Family Research – Page 7 – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

Obituary: George Walker

Kris Hocker on 23 Oct 2012

WALKER – At the age of 85 years, George Walker at his residence at Marsh Creek, on Friday of last week. He was the father of twenty-six children. The funeral took place on Sunday.¹

In 1891, the 3rd of April was a Friday.² So according to his obituary, George Walker died the week prior on the 27th of March and was buried on the 5th of April.

George Walker was married twice, first to Catherine Walker and second to Mary Ellen Woods. Catherine had 12 children; Mary Ellen had 14.³

Filling the Gaps Between Censuses

Kris Hocker on 15 Sep 2012

Census records are an invaluable source of information for family historians and genealogists. They are a go-to, record-of-choice for me when I start new research. However, they only occur every ten years. That leaves a lot of time uncovered. Even if you’re lucky and your research location includes state census records, there are still going to holes that need to be filled somehow.

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:

1800
- Frederick Hocker
- George Hocker
1801
- Frederick & George Hocker
1802
- Frederick & George Hocker
1803
- Frederick & George Hocker
- Jacob Hocker
1805
- Jacob Hacker
- Frederick Hocker
- George Hocker
- John Hocker
1806
- George Hocker
- John Hocker
- Frederick Hocker
1807
- Frederick Hocker
- George Hocker
- George Hocker
- John Hocker
1808
- George Hocker
- Frederick Hocker
- John Hocker
1809
- Frederick Hocker
- John Hocker
- George Haker, inmate*
1810
- Frederick Hocker
- John Hocker
- George Hocker, inmate
- George Hocker, inmate

1811
- John Hocker
- Frederick Hocker
- George Hocker
- George Hocker Jr.
1812
- John Hocker
- Frederick Hocker
- George Hocker
- George Hocker, inmate
1813
- John Hocker
- George Hocker
- George Hocker (crossed out)
- Jacob Hocker, freeman*
1814
- John Hacker
1816
- Jacob Hocker
- John Hocker
1817
- Jacob Hacker
- John Hacker
1818
- Jacob Hacker
- John Hacker
1819
- Jacob Hacker
- John Hocker
1820
- John Hacker

Going through these listings you can see when men other than those named in the census records make an appearance. A Jacob Hocker first appears in the census in 1820. But the name appears in the tax records in 1803 and 1805, then disappears until 1813 when it appears on the tax lists as a freeman.

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

When the Genealogy Book is Wrong…

Kris Hocker on 14 Sep 2012

Have you ever had the experience of researching information you found in a family genealogy book and discovering that it was wrong? How did you feel—triumphant that you’d discovered something the author got incorrect or maybe slightly embarrassed for them?

I have very mixed feelings. You see the author was my great uncle, the man who got me interested in genealogy.

The family in question is that of Margaret Haushalter, daughter of Lorentz and Anna Margaretha (Hacker) Haushalter. Margaret was born 4 July 1754 in Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and baptized on 28 July 1754 in Emanuel Lutheran Church.¹ According to A German-American Hacker-Hocker Genealogy, Margaret married circa 1774 Jacob Oberlin. He was born 15 July 1747, son of Johan Adam Oberlin, and baptized 26 July 1747 in Emanuel Lutheran Church.² There is no source indicated for the marriage.

The records of Emanuel Lutheran Church include the following children of Jacob and Margaretta Oberlin/Oberle:

Unnamed child, born ca 1782³
Barbara Oberlin, born 8 Aug 1783, baptized 7 Oct 1783, sponsors: Lorentz & Margaretha Haushalter⁴
George Oberlin, born 25 Sep 1785, baptized 20 Nov 1785, sponsors: Lorentz & Margaretha Haushalter⁵
Jacob Oberlin, born 10 Apr 1787, baptized 13 May 1787, sponsors: Rudulph & Barbara Schaefer⁶
Catharine Oberlin, born 21 Jul 1789, baptized 23 Aug 1789, sponsors: George & Catharina Stober⁷
Eva Oberlin, born 15 Sep 1791, baptized 16 Oct 1791, sponsors: Michael & Anne Marie Oberle⁸

You’ll notice that Margaretha’s parents were sponsors for both Barbara and George Oberlin in 1783 and 1785. Catharine’s sponsors in 1789 were likely George and Catharina (Haushalter) Stober, Margareth’s brother-in-law and sister.

