Hanover Private guides for Ancestry research.

I think you need a historian or someone that can help you look in the archives. A town historian would be helpful. Perhaps contact the Tourist Info in any of the towns you are looking in?

For guides, try looking here: https://www.bvgd.org/en/

You might consider working with someone who specializes in genealogical tours. We worked with Kathy Wurth at familytreetours@charter.net when we took a tour of Poland and wanted to visit my grandfather’s place of birth. Good luck! We really enjoyed seeing my ancestral locations.

Nothing specific to your question, but some of my own family came from that area. In the early to mid-1800's when Prussia became the dominant control in that region, there were mass migrations by Lutherans to the US from that area. Disagreements on the interpretation of the canon plus food shortages caused many to leave, including in organized groups. There was an interesting group that created a settlement in Missouri, and one county in Iowa was settled almost in entirety by people from the Hanover area.

Not sure the timing or location of your story, but there is a distinct history regarding US emigration in the area.

I don't know how far afield you plan to go from Hanover, but Bremerhaven was the port which German emigrants historically used to leave the country for the Americas. It is about 2 hours from Hanover and has an excellent emigration museum that is now called the German Emigration Center (formerly German Emigration Museum). It's a newer, more experiential museum -- not just a dry collection of artifacts with descriptions. It's well worth a visit.

Mike - my father's family is from just outside Hanover in the Schaumburg region. I'm not sure if that is possibly where you are looking? But, I did a family history trip to the villages where my family originates. I got connected to a local guide who was very helpful. I'm not sure if she is still active. But, PM me if your family is from that area. I can certainly try and reach out the woman who was very helpful to us. That said, I think her expertise was limited to the Schaumburg area. - Jim

mikewade98, there are likely many German genealogy forums and groups in the US, as there are for most countries. IME, they will have valuable time-saving information for you, including links and recommendations for local researchers in the area of interest. The ones I've looked at have basic "how to get started" guidance. Its best to have as much info on hand to share with a local researcher - names, birthdates, marriage dates, etc. The records of immigration into the US is probably a good starting point, working backwards from there. Ancestry.com and Ellis Island records (if thats where they came in) are full of good info.