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Hoffman Family

SURNAMES & THEIR ORIGINS

HOFFMANN/HOFFMAN (Ger) Hof. Meaning: estate steward - the German root hoff means hope.

ONASZ from the Biblical name Yonah. Meaning: dove.

• Johann & Anna Hoffman:
  Johan Hoffman (1840-1898), the son of Albert & Catharina married (1865) Anna Onasz (1847-1929). It is believed that Johan was born in the village of Klakendorf and Anna in Luben Kreis. Johan was a tailor with a background in weaving and was also an officer in the Prussian Army. When he arrived in New Zealand he threw his war medals into the sea saying "This is my country now".

Anna Onash was born around the year 1847 to Johann & Catharina. Her father was French, being one of Napoleon's soldiers left behind in the retreat from Moscow. Her Mothers family found him by the wayside and nursed him back to health later to marry their daughter. Both Johann & Catharina's parents also came from a background of weaving.

Johan & Anna Hoffman had 3 boys & 1 girl while in Poland. It is unsure where they resided when first married but their first two children where Max (1865-1936) & Michal (1867). Two further children were born in the village of Klein Malsau (Malzewko), Liebschau (Lubiszewo), West Prussia, ethnically the region of Kociewie in the district of Gdansk, Poland. They were Franz (1869-1954), & Maria bertha (1872).

The family left for Hamburg, via Gdansk, aboard the ship "Palmerston" on the 29th of July 1872 arriving in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand on the 6th of December 1872. The family aboard ship were Johan 31, Anna 24, Max 7, Michael 5, Franz 2.5 & Maria .75.

• Johann & Anna Hoffman:
  After settling briefly in Greytown & Waihola districts they had two more children being: John (1874-1874) & August (1875-1929). The family then moved south to the settlement known as Germantown near Gore where they joined other Poles to work on the railway. Johan & Anna had a further seven sons while in the settlement being; Joseph (1876-1937), John (1878-1953), Thomas (1880-1949), James Luke ((1882-1948), Adam (1884-1919), Alexander Paul (1887-1945) & George Frederick (1890-1957).

In mid 1874, Johan Bucholz, a fellow Pole, was successful in the ballot for a 200acre section of land to the north east of Gore, who drew the third section on the McNab run, from the East Gore boundary, on the highway known as Symes and Pinnacle Road. He was soon joined by a considerable number of his fellow countrymen & looking round in search of a place where they might pitch their tents without trespassing on private property, they came upon the coal reserve along John Bucholz's farm, and having heard that there was likely to be a school built up on the Pinnacle, about one and a-half miles away, they decided to camp on that part of the reserve that was not taken up on account of it being non-coal-bearing. Here Johan Hoffman built himself a house for his large family. The reserve contained some 40 acres, and it was open to the general public to apply to the Land Board for a prospecting licence. If successful in locating a seam deemed to be profitable to work the prospector could peg off two acres, which was the maximum for one man. The rental for each claim taken up was one pound a year. John Hoffman had one such pit. John Hoffman, Michael Leitze & August Gutchlag delivered coal to Gore and also sold it to settlers who came to the pit. The coal delivered to Gore was charged from 8s to 12s a load, which represented about a ton. While working their claims at the coal reserve, the first generation of Hoffmans also did some shearing, and Johan was also successful as a road contractor. While carrying out the latter, they formed and gravelled the road from the Pinnacle Road crossroad to the front of Mr. A Middlemass' property in Gore. John Hoffman found plenty of demand for his skills as a contractor with the buildings, roads and bridges required as the young colony grew and developed.

In the 1882 Freeholders, Johan is listed as owning land to the value of Ł90 in the town of Gore. With a wife and 12 children to provide for, it seems unlikely that John had much time for sport or relaxation, but his sons excelled individually at cycling, wrestling, athletics, music and dancing, and collectively at tug-of-war. The tradition to excel as sportsmen and sportswoman has continued through successive generations to the present day. The Hoffman brothers got on very well together, and there was a great bond between them.

Around September 1884, Johan got into difficulties with his creditors, so the family devised a plan to get around this:

One family had a large family of mainly boys, who were contractors and who got into difficulties with their creditors. The creditors put a private bailiff in charge of all stock, implements and the house. The boys worked out a scheme to get rid of the bailiff, and a distress warrant, by filling the said bailiff with beer, which must have been doped, because it put him into a deep sleep in a small outhouse. While he was asleep they hitched up the horses and carried the house and everything intact - cattle, horses, and implements - onto a section inside the town boundary, a mile from the poor bailiff. When he woke up the next morning, sitting in the outhouse, lord of all her surveyed, which was the coal reserve minus all fittings. The reaction of the bailiff's employer would have made interesting reading. The law did not allow a distress warrant to be followed onto other property.

Annie Hoffman was naturalised as a New Zealand Citizen on the 29th of May 1901 residing in Gore. Her Grandchildren recalled piling into the dray to travel to Gore to visit the Hoffmans. It was a very exciting trip. They played cards, often crib. Anna spoke of her grandsons, Tom and Alec, as her little German kilties when they dressed in their kilts and played in the pipe band.

Anna lived with her daughter Mary in Roxburgh in her declining years. As the only girl in a family of boys, Mary did a lot to help her mother. She was an excellent cook and a first class seamstress. She fell in to the Taieri River as a little four year old and never lost her fear of water. Daphne, her great-granddaughter, remembers Anna way up high in a brass bedstead with thick feather mattresses and surrounded by pillows with frilled pillowcases; all snow white.

John Hoffman died on the 4th of April 1898 aged 58 years and Annie died on the 19th of January 1929 aged 82. Both are buried at the Gore Cemetery. Grave

• Max Hoffman:
  Michael Hoffman:
  Frank Hoffman:
  Maria Bertha Lamb (nee Hoffman):
  

Information & Photos kindly provided by Darcy Hoffman.

Editorials

Hoffman Family Tree