Tag: Newspaper

Mock Wedding Features Scotch Hallowe’en Party

Kris Hocker on 31 Oct 2018

Aunt Jean used to make reference to her “Aunt Jessie” and “Uncle Lou” Orr. They weren’t really her aunt and uncle; they were close friends of her parents. In honor of Halloween today, I thought I’d share an article about a Halloween party they held 103 years ago.

1915 Telegraph Mock Wedding Features Scotch Hallowe'en Party

Telegraph article from 30 October 1915

In 1915, Will, Isabel and their infant daughter Bonnie attended the party at the Orr’s house with a host of other people. They included:

Mrs. Sandy Wallace, Mrs. Arthur Reid, Mrs. A. P. Kitchen, Edith Mayhew, L.G. Orr, Johanna Dwyer, Martha Ross, Ruth Youtzy, Mary Ditmer, Janet Wallace, Ruth Kline, Marion Black, Belle Sanderson, Agness Orr, Janet Sanderson, Mary Sanderson, Catherine Sanderson, Louise Orr, Alice Orr, Arthur Reid, Foster Kitchen, Bessie Black, Mr. and Mrs. George Charters, Mr. and Mrs. James Sanderson, Mrs. E. Cochran [Isabel (Smith) Hocker’s mother], Mrs. Allison Trotter, Sandy Wallace, Robert Smith [Isabel’s brother], Archie Black, A.P. Kitchen, and Mrs. L.G. Orr.

Follow-up: Aetna Explosives Co. at Mount Union

Kris Hocker on 12 Sep 2014

Will Hocker - Aetna Explosives Co. Crew
Will Hocker - Aetna Explosives Co. Crew

Will Hocker – Aetna Explosives Co. Crew?

Last week I wrote a post about the September 1916 explosion at the Aetna Explosives Company’s factory in Mount Union, Pennsylvania. Following up with additional newspaper research, I found that this explosion wasn’t the first, nor was it the last. Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together regarding the history of this factory. 1

Timeline:

1915

  • Week of May 19, 1915: Purchased Westbrook farm
  • 25 May 1915: William Hocker’s first child was born in Harrisburg
  • 1 July 1915: Plant scheduled to open
  • 14 July 1915: Two workmen died in accident
  • 16 August 1915: Started manufacturing explosives
  • 15 September 1915: Factory started manufacturing gun cotton
  • 24 September 1915: Workmen burned by acid when ringer exploded, one man seriously burned
  • 5 October 1915: Four workmen badly burned on their faces and bodies by acid in accident
  • 14 October 1915: Plant was looking for 1,500 workmen (1,000 carpenters) to expand
  • 11 November 1915: First shipment of gun cotton, 150,000 pounds, sent out
  • 18 November 1915: Started manufacturing smokeless gun power
  • 22 November 1915: Ether room at the factory exploded
  • 2 December 1915: Broke ground for factory expansion
  • 19 December 1915: Footbridge to factory washed away after flooding in the Juniata River

1916

  • 7 January 1916: Solvent Recovery Building No. 3 burned down
  • 14 January 1916: Fire at factory
  • 16 January 1916: Fire in the “screen barrel house” at factory; third fire in one week
  • 25 March 1916: Powder plant almost a year old
  • 26 April 1916: Worker Harry Pierson lost his right hand at wrist when it was caught under a hydraulic press
  • 16 May 1916: Three fires overnight in cotton drying building
  • 2 July 1916: Explosion at least one dead2
  • 29 July 1916: Aetna received order for 5 million pounds of smokeless power from U.S. government
  • 12 September 1916: H. Subree, an Aetna chemist, was bitten by a copperhead snake
  • 20 September 1916: Six men killed and many injured in explosion in the cotton dry house
  • 2 October 1916: Powder plant closed down
  • 12 October 1916: Plant planned to open to manufacture dyes and sulphuric acid
  • 16 October 1916: Last smokeless powder manufactured
  • 21 November 1916: Powder plant to reopen with large order for explosives, planned to hire 1,500-2,300 men
  • 2 December 1916: Powder plant resumed operations

