Heermans / Hermance / Hermans

There are several spellings of this surname.  Some of the ones I have seen include:  Heermans, Hermance, Hermans, Herrmans, etc.

Headstone of Richard Hermans in Evergreen Cemetery, Pine Plains, Dutchess Co., NY.  Richard was my great great great grandfather.  I have Richard's dates as (August 18, 1808 - December 26, 1898).  Note the grave of Richard's grandson, Charles Bruce Simmons, behind and to the right of Richard's stone.  The inscription on Richard's stone reads:

I also have a copy of Richard's obituary and an obituary for his nephew, Rev. Edwin J. Hermans.  These were clipped by my great grandmother, Elma (Bowman) Simmons and neither has any information on what paper it was published in.

I have the following additional headstone photos of Richard Hermans' family (also from Evergreen Cemetery in Pine Plains).  Richard Hermans was married three times and had five children by each of his first two wives.  These stones are fairly old and several of them have eroded to the point where they are difficult to read.  I believe that all of these stones except for those belonging to Catharine (Hermans) Simmons and William Hermans/Hermance are in the same plot.  Note that the surname is spelled "Hermance" on some of the stones.

1. I am descended through Richard's first wife, Catharine Rockefeller (1810-1846) via their second child, Catharine (Hermans) Simmons (1836-1912).  I was unable to find a stone for Catharine (Rockefeller) Hermans when I last visited Evergreen Cemetery in May 2002, although Poucher apparently did find it in 1914.  Entry 236 gives the following information:  Hermans, Catherine, wife of Richard, died July 18, 1846, aged 35 years, 7 months, 16 days.
   1.  Emma Eliza Hermance/Hermans (1834-1840).  The stone partially showing on the right side of the photo belongs to Emma's sister Emaline Hermans (1845-1846, see below).

   2.    In another plot also in Evergreen Cemetery:  Catharine Ann (Hermans) Simmons (1836-1912).  I am descended through this line.  The metal grave marker actually belongs to Catharine's husband, William Simmons - I was unable to find a grave marker for Catharine herself, although Poucher apparently did find one for her in 1914.  Note the stone of Catharine's brother William (listed below) on the left in the background.

   3.      William Luther Hermance/Hermans (1839-1914), in another plot also in Evergreen Cemetery.  He was one of two of Richard's sons in the Civil War (the other was Charles Henry Hermans, 1843-1905, see below).  William was in Company I of the 128th New York State Volunteers.  The rust stain on the stone is probably where a metal military insignia of some sort (probably a G.A.R. medallion) was mounted on the stone at one time.

      I found a listing for William's 14 year old daughter Margaret ("Maggie", 1866 - 1880) in Poucher's survey of Irondale Cemetery in the town of North East, Dutchess Co., NY.  I have been told that Wiliam's wife was Susan Deyo (1842 - 1906), but have not found much information on her yet.

      1. Margaret "Maggie" Hermans (1866 - 1880), buried in Irondale Cemetery in the town of North East, Dutchess Co., NY.
      2. Frank Hermans (born ca. 1871-1872) lived in Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut sometime around 1911 - 1914 when his father William L. was in the disabled veterans' home in Bath, Steuben County, New York.  He appears to have married a woman named Ethel and had two sons.
         1. Harold Hermans (born ca. 1894)
         2. Ernest Hermans (born ca. 1896)

   4.    Charles Henry Hermans (1843-1905) was also in the Civil War (1st NY Mounted Rifles).  I have a partial newspaper clipping of a hit-and-run accident in Harlem, New York City in 1905, in which Charles was the victim.  Since he was living in New York City at the time of the accident, he may also have been buried there somewhere when he died.  From the pension form filed by his widow, Cora, and the dates on the stone in the Dover cemetery survey below, it appears he died about a week later probably due to injuries sustained in this accident.

      I found an entry for what appears to be this same Charles H. Hermans listed in a survey for Valley View Cemetery in Dover, Dutchess Co., NY.  His wife is listed there as "M. Theresa WORDEN", 1841 - 1884.  This appears to be a first wife as Charles' widow filed a pension claim after his death and the name on that appears to be "Cora".

      The 1900 US census for Manhattan, New York, New York lists Charles with his second wife Cora (born ca. 1842, married Charles ca. 1886) and two sons by his first wife, M. Theresa Worden.  The 1880 census shows Charles with his first wife and three children all living in Copake, Columbia County, New York.

      1. M. Worden Hermans (born ca. 1871) married ca. 1904 to Caroline Robinson (born ca. 1877).
         1. Worden M. Hermans (born ca. 1907)
      2. Charles Henry Hermans, Jr. (born ca. 1872)
      3. J. Blanch Hermans (born ca. 1873)

   5.  Emaline Hermans (1845-1846).  Emaline was Richard's fifth and last child with his first wife, Catharine (Rockefeller) Hermans.  Emaline may have been named after Emeline Shear, her mother's half-sister and her father's second wife (see Richard Hermans' obituary above).

2.  Emeline (Shear) Hermans (1820-1857), the second of Richard's three wives.  I have seen her first name spelled as Emaline, Emeline, Emmaline, etc.  Emaline was a half-sister of Richard Hermans' first wife, Catharine (Rockefeller) Hermans.
   1.  Sarah Olivia Hermans (1849-1852).

   2. George B. Hermans (1851-1922).  Other than that he apparently lived in Wassaic, NY, I know little about George.  I found an entry for what appears to be this same George B. Hermans and two wives listed in a survey for Valley View Cemetery in Dover, Dutchess Co., NY.  George's wives are listed as 1)  Sarah (no last name given, 1843 - 1878) and 2)  Angelina H. Jones (1855 - 1921)

   3. Willard Shear Hermans (1852-1918).  Willard married Mary Stark (1855 - 1915).  According to Mary's obituary, they had two children; a daughter who died in infancy, and a son, Oliver, who died three years before his mother.  I found an entry for what appears to be this same Willard S. Hermans and his wife and two children, Lillian M., (1883 - 1883) and Oliver (1881 - 1913) listed in a survey for Valley View Cemetery in Dover, Dutchess Co., NY.

   4.  James Hermans (1854-1855).  The stone partially showing on the right side of the photo belongs to James' sister Sarah (see above).

   5.  Adella Hermans (1856-1903, apparently never married?), the fifth and last child of Richard Hermans and Emeline (Shear) Hermans.  The small stone on the right belongs to her brother James (listed above).

3. Richard's third and last wife was Sarah Ann Miller (1816-1887).  She was the widow of George Bunnell (ca. 1814-1855).  Richard and Sarah had no children together.  Sarah and her first husband George are also buried in Evergreen Cemetery.  I have no headstone photos for Sarah or George, but I do have two obituaries for Sarah.  The Poucher survey in 1914 (entries 54 and 55) gives the following information:
   • Bunnell, George, died April 2, 1855, aged 40 years, 7 months, 16 days.
     
   • Miller, Sarah Ann, wife of George Bunnell and Richard Hermans, died January 14, 1887.

There are more Heermance graves in Rhinebeck Association Cemetery.  I have photos on the linked cemetery page for Brigadier General Martin Heermance, his wife Sarah Kiersted, and three of their daughters.  I also have photos for two other Heermance graves which are not quite clear enough to read in these photos.  I have not yet been able to do enough research on this family to determine how I am related to these people.

There are several Heermance/Hermance graves at Saint John's Reformed Dutch Church in Upper Red Hook.  I don't know exactly how these people may relate to me either.