A Dunfee Duo

Last December I wrote several posts regarding Aquilla and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff and their son. In this post, I discussed the possibility that their son Jonathan H. Hoff (last found with his father in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas in 1880) and John Hazlett Hoff (found in Decatur County, Kansas in 1900 & 1910 and Lawrence, Douglas County in 1915, 1920, 1925, and 1930) were the same person.

Shortly after those posts were published, I contacted Cathy, the submitter of one of the most "promising" ancestry trees. We corresponded briefly at the end of December but came to no firm conclusions. In April, she ordered the marriage record for John H. Hoff that "Charlie" a kinexxions reader had located in an online index. It confirmed the names of his parents listed in the index, but didn't really bring us any closer to a conclusion.

Decatur County, Kansas Marriage Application dated March 15, 1892. Parents of Jno. H. Hoff are given as Olen Hoff and Eliza Durfee.

Part of the "issue" is that John H. Hoff is consistently 5 years younger than Jonathan H. Hoff. And there is the family tradition that John was "the only child of along-toward-middle aged parents, had a father 'mostly' German born in the United States. His mother, Irish, was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. in her seventeenth year" and John's parents reportedly died during his "early teen years" and he then went to live with an uncle.

Aquilla Hoff and Eliza Dunfee were married on September 4, 1851 in Ashland County, Ohio. He was 36 years old and she was 38. In the 1860 census, Jonathan is 6 years old. In 1870, he is 16 and in 1880 he is 26 years old - all consistent with an 1854 year of birth. So, yes, he would have been born to "late in life" parents with Aquilla being about 40 and Eliza being 42 years old. And he was an only child.

On his marriage application of March 15, 1892, Jno. H. Hoff gives his age as 33. In the 1900 census, John is listed as born in Nov 1859. In 1910 he is 51 years old. In 1915 he is 55. In 1920 he is 60. In 1925 he is 65. And in 1930 he is 70 years old. All consistent with a birth year of 1859-1860.

According to census records, Aquilla was born in Maryland and Eliza was born in Pennsylvania. My mother and grandmother always said the Dunfees were Scotch-Irish so maybe the "Irish" part in the John Hoff family tradition has some semblance of truth to it. But Eliza was not the immigrant - her parents were both born in Pennsylvania also.

Eliza died on August 6, 1876 probably in Lagrange County, Indiana. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lagrange County. At that time, Jonathan would have been about 22 years old (i.e. not in his early teens). Aquilla died June 27, 1883 also in Lagrange County. Jonathan would have been about 29 years old. Even subtracting the five years "lost" when given the age of John H. Hoff, it means he would have been 17 and 24 years old when Eliza and Aquilla died.

Of course, I have a theory regarding the age difference between John H. Hoff and Jonathan H. Hoff, assuming that they are indeed the same person. Did vanity enter into the equation? Perhaps John "shaved" 5 years off of his age so that he would not be so much older than his wife Mary who was born in January 1868. Using their ages, she would have been about 14 years younger than Jonathan and about 9 years younger than John.

One idea that Cathy proposed was that maybe Aquilla was John's uncle and that John was adopted by Aquilla and Eliza. But if that is true, he would have been adopted as a much younger child, not one in his young teen years. And there were no other known children for Aquilla and Eliza, especially older children.

So we're back to square one, not knowing with any degree of certainty whether John is Jonathan.

But, entering into the picture is contact with another Dunfee descendant, this one through a brother of Eliza. No, Roger didn't add anything to the information we have, but he did have a photo that really got my attention when I saw it. Roger's ancestor is Jonathan Smith Dunfee who is a brother to Eliza and to my 3rd great-grandfather, William Hamilton Dunfee.

You see, Cathy has a photograph of her great-grandfather John Hazlett Hoff. And Roger has a photo of his great-great-grandfather Jonathan Smith Dunfee. And they both gave me permission to use those photos here on kinexxions.

When I first saw the photo of Jonathan S. Dunfee it immediately called to mind the one of John H. Hoff. I kept clicking between the two and finally got them displayed side by side as shown in the composite below. The resemblance is striking. At least it is to me.

