52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 38. Prompt - Map It Out

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 38

Prompt – Map it Out

Malcoci, Tulcea District, Dobrudscha, Romania

 

It was early 1840's when the first German Colonists set foot in the Dobrudscha District.  Strangely they were not from Germany but from Bessarabia.  And those Germans had only arrived in Bessarabia in the previous 40 years from their homeland of Germany and in some cases from Alsace, France.

At this time The Dobrudscha Area would have belonged to Turkey and under The Ottoman Empire. These Bessarabians left their allegiance to the Czar of Russia and pledged an allegiance to a Sultan of The Ottoman Empire!  Of course, as in most immigration, the German immigrants had to be in good standing, not have been accused of crime, and the ability to work in farming and other crafts.

Bill's 2X Great-grandfather was Ignatius Hoffart.  While looking for any information on Malcoci, I discovered the website, Wild-Danube-Delta.com .  It had a short history of the city.

“The village was founded in 1843 by 25 German families, making it the first of a number of villages founded by German colonists in Dobrogea, led by Ignatiou (sic) Hoffart.”

Further I found this translation of Romanian Parliament Debates dated 7 May 2007.  It was about the old Catholic Church in Malcoci and it's demise.  Again it mentioned Ignatius Hoffart as founder. 

 Two separate on-line sights have listed Ignatius Hoffart as founder of Malcoci however I have not verified that by other sources.  Ignatius Hoffart married Marion Frank and they had several children. Their third child was Jacob Hoffart who is Bill's great-grandfather. 

Jacob and Eva were married 25 October 1885 in Romania.  They had 10 children and all were born in Romania.  One child died in Romania.   In 1913 Jacob and Eva Hoffart and 8 of the 9 remaining children immigrated to Canada.   They left from Antwerp, Belgium aboard a vessel by the name of S.S. Montreal.  They arrived in Quebec, Canada on 20 May 1913.  The 1921 Canada Census has Jacob and Eva settled on a farm in the area of Benson, Saskatchewan. 

The child who did not come at the same time as his parents was Rochus who is Bill's grandfather.  There is a family story that he fell ill at the time of boarding and was left behind.  He was hardly a child, he was 23 years old.  I am sure they weren't too worried about him being held back.  His immigration started with his departure from Glasgow, Scotland on 31 Jan 1914 arriving at St John, New Brunswick, Canada on 11 Feb 1914.   I am not sure where he lived during the 8 to 9 month stay.

Rochus' soon to be bride was Marian Gross was born in Romania and immigrated to Canada a few short months after Rochus.  Marion Gross was a passenger aboard the ship Dwinsk departing from Libau, Russia on 24 Mar 1914 and arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 4 Apr 1914.  It feels like it was an arranged marriage but I do not know that for sure.  Rochus and Marion married a few months later on July 22, 1914.

From the time of their marriage until 1919 Rochus worked as a “boilermaker helper” in Aberdeen, South Dakota.  One or two of their first children were born in United States.  I have not been able to verify that.  None the less Rochus was in USA and at that time the draft was compulsory for WWI in USA.  He filled it out and dated the card June 5, 1917.  WWI ended and Rochus, Marion and family moved back to Canada.   His Border Crossing Card was filled out on 24 Jun 1919 at Big Muddy Crossing.  According to this card “the object of coming to Canada was to make a home taking up on land.”  He came across with $1000.00 in cash and belongings valued at $1060.00. He was admitted to Canada.

He took out his first homestead on Jun 7 1919 (yes that was two weeks before they moved to Canada) which was just north of Big Muddy Lake,  However part of his homestead was under water. He gave up this land and in May of 1929 he applied for his second homestead.  Their family had grown to 8 children. Bill's father, Anton Hoffart was born in Minton, Saskatchewan and was their 5^th child. 

Bill's 1^st cousin once removed is John Hoffart who is still living in Regina today.  He wrote this about the family's move to Neudorf.  Regina Hoffart is Anton's younger sister who is still living and in Saskatoon.

