Month: September 2012

Friday Find: Adam Hocker (1828-1907) Family Bible

I was recently contacted by a reader who is in possession of Adam Hocker’s family bible. I’m hoping to put him in touch with a living descendant.

Adam Hocker was born 11 Sep 1828 in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania to Reverend John Hocker and his wife Catharine Sterling.1 He married Anna M. Engle, daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Moyer) Engle, on 19 Apr 1859 in Montgomery County, Ohio.2 Anna was born 21 Nov 1832 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.3

Adam Hocker and Anna Engle marriage entry

Adam Hocker family bible

Adam was a farmer in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio and deacon in the River Brethren Church. He died on 8 Sep 1907 and was buried in Fairview Cemetery, Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio.4 Anna died 5 years later on 25 May 1912 of tuberculosis and was buried with her husband on 27 May 1912.5

Adam and Anna Hocker gravestone

Adam and Anna Hocker gravestone with family bible

Adam and Anna (Engle) Hocker had five children:

  1. Benjamin E. Hocker was born 23 Jan 1860 in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio and died 24 Jan 1933, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona.6 Benjamin married Mary Kinsel about 1887 in Ohio. The couple had at least four children:
    1. Jesse Albert Hocker was born 21 Oct 1884 in Ohio and died Aug 1972 in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado.7 He married Martha Jane Gribble on 24 Oct 1916. She was born 21 Oct 1892 and died Feb 1980 in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado. The couple had at least two children.
    2. Anna R. Hocker was born 5 Apr 18868 in Ohio and died Aug 1970 in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado.9
    3. Unknown Hocker was born sometime between 1886 and 1891 in Ohio and likely died before 1900 in Ohio.10
    4. Susan Goldie Hocker was born 2 Feb 1891 in Ohio and died Apr 1987 in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado. She married Emory Edward Smiley about 1918.
  2. Elizabeth E. Hocker was born 19 Nov 1861 and died 19 May 1879 in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio of consumption (tuberculosis).11
  3. Ellen Hocker was born about 1864, likely in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio and died sometime after the 1930 census enumeration. She married Franklin Etter about 1888. I believe Franklin and Ellen (Hocker) Etter had children:
    1. Maude E. Etter
    2. Elmer F. Etter
    3. Anna Mae Etter
    4. Charles Etter
    5. Clara Etter
  4. Anna M. Hocker was born 28 Jun 1865 and died 30 Jan 1918 in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio.12 She married Deacon Levi Seth Hoke on 18 Sep 1884. He was born 25 Dec 1862 or 1863 and died 24 Feb 1933.13  He was a farmer and member of the River Brethren Church. They are buried in Fairview Cemetery in Englewood, Ohio. I believe Levi and Anna (Hocker) Hoke had children:
    1. Ambrose Hoke
    2. Albert Hoke
    3. Mary Edna Hoke
    4. Letitia Hoke
    5. Mary Alice Hoke
  5. Catharine (Kathryn) Hocker was born 6 Mar 1867 and died 25 Nov 1952 in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, Ohio.14 She married John David Betz on 26 Dec 1886 in Montgomery County, Ohio. He was born 12 Jul 1861 and died 15 Oct 1924.15 They are buried in Fairview Cemetery in Englewood, Ohio. I believe John and Katie (Hocker) Betz had children:
    1. Herman (or Homer) Betz
    2. Audry Betz

Adam Hocker is my first cousin 5 times removed. My 4G grandfather was the younger brother of Adam’s father John Hocker.

Images © Harold Rothery

Writing My Family Genealogy ~ A Long, Winding Path

When I first considered writing the Hocker book, my vision was fairly simple. My aunt had received a number of queries about A German-American Hacker-Hocker Genealogy from family members interested in obtaining a copy. Since all the copies from my uncle’s print run had already been either sold or donated to libraries, I was going to publish a second edition—with permission, of course.

My first challenge was to recreate the manuscript—as it apparently no longer existed. So, I scanned, transcribed, and edited the OCR text. As I was doing this, the information architect (my day job) in me popped out. Surely, I thought, I could do a better job of organizing the information, making it easier to read and quicker to find a particular person.

