Johannes Hoffman and Anna Eva Schönberger

1. Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Rohleder Parish Records 1801 to 1857, https://volgaparishes.com/rohleder_page.html, 2022.
2. Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Rohleder Parish Marriage Records 1858 to 1880, https://volgaparishes.com/rohleder_parish/rohleder_marriages_1858-1880_alpha.htm, 2022.
   
3. Rohleder church records in the Saratov Province State Archive, research by Dr. Igor Pleve, November 2019, translation by Wadim Eichmann.
4. Copies of St. Fidelis Catholic Church, Victoria, Ellis, Kansas church records from the files of Darryl W. Boyd.
5. Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A census of the colony, July 28, 1850, 2005.
6. Mai, Brent (trans.), 1857 Census of Graf in the District of Samara, Russia.
7. Letter from the Archives Administration of the Saratov Region Government, Regional Public Institution “State Historical Archives of Volga-Germans in the city of Engels,” Lenina Ave., 13 Engels 413100, Tel. (Fax): (845-3)56-89-24, 55-67-88, Email: archive@engels.san.ru, Archival Certificate, March 20, 2009, information extracted from the 1878 Graf family list.
8. Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A family list of the colony, 25 November 1895, Hays, KS: Kevin D. Rupp, 2005.
9. Knoll, Anna, "John Peter Knoll and His Family," biography.
10. Author unknown, "John Peter Knoll," biography.
11. Year: 1892; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 583; Line: 50; Page Number: 12. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
12. Photocopies of death certificates for John Peter Knoll and Katherine (Hoffman) Knoll from the files of Darryl W. Boyd.
13. Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
14. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.
15. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
16. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
17. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930.
18. Ancestry.com. Kansas, U.S., State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com.
19. Gravestones of John Peter and Katherine Knoll, Gotfriet and Markreta Hofman, Saint Anthony Cemetery, Graham County, Kansas.

Rohleder Parish Records 1801 to 1857

Photo: 155-1
Line: 120
Birth date: 12 Oct 1843
Baptism date: 12 Oct 1843
Child: Johannes
Father: Hoffman    Michael
Mother: Kuhn    Anna Maria
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Johannes Herrman & Dorothea Meier

Photo: 131-1
Line: 93
Birth date: 26 Sep 1840
Baptism date: 4 Oct 1840
Child: Anna Eva
Father: Schoenberger    Sebastian
Mother: Schaefer    Magdalena
Village: Rohleder
Witnesses: Peter Schoenberger & Anna Lederhos

Source: Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Rohleder Parish Records 1801 to 1857, https://volgaparishes.com/rohleder_page.html, 2022.

Rohleder Parish Records 1858 to 1880

Marriages

Line: 24
Date: 12 Oct 1863
Groom: Hoffmann    Johannes
   Age: 20
   Marital status: S
   Village: Graf
Bride: Schönberger    Anna Eva
   Age: 18
   Marital status: S
   Village: Rohleder
Groom's parents: Michael Hoffmann & Anna Maria Kuhn
Bride's parents: Sebastian Schönberger & Magdalena Schäfer
Where married: Rohleder
Witnesses: Gottfried Bollig, Peter Schamne, Peter Schmidt

Photo: 89-2
Line: 12
Date: 4 Nov 1874
Groom: Hoffmann    Johannes
   Age: 31
   Marital status: W
   Village: Graf
Bride: Kohlbeck    Anna Maria
   Age: 32
   Marital status: W
   Village: Graf
Groom's parents: Michael Hoffmann & Anna Maria Kuhn
Bride's parents: Bartholomäus Kohlbeck & Anna Margaretha Leidecker
Where married: Graf
Witnesses: Johannes Wasinger, Peter Bach, Peter Obholz

Source: Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Rohleder Parish Marriage Records 1858 to 1880, https://volgaparishes.com/rohleder_parish/rohleder_marriages_1858-1880_alpha.htm, 2022.

