the list of names you mention is my family tree .so we must be related along the way......my name is ken huffman....johannes is my great grandfather 5 times removed ....he came from germany to virginia around 1720.....his first wife died giving birth and the baby was stillborn that was 1729....there first child was born in virginia in 1722 so i'm guessing they got to america around 1720......anyway the last name was spelled hofmann in germany but soon as his children were born there last name was spelled like mine huffman although some of the childrens are spelled hofmann by the second american generation they were all spelled huffman.....i met a german history teacher who claims that germans spell my last name huffman and german jews spell it hofmann....so we may have a jewish connection though i have only that one teachers opinion....i also noticed when doing searches on ancestry i find alot of my relatives easier when i change the soundex to jewish instead of german.....dont know if any of this helps but it is interesting......johannes is connected to a tree on ancestry called "the clans of madison county "...if that helps...you have to ask permission for acess i just did i had to give this guy gary from texas my email so he could send me the acess code....he asked my connection to the clans of madison county and when i told him he gave me acess....try contacting him he may be able to help you