Numbering

I decided to reorganize the information to follow accepted genealogical standards. The book is a “descendants-of” style book. It follows the lines of descent from Christoph and Anna Margaretha (Jock) Hacker through each of their four surviving children as far as possible. The two most accepted numbering systems for this type of book are the Register Style and the NGSQ Style (aka modified Register Style).

I decided to follow the NGSQ Style. It numbers each child, regardless of whether or not that line is carried on later in the text. Therefore the numbers only need to be changed if a new child is added or one is deleted. Less editing sounds like a good deal to me.

However, although word processing programs can create numbered lists and automatically update the numbers when items are added/deleted, none of them can automatically create the following style lists:

Descendants of Stephen Hacker (1)

2. Christoph Hacker (Stephen Hacker1) blah blah blah…

Children of Christoph and Anna Margaretha (Jock) Hacker:

  1.      i. Christina Hacker
  2.    ii. Maria Catharina Hacker
  3.   iii. Johan Adam Hacker
  4.   iv. Anna Margaretha Hacker
  5.    v. Johan Georg Hacker

Descendants of Christoph Hacker (2)

3. Christina Hacker Lang (Christoph2, Stephen Hacker1) blah blah blah…

Children of Johan Michael and Christina (Hacker) Lang:

  1.      i. Anna Christina Long
  2.     ii. Johan Michael Long

5. Johan Adam Hacker (Christoph2, Stephen Hacker1) blah blah blah…

Children of Johan Adam and Elisabetha (Weidman) Hacker:

  1.      i. Christianna Hacker
  2. + ii. Frederick Hacker

There are actually several lists here—lists within lists! I’d love to be able to have each list—1. Descendants [(#)], 2. Individuals [#. name] and 3. Children [#. i. name]—number automatically based on either the previous item or list. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way of doing it.

Each individual list of children numbers the children automatically, but doesn’t auto number their birth order (roman numerals). These lists can also be set up to continue their numbering from the previous child list, though I haven’t figured that one out in Apple Pages, yet. I’m currently setting each child list’s start number as I create a list.

Additionally, the NGSQ Style uses a plus sign (+) in front of an individual’s number to indicate that their line is carried on. Can’t do this and use an auto-numbering list. So, I’ve compromised (i.e., gone off standard) and added the plus sign after the individual’s number and before their birth order number (see Frederick Hacker).

I just can’t stand the thought of having to renumber every single person individually in the book if I add/delete children based on new or revised research. This is fine for an article of limited scope, but for a book with this many people? Nope. No way.

You have to work with what you’ve got, I guess.

Where Did This Information Come From?

Another big part of practicing genealogical standards is providing sources and citations. While there is a list of sources in the original manuscript and sometimes the name of a family member who provided information, there are no actual citations for any of the data.

This really smacked me in the face when I started to find conflicting information during my family research. How could I determine if the previous information was the correct information if I didn’t know where it came from? You need to know the source in order to evaluate it and assess the pertinence of the data it provides.

So, my simple project suddenly expanded—exponentially. I’ve been and am still documenting the facts. This—and the fact that I don’t really want to include living people—means that I’ll be limiting the scope of the book to several generations in order to actually publish it.

It also means that I’m writing my own Hacker-Hocker family genealogy, not recreating A German-American Hacker-Hocker Genealogy. I’m writing a book that includes verifiable information with footnotes and source list, so that future family generations can do their own research—if they want—and see how I reached my conclusions.

Even the obvious should be questioned, researched and verified. And sometimes the connections are not so obvious. Knowing how I got there will let my reader determine if they think I’m correct—or not—in my conclusions.

I’d also like the book to be more than just a list of names, dates and places. Pictures, maps, diagrams, documents… I’d like to include all these things to make my relatives seem like the people they were. I may never know everything about them—may only ever know a little bit—but they deserve to be remembered as more than just what’s carved on their gravestones.

Next time, more on the writing tools I’ve used/tried.
Old Typewriter photograph © Petr Kratochvil

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Adam Hacker, 1810 Census

Adam Hocker 1810 Census There’s something so ironic about Adam Hocker’s 1810 census enumeration from Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. If I’m identifying the people correctly, the Christopher Ernst listed just after him is a relation by marriage to my Hoover ancestors who’d lived in Derry Township about 50 years earlier.

