Month: May 2013

Persistence Pays Off

Kris Hocker on 30 May 2013

In working through my Hocker family research, I’ve eventually come to George Hocker of Slate River Mills and his family. George’s two eldest sons have provided me with more than their fair share of speculation and frustration.

The 1850 census for District 2, Buckingham County includes George and his family:1

George Hocker 1850 Virginia census
The household was comprised of:

  • George Hocker, 49, Male, Farmer, $13,000, b. Buckingham
  • Evalina Hocker, 35, Female, b. Buckingham
  • Adam Hocker, 26, Male, Miller, $25, b. Buckingham
  • Howel Hocker, 23, Male, Miller, $25, b. Buckingham
  • Amanda Hocker, 18, Female, b. Buckingham
  • George Hocker, 15, Male, None, b. Buckingham, attended school within the year
  • Edmund Hocker, 14, Male, b. Buckingham, attended school within the year
  • Margaret Hocker, 12, Female, b. Buckingham, attended school within the year
  • James Sudbury, 25, Male, Farmer, b. Buckingham, person over 20 years who cannot read or write

George Hocker 1860 census

In 1860, George and family and his son Adam are living in two adjoining households.2

  • Adam Hocker, 33, Male, Miller, $0, $4600, b. Virginia
  • George Hocker, 50, Male, Farmer, $15,000, $13,450, b. Virginia
  • Evaline T. Hocker, 45, Female, b. Virginia
  • George [W?] Hocker, 29, Male, Manager, b. Virginia
  • Edmund T. Hocker, 24, Male, b. Virginia
  • Margaret G. Hocker, 22, Female, b. Virginia

I haven’t been able to locate [Amos] Howell in the 1860 census. Since Adam’s age is more in line with Howell’s from the 1850, I’ve wondered if this is not Adam, but Howell, but census ages are notoriously inaccurate, so…

1870 Amos Howell Hocker census
In 1870, I’ve found Amos Howell Hocker. He was working as a farm manager in 1870 in Maysville, Buckingham County, Virginia.3 But I haven’t been able to locate Adam in 1870.

The 1850 census is the only record I’ve seen of there being two sons of George named Adam and Amos Howell. In my most frustrated moments, I’ve wondered if there really were actually two sons. Since I can’t find both of them in census records in the same year after 1850…

Well, I may have found my answer. Searching the web for random mentions of either, I hit upon “Buckingham County: The Battle of Rich Mountain” on the slate river ramblings… website. It quotes a speech supposedly prepared in 1884 in which the name “Adam Hocker” is listed amongst those Buckingham County men killed at the Battle of Rich Mountain on 11 Jul 1861.

Adam, an unmarried man in 1860, would have been likely to volunteer to fight a year later. If he died in 1861, that would explain why I’ve never found him in later census records.

Next steps: to prove that Adam joined Company E of the 20th Virginia Infantry (Lee’s Guards).

Hocker vs. Hocker, 1848 (Virginia Court of Appeals)

Kris Hocker on 28 May 2013

Johan Adam Hocker, son of Johan George and Anna Margaretha (Weidman) Hacker, died suddenly on 4 Feb 1847 at Slate River Mills, Buckingam County, Virginia.

How do I know this? Apparently, after his death there was a disagreement in the family over which will was the correct will to be entered into probate. The result was Hocker vs. Hocker & als, a court case brought before the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. You can read about it in volume 4 of the Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia.1

Court cases can provide valuable genealogical information. From this case, I got the names of the following heirs:

  1. son Robert K. Hocker
  2. son George Hocker
  3. son John Hocker
  4. daughter Margaret Patterson
  5. E. Glover [daughter Elizabeth]
  6. son William Hocker

Robert Hocker wanted a will from 26 Feb 1836 entered into probate. George, John and Margaret’s husband Robert Patterson opposed Robert’s submission. Instead, they wanted a later document, dated 18 Jan 1847, entered into probate. The County court apparently admitted the 1836 will, while the Circuit Court overruled this decision, admitting the later document as a codicil to the 1836 will. The Appeals court apparently disagreed with the Circuit Court, ruling that Adam Hocker’s document, dated 18 Jan 1847, was to be rejected.

What family information have you found in court records?

Happy Memorial Day!

Kris Hocker on 27 May 2013

William Hocker Jr. in his Navy uniform

William Hocker Jr. in his Navy uniform

In honor of those who have served and those still serving in our nation’s military, happy Memorial Day! May we never forget your service and sacrifice.

Irony in Genealogy

Kris Hocker on 13 May 2013

I suppose I shouldn’t by surprised by it. And yet…

When I started researching Mennonite families in Lancaster County, it wasn’t because I thought I was related to them. I started researching the Hoovers of Lancaster, hoping that I’d find some clue, some information, some connection that would lead me to more information on my ancestor George Hoover and his father Michael. I wound up researching the Hoovers’ neighbors, associates and friends to try to learn more about the Hoovers.

Along the way, I discovered that the people I was researching were Mennonites. Kind of a stretch to tie them to my Lutheran Hoover ancestors—at least in the immigrant generation. But by then, I’d invested so much time in the research, had started to build a sense of the community and connections between people, and… well, I was hooked. My ancestors may not have been members of this community, but, nonetheless, I was starting to feel connected to it.

Then I started to find some familiar surnames. However, I recognized these names from my Hacker/Hocker family research. Not too surprising, I guess. After all my Hockers did initially settle in Lancaster County. What was surprising was finding that these were Mennonite names. Landis. Hershey. Frantz.

So, this community that my ancestors didn’t belong to? These families that I wasn’t related to? They did belong and I am related. Just not in the manner I initially hoped.

Small world, huh?