Journeyman years

[AlfredJames]

These little things such as tribal wars are sent to try us 

My ancestor usually noted Hanover on the census as his country of origin, then changed it 1891 to Germany. (He was actually born in a village in what used to be the British Saxon "Kingdom of Hannover").   My aunt told me that the family always called him "the Austrian".  He was born in the 1850s and when he was quite young Prussia and Austria organised all the Germanic states to come together under one umberella, if a state demurred then a war was likely to start up and that's what happened up to and during the 1860s when people were eager to leave before a gun was fired. This carried on in the 1870s and eventually got sorted out circa 1902-ish.  Many young men who didn't want to be conscripted into the navy or army went AWOL  This is what my ancestor's uncle decided to do and he took my six year old ancestor away from his parents and homeland to safety. 

1891 census entry = PRUSSIA/GERMANY.  Britain recognised the independent state of Prussia, it also then recognised the legal Treaty signed by individual states when they agreed the overall name of their shared country should be Germany. Thus your ancestor could be from the original state of Prussia in Germany or he could have lived in a smaller state under the rule of Prussia in the overall state of Germany.

Two thirds down on this webpage is a map that is colour coded.  Underneath the map are the colour coded lists of countries that came under the umbrella of (1) Prussia;  (2) Austria), (3) Neutral, and (4) countries with disputed sovereignty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Prussian_War

When one looks at the list ruled by the Austrian Empire it's easy to see why my kin called their relative from Hannover, "the Austrian".

As for the Prussian Kingdom and your ancestor's roots; besides the original Prussia itself before Chancellor Bismark took other states under its wing, you have 15 other states to choose from - it even ruled Italy!  If you notice the country "Brunswick" - every town in England has a street, or a square or a house named "Brunswick" - that's because the British Duke of Brunswick once used to rule over the principality.

Quite often the surname can give a clue to its origin - such as northern, eastern Germany, etc. 

Here's a small sample of surnames originating in eastern Prussia for example
http://surnames.behindthename.com/submit/names/usage/german-east-prussian

He could be from the original state of Prussia in Germany, or he could have lived in a smaller state under the rule of Prussia. When he was born in 1860, the state of Germany did not yet exist!

People tend to forget that after the Napoleonic wars, Prussia stretched all the way from the river rhine and meusse in the west, to the river Memel in the east, which is now in modern day Lithuania. This however gives no clue as to where he was born and I'm afraid the link to Germanised versions of Slavic and Baltic surnames only confuses the matter. My great grandfather on my mothers side for example was born in 's-Heerenberg (late 19th century), in the Netherlands 2 miles outside the city of Emmerich, which at that time was in the kingdom of Prussia.....

[Skoosh]

The "Austrian" might be so named as that country had territorial claims in Schleswig Holstein and joined Prussia in the 1860's war on Denmark which also ruled Altona, Hamburg. A very complicated situation which according to Lord Palmerston was only understood by three people, a German professor who went mad, Prince Albert who was now dead & Palmerston himself who had quite forgotten!

Prussia next made war on Austria whose defeat lead to German unification.

Skoosh.

[AlfredJames]

It is also possible he wasn't bothered to specify where he was from. Furthermore census returns are not gospel. I have seen so many errors on census returns. In Britain, Prussia had become a synonymous term for Germany in everyday colloquialism.

[Rena]

The "Austrian" might be so named as that country had territorial claims in Schleswig Holstein and joined Prussia in the 1860's war on Denmark which also ruled Altona, Hamburg. A very complicated situation which according to Lord Palmerston was only understood by three people, a German professor who went mad, Prince Albert who was now dead & Palmerston himself who had quite forgotten!

Prussia next made war on Austria whose defeat lead to German unification.

Skoosh.

Hi Skoosh,
I'm assuming the reference to "Austrian" is to do with my gt. grandfather.  When I started researching my family tree circa 2002-ish, I asked my late aunt why she kept telling me that her grandfather (1853-1942) born in the village of Steinlah, Hannover, was given the title of being an Austrian and she said it sounded better than being a Prussian (oo-er).

That gave me food for thought because back in the early 1990s I'd taken my youngest son to visit his sister in Bavaria. One day I took him to the local park to play bat and ball.  It was an extremely long empty park and whilst playing I particularly noticed an old man entering a gate at the far end, turning in our direction and without hesitation he walked towards us. When he got his breath back and started to speak in German, I interrupted to ask in my schoolgirl German if he spoke English "Nein". He then continued to apologise profusely for the last war and it seemed practically every other fight which he blamed on the war mongering Prussians - "We are a peace loving people", "Those Prussians, they're always causing trouble, they're always starting wars".   Quite obviously he was a very tribal man. He eventually walked back the way he came but how on earth did he know we were English?  I presumed he lived nearby and had heard the shrill gleeful shouts of my son.

[AlfredJames]

The kingdom of Hanover eventually became incorporated into the kingdom of Prussia after 1866 which would have effectively made him a Prussian citizen.

Some are even listed as such on British census returns:

https://familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bsurname%3AFricke%20%2Bbirth_place%3A%22prussia%2C%20hanover%22

Deutschland geburten und taufen (births and deaths) registry of births and deaths in Germany

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/results?count=20&query=%2Bbirth_place%3Ahanover&collection_id=1473000

Compared to the Rhineland area and Westphalia, the relationship between the Hanoverians and Prussians has always been fairly cordial.

The Rhineland, which became incorporated in the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815, is a whole different story altogether. The Rhenisch carnival festivities were always used to express anti-Prussian sentiments towards the authoritarian and Protestant Prussians. Former Chancellor Adenauer of West Germany who was a Rhinelander himself was well known for his hatred of the Prussians and the Prussian militaristic mentality. In part this had to do with the religious and cultural divide in Germany. The north and east being predominantly protestant and the south and west being predominantly catholic. Although there were of course protestant enclaves in predominantly catholic areas and vice versa.

The Prussian province  of Hanover however, was predominantly protestant and therefore wasn't subjected to Bismarcks Kulturkampf.  The Netherlands have had similar issues in the past, the north (the country's centre of power) being predominantly protestant and the south predominantly catholic. (catholic enclaves in the north and east) The areas just east of the Dutch border such as Westphalia and the Rhineland have historically always had large catholic populations.

[Skoosh]

 Hanover & Britain shared the same monarch until the death of William IV when the young Victoria couldn't inherit Hanover due to Salic Law & it went to a cousin.

Skoosh.

[Rena]

Hanover & Britain shared the same monarch until the death of William IV when the young Victoria couldn't inherit Hanover due to Salic Law & it went to a cousin.

Skoosh.

Yep, I did my history research and soon found my ancestor, which is something my cousin didn't manage to do in the 50 years he spent trying to find him - despite most of our relatives still being alive at the time such as our grandmother, the daughter of the Hanovarian !!  I put it down to the fact that my feminine brain with all its circuitry connections is more able than a male's brain which has less circuitry to figure out the possibilities 

[Skoosh]

Multiple-tasking Rena?

Skoosh.

[Rena]

Multiple-tasking Rena?

Skoosh.

You hit the nail on the head Skoosh. 
I also think we see more tangents to head for, which bring their own rewards.