Heathcock Genealogy Database - Person Sheet
Heathcock Genealogy Database - Person Sheet
NameFriederich Bernhard Hoffmann 3186
Birth9 Oct 1820, West Prussia, Danzig, Koenigreich, Preuzen
Death9 Sep 1897, Four Mile Creek, Comal Co TX Age: 76
BurialNew Braunfels Cemetery, Comal Co TX
Spouses
Birth18 May 1830, West Prussia
Death30 Jun 1913, Foard, TX13 Age: 83
BurialNew Braunfels Cemetery, Comal Co TX
Marriage14 Apr 1847, Comal Co TX3186
ChildrenAntonie Wilhemine (1848-1908)
 Gustav August (1850-1930)
 Friederich E. (Fritz) (1851-1913)
 Heinrich Scopio (1853-)
 Elisabeth (Elise) (1854-1944)
 Emma (1857-1940)
 Alwine (1860-1954)
 Hedwig (1863-1886)
 Agnes (1865-1925)
 Thekla (1868-1937)
 Franz Carl (Frank) (1870-1903)
Notes for Friederich Bernhard Hoffmann
Friederich Hoffman and his wife Wilhelmine must have been in Texas in or before 1848, when their oldest daughter Antonie was born there. They lived near New Braunfels, in the Texas “hill country.” which was a center of German immigration in the 1840s (see following note). They have not been found in the 1850 census.

One source says that Friederich and his brother Gustav came to Texas in 1845, but no source is given to support this statement. It is also staed that Friederich Hoffman studied at Gymnasium in Danzig and at the University at Koenigsburg and that Gustav Hoffmann was the first mayor of New Braunfels. Although no sources are provided, the detail in this record means that it probably comes from a family menber.3188

1860 Census of Comal Co TX (outside New Braunfels)

Name Age
F B Hoffmann 39 b Prussia
Wilhelmine Hoffmann 32 b Prussia
Antonie Hoffmann 12 b TX
Gustav Hoffmann 10 b TX
Friedrich Hoffmann 8 b TX
Heinrich Hoffmann 7 b TX
Elise Hoffmann 5 b TX
Emma Hoffmann 3 b TX

1870 Census of Comal Co TX (New Braunfels)

Name Age
Friedrich Hoffmann 49 b Prussia
Wilhelmine Hoffmann 40 b Prussia
Gustaw Hoffmann 20 b TX
Frits Hoffmann 18 b TX
Heinrich Hoffmann 17 b TX
Elisabeth Hoffmann 15 b TX
Emma Hoffmann 13 b TX
Alwine Hoffmann 10 b TX
Hedwig Hoffmann 7 b TX
Agnes Hoffmann 4 b TX
Thekba Hoffmann 2 b TX
Gustaw Hoffmann 52 b Prussia

1880 Census of Comal Co TX

Name Age
Friederich B. Hoffmann 59 b Prussia, father & mother b Prussia
Wilhelmine Hoffmann 50 b Prussia, father & mother b Prussia
Friederich E. Hoffmann 28 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Heinrich S. Hoffmann 26 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Eliese Hoffmann 25 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Emma Hoffmann 23 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Alwiene Hoffmann 20 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Hedwig Hoffmann 17 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Agnes Hoffmann 14 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Thekla Hoffmann 12 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Franz Hoffmann 9 b TX, father & mother b Prussia
Notes for Friederich Bernhard Hoffmann
Following from the article “German Texan” at Wikipedia.com:3189

In the 1840s, the social, economic, and technological conditions in Germany, coupled with the availability of lands in frontier Texas, created an ideal climate for an influx of immigrants. In 1842, a group of German noblemen formed the Verein zum Schutz deutscher Einwanderer in Texas (English: Group for the Protection of German immigrants in Texas), called the Verein or the Adelsverein, to secure land in Texas for immigrants. The Verein obtained a grant of 3,800,000 acres (15,400 km2) in west-central Texas from Henry Fisher and Burchard Miller, thus known as the Fisher-Miller Land Grant. Prospective settlers were promised 320 acres (1.3 km2) of land for a married man or 160 acres (0.6 km2) for a single man, plus transportation across the ocean and to the land; a house, household furnishings, utensils, and farming equipment; churches, hospitals, roads and general provisions for their welfare.

Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels preceded the group to prepare for the arrival of the colonists. He realized that the huge land grant could not be settled immediately because it was too far from the coast and from existing settlements for transportation and supply, and so he established the town of New Braunfels as a way station to the Fisher-Miller lands. Prince Carl returned to his homeland, and was succeeded by Baron Ottfried Hans von Meusebach, who discarded his title upon arrival in Texas, and became known as John O. Meusebach. When it became evident that large numbers of expected settlers could not be located at New Braunfels, Meusebach laid out another settlement and named it Fredericksburg. About this time, it became clear that the grant of land was not suitable for settlement: the soil was not fertile enough for farming, and large numbers of Comanche Indians inhabited the area.

In the meantime, thousands of immigrants were en route to their promised lands when the war between the United States and Mexico broke out. Due to the war, all means of transportation were needed by the Army, which left thousands of German immigrants stranded on the Texas Coast. Many perished from exposure to the elements and disease, but some made the long overland trip, even on foot, to New Braunfels and to Fredericksburg. Some remained in the coastal towns and in the earlier-established settlements.

About this time, the Adelsverein, always underfunded, was bankrupt. When Texas became part of the United States, the state government awarded certificates of land to immigrants due lands in the Fisher Miller Grant. The treaties that Meusebach made with the Comanches opened the land for future settlement. Other German settlements in this part of the Texas Hill Country include Boerne, Comfort, Kerrville, Castell, Hilda, and Luckenbach.

Meanwhile, the European revolutions of 1848 brought talented and well-educated Germans to Texas; these are known as the "Forty-Eighters". Some of these gathered in "Latin Settlements" to pursue common interests in music, literature, philosophy, and theoretical politics. Such settlements included Latium, Bettina across the Llano River from Castell, and Sisterdale in Kendall County. Most of these settlements did not last long, and the Forty-Eighters moved into the larger cities, notably San Antonio, Houston, and Galveston. Each of these had a population that was about one-third German.
Research notes for Friederich Bernhard Hoffmann
There was another family in Guadalupe Co TX headed by a widower named Fredric Hoffmann:

1860 Census of Guadalupe Co TX (New Braunfels)

Name Age
Fred Hoffman 34
Amelia Hoffman 26
Willm Hoffman 6
Minna Hoffman 4
Fred Hoffman 2
Amelia Hoffman 3/12

1870 Census of Guadalupe Co TX (Seguin)

Name Age
Fred Hoffmann 46
Emiley Hoffmann 36
William Hoffmann 16
Minnie Hoffmann 14
Fred Hoffmann 12
Amelia Hoffmann 10
Bertha Hoffmann 8
Emma Hoffmann 5
Edith Hoffmann 5
Augusta Hoffmann 2
Anna Hoffmann 10/12

1880 Census of Guadalupe Co TX

Name Age
Fredric Hoffmann 51 b Prussia, father & mother b Prussia
William Hoffmann 23 b TX
Mina Hoffmann 21 b TX
Fritz Hoffmann 19 b TX
Bertha Hoffmann 16 b TX
Emma Hoffmann 14 b TX
Ida Hoffmann 14 b TX
Augusta Hoffmann 11 b TX
Anna Hoffmann 9 b TX
Hulda Hoffmann 6 b TX
Paulina Hoffmann 4 b TX
Notes for Wilhelmine (Spouse 1)
1900 Census of Guadalupe Co TX

Name Age
Wilhemina Hoffmann 72 head, b May 1828, widow, b Germany, father & mother b Germany, immigrated 1847, mother of 12, 10 living
Fritz E Hoffmann 47 son, b Dec 1852
Elisa Hoffmann 41 dau, b Nov 1858
Alwine Hoffmann 40 dau, b Mar 1860
Thekla Hoffmann 32 dau, b Mar 1868

1910 Census of Comal Co TX

Name Age
Wilhelmine Hoffmann 80 head, widow
Fritz E Hoffmann 58 son, single
Elisa Hoffmann 55 dau, single
Alvnia Hoffmann 50 dau, single
Thekla Hoffmann 42 dau, single
Last Modified 14 Oct 2011Created 3 Jul 2023 using Reunion for Macintosh
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