The Hoffmans of North Carolina
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THE HOFFMANS OF NORTH CAROLINA 6By MAX ELLIS HOFFMAN. D. D.S. A genealogical presentation of the original Hoffmans who settled in North Carolina. In this the author gives a brief historical review of their European origin; the conditions which caused them to leave their native country; their migration through Penn sylvania and Virginia to North Carolina; and the genealogical development of their descendants to the present day. Published by MAX ELLIS HOFFMAN, D.D.S. 808 Flat Iron Building Asheville, N. C. PRINTED BY THE MILLER PRINTING COMPANY, ASHEVILLE Copyright 19 38 !11:\X ELLIS HOFFMAN Asheville, "". C. .. ·+· ... 1· ,· ... t .. ... ... UT of the Middle Ages comes the proud and chivalrous custom and romantic tradition of ancestral "Coat of Arms." The insignia 0 of one's ancestral lineage was devised in those days of chivalry and was proudly borne by armed knights in supreme tests and on battle fields of old. The Hoffman coat of arms was devised, worn and cherished by our illustrious ancestors and has been handed down to us as our heritage. Let us cherish and treasure it. FOREWORD HE PURPOSE of this work is to assemble in a single volume the history and genealogy of the Hoffman clan of North Carolina, and thus preserve the records for future generations. In presenting it I seek neither honor nor reward. Up to this time no one has attempted to assemble the fragments of information that still exist, and I am sure that if the present generation passes without such work being done, it will probably then be too late to compile such a work reasonably complete, for even now the dust of time is about to cover all traces of our ancestry. When I first became interested in tracing my own line of ancestry, I thought that the entire history could be printed on one sheet of paper. But the more I searched, the wider the field became, until it led me into places and homes where I had never been, nor had ever expected to be. Some of the information has been gathered from tradition and legends which have been preserved in the memories of the old people who have in turn handed the stories of our ancestry down from one generation to another just as they heard them repeated by the fireside in days gone by. The remainder has been taken from various sources such as old deeds, family Bibles, tombstones, and other records. It is, indeed, regret table that so few official records have been made of the births, marriages, activities, and deaths of our ancestors in North Carolina. However, we cannot condemn them on that score, because they were too busy building cabins, clearing lands, warding off Indians and wild beasts, prospecting for minerals, and eking out an existence for their families, to be bothered with such minor things as making written records of their activities. In some states there were laws requiring such records, but not so here. Many settlers even "squatted" on land without a grant or title in any manner and held it by "peaceable possession." Others purchased, traded, and sold land without ever recording the transactions.· Some VII. would get married and the minister or magistrate performing the rites would often lose, or neglect to record, the marriage certificates. Communities were isolated; therefore the associations and activities of the early people were confined to a small area. Newspapers were rarities and very few schools existed. In 1776 only five newspapers (one-sheet weekly issues) were being published in North Carlina, and the public school system was not instituted until 1836. (See Public School Records). After three years of investigation the task looked insur mountable; many valuable records had been destroyed; the ravages of the winters had leveled mounds over many graves and erased carvings on tombstones; many had slipped away to the far west and had been smothered in the great tush for conquest; and the memories of many had become dulled by the onrushing of years. I went into homes where I was repeatedly assured no information existed. After gaining their confidence, I secur ed photographs of their forebears; examined their old papers, land grants and old deeds; compared them with their family legends and traditions; and then, invariably, I traced each set of Hoffmans to Great Alamance Creek section in what is now Alamance County, North Carolina. From there I could easily trace them through the immigration period and on to the Rhine f7alley of Germany. The task of ferreting out the various marriages and families has been no small one. I am certain that I have made errors and have omitted the names of many individuals and families, because in many instances I have been obliged to accept information as to the names and numbers of children in families without