Christopher Ernst was the son of Johan Wilhelm and Eva Catharina (Bach) Ernst, formerly of Cocalico Township, the same place Adam was born. After Wilhelm’s death in 1750, Eva Catharina (Bach) Ernst married Michael Huber of Derry Township. They lived in Derry Township in the late 1750s, early 1760s, about the same time as my presumed ancestor Michael Huber (no known relation).

Christopher Ernst’s sisters Elizabeth and Catharina married Hoover brothers Jacob and Casper, sons of my presumed ancestor Michael Huber. Their older brother was George Hoover, of  Dauphin, Bedford, Westmoreland and finally Armstrong counties. Several of George’s daughters were born in Derry Township in the early 1760s. I believe I’m descended through George’s great grandson Christian Hoover.

The two families weren’t united in my ancestry until 1941 and yet this census shows two members of the families living in close proximity—if not next door to each other—in 1810, 130 years earlier!

Mystery Monday: Christopher Hocker (1772—?)

Another family mystery, yet another man named Christopher (or Christian)!

Christopher Hocker was born about 1772 at Erdenheim, Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania to Johan Georg and Anna Margaretha (Weidman) Hocker.1 He most likely had a fairly privileged upbringing as his father owned a sizable estate just outside Germantown. George Hocker was a trustee at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Germantown and was involved in the creation of the Union Church in Whitemarsh Township.

Christopher married well, selecting as his bride Catherine Daub, daughter of Henry Daub Sr. of Montgomery County. They were married at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church on 10 Apr 1792.2 Henry Daub Sr. built the Sandy Run hotel, later known as the Clifton House, in 1801 and owned and operated the mill just opposite the hotel.3

Christopher appears in the tax lists of Whitemarsh Township from 1793 through 1800 when his name was crossed out.4 He likely had at least two children born during this time period. Samuel and Elizabeth Hocker, of Christoph Hocker and wife, were baptized on 31 Mar 1809.5 Samuel was 16 years old (born circa 1793) and Elizabeth was 17 years old (born circa 1792).

In 1805, Daub sold the tavern and 25 acres of his Sandy Run property to his son-in-law Christopher Hocker.6 According to deed records, Christopher (Innkeeper) purchased a lot in Whitemarsh Township from the daughters of Jacob Edge on 1 Apr 1807.7 On 5 Apr 1808, Christopher (Farmer) and Catharine Hocker sold this land to Daniel Hitner.8

Apparently, Christopher was not successful as a tavern-keeper. In 1808, he also gave up the property he’d purchased from his father-in-law to assignees John Wentz, George Price, and Samuel Maulsby. According to family legend, Christopher found himself in debt and fled to Ohio.9 There, Christopher Hocker supposedly had a child, George Washington Hocker, born on 16 Aug 1814, supposedly with a second wife.10 I have yet to find record of Christopher in Ohio or the name of his second wife.

If Christopher did remarry, it was apparently done without a divorce from or the death of his first wife Catharine. Henry Daub’s will, written 19 Jun 1813 and proved 3 Aug 1816, refers to his daughter Catharine as the wife of Christopher Hocker.11 I believe she was alive and quite possibly living with her mother in Whitemarsh Township in 1830.12 She is still referred to as the wife of Christian Hocker as of Aug 1836 when John Hocker, her nephew, was appointed as her trustee in her father’s estate proceedings.13 I have not found her in the 1850 census, nor have I found a death date or place, but it is quite possible that she died prior to 1855 when the estate was finalized.14

Christopher was named as one of the surviving children in his father’s estate files in 1821.15 The 1823 auditor’s report mentions a bond to Christopher Hocker that was “more than his share.”16 There is no location given for Christopher in these files, nor is there any indication that he appeared in court in person during the proceedings.

So, while I may not know where Christopher was in 1821 and 1823, at least I know he was still alive. I’ve still got a lot to find before I can solve this mystery. If you’ve any suggestions or clues, please, please, please send them my way!

Update: Catharine (Daub) Hocker died 13 April 1841 and was buried in the Union Church graveyard in Whitemarsh Township.

