Linda Hoyouse visiting the homeland of her ancestors

from left to right: Ruediger Kemmler, Patty Gernert, Linday Hoyouse

That was my dream ever since

My first contact with Linda was in July 2001 and over the time she has provided me with numerous great information about her Hoss ancestors and other families in Crawford Co.

Linda is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Anna Maria Hoss,  born Dec 25, 1826 the daughter of Johann Adam Hoss, born Feb 15, 1793 in Wankheim  and Christina Grauer, born Dec 22, 1791 in Maehringen . In 1834 Johann Adam Hoss decided to leave Maehringen and emigrated to the U.S with his wife and the four kids,  Johann Adam, Anna Maria, Katharina and Christina. He settled in Chatfield Twp., Crawford Co., OH.   Linda and I are cousins of 8th degree.

In 2008 she informed me that she will come to Germany with her sister-in-law Patty Gernert and would appreciate to see the homeland of her ancestors. So we aligned our schedules and were making some arrangements for the visit.

On Jun 23, 2008 was the great day when we met in Maehrigen in front of the “Stephanskirche” in Maehringen. My class mate, Ludwig Kemmler and his wife Inge were our tour guides through the church and Inge even played some music for us on the organ, creating some special moments for Linda.

Naturally we also went up to the bell tower to show the old bells which already were in service when Johann Adam and his family were still living in Maehringen. It’s always a very special and emotional moment when people become aware that they can hear the sound of the bells as our ancestors did centuries ago. You can listen to the bells visiting the page of Maehringen.

Together with the Major of the city of Kusterdingen, Dr. Soltau, who welcomed our guests on behalf of the city, we made a tour to some of the scenic places in Kusterdingen  like the Klosterhof and the old City Hall.

During the interview with the local press Linda told us that the is still cooking some Swabian dishes like the rivel soup and the pot pie. There was a large report in the local newspaper Reutlinger Generalanzeiger from Jun 30, 2008 with the headline Das war schon immer mein Traum (That was my dream ever since).

Tombstone of Christina (Grauer) Hoss *Dec 22, 1791, +Jul 17, 1861
Tombstone of Christina (Grauer) Hoss *Dec 22, 1791, +Jul 17, 1861
Tombstone of Johann Adam Hoss, *Feb 15, 1793. +Aug 26, 1853
Tombstone of Johann Adam Hoss, *Feb 15, 1793. +Aug 26, 1853

Thanks to Linda’s great archive I can even display some pictures from the tombstones of Johann Adam (at the top) and Christina (Grauer) Hoss.

 

 

 

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