A question has been asked about the burials in the old cemetery located where the John Peter Hoffman Monument now stands. The monument, which was dedicated in 1924 by the John Peter Hoffman Association, was erected on a 10 foot by 12 foot plot of land deeded to the John Peter Hoffman Family Association in 1918. It is located in a farmer’s field almost a mile north of the main intersection in Loyalton, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
According to the inscription on the monument, John Peter Hoffman and twenty-six of his contemporaries are buried there, but those buried there are not named on the monument. Even at the time of the monument’s dedication, neither the dedication program nor contemporary newspaper articles provided a list of burials nor a map of the old cemetery.
An anonymous contributor to this blog has provided the follow clues to the burials in this cemetery as well as to the location and configuration of the cemetery in relation to the monument. From an article titled “Lykens Valley Cemeteries,” by D. Scott Boyer, published in Keystone Seekers Genealogical Quarterly, Summer 1992, page 48:
Descendants of Hoffmans in Lykens Valley will probably be familiar with the John Peter Hoffman Monument near Gratz. According to Annabelle Hoffman, president of Capital Area Genealogical Society, and also historian for the John Peter Hoffman Family Association, John Peter Hoffman, his wife Sarah, their daughter Barbara, and her husband George Buffington requested to be buried there. According to a map dated 1923 in Ms. Hoffman’s possession, there are 28 graves in two rows running northward from the monument. Except for the above four people, the rest of the bodies buried there are unknown. In addition to these four people, the map also notes that “Reigles, Klingers and others” are buried there. Annabelle Hoffman also has a letter stating that there were sandstone markers with only initials on them, although the graves are now unmarked….
The reference to twenty-eight graves is probably an error as the monument inscription notes that in addition to John Peter Hoffman, twenty-six of his contemporaries are buried there, or a total of twenty-seven.
Does any reader know the whereabouts of the above-referenced map and letter? Or, any references to this cemetery in print prior to the erection of the monument?
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For a blog post on the deed referenced above, see:
For a blog post on the dedication of the monument, see:
For a blog post on a news article on the dedication of the monument, see:
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.