Filling the Gaps Between Censuses

Census records are an invaluable source of information for family historians and genealogists. They are a go-to, record-of-choice for me when I start new research. However, they only occur every ten years. That leaves a lot of time uncovered. Even if you’re lucky and your research location includes state census records, there are still going to holes that need to be filled somehow.

Enter tax records. Everyone hates that tax man—our ancestors, too, I’m sure—but tax records can help to fill in the gaps between census enumerations.

In the Census

Take for instance, the example of my Hocker relatives in Cocalico Township. The census records for Cocalico Township for 1800 through 1820 include the following Hockers:

  • 1800
    • Frederick Hocker
  • 1810
    • Frederick Hocker
    • John Hauker
    • George Hocker
  • 1820
    • John Hocker
    • Jacob Houker

In Tax Records

The tax lists from Cocalico Township fill in the years between the census and provide glimpses of additional Hocker men. The Hockers listed in the township include:

  • 1800
    • Frederick Hocker
    • George Hocker
  • 1801
    • Frederick & George Hocker
  • 1802
    • Frederick & George Hocker
  • 1803
    • Frederick & George Hocker
    • Jacob Hocker
  • 1805
    • Jacob Hacker
    • Frederick Hocker
    • George Hocker
    • John Hocker
  • 1806
    • George Hocker
    • John Hocker
    • Frederick Hocker
  • 1807
    • Frederick Hocker
    • George Hocker
    • George Hocker
    • John Hocker
  • 1808
    • George Hocker
    • Frederick Hocker
    • John Hocker
  • 1809
    • Frederick Hocker
    • John Hocker
    • George Haker, inmate*
  • 1810
    • Frederick Hocker
    • John Hocker
    • George Hocker, inmate
    • George Hocker, inmate
  • 1811
    • John Hocker
    • Frederick Hocker
    • George Hocker
    • George Hocker Jr.
  • 1812
    • John Hocker
    • Frederick Hocker
    • George Hocker
    • George Hocker, inmate
  • 1813
    • John Hocker
    • George Hocker
    • George Hocker (crossed out)
    • Jacob Hocker, freeman*
  • 1814
    • John Hacker
  • 1816
    • Jacob Hocker
    • John Hocker
  • 1817
    • Jacob Hacker
    • John Hacker
  • 1818
    • Jacob Hacker
    • John Hacker
  • 1819
    • Jacob Hacker
    • John Hocker
  • 1820
    • John Hacker
Going through these listings you can see when men other than those named in the census records make an appearance. A Jacob Hocker first appears in the census in 1820. But the name appears in the tax records in 1803 and 1805, then disappears until 1813 when it appears on the tax lists as a freeman.

Do these records refer to the same man? Probably not. First, there’s the separation of 10 years between the appearances. Secondly, the first Jacob was a married land owner—the records indicate he owned 100 ares, while the second was an unmarried man.

Conclusions

Correlating these records with others—church records (birth, baptism, confirmation, communion, marriage and death), estate files and wills, deeds, etc.—will flesh out the story even more. Putting it all together, I can conclude that Frederick and George were probably brothers—sons of Johan Adam Hacker. Their youngest brother Jacob purchased about 100 acres in 1803, then sold it to Frederick in the spring of 1806. Jacob and his wife Elizabeth likely moved across the river to York County around this time.

Frederick’s eldest son John came of age about 1802 and likely married by 1804. He appears in tax records starting in 1805. His next oldest son George appears in the 1810 tax record, but I don’t know if  it’s him or his uncle in the 1810 census. Without the tax record, I wouldn’t have even known there were two men named George in Cocalico Township in 1810—and may have attributed children to one or the other that didn’t belong to them.

Frederick Hacker died in 1812. John refused his father’s property. His younger brother George accepted it, but didn’t—or was unable to—keep it. George sold the property in 1813. Meanwhile, their younger brother Jacob, who’d come of age in 1812, was listed in the 1813 tax list as a freeman.

Uncle George, who disappears from the tax record about this time, too, starts appearing in Church records in Schaefferstown (just to the north) by 1815 and is included in the 1820 census for Lebanon Township.

