For a while now I have been working on and off on the Styrian family Hoffmann von Grünbühel und Strechau. They are of some importance for Americans because many Hoffman families in the USA, particularly from North Carolina, believe they are descended from them. They are also claimed as ancestors of FDR by some. The sources for both claims are
The FAG memorial has no photo and references the other three sources only. The Hoffmans of North Carolina offers a romp across Europe stringing together a list of somewhat illustrious Hoffmanns, including the Freiherren mentioned above, without any sources for the purported European ancestors of the American Hoffmans. The Hoffmans of North Carolina Revisited copies this "genealogy" without additional sources. And finally, no such book as American Ancestry by Sigismund von Herberstein exists. At least I have not found any in any library catalogue, Google search etc., and nobody else has been able to find this book.
The Freiherren Hoffmann von Grünbühel und Strechau have been written about quite bit since they played a prominent role in Styria, Austria, and Bohemia and nowhere in the literature is there a descent from this family to the North Carolinian Hoffmans. Schauplatz des landsässigen nieder-oesterreichischen Adels vom Herren- und Ritterstande von dem XI.Jahrhundert an, bis auf jetzige Zeiten: Bd.I-V., Band 4, p. 154, Franz Karl Wissgrill, Karl von Odelga, gedruckt bey Franz Seizer, 1800, has a lengthy section about the family. Noted Czech-American genealogist Miloslav Rechcigl has looked into this question and the connection to FDR and published some articles about his findings: Hoffman Genealogy -A Hoax, Pursuing the Bohemian Identity of Martinus Hermanzen Hoffman, an Early Settler in the 17th Century's New Amsterdam. Facts – Legend or a Hoax?, and Bohemian Identity of Martinus Hermanzen Hoffman Revisited.
And yet, it seems to be impossible to get rid of the connection of this family to some unsourced purported descendants. In fact, they now have German Roots and Czech Roots stickers and some are project protected.
What does Don Quixote have to do to vanquish the windmills?
