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:

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 with who owns no land. A freeman is a single man. You’ll sometimes see single man in the records, too. All men in the tax records are at least 21 years of age.

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.

Adam, Stophel and John Hocker, 1792 Harrisburg Tax Valuations

1751

• Jacob Hover
• Henry Houer
• John Hover

1754

• Jacob Hover
• Henry Hover
• John Hover
• Jacob Huver (weaver?)

1756 (Tax list)

• Jacob Hover (40 acres)

1756 (Assessment)

• Jacob Hover
• Jacob Hover
• Wm Hover
• John Hover
• Henry Hover

1757

• Jacob Huber
• Jacob Hover
• Henry Hover
• Willm Hover
• Henry Hover (weaver)
• Freemen: Jacob Huber

1757

• Jacob Hover (Jr.?)
• Jacob Hoover “sener”
• Henry Hover

1758

• Jacob Hover (weaver)
• Jacob Hover
• Jacob Hover the bigg
• Henry Hover
• John Hover

15 Nov 1758

• Jacob Hover (weaver)
• Jacob Hover
• Jacob Hover (ye bigg)
• Henry Hover
• John Hover

1759

• John Hover
• Jacob Hover (weaver)
• Jacob Hover
• Henry Hover
• Ulrick Hover
• Widow Hover

7 Dec 1769

• John Hover (weaver)
• John Hover
• Woolery Hover
• Jacob Hover (Henry’s son)
• Freeman: Chr Huber

1770 (Assessment)

• John Hover (weaver)
• John Hover
• Wolery Hover
• Jacob Hover
• Jacob Hover

1770 (Tax list)

• Jacob Hover (Henry son, 80 acres)
• John Hover (weaver, 100 acres)
• Jacob Hover Jr. (100 acres)
• Willery Hover (50 acres home place, 200 acres)

1771

• Jacob Hover Sr. (100 acres)
• John Hover (100 acres)
• John Hover (on Beaver Creek, 80 acres)
• Jacob Hover Jr. (100 acres)
• Woolery Hover (weaver?, 80 acres)
• Wilory Hover (200 acres)

1772

• Jacob Hover Sr.
• John Hover
• John Hover (Beaver Creek)
• Jacob Hover Jr.
• Wilrick Hover (weaver)
• Wilrick Hover
• Mathias Hover

These Hoover families (4~5 families) have been referred to as the Byerland Hoovers because of their proximity to the Byerland Meeting house in Martic Township. They lived in southeastern Conestoga Township (now Pequea Township) and northwestern Martic Township (now Providence Township). The original settlers included Ulrich Huber (ca 1703—1757), Jacob Huber (ca 1698—bef 23 Nov 1739), Henry Huber (bef 1712—1758), Henry Huber (bef 1719—1767/69), and Jacob Huber (ca 1698—1759), son of Hans Huber of Earl Township.

Martic Township Hoover properties

Ulrich Huber’s Conestoga Township property was just to the north of and adjacent to Jacob Huber’s and Hans Boyer’s properties (see top left of the image).