Year: 2012

Out on a New Limb

I’ve come to the realization lately that in my zeal for researching the Hacker/Hockers and Huber/Hoovers, there are quite a few of my family lines that I haven’t done much work on. This weekend one of those lines opened up.

I just recently sent away for the death certificates of my 3x great grandfather Samuel K[rehl?] Leedy and his wife Sarah (Parsons) Leedy from my father’s side of the family and my 3x great grandmother Anna (Mechling) Wieder, wife of Saul Wieder, from my mother’s side of the family. That will finish up the last of my ancestors who died after 1906 when state-wide death registration began in Pennsylvania.

Anthony Parsons (1793-1834)

Anthony Parsons (1793-1834)

Coincidentally, I was going through my binders of gravestone photos I’ve taken, comparing what I have to what’s up on Find a Grave, when I saw a photo request for the gravestone of Anthony Parsons from Hill Cemetery in Perry County, Pennsylvania. Several years ago I’d visited the cemetery looking for Samuel K. and Sarah (Parsons) Leedy and taken photos of gravestones with surnames that I recognized. One of those was Anthony Parsons’. So, I uploaded the photo and several others I’d taken.

This led to a connection with a new cousin—and the information that Sarah (Parsons) Leedy’s father was very likely Anthony Parsons!

Now, maybe I’d have learned that when Sarah’s death certificate comes back, but maybe not. Anthony Parsons died 24 March 1834 at the age of 41 years 10 months and [24?] days. Sarah was born about 1833, so she never really knew her father. The informant for her death certificate may not have known the names of her parents. I’ll have to wait and see. But, in the meantime, I can research Anthony Parsons to learn all I can about him and his family!

Surname Saturday: Samuel Thomas Hoover

My great great grandfather Samuel Thomas Hoover was born on 18 February 1857, most likely in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.1 He was the son of Christian and Caroline (Kinnard) Hoover.2

Samuel and Victoria (Walker) Hoover

Samuel and Victoria (Walker) Hoover

Sometime between February and September 1879, Samuel married Victoria Walker. She was born 9 September 1858 in Pine Glen, Burnside Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.3 She was the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Eckley) Walker.

Samuel and Victoria made their home in Pine Glen. Census records list Samuel initially as a laborer, then as a farmer. In 1883, Samuel served as the administrator of his mother’s estate after his elder brother Reuben refused.4 When their father died in 1887, Reuben and Samuel, and their brothers Simon and George, and young sister Eva Edith and her mother Mary Ann (Conaway) Hoover, sold their father’s property in Covington Township, Clearfield County to George Boak.5

Samuel died on 18 August 1930 in Pine Glen of Bright’s disease. He was buried in Advent Cemetery on 20 August 1930. His obituary read:

PINE GLEN: On Sunday night the death messenger entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel HOOVER and took with them the spirit of the father of the home. Mr. HOOVER has been sick for about three months, but was getting better, and on Sunday was feeling real well and enjoyed the family and grandchildren who were to see him, and remarking that he was feeling better and was in excellent spirit. But during the night  while the family was resting and Mrs. HOOVER, the mother of the home and his faithful nurse had retired, death came quickly and on awaking they found him dead, having slept [sic] away in the night. Mr. HOOVER was one of our oldest and respected citizens. He had lived in our community his entire life and was a well known farmer. He always took an interest in the township affairs and respected our schools and churches. He was about 72 or 73 years old and leaves his faithful helpmates who were: Victoria WALKER and two daughters, Mrs. Fountain LEWIS, of Snow Shoe; Mrs. Edward CRAMER, of Karthaus; Harry HOOVER, of Dubois; Clyde, William and Edward, of Pine Glen and Raymond at home. There are a number of grandchildren and two great grandchildren.6

Victoria died on 12 February 1938 in Pine Glen of a cerebral hemorrhage. She, too, was buried in Advent Cemetery on 15 February 1938.

