Notes:

Charles is Vice-President and Secretary of Merryweather Foam Latex Co., Barberton, Ohio. They live in Akron, Ohio.

CHARLES married COMPTON THELMA on 25 Mar 1933. THELMA was born on 18 Oct 1911; died on 27 Jun 1955. [Group Sheet]

1. KETTLER SANDRA JEAN was born on 24 Oct 1934; died in in Deceased.

CHARLES married Living [Group Sheet]

1. Living

CHARLES married MEINERT CAROLINE on 17 Jun 1900. CAROLINE (daughter of MEINERT HENRY and HOFFMAN SOPHIA) was born on 13 May 1875; died on 26 Jun 1958. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Henry came from Preuss-Minden, northern Germany, province of Westphalia, when he was 18 years old. He left Germany with some 30 other people who settled in the New Minden area of Washington County, Illinois. He left Germany to avoid military service after seeing results to several older brothers. His father helped him to escape. Since Henry's father apparently owned or worked at a flour mill in Germany, residents of New Minden called Henry "Miller Meinert".
He was one of five original and charter members of Trinity Lutheran Church, Nashville, Illinois. His name is included in records in teh cornerstone laying. For a long time the church had no minister and services were held in teh courthouse. Men took turns reading prepared sermons.
From "Hoffmans 1662 - 1972"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt

HENRY married HOFFMAN SOPHIA. SOPHIA (daughter of HOFFMAN FRIEDRICH WILHELM and BOCKER CAROLINE) was born on 3 Nov 1849; died on 10 Jul 1919; was buried in Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Nashville, Washington County, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

After Henry died on his farm near Nashville, January 13, 1905, his wife, Sophie, found there was over $3000 in debts on the property. Managing well, she paid all debts and when she sold the farm kept one-third for herself and gave each child $1000. She lived with her daughter Sophie Weiner in St. Louis, Mo. until her death.
From "Hoffmans 1662 - 1972"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt

Notes:

7 children - possibly 10 - 5 lived to grow up - Marie Elisabeth; Marie Caroline; Christine Caroline; George Joseph; George Wilhelm Joseph; Christina Louise Sophia: Christian Frederick.
A German Catechism which was published in 1819 and has the name Friederich Hoffmann printed on the fly leaf and is now owned by Adele Ahlers of Kirkwood, Mo., contains information pertaining to teh Hoffman family. Among the names of other children of Frederick and Caroline we find: Sun. eve. 11 P.M., Feb. 29, 1848 daughter Christina Wilhelmina died - collaramorbus - lived 15 mos.
A little farther down: Born Jan. 1, 1852 1 A.M. son Christian Friederich Wilhelm - Baptised on Sun. May 9, 1852 in St. Louis. Another notation - Fred William 10 mos. and a few day old died. Another - Born aft. Feb. 21, 1853 Christian Earl Ludwig.
Since the German writing is not too clear on some of this we cannot be sure but believe these also were the Frederick Hoffmans Children.

Frederick William Hoffman, 6th child of Johann Friederich Wilhelm Hoffman and Anne Marie Hoffman (nee Engel), was born at Rothenufeln, Germany, on Aug. 6, 1816 and died in Washington Co., Ill., about 1853. Since he is buried in an unmarked grave in a family burial ground on what was at that time, his farm and we can find no record of his death, by deduction, in relation to other events, we believe his death to have occurred in Nove. of 1853. At any rate, probate court records show his brother John was appointed administrator of his estate on Dec. 1, 1853.
We are not sure when he came to America, but the record of his marriage to Caroline Bocker on Aug. 1, 1839, in Fairfax co., Ohio (Lancaster) has been found.

The History of Washington Co. 1879 notes that the original settlers of Covington Precinct were not German, but that they and their heirs sold their farms to German immigrants from the area of Preusz Minden. This same book, on page 76, says the first German settler in the Covington Precinct was F. W. Hoffman, who came in 1840. Frederick found this record among land grants in our Washington Co. Historical Msueum. The date of purchase was Dec. 30, 1839. Frederick's farm was south of New Minden, presentlyh owned by Walter Nieman. Their first home was a log cabin, which about 1882 was replaced by a new home and the log cabin moved to become a barn.

From "Hoffmans 1662 - 1972"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt

FRIEDRICH married BOCKER CAROLINE on 1 Aug 1839. CAROLINE was born on 1 May 1819; died on 4 Mar 1896. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Caroline's full name as it appears on St. John's Lutheran Church Records, New Minden, Ill., is Friedericke Wilhelmine Caroline Hoffman. Her place and date of birth is listed as Krohenlo, by Preusz Minden, Germany, May 1, 1819. She was married three times. Her second husband, whom she married on Dec. 30, 1856, was Friederich Christian Hesemann, who died on October 31, 1858, at the age of 38 years and 5 months. New Minden Church records note that he was not a member of that congregation and not buried on their cemetery. Two children, a boy and a girl - twins - were born of this union. The girl's name was Martha and she married a man named Myer. The boy's name was Henry and I have not been able to learn anything about him except that he married and moved on a farm near Lockwood, Mo.
Caroline's third marriage was to Wilhelm (Bismarch) Vogt on May 15, 1860. He died Apr. 15, 1904, and is buried in the New Minden Cemetery. Caroline died March 4, 1896, at the age of 76, after an illness of 6 days. She also is burried in the New Minden Cemetery.
From "Hoffmans 1662 - 1972"
Compiled by Bernice Reinhardt