Hi, looking for info. on my husband's great-grandparents: Barbara Hofmann and Louis Frederick Kasten, married Aug. 26, 1891 in Cook County, Illinois. Have other family info. to share. Charlene

I don't know if this will help any of you, but I have always been told that the spelling of Hofmann with to nn's and one f is the Austrian spelling. Although they speak German it is with a different accent and no where near as harsh as the German accent. I know my connections are Austrian, because my father is First Generation American, he came over in the 60's. I know of no Jewish ancestors in the main family.

My Grandfather was Philip Hofmann. My mother
said he was from Bavaria.(where? this is a
big Place)His uncle was from Austria.When
I was in Salzburg,I saw the name Hofmann on
a building.I think you may be right about
this being an Austrian spelling..Marlene Hart

My grandfather, John Hofmann came to America from a town named Tribiz - then in Bohemia, now is the south central part of the Czech Republic. John, his father and three brothers settled in Albany, Minnesota before he moved to the Minot area of North Dakota

In Portland, Oregon, I even saw the name "Krieg" on something people with the "2F's" walk over without a shred of conscience, must be a "Family" Trait! :-)

I can trace the departure of my Great Grandfather Reinhardt Bernhardt HOFMANN, from FALKENSTEIN, Saxony (Sachsen) Germany--just 5 miles from the Czech border. Said to have spoken "HIGH GERMAN". That spelling confirmed on the EMIGRATION records from Hamburg. good luck.

I agree with you. My g-g-grandfather was Karl Hofmann from Orastie, Transylvania which was Austria-Hungary. It was changed to Hoffman when my g-grandfather became a citizen of the USA. At that time his brother Johann also became John.

This does seem to be an Austriamn spelling. It is the history of the area that makes this confusing. I grew up thinking my ancestors were from Bavaria. I even visited and came home squeeling with delight over how much it felt like home...same food and music I grew up on! I have just found out that my g-g-grandfather was actually from Orastie, Transylvania! This was Austria-Hungary at the time and Austria for awhile and now Romania. Still, after reading some history, I can understand the Bavaria influence. Apparently Catherine the Great (in the 13th century) offered for some German knights from the Dutchy lands (Saxony, Bavaria etc.) to move to that area. In return for protection of the land they were given land and allowed to act as a state within a state. The Saxons had their own laws and elected officials including elected officials in the church. Most Saxons in this area were middle class land owners, the Hungarians were nobility and land owners and the Romanians were serfs. In 1848-49 there was a civil war between the Hungarians and Romanians and serfdom was abolished on paper. The Saxons just tried to stay out of the way. Today there are less then 5% German population in this area.