William HOFIUS

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William's name was changed from Hofius to Hovis.  He went from Washington County, Pennsylvania to near by Wheeling, West Virginia which was then a part of Virginia, since West Virginia was not formed out of Virginia until 1861 - long after William went to the Wheeling area.  The Hovis families of Venango County, Pennsylvania have him possibly going to North Carolina later. Most of these early Hovis families were Methodists.  At this time it is felt there are numerous branches in William's family.  The current members would be found in many states.

Since working with the Hovis families of Venango County, Pennsylvania I made contact with R. (Bob) Joseph Hovis in Mt Shasta, California and he has sent me a copy of a land grant deed his descendant George Hovis received for 200 acres of land near the present town of Dallas, North Carolina on 11/16/1764.  From this beginning a large family of Hovis's grew acrossed the United States and appears that our William Hofius-Hovis may not have gone to North Carolina.  Especially, since this deed was issued prior to William's father Johan Theodor Hofius came to America.

In receiving a letter from Betty (Hovious) Hollowell from Ft Lauderdale, Florida on February 26, 1995 it could be that our William is her great great great grandfather.  If so William Hofius-Hovis married Sarah Harding on 8/3/1795 in Green County Kentucky.  Sarah died in 1811 or 1812.  Her family came down from Pennsylvania and Virginia area to Kentucky.  William and Sarah had 8 children, Elizabeth named after Sarah's mother was born in 1796, John born in 1798, Stephen named after Sarah's father was born in 1800, Nancy born in 1801 or 1802, William, Silas, Susan and George.  All the children were born in Kentucky by 1811.  Sarah and William lived on land belonging to Sarah's father Stephen Harding during their marriage.  They also belonged to the Little Puttman Church in Greene County which probably now is the Baptist Church in Taylor County.Sarah's father Stephen Harding was born 1749-50.  His parents were William Harding born 1717 in Providence and married in 1742 to Sarah Polly at Prince William County, Virginia.  They had 6 children:  John born 1743 and married Lydia Carlile, Hannah born 1745 who married John Hollett, Mary born 1747 who married John Jack Hardin (a cousin), Stephen born 1750 who married Elizabeth, Abraham born 1752, and Thomas born 1755 who married Sarah Payne.  William  died in 1772 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.  When Sarah's father Stephen Sr., came to Kentucky in the 1770's he first settled in Washington County, Kentucky now Nelson County where he married his wife Elizabeth and had 10 children Stephen Jr., Asa, John, Margaret, Prudence, Sarah who married Wm Hovious, Mary Rebecca, Elizabeth and Abraham.  Stephen Sr. died 1851-1816.  Sarah's parents later lived in Hardin County, Kentucky and then Green County, Kentucky.

After Sarah's death William Hofius-Hovis married Catherine (Kitty) Carrell age 16 about 1813 a daughter of Peter and Rebecca Carroll.  They had atleast two children, Peter born in 1815 and James born in 1817.  It is possable that they had a third child Rebecca born in 1826.  At this time it is felt that William Hofius-Hovis died in 1818 or 1826.

Betty Hollowell's great great grandfather was John Hovious Sarah and William's oldest son.  John moved to Indiana with his family Elinor Steel Hovious and son William S. Hovious.  Elinor died and John remarried and had 5 more children.

William S. Hovious was born in Kentucky in 1821 and was Betty Hollowell's great grandfather.  He married Martha Lewis in Indiana in 1842.  They had a large family.  Their son Steven Anderson Hovious ( Betty's grandfather) was born in 1857 and married Mary Vandeventer and they also had a large family.  Their son William Wesley Hovious (Betty's dad) was born in 1892 and lived his life time in Monroe and Morgan County, Indiana.  William Wesley Hovious had been married several times.  He also was an Army veteran of WWI.  In William Wesley Hovious's third marriage he had 5 children; Betty (Hovious) Hollowell and four boys, Bob, Steve and Mark who live in Indiana and the fourth boy Raymond who is dead.  Betty (Hovious) Hollowell was born in 1938 in Indiana.  Betty's father William Wesley Hovious died in 1972.

With a visit in 1996 to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Library in Salt Lake City they show a William Hovious was born in Germany in 1754 and immigrated to America in 1771.  He settled in Kentucky in 1790 and married Sarah Hardin in Green County, Kentucky in 1795.  He then married Kitty Carrol in Green County in 1813.  With this information our William Hofius/Hovis could not of been Betty (Hovious) Hollowell's direct relative since this William was much older and was born in Germany.

However, after finding this information in Salt Lake City Betty Hollowell was contacted and she was familiar with the information in Salt Lake City.  Sheadvised that the information about William Hovious coming from Germany could be true, but was a rumor handed down by a Hovious that was a relative to KS Hovious.  According to Betty all this information that LDS copied at the Morgan County Public Library in Martinsville, Indiana (a total of 440 pages) should have been destroyed since there are many mistakes in the data and lots of rumors that should not have been printed.

In revewing the census records for Adair County, Kentucky, which was part of Green County until 1802, there was a William Hovis in the 1810 records and has not been located in other census records before or after in Kentucky, Virginia or Pennsylvania.  According to the age range that he and Sarah fell into in the 1810 census data fits right into their ages at that time.  The above William Hovious would have been beyond the age range and leads one to believe that the information turned over to the Morgan County Library is only a rumor.

According to Mark Phillips of Weston, Connecticut William Hovious was born between 1765 and 1775.  He was married to Sarah Harding on 3-5-1795 in Green County, Kentucky.  He died between 1820 and 1821 in Adair County, Kentucky.  He then married Catherine Caroll after Sarah's death.  She was born after 1792.  Her father was Peter Camel.  Catherine later married Benjamin
Metcalfe.

William cames across as having a combative personality in the Pitman Baptist Church where he was a member.  This is based on he having strained relations with one Martin Hazard in September 1803 and in relation to having drank too much at a road cutting in 1804.  He is also cited for having offered to fight someone else in December 1808.

History of Mercer county,Settled near Wheeling, W.Va.