Samuel Thomas and Victoria (Walker) Hoover had the following children:

  1. Harris Grant Hoover was born 12 May 1882 in Pine Glen and died 18 July 1943 in Dubois, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. He married Ida May Cramer, daughter of Lot and Lucy Dale (Gault) Cramer, in June 1903.
  2. Minnie Belle Hoover was born in April 1884 and died in 1962. She was buried in Askey Cemetery in Snow Shoe. She married Fountain C. Lewis, son of Edward L. and Anna (Haines) Lewis in 1902.
  3. Ida Mae Hoover was born in May 1885 and died in 1961. She was buried in Askey Cemetery. Ida married Edward H. Cramer, son of Lot and Lucy Dale (Gault) Cramer, in 1904.
  4. Clyde Leroy Hoover was born on 30 October 1886 in Pine Glen. He died on 13 May 1972 in Karthaus, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. He married Nora Melinda Houdeshell, daughter of George W. and Lovina Caroline (Force) Houdeshell, on 16 April 1908 in Dubois, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
  5. Raymond Hoover was born 7 October 1888 in Pine Glen and died in 1960. He never married. Raymond served in the 314th Field Artillery, 80th Division during World War I. He was discharged from the Army on 7 June 1919.
  6. William M. Hoover was born 17 April 1890 in Pine Glen. He died on 15 December 1964, also in Pine Glen. He married Edith Mae Meeker, daughter of William Henry and Carrie Amanda (Force) Meeker, in January 1912.
  7. Edward Earl Hoover was born 22 June 1891 and died 17 March 1981. He married Genevieve Agatha Smith, daughter of Solomon and Ora B. (Smith) Smith, on 27 August 1913.
  8. Lloyd Hoover was born on 15 April 1893 and died 12 July 1973 in Karthaus. He married Mary Ann Reese about 1915.
  9. Clarence G. Hoover was born 24 March 1895 and died 1 April 1902 of hemorrhages.7

Wordless Wednesday: Robert Askey Children?

Askey children?

Possibly children of Robert Alexander Askey and Wilhelmina Force?

This photo was among the photos from the Hoover family photos from Pine Glen, Burnside Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. When I asked my grandmother, she said she thought it was of the Askey kids. Presumably she was talking about her great aunt and uncle, Robert Alexander and Wilhelmina (Force) Askey, who lived just down the road from her grandparents, Samuel Thomas and Victoria (Walker) Hoover.

Robert Alexander Askey (1853-1950) and Wilhelmina Force (1857-1921) had 12 children, 10 of whom were living in 1910. I have the names of only 10:

  1. Dora Askey
  2. Jefferson B. Askey
  3. Jean Askey
  4. Bessie M. Askey
  5. James Rudolph Askey
  6. Iva M. Askey
  7. Florence Ruth Askey
  8. Elizabeth Sarah Askey
  9. Rhoda E. Askey
  10. Robert Sherman Askey

If you know—or can guess—at the identities of those in the photo, please leave a comment or drop me a line. Thanks!

 

 

Surname Saturday: Albert Curtin Hocker

My great great grandfather Albert Curtin Hocker was born 9 September 1860 in Swatara Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.1 He was the fourth son of Levi and Anna (Frantz) Hocker. Albert was only 16 years old when his father died of an apparent suicidal drowning. Levi disappeared one night in October 1876. His body wasn’t found until the following April. It must have been very difficult for his family as they waited through the winter to learn whether or not he was still alive.

In 1881, Albert married Lillian Ainsley Leedy, daughter of Samuel Krehl and Sarah (Parsons) Leedy. Lilly was born 4 May 1861 in Perry County, Pennsylvania.2 Lillian was their fourth child and second daughter. She was one of nine children.3

Albert C. Hocker and children

Albert C. Hocker and children: Levi, Albert Jr. and Anna

Albert was a carpenter, farmer, and huckster. My grandfather told me stories about his grandfather falling asleep coming home from his rounds selling vegetables from a cart and his horse bringing him safely home. He and Lillian owned a house in Upper Swatara Township—now part of Harrisburg—and ran a store from the front room.

They moved to a farm near Newville, Cumberland County sometime after 1900.4 Albert died on 24 July 1940 in Cumberland County of a coronary thrombosis (heart attack). He was buried on 27 July 1940 in Paxtang Cemetery, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.5

Lillian died on 20 January 1942 in Cumberland County due to coronary sclerosis and cerebral arteriosclerosis.6 She was also buried in Paxtang Cemetery on 23 January 1942.

Albert Curtin and Lillian Ainsley (Leedy) Hocker had the following children:

  1. Ethel Pearl Hocker was born 4 May 1882 and died June 1948. She married Harry Thomas Allen, then Wesley Edward Foster Jr.
  2. Krehl Samuel Hocker was born 12 February 1885 and died 7 July 1935. He married Opal Emma Luehrs.
  3. Levi Ainsley/Ainsworth Hocker was born 19 October 1886 and died in May 1965. He married Mary Curran.
  4. Albert Curtin Hocker Jr. was born 1 August 1888 and died 18 September 1935. He married Bena May Frey.
  5. William Howard Hocker was born 17 August 1890 and died 22 March 1967. He married Isabella Aitken Smith.
  6. Anna Frantz Hocker was born 9 November 1892 and died in 1961. She married Vernon Hastins Yinger.