being able to verify such information with written re.cords; but it was not intentional to overlook a single person or line. I found some who were not interested in knowing who they were, or where they came from-not even where they were going. I now offer to my kinsmen the best that I have been able to discover in this persistent search covering almost every state, and all Ports of Immigra tion after a period of seven years. In this work I shall deal mostly with the Pennsylvania Dutch, or German, element of people, because they were our VIII. ancestors. Personally, I have no apologies to make for the fact that my ancestors were of German blood, for there is no better blood than that which courses through German ',:eins. Despite the fact that we, the United States of America, entered the lf' orld War in 1917 against Germany, we have the abiding satisfaction that we were not fighting the real German people. We were, however, fighting the Prussian war-lords and autocratic war machines that had gained con trol of the German government and had gone mad with power and the taste of blood. We deplore the false philosophy of Germany's Iron Man Bismarck, her astute war-lord Kaiser Wilhelm and her adopted painter-dictator and demi-god Adolph Hitler. Yet we cherish the knowledge that the German people have kept the faith of their fathers through the ages by keeping their Teutonic blood true and blue. The real German people have as keen intellects as any people on earth, and they have de7.Jeloped the finest schools of philoso phy and science to be found anywhere. They have delved into these realms as no other people have done. And when the great horde of early German immigrants was poured into the American melting pot, it enriched the contents of the mixture and added everlasting qualities to the American citizenship. I wish to thank my friends and kinsmen for their kind and invaluable assistance in preparing this work. Without their aid I could have done little. I realize that this genealogy of the Hof/mans of North Carolina is far from complete, due to the fact that so few early people kept records of their families and activities. Also, untold numbers of our early Hoffmans migrated westward and nothing more has been heard from many of them. However, with the information which I have compiled and placed herein, I believe that any descendant, anywhere, may be able to arrive at his, or her, direct lineage to the original Palatine Germans. Although tiresome and brain-wracking, this has been a work of love and devotion to my people. I hope you will find here the comfort, satisfaction, and information which everyone should know and cherish. Yours In Kinship, MAX ELLIS HOFFMAN August 20, 1938. IX. CONTENT·s Foreword ------------------------------- VII Historical Introduction ___________________ 1 Explanation of Genealogical Numbers _____ 19 Ancestral Lineage Chart __________________ 22 Division 1, John Hoffman ______________ 25 Division 2, 1 George Hoffman ____________ 43 Division 3, 1 Jacob Hoffman _____________ 117 Index, Hoffman Descendants ______________ 159 Notes ---------------------------------- 190 XI. ILLUSTRATIONS Hoffman Coat of Arms ------------------------------------- III 5 Max Ellis Hoffman, The Author -------------------------- IV 4 Benjamin Aycock ---------------------------------------- 24 5 Charles Brantley Aycock ---------------------------------- 24 7 John Robert Hoffman ------------------------------------ 24 Old Mill Built in 1790 -------------------------------------- 24 First House Built of Sawed Lumber in Upper Lincoln County____ 72 4 Alus Hoffman------------------------------------------- 72 4 Sophrona Hoffman Jones Page---------------------------- 72 4 Samuel Hoffman----------------------------------------- 72 5 Charles L. Hoffman -------------------------------------- 72 3 Michael Hoffman ---------------------------------------- 73 11ary Burns Hoffman -------------------------------------- 73 5 Samuel Hoffman ----------------------------------------- 73 5 James R. Hoffman --------------------------------------- 73 6 Frank 0. Hoffman--------------------------------------- 73 6 Robert 0. Hoffman --------------------------------------- 73 4 Hiatt Hoffman ------------------------------------------- 88 4 Frederick B. Hoffman ___ _:________________________________ 88 5 Ira Burke Hoffman -------------------------------------- 88 5 tfary Hoffman Healy------------------------------------ 88 4 William M. Hoffman ------------------------------------- 96 Candace Tucker Hoffman ----------------------------------- 96 5 James Haywood Hoffman --------------------------------- 96 5 L. Zero Hoffman ----------------------------------------- 96 5 Tinny Hoffman Gilbert ----------------------------------- 96 5 M. Nealy Hoffman Grigg ---------------------------------