Rohleder church records in the Saratov Province State Archive

Hoffmann Katharina 20.03.1867
Column 1: Hoffmann
Column 2: 60 (Index of record in current month)
Column 3: 20 (day of birth)
Column 4: 23 (day of baptism)
Column 5: 23.03.1867 in Raskaty (Rohleder) Romic Catholic Church the baby named
Katharina is baptized by administrator priest Turczynski (Alexander Tortschinski)
with the performance of all rites of the sacrament.
Column 6: Colonists Johann Hoffmann and Anna maiden name Schönberger, legal
spouses's daughter was born 20.03.1867 in Krutoyarovka (Graf).
Column 7: Receivers were colonists Konrad Bach with spouse Katharina Schönberger.
Column 8: Witness was colonist ??? Glassmann.

Hoffmann Gottfried 29.08.1864
Column 1: Hoffmann
Column 2: 129 (Index of record in current month)
Column 3: 29 (day of birth)
Column 4: 29 (day of baptism)
Column 5: 29.08.1864 in Raskaty (Rohleder) Romic Catholic Church the baby named
Gottfried is baptized by administrator priest Turczynski (Alexander Tortschinski)
with the performance of all rites of the sacrament.
Column 6: Colonists Johann Hoffmann and Anna maiden name Schönberger, legal
spouses's daughter was born 29.08.1864 in Krutoyarovka (Graf).
Column 7: Receivers were colonists Gottfried Geier with spouse Margaretha Schamna (?).
Column 8: Witness was colonist Georg Gasper.

Hoffmann-Schönberger 12.10.1863
Column 1: Hoffmann
Column 2: 34 (Index of record in current month)
Column 3: 12 (day of month)
Column 4: 12.10.1863 in Raskaty (Rohleder) Romic Catholic Church priest Gibusz announced
three times, which were made on 27th of September, 30th of September and 10th of October.
Column 5: Colonist Johann Hoffmann, young man (in this case means unmarried before), 20
years old, from colony Krutoyarovka (Graf) of Raskaty (Rohleder) Parish with maiden Anna Eva
Schönberger, 18 years old, from colony Raskaty (Rohleder) of same parish married.
Column 6: Colonists Michael Hoffmann and Anna Maria Kun, legal spouses's son and
Sebastian Schönberger and Magdalena Schäfer, legal spouses's daughter with witnesses
Gottfried Bollich (?), Peter Scharrn (?), Peter Schmidt.

Source: Rohleder church records in the Saratov Province State Archive, research by Dr. Igor Pleve, November 2019, translation by Wadim Eichmann.

Images of church records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each of the thumbnails to view a larger version of the records in another tab.

St. Fidelis Catholic Church, Victoria, Kansas

Source: Copies of St. Fidelis Catholic Church, Victoria, Ellis, Kansas church records from the files of Darryl W. Boyd.

Graf Census, 28 Jul 1850

Michael Hoffman
Birth:   1810    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Spouse: Ann Maria ?
Birth:   1808

Children
Peter Hoffman
Birth: 1831    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia

Michael Hoffman
Birth: 1833    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia

Anna Maria Hoffman
Birth: 1835    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia

Christian Hoffman
Birth: 1837    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia

Margaretha Hoffman
Birth: 1840    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia

Johannes Hoffman
Birth: 1844    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia

Jacob Hoffman
Birth: 1846    Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia

Source: Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A census of the colony, July 28, 1850, 2005.

Graf Census, 1857

Michael Hoffman                                                               47
Anna Maria Kuhn                         Wife                              49
Peter Hoffman                              Son                               26
Anna Maria Klephan                   Daughter-in-law         23
Katharina Hoffman                      Granddaughter         3
Barbara Hoffman                         Granddaughter         1
Michael Hoffman                         Son                              24
Margaretha Schönberger          Daughter-in-law         19
Anna Maria Hoffman                  Daughter                     22
Christoph Hoffman                      Son                               20
Margaretha Hoffman                 Daughter                     17
Johannes Hoffman                      Son                              13
Jacob Hoffman                            Son                              11

Source: Mai, Brent (trans.), 1857 Census of Graf in the District of Samara, Russia.

