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Ludwig Albrecht Wilhelm Ilgen Evangelical Lutheran Pastor was called here as preacher by this church and the the congregations associated with it , which charge he enjoyed almost 23 years. Ludwig Ilgen came to this continent with the Ansbach Troops (Hessions) in 1777 and "broke with the ranks in 1779" in quest of his own freedom. Reverend Ludwig A. W. Ilgen served from 1800 until his death in 1823, at Salem Lutheran Church in Aaronsburg, Centre County , Pennsylvania. He was 63 years, 10 months, 5 days old.
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Ludwig Albrecht Wilhelm Ilgen was the second pastor to serve Christ's Lutheran Church (1803-1807) in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In Germany he was kidnapped into the 1st Company of the Anspach Jaeger Battalion for service in our colonies but deserted while here, sometime between 1778 and 1779. He married Anna Barbara Kautz and taught school in New Jersey. Eventually they moved to Sunbury, Pennsylvania and he studied under another pastor and was ordained. He then went to Aaronsburg, Pennsylvania where his house still stands. He served several churches in this immediate area (Lewisburg, PA)
The claims of desertion were common among those Hessians that stayed in the States. It is thought this was their claim to protect themselves. There were probably some that did desert but no way to prove who actually did and who just said they did
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Ludwig Albrecht Wilhelm Ilgen
Ansbach/Bayreuth; Hechlingen; Ansbach Jaeger Company 1; Smith (Staedtler); Deserted 9 August 1779, took oath to PA on 8 August 1782; Settled in Cohansy, NJ and married Anna Barbara Kautz
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Events of close relatives