Jacob and Margaret Oberlin were sponsors for:

Jacob, son of Christoph & Catharine Oberly, born 30 Jul 1775, baptized 14 Aug 1775, as “Jacob Oberly & Margaretha Webern”⁹
Christina, daughter of Peter & Christina Beinhauer, born 23 Aug 1777, baptized 30 Sep 1777¹⁰
Joseph, son of George & Agatha Hofmann, born 19 Mar 1788, baptized 4 May 1788¹¹

I found additional baptism records for children of Jacob and Margaret Oberlin/Oberly in Reiher’s Reformed Church, also in Brickerville:¹²

Elizabeth, born 6 Jan 1777, baptized 28 Jan 1777, sponsors: Agatha Oberlin (Jacob’s mother)
Christine, born 3 Apr 1778, baptized 3 May 1778, sponsors: John Peter & Christine Beinhauer
Elizabeth, born 19 Sep 1788, baptized 21 Nov 1788, sponsors: the parents

Now, none of this seems to contradict Wingeard’s statement that Margaretha Haushalter married Jacob Oberlin/Oberle. The fact that her parents and brother-in-law and sister were sponsors seems to support that statement.

However, I also found the following in the Cocalico Reformed Church records:

“Jacob Oberlin, Lutheran, son of Adam Oberlin, m. Margaret Weber, Ref., dau. of George Weber, on April 30, 1776.”¹³
“Nicholas Vogelgesang, son of Philip Vogelgesang, single, Lutheran, m. Margaret Haushalter, Lutheran, dau. of Lorentz Haushalter, on February 25, 1777.”¹⁴

It doesn’t get much more explicit than that. According to these records Jacob Oberlin and Margaretha Haushalter married different people, not each other!

Emanuel Lutheran church records have baptisms for three children of Nicholas and Margaretha Fogelgesang/Vogelgesang:

Christina, born 19 Jun 1779, baptized 4 Jul 1779, sponsors: Wilhelm Stober & Christina¹⁵
Susanna, born 17 Nov 1782, baptized 18 Nov 1782, sponsors: Fridich Adam & Barbara¹⁶
Catharine, born 10 Jun 1784, baptized 25 Jul 1784, sponsors: Catharine Haushalter¹⁷

They were also sponsors for:

Susannah, daughter of Christian & Ann Wiland, born 31 Jul 1780, baptized 9 Sep 1780¹⁸

Lorentz Haushalter’s will, written 19 Jul 1800, mentions “the heirs of my daughter Margaret, deceased.”¹⁹ So, Margaretha Haushalter died prior to 19 Jul 1800. However, Jacob Oberlin’s wife Margaret was still alive in 1801 when an account was apparently filed for his estate by his administratrix Margaretta Oberlin.²⁰

But what about all those baptismal records? Why were Margaret’s parents and sister sponsors for Jacob and Margaret (Weber) Oberlin?

The simple answer is probably that they were neighbors and members of the same church. A petition of Jacob Lehman, husband of Jacob Oberlin’s eldest daughter, for the partitioning of Jacob’s land after his 1793 death names George Weidman, Lawrence Householder, and Christian Oberlin as the adjoining land owners.²¹ Additionally, George Stober was most likely related to Jacob Oberlin’s mother Catharine Agatha Stober, making George and Jacob cousins. The other sponsors of Jacob’s children were either his or his wife’s siblings.

All of Nicholas and Margaret Vogelgesang’s children baptized at Emanuel Lutheran were sponsored by Margaretha Haushalter’s relatives. Wilhelm and Christina Stober were her cousins through her mother and Christina’s mother—both Hackers. Friedrich and Barbara Adam were Margaretha’s sister and brother-in-law and Catharine Haushalter, possibly her sister.

Conclusions

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. A genealogy—published or not—is only as good as the research and analysis that had been done to date. There may have been resources that were not available. You, the reader, have no way of knowing how accurate the content is unless you can assess the research that went into it—and by extension, what didn’t go into it. That is the reason why source citations are necessary.

In this case, my uncle did not provide the source of his information or how he reached his conclusions. I don’t know if he had more information than he included in the book or not. I can only assess his conclusions based on the information he included and the additional data that my research found.

Based on what I know—right now—I can only conclude that the book is wrong.

When Did George Hocker Jr. Die? Evaluating Conflicting Information

Kris Hocker on 9 Sep 2012

In writing the Hacker-Hocker genealogy, I’ve come to George Hocker Jr., son of Johan Georg and Anna Margaretha (Weidman) Hacker. When Bill Wingeard researched George, he determined that there was a problem with establishing George’s date of death. In this post I will examine the conflicting data he found and what my subsequent research revealed.