Bill's father, Anton (Tony) Hoffart married Clara Jahnke in Killaly, Saskatchewan in 1952 and they moved to Saskatoon where there children were born.  Their oldest son, William (Bill) Hoffart was born in Saskatoon.  Bill and I married in 1975 in Saskatoon.  We lived a year in Saskatoon and then moved to Regina for Bill's first engineering job.  We moved in the spring of 1989 to Edmonton, Alberta.  In September of 1996 we moved to Calgary, Alberta.  In the summer of 2015 we retired to Kelowna, British Columbia. However we moved back to Calgary in May of 2019.

The Hoffarts in my family tree begin in Germany or maybe Alsace, France. They immigrated to Bessarabia, to Malcoci, to Canada with a short time spent in Northern United States before settling in Benson, Saskatchewan.  Rochus Hoffart settled in Big Muddy / Minton before they moved north to Neudorf and then on to Regina.  In the next generation (Tony Hoffart) moves from Killaly to Saskatoon where he lived out the rest of his days.  And in our generation Bill and I moved from Saskatoon to Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna and back to Calgary.  Our children, lived in Regina, Edmonton and Calgary.  Jackie moved to Vancouver for university.  Upon graduation she  moved to Omomichi, Japan and then to Tokyo, Japan and then on to London, England and came back to Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Hoffart name has travelled westward landing almost 1/2 of the way around the globe. Does it end there?  Who knows?

Wendy

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 37. Prompt - Back to School

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 37

Prompt – Back To School

My 11 year old granddaughter was so happy to be going back to school after being away for almost 6 months due to COVID.  It was so boring.  

Apr 9, 2020. 

Just weeks into the quarantine.

 

 

May 18, 2020 - Kelsey expands her bubble to include Grandma and Grandpa.

 

June 15, 2020 - Hanging out with grandma on the deck.

 

 

 

 

 July 1, 2020. Exercising while working on a puzzle book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 July and chilling with Alanna's dog, Milo. August swinging at the park and counting the days till school starts.

 

 

Back to school shopping went ahead despite not knowing if the school would open to children.  She got her supplies from the school list and a new backpack.  Her 1^st day of back to school clothes were laid out days before school started.  She had her hair colored red because well, you know, one needs a new look for back to school.  If she was nervous about the pandemic in school, she did not say so to me.

Parents had the agonizing decision to make whether to send them back to school.  Teachers were similarly wrestling with their return to school with the added urgency of their need to support themselves.  Choices were given to the parents. They could send them back to school or home school them.  However for most parents there was no choice at all.   They could not quit work and stay home to school their children.  And I know in the case of my granddaughter, she did not want to do virtual schooling at home.  She did not like it.

I had the privilege of picking her up after her first full day of school.   I believe she called it a safety day and only half of her class was there that day.  They learned all the procedures and rules they needed know to be in school during a pandemic.  Masks had to be worn while in the hall or in areas where there are many children together including wearing a mask on the bus.  Apparently their is no social distancing on her bus. They sit side by side but in assigned seats.   So many children so few buses or is it drivers?

Her classroom has all desks filled.  Perhaps they are distanced.   It was once suggested that they might have an empty desk beside them to put their coats, backpack etc onto.  They do not have lockers during the pandemic for some reason.  My guess is that it would cause the children to be too close to each other.  So all of her stuff goes on the floor under her desk.  The teachers move while the children stay in their classrooms except in those special classes such as gym, drama etc.   She was most disappointed by the lack of team sports this year.   During gym class their teachers scramble to find non contact sports for the children to participate in.

They eat their lunches at their desks in their classrooms and it sounds like they have two shifts so that not all the children go out at once.  Hand washing or as it is called at school, hand hygiene is the most important thing for the teachers and children.

She brought home a copy of the self screening questionnaire that she has to do everyday before going to school. 

When I picked her up after her first full day, I was expecting to hear all about the new rules. She did not dwell on any of those things.  She proceeded to tell me about her homeroom teachers, her other classmates in her new grade 7 class.  She was quite put out with the 6 day schedule.  Remember Day 1 through Day 6 and not Monday to Friday Schedule?   She thought that was a dumb idea.  She is worried about trying to remember what day it was so she can take the right books to school.  She was disappointed when she did not get her preferred optional classes.  All in all she was happy to go back to school.