Friday Find: Hocker—Drake Marriage Announcement

Newspapers are a wonderful resource for finding not only the genealogical date, but the also the details that make a person’s life colorful.

For instance, from the marriage announcement for T.P. Drake and Alice Hocker, we find they were married at her sister’s home on 1426 Hubbard Street, Jacksonville and that the decorations included palms and cut flowers, that the bride wore “a costume of white satin trimmed with pearls and point lace,” and that “her long bridal veil was caught up with a pearl and diamond ornament.”1 We also learn that they planned to live in Florida for most of the year, but spend their summers elsewhere.

Hocker-Drake marriage

Have you found any interesting details about the lives of your ancestors from newspapers?

Kirche Russheim ~ Inside

Check out this image of the church in Russheim. This is where my Hacker ancestors would most likely have gone to church.

Don’t you hate it when stuff disappears off the web? This image is no longer available on Flickr. [edit: 5 Feb 2020]

Wordless Wednesday: A Morning Cup of Joe

Bill, Isabella, and Mims Hocker in 1946

Bill, Isabella (Smith), and Mims Hocker, 1946.

Isabella Aitken (Smith) Hocker with her son William “Bill” Hocker, Jr. and daughter Meriam “Mims” Hocker in the yard circa 1946.Bill and his family lived across the yard from his parents.

Judge William Adam Hocker’s Obituary

Judge William Adam Hocker obituary in The Evening Independent of St. Petersburg, Florida from July 20, 1918.

“Judge Hocker Dies at Ocala
Distinguished Jurist Spent Last Winter Here and Made Many Friends

The many St. Petersburg friends of Judge William Hocker will regret to learn that he died last Wednesday. Judge Hocker spent last winter at Sunnyside, with the family of Joseph E. Hamilton, 417 Fourth street north, and made many warm friends especially among the older people. He was a dignified and learned man of the old Southern school. The Ocala Star gives the following sketch of Judge Hocker’s career and family:

Judge William A. Hocker was born in Buckingham county, Virginia in 1844, and was a son of William Hocker and Susan Mildred Lewis.

He served in Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry during the civil war. In November 1868, he was married to Gertrude Venable, and settled near Leesburg, Flas., in 1874, and moved to Ocala in 1892. He became a circuit judge for the fifth circuit in 1893 and continued to hold such office until 1901 when he was elected by the supreme court as one of its commssioners, and shortly thereafter was elected a member of the supreme court of Florida, which position he occupied for 12 years and retired a few years ago on account of failing health.

In 1909 he was married the second time to Mattie N. Glover of Roanoke, Va., who survives him. He is also survived by three children, William Hocker, of Ocala; Mrs. T. P. Drake of Yalaha, and Frederick R. Hocker, of Ocala. His eldest daughter, Mrs. C. P. Lovell, died in 1914. Eight grandchildren also survive him namely: Lieut. Charles P. Lovell, Gertrude Lovell; Elizabeth, Margaret and Lucretia Hocker; William and Trusten P. Drake Jr., and Clifton Montgomery Hocker.”1

Friday Finds: Marriage Record of Sarah Craig Buchanan

It’s funny how a record that you dismissed as irrelevant—because it did not pertain to the person you were researching—can abruptly become relevant with additional research.

I viewed the following record on ScotlandsPeople because I was hoping to find information on my ancestress Sarah Craig, wife of James Buchanan. It didn’t pertain and I set it aside. More recently, I researched Alexander Buchanan as a possible brother to my ancestor James Buchanan. The marriage record of Sarah Craig Buchanan became relevant because she was the daughter of Alexander Buchanan and his wife Elizabeth Kelly… and likely niece to James Buchanan and his wife Sarah Craig, quite likely her namesake.

1872 marriage Sarah Craig Buchanan

Marriage record for James Sands and Sarah Craig Buchanan of Cuilhill, Scotland on 12 July 1872.

Lesson learned? When there are similarities of name and place, don’t dismiss a record just because it’s obviously not the same person. Those similarities may point to a possible relationship. Niece, nephew, brother, sister—or even neighbor or best friend. Those relationships may provide clues that help you over a brick wall.

In this case, the records from the families of James and Alexander Buchanan seem to indicate that their family may have been amongst those Irish who left Ireland due to the famine in the 1840s. In their case, instead of immigrating to United States, they sought relief by going to Scotland where they became coal miners.