Notes:

Esther's husband was a successful farmer near Valley City, N.D. Esther died following surgery at Mayos for removal of a tumor on the pituitary gland. Garold has remarried. Esther had 3 children - 2 boys; 1 girl.

ESTHER married SCHROEDER GAROLD W.. [Group Sheet]

1. SCHROEDER OLDEST SON
2. SCHROEDER SON
3. SCHROEDER DAUGHTER

Notes:

Henry Hoffman was born on a farm in the Hoyleton-North Prairie area. He was the third child and oldest son and helped on the farm until his younger brothers were old enough to help with the work, at which time he struck out on his own. He husked corn and did work on farms. It was in the Tower Hill, Il., area (75 mi. north of Nashville,) that he met the Gerhold family. The Gerhold family belonged to the Evangelical Church and at one time Henry considered the ministry but opposed the ceremony and the robes worn by Eangelical ministers.
Mary went to Castlewood, S. Dakota, in 1893 to keep house for her brother, Chris, and Henry soon followed and worked on farms there. On Sept. 18, 1894 they were married and took up farming. They joined the Methodist Church. The three oldest children were born here. Because Indians frequently stopped to water their horses and would look around in the house and leave, Mary and the children were frightened. They were not hostile and would not do or say anything but because of this and because of droughts and crop failure, the family moved back to Il. This was around 1900 and the family started farming around Bible Grove, Il. Two more children, Esther and Victor were born here. Because Henry had met and was a great admirer of Theodore Roosevelt, he named Victor - Victor Roosevelt and later Elmer - Elmer Theordore. Thile they lived at Bible Grove a salesman for Walter T. Raleigh Medicine Co. persuaded Henry to give up farming and go from farm to farm selling Raleight products. He was well-known and prospered. After he had accumulated a sum of money he wanted to buy a shoe store in Decatur but Mary didn't want her children brought up in the city and hoped they would become farmers.
About 1907, the family moved to Braddock, near Stude, N. Dakota, close to where his brother Edward owned a farm. Henry bought a farm and a steam threshing machine. Sine his was the only machine in the area, he was prospering. In the fall of 1910 he hired an engineer who disregarded Hy's,
orders not to cross a section of tall prairie grassland. Straw was the fuel for the engine and a stiff breeze set all the grass a fire. The dry grass burned fast destroying all faarms and crops in its path till it reached Long Lake. Henry had to pay for the damage so lost everything. Another baby, Ervin, was born ehre at Braddock. Now almost penniless and very depressed over his troubles he decided to move to Sedalia, Mo., where he had heard the Mo. Pacific R. R. was hiring men. Albert, the oldest son and his father took jobs in the shops. As soon as cheaper labor was available, they lost their jobs. Once agaain trouble hounded them - Ervin developed mastoditis and died.
In 1912 a friend from Fargo, N. Dakota, loaned the family train fare to Fargo where Henry worked for J. I. Case Tractor and Threshing Co. - Albert in the Post Office, and Lillian for Woolworths.
In 1914, the urge to farm came again. Through a Methodist Minister, a farm was located near Valley City, N. Dakota. Here in 1915 LeRoy was born. In 1920, a cyclone destroyed granaries filled with grain as well as crops in the field. Henry and Mary took bankruptcy to save the little they had.
The children except for Victor, Elmer and LeRoy had all left home. Henry bought land at Randall, near Little Falls, Minn. It was undeveloped with plenty of timber. He rented another small farm and most tillable land was planted with cucumbers to be sold to a Pickle Factory in the area. In winter Henry and Victor sold cordwood from the timber. When Copper Mining Co. was buying land in the area Henry leaned too late that the former owner had retained the mineral rights and he once again had to sell at a loss.
The family the moved to Russell, Kansas where Albert was hald owner of a tire shop - this was in 1923. Albert passed his postal exam, sold the shop and sent to work in the P. O. Henry worked as a salesman for Baker Medicine Co., which proved to be a dying business.
With the help of their children, Henry and Mary then went into retirement and lived in Valley City, N. Dakota, close to two of their daughters. In 1949, after putting up storm windows, Henry complained of being tired - three days later he died of a coronary thrombosis. Mary then went to live with her daughters, first with Esther and then with Lillian. On Jan. 30, 1960, Mary slipped, fell and broke her hip. She died three days later in her sleep.
Members of the family say the family had many hard times but also many happy times and were always close. The parents were always highly religious - did much work for the Methodist Church and had family devotions daily - morning and evening.
From "Hoffmans 1862 - 1972"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt

HENRY married GERHOLD MARY CAROLINE on 18 Sep 1894. MARY was born on 31 Dec 1872 in Of Tower Hill, IL.; died on 2 Feb 1960; was buried in Valley City, North Dakota. [Group Sheet]

JOHN married WOLFMAN ANNA MARY ELIZABETH (WULFMAN) on 29 Jul 1859 in OR JULY 26; or Aug. 26. ANNA (daughter of WOLFMAN JOHN T. OR L. and UNKNOWN MARY) was born on 23 May 1838; died on 2 Jul 1920 in Valley City, N.D. at age of 83 yrs.; was buried in Unmaked graves in Greenwood Cem., Nashville, IL on lot with oldest dau. Anna & John L. Meyer & other members of Meyer family.. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mary was the widow of John Ernst Brink and mother of 2 - Anna Mary Louise Brink - b. April 25, 1859; d. July 8, 1860, and John Brink who after marriage lived in Clay Co., Illinois and d. about 1945. John P. and Mary Hoffman are buried in unmarked graves in the Greenwood cemetery, Nashville, Illinois on the lot with their oldest daughter Anna and her husband John L. Meyer and other members of this Meyer family.

OBITUARY OF MARY WULFMANN BRINK HOFFMAN

Mrs. John P. Hoffman, nee Wulfman, died at Valley City, N. D., Friday, July 2, at the age of 83 years of senility. Deceased is survived by five sons, Henry of Valley City, N. D., with whom she made her home, Herman of DeForest, Wis., Ed of Steel, N. D., Fred of Rockford, Iowa, and John Brink, a son by her first marriage, of Bible Grove, Ill., three daughters, Mrs. John Meyer of St. Louis, Mrs. Mary Meyer of Belmont, Ill., Mrs. Wm. Witter of Rockum, S. D. Two children preceded her in death and her husband passed away six years ago at the age of 79 years. The departed formerly resided here. The body was brought to Nashville Monday evening and interment was made in Greenwood cemetery Tuesday, Rev. L. Duewel officiating. Mrs. Hoffman will be remembered by the older residents here.

As the widow of John Ernst Brink and the mother of two, she had married John Peter Hoffman.

Her son John lived in Clay Co., IL after marriage and d. about 1945.

Notes:

John Ernst Hoffman - b. Aug. 12, 1808 - d. March 11, 1862 - m. March 8, 1836 Magdaline Bruners - b. in Wuertemberg, Germany - d. May 9, 1939 in Lancaster, Ohio. 2 children - John Peter - William Alexander. John Ernst was born in Rothenufeln, near Minden, in the province of Westphalia in northern Germany. St. Paul's Evangelical Church records, Nashville, IL revealthat he came to the U.S. in 1832 and settled in Lancaster, Ohio.

2nd marriage on June 24, 1839 was to Catherine (also Hoffman) - no relation of Erdmannhausen, Wuertemberg in southern Germany. they were married in Lancaster, Ohio. They had 10 children.

Marriage records in the library of Fairfield Co. (Lancaster) Ohio give the date of marriage of John Hoffman to Magdaline Bruners as March 8, 1836. St. Paul's Evangelical Church records, Nashville, Illinois coroborate this, adding that she was from Wuertemberg, Germany and died May 9, 1939 in Lancaster. John and Magdaline were the parents of two sons, John Peter - born January 13, 1837 and William Alexander - born December 29, 1837.

About a month after Magdaline's death, he married Catherine, also Hoffman, whose full name as provided by the family tree from Erdmannhausen, Germany, was, Maria Justina Katharina.

Records kept by members of the family indicate that John E. and Catherine together with John's two little boys came to Washington Co., Illinois in 1840. Land grant records of Washington Co. Historical Museum show that he purchased farm land from the federal gov't on December 30, 1839 for $1.25 an acre. the gov't had passed a law in 1820 making this possible - with the stipulation that all sales must be cash.

This farm, now owned by the Albert Schorfhiede's is southwest of Nashville. I had until recently, believed that it was here that their 10 children were born. Records of St. John's Lutheran Church, New Minden, with their very earliest family groupings list Frederick, Anna, and Elisabeth as being born at New
Earliest records of St. John's New Minden list as charter members in 1846 Fred, John, and William Hoffman. John had the privilege of being a charter member of two churches - St. John's, New Minden in 1846 and St. Paul's Evangelical Nashville in 1854. In early years, the family also attended the Nashville Prairie Ev. Church (I have been told it was also called St. Luke's). In 1854, when St. Paul's was founded, records indicate he was one of the organizers - charter member and elected elder for 4 years.