1878 Graf Family List

No 150 (91) Hoffmann Michael Michailovich (Michailovich is a patronymic meaning that his father’s name was Michael), 45. Michael’s wife Margaretha nee Schoenberger, 41. Michael’s Margaretha died on December 24, 1879.

Michael married Katherina Spiess, 33.
His daughters:
Margaretha, 17. Got married in 1882.
Katharina, born on September 22, 1881. Died on November 14, 1882.

Michael’s sons:
Anton, born on November 14, 1862. Died on February 22, 1883. Anton’s wife Klara nee Bollig, came on November 8, 1882, got married for the second time.
Daughter Helena, June 15, 1883.

Franz, born on February 16, 1865.
Alexander, born on July 10, 1868.

Michael’s brother:
Ivan, born on October 12, 1843. Ivan’s wife Anna Maria nee Kolbeck, 36.
Ivan’s sons:
Gottfried, born on August 29, 1864.
Osip (Joseph), born on May 1, 1878.
Peter, born on March 23, 1882.
Daughter Katharina, 13.

Michael’s niece Margaretha Christophorovna, 19.

Source: Letter from the Archives Administration of the Saratov Region Government, Regional Public Institution “State Historical Archives of Volga-Germans in the city of Engels,” Lenina Ave., 13 Engels 413100, Tel. (Fax): (845-3)56-89-24, 55-67-88, Email: archive@engels.san.ru, Archival Certificate, March 20, 2009, information extracted from the 1878 Graf family list.

1895 Graf Family List

Johannes Hoffman                                          Birth: 12 Oct 1843      Graf
Father: Michael Hoffman
Spouse: Anna Maria Biehn                            Birth: 1842

Children
Gottfried Hoffman        Male
Birth:                                  29 Aug 1864   Graf

Elisabetha Hoffman    Female
Birth:                                1875                Graf

Joseph Hoffman          Male
Birth:                                1 May 1878     Graf

Peter Hoffman             Male
Birth:                               21 Mar 1882    Graf

Nickolaus Hoffman    Male
Birth:                               8 Apr 1884      Graf
_____________

Gottfried Hoffman                                         Birth:   29 Aug 1864   Graf
Father: Johannes Hoffman (1843-)
Mother: Anna Maria Biehn (1842-)
Spouse: Margaretha --                                  Birth:   1865

Children
Joseph Hoffman          Male
Birth:                          1 Nov 1890     Graf

Source: Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A family list of the colony, 25 November 1895, Hays, KS: Kevin D. Rupp, 2005.

John Peter Knoll and His Family

by Anna Knoll

John Peter Knoll, the second child of Adam Knoll and Catherine Pfeifer, was a prominent farmer at St. Peter, Kansas. Born in Herzog, Russia, on November 12, 1862, he came to the United States with his parents in 1876 at age 13. Because he did not have the opportunity to attend school either in Russia or the United States, he was illiterate. His illiteracy did not prevent him from becoming a prosperous farmer in that he learned to acquire and manage his farms and protect his interests in the school of hard knocks.

On June 20, 1884, John Peter and Catherine Hoffman, the daughter of Johannes Hoffman and Catherine Margaret Bach*, were married in St. Fidelis Church at Victoria. Five of their eight children: Michael, Peter, Anna Barbara, Mike, and Katie, were born at Victoria, and three: Andrew, Adam, and Rosie, were born at St. Peter. Their oldest son, Michael, who died at age five, is buried at Victoria.

When John Peter Knoll and his family moved to St. Peter with his parents and three brothers and their families in 1897, they settled on a farm in section 14-10-25, which is 1/2 mile east of St. Peter. Their house was on a hill on the south side of the road.

After having lived in a sod house six years - from 1897 to 1903, they built a frame house. John Peter and his wife lived in the frame house from 1903 until they died many years later. John Peter died in St. John's Hospital at Salina on September 11, 1920, and his wife, Catherine, died at a Hays hospital October 8, 1924. Both are buried in the cemetery at St. Peter where their son, Andrew, who died in his childhood, is buried.