Tax records can help to fill in the holes and provide clues on where and when to look for other documents. A change from being listed as freeman to not might tell you when a man got married. An appearance in the tax list might also tell you when and where to look for deed records. Tax records won’t tell you everything you want to know, but they can help you build the story and verify that you’ve got the right person in other records.

Have you found your ancestors in tax records? What did you learn about them?


* Inmate and freeman are terms used in Pennsylvania tax records. An inmate is not a prisoner or someone locked up. In this case, it is a married man who owns no land. A freeman is a single man. You’ll sometimes see “single man” as a heading in the records, too. All men in the tax records are at least 21 years of age.

When the Genealogy Book is Wrong…

Have you ever had the experience of researching information you found in a family genealogy book and discovering that it was wrong? How did you feel—triumphant that you’d discovered something the author got incorrect or maybe slightly embarrassed for them?

I have very mixed feelings. You see the author was my great uncle, the man who got me interested in genealogy.

The family in question is that of Margaret Haushalter, daughter of Lorentz and Anna Margaretha (Hacker) Haushalter. Margaret was born 4 July 1754 in Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and baptized on 28 July 1754 in Emanuel Lutheran Church.1 According to A German-American Hacker-Hocker Genealogy, Margaret married circa 1774 Jacob Oberlin. He was born 15 July 1747, son of Johan Adam Oberlin, and baptized 26 July 1747 in Emanuel Lutheran Church.2 There is no source indicated for the marriage.

The records of Emanuel Lutheran Church include the following children of Jacob and Margaretta Oberlin/Oberle:

  1. Unnamed child, born ca 17823
  2. Barbara Oberlin, born 8 Aug 1783, baptized 7 Oct 1783, sponsors: Lorentz & Margaretha Haushalter4
  3. George Oberlin, born 25 Sep 1785, baptized 20 Nov 1785, sponsors: Lorentz & Margaretha Haushalter5
  4. Jacob Oberlin, born 10 Apr 1787, baptized 13 May 1787, sponsors: Rudulph & Barbara Schaefer6
  5. Catharine Oberlin, born 21 Jul 1789, baptized 23 Aug 1789, sponsors: George & Catharina Stober7
  6. Eva Oberlin, born 15 Sep 1791, baptized 16 Oct 1791, sponsors: Michael & Anne Marie Oberle8

You’ll notice that Margaretha’s parents were sponsors for both Barbara and George Oberlin in 1783 and 1785. Catharine’s sponsors in 1789 were likely George and Catharina (Haushalter) Stober, Margareth’s brother-in-law and sister.

Jacob and Margaret Oberlin were sponsors for:

  1. Jacob, son of Christoph & Catharine Oberly, born 30 Jul 1775, baptized 14 Aug 1775, as “Jacob Oberly & Margaretha Webern”9
  2. Christina, daughter of Peter & Christina Beinhauer, born 23 Aug 1777, baptized 30 Sep 177710
  3. Joseph, son of George & Agatha Hofmann, born 19 Mar 1788, baptized 4 May 178811

I found additional baptism records for children of Jacob and Margaret Oberlin/Oberly in Reiher’s Reformed Church, also in Brickerville:12

  1. Elizabeth, born 6 Jan 1777, baptized 28 Jan 1777, sponsors: Agatha Oberlin (Jacob’s mother)
  2. Christine, born 3 Apr 1778, baptized 3 May 1778, sponsors: John Peter & Christine Beinhauer
  3. Elizabeth, born 19 Sep 1788, baptized 21 Nov 1788, sponsors: the parents

Now, none of this seems to contradict Wingeard’s statement that Margaretha Haushalter married Jacob Oberlin/Oberle. The fact that her parents and brother-in-law and sister were sponsors seems to support that statement.

However, I also found the following in the Cocalico Reformed Church records:

  1. “Jacob Oberlin, Lutheran, son of Adam Oberlin, m. Margaret Weber, Ref., dau. of George Weber, on April 30, 1776.”13
  2. “Nicholas Vogelgesang, son of Philip Vogelgesang, single, Lutheran, m. Margaret Haushalter, Lutheran, dau. of Lorentz Haushalter, on February 25, 1777.”14

It doesn’t get much more explicit than that. According to these records Jacob Oberlin and Margaretha Haushalter married different people, not each other!

