Dear Listers: I am writing to see whether anyone has information of any sort on my great-grandfather Henry Hoffner. He was born in 1868 in Illinois and likely married my g-grandmother Mina (Minnie) Kranz in Livingston County in 1891. After that the 1920 census puts a man of the same age in Peoria, working in a carnival and living with a woman named Laura. Henry was widely known to have a common-law wife, and he traveled a lot with carnivals. This same fellow appears in the 1930 census in Cherry, IL, living with Laura and managing the local theater. At the same time, Henry Hoffner is also listed as living in Streator with my grandma Minnie and their children. Does anyone have any recollections of Henry Hoffner, Minnie Hoffner, or this whole situation with the two wives? Henry died in 1955 and is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Streator along with Minnie and their children, but the story is that Minnie made the common-law wife sit at the back of the funeral parlor and did not introduce her to anyone. Many thanks! Tim Bryant

I see a Henry HOFFNER, 32 IL, in the 1900 census in Leadville, Lake Co., CO. Looks like he may be your fellow, but for some reason--perhaps the last line of the census was cut off in the pic, I can't find his name. It might give you a place to check, however. He is lodging with many other men, perhaps doing mining? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Bryant" <tpbryant9@yahoo.com> To: <ILPEORIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 11:24 AM Subject: [ILPEORIA-L] In search of Henry Hoffner > Dear Listers: > > I am writing to see whether anyone has information of any sort on my > great-grandfather Henry Hoffner. He was born in 1868 in Illinois