1917

  • 17 January 1917: Solvent recovery building completely destroyed by fire, no one was badly hurt
  • 18 April 1917: Debtors applied for receiver to be named for Aetna Explosives Company
  • 30 April 1917: Acid tank exploded, badly burning six men, one of whom—David Sollenberger—later died
  • 5 Jun 1917: William Hocker registered for the draft and was working at the factory as a millwright
  • 17 July 1917: Two men—Lew Port and John Flasher—were seriously burned in an explosion at the plant
  • 24 December 1917: Fire at the plant caused about $60,000 worth of damage
  • 29 December 1917: Citizens of Mount Union signed up to become members of the local Red Cross chapter

1918

  • 19 January 1918: Seven state policemen arrived to guard two million pounds of TNT powder
  • 2 July 1918: Seven buildings were destroyed by raging fire at the plant, however there was no loss of life
  • 13 July 1918: 300 men arrived to repair the damaged building and expand the plant
  • 15 July 1918: Nine men were injured, possibly five fatally, by explosion in the gun cotton building

 

My great grandfather was working at the Aetna Explosives Company manufacturing plant at Mount Union by 5 Jun 1917.3 In reading through the news reports on the company after that date, I see nothing that matches the family story. There were fires that destroyed buildings and resultant injuries, but no loss of life. I can’t imagine that there would have been no news coverage of an explosion that killed workers.

So, if the explosion my grandfather told me about didn’t happen after 5 June 1917, then it must have happened before that date. Again, in 1917, I found reference to explosions, fires and burn injuries, but only one casualty is mentioned—David Sollenberger in April 1917. The only explosion that resulted in multiple deaths that was reported consistently in the Pennsylvania newspapers I reviewed was the September 1916 explosion.

There was a mention in the Gettysburg Star & Sentinel of an explosion in October 1916 that killed 19 men.4 This was also reported in the Chicago Livestock World in an article about another explosion in January 1917.5 This explosion seems a better match to the family lore.

However, I found no mention of the October 1916 explosion in Pennsylvania newspapers when I searched Chronicling America or the Google newspaper archive. With such a substantial loss of life, the lack of newspaper coverage seems very strange to me. Especially when the Harrisburg newspapers reported on the layoff of workers from Mt. Union and the “closing” of the factory that month and the reopening a month later.

I’d still like to review Harrisburg city directories to try to determine when my great grandfather and his family left Harrisburg for Newton-Hamilton. Maybe that’ll help narrow down the time frame to look for a historical match to the family story.

Updated 27 November 2016: Add a reader-sourced explosion and death (2 July 1916) to the timeline.

Early American Colonial History Timeline

Kris Hocker on 11 Sep 2014

Timelines are a great way to gain perspective and understanding of the historical period in which your ancestor lived. GenealogyBank has posted a wonderful graphic showing early American colonial events on an infographic entitled “Settling America.” Their blog post also lists newspapers in their Early American Newspaper collection, including newspapers from the late 17th and 18th centuries from the American colonies.

Courtesy of: GenealogyBank.com

Click through to read the entire blog post on the GenealogyBank site.

19th Century Newspaper Death Notices

Kris Hocker on 28 Aug 2014

Newspapers can be an invaluable source of historical information to put our ancestors’ lives in context. But they can also provide direct content, such as BDM—birth, death, marriage—dates, about our ancestors, too. I have found casual, social news about family, marriage announcements, death announcements, and obituaries in newspapers where they lived during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The information provided in a newspaper can vary greatly—from the limited data of a death notice:

Died—On Tuesday last, in this borough [Harrisburg], Miss Amelia, daughter of the last  Judge Henry dec’d.1

to a short article:

During the storm of Thursday afternoon, Samuel Hocker was killed, in the vicinity of Spring Mills, Montgomery county, by lightning, while standing under a tree, with three other men. His companions were all stunned, but escaped without much injury.2

to a longer obituary:

Died—On Thursday the 3d instant, Thomas Girty, in the 90th year of his age.