Several cousins have visited Germany and brought back information about Catherine and her family. In addition, Catherine's daughter, Sarah who lived to be 88, was able to tell much about the family.

Catherine was born June 16, 1818 in Erdmannhausen, a small village near Stuttgart in Wuertemberg in southern Germany, in a section known as Swabia. Sarah said her mother was always homesick for Swabia and spoke frequently of being in "scho" nen (beautiful) Schwabenland".

Elmo Hohman, who visited this area said this was understandable, for Erdmannhausen is a beautiful country, consisting of high hills or small mountains, representing the outlying foothills of the Swiss and Bavarian Alps. In 1958, on one of Elmo's visits to the church and parsonage, the minister got out the early books and pointed out the actual entry of the date when Catherine, together with her parents, Johannes and Eva (nee Pommer) and her brothers and sisters emigrated to the U.S. This was in 1832 - the year after the birth and death of her youngest sister - Maria Dorothea.

They settled in Lancaster, Ohio, having come by sailing ship from Bremen, Germany to Philadelphia, and then by wagon to Lancaster. A ciary tells of Hoffmans landing in Philadelphia on a Christmas morning with Church bells ringing, after a sailing voyage of many weeks. We are not sure just which Hoffmans this was. Some 20 or more years ago when a cousin stopped at Lancaster to attend a family reunion, which for a number of years were held yearly, he found well over 100 Hoffmans - descendants of these Hoffmans. One, David, at that time was manager of Wiseman Dept. Store there. In spite of repeated efforts, I have learned very little about Catherine's brothers and sisters and double cousins and their families, many of whom, I believe, have remained in the Lancaster area. At least we know Catherine was the only one of her immediate family to come to Washington Co. as her daughter Sarah, in a letter to her nephew, George, wrote that her mother was the only one of the family to come here. Marriage and death records in Lancaster, have provided a little help. I ahve also learned that some are buried in the old Myers Cemetery, east of Lancaster in Berne Township. Included among these are a Johannes Hoffman - b. July 13, 1791 - d. Apr. 16, 1872 and wife Eva - b. 1795 d. July 20, 1876 - we believe these to be the same John and Eva who are Catherine's parents - also Johann Georg - b. Dec. 17, 1814 - d. Sept. 23, 1893 - Johann Fredrich - b. March 1816 - d. 1894 and Eva Magdalen Hoffman Sutter and John J. Sutter. Lutheran Minister - sons one 2 years old (no name on tombstone - at least not legible) d. Oct. 4, 1867 - and one 4 years old d. Oct 5, 1867. We have learned that the Sutters were the parents of at least 2 more children through family notes - they were Anna and Emma - last address Bellvue, Ohio. Eva was born Jan. 20, 1829 - m. Dec. 19, 1853 - no date of d.

The Lutheran Church in Erdmannhausen that Catherine attended as a girl has a baptismal font that dates back to 1494 and in 1969, when visited by Harold Hohman, had a membership of 2300.

Lancaster, Ohio, the Hoffmans first home in America, had been founded abnout 1800, by Co. Ebenezer Zane, famous merchant, trailblazer, prioneer and soldier of Wheeling. It was called New Lancaster at the request of Emanuel Carpenter, who came from Lancaster, Penn., as did many of the predominately early settlers.

Thanks to a cousin, Harold Hohman, who brought back a family tree from Erdmannhausen in 1969, we can trace Catherine's family back to 1662. I am including this tree as given to me, only translated into English.

On page 10 is a photostatic copy of the record of naturalization of John Hoffman, as it appears in Court Journal 13, page 129, dated the 8th day of Sept., 1838. I am very grateful to Elmer Hoffman of Washington D.C., a distant cousin, for securing this and sending it to me.
The above from "Hoffmans 1662 - 1972"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt

JOHANN married BRUNERS MAGDALINE on 8 Mar 1836. MAGDALINE was born in in Wuertemberg, Germany; died on 9 May 1839 in Lancaster, Ohio. [Group Sheet]

JOHN married UNKNOWN MARY. [Group Sheet]