Living married MARTIN J.S. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Polk was a native of Fordyce, Ark., and became a highly sucdcessful business man. At 16, he left home to attend the U. of Ark., where he spent 2 years, working to pay his way. He then went to St. Louis in 1894, where he worked for Ely, Walker & Co., wholesalers, while there also attending Browns Business Colelge. After graduation, Ely Walker recommended him to T. F. Brink of Nashville, Illinois, for a store managerial position. In 1897 he moved to Nashville, Illinois, and for the next 7 years, held that position with T. F. Brink Dry Goods Co. It was here that he met and married Ida.
After their marriage, they moved to Vandalia, Illinois, where Polk headed the firm of Atkinson & Brink. Mr. Brink was the silent partner, with Polk in full charge. In a few years he was sole owner of a thriving business. In 1914, he opened a second store in St. Elmo, Illinois, which continued till his death. At the time fo his death, a Mr. Mansfield had one-third interest in the Vandalia Store, which had a grocery dept. as well as dry goods, clothing and shoes. Polk was a very charitable man who did much to help the poor unfortunate and handicapped in his area.
From "Hoffmans 1662 - 1972"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt

THOMAS married HOHMAN IDA ELIZABETH in 2904. IDA (daughter of HOHMAN ERNST HENRY FREDERICK and HOFFMAN CAROLINE WILHEMINE) was born on 20 Apr 1876; died on 30 Jul 1928. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Ida died after a lingering illness - heart disease.

Notes:

William Frederick Hohman (partial article) 1979 Washington County History book.
Henry came from Seidinghausen in Northwestern Germany as a young man, having been baptized in a very old church whose foundation stones go back to the days of Charlemagne in the 9th century.
The Hohmans were farmers and shoemakers. The shoe business was continued in Nashville for three generations by Henry, son William, grandson Howard.
. . .
At time of death William Hohman was president of Turst Building and Loan and in show business with son Howard. Was a member of St. Paul U.C.C. and held various offices.
By: Ruth Hohman

Henry was born in the little village, named Siedinghausen, near Minden, in Westphalia in northwestern Germany and went to church and was baptized in a very old church (tradition has it that the church and possibly a few of its aactual foundation stones go back to the days of Charlemagne in the 9th century). It is definitely "Charlemagne territory" and lovely countryside, with rolling hills, quaint old barns and wooden painted statues of saints under the gables and a famous "kaisers denkmal", or statue on a river bend nearby, called Bergkirchen. Both Siedinghausen and Bergkirchen are really only crossroads, with Minden, for which our New Minden in Washington Co. was named, the nearest fairly large town (by 1969, it had grown to about 50,000).
The description of this area was given me by Elmo Hohman, who visited there in 1929 and again in 1958. He found the actual house where Henry lived still standing and occupied by the widow of a distant cousin named Hohman.
The Hohmans were combined farmers and shoemakers and teh shoe business was carried on in Nashville for three generations - by Henry - his son, William and William's son Howard.
Next to the church at Bergkirchen, which is very old and interesting is a cemetery which contains many names of families now living around Nashville, who are their descendants.
Henry left Germany in the 1850's, sailing from Bremen in a sailing boat to New Orleans - then up the Mississippi by river boat and on to Nashville, Illinois. He left Germany as a young man, in order to escape army duty, which was required of all young men when they reached a certain age. After arriving in America, it was said that his conscience bothered him, so he enlisted in the army here during the Civil War. He was a member of the 49th Infanatry Regiment. He was one of 8 brothers and sisters who eventually came to the U.S.
Henry's obituary said he died after a long illness (believed to have been cancer), at the age of 59. To quote from the obituary which appeared in a Nashville German newspaper, "The deceased was a good citizen, good Christian, good husband, good father, member of the church and many years Council Member of St. Paul's Evangelical Church.

ERNST married HOFFMAN CAROLINE WILHEMINE on 17 May 1866. CAROLINE (daughter of HOFFMANN JOHANN ERNST and HOFFMAN SOPHIE MARIA JUSTINA KATHARINA) was born on 7 Sep 1848 in farm sw of Nashville, IL; died on 25 Dec 1901. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Caroline, who was teh fourth child born to Catherine and John E., was, according to her pictures and those who knew her, a very pretty young lady. She was born and grew up on a farm southwest of Nashville, She was an invalid the last ten years of her life, having suffered a stroke which left her paralyzed.

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 HOFFMAN SOPHIE MARIA JUSTINA KATHARINA on 24 Jun 1839 in Lancaster, Ohio. SOPHIE (daughter of HOFFMAN JOHANNES (HOFMAN) and POMMER EVA) was born on 15 Jun 1818 in Erdmannhausen in Kingdom of Wuertemberg, Swabia (southern Germany); died on 5 Oct 1874. [Group Sheet]