***Only her gravestone is in The Memory Hill Cemetery. Her remains are still in The Maggard Cemetery, in Partridge, Kentucky...but they are hidden underneath a fake gravestone that was erected in the fall of 1988. That fake gravetone is inscribed with the name of her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Hoffman, who was married to Henry Back, who was the brother of her husband Joseph Back. But Elizabeth Hoffman died in Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1815; she never even went to Kentucky, and she most certainly is not buried in The Maggard Cemetery.

Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard Back was the daughter of Nicholaus Hoffman and Barbara Elisabetha Koestnerin, who were from Thuringia, Germany. They had immigrated to America in 1743, and settled in the Shenandoah River Valley, in Virginia.

Elizabeth's parents had died in 1771, leaving her and her sister Mary orphans. Each girl was adopted ("apprenticed") by a different Maggard family, who were neighbors of their parents. That is why modern-day researchers show Elizabeth's, and Mary's, maiden name as "Hoffman-Maggard. "

Elizabeth married Joseph Back around 1773. They migrated to southeastern Kentucky in 1791, with their four children: Joseph Jr. (born 1773); John (born Nov. 19, 1774); Mary (born Nov. 1, 1777); and Henry (born Feb. 6, 1785). When Elizabeth died, in 1826, she was buried in the Maggard Cemetery, in Partridge, Kentucky (Harlan County).

But in 1988, her gravestone was removed from the ground and thrown over the hill, by some members of "The Back-Bach Genealogical Society," who replaced her gravestone with one that described her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Hoffman Back, who had married her husband Joseph's brother Henry Back. They did this, in order to "prove" that Elizabeth Hoffman Back moved from Madison County, Virginia, all the way down to the wilderness of southeastern Kentucky, after her husband Henry died, and founded the Back family there.

However, Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the wife (widow) of Henry Back, never went to Kentucky, and she did not die there. After Henry died (1808/1809), she moved to Rockingham County, Virginia, to live next to her widowed sister Margaret. Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the wife (widow) of Henry Back, died in Rockingham County, around 1815. She never went to Kentucky.

When Hazel and Wardie Craft heard about Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard Back's gravestone being thrown over the hill, they went to the cemetery, retrieved the gravestone, and took it back to their home in Caney, Kentucky, which they had converted into the Memory Hill Museum. Behind the museum, they had established the Memory Hill Cemetery. They encased Elizabeth's gravestone in concrete, to preserve it, and then they placed it next to the cemetery, overlooking the cemetery, to honor her, and to maintain the last shred of proof of her existence.

The people who had removed her gravestone were very angry about this, and so they soon went to the Memory Hill Cemetery and carved the word "INCORRECT" along the bottom of Elizabeth's gravestone. It was so hateful and so wrong. (Everything they did was so hateful and so wrong.)

Elizabeth's remains are still in the Maggard Cemetery, under that fake gravestone that was erected in 1988, by "The Back-Bach Genealogical Society." That fake gravestone is now used to "prove" that Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the wife of Henry Back, moved to Kentucky.

The Find A Grave administration asked that this memorial be created for her, instead of placing this photograph of her gravestone on the front page for the Memory Hill Cemetery. Elizabeth's remains, and her memory, are marked by Find A Grave memorial #168582980.

***Only her gravestone is in The Memory Hill Cemetery. Her remains are still in The Maggard Cemetery, in Partridge, Kentucky...but they are hidden underneath a fake gravestone that was erected in the fall of 1988. That fake gravetone is inscribed with the name of her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Hoffman, who was married to Henry Back, who was the brother of her husband Joseph Back. But Elizabeth Hoffman died in Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1815; she never even went to Kentucky, and she most certainly is not buried in The Maggard Cemetery.

Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard Back was the daughter of Nicholaus Hoffman and Barbara Elisabetha Koestnerin, who were from Thuringia, Germany. They had immigrated to America in 1743, and settled in the Shenandoah River Valley, in Virginia.

Elizabeth's parents had died in 1771, leaving her and her sister Mary orphans. Each girl was adopted ("apprenticed") by a different Maggard family, who were neighbors of their parents. That is why modern-day researchers show Elizabeth's, and Mary's, maiden name as "Hoffman-Maggard. "

Elizabeth married Joseph Back around 1773. They migrated to southeastern Kentucky in 1791, with their four children: Joseph Jr. (born 1773); John (born Nov. 19, 1774); Mary (born Nov. 1, 1777); and Henry (born Feb. 6, 1785). When Elizabeth died, in 1826, she was buried in the Maggard Cemetery, in Partridge, Kentucky (Harlan County).

But in 1988, her gravestone was removed from the ground and thrown over the hill, by some members of "The Back-Bach Genealogical Society," who replaced her gravestone with one that described her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Hoffman Back, who had married her husband Joseph's brother Henry Back. They did this, in order to "prove" that Elizabeth Hoffman Back moved from Madison County, Virginia, all the way down to the wilderness of southeastern Kentucky, after her husband Henry died, and founded the Back family there.

However, Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the wife (widow) of Henry Back, never went to Kentucky, and she did not die there. After Henry died (1808/1809), she moved to Rockingham County, Virginia, to live next to her widowed sister Margaret. Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the wife (widow) of Henry Back, died in Rockingham County, around 1815. She never went to Kentucky.

When Hazel and Wardie Craft heard about Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard Back's gravestone being thrown over the hill, they went to the cemetery, retrieved the gravestone, and took it back to their home in Caney, Kentucky, which they had converted into the Memory Hill Museum. Behind the museum, they had established the Memory Hill Cemetery. They encased Elizabeth's gravestone in concrete, to preserve it, and then they placed it next to the cemetery, overlooking the cemetery, to honor her, and to maintain the last shred of proof of her existence.

The people who had removed her gravestone were very angry about this, and so they soon went to the Memory Hill Cemetery and carved the word "INCORRECT" along the bottom of Elizabeth's gravestone. It was so hateful and so wrong. (Everything they did was so hateful and so wrong.)

Elizabeth's remains are still in the Maggard Cemetery, under that fake gravestone that was erected in 1988, by "The Back-Bach Genealogical Society." That fake gravestone is now used to "prove" that Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the wife of Henry Back, moved to Kentucky.

The Find A Grave administration asked that this memorial be created for her, instead of placing this photograph of her gravestone on the front page for the Memory Hill Cemetery. Elizabeth's remains, and her memory, are marked by Find A Grave memorial #168582980.