Category: Research

When President Herbert C. Hoover was elected to office in 1928 (serving 1929—1933), there was a great deal of interest in tracing his lineage, much as we’ve seen happen with Barack and Michelle Obama’s ancestry. Information from the Hoover family indicated that the immigrant ancestor was named Andrew Hoover (Andreas Huber), that he was born in Baden, Germany, and arrived at Philadelphia about 1740 at age 15 years old. He married Margaret Pfautz and settled for a time in Frederic County, Maryland, before migrating farther south to Randolph County, North Carolina.

Trippstadt
Initial speculation by Richard W. Staudt was that Andreas Huber was from the Huber family of Trippstadt. While the name Huber was virtually nonexistent in Germany 100 years before the emigration from the Palatinate to America began, it is now widespread. Many of those Huber families are descended from the Trippstadt Hubers.

This family was first found in the Palatinate in the second half of the 17th century. Martin Huber, the first found in area records was there as early as 1666. One of his younger sons was named Johann Andreas Huber. Also in the area were Johann Andreas of Mausmuhle, who sponsored his nephew Johann Andreas, who was born 6 Nov 1720 and baptized at the Thaleischweiler Lutheran Church.

However, an examination of “Names of Foreigners who took the Oath of Allegiance, 1727-1775” shows that there were two Andreas Hubers who immigrated to America about this time—one in 1738 and one in 1741. The passenger list for the ship Two Sisters (1738) lists Andreas Hoover, age 15. The passenger list for the ship Friendship (1741) lists Andreas Huber, age 20. Thus, Andreas Hoover (1738) was born ca 1722/3 and Andreas Huber (1741) was born circa 1720/1. Given this information, it is fairly obvious that Andreas Hoover (1738) was most likely President Hoover’s immigrant ancestor, while Andreas (1741) was most likely the Johann Andreas Huber from Thaleishweiler.

Baden-Baden
So, if President Hoover’s ancestor wasn’t from Trippstadt, where was he from? Mr. Macco, a German genealogist retained by Mr. Staudt, initiated a search for Andreas Hoover’s (1738) origins. Mr. Macco initiated a search for Andreas Huber, born ca 1721-1723, in Baden-Baden. Although he was not confident about finding a Lutheran Huber in the mostly Catholic parishes in Baden-Baden, he was able to locate Huber families. For instance, on 2 Oct 1689, Franz Anton Huber, son of Johann Adam, butcher, was baptized. Macco found a number of Huber families, including several with men of the same given name—an indication that the families had been there for several generations.

However, he was not able to find an Andreas, born 1721 to 1723, nor is that name found in the local Huber families. Therefore, he determined that the immigrant ancestor could not have been from Baden. So, he turned his examination back to the Palatinate.

Ellerstadt
The only Andreas he was able to locate was the son of Gregor Jonas and Maria (Kreutzer) Huber of Ellerstadt, in the district of Durkhëim. This Andreas was born at Ellerstadt and baptized 29 Jan 1723 in the Lutheran church. No more records were apparently found for Andreas in the church book, so he likely did not remain in Ellerstadt. Staudt writes that “…the names of many other citizens of Ellerstadt appear in the same passenger list, there cannot be any doubt of his identity.”*

Mr. Macco also decided that since the village Ellerstadt had once —for 7 years, starting in 1754 ( 16 years after Andreas’ emigration— belonged to the Marquis of Baden-Baden, that this was why the family thought their ancestor was from Baden. Therefore, this had to be the immigrant ancestor of President Hoover.

Ittlingen
However, while the Andreas Huber of Ellerstadt was the only one found by Mr. Macco, he was not the only man who could be Herbert Hoover’s immigrant ancestor. Baptism records for the village of Ittlingen show an Andreas Huber, born 13 May 1724, baptized 14 May 1724, son of Johannes and Ottilia (___) Huber.** Ittlingen is in the Kraichgau region in the Heidelberg district of Baden. Furthermore, from what I can tell from 18th century maps of the area, Ittlingen was also part of Baden at the time of Andreas’ emigration in 1738.