Going back to school during COVID-19 was not about the mask wearing, the physical distancing, hand washing and non sharing.  It was about all the usual things that students talk about when going back to school.  That is teachers, classmates, classes, schedules and routine.   It is the routine that they all have missed the most during the pandemic. 

Kelsey after her 1st day of school.  All smiles!

Wendy

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 36. Prompt - Labour

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 36

Prompt – Labour

Apron is a garment worn to protect clothes or even the body from the work one is doing.

Did you know it was mentioned in the first book of the Bible.  It says in Genesis 3:7: “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves  aprons.”  So perhaps the first clothing ever worn was an apron!

Into the middle ages aprons were worn by men that denoted specific trades.  Heavy leather for the forger or heavy dark fabric aprons for perhaps a meat cutter trade or cobbler.

In the 19^th and 20^th century the apron became the necessary garment of women.  They needed to protect their clothes of which they had few.   It was part of her outfit.   Apron on and the day begun.   In one of my Mennonite readings I discovered that in actuality the apron was a multi use garment.  For example; collecting the eggs from the hen house to take inside, gathering wild flowers from the garden, or to collect peas when they were shelled on the porch, to hide a shy child or wipe away the tears of a child, a handy pot holder, a quick duster, carry kindle to the stove, to hold a load of laundry to the clothes line or perhaps the clothespins, dry her hands and maybe mop the brow from the hot elements of the kitchen.

Until the 1960's the apron was worn with pride.  Early on in the twentieth century full length ones were worn.  Most likely ironed and starched. 

Circa 1920 - Emilie Jahnke; Bill's paternal Great Grandmother.

   Circa 1942. Bill's Great Aunt Dora Posing on Front Deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1930's and 40's the apron was made from remnants of fabric found around the house such as tea towels, kitchen curtains or flour sacks.  In the 1950's the apron was in it heyday and aprons were made as an expression of who they were.  Frills, rickrack, appliques, embroidery and special seasonal fabrics were common.  Practical aprons worn during the daytime while prepping food and a clean embellished one put on as soon as the man of the house came home from work!

  1952 October 6, Clara Hoffart's Wedding Day. The Apron is Somewhat Frillier

By the mid 1960's and the advent of women's liberation, the apron became the symbol of the repression of women, being tied to the relentless housework and overall domesticity not to mention the symbol of being tied to the stove at the beck and call of men.  The thankless labour of being a “stay at home mom”.

I grew up in between these two apron eras.   Thus I have wonderful memories of my grandmother wearing her apron and the delicious meals and desserts she made for us.  It must have been a labour of love. It is a warm fuzzy feeling. 

 

 

 

 

 My Grandmother Mary McLaughlin in 1980's.

 

 

 

 

My father was a "ham boner" at the meat packing plant.   He wore a white apron.  I only got to see him wear it when he returned home after being cut by his sharp knife.  Believe me when I say it told a story of blood, guts and gore.  My mother was not a stay at home mom when I was a child.  She went to work full time in 1962 or 1963.  I did not witness my mother being tied to the stove so to speak.  In fact she worked as a cook and wore her white uniform with a brilliant white apron with pride and a symbol of self reliance.

My first home economics sewing project of the late 1960's was to sew a simple apron.  I remember that it was made of yellow gingham material and rick rack edging.  My sewing skill was non existent.  It was our apron to wear in home economics for our food prep classes.  At that time most of the women in my life wore their aprons around the house when cooking. 

Shortly after I was married in 1975, my mother in law, Clara Hoffart, made me a fancy apron with pinafore.  I still have it to this day but can't remember the last time I wore it.  I have a photo of me icing Jill's 1st birthday cake which was protecting my "got home from work clothes and the people were coming to the party soon and no time to change clothes".  

 

 1979 - Icing Jill's 1st Birthday Cake.Got to love the Perms of the 1970's!

 

 

 

 I am well aware of the 1950's symbology of women being tied to their stove in repression, but for me wearing an apron is somewhat nostalgic.  

The following are some of the pictures I found in my album of the women and some men in my life wearing their aprons. Enjoy. 

 

My Blind Paternal Grandmother Elisabeth Peters in her Gingham Apron. 

