Hoyer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Hoyer family in North America:

Hoyer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• Franc Carl Hoyer, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 2
• Wilhelm Hoyer, who landed in America in 1783 2

Hoyer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Conr Hoyer, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 2
• Mr. Christopher Hoyer, aged 47, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Andaira Valley"
• Mrs. Auguste S. Hoyer, aged 48, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Andaira Valley"
• Mr. Anton Hoyer, aged 19, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Andaira Valley"
• Mr. Johannes Hoyer, aged 17, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Andaira Valley"
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• Steny Hamilton Hoyer (b. 1939), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Maryland State Senate District 4-C, 1967-78; Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, 1978; U.S. Representative from Maryland 5th District, 1981- 3
• Samuel M. Hoyer, American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Altoona, Pennsylvania, 1893-96, 1902-05, 1908-11; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania, 1908 3
• Joseph S. Hoyer, American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Reading, Pennsylvania, 1863-65 3
• Isaac Hoyer, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Montgomery County, 1879-82 3
• Gregory Hoyer, American Democratic Party politician, Member, Rules Committee, Democratic National Convention, 2008 3
• Eric G. Hoyer (1898-1990), American politician, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1948-57 3
• C. W. Hoyer, American politician, Delegate to Iowa convention to ratify 21st amendment from Ida County, 1933 3
• John Hoyer Updike (1932-2009), one of the greatest and most prolific writers in modern American literature, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner