Today is the 345th anniversary of the birth of my 8th great-grandfather, Johannes Hofmann. Johannes was born 19 July 1663 in Eisern, Siegen, Westphalia, Prussia. On 27 May 1690 Johannes married Gertrud Reichmann and they had 8 children. Johannes died in Eisern on 11 March 1737.
The names of Johannes and Gertrud's children are indicative of a fairly common phenomenon in Germany Catholic families in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was fairly commonplace, at least among my ancestral families, for all or most of the male and/or female children to have the same name. In this case all of the male children are named Johannes/Johann and three of the female children are named Catharina: Catharina, Johannes, Maria Catharina, Elsa Catharina, Johannes Hermann, Anna Margaretha, Johannes Heinrich, Johann Wilhelm. I would guess that first son was known as Johannes and the others were known by the middle names.
My descent from Johannes Hofmann is as follows:
Johannes Hofmann + Gertrude Reichmann
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Johannes Hofmann + Maria Sabina Folg
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Mary Huffman + John Hanbach
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Rosanna Hanbach + James Lowe
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Jonathan Lowe + Hannah Ayles
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Elizabeth S. Lowe + Jonathan Walker
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Sarah Jane Walker + Andrew D. Fleming
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Rena Bell Fleming + James Eldridge Needs
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Freda Irene Needs + Harry Frederick Schoen
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My Father + My Mother
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Me
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