Say What? Census Husband Swapping

Peter and Nancy (Weltmer) Hocker were married 29 March 1828 at Bindangle Church in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County. They ultimately settled in Upper Paxton Township and raised a family of nine children. Two of their sons—Peter Jr. And Martin—eventually left Pennsylvania, staying for a time in Wayne County, Ohio, before finally settling in Polk County, Missouri.

On 26 March 1854, Peter Jr. married Emeline Bogner in Dauphin County. ¹ They had three children there before heading west. In June 1860, the family was living in Wooster Township, Wayne County.²

Martin Hocker married Julianna Best in Wayne County, Ohio on 20 December 1860.³ Like his brother, he was living in Wooster Township in 1860.⁴ Right next door to the Best family.⁵

By June 1870, after a brief stop back in Pennsylvania, both families were living in Greene Township, Polk County, Missouri.⁶ However, a funny thing happened during the census enumeration.

Did you catch it? The census enumerator put the wrong man as head of each household. If you ignore the given names of each, the facts are correct—age, wife’s name, children, etc.—but the brother’s names were attributed to the wrong household.

The 1880 census enumeration has each of the brothers attributed to the correct household. Martin⁷ and Peter⁸ were both living in Jefferson Township, Polk County, and were enumerated one household apart.

This sort of error is why we don’t rely on any one record to “prove” a fact, but instead locate, examine and assess as many records as we can for an individual over the course of their lifetime. Any one record may, in fact, be incorrect (or partially incorrect). When taken within context of the document record those errors can be easier to see.

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Martin Hocker and Julianna Best had children:

1. Henry D. Hocker was born 6 October 1862, Wayne County, Ohio and died 22 August 1922 in Bolivar, Polk County, Missouri. He married Jane L. Morris, Rosa A. Harris, and Lizzie Harris Lemmon.
2. John Martin Hocker born September 1867 in Pennsylvania and died in California between 1916 and 1920. He married Mary Ella Russell 14 August 1898 in Polk County, Missouri.

Peter Hocker and Emeline Bogner had children:

1. Sarah “Sadie” Matilda Hocker was born March 1855 and died between 1900-1910 in Bolivar. She married William Henry Shipley 5 February 1891 in Polk County, Missouri.
2. Martin August Hocker was born 2 May 1856 and died 11 February 1902 in Springfield, Greene County, Missouri. He married Mrs. Emma (__) Haguewood 15 July 1883 in Bolivar.
3. Elizabeth Leona Hocker was born 6 September 1859 and died 10 November 1888. She married William Moses Vest on 11 May 1876.
4. Steven Earnest Hocker was born 25 December 1861 and died 8 October 1962 in Los Angeles, California. He married Laura Belle Jump 12 October 1891.
5. Clara Jane “Chad” Hocker was born 10 August 1867 and died 8 December 1932 in Chelsea, Oklahoma. She married Reuben Charles Goff 24 September 1885 in Nevada, Missouri.
6. Emma Margaret Hocker was born 28 September 1868 in Huron, Missouri and died 11 July 1930 in Bolivar. She married James Thomas Henson 27 April 1886.
7. Martha Nancy Hocker was born 9 June 1871 and died 6 April 1956 in Batesville, Arkansas. She married Frank Meachum (or Mitchum).
8. Mary Catherine Hocker was born 25 June 1873 and died 12 August 1917. She married Samuel H. Wilson 19 August 1894.
9. Lewis Peter Hocker was born 22 February 1876 and died 14 January 1917. He married Chloe Grace Tateum on 4 September 1897.
10. Lily Ann Hocker was born 18 September 1878 and died 17 November 1899 in Bolivar.

• Category: Research
• Tag: 52 Ancestors, Census