Rosina Hoffman Eiler in 1880

When I found what appeared to be the marriage of Margaret's daughter Rosina Hoffman in 1872 (see Rosina married John Eiler) I looked for the couple in the 1880 census. I found a John "Iler" with wife Rosa. He was born in Hessia Darm[stadt] and she was born in Switzerland. He was a farmer and they were listed with two sons, Frederick and George. The location was Clear Creek Township in Keokuk County, Iowa.¹ They were in eastern Iowa not very far from the Illinois locations of other Hoffman family members. Here is the census page (remember to click on the image to see it larger) with a detail of the "Iler" family. Note that the census taker spelled John's name as it sounded just like the Stephenson County Clerk in the marriage record. It should be written as Eiler. I'll continue with the census records in the next post on Rosina.



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1. 1880 U.S. census, Keokuk County, Iowa, population schedule, Clear Creek Township, Enumeration District (ED) 159, sheet 185D, dwelling/family 61, John Iler household, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 March 2009), citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 349.

Rosina Hoffman married John Eiler

We hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas! If you've had a chance to read the newsletter, you'll have seen that we finally learned what became of Margaret (Hoffman) Blumhardt and her daughter Rosina Hoffman.

In March I found a marriage listed in the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900, provided by the Illinois State Archives (http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/marriage.html). It took place in Stephenson County, just east of Jo Daviess, and the place where Margaret lived in 1880. The bride was Rosina Hoffman, the groom John Eiler, the date 14 December 1872. Eventually I determined this to be the right couple as detailed in the newsletter.

I wrote to the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) at Northern Illinois University, the one covering Stephenson County, for a copy of the marriage record. They sent copies of the license with the minister's return and the separate affidavit. Click on the images to see them larger.


This is the license. In the affidavit below, you will see John's surname spelled "Iler" and Rosina's first name rendered some other way, written by a clerk no doubt, but it does contain John's signature.



I'll have more about this couple in future posts.