Annette Burgert makes an even stronger argument for Andreas Huber (1738) being from Ittlingen, not Ellerstadt. By examining the origins of the other passengers of the ship Two Sisters, she was able to determine that several other passengers—Johann Gottlieb Bräuninger, Johan Martin Bräuninger, Johann Michael Oesterlin, Dietrict Benedict, Hans Peter Sailer, Pleickerd Dietrich Sailer and Wolfgang Braun—were from Ittlingen. All of these names appear in the Ittlingen records. It is unlikely that the child Andreas would be traveling alone, but no other passenger from the Two Sisters has been traced to Ellerstadt.

Staudt argued that Andreas was traveling with Wolfgang Braun and his nephew Adam Braun, who was married to Andreas’ sister, Anna Elizabeth. Adam and Anna Elizabeth (Huber) Braun supposedly took passage on a ship that arrived 7 weeks after Andreas’ and settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where several other siblings had settled. However, it has since been shown that the Anna Elizabeth Huber and Johann Adam Braun who married  on 24 Sep 1738 in Ellerstadt remained at Ellerstadt. They did not immigrate to Pennsylvania, nor settle in Lancaster County.

Furthermore, Andreas Huber married Margaret Pfautz, granddaughter of Hans Michael Pfautz, a 1727  immigrant from Rohrbach, near Sinsheim, just northwest of Ittlingen. Since it is a well known fact that the Germans emigrated in groups and settled in America near/with groups from their old villages in Germany, this, too, strengthens the argument that Andreas Huber (1738) was from Ittlingen.

Conclusions
It is always good to recognize that your conclusions are only as good as the facts that are available to you at any given time. I believe that Mr. Macco drew conclusions based on the information he had—conclusions that any one of us would have made given the same facts. However, additional research has turned up new information, new facts that change the picture. At this time, I find the argument that Andreas Huber was born in Ittlingen, not Ellerstadt, to be very compelling.

What does this mean to me and my research? It opens up the possibility that the Andreas Huber born in Ellerstadt was the same who emigrated aboard the ship Edinburgh in 1754. Additional research is needed to confirm it, of course, but for now it is a plausible hypothesis.

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* The names of the other passengers who matched the passenger list of the Two Sisters is not provided in the Staudt article. And according to Annette Burgert, none of the passengers have been proven to be from Ellerstadt.

** But what about the difference in age? Andreas (Ittlingen) was born in 1724 and would have been only 14 in 1738, not 15 as stated on the passenger list. Annette Burgert shows in her research that the ages on the list are not exact. For instance, Dietrich Benedict was listed as being 30 years old. Baptismal records from Ittlingen show he was born 11 Jun 1710, making him only 28. This holds true for Pleickerd Dietrich Sailer, too. He was listed as being 24, but was born 29 May 1719.

Sources:

• Staudt, Richard W., “Origin of the Hoover Families,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly (National Genealogical Society: 1929), Vol 17, No. 1, page 1-6.
• Kephart, Major Calvin, “Hoover American Ancestry,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly (National Genealogical Society: 1929), Vol 17, No. 1, page 6-24, Vol 17, No 4, Pages 53-56.
• Kephart, Major Calvin, “Hoover (Huber) Ancestry,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly (National Genealogical Society: 1929), Vol 23, No. 4, page 110; Kephart actually confuses land pruchases of Andreas Huber (1754) in Maryland as being those of Andreas Huber (1738)
• Burgert, Annette Kunselman, “18th Century Emigrants from Northern Kraichgau,” (Breinigsville, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1983), Vol 16, page 180-181.
• Burgett, Annette Kunselman, “18th Century Emigrants from the Western Palatinate,” (Breinigsville, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1985), Vol 19, page 177.
• Davenport, John Scott, “Earliest Pfautz/Fouts Families in America,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly (National Genealogical Society: 1975), Vol 63, Number 4, page 243-249.
• Staudt, Richard W., “The Huber-Hoover Family of Aesch, Switzerland and Trippstadt, Palatinate with some Accent on Migrations to Pennsylvania,” Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine (The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania: 1935), Vol 12, No 2, page 223-243.

