Caspar Hoffman was one of the younger siblings of the immigrant Swiss family. He was born 7 January 1837 in Maur, Canton Zurich. He was baptized there as Kaspar Hoffmann, his father Johannes a citizen of Oberglatt, Canton Zurich. The witnesses were Kaspar Sennhauser and (Mrs.) Barbara Hofmann.
He arrived in the U.S. and Illinois in 1867 with his wife Louisa Schmid and two children. Louisa died and he married Wilhelmine (Minnie) Sievert in 1872. He had a farm in Carroll County but died there 19 June 1877 leaving a widow and four minor children of his first marriage. His brother Henry Hoffman administered the estate. The land had to be sold to meet the debts but still fell short. He had taken a number of loans, some from his brothers and brother-in-law John Hagie, or co-signed by them. The children were scattered among relatives and associates.
With no money left over, I'm sure he had no gravestone at the time. His widow remarried and had this slightly cryptic marker erected in the Albrecht (or Albright or Fehler) Cemetery. Where it says "Minnie His Wife," it really means wife of both men. I have no idea where Caspar is actually buried, but this cemetery is likely as other family members and friends are buried there. In rural Derinda Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, it was once with a church, but even the building is long gone.
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