On the left is John Hazlett Hoff and on the right is Jonathan Smith Dunfee. Possibly nephew and uncle. Photos used courtesy of Cathy Hansen and Roger Waller.

But a really neat thing that I was able to do, with Roger's permission, was to give a print of the picture of Jonathan Smith Dunfee to one of his great-grandsons that lives here in Columbia City. Cal is my 3rd cousin twice removed and I've known him for a very long time. Mom and her siblings "always" knew their Dunfee cousins, which I think is pretty cool. I spent yesterday afternoon with Cal and his wife, Ardilla, talking about the Dunfee family, genealogy and numerous other topics. We had a wonderful visit! (As a side note, Ardilla is a grand-aunt of my brother's two oldest boys. Their grandfather is Ardilla's brother.)

A hearty "Thank You" goes out to Cathy and Roger for willingly sharing their research and their wonderful family photographs.

I must say, these last few months have been absolutely fantastic for me in terms of genealogy and family history research! It's been amazing and I can't wait to see what comes along next!

For more information on the Dunfee family, see the Index to Posts, which is a compilation of all the posts that have been published here at kinexxions on the family.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "A Dunfee Duo," Kinexxions, posted July 17, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/07/dunfee-duo.html : accessed [access date])

The Dunfee Family :: Are Jonathan H. Hoff and John H. Hoff the same man?

This post continues with the search for Jonathan H. Hoff, son of Aquilla and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff. My intent was to possibly locate living descendants in the hope that they might have additional information on the Dunfee and Hazlett families.

As noted in the previous post, Jonathan was not found in the online census index after 1880. I did find a John H. Hoff in Kansas census records, 1900 through 1930, that I think is a likely candidate to be Jonathan H. Hoff, son of Aquilla and Eliza. However, there is a 5-6 year discrepancy in their ages. This John H. Hoff was recorded consistently as born in 1859/1860, sometimes in Ohio and other times in Indiana. However, census records for Jonathan H. Hoff (1860 through 1880) consistently report that he was born about 1854 in Ohio.

But, this John H. Hoff has a daughter, his first born child, named Eliza... and his middle name is Hazelet!

It should be noted that Jonathan H. Hoff was living with his father, Aquilla, in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas (in the south east corner of the state, on the border with Oklahoma). His mother had passed away on August 6, 1876 in LaGrange County, Indiana. Aquilla returned to LaGrange County, Indiana where he died on June 27, 1883.

In 1900, John Hoff was found in Lyon Township, Decatur County, Kansas (page 6b). Decatur County is in the north west corner of the state, on the border with Nebraska, about as far away as you can get from Montgomery County and still be in Kansas!

John, age 40, born Nov 1859 in Ohio, was residing with his father-in-law James Wilson. John's parents were both listed as born in Ohio; his occupation was Clergyman; he had been married 8 years. His wife Mary was 32 years old and the mother of 3 children: Eliza, age 7 born May 1893; Grace, age 3 born Nov 1896; and his son Joyce, age 3/12 born Feb 1900. There were others in the household of James Wilson but for my purposes, at this time, they aren't important.

In the 1910 census, John H. Hoff is listed as the head of household, still in Lyon Township, Decatur County, Kansas (page 3a). He is age 51, born in Ohio. His father was born in Maryland and his mother in Pennsylvania. He is a farmer doing general farm work. There was no marital status given for John.

His wife and four children were found in Clay Center City, Ward 3, Clay County, Kansas (page 106) in 1910. Clay County is in the northeast corner of the state. Mary Hoff is the head of household, 42 years old, married once for 18 years with 4 children, all living. Mary's occupation was listed as janitor and she worked in a school building. Daughter Eliza was 16 and worked for board with private families. Daughter Grace was 13, sons Joyce and Eryll were 10 and 1, respectively. All of the children were born in Kansas.

The 1915 Kansas State Census has the family residing in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas (page 28). Douglas County is southeast of Clay County, one county away from the Missouri state line. John Hoff is age 55, Mary 47, Elisa is 21, Grace 18, son Joyce is 15 and son Ehryll is 6 years old.

