JOSIAH E. HOFFMAN was born, in either Franklin County or Pulaski County, Virginia, to Michael Hoffman and Nancy (Dangerfield) Hoffman, February 27, 1846. Records show the family was living in Franklin County, July 1841 but by the 1850 Census, they were in Pulaski County. By 1854, the family had left Pulaski County, crossed the Appalachian Mountains, and resettled in Kanawha County, (VA.) WV. That's where Josiah met his wife, Harriet J. George.

Harriet, was born in Virginia (possibly Botetourt County), to Joab or Joel George and his wife, Mary Ann Davis, in December, 1843. At this time, my first record of her is the 1860 Census of Kanawha County, WV.

Josiah and Harriet were married in a double ceremony in Kanawha County, WV. on June 11, 1868, with Josiah's sister, Rhoda Hoffman, who married Harriet's brother, William Henry George. The minister was Vanlender Sanford.

Prior to their marriage, both Josiah and Harriet were school teachers. After they married, they bought a farm, on Tacketts Creek, west of St. Albans, West Virginia and began farming, although Josiah continued to teach during the winter months (the school year was much shorter then since we were primarily an agrarian society and children were needed to help plant and harvest the crops).

The children of Josiah and Harriet were Mary N. born 8/15/1869, Nancy Jane, born 11/25/1871, W. J. born 10/8/1873, Edwin L. (Ted) born about 1877, Ida M. born 1876, Lucy P. born 3/28/1878, and Emma M. born about 1879.

Josiah died July 30, 1897 of fever. The 1900 census finds Harriet a widow with five of her children still living with her. Two of them, including my grandmother, Nancy Jane, are school teachers.

At this time, I have not been able to find a death record for Harriet and I don't know where she and Josiah are buried. Aunt Gaye (Good) Jarrett told me that she thought they were buried in the Teays Hill Cemetery. The Kanawha County Genealoical Society said that they may be buried in the Cemetery since there are graves without readable stones. Dad, Woodrow Good, thinks they were buried on their farm on Tacketts Creek.

I never had the opportunity to know my grandmother, Nancy Jane (Hoffman) Good, but I remember very well, her brother, Luther E. Hoffman. He went by the name, Ted, (I'm not sure why) and I grew up thinking that was his given name. Soft spoken, and kind to us children, my brother John and I always looked forward to his, and Great Aunt Alta's visits. John, especially, liked the visits because Aunt Alta was always telling him how good looking he was. Dad said that was because he looked like the Hoffmans.

Uncle Ted and Aunt Alta are buried in the Teays Hill Cemetery in St. Albans, WV. Their graves are almost directly up the hill from where they lived.