Web site by:  LeRoy Dwayne Hochhalter

This web site is about my grandfather John J Hochhalter 
and his ancestors and descendants, to include my mother and father.

My parents were Descendants of Germans from Russia

Mother:  Henrietta Edna Erna (Horst) Hochhalter

Her mother - Katherine Herrmann; Her father - Jacob Horst

Her grandparents: maternal  - Schnabel/ Herrmann; paternal - Heible/Horst

and

Father:  Gideon Leon Hochhalter

His mother - Johanna Woehl; His father - John J Hochhalter

His grandparents: maternal - Vogt/Woehl; paternal - Braun/Hochhalter

This is a web site for the Hochhalters who are ancestors and descendants of John J Hochhalter (my grandfather, who came to the USA when he was 17 years old in 1901).  My maternal and paternal ancestors are Germans from Russia.  I am in the process of researching the Horst and Herrmann side of the family, but for now I include only the Hochhalter's that left Germany to live in Russia and then to the USA and I will only a mention the Woehl, Horst, and Herrmann's who came to the USA (only the USA side for now).

Note on Pictures:

All pictures on these web pages are thumbnail pictures (small versions of the originals).  By clicking on these pictures, they will open to their original size. Click "back" on your browser to return to the original web page.

An overview of this Hochhalter family story:

Hochhalters in Germany and Russia:  

Click here for a section on my paternal ancestry  Hochhalter Ancestry beginning in Germany late 1600s and then to Russia 1809.

I have put these Web pages together to help descendants of Johann J Hochhalter understand their "Germans from Russia" heritage and to get a feeling of what happened along the way. These web pages attempt to provide information about the specific village where our ancestors lived in Rohrbach, Russia. I will detail the names of our Hochhalter ancestors along with historic information.

Most of us do not have time to find and acquire the research books needed to obtain a flow of history and how our Hochhalter ancestors fit into this flow. There are enough records to determine names and key dates (birth, marriage, and death) from records kept by the government or the church and sent to St. Petersburg, Russia. Also other people have put together centennial books and area historic books with much information. Using these materials, a time line can be put together intermixing historical records with family names and events, both in Russia and the United States.

To the casual reader this may be all that is necessary. But for a more serious reader, the source material I used is referenced and can be obtained at a reasonable cost, and by no means do I wish to imply that this is all the material available.  This web site contains my interpretation of these records.  Should you have a comment or concern about a name or an event that I used, or if I assumed information where there was a gap that might be wrong, please contact me. 

There are many Hochhalters researching the family history that have contributed to the vast amount of data that is available. There are even more people studying the wider scope of Germans from Russia. Two historical societies are available for the serious minded researcher of Germans from Russia in Nebraska and North Dakota. 

The original Rohrbach Hochhalter immigrants are gone. The first generation born in the USA are also in their later years and most have pasted away.  Photos and stories are disappearing forever. It is my fondest wish that the reader obtain an understanding of the Rohrbach Hochhalter - German/Russian heritage and the part that the Rohrbach Hochhalter families played in that history.

Thank You

I wish to thank Nancy (Hochhalter) Schroeder (a cousin from both my mother's and father's sides of the family) for her help and the extensive files that she sent to me a few years back when I started my genealogy work on the Hochhalters.  Also, thank you to Judy (Dederiksen) Hochhalter for sharing her files which she put together from data from Nancy Schroeder, and also thank you to Norman Hochhalter (Nancy's brother) for sharing his Family Tree Maker files. 

My mother, Henrietta (Horst) Hochhalter, now deceased, gave information and support and also her correspondence with A. R. Hochhalter (Adolph Reinhold).  She sent me her own material and A. R. 's material which I have incorporated, to some extent, on these web pages.

I wish to thank Ervin Hochhalter for the many pictures and other material that he sent me which is included on these web pages.  Also, thank you to Jo Cole for the use of her Hochhalter material. 

Thanks to my cousin Gilbert Wierschke for sending me his Hochhalter files.

I also want to thank many other Hochhalters who have sent me their material having to do with other Hochhalters not in my direct line who are not included on these web pages.  A line had to be drawn as to what material to include.  Each of these Hochhalters will have their own stories. Call or send me a message for this other information and I will help if I can.

Bibliography

The references listed are used throughout these pages by the identifier [Identifier] to refer to the designated reference, (i.e., [Height]).

[Height];  Joseph S. Height,  “Homesteaders on the Steppe - The Odyssey of a Pioneering People”, North Dakota Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Bismarck, N. D. 1975 {Germans from Russia Heritage Society, 1008 East Central Ave., Bismarck, ND 58501, $21.00 + $2.75 S&H, 701-223-6167}

[Stumpp];  Karl Stumpp, “The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862”,  Published by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia,  Third printing 1993, 631 D Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502  {Germans from Russia Heritage Society, 1008 East Central Ave., Bismarck, ND 58501,  701-223-6167}

[Ponca];  Adeline S. Gnirk, “The Saga of Ponca Land”, published in 1979 by Gregory Times-Advocate, Gregory, SD {Elaine Gnirk, RR1, Box 44A, Burke, SD 57523, $20.00 + $3.00 S&H, 605-775-2155}

[Capital];  Adeline S. Gnirk, “The Capital City Saga”, published in 1979 by Gregory Times-Advocate, Gregory, SD {Elaine Gnirk, RR1, Box 44A, Burke, SD 57523, $20.00 + $3.00 S&H, 605-775-2155}

[Wishek50];  “Spirit of Wishek, Golden Jubilee 1898 – 1948”, July 2/3, 1948, (129 pages);  Taken from Virginia Tech Internet site, prepared by Roger W. Ehrich.

[Register];  Hochhalter-Register Report, dated January 19, 1997, Judy (Dederiksen) Hochhalter, 1131 Cole Rd., Salem, OR 97306, (503) 315-8211, judyho@wvi.com

[Brosz];  Allyn Brosz copied the Declaration of Intent files from the South Dakota state archives for Davison County,  3416 Oliver St., NW, Washington DC 20015-2554, Four Hochhalter's are listed on page 2 of 3 pages:

Last Name   First Name        Date Filed           Born           Arrival          Book /page

Hochhalter   Adolf                  08-Aug-1898        1877            1893               2 : 76

Hochhalter   Friedrich            29-Mar-1897         1873            1893               2 : 50

Hochhalter   Georg                 30-Mar-1897         1833            1893               2 : 51

Hochhalter   Johann               30-Mar-1897         1875            1893               2 : 51

For comment:

Please contact me at:  

E-mail me at:  Ldhochhalter@comcast.net

or call me at 571-261-5656

or write to me at:

LeRoy D. Hochhalter

5227 Canyon Creek Way, Haymarket, Virginia 20169

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