Notes:

William graduated from the University of Illinois Medical School in 1922. He was a pediatrician in Chicago. Died suddenly.

WILLIAM married FITMAN NINA. NINA was born in in Of Bloomington, Illinois; No children.. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Henry learned the merchandising business from his father's store. He bought 1/2 interest in the Schmitt Store - soon purchasing the entire business and was in business in Nashville 34 years. Although he grew up in teh Evangelical Church was was confirmed there, he joined the Presbyterian Church as a young man and was a member of that church for 37 years - 32 of which he served as elder. He also was clerk of the session and S. S. Supt.

HENRY married LANE CARRIE on 28 Dec 1892. CARRIE was born on 6 Jul 1868; died on 29 Jan 1966. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

After graduating from High School in Nashville, Carrie studied music at the Epstien Conservatory in St. Louis and taught in the Nashville Grade School for 4 years. In later life she was associated with her husband in the operation of the Buhrman Dry Goods Store. She lived to be 97 - having undergone major surgery at 91.

Notes:

Herman, son of Johann Ernst Heinrich Buhrman, known as Henry Buhrman Sr., was born in Unterlubbe, Kries Minden, westfalen, Konigreich Preuszen, Germany. The family left Germany in 1852, coming to Nashville via New Orleans and St. Louis. the trip took 9 weeks and 4 days and was made by steamboat, railroad, and horse-drawn wagon. The family brought with it a melodeon which was made in Stuttgart, Germany by the Philip trayser Co. and is still in its original condition. It now graces the Washington County Historical Museum, together with other items from the Buhrman household - a gift of Bert Buhrman Jr., his great grandson, and other members of the family. Early in life Herman entered the mercantile business and in later years was appointed postmaster of Nashville, during Pres. McKinley's administration. His father was one of the founders of St. Paul's Evangelical Church in Nashville, where he also was a member and served as an officer.
From "Hoffmans 1662 - 1962"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt

Note: It mayh be that his melodon was used in the first church building which was built by seven men, two of whomwere the senior Buhrman and Hoffman.

HERMAN married HOFFMANN SOPHIE ELISABETH on 1 May 1864. SOPHIE (daughter of HOFFMANN JOHANN ERNST and HOFFMAN SOPHIE MARIA JUSTINA KATHARINA) was born on 26 Aug 1844 in Minden, Washington County, Illinois (lst 2 names may be reversed).; died on 13 Jan 1888. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Johann and his wife and son H. H. Buhrman came to America in 1852 from Unterlubbe, Westfalen, Preusen -- near Midnen, Germany. Another son, August, was born either on the voyage or shortly after the family's arrival in America.
The family departed from Germany about September 1, 1852. They arrived at New Orleans October 28th and at St. Louis November 7th, 1852. The family lived in St. Louis the first year on 8th Street between Washington adn Franklin Avenue. Son Herman H. Buhrman attended the Lutheran School on Franklin Ave. near 10th St.
From St. Louis the family moved ot Washington County, Illinois in August 1853. A notation mentions Loui, son of Henrich and August Buhrmann, but no dates of birth and death.
Sons Herman and August married Hoffman sisters, thus the offspring of both families were double cousins. August and his wife both died at an early age as did Elizabeth, wife of Herman Henry Buhrman. All the children were broughtr up in H. H. Buhrman's home (northeast corner of Washington adn Lebanon Streets in Nashville) by him and his eldest daughter Erma, and Sarah Hoffman, sister of the two deceased Buhrman wives.
They were enroute 9 weeks and 4 days arriving with other immigrants in St. Louis, Missouri Sunday, November 7, 1852. Method of Travel: Unterlubbe to Minden (9 or 10 miles) by wagon, Minden to Bremen by steam railroad. Bremen to Bremerhaven by Steam Boat. September 5th, 1852 embarked in Bremerhaven for New Orleans. La. Duration of ocean trip, 7 weeks and 4 days by three masted sailing ship named President Schmidt. New Orleans, La to St. Louis, Mo. (7 days) arriving Sunday, November 7, 1852.
P.S. If my memory serves me correctly, as to hearsay, the destination of a portion of the ships passengers was Evansville and likely other Indiana and Ohio localities. Hence there was a separation of the immigrants at New Orleans. The Indianas, etc. quote would likely take passage on an Ohio river boat after we had departed for St. Louis. Our contingent took a St. Louis boat arriving at St. Louis either during the night of Saturday to Sunday, or early Sunday morning, November 7, 1852.
After the transfer to the St. Louis Levee of the passengers and their baggage was completed on that memorial Sunday morning, the "green" Germans found themselves in a distressing condition, while watching their property and waiting for relief, because they could not converse with the natives, nor the latter with them.
About noon, two old friends (Henry Bultman and Frederick Meier) arrived on the scene taking charge of all. The baggage was hauled to temporary storing places and all the people were taken to their own and their friends homes and entertained.
Of the co-passengers from Germany, I now remember the following who settled in Washington County:
Henry Meyer (named little Henry) and a brother, William
Fred Kleemann
William Konemann, Sr. and family
Henry Kieman and family
Ernst H. Huffman (named Blase) and family excepting their son, Ernst, who had preceeded his parents to America
F. W. Krughoff and family, excepting their two sons, Fred and Louis, who also has preceded their parents to this country.
Ernst Weihe, one of the co-passengers on the President Schmidt said that the ship arrived at New Orleans October 28, 1852.
Frederick Buhrman and August Steffen remained in New Orleans for a while working at their trade making shoes. They, however, arrived in St. Louis before we (Henry Buhrman and family) departed from that city in August 1853 for Illinois.

There is more information regarding the distribution of personal keepsakes from the family included in the Buhrman file.

Information from the notebooks of Herman H. Buhrman, son of John Ernst Heinrich Buhrman, found in a folder in the Washington County Historical Society office in Nashville, Illinois.

JOHANN married WIPPERMAN AUGUSTE CAROLINE WILHELMINE. AUGUSTE was born on 3 Aug 1814 in Germany; died on 12 Sep 1884 in Year of death may be 1864; Nashville, Washington County, Illinois; was buried in Oak Grove (Odd Fellows) Cemetery, Nashville, Washington County, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

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]