Group of Letters of the Johnston & Hoffar Families, Loudon C., VA, 1883-1922

Description: Collection of Correspondence of the Johnston & Hoffar Families of Loudon County, Virginia and Washington, D.C., dated 1883-1922 43 Letters, 183 manuscript pages (37 retained mailing envelopes), dated Sept. 10, 1883 - January4, 1922. The letters are mainly written to Annie Ethel Johnston, who married J. Allan Hoffar. The correspondence is to and from Annie and her husband from other relatives, friends or associates, as well as each other. There are 18 letters written to Annie, nicknamed "Nancy", "Nannie", or simply "Nan." There are 19 letters written to Hoffar. There are also several letters written to other family members such as Mary R. Johnston (sister of Annie) and Marian R. Hoffar (likely the daughter of Annie and Hoffar). Annie Ethel Johnston was the daughter of James William Johnston (1833-?) and Maria "Minnie" Clayton Francis (1838-?). Annie was the youngest of seven children, who were born between the years 1862-1875. Annie's mother was the daughter of Thomas Francis and Sarah Ann Mount. Her father was from an old Loudon County, Virginia family. In 1870, Annie's father was listed as a "dry goods merchant & farmer," with an estate of $ 600.00, in the Southern District of Loudon County, Va. The family had two housekeepers and a nurse living with them in 1870, all African-Americans. Earlier in 1860, Annie's parents were found living in a hotel in the same 1870 location. Annie's father is listed as a merchant. In 1873 James Johnston was appointed postmaster of Evergreen Mills, Virginia, where a number of the letters in this collection were written. He was reappointed in 1875. Annie appears to also go by the nicknames of "Nancy", "Nannie", or "Nan", all three of which are used in the correspondence. Annie and her family are found living in Leesburg, Virginia in the 1880 Census. Her father is still listed as a merchant, but they had the help of only one African-American domestic. Although married in 1897, Annie is found in 1900 with her parents at Broad Run, Virginia, while her husband was working in Washington, D.C., rooming at a boarding house. Her father at this point was a clerk in a feed store, apparently his business was not successful. There were no domestic servants living with them at this time and they were renting their home. By 1910, Annie had moved to Washington, D.C. to be with her husband. Her parents joined her in D.C., but set up their own home. Retired, her parents rented a home with their daughter Mary and their niece Mary S. Gill. The two women, both in their forties were single and working as dress makers. When the 1920 Census was taken, it appears that Annie's mother had passed away, as she is not found living with her husband. James' sister appears to have moved in and they also took in two boarders to help meet expenses. Mary was then working for the government in the War Risk Department and her father had actually come out of retirement to repair furniture. By 1930, Annie's father appears to have died and Mary was then lodging on her own, still working for the government as a clerk. This sister Mary is one of the collection's correspondents. In 1897, Annie was married in Wilmington, Delaware to John Allan Hoffar, of Washington, D.C. John was the son of Ancus Hoffar (1809-1885) and Mary Ellen Stonestreet (1818-1882). The senior Hoffar was originally from Tennessee, but had moved to D.C. and set up his dentistry practice. John Allan Hoffar worked in D.C. as a "collector" and later as a "clerk" in a bank. The couple had at least three children: 1. Marian Rose Hoffar, born 1900, married Charles Philip Detweiler and moved to Crow Agency, Montana; 2. Ancus M. Hoffar, 1903-1985; 3. John Allan "Jack" Hoffar, born 1916, married Katherine An Marceron, daughter of Mr. & Mrs Raymond V. Marceron, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Silver Spring, Maryland. In 1930 and the 1940 Census records, Hoffar and Annie are found listed as retired, living in D.C., with their son John, who worked as a machinist at the local shipyard. One correspondent is Henry Stonestreet Hoffar, the nephew of J. Allan Hoffar, who wrote his uncle two letters from Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Ten of the letters are written in 1890 by Annie's mother to Annie from Evergreen Mills, Virginia, where Annie's father had been appointed postmaster. Evergreen Mills is northwest of Washington, D.C., in Loudon County. Annie wrote several letters to her husband from Ashburn, Virginia, while visiting her parents. The letters include much comment on the domestic and social lives of the family.

Price: 175 USD

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-11-28T16:19:34.000Z

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