I found these definitions listed on the Chester County [PA] Archives website and found them very helpful. So, I thought I’d share them.

Types of tax records:

1. return – a list of persons with taxable property without an assigned value listed
2. assessment – a list of persons with taxable property which includes the assigned values, also may include the amount of various types of property (land, including types of land; cattle, sheep, horses, etc.)
3. rates – a list of persons with the amount of tax assigned to that individual

Types of individuals listed in tax records:

1. landholder – someone who holds land by deed or lease
2. inmate – a married or widowed, landless individual who may own taxable property (like a horse)
3. freeman – single, free man at least 21 years of age
4. nonresident landowner – the owner of unoccupied land

I find this list particularly helpful. I’ve always wondered at the definition of “inmate” and how old a man had to be before he was officially “of age” and therefore could be listed in tax records.  Can I also assume he couldn’t own property on his own (without a guardian) until he was 21? If you know, please leave a comment.

In my last post, I went over what I found in the German Township, Fayette County tax records during my recent trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In this post, I’m going to address what I found in the Union and Tyrone Township tax records.

If you recall, I had this information for the township before the trip:

Union Township

• Andrew Hoover (1785—1788)
• Henry Hoover (1785—1789)
• George Hoover (1787—1789)
• Jacob Hoover (1787—1788)
• John Hoover (1787—1789)

These tax records, given the timeframe, most likely, refer the sons of Andrew¹. I don’t believe his grandsons would be of age in 1785.

The township records on microfilm start in 1810. I looked at records from 1810 through 1825, specifically for any Hoover listed. Here’s a summary of what I found:

• George Hoover (1810—1825)
• Philip Hoover (1810, 1815)
• John Hoover (1810—1811, 1814—1815)

George Hoover first appears as a farmer in 1810 and is listed as such through 1825 when I stopped browsing the records. If I’m reading the records correctly, it appears he had 50-60 acres of land and usually 2 horses and 2 or 3 cattle. In 1824, the tax records also state that he had 1 dog.

I believe that this George Hoover is the son of Andrew² (Andrew¹). George Hoover died intestate on 20 May 1847.^[1] According to his estate papers, he resided on the same tract of land in Union Township all his life—a tract that was devised to him by his father Andrew Hoover. His daughter Elizabeth, co-executor of the estate with her brother John, received a patent for the property on 25 Oct 1848.^[2]

Philip is listed as a laborer in 1810 and 1815, but there is a note in 1815 that he had “come of age.” John is listed as a plasterer in 1810, 1814, and 1815, but in 1815 there is the note that he has “come in.” It appears that neither John nor Philip owned property.

I believe this John Hoover may be the son of George³ (Andrew², Andrew¹). John Hoover is listed as an heir of George Hoover in George’s estate papers in 1848. John Hoover is listed as being age 45 in the 1850 US Census for Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.^[3] Also in his household:

• Elizabeth Hoover, age 52, female, born in Pennsylvania
• Anice Hoover, age 42, female, born in Pennsylvania
• Mary Hoover, age 19, female, born in Pennsylvania
• Jane Carr, age 16, female, born in Pennsylvania
• Martha Smith, age 9, female, born in Pennsylvania

George’s estate provides an idea on who these females are. Elizabeth Hoover, George’s daughter, was co-executor of the estate. “Anice” is likely Ann, George’s heir, probably a daughter. Mary Hoover was the daughter of Rosanna Hoover, deceased, and granddaughter of George Hoover.^[4] Jane Carr was the daughter of Mary Hoover, daughter of George Hoover, and deceased wife of William Carr.^[5] Martha Smith may be the daughter of Sarah Hoover and her husband Mark Smith, who were listed as heirs of George.