The name of this veteran, and of some of his family, is associated with some of the most interesting events in the history of the first settlement of this country. Could the incidents of his life be collected they would form a valuable work, and give a proper idea of the intrepidity, enterprise, and heavy sufferings of that class of early settlers, who were formerly called Indian Hunters. Girty was born in 1731, in Shennan’s valley. He was taken prisoner with his whole family in ’55 by the Indians, and brought to Fort Kittaning, where his step father was burnt in his presence, at the stake. After this hellish transaction the four brothers and mother were sent off among the different tribes of the Northwestern Indians. Thomas Girty made his escape and fell in with General Armstrong. The rest of the family were exchanged in the year ’58 at General Forbes’ treaty.3

So, don’t discount newspapers because your ancestor wasn’t famous or a person of great importance. You might not find anything. But you might just hit the genealogy jackpot.

1911 Hocker Family Reunion

Kris Hocker on 3 Jul 2014

I came across a newspaper article entitled “Hocker Family Meets in Reunion” from the Harrisburg Patriot about the first annual Hocker family reunion that was held 7 September 1911 in Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Nearly 200 local family members attended, most from around Penbrook.

The article read:

Hocker Family Meets In Reunion
Penbrook Furnishes Big Delegation to Reservoir Park Outing
Officers Are Elected

The first annual reunion of the Hocker family was held yesterday at Reservoir Park. It was attended by two hundred persons, for the most part from the vicinity of Penbrook. The meeting for the reports of the committees and election of officers started at noon and lasted until four o’clock. Members of the family began to assemble in the park at about ten o’clock in the morning and continual arrivals kept up all day.

The idea of having a family reunion originated over a month ago with several of the members of the family and they held a meeting on the evening of August 9 at the home of T.H. Hinely in Penbrook. At this meeting temporary officers were elected and at the reunion yesterday these officers were re-elected to serve one year.

The meeting yesterday was held in the pavilion on the hill above the reservoir and was opened by the Rev. C.F. Rupp, who also gave the address of welcome. Following this George E. Shaffer gave a brief historical account of the family. The minutes were read by the secretary, H. E. Hocker, after which the committee for deciding the date for the reunion next year was appointed.

Officers Elected

The following officers were elected: President, George B. Hocker, of Lower Paxton township; vice president, George L. Hocker of Penbrook; secretary, H. E. Hocker, of Penbrook; assistant secretary, G. Lester Hocker, Lower Paxton township; treasurer, Harry Holtzman, Susquehanna township; historian, George E. Shaffer, Harrisburg. These officers constitute a committee to decide the date of meeting next year. The place is Reservoir Park.

The following made up the committee that made the first annual reunion a success: George E. Shaffer, chairman; David Smith, F.J. Hinley and Joseph Hocker, all of Penbrook. Several of the oldes members of the family were present yesterday, and were able to be about with the younger ones. Among them were Joseph Hocker, aged seventy-three years, and Martin Hocker, aged seventy-one years, whose wives are still living, and Mrs. Lettie Smith, aged seventy-four years, all of Penbrook.

This article mentions a number of Hocker family members—most of whom I immediately recognized. But there were several names that I didn’t know, including some of those elected as officers of the reunion committee.

Here is a list of the elected officers:

  • George B. Hocker, Lower Paxton twp
  • George L. Hocker, Penbrook Borough
  • H. E. Hocker, Penbrook Borough
  • G. Lester Hocker, Lower Paxton twp
  • Harry Holtzman, Susquehanna twp
  • George E. Shaffer, Harrisburg

Other names mentioned in the article included:

  • T.H. Hinley, Penbrook
  • David Smith
  • F.J. Hinley
  • Joseph Hocker

My interest piqued, I decided to do a little research to see if I could connect the names I didn’t recognize to the family. Here’s what I found.

