Family information from the Brachbach farm!
This helps greatly to confirm the family!

From: Manfred Hertlein To: Ron Klotz Zellhoefer
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2003 6:17 AM
Subject: Further information

Good morning, Az

hi Ron, i have some long calls and now I can give you some new information:

Where your anchesters come was from Brachbach No. 7 (there was no Street-names) a Johann Josef (or Joseph) Zellhöfer buy the area Brachbach with the Number 1267 on 7. March 1806 for 4.000 Gulden from her mother Maria Dorothea Zellhöfer (I think, this was your g-g-g-grandmother and I think, your g-g-g- father must died before this date). A Johann Michael Zellhöfer.....
 [RonKZ:  Mani referenced Johann Joseph, whom the "GGZ auto" called George Jacob.
.....was not the owner! (Was maybe the brother of Johann Josef Zellhöfer or is was a new generation an Johann Josef was the father of Johann Michael) on 17. Oct. 1851 the ground aera was sold to a man with the family-name Eberlein (?) Brachbach has today a pop of 30 Need information, when (year) your anchestors leave Frankonia and emigrat to U.S., do you have some dates of birth? Next I will look in old records, hope, I found some further Informations.

Have a nice day Mani

Hallo to Weihenzell

DAS IST DER GUTEN MORGAN AN ARIZONA; and du made it so! What a wonderful eMail from Mani!

My g.g.grandfather John Michael Zellhoefer (JMZ) gest. 17 May 1825. There is an a.k.a. Johan Konrad gest 4 Aug 1865 which I believe is not correct. JMZ was never the owner of the family farm, which was sold by his widowed mother soon before Mutter with JMZ's few remaining siblings emigrated to the USA.

You may want to read "Autobiography of the Zellhoefer Family" written by George G Zellhoefer (son of George Leonhard & nephew of JMZ), my source for much information, but not very accurate with names and dates. 

Emigration occurred at least 3 times in the family. No emigrants were said married before emigration, but I now believe that JMZ and Anna were married Obernzenn or Urphertshofen (Anna's home). Emigrations per Autobiography: 

about 1840 - First went JMZ's oldest brother Johann Jacob; 

about 1843 - Next went brothers Johann Leonhart and Frederick;

early 1846 - the family farm had been sold**, then went der widow mutter Anna Margaretha nee: Hofmann & her children George Leonhard & Christina Eva & (probably Eva Maria) & (probably ?Barbara Margareta?). 

early 1846 - with that group went two woman called Anna and Charlotte, later found to be Walbiergis Bensin & Margaretha Bensin. The Autobiography described Walbiergis and Margaretha as "friends" but it would seem they were probably ?sisters?. There was a double wedding 1 Sep 1846 in Wisconsin of brothers Johann Leonhart and George Leonhard with the two Bensin Women, which greatly helps confirm that migration year as 1846. Those weddings are documented, so that group had to arrive in Wisconsin before the 1 Sep 1846 weddings. 

JMZ supposedly came with the 1846 group, but as we found never any records for them in Wisconsin, again I say that JMZ and his Anna must have married in Bavaria. Perhaps they emigrated later, say 1851 to 1853 as per following: 

**sold - you found "on 17. Oct. 1851 the ground area was sold to a man with the family-name Eberlein" and that must be correct, but you see that conflicts with much we have about 1846! ?????

I have never found of our people on any ship's passenger list. Perhaps in the future we will learn better emigration dates and ports, which may then enable specific searching - there were SO many ships and dates and ports!!!

Two sisters of JMZ (?probably older, and probably Anna Margareta & Margareta Barbara) who had married earlier remained in Bavaria. We do not know who they married nor anything other about them.

JMZ's father was Joseph (of Brachbach, from you now,  Johann Joseph - I found him in the LDS IGI) OR George Jacob (of "Ansbach" (from Autobiography).  Johann Joseph married Anna Margaretha Hofmann - there were 10 children above described.

Johann Joseph's father was Johann Leonhard 3 Mar 1742/1743 - 6 Dec 1804. He was badly injured in military service. Johann Leonhard married 15 Oct 1771 to Dorothea WINKLER (now from you Maria Dorothea) 14 Apr 1750 Obernzenn -25 Mar 1833.   I have both Johann Leonhard and Dorothea died in Ansbach, but that place seems wrong, as both were on the family farm at death. But definitely we have a match in Dorothea, who was described as a "Witch" in the Autobiography.

Johann Leonhard was a son of Johann Zellhoefer & Apollonia Adam. We have found children Johann George, Johann Leonhard, Anna Magdalena & Laurentius and have dates. I suppose there may have been more children also, but this is getting perhaps too much for this time.

I have summarized here what is known specifically about this group only. For more people or for more information, you can always find pedigree files at my http://zelltree.net. I will be uploading major updates there within a week, but that will contain little new about our current subject.

I have another (NEW) website at , setting up for "temporary" research purposes, which deals specifically with only John Michael Zellhoefer and a couple of generations of his immediate family. Included will be the new pictures from you, because I believe they are/will be very helpful in this research. Your new and very valuable information from this morning's email will be added there on yet another page. Because of all this new information provided by you, it will not be uploaded until all is included! I will send you soon then the URL..

Mani, you have certainly made this a wonderful day for me!!!!!

Prost! RonKZ Arizona