1920 finds the family living on Ohio Street in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas (page 15a). John H. Hoff is 60 years old, born in Indiana. His parents were born in Ohio. He was a dishwasher in a cafe. His wife, Mary F., was 51 and also a dishwasher in a cafe. Listed with them were their two sons, Joyse W, age 19 and Eryll F, age 10 and daughter Grace E., age 23. There was also a roomer, Matthew B. McIntee who was 36 years old and was born in Connecticut.

The 1925 Kansas State Census tells us that they were still residing in Lawrence (page 36). John H. Hoff was 65 years old and born in Indiana. He came from Missouri and is a cafe keeper and is able to read and write. His wife, Mary F. Wilson Hoff came to Kansas from Indiana. She is 57 years old and a house keeper. Their sons, Joyce W. and Eryll F. were living with them. Joyce was 25 years old and a cafe keeper. Eryll was 15 years old.

In 1930, John H. Hoff is still living on Ohio Street in Lawrence, Kansas (page 7a). We learn that he rent his home for $12, is 70 years old, was born in Ohio. His parents were born in the United States. He was first married at age 32 and has no occupation. His wife Mary F is age 62 and was first married at age 24. Son Joyce W. is 30 and a waiter in a restaurant. Son Eryll F. is 21 years old and a reporter for a newspaper.

The family of John H. Hoff appears to be:

• John H. Hoff, born Nov 1859 in Ohio or Indiana (father born Ohio or Maryland, mother born Ohio or Pennsylvania)
• married about 1892 to Mary (Wilson) Hoff, born Jan 1868 in Indiana

Their children:

• Eliza Hoff, born May 1893 in Kansas
• Grace Hoff, born Nov 1896 in Kansas
• Joyce W. Hoff, born Feb 1900 in Kansas
• Eryll F. Hoff, born about 1910 in Kansas

Previous searches for Aquilla Hoff/Huff born 1815 in online trees produced no results. A few days ago, as I was preparing this post, I did a search for Eryll Hoff, born 1910, in the ancestry public member trees. I chose him because of the rather unusual spelling of his name. Yeah, I do all this census stuff (he really was easy to find) and then look at the online trees. For various reasons, I often wait until I've done some initial research on a family before looking at the online trees.

Anyway, the search for Eryll Hoff returned nine results. Six of those trees gave his parents as John Hazelet Hoff and Mary Fiducia Wilson. One listed his father as John Sherman Hoff with the same mother. The other two did not give his parents.

A search for John Hazelet Hoff also returned nine trees, some different than in the search for Eryll. Three of those trees gave John's parents as Emil Hoff and Mary Martha Emiline Jane Cowper/Cooper and one listed them as Kingsbury Hoff and Cora Matilda Hadley (with John's year of birth as 1865). None of the trees provided sources for the parents.

The entry for John Hazlett Hoff in “The Van Sickler Family Tree” (no parents) provides some nice photographs and one story for John. (I think you have to be signed in to ancestry.com for the links to the trees to work.)

“from the life story of Grace Elizabeth Hoff concerning her father John Hoff: Papa, the only child of along-toward-middle aged parents, had a father "mostly" German born in the United States. His mother, Irish, was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. in her seventeenth year.

I believe Papa inherited the Irish characteristics. I never knew them nor much about them They both died during Papa's early teen years, and he lived with an uncle. This uncle had a family of several big rough boys who picked on and teased their younger, smaller, and somewhat delicate cousin. However, there was money inherited from his parents' estate for his education. He attended Seminary in Indiana and became a Methodist minister.”

From this information it sounds like they don't know anything about the parents of John H. Hoff. Darn. I was really hoping they would have more information on them. I haven't yet, but will be sending a “member connect message” to the owners of “The Van Sickler Family Tree” (with the above story) and “Coghlin / Griffitts Family” tree (which has his father as Emil Hoff but also mentions La Grange, Indiana).  I'm not saying I'm right, but I am interested in hearing what they think of my "theory" that Jonathan and John are the same person even though their ages are different. The daughter named Eliza and his middle name lends credence to this theory, I think. What do you, Dear Readers, think?