The three eldest members of the family that attended the reunion—Joseph Hocker (aged 73), Martin Hocker (aged 71), and Lettie Smith (aged 74)—were all children of George and Mary (Brubaker) Hocker, and grandchildren of George and Elizabeth (Hassler) Hocker.

George and Mary (Brubaker) Hocker had the following children:

  1. Anna Maria Hocker (1835-1880), married Isaac Holtzman (1832-1892)
  2. Lydia Hocker (1837-1923), married David Smith (1827-1899)
  3. Joseph Hocker (1839-1928), married Lydia Keller (1844-1940)
  4. Martin Hocker (1841-1915), married Rosa A. Smeltzer (1847-1921)
  5. Emanuel Hocker (1842-1862)
  6. Wilhelmina Jane Hocker (1845-1888), married Clinton Ezra Shaffer (1841-1911)
  7. Mary Elizabeth Hocker (1847-1923), married Frank W. Miller (1849/50-1928)
  8. Susanna Emma Hocker (1849-bef 1896)
  9. George Benjamin Hocker (1851-1929), married Catharine Kelchner (1852-1894), married Elizabeth M. Balsbaugh (1859-1930)
  10. Henry Harrison Hocker (1854-1930), married Anna Heisey (1853-1934)
  11. Samuel Augustus Hocker (1856-1931), married Amanda Elizabeth Crum (1862-1947)
  12. Elizabeth Ellen Hocker (1859-1922), married William Henry Jones (1864-1921)

So, I identified the officers as:

  • George B. Hocker -> son of George and Mary (Brubaker) Hocker
  • George L. Hocker -> son of Martin and Rosa A. (Smeltzer) Hocker
  • H. E. Hocker -> son of George B. and Catharine (Kelchner) Hocker
  • G. Lester Hocker -> son of George Albert and Jennie Elizabeth (Miller) Hocker, grandson of Joseph and Lydia (Keller) Hocker
  • Harry Holtzman -> son of Isaac and Anna Maria (Hocker) Holtzman
  • George E. Shaffer -> son of Clinton and Wilhelmina Jane (Hocker) Shaffer

These men had all been identified through previous research. So, too had Joseph Hocker, son of Joseph and Lydia (Keller) Hocker. I wondered about David Smith, because Lydia Hocker’s husband was deceased. A little census research turned up David and Lydia (Hocker) Smith’s son, David R. Smith. F.J. Hinely was Frank J. Heinly, the husband of Jennie Hocker (1873-1949), daughter of George B. and Catharine (Kelchner) Hocker. I’m not sure who T.H. Hinely was , possibly a relation of Frank’s?

This family is descended from the immigrant Adam Hacker through his eldest son Frederick, older brother to my ancestor Johan Adam Hocker Jr. After Frederick’s death, his son George sold his property in Lancaster County in 1813 and moved to the Harrisburg area with his wife Elizabeth (Hassler) Hocker, possibly to be near his uncles, four of whom—Johannes, Christopher, Adam, and Martin—had moved to Harrisburg in the late 1780s.

52 Ancestors: Mary Ann Hocker (1834—1903) Finding Relatives in Unusual Sources

Kris Hocker on 1 Jul 2014

I was scanning some gravestone photos the other day to add to Findagrave and became intrigued with a couple that I had photographed, but that didn’t ring any bells. I had included them in the plastic sleeve with those of Adam and Eve (Hamaker) Hocker. The two gravestones—for Mary Ann Hocker and Solomon Hocker—captured my attention because the markers were of the same style as Adam and Eve’s.

