Our German Ancestors:
Hoffman, Biesemeier, Gassman, Rosenstiel

The Rosenstiel family, along with their son-in-law Frederick Gassman, came to America from Thuringen in central Germany about 1845. Soon after, several Biesemeier brothers immigrated from the principality of Lippe in western Germany. These families eventually settled in the adjoining counties of Stephenson and Ogle in the state of Illinois. Wilhelm Biesemeier was married to Hermine Gassman in 1863. It was many years later, in 1881, when the Hoffman family immigrated to Illinois from the east German areas of Pommern and Posen. These areas are primarily in Poland today. Adolph Hoffman was married to Josephine Biesemeier in 1891. Our ancestral families intermarried with other German families of Stephenson and Ogle counties in Illinois, including Brockmeier, Fosha, Heinke, Kurth, Leseman, Lewke, Niemeier, Polker, Prasse, Schild, Schmidt, Staderman, Vehmeier, Winters and Zumdahl. Our branch of the Hoffman family removed to Iowa for several years before moving on to Oklahoma in 1903.

Twenty-five years of family history research has taught me that genealogists love vital statistics, census records, and pedigree charts. But, family members would just like a couple of good stories to remember their ancestors by. So, I am offering two different styles of presentation here:

For my husband’s family-
A narrative account of our German Ancestors: Hoffman, Biesemeier, Gassman and Rosenstiel. This is strictly our ancestral line and includes a few family photos and some extra ‘click-on’ articles.

For family historians and researchers-
A report on the Descendants of Edward Hoffman
A report on the Descendants of Frederick Cord Biesemeier
A report on the Descendants of Friedrich "Fred" Gassman
A report on the Descendants of Jacob Rosenstiel
There are also photo albums and some extra ‘click-on’ articles.

If you want to see a list of everything that appears in this section, check out the site-map under the heading ‘Our German Ancestors’.

Copyright© 2005
Pamela Hutchison Garrett

Last Update: 3 September 2005          This site best viewed by Internet Explorer - resolution 800 x 600

Citation:  Garrett, Pamela Hutchison       2005       Looking Back: Family Stories and Genealogy       http://pamgarrett.com/       [date accessed].