It has sounded as if the emigrants from the Siegen area had a proclivity for traveling together. The three groups, leaving in 1713, 1734, and 1738, did travel together, and two of the groups consisted of more than forty people each. A few families did come individually.
Johann Jost Konst (or Kuns) arrived at Philadelphia in 1737. Probably this is the man who was later known as Joseph Coons of the Little Fork. This was strengthened by the same ship (the Nancy) bringing also Matthias Hofmann, who was the brother of Henry Hofmann of the Little Fork colony. But this Matthias did not go on to Virginia. He joined the Moravians in Pennsylvania. Later when the Moravian missionaries visited Virginia, in particular the Little Fork and Germantown, they would say hello to Henry from his brother Matthias. Joseph Coons was a nephew of the 1714 Joseph Coons, who was also his godfather. The later Joseph Coons was born at Niederndorf, a couple of miles southeast of Freudenberg.
The two Crim brothers, Johannes and Johannes Jacob, came through Philadelphia in 1740, probably with young families. Again, these later arrivals settled in the Little Fork. They were born at Oberschelden in the Oberfischbach parish. This is another village, among several we have discussed, just outside the western limits of Siegen. They were nephews of the 1714 John Spilman. In Virginia, the name is usually rendered as Grimm.
In 1743, Johann Henrich Hofmann, brother of the 1714 John Huffman, came to Virginia. He settled in the Robinson River area, where his brother lived. At a still later time, another brother, Johann Wilhelm Hofmann emigrated, but he settled in Pennsylvania. These Hofmans were from Eisern, just a few miles south of Siegen, in the Catholic area. They attended the church in Rödgen, a very small village about one mile east of Eisern. The Hofmans also came into Siegen to the Protestant Church there.
Johann Jacob Heimbach came about the same time as Johann Henrich Hofmann, who is known to have come in 1743. Perhaps they came together, but no solid information on that is known. Heimbach was born at Trupbach, and was the nephew of Mrs. Harman Utterback, who had come in 1714. John Young, of the Little Fork group, was a relative also. In Virginia, the name became Hanback.
The archives in Siegen hold a copy of a letter that Henry Huffman wrote from Virginia. He was asking John Steinseifer to conclude a business matter in Germany, which would result in money for Huffman, and to bring it along to America. Letters were the principal means of communication across the Atlantic.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.