_____________________
|
_Howard CARY ________|
| |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Joanne CARY
|
| _Andrew GOLATA ______
| |
|_Shirley GOLATA _____|
|
|_Hilda SCHNEIDER ____+
[96]
In June of 1844 Bartholemew and Anna Hoffman left Denn, Prussia (which
no longer exists), near Trier, and sailed with their family to
America. In late summer they arrived in the Gross Point area and
bought 100 acres of land for $6.00 an acre. There were five daughters
and three sons, including Mathias Joseph.
Several letters were sent back to Denn between 1845 and 1855 by
members of the family. Hand written copies of the letters were made
in case the originals became lost in the mail. The copies were kept
within the family and were eventually translated from German to
English. Of particular interest is a letter of February 2nd, 1855,
from Franz Joseph Hoffman concerning the death of his brother.
What follows is an English translation of a part of that letter:
"I report the sad news of the death of my brother. He was killed by
lightning on Monday, June 12, 1854. It happened at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon. On that fatal day he was very nervous and disturbed. He
would start to work on something and throw it aside to try something
else. My sister Catherine and brother-in-law (John) Schmitz were
close to the house when a thunderstorm came up. There were cattle
grazing in the meadow including some stray cattle, because the place
was not entirely fenced in. I sprang through the rain to see about
the children. My brother Mathias said he had to go and bring the
cattle in, though it was raining hard. He took an umbrella, lit his
pipe, and with a smile on his face went out. After a little while we
heard a terrible thunderclap. I said to those present how one can
meet death and referred to cases of people killed by lightning back by
the old home, not knowing that the same thing had just happened here.
When he did not return, Schmitz went to look for him. He noticed
something in the tall grass, went to it and found the body of Mathias
Joseph. After the return of Schmitz, his mother and sister, and good
excellent faithful wife Catherine (Schneider), came to the house. You
can imagine the scene, the crying and confusion my pen cannot
describe. At his death he was fully clothed but they had been torn to
rags. On his neck we noticed a small mark where the lightning had
struck. Down his body and leg was a streak, and on one boot was a
burn hole the size of a pea.
"After the accident became known many people gathered and carried the
body in the house. I ran to the pastor, but he was absent on a
vacation. Another priest was there, Pastor Zucker, just ready to
leave. When I told him of the sad occurrence he immediately decided
to go with me. He himself put the body on the "Schof" and buried it
the next day. At the grave he preached a beautiful sermon. This
priest is from Dusseldorf. Well, Mathias is now at rest and may the
Lord over life and death let eternal light shine on him."
[136]
Their marriage record indicates that Mathias was the son of
Bartholemew Hoffman and his wife, Anna Veronica Bings, who came from
Denn in 1844.
_Peter Joseph HUERTER _____
| (1748 - 1807)
_Paul HUERTER _______|
| (1876 - 1886) m 1858|
| |_Maria Elizabeth ACKERMAN _
| (1762 - 1835)
|
|--John HUERTER
| (1880 - ....)
| _Anton SCHNEIDER __________+
| | (1799 - 1875) m 1826
|_Dorothea SCHNEIDER _|
(1837 - 1921) m 1858|
|_Gertrude HUERTER _________+
(1798 - 1863) m 1826
[55] Reside 20180 Westmore, Livonia MI.
_Darrel Charles MIDDLEWOOD _+
| (1936 - ....)
_Michael Thomas MIDDLEWOOD _|
| (1960 - ....) |
| |_Joanne E. WHITE ___________
| (1938 - ....)
|
|--unknown MIDDLEWOOD
|
| ____________________________
| |
|_Sheri STEVENSON ___________|
|
|____________________________
_Joseph A. SCHNEIDER _+
| (1875 - ....) m 1900
_George William SCHNEIDER _|
| (1907 - ....) |
| |_Anna PETTINGER ______
| (1877 - ....) m 1900
|
|--Fred SCHNEIDER
|
| ______________________
| |
|_Marie KROSCHEL ___________|
|
|______________________
_____________________
|
_John Ferguson WALTON ________|
| (1921 - 1991) |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Laura Shelly WALTON
| (1950 - ....)
| _Arthur KEMPSTER ____+
| | (1903 - 1974)
|_Marijane Catherine KEMPSTER _|
(1923 - ....) |
|_Catherine GELLISH __+
(1904 - 1964)