 

Mary Ann Hocker (d.1903) gravestone

Gravestone for Mary Ann Hocker

I had to wonder if Mary Ann and Solomon were children of Adam and Eve. According to the information I have, Adam Hocker married Eve Hamaker, daughter of Adam Hamaker and Magdalena Snavely, on 22 February 1838 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.1 Calculating Mary Ann’s birth date from her age at the time of her death, as recorded on her gravestone, I got 30 November 1834—before Adam and Eve were married.

Could she have been the child of a previously unknown former marriage? In an 1870 probate petition Adam Hocker Jr., Adam’s son, reports that his father left a widow and nine children: “Jacob, John, Adam, Elizabeth Cumbler, wife of George Cumbler, Sarah, David, Melinda, Martin and Anne.”2 Going by this, Adam did not have a daughter named Mary Ann.

However, I found a newspaper announcement from the Harrisburg Patriot of 2 June 1871 that named the heirs and legal representatives of Adam Hocker, late of Swatara Township as: “Mary Hocker, Jacob Hocker, John Hocker, Adam Hocker, Elizabeth Cumbler, wife of George Cumbler, Sarah Hocker, David Hocker, Melinda Hocker, Martin Hocker and Anna Hocker.”3 This indicates that Adam did have a daughter named Mary.

So, I had two conflicting pieces of information. Which was correct?

Reviewing census records (18404, 18505, 18706, 18807), I found Mary living in Adam and/or Eve’s household for each of the years. In the case of the 1840 census, there was a female in the appropriate age group to have been born in 1834 who presumably could have been Mary. Only the 1880 census enumeration provided the relationship to the head of household—Eve—as “daughter.”

However, the most illuminating source was a legal report from the 12th Judicial District, reporting on the estate of Mary Hocker of Steelton, Pennsylvania. Apparently, Mary lived with her sister Annie (Hocker) Longenecker, wife of William Longenecker, for the last ten years of her life.8 After Mary died, Annie applied for compensation for “$3,120 [from Mary’s estate] for boarding, washing, lodging and care for six years immediately preceding her death.” The report mentions by name the administrator (John Hocker) as well as siblings—Adam Hocker and Mrs. Cumbler [Elizabeth (Hocker) Cumbler]. Ultimately, the court ruled against Annie, but the case provides evidence that Mary Ann Hocker was the daughter of Adam Hocker.

Whether Adam was married previously or not, I don’t know. Eve (Hamaker) Hocker’s obituary states that she had 8 children survive her.9 My information shows that her children—Jacob, John, Adam, Elizabeth, Sarah, Malinda, Martin and Annie—all were still living in 1892. Only David had predeceased her, having died in 1887 at the age of 36.10 Mary Ann was still alive, not dieing until 1903, so it is possible that she was the child of Adam and an as yet unknown first wife.

In this case, two somewhat unusual sources—a newspaper announcement and a court report—provided the information required to connect Mary Ann Hocker to Adam and Eve Hocker, showing her to be a child of Adam Hocker.

Adam and Eve’s relationship to my Hacker-Hocker lines is currently unknown. William Wingeard incorrectly identified Adam as the son of Rev. John4 Hocker (Johan Adam3, Johan Adam2, Christopher1, StephenA) and Christianna Sterling. However, that Adam moved to Montgomery County, Ohio in the late 1830s with the rest of Rev. John Hocker’s family. Other possible fathers for Adam include: George Hocker, son of Frederick3; John Hocker, son of Frederick3; and George Hocker, son of Adam2.

This post is part of an ongoing, blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small. Participants must write about one ancestor every week. This is my sixteenth 52 Ancestors post and part of week twenty-six.

 

Friday Find: Hocker—Drake Marriage Announcement

Kris Hocker on 9 Nov 2012

Hocker-Drake marriage

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?

