Looking for information on my gt gt grandfather George (Johan Georg?) Billhofer who I beleive is the Johan G. Billhoger, age 25, who immigrated to the US aboard the Maryland, POE NY July 4th, 1842. He settled in Buffalo, NY. He was Lutheran and married Elizabeth Meyer (sp?) that October in St. John's Lutheran Church, Buffalo. I know he came from Bavaria but know very little about his German background. His grave in Tonawanda lists the year of his life as 1817-1878. City and county death records are destroyed so I can't check them to see if they list his birth place. There was also another Johan Billhofer aboard the Maryland who was 10 years older than George. Don't know who this person was, but suspect it was brother or cousin. Looking to contact anyone who had relatives aboard the Maryland or anyone who has ever heard of that elusive Billhofer name.

Hi there,

I hope you are still checking Ancestry.com periodically for responses because I believe we may be related through Georg Billhofer.

I have a letter dated June 1863 from Georg Billhofer in Tonawanda to his sister (my great-grandfather's mother) in Germany. I have asked the relatives we located in Germany to translate the letter.

I believe that Georg Billhofer is the reason my great-grandfather emigrated to America in 1899. Do you have any correspondence to or from Georg to anyone that will give us any clues about whether this is the same Georg? Do you know of any Dorns or Habermanns in your ancestry?

I searched for more than 10 years for information on my great-grandfather Dorn with no results until about 4 months ago when everything cracked open. I hope this turns out to be a connection for you. If there is any indication that this is a connection I will forward the contents of the letter to you as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Susan

I just received translation of George Billhofer's 1863 letter written in Tonawanda and sent according to you your great-grandfather's mother. My gtgtgf George is definitely the one who wrote the letter. I found sister Kunigunde living next door and she was married to Conrad Eisenbach. Never knew George had a sister Kunigunde. Now who is George's sister who is your gtgtgm? When was she born? Do you know the parents' names? George also mentioned a good sister Barbara who has died. The letter was confusing. She may have married Christoph Groetsch? Hope to hear from you.

Hi there,

I'm glad Stephan sent the letter to you although I'm not sure how the two of you connected, perhaps it was through Theresa.

It appears that Georg Bilhofer, born abt 1816, was probably the uncle to my gtgt grandmother. It's possible that's how the letter ended up in her son, Paulus Dorn's, hands when he travelled to America in 1899.

Georg would have been brother to Michael Bilhofer, born 28 Jan 1809 - died 1 Feb 1875, and they may have had at least two female siblings, Barbara and Kunigunde. I'm assuming that when the letter mentions "Dear brother" repeatedly, he's referring to Michael. Barbara married Christoph Grotsch and Kunigunde married Conrad Eisenbach.

My gtgt grandmother, Katharina born 22 Mar 1846, was the daughter of Michael Bilhofer. She married Christoph Dorn and their son, Paulus Dorn, is my gt grandfather.

I agree that the letter is a bit convoluted but it is starting to come together for me. I don't know the names of the parents of Georg, Michael, Barbara, and Kunigunde. It's possible that Stephan could get that information as he is in the area and has access to the Standesamt where all the records are probably archived.

I'd love to learn more about the Bilhofers. The information about the farm in the letter is so interesting, number of trees, livestock, etc. I would be interested to learn where he lived in Black Rock and what made him move. Also the reference to the civil war and the battle in Richmond is so amazing. My husband's gtgtgtgt Grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War and that was so much fun to learn about.

I'm happy to share anything I discover about the Bilhofers and I look forward to seeing what you have discovered.

Best,

Susan