I wanted to get this post and the previous one with information on Aquilla and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff published first so I could send those contributors the links rather than trying to explain everything in a message. Hopefully, I will get a response (maybe after the holidays). If not, I'll try the owners of the other trees.

See the Index for previous posts on the Dunfee family.

The Dunfee Family :: Eliza and Aquilla Hoff

Eliza is presumed to be the daughter of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee. The primary link is the fact that Eliza was living with Jonathan Haslett in Mifflin Twp, Ashland County, Ohio in 1850. We're making the assumption that Jonathan is probably the father of Sophia. Bottom line is that I really don't have any “proof” that Eliza is the daughter of James and Sophia.

Census records put the year of birth for Eliza Dunfee at 1811, 1813, or 1815 and place of birth in Maryland or Pennsylvania. In 1850, she is 39 years old and born in Maryland. In 1860 she is 47 and born in Pennsylvania. And in 1870 she is 55 and born in Pennsylvania. Chances are, her age in 1850 is probably closer to the truth ;-) since she seems to lose a few years with each census.

Eliza married Aquilla Hoff on September 4, 1851 in Ashland County, Ohio as recorded in volume 2, page 70 (license 1134) of Ashland County Marriage Records.

The image above is from the FamilySearch online database of Ohio County Marriages. There seems to be some “confusion” on the part of the clerk that recorded the marriage or the “authority” who performed the ceremony. Under “Names of Parties” it shows that the record is for Aquilla Hoff and Eliza Dunfee. In the far right column, it states that R. D. Emerson is certifying that “on the 4th day of September Eighteen hundred and fifty one I joined in Marriage Mr. George W. Brown and Miss Eliza Dunfee.”

In actuality, it was Eliza Dunfee who married Aquilla Hoff. When the property of Jonathan Hazlett was sold on October 25, 1853, the majority of the items were sold to Aquila Hoff.

Sale Bill from the estate file (#190) of Jonathan Hazlett. Ashland County, Ohio.

The last entry in the above image (a portion of page 299 of the Ashland County Tract Book) shows that Luke Selby, administrator of the estate of Jonathan Hazlett sold in March 1854 the land that had been owned by Jonathan to Aquilla Hoff. The transaction is also recorded in Ashland County Deed Book 10 page 206.

Aquilla Hoff and his wife Eliza, sold that land to Christian Vesper on March 27, 1857 (Ashland County Deed Book 15 pages 162-163).

That was, essentially, all the information I had on Aquilla and Eliza. Until in November 2010, when I received an email in response to an 11 year old query I had posted on the Hoff Family Genealogy Forum. My correspondent passed along the information that Aquilla and Eliza had moved to LaGrange County, Indiana where she had found them in the 1860 census.

I'm guessing that they probably moved to LaGrange County in the spring of 1857 after they sold the land that had belonged to Jonathan Hazlett. They are listed in the 1860 and 1870 census in Bloomfield Township, LaGrange County, Indiana.

Aquilla Hoff is 45 years old in 1860. He is a farmer with real estate valued at $3000 and a personal estate of $342. He was born in Maryland. Listed in his household was Eliza, age 47 and born in Pennsylvania; Jonathan, age 6 and born in Ohio. Also included was Lucetta Dumbar, 12 years old and born in Indiana.

In 1870, Aqula Hoff is 54 years old. He is still a farmer but has real estate valued at $5000 and a personal estate of $1000. He was born in Maryland. Included in his household were Eliza, now 55 but still stating she was born in Pennsylvania; and Jonathon, who is 16 years old and born in Ohio.

Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff died on August 6, 1876 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Lagrange County, Indiana. There is a memorial for her on Find A Grave. Looking closely at the photo of her gravestone it appears that the word “AGED” is written below the date of death. If so, it might pinpoint her year of birth a little better than the census records.

