| 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.
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1838 - 1897 (59 years)