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Heermans / Hermance / Hermans

Hermans family plot in Evergreen Cemetery

Hermans family plot in Evergreen Cemetery, Pine Plains, Dutchess County, NY
May 2002

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

headstone of Richard Hermans

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:

RICHARD HERMANS

DIED DEC. 26 1898

AGED 90 YRS 5 MOS

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. headstone of Emma Eliza Hermance  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. headstone of William and Catharine (Hermans) Simmons    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. USA Veteran's Flag  William Hermance - 1990s snapshot  William Hermance - May 2002  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.  UPDATE:  I have 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 her yet.

    4. USA Veteran's Flag  Charles Henry Hermans  Charles Henry Hermans (1843-1905) was also in the Civil War (1st NY Mounted Rifles).  All I currently have on him is 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, it appears he died a week or two later from injuries sustained in this accident.

      UPDATE:  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".

    5. headstone of Emaline Hermans  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 below).

  2. headstone of Emaline (Shear) Hermans  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. headstone of Sarah Olivia Hermans  Sarah Olivia Hermans (1849-1852).

    2. George B. Hermans (1851-1922).  Other than that he apparently lived in Wassaic, NY, I know nothing about George.    UPDATE:  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.    UPDATE:  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. headstone of James Hermans  James Hermans (1854-1855).  The stone partially showing on the right side of the photo belongs to James' sister Sarah (see above).

    5. headstone of Adella Hermans  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.

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