52 Ancestors 52 Weeks: Large Family
Johannes Heinrich “Henry” Hoffman 1836-1906
Sophia Maria Christiane Streu 1840-1922
My maternal great-grandfather, William Hoffman, came from a huge family. He was the fourth of thirteen surviving children. There may have even been a fourteenth child, a twin, who died shortly after birth, if my distant cousins’ family trees can be believed.
William’s parents were German immigrants. Johannes Heinrich Wilhelm Hoffman was born June 4, 1836 in a community then called Oedelum near the town of Hildesheim, which is located in Germany’s Hanover region. Johannes Heinrich’s mother died when he was 14 years old, and in 1855, at age 19, he emigrated, apparently alone, leaving his father behind in Hanover.
William’s mother, Sophia Maria Christiane Streu, was born May 29, 1840, in Weitendorf, Mecklenburg, Germany. Her entire family—four children and parents—emigrated when she was 17, sailing for New York on May 1, 1857 on the ship Johanes The family settled in Racine, Wisconsin.
Sophia and Johannes Heinrich met somewhere in Wisconsin, and were married in 1859 when she was 19 and he was 23. By the 1860 census, they were living in Greenfield Township, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Johannes Heinrich, now going by the American name Henry, was working as a carpenter.
By the next census in 1870, the couple had moved to the nearby township of Franklin, where Henry was farming. They had five children by this point: Berthia, 10; Amelia, 8; William, 6; Henry, 4; and Elizabeth Minnie, 1.
By the time their sixth child, George Jacob, was born in late 1870 or early 1871, they were living in Minnesota. It is unclear why they chose to move, leaving extended family behind in Wisconsin. Sophia gave birth to twin daughters just a year later on December 17, 1872; if there were twins, only Ida survived.
By the time the 1875 Minnesota State Census was administered, the family had grown to eight children with the birth of baby George. They were farming in Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
The 1880 census shows three more sons had been born since 1875, John, age 3; Alfred, 2; and five-month-old infant Rudolph. It must have been a very full farmhouse in Mankato Township, as Sophia’s parents, John and Frederika Streu, had moved in. The four oldest children, teens ranging in age from 19 to just 13, no longer attended school. Presumably their labor was needed on the farm and managing such a huge household.
No census records remain from 1890 for the family, but Henry and Sophia had their last two children in the early 1880s. Edward Peter was born in 1882, and their final daughter Laura was born in 1884, when Henry was 48 and Sophia 44.
By the 1900 census, most of the children had left home to start their own families, including my great-grandfather, William. This left only the four youngest children, Alfred, Rudolph, Edward and Laura, ranging in age from 20 to 16. Henry was still farming, and his youngest sons were all listed as farm laborers, presumably on his land.
Henry and Sophia ended up with an amazing 62 grandchildren, including my great-grandfather William’s seven children. I can’t even begin to imagine how many descendants they have by now. What an amazing family! They must have been good parents to have successfully nurtured thirteen children to adulthood in an era where many families lost several children to illness and accidents. They must have been resourceful, hard workers to support such a huge family with the products of a single farm.
Henry died at age 70 on June 21, 1906. Sophia was 81 when she died on March 23, 1922. They are buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato, Minnesota.
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