The following was copied from RootsWeb Review for 13 Dec 2001, and I apologize that it repeats other notes here, but there were a few points that need correcting. Ruth Dunlap sent the original message [the errors are not hers], and the comments by John Blankenbaker are in square brackets such as [ ]:
The comment in RootsWeb Review, 5 Dec. 2001 regarding JOHN HOOFMAN'S WILL (21 Nov. 2001) that the mention in the will to his "two Great Bibles" identifies them as an English Bible published in the 1500s, etc., and valuable in 1772 as 200 year-old antiques is, at least in this case, an erroneous assumption and possibly misleading to others. John HOOFMAN is more usually spelled John HOFFMAN or HUFFMAN. He was among a group of 12 men and their families brought from Germany to Virginia in 1714 by Governor Alexander Spotswood to work iron ore deposits."
[This is a slight inaccuracy. The transportation of the Germans was paid in part by Spotswood from London. Spotswood had nothing to do with their transfer from Siegen to London. Spotswood, wanted to put the Germans to work at silver mining when he could gain title to the silver that might be found. In 1714, Spotswood had no iron mine, nor plans for an iron works.]
They formed the colony called Germanna. John HOFFMAN probably spoke (and read and wrote) only German all his life. The Bibles were surely written in the German language. In one of John's Bibles was written (in German):
"This Bible was sold to me as part of my paternal inheritance, which I received from Eysern [Eisern today, the home village of the Hofmanns] in Nassau-Siegenschon. My brother Wilhelm HOFFMAN bought it in for me, and I paid him the same amount, namely, 10 Thaler of the Realm from my Inheritance."
(Genealogies of Virginia Families v. IV, from Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1981, p. 61.)
[This William also came to America, but he lived in Pennsylvania.]The chapter in the above reference on John HOFFMAN was written by one of his descendants, Dr. John W. WAYLAND, one of Virginia's most productive historians. Four pages including the above paragraph and Bible entries of family births, deaths, and marriages were copied from one of the Bibles by an intermediate descendant, and Dr. WAYLAND had it translated from the German.
The recorded will [of John Huffman] says: "I Give my two Great Bibles amongst my nine Sons as I have by my last Wife Mary . . ." In this context, it is quite likely that "Great Bibles" referred to their size, as in "large Bibles".
John HOFFMAN did marry twice, as was surmised. One son and one daughter from his first marriage [actually two daughters], and all 12 children (9 sons followed by 3 daughters) of his second marriage, were all alive and in the area when John HOFFMAN wrote his will. His 10 sons were listed by name (and each inherited several hundred acres) [more exactly about 350 acres], but, as mentioned, the will later says the Bibles were to rotate among his "nine" sons. Why he did not include his oldest son (by his first wife) is unknown, and it is safer not to speculate.
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.