Also included in George’s estate was his daughter Catharine Hoover, wife of Joseph Downer. Catharine had died prior to the settling of her father’s estate, but her seven children were named: Aaron Downer, John Downer, Jemima Downer, Nathaniel Downer, Joseph Downer, Ann J. Downer, and Adventure Downer. Joseph Downer and his children were in Muscatine, Iowa at the time the estate was settled in 1850, but I’ve been unable to locate them there in census records.

The Philip Hoover is a mystery. It’s possible that he was a son of George³ Hoover. George² Hoover (Andrew¹), George³‘s uncle, had a son Philip who died in Bullskin Township in 1793 and this George also had a grandson named Philip (Christian³, George², Andrew¹). So, the name is not unheard of within the family.

Tyrone Township

I decided to examine Tyrone township tax records because Andrew Hoover purchased land in Tyrone township from John Waller in 1775 and a “widow” Hoover listed in the township during the 1800 US Census. Figuring it was possible Andrew died sometime before 1800, I hoped I might be able to get his wife’s name or perhaps names of his children from the tax records.

I found no Hoovers in the township records for 1799. But in 1801 there were two: Henry Hoover, single, and Sarah Hoover, owner of 1 horse and 1 cattle. The two Hoovers do not appear in subsequent records through 1810.

So, we now know of a Sarah Hoover, most likely a widow, and a Henry Hoover, quite possibly her son, in Tyrone township in 1800/01. Unfortunately, the records do not provide enough information to be able to definitively tie them to our Hoover family.

Footnotes

1. Fayette County Orphans County Docket, Vol. 4: 259, 369
2. Fayette County Warrant Book H-46: 603; and Fayette County Warrant Book C-112: 22
3. John Hoover household, 1850 United States Federal Census, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Union Township, page 166 dwelling 259, family 266; National Archives micropublication M432, roll 779.
4. Mary Hoover petitioned to have John Hoover as her gaurdian, stating she was the daughter of Rosanna Hoover, a daughter of George Hoover.
5. Fayette County Orphans Court Docket, Vol, 4: 369; Jane asks for John Hoover a guardian. She was the only heir of her mother.

I’m recently back from a trip to Pennsylvania—well, okay, not recently, but close enough—and I thought I’d share some of what I learned.

I spent some time at the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg. Mostly, I looked up and copied Hoover Family deeds from Fayette, Armstrong, Westmoreland, Washington and Greene counties, but I also looked for Wills, Estate Records, and tax records.

I’ve had some luck getting useful information from tax records in my Hocker family research. I already had some tax information from the Pennsylvania Archives, Series III before the trip, as follows:

Union Township

• Andrew Hoover (1785—1788)
• Henry Hoover (1785—1789)
• George Hoover (1787—1789)
• Jacob Hoover (1787—1788)
• John Hoover (1787—1789)

German Township

• Jacob Hoover (1785—1797)
• George Hoover (1785, 1790)
• Joseph Hoover (1799)
• John Shoemaker (1789)

Springhill Township

• John Hoover (1785—1786)

Wharton Township

• Andrew Hover (1789)

Dunbar Township

• Emanuel Hoover, blacksmith (1799)

Bullskin Township

• George Hoover (1785—1786)
• Philip Hoover (1789)
• William Kerns (1789)

Salt Lick Township (originally Bullskin)

• George Hoover (1787—1800)
• Christian Hoover (1789, 1799—1800)

New Tax Information

Since I’m trying to learn more about my ancestor George Hoover’s (Bullskin & Saltlick Townships) brothers, I focused my search on Union and German Townships where there was a preponderance of Hoovers.

