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Melchior Hofer (1815 - 1904)

Melchior Hofer
Born in Önsbach, Achern, Baden, Germanymap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 7 Mar 1849 in Önsbach, Badenmap
Husband of — married about 1854 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at age 89 in Westphalia, Iowamap
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Profile last modified | Created 10 Dec 2013
This page has been accessed 332 times.

Contents

Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import. It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.


Note

Note: The information for the family is from FAMILIENBUCH DER GEMEINDE ÖNSBACH in BADEN, by Eugen Weber, 2004.
Melchior Hofer, family #992, parents: family #976
Went to America with his young son in 1852, as verified by the Badishe Auswanderer index. Granted permission to emigrate 15 September 1852.
Per CastleGarden.org, a "Melch. Hofer" and "Auguste Hofer" arrived 2 Feb 1852 aboard the ship "Trumbull" from LeHavre. This is not possible since Auguste was born Önsbach on 17 Feb 1852, and they were granted permission to leave Baden on 15 September 1852, per the Badische Auswanderer Index.
At Ancestry.com, the original ship’s manifest for the ship “Trumbull” was found. One page lists Melchior [sic: Hofer Melch.] and Engelbert [sic: Hafer Engelb.]. Young Auguste Hofer is listed on the last page under “Infants.” Interestingly, the misspelling of Engelbert’s last name as “Hafer” appears in both the Castle Garden and the Ancestry databases. This is because of an error on the original manifest.
The Ancestry.com “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957” database lists the “Trumbull” as arriving on 2 February 1853. On the first page of the original manifest, it looks as if the ship’s master did indeed enter the year as “1852.” However, the last numeral is smudged, as if someone almost thought better of the year later. The voyage across the Atlantic in a sailing ship would have taken a month or more. Thus, the “Trumbull” probably left Le Havre near the end of December 1852. When the ship arrived in NYC on February 2, the New Year had passed, and it was 1853. As has happened to many of us, the ship’s master momentarily forgot that the year had turned and inadvertently entered “1852” instead of “1853.”
Sometime after he arrived in the US, he apparently changed his name from"Melchior" to "Michael". I asked Michael Carl Budd (a descendants of Engelbert Hofer) about this. Here was his reply:
" I didn't take many notes when I was making the whole Melchior/Michael connection. It was you that put me onto the fact that he and Engelbert (my great-great-great-grandfather) emigrated together, right? Going back over census records, you can see that a Molcor Hofer appears in the 1880 census for Cherry Grove Twp., Carroll Co., Illinois. with children William, Joseph, Ignatc, and Thresia. His family is the next entry after that of his brother-in-law Engelbert Bär (Englebert Bear).
" In the 1870 census in the same township appeared Michael Hofer with children William, Joseph, Achus, Tracy, and Mary. The family immediately preceding them was 'David Baer' (Dionys Bär) and Wildburg Baer (Walburg Hodapp Bär) with son Jevier (Franz Xaver). Engelbert and Mary Baer were the family after the Hofers.
" In the 1860 cenus, Dionys Bär is 'Doones Bear'. Melchior is 'Michael Hoover'. The wife whom I believe to be Kreszentia is 'Gracy'.
" Ah, yes! Excuse my blathering on - I've found the smoking gun. The 1925 Iowa census is wonderful in that it lists parents names. For Mary (Hofer) Hodapp, her parents are shown as: Melchior Hofer and Crenzacie (or some similar misspelling) Baer.
" And finally, if it adds any credibility to anything, genetic testing has shown a match between Melchior's great-great-grandson Nick Schafer and my grandfather, Louis K. Hofer."
Per 1860 US Census, living at Cherry Grove, Carroll, Illinois, with wife and 3 eldest children. Occupation: farmer. Last name is entered as "Hoover"; wife is called "Gracy".

Sources

FAMILIENBUCH DER GEMEINDE ÖNSBACH in BADEN, by Eugen Weber, 2004. Family # 992. Parents family # 976.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Steve Stumpp for creating WikiTree profile Hofer-150 through the import of Johann Hofer.ged on Nov 23, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Steve and others.





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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Melchior by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Melchior:

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