Emanuel Lutheran church records have baptisms for three children of Nicholas and Margaretha Fogelgesang/Vogelgesang:

  1. Christina, born 19 Jun 1779, baptized 4 Jul 1779, sponsors: Wilhelm Stober & Christina15
  2. Susanna, born 17 Nov 1782, baptized 18 Nov 1782, sponsors: Fridich Adam & Barbara16
  3. Catharine, born 10 Jun 1784, baptized 25 Jul 1784, sponsors: Catharine Haushalter17

They were also sponsors for:

  1. Susannah, daughter of Christian & Ann Wiland, born 31 Jul 1780, baptized 9 Sep 178018

Lorentz Haushalter’s will, written 19 Jul 1800, mentions “the heirs of my daughter Margaret, deceased.”19 So, Margaretha Haushalter died prior to 19 Jul 1800. However, Jacob Oberlin’s wife Margaret was still alive in 1801 when an account was apparently filed for his estate by his administratrix Margaretta Oberlin.20

But what about all those baptismal records? Why were Margaret’s parents and sister sponsors for Jacob and Margaret (Weber) Oberlin?

The simple answer is probably that they were neighbors and members of the same church. A petition of Jacob Lehman, husband of Jacob Oberlin’s eldest daughter, for the partitioning of Jacob’s land after his 1793 death names George Weidman, Lawrence Householder, and Christian Oberlin as the adjoining land owners.21 Additionally, George Stober was most likely related to Jacob Oberlin’s mother Catharine Agatha Stober, making George and Jacob cousins. The other sponsors of Jacob’s children were either his or his wife’s siblings.

All of Nicholas and Margaret Vogelgesang’s children baptized at Emanuel Lutheran were sponsored by Margaretha Haushalter’s relatives. Wilhelm and Christina Stober were her cousins through her mother and Christina’s mother—both Hackers. Friedrich and Barbara Adam were Margaretha’s sister and brother-in-law and Catharine Haushalter, possibly her sister.

Conclusions

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. A genealogy—published or not—is only as good as the research and analysis that had been done to date. There may have been resources that were not available. You, the reader, have no way of knowing how accurate the content is unless you can assess the research that went into it—and by extension, what didn’t go into it. That is the reason why source citations are necessary.

In this case, my uncle did not provide the source of his information or how he reached his conclusions. I don’t know if he had more information than he included in the book or not. I can only assess his conclusions based on the information he included and the additional data that my research found.

Based on what I know—right now—I can only conclude that the book is wrong.


Wordless Wednesday: John Hocker, Whitemarsh, 1785 Tax List

John Hocker in Whitemarsh Township Tax List

John Hocker’s entry in the 1785 tax list of Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was a farmer with 4 horses and 2 cows. No land is explicitly included with his listing, however, you’ll notice Widow Mason’s entry is just after his with “And for” as part of the listing? John Hocker married Elizabeth Mason, daughter of Christopher and Ann (Baker) Mason of Whitemarsh Township. John was likely farming part of the Mason family property and was taxed on those 232 acres.

John Hocker, son of Johan George and Anna Margaretha (Weidman) Hacker, was born 11 Jan 1760 in Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He died 26 Sep 1798 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

This image was taken from a microfilm projection.

When Did George Hocker Jr. Die? Evaluating Conflicting Information

In writing the Hacker-Hocker genealogy, I’ve come to George Hocker Jr., son of Johan Georg and Anna Margaretha (Weidman) Hacker. When Bill Wingeard researched George, he determined that there was a problem with establishing George’s date of death. In this post I will examine the conflicting data he found and what my subsequent research revealed.

According to Wingeard’s research, the article “The Erdenheim Stock Farm” in the History of Hatfield Township stated that George Hocker Jr. died in 1821 and he left no will.1 William Yeakle apparently reported that he saw a notice in the Norristown Herald [100 years later] stating George died on 30 January 1822.2 And Edward W. Hocker wrote that George’s gravestone in St. Michael’s Church cemetery indicates that he died in 1822.3

One might conclude that George Hocker Jr. died in 1822. However, Wingeard reported that he found a deed in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in which George’s heirs sold a tract called “Denmark” on 7 Apr 1832. According to this deed, Bill wrote, George died on 30 January 1832.4

So, how do you resolve this conflict?

