History: Family: The HOFFMAN Family: Montgomery County, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Thera. tsh@harborside.com USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: Printing this file within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ ____________________________________________________ The following is from "Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families: Seekers of Religious Liberty who Fled from Silesia to Saxony and Thence to Pennsylvania in the Years 1731 to 1737". Edited by Samuel Kriebel Brecht, A.M. Printed for The Board of Publication of the Schwenkfelder Church, Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Rand McNally & Company. 1923. [NOTE: The Silesia referenced above was an area of Europe which is now in southwestern Poland. Germany ceded this province to Poland after WW II. The area borders present day Germany and the Czech Republic. The founder of the Schwenkfelder Church, Caspar Schwenckfeld, was born in Ossing, Silesia, which was changed to Ossig (Osiek in Polish), and is still a small town outside of Lubin, Poland, which is outside of Legnica (Liegnitz in German), Poland. For more information, see the website of the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center at: http://www.rpc.ox.ac.uk/rpc/sfld/s_guide.htm The SLHC is located in Pennsburg, PA.] THE HOFFMAN FAMILY CHRISTOPHER HOFFMAN, b. abt. 1651, d. Oct. 14, 1735 in Europe, therefore did not come to Pa. His wife was URSULA ANDERS. She came to Pa. with her two sons, but was taken ill on the trip from Altona, and although she endured the journey across the ocean, she died Sept. 27, 1734 in Philadelphia, just five days after landing, and was probably buried in Philadelphia. Christopher Hoffman, together with his son, Balthasar, and Balthasar Hoffrichter constituted the embassy to the Court of Charles VI at Vienna. Children of CHRISTOPHER HOFFMAN and URSULA ANDERS: 1. George HOFFMAN, b. 1684, d. June 29, 1765, on Mar. 1, 1707 m. Barbara SEIBT (SEIPT) of N. Hdrf, b. ?, d. Nov. 29, 1760. Barbara was a sister of Susanna Seibt Wiegner. George and Barbara Hoffman came to Pa. in 1734 and settled in Lower Salford, purchasing land jointly with his brother, Balzer (Balthaser.) On Apr. 24, 1734, George Hoffman sold his log house and attached garden, clear, to John Rothinger, a linen-weaver. The church books have records of their children as follows: i. Susanna, b. May 3, 1708, d. Mar. 14, 1791, m. Balthasar Krauss. ii. Balthasar, b. Apr. 16, 1710, d. Dec. 20, 1754. iii. George, b. Apr. 1, 1714, in N. Hdrf., d. at sea on board the "St. Andrew" in Aug. 1734, buried at sea. iv. A son, aged 4 years, was buried in Hdrf., June 10, 1721. 2. Rev. Balthaser HOFFMAN, b. 1867, d. July 11, 1775, m. Ursula BEIER (BEYER), b. about 1686, d. May 16, 1767, dau. of Eva Beier. They came to Pa. in 1734 with their children. Balthasar Hoffman and Ursula are buried in the Salford Schwenkfelder Cem. Balthasar Hoffman and his brother George bought 76 acres of land in Lower Salford Twp, of Caspar Wistar on Mar. 26, 1735, but in the same year, Dec. 17th, joint tenancy was severed. Balthasar and his wife conveyed their interest in the tract to George in 1743, and he secured a patent for the same on Feb. 2, 1745. This tract, together with 25 acres, acquired from Caspar Wistar on Dec. 24, 1743, was conveyed by George Hoffman to George Heydrick on May 22, 1762. It is situated on the east side of the Skippack Creek, two miles west of Franconia village, and was formerly owned by Henry Derstine. According to a biography of Balthasar Hoffman by his son, Christopher, he was born in Harpersdorf, Silesia, of "poor, plain and unpretending parents and was brought up in such traditions. He was employed in Harpersdorf, especially in winter, as a weaver; at other times, however, frequently as a day laborer. In stature, he was a tall man, rather slender, his face longish and thin; and after his fiftieth year his hair grew entirely white. Even at an early age, he had both a bent and a zeal for learning the ancient languages, and by his indefatigable diligence and the assistance of good books (which however, were not plentiful, because his means were insufficient to procure them) he succeeded in acquiring a fair mastery of Latin, Greek and Hebrew, so that he knew