12 October 1838; Schleusingen, Hildburghausen, Thüringen, Preußen: Amanda Baumann Hoyer was the first child of Elizabeth Dorothea Baumann, born on this date, baptized October 28, 1838, as identified in church records (book 633-1838, birth #120) of the Evangelische Kirche Schleusingen (Schleusingen, Hildburghausen, Thüringen), Prussia. As the father is unidentified in these records, she was born out of wedlock - not surprising as her mother was 21 years old and her father was only 15. Her parents eventually married in 1846 when Amanda was 7 years old. Her surname is frequently recorded as "Baumann" (as inscribed on her gravestone) rather than "Hoyer."

21 Oct 1853; Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania: immigrated to Newark via Philadelphia with her mother and younger sister, Pauline Hoyer, aboard the ship "Louise Marie". Her mother had returned to Schleusingen specifically to retrieve them while husband Gottlieb Hoyer apparently remained in Newark. According to the passenger list, Elizabeth Hoyer traveled "with 2 children, accompanied by J. Koch, age 28, also from Schleusingen". Unfortunately, Schleusingen church records are missing for the birth year of J. Koch, thus his/her identity is unknown at this time.

27 Feb 1859; Newark, Essex Co., New Jersey: Amanda was married to Ferdinand Julius Koether Sr. on this date by the Rev. Frederich August Lehlbach, "he age 26 3/4, she age 20 1/3". The event is recorded in the records of the Third German Reformed Evangelical Protestant Church (48 Mulberry Street) where Lehlbach was minister. It is likely the ceremony occurred there although the official Newark Marriage Register indicates Third Reformed Dutch (Old Bergen) Church, Newark (now Jersey City) - probably a contemporary confusion of the two churches. The occasion also combined three baptisms by Lehlbach: children of her uncle Johannes [John] Robert Hoyer, Sr. Thus at her wedding, she was both a bride and godparent.

It is more than likely that both Amanda and Ferdinand knew each other previously in Schleusingen where his older sister, Auguste Sophie Dorothea Koether, married her uncle (mentioned above), Johannes [John] Robert Hoyer Sr. on 22 December 1850 before immigrating via New York City to Newark 09 July 1852. As per the 1860 US Federal Census, the newly-married couple Amanda and Ferdinand Koether are living in the home of her uncle John Hoyer and his older sister, Auguste (Koether) Hoyer.

Her father, Gottlieb Hoyer, was the earliest pioneering immigrant of the Hoyer/Koether family, who arrived in Baltimore 20 August 1840, moved to New York City, then Newark, and lastly Omaha after the Civil War -- setting the path for all subsequent family members and generations leaving Schleusingen to escape Prussian war and famine during the two decades leading up to the US Civil War. Gottlieb escaped the effects of war in Prussia, only to be drafted 26 Jun 1861 into the all-German New York 41st Infantry (DeKalb) Regiment as a musician (bugler), age 38. He deserted 4 days later, re-enlisted in New Jersey, and survived the war, mustering out 08 Dec 1864 (Trenton, Mercer Co., New Jersey).

Amanda Baumann Hoyer and husband Ferdinand Julius Koether Sr. eventually had fourteen children, all born in Newark, Essex Co., New Jersey.