Triangle Factory Fire: Identifying and Remembering the Victims

Kris Hocker on 21 Mar 2011

Almost 100 years ago on March 25th, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floor of a factory in the Asch building in New York City. Within 18 minutes 146 people were dead. Many threw themselves out of the ninth floor windows to escape the flames. Six of the victims were too badly burned to be identified.1

Survivors recounted horrific stories of their escape from the building. They found locked exit doors that blocked their escape.2 A fire escape that bent under the weight of everyone trying to flee. Firefighter’s ladders were several stories too short and the water from their hoses didn’t reach the top floor.

The Triangle Waist Company was like many other sweatshops of the time. The workers worked excessively long hours in poor and dangerous conditions for low wages. The were young, mostly immigrants—very often women. Workers were often sourced by sub-contractors, who paid the workers and took a cut of the profit. Owners sometimes didn’t know who were working for them, or even how many people were working for them at any given time.

This system made it difficult to identify the victims. No newspaper or city agency at the time had a complete list of the victims’ names. Many of the names on the existing lists were found to be misspelled, belonged to survivors of the fire or even people who’d never worked at the factory.3

Now, thanks to the hard work of research Michael Hirsch all 146 victims have been identified. Mr. Hirsch, a co-producer for the upcoming documentary “Triangle: Remembering the Fire,” consulted approximately 32 newspapers from the time period, including both mainstream and ethnic papers. He, then, matched his discoveries against census records, New York vital records, records kept by unions and relief agencies, and spoke with descendants. He was able to identify the last six victims as:

  1. Josephine Cammarata (age 17), possibly a cousin of Concetta Prestifilippo
  2. Dora Evans (age 18)
  3. Max Florin (age 23)
  4. Maria (Tortorelli?) Lauletti (age 33), her younger sister Isabella Tortorelli also died
  5. Concetta Prestifilippo (age 22), possibly a cousin of Josephine Cammarata
  6. Fannie Rosen (age 21), changed her name from Faiga Reznik

Many of the techniques used by Hirsch can aid in family research—compiling and comparing information from a variety of sources in an attempt to positively identify an individual. What fascinates me about this story is the wider benefit that family historians can create with their research. An acknowledgment and some sense of closure as we learn about the tragedies that befall our family members. The descendants and relatives of these six victims will now have the public acknowledgment of the loss their families suffered that terrible March afternoon in 1911.

You can learn more about the Triangle Factory Fire at the Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire website or the website for the HBO documentary Triangle: Remembering the Fire.

What tragedies have you found in your family research? How did you learn of them and what follow-up research did you do on the event?

Happy Anniversary, 3G Grandpa & Grandma!

Kris Hocker on 25 Feb 2011

Witmer Family photo

157 years ago on 25 Feb 1854, Edward J. Witmer, son of John and Rachael (Jones) Witmer, married Lydia Amanda Kline, daughter of Philip and Lydia (Markly) Kline.

Witmer Family photo

Witmer family portrait, ca 1904?

CELEBRATED GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

“A pleasant surprise was tendered the aged couple, Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. WITMER, of Malborough, near Finland, on last Thursday, February 25th, by their children and grand-children. It being the 50th anniversary of their wedding day. The children arrived at their parents home, at [an] appointed hour, and at the noon hour the old folks were invited into the dining room, where a sumptuous collation was prepared for them, to satisfy the inner man. The day was spent pleasantly and at the departure they wished the old folks many more years of married life. Those present were: Mr. and Mrs. W.W. STYER [Willoughby and Emma (Witmer)], of East Greenville, Mr. and Mrs. Henry D. SNYDER [Henry and Saraphine (Witmer)], of East Greenville and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer C. GREULICH [Elmer and Lillian (Snyder)], of East Greenville, Mr. and Mrs. Horace K. WITMER [Horace and Mary (Breish)], of Marlborough and children Wilmer, Maurice and Gertie, Mr. and Mrs. Milton K. WITMER [Milton and Cora (Gussman)], of Quakertown and Milton B. NASE [wife Elmira (Witmer), deceased], of Tylersport and sons Herbert W. and Lawrence NASE, of East Greenville.”1