Of these documents, the only contemporary one—meaning it was written at the time of the events it recorded—was the Northumberland County deed. It was written 7 Apr 1832 and recorded 1 June 1832.5 Both the article “The Erdenheim Stock Farm” and the notice in the Norristown Herald were written significantly later. Edward W. Hocker’s Pennsylvania Cemeteries was written in the 1930s, so he was viewing a gravestone that was over 100 years old, and possibly difficult to read.

So, the three reports of an 1821/22 date of death are mistaken, right?

Not so fast.

Is there any other contemporary record that indicates whether George was alive in 1822? I did not find a burial record for George Hocker in St. Michael’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Volume 2. Nor did I find George Hocker Jr. in the Administrations Index for Montomery County, Pennsylvania.

George’s father died in 1821 in Montgomery County. Is there any mention of George in his estate record?

Even though George Hocker Sr. died intestate, his estate record is quite explicit regarding his children. In a request for partition of George Sr.’s land, the record states:

“…George Hocker died intestate on or about the 16th day of October last leaving no widow but issue five children, to wit Martin, Adam, Christopher, Elizabeth intermarried with Henry Scheetz and Margaret Hocker now living; and three deceased, to wit, George, John and Jacob Hocker…”6

Not only is George Jr. recorded as deceased before this record was made, but one of his heirs—Henry Daub, husband of his daughter Ann—is one of the petitioners on this and subsequent Orphans Court records. Based on George Sr.’s estate record, it is quite clear that George Hocker Jr. died before 16 October 1821.

But what about the 1832 deed? Wingeard stated that it recorded George’s death as 30 Jan 1832. If that’s true, then it can’t apply to this George Hocker Jr., right?

In reading the original document, it is obvious that Bill was correct. It does relate to George Hocker Jr., son of George and Anna Margaretha (Weidman) Hocker. The heirs listed in the deed—widow Mary Hacker, Henry Daub and Ann his wife, Philip Hink and Mary his wife, Jacob Cress and Elizabeth his wife, Jacob Mason and Margaret his wife and Susanna Hergesheimer—match those listed in George Hocker Sr.’s estate files as the heirs of his son George.

However, while the deed states that George is deceased, it does not provide a date of death. Furthermore, it also states that Martin Kindig granted the tract to George Hocker on “the first day of June in the year last aforesaid” [1797], not on 1 Jun 1831 as Bill noted.7 Perhaps he misread that line as “the first day of June in the year last” and concluded it meant 1831.

Based on the information compiled, I can only conclude that George Hocker Jr. died before 16 Oct 1821. I don’t have enough information to posit an exact date, but I do know that 1822 and 1832 are incorrect.

Mapping West Philadelphia

I‘ve been working on the Philadelphia Hocker branch of the family for my book A Hacker/Hocker Family recently. (Lots of new information and lines!) Imagine how happy I was to find the “Mapping West Philadelphia: Landowners in October 1777” website.

Mapping West Philadelphia 1777

George Hocker’s tract in Whitemarsh and Springfield townships (green tract to center-left)

It’s a “web-based, geographic data application open to the public. It was developed by the University of Pennsylvania’s University Archives and Records Center from research provided by J.M. Duffin. The website is designed to assist scholarly research and the general public in efforts to analyze, interpret and understand the history of the growth of West Philadelphia and the greater Philadelphia area at the time of the American Revolution.”

It shows road and land owners from 1777 in situ. You can see the location of a tract of land in relationship to roads, other land owners, and the 1777 township borders. You can even turn on a modern street overlay so you can see where the tract is in relationship to modern roads—perfect for locating an ancestors’ tract! Select your choice of streets, terrain, even a Google satellite image as a background with the tracts as overlay.

I’ve had a good idea of where George Hocker’s tract sat, but finding this site verified the information I had. For some reason, I was surprised to see how close it was to Germantown.

For someone like me who loves to use land patents and deeds to track the ownership of parcels of land to help define relationships among people, this site is a fantastic find!