Village of Bantorf
Bantorf is located about 20 miles west of Hannover and was a village of twenty-five houses at the time H. F. C. Hoppe left there. The Hoppe family is documented as far back as 1638 in Bantorf when Kurt and Margarethe (Steding) Hoppe occupied House #5. This house remained in the Hoppe family until 1974.
Map of Bantoft, Ebbinghausen and Luttinghausen - 1883
"Hohenbostel am Deister," Heinrich Welge; Hannover, Germany; 1988.
In 1827, Hermann Heinrich and Engel Marie Dorothee (Stege) Hoppe built House #37. It was known as "the house at the drinking trough" and is now known by the address of "Im Dorfe 19."
Original Hoppe Home Bantorf, Germany - 1930
Photo by Henry F. A. Hoppe, Newark, New Jersey
Three sons were born to this family: H. F. C. (1828), Hans Heinrich Friedrich Konrad (1831) and Heinrich Wilhelm August (1838). The house was inherited by H. F. C. upon his marriage to Engel Sophie Eleanora Meier in 1860. Their first three children were born in this house: Friedrich (1860), Louise (1863) and August (1868).
After returning to Germany for a visit in 1930, a cousin, Henry F. A. Hoppe, of Newark, New Jersey, sent a picture to Louise (Hoppe) Conerus, along with the following note dated September 15, 1930:
About 3 weeks ago I returned from Germany and took some pictures, which I thought might interest you. The pictures of the house is the one which your father inherited from our grandfather; but when he had it, he sold it pretty soon, took the money and went to America to make his fortune. As is customary the grandfather had reserved 2 rooms for himself and his wife as long as either lived. My parents moved into the rooms after your parents vacated same, as the house was bought by a rich farmer who rented it to tenants ever since. My parents lived in this house for 17 years until they built their own. Both my 2 sisters and myself were born in this house. This is a typical house the way they were built 50 and 100 years ago. This house is about 105 years old, very little has been changed since, except that the hydrant near the front corner was added about 50 years ago and the telegraph pole about 8 years ago.
Original Hoppe Home Bantorf, Germany - 1994
Photo courtesy Heinrich Welge
House #37 was sold out of the Hoppe family by H. F. C. in 1867, before he moved to America. The families of his two brothers, Hans H. F. K. and Heinrich W. A., lived in House #65 and #58, respectively. H. F. C. was a carpenter, Hans was a mason and slaughterer and Heinrich was a miner. Their father was a house builder and farmer. The style of House #37, with the stable attached, is typical of the houses from that period. The stable area has since been converted to living quarters.
The Hoppe family attended the church at Luttringhausen, a small village to the southeast of Bantorf. The church (Kirche) is depicted as #51.
Church at Luttringhausen - 1994
Photo courtesy Heinrich Welge
Copyright © 1998 by Weldon Hoppe