German Township

• Jacob Hoover (1785—1801)
• George Hoover (1785, 1791)
• Andrew Hover (late 1790s, 1818-1819)
• Joseph Hoover (1800—1816)
• Mary Hoover (1802—1809)
• Henry Hoover (1813—1820)
• Samuel Hoover (1813—1817, 1819)
• Jacob Hoover (1812)

In German Township tax records, I found Jacob Hoover from 1785 through 1801 as expected. Jacob Hoover and his wife Mary owned a tract of land there called “Hoover’s Valley” on Brown’s Run.¹ The tax records show Jacob owned 130-150 acres of land; the warrant shows approximately 184 acres. Jacob Hoover died in 1800, sometime before 8 Sep 1800 when his Will was probated.² I’ve sometimes found a person listed in tax records for the year after their death; I assume it’s listed that way until the probate has cleared.

Mary Hoover is listed in the tax records from 1802 through 1809. The tax records show the same property as Jacob: 150 acres, 3 horses, 2 cattle, and 3 sheep. Mary Hoover died sometime between 2 and 20 Dec 1808, when her Will was written and then probated.³ Mary Hoover’s Will mentions the German Township land, deeding 75 acres of it to her daughter Hannah Hoover, wife of Joseph (one of her executors), and approximately 30 acres to her daughter Rachel Gray, where James Gray resided (Rachel’s husband?).

A George Hoover appeared in the German Township tax records, too. In 1785 he is listed as a freeman. This means he was of age, but did not own property. In 1791, he is also listed, but this time as owning 1 horse and 1 cattle. He does not appear in subsequent records. This most likely was Jacob’s son George who was born ca 1860, most likely in old Frederic County, Maryland near Hagerstown where his grandfather owned property. Geroge and his wife, Elizabeth Garrison, moved to Ohio County, Kentucky sometime between 1792 and 1794.

In 1800 Joseph Hoover appears in the records and is listed through 1816. He appears beside Mary Hoover (Jacob’s widow) from 1801 through 1809 when he is listed as “Executor of Mary Hoover deceased.” In 1813, he is listed as owning 75 acres of land, instead of the 150 acres as Mary’s executor. His occupation is listed as Farmer in 1813 and 1814, but as “Taylor” in 1815 and 1816.

An Andrew “Hover” appears in the records, too, sometime in the late 1790s, but doesn’t appear again in following years.⁴ However, an Andrew Hoover appears in the tax records for 1818 and 1820, with his occupation listed as clerk[?], then laborer. This later Andrew is possibly the son of Henry² Hoover (Andrew¹), who died in German Township 20 Apr 1821 and was buried in the Harrison graveyard.

Henry Hoover first appears in the German Township tax records in 1813. His occupation is listed as farmer, but he own only 1 horse and 1 cattle. He is listed in these tax records from 1813 through 1820, when I stopped my research. His occupation is noted as alternately a farmer, carpenter or “sawer”, while his property remains only a cattle and/or a horse. This Henry is likely Henry³ (Henry², Andrew¹). Henry² was, I believe, in Whitely Township, Greene County at the time of the 1810 census and in Johnstown Township, Licking County, Ohio at the time of the 1820 census.

And finally, a Samuel Hoover appears in the township tax records in 1813 and is still there in 1820, except for 1818. His occupation is listed as farmer, carpenter, and laborer in the various records. In 1816 I believe he owned 30 acres of land and there was a notation “from Redstone,” but I don’t know what the note means.

I don’t have a record of a Samuel Hoover as a member of the family of Andrew¹ Hoover as either a grandson or great-grandson. However, it is entirely possible that he could be. I don’t know anything about the eldest son John² Hoover, but it is likely that he had children. I do not know all the grandchilden of Henry². I know Andrew² had children, but do not know all their names. And there are several son of George² Hoover that I know relatively little to nothing about.

That’s all I have time for. I’ll write up the information for the Union Township tax records in my next post.

Footnotes

1. Fayette County Warrant Book C-082: 382, dated 26 Jan 1785
2. Fayette County Will Book, Vol 1: 50
3. Fayette County Will Book, Vol 1: 124
4. I couldn’t make out the year in the records