Unknown date. To the best of my knowledge; Lt to Rt. Ruby (Mary's Daughter) Shirley (Katie), Mary who are Elisabeth Peters' daughters. 

Circa 1930's. My maternal great grandparents. Maria and Andreas Krikau. 

 

 

Circa 1965 - Bill's maternal grandmother, Ida Bachmann. Even at a picnic the apron is necessary. 

 

 

 

 1996 - Jill Matish alone in the kitchen cleaning Christmas dinner dishes.

1997 - Jackie Hoffart in Dairy Queen Work Clothes.

 2000 November. My granddaughter, Alanna Hoffart, rocking her Easy Bake outfit. 

My brother, Rob Peters and daughter, Alyss. It's barbecue time!

Circa 1992. Bill is ready to carve the Christmas turkey. He is wearing a borrowed Christmas apron. 

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 35. Prompt - Unforgettable

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 35

Prompt – Unforgettable

On November 22, 1963 I was in grade 3 and about 8 years old.  I was at home sick from school that day.  The television was on and I can remember the announcement that President J.F. Kennedy had been shot. It had interrupted whatever show I had been watching while laying on the couch.  I didn't fully understand who he was.  I remember thinking that he was someone important because newsmen were wiping tears away in front of the camera when they announced he had died.  The television seemed in chaos.  Fast forward a week or so and I watched the newscast show on highlights of JFK's funeral.  He had small children that attended the funeral.  All I could think about was what it would be like if I lost my father and had to attend his funeral.  The reality of my mortality was taking shape and I couldn't stop thinking about death and dying for some time. 

 In December of 1967, the first human to human heart transplant had occurred in South Africa.   The night time news was shocked by this medical miracle.  I guess some thought Dr. C Barnard was playing God by delaying an inevitable death.   I was 13 and thought that this was the most miraculous thing I would ever see.  It was mind boggling.  It sparked my imagination and curiosity of what else could be done.  This was only the beginning of medical advancements in my lifetime.  For heaven's sake when I took nursing there was just x-ray machines and ultra sound machines had just come into being the next big thing. 

 July 20, 1969 American Astronauts landed on the moon.   Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.   I was 15 years old and unlike many, I did not witness it live on the television but listened to it on a car radio.   I belonged to The Charlie Brown All-Stars midget girls fastball team and we were coming back from a ball tournament.  Our coach had half the team in his station wagon.   I remember sitting in the back with several other team members.  Our coach shushed us and turned up his radio as we listened to the radio announcer countdown to the touchdown.  We all cheered loud.  We knew it was going to be an unforgettable historic moment in our life that we would tell our children and grandchildren.  I cut out all of the newspaper articles and pasted them into a scrapbook.   I wanted to preserve the moments of this time.  It was the beginning of my need to preserve my mind boggling events for future generations. 

 September 11, 2001. or 9/11.  It was suppose to be just another ordinary day.   At first it seemed that way.  Our radio station said that a plane had hit one of the twin towers in New York.   I turned on TV and flipped the channel to CNN.  Just in time to see live the second plane crash into the second tower.   It is an image that I and millions of others will never forget.  I worked at a doctor's office and had to go to work.   As patients came in they kept us posted on the latest.  My stomach sank at the news of the collapsed towers.  The whole thing was too much to absorb.  It was hard to make sense of it and deaths of all those innocent people.  How could one group of people do this to another?   The world would never be the same but we just didn't know it then.  It was so traumatic that families connected to each other by phone in record numbers.   I felt that the world just became a little less safe and I did not like that feeling of loss of innocence. 

 I believe when we look back on the year 2020 we will see how Coronavirus changed our world.   The global pandemic brought more than the deaths by the novel virus.   It changed how we lived.   Schools closed and work places shut down,  We stayed home in our isolated groups.  We needed to figure out our lives in a new way.  The economic impact was immediate and everyone felt it.   Since it still is an ongoing concern there will be more to talk about it for years to come.

 

 

These are just a few of the unforgettable world events in my life time that impacted me in a profound way.  We all have these moments in time where we can say what we were doing at that time it happened.  Every generation has them. 

Wendy