Besides the place where the family lived, John Peter also became the owner of other land east of St. Peter near his homestead. He bought land in an adjoining section - in section 13-10-25 - and got the 80 acres of land near his home his mother Catherine Pfeifer Knoll owned at the time of her death in 1914. Sometime after she became a widow, his mother moved in with John Peter and his family, and stayed with them until she passed away.

After John Peter and Catherine's three sons, Peter, Mike, and Adam, got married, each of them got some of the land John Peter and his wife owned. Peter, the oldest son, got the farm formerly owned by Catherine (Pfeifer) Knoll. When Peter sold this land in 1929 when he and his family moved to Colorado, Alex Knoll, the writer's brother, bought it. Mike got a quarter in section 13-10-25 after his marriage which his brother, Adam, bought from him in 1939. After the death of John Peter's widow, Catherine, Adam became the owner of the home place - 14-10-25 - and 80 acres in 13-10-25. Adam and his family lived on the home place from the time of his marriage to Agrippina Weigel in December 1923 until he and his family moved to Waukegan, Illinois in 1937. However, Adam continued to own this property from the time of his mother's death until his death in 1966, and he also kept the land he bought from Mike in 1939. Two years after Adam's death in 1966, Adam's wife, Agrippina, gave this land to their two sons, Gilbert and Elmer.

Note: Church records in Russia show that Catherine's mother was Anna Eva Schönberger, not Catherine Margaret Bach. MB

John Peter Knoll

(author unknown)

John Peter Knoll, the second child of Adam Knoll and Katherine Pfeifer, was born in Herzog, Russia on November 12, 1862. He was a prominent farmer at St. Peter, Kansas when he died at St. John's Hospital at Salina, Kansas, on September 11, 1920, at the age of 61 and 10 months.

When he came to the United States with his parents and his brothers in 1876, he helped his father on the homestead north of Victoria, Kansas. Although he was very young (not quite 14), his father needed him to help him with the farming. At that time his oldest brother Michael was working for a rancher at Victoria, Kansas, and his father often worked on the Railroad to support his family and to raise money to help pay the train fare of relatives who wanted to come to the United States from Russia.

On June 20, 1884, he married Catherine Hoffman (she was nearly 17) in St. Fidelis Church at Victoria. Five of their eight children were born at Victoria, Kansas. The oldest son, Michael, who died at age five, is buried at St. Peter. Two other children were born at St. Peter.

After moving to St. Peter when his parents and brothers moved to St. Peter in the summer of 1897, John Peter and his family made their home about one mile east of St. Peter. They lived on a hill on the south side of the road. Their first home was built of sod, and after they became more prosperous, they built a frame house in the village of St. Peter. All of John Peter and Catherine's children, except Rose (the youngest), were married at St. Peter. Rose was married at St. Catherine in Denver, Colorado.

The descendants of John Peter Knoll and Catherine Hoffman live in Kansas, Colorado, Illinois, and Arizona.

Images of immigration records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

Passenger List for the Elbe, sailing from Bremen to New York, arriving 10 Mar 1892

Source: Year: 1892; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 583; Line: 50; Page Number: 12. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Copies of census records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

1880

Herzog Township (Hartsook), Ellis, Kansas

Source: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

1900

Bryant, Graham, Kansas

Payne, Gove, Kansas

Source: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

1910

Bryant, Graham, Kansas

Source: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

1920

Bryant, Graham, Kansas

Source: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

1930

Bryant, Graham, Kansas

Source: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930.

Copies of census records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

1895

Victoria, Ellis, Kansas

1905

Bryant, Graham, Kansas

1915

Bryant, Graham, Kansas

Source: Ancestry.com. Kansas, U.S., State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com.

Images of the death certificates are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each of the thumbnails to view a larger version of the certificates in another tab.

Kansas Death Certificates

Source: Photocopies of death certificates from the files of Darryl W. Boyd.

Photos are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo in another tab.

Saint Anthony Cemetery, Graham County, Kansas