In the 1880 census, Aquilla Hoff was found in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas. He was 65 years old, retired and born in Maryland. Listed with Aquilla was his son, Jonathan H. Hoff, who was 26 years old, a farmer, and born in Ohio. He gave his father's place of birth as Maryland and that of his mother as Pennsylvania.

According to my correspondent, Aquilla Hoff was born February 15, 1815 in Washington County, Maryland and died June 27, 1883 in LaGrange County, Indiana. However, I suspected that he died in Kansas since that was where he was living in 1880. Turns out, Aquilla really did die in LaGrange County. There is an entry for him in the book “Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920” that was compiled by the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration). It shows that he died in Newbury Township and was 68 years old.

What happened to their son Jonathan H. Hoff? Jonathan does not appear to be in the census records after 1880 (ancestry online index).

I did find a John H. Hoff in Kansas census records, 1900 through 1930, that I think is a likely candidate to be Jonathan H. Hoff, son of Aquilla and Eliza. However, there is a six year discrepancy in their ages.

But, this John H. Hoff has a daughter, his first born child, named Eliza... and his middle name is Hazelet!

See The Dunfee Family :: Are Jonathan H. Hoff and John H. Hoff the same man?

See the Index for previous posts on the Dunfee family.

It was a long time coming...

Nearly eleven years ago (on November 19, 1999) I posted a query on the Hoff Family Genealogy Forum. It was a short query “Aquilla HOFF married Eliza DUNFEE September 4, 1851 Ashland Co., Ohio. Eliza was sole heir to the estate of her grandfather, Jonathan HAZLETT, when he died in Ashland County September 16, 1853. In March 1857, Aquilla and Eliza sold the land she had inherited. Where did they go? What happened to them? Do they have any descendants? Any information on them would be greatly appreciated.”

Time passes. I researched other people, other families and pretty much forgot about Aquilla and Eliza. Then, on Saturday, October 30th, I received an email from the wife of a descendant of Aquilla Hoff's brother! I was astounded to receive a response from an 11 year old query!

Since her husband is a Hoff descendant she had no additional information on the Dunfee family. However, she told me where Aquilla and Eliza had lived, when and where they were born, and that they did have a son, Jonathan, born about 1854 in Ohio.

Aquilla and Eliza moved to La Grange County, Indiana before 1860 – they are listed in Newbury Township that year and in 1870. Aquilla was residing in Drum Creek, Montgomery County, Kansas in 1880 with his son Jonathan H. Hoff – Aquilla's marital status was widowed.

According to my correspondent, Aquilla Hoff was born February 15, 1815 in Washington County, Maryland and died June 27, 1883 in LaGrange County, Indiana. However, I suspect that he died in Kansas since that is where he was living in 1880 although it is possible that he returned to Indiana. Additional research needs to be done... I haven't yet looked for the son Jonathan.

Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff died on August 6, 1876 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Lagrange County, Indiana. Census records indicate that Eliza was born about 1811-1813 in Pennsylvania. There is a memorial for her on Find A Grave.

Eliza Dunfee is my 3rd Great-Grandaunt and is the daughter of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee who lived in Cumberland Township, York County, Pennsylvania in 1790. That township became a part of Adams County in 1800. They were living in Adams County 1800-1820. In 1830 they resided in Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio. I haven't looked lately but a few years ago I didn't find them in the 1840 census. In 1850 they were in Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio. And, in 1860 they were in Jefferson Township, Whitley County, Indiana.

A note in my grandmother's papers stated that James and Sophia Dunfee were the parents of 13 children. I have found information on 10 although for several of them I have no “proof” that they are children of James and Sophia. More research needs to be done in that arena. Eventually I'd like to find living descendants in the hopes that someone will have more information on them and their children.

A letter dated March 16, 1849 from James and Sophia E. Dunfee to William H. Dunfee and Catharine B. Dunfee (my 4th great grandparents) provides clues to some of the children. Future posts will document the information I have on the (presumed) children.

See the follow-up post The Dunfee Family :: Eliza and Aquilla Hoff

Also see the Index for previous posts on the Dunfee family.