these languages. Besides he had both the inclination and concern to devote himself to the Scriptures, in order to acquire the correct understanding of them; to this end his knowledge of the languages was extremely useful and serviceable, since by this means he was able to examine the original text of the Scriptures, so that this knowledge was of great assistance for the better understanding of them." The importance of Balthasar Hoffman amongst the Schwenkfelders before their migration is indicated by the prominence he had in the various missions that were sent to the Emperor to implore toleration for this persecuted sect. In 1719 the Reformation made such progress in Silesia, that in 1721 the Catholic Church sent a mission to bring the people back to the old faith. The members of this mission at first labored mildly, but soon committed great acts of violence. The Schwenkfelders thereupon resolved to send an embassy to the Emperor. Their embassy was composed of Christopher Hoffman, Balzer Hoffman (father and son), and Balzer Hoffrichter. They left Silesia for Vienna on May 5, 1721, to make a plea for toleration for the severely oppressed brethren at home. Hoffrichter did not stay long, but the other two remained more than four years. In this mission Balzer Hoffman delivered no less than seventeen memorials to the royal ruler. Although none of the deputation had any knowledge of court procedure and although officials who assisted them, did so at the risk of losing their position, true friends were found who assisted them in placing their pleas before the Imperial Court of Charles VI. During this time he found time to write letters, visit friends, compose hymns, sermons and extensive tracts on religious subjects. The expense this incurred must have been very heavy on these people, who were already impoverished by the ravages of war and the burdensome fines imposed by the Jesuits. According to one account of their leader, Melchior Schultz, they had spent from $10,000 to $12,500 to secure toleration. We are told that in 1726 their petition was denied by the Emperor and they were forbidden to present any more petitions; Balzer dared not show himself by day, but had to return by night, taking with him to Ober-Lausitz his wife and two daughters, but not being safe here he fled with his father from Vienna by way of Prague to Lausitz and obtained the protection of Count Zinzendorf in Saxony for eight years, during which time his son Christopher was born. In Pennsylvania, upon the death of his old friend, Rev. George Weiss in 1740, Balzer Hoffman was called on to officiate in his stead, but not being very strong physically, he withdrew several times; however demands continued to be made upon him especially for outdoor services and for catechizing of the children, so that he continued as above stated, until the weight of years made it impossible for him to serve any longer. He never tired of his many duties. His Sabbath forenoons, afternoons, or evenings were employed in writing, reading and singing. His closing years were spent in a small room, spinning, yet daily he would read, write, sing and pray. To him idleness and the want of truth were of great moment, seeing how God's gift of freedom was misapplied. He was a man of eminent wisdom and piety, and left behind him a catalog of his writings, embracing fifty-eight tracts, all on theology and practical religion--besides eighty-three letters on various kindred topics. As an hymnologist of the first order, he spent much time in composing, transcribing and studying hymns. He helped George Weiss compile the so-called "Weiss Hymnbook" of 1732. He made a transcription of both the first and second hymn collections. His son, Christopher, gives us a list of seventeen titles of Analyses and studies of hymns. His favorite employment seems to have been the study of hymns and occasionally on "Gedaechtnisz Tag" (Sept. 24, the Schwenkfelder Memorial Day), he would present the study of a favorite hymn. Many of these sermons or studies are still extant. Children of Balthasar HOFFMAN and Ursula BEIER: i. Anna, b. 1712, d. Jan. 16, 1796, m. George Schultz. ii. Rosina, b. Dec. 21, 1718, d. June 14, 1788, m. 1) Christopher Seipt, 2) Christopher Yeakel. iii. (Rev.) Christopher, b. Dec. 3, 1727, d. Jan. 29, 1804, m. Rosina Dresher.