Setting out to re-connect our Hoffmann family in Australia has been quite a journey. I commenced decades ago having been brought up with my Grandfather’s siblings visiting regularly. I was also aware of some cousins (Schoffs and some others) being mentioned in conversation but this was about as diverse at it got (which was plenty while growing up). Then I found out that great grandfather had a brother and there followed some more Hoffmann relatives. This led to finding that great great grandfather had a sister, and a half brother, and half sister. Which brought a slew of Hoffmanns as well as Paechs and Nuskes. More recently, some research from these more recent relatives has identified sisters that also immigrated in the years after great great great grandfather arrived in Australia. This added the Teusners and the Juettners/ Blumels to the expanding list of blood relatives as well as some siblings that remained in Prussia. More recently I have furthered this research locating the names of some more nephews/nieces from the Prussian lines as well as being able to follow back Great Great Great Grandma’s family (Luchs) by another generation as well.
Johann Gottlieb Hoffmann (1806 to 1868)
- JSG Hoffmann had a younger brother called Johann Gottlieb, born on the 21st May 1806.
- Wilhelm Iwan has a Johann Gottlieb Hoffmann, wife and daughter emigrating from Neudorf near Liegnitz ready to leave at the same time as the two Hoffmann sisters and families are listed. Neudorf is a village similarly distributed to the villages the other Hoffmanns are from.
- The Biographical Index of South Australians 1836 – 1883 records a Johann Gottlieb Hoffmann immigrating to South Australia on the ‘Godefroy’ in 1848. It lists his wife, Anna and his daughter Christiane Pauline (her married name will be Gutsche b.1842 d.1915)
- His daughter’s birthday aligns with the age Iwan records in 1848 (6 years). As do dates for various life events in Australian Birth, Death and Marriage records and the Church books of Lobethal and Blumberg.
- The couple (Johann Gottlieb and Anna Maria) had a son in 1855 (Albert Gottlieb) with his dates working in as well.
- There are naturalisation papers for Johann Gottlieb on record, again verifying immigration dates, age, originating town and place of residence in South Australia. This is in full alignment with Iwan, the SA Biographical Index, and research into the Hoffmann siblings.
- Johann Gottlieb signed his naturalisation papers which indicates education in line with the other Hoffmann siblings.
- A real bonus is the naturalisation request submitted by his daughter in 1913 after her husband’s death. This confirms their place of origin etc. and states the emigrating ship as the ‘Godefroy’.
- At this time I have located no extra information for his wife, Anna Marie. Iwan refers to her as Frau Bauer, where as her surname is listed as; Horn, Hornich or Hornig in other records. It is possible that ‘bauer’ could mean the wife of a farmer? or that she was a widow with her married name being ‘bauer’.
- Johann Gottlieb settled into the Adelaide Hills alongside JSG, his sisters and their families.
(A few days have passed and some more information has surfaced regarding Anna Hoffmann)