Road to Hockersville

Road to Hockersville

Road to Hockersville

Two Hockers and a Hocker spouse at the Hockersville village road sign—I believe—in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. William Hocker Jr. (1918—2008) and John Garrett Hocker Jr. are standing in the road while William Wingeard (1915—1998), husband of Betty Jean (Hocker) Wingeard is holding the signpost.

How can I not be sure where Hockersville is, you ask. Well, there are two—yes, two!—Hockersvilles in Pennsylvania. One is located in Derry township, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. It was named in honor of Martin Hocker (1768—1862). The other (pictured above) is located in Penn township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. It was the home of Johannes “John” W. Hocker (1804—1884), son of Martin Hocker, and also John’s sister Catharine (Hocker) Greiner (1802—1871) and her husband Anthony Greiner (1802—1871) for a time.

Bill Wingeard wrote:

“Hockersville, in Cumberland County, is a really small village on the Walnut Bottom road. This road, at the time John had his tavern, was a main road from Shippensburg, Chambersburg, and the Shenandoah, Virginia valley to Carlisle, York, Lancaster and Philadelphia. Hockersville was half way between Shippensburg and Carlisle, which made it an ideal site for travelers, draymen, drovers, etc. to stop and refresh themselves.”

Cite This Page:

, "Road to Hockersville," A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy, the genealogy & family research site of Kris Hocker, modified 9 Mar 2014 (https://www.krishocker.com/road-to-hockersville/ : accessed 28 Mar 2024).

Content copyright © 2014 Kris Hocker. Please do not copy without prior permission, attribution, and link back to this page.

4 Replies to “Road to Hockersville”

  1. I’ve sent an e-mail to Kris Hocker but haven’t heard back yet. I’d be interested in knowing who the gentleman in the white shirt and blue jeans is; I was stunned and thought I was looking at a photo of myself.

    Skip Hocker (real name Elwood Carlton Hocker, Jr.) a decendant of Martin Hocker (Johan’s son) formerly of Lancaster Co. and now living near Woolrich, PA (ten miles north of Lock Haven, PA).

    I have a “Hockersville” road sign hanging over the door of my log home, compliments of the Derry Township Manager.

    I just retired so I’m only now doing some minor research so feel free to call me (570) 769-3263 or e-mail me at shocker261@yahoo.com.

    1. Skip, the gentleman you’re referring to is John Garret Hocker Jr. He’s a descendant of Johannes “John” W. Hocker (1804-1884) and Elizabeth Heinrich (1808-1874), son of Martin Hocker and his first wife Christiana Beinhauer, and older, half-brother to your ancestor Jacob Hocker (1818-1898). John is from the Colorado branch of the Hocker family.

  2. Anna-Laura Hocker 16 Jun 2011 at 4:45 pm

    Hi, how do I get in on the Hocker research with you? My bunch and I live in Kentucky. Mom is now 80, and we’re always looking for new family information.

    1. Anna-Laura, what information are you looking for? A connection to my Hocker family research? I’d need more information on your family line to determine that. You can contact me via email by clicking the “Get in Touch” link at the top of the page. I’d be glad to help.

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