ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERIES -- THE HOBERS

Over the weekend, I was double checking some facts that I have on Sebastian Homrich (whom I like to call my German family patriarch) when I see a "hint" (yes, a fluttering leaf) for his mother Anna Katharina Heibel. It said that she was listed on FindAGrave.com in a cemetery named Katholische Friedhof Wirges.  This cemetery is located in Wirges, Westerwaldkries, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany (not too far from Cologne, Germany).  So, as I tend to do, I decided to peruse the names of the other interments in this cemetery.  I found not only people with the last name of  Heibel and Hommerich (the German spelling of Homrich) but also Hobel (which is the maiden name of Anna Katharina's mother Maria Magdalena.

After a few hours, I realized that I have hit the "jackpot".  I found three more "probable" generations back from what I currently had and therefore found my 8th great grandfather and grandmother Oster and Afra Hober.  Okay, what is really weird is that it was not from tracing Anna Katharina and her mother Maria Magdalena's ancestors but rather from tracing Sebastian Homrich's father's ancestors.  By now, my head is spinning!  I feel like I am in a giant jigsaw puzzle!  I am finding "first cousins 8x removed", which for me is a big deal since for some of my family lines I can only trace them back a few generations.  So, "8 generations" is winning the lottery for me!

So, here's what I can piece together now --

8th great grandparents:     Oster Hober and Afra (Hober)
7th great grandparents:     Gregaren Hober and Maria
6th great grandparents:     Johann Adam Hober and Sophia Maria Sabel
5th great grandparents:     Anna Christina Hober and Christian Hommerich
4th great grandparents:     Christian Hommerich and Anna Bast
3rd great grandparents:     Johann Adam Hommerich and Anna Katharina Heibel
2nd great grandparents:    Sebastian Homrich and Anna Maria Simon

So far, I have found a connection between 80 of the 200 people buried at that cemetery and my ancestors (either ancestors or spouses of ancestors) but still need to work on the ancestors for Anna Katharina Heibel, which is what I thought I was doing originally.  Welcome to the wonderful world of Genealogy!