According to Wingeard’s research, the article “The Erdenheim Stock Farm” in the History of Hatfield Township stated that George Hocker Jr. died in 1821 and he left no will.¹ William Yeakle apparently reported that he saw a notice in the Norristown Herald [100 years later] stating George died on 30 January 1822.² And Edward W. Hocker wrote that George’s gravestone in St. Michael’s Church cemetery indicates that he died in 1822.³

One might conclude that George Hocker Jr. died in 1822. However, Wingeard reported that he found a deed in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in which George’s heirs sold a tract called “Denmark” on 7 Apr 1832. According to this deed, Bill wrote, George died on 30 January 1832.⁴

So, how do you resolve this conflict?

Of these documents, the only contemporary one—meaning it was written at the time of the events it recorded—was the Northumberland County deed. It was written 7 Apr 1832 and recorded 1 June 1832.⁵ Both the article “The Erdenheim Stock Farm” and the notice in the Norristown Herald were written significantly later. Edward W. Hocker’s Pennsylvania Cemeteries was written in the 1930s, so he was viewing a gravestone that was over 100 years old, and possibly difficult to read.

So, the three reports of an 1821/22 date of death are mistaken, right?

Not so fast.

Is there any other contemporary record that indicates whether George was alive in 1822? I did not find a burial record for George Hocker in St. Michael’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Volume 2. Nor did I find George Hocker Jr. in the Administrations Index for Montomery County, Pennsylvania.

George’s father died in 1821 in Montgomery County. Is there any mention of George in his estate record?

Even though George Hocker Sr. died intestate, his estate record is quite explicit regarding his children. In a request for partition of George Sr.’s land, the record states:

“…George Hocker died intestate on or about the 16th day of October last leaving no widow but issue five children, to wit Martin, Adam, Christopher, Elizabeth intermarried with Henry Scheetz and Margaret Hocker now living; and three deceased, to wit, George, John and Jacob Hocker…”⁶

Not only is George Jr. recorded as deceased before this record was made, but one of his heirs—Henry Daub, husband of his daughter Ann—is one of the petitioners on this and subsequent Orphans Court records. Based on George Sr.’s estate record, it is quite clear that George Hocker Jr. died before 16 October 1821.

But what about the 1832 deed? Wingeard stated that it recorded George’s death as 30 Jan 1832. If that’s true, then it can’t apply to this George Hocker Jr., right?

In reading the original document, it is obvious that Bill was correct. It does relate to George Hocker Jr., son of George and Anna Margaretha (Weidman) Hocker. The heirs listed in the deed—widow Mary Hacker, Henry Daub and Ann his wife, Philip Hink and Mary his wife, Jacob Cress and Elizabeth his wife, Jacob Mason and Margaret his wife and Susanna Hergesheimer—match those listed in George Hocker Sr.’s estate files as the heirs of his son George.

However, while the deed states that George is deceased, it does not provide a date of death. Furthermore, it also states that Martin Kindig granted the tract to George Hocker on “the first day of June in the year last aforesaid” [1797], not on 1 Jun 1831 as Bill noted.⁷ Perhaps he misread that line as “the first day of June in the year last” and concluded it meant 1831.

Based on the information compiled, I can only conclude that George Hocker Jr. died before 16 Oct 1821. I don’t have enough information to posit an exact date, but I do know that 1822 and 1832 are incorrect.

Samuel Hocker

Kris Hocker on 27 Aug 2012

Today, I found the second reference to a Samuel Hocker associated with my Hacker-Hocker family.

The first reference was in St. Michael’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Germantown, Pennsylvania. A Samuel Hocker, son of Christopher Hacker & wife, aged 16, was confirmed at St. Michael’s on 2 April 1809. A sister, Elizabeth, aged 17, was confirmed on the same day. They were both baptized on 31 March 1809.¹

Today’s reference was located in the estate papers of John Hocker from August 1844. One of the debts listed in the petition to sell his real estate is to Samuel Hocker for $500.² I believe this John Hocker was named the trustee of Catherine (Daub) Hocker on 16 August 1836 during her father’s estate proceedings. If I’m correct, then Catharine (Daub) Hocker would have been the mother of Samuel Hocker and wife of John’s uncle Christopher Hocker.

Another clue in the mystery of Christopher Hocker (ca 1776-?)!

—

John Hocker (1796-1844) was the son of Martin Hocker Sr. (1762-1830) and Ann Mason (1768-1826) of Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Surname Saturday: Alexander Bonnington

Kris Hocker on 19 May 2012

Alexander Bonnington (1875-1964)

From Scotland to West Virginia

Alexander Bonnington was born on 16 August 1875 in Durhamtown, Bathgate, Linlithgow, Scotland, the third son of Peter Purvis and Elizabeth (Buchanan) Bonnington.¹ He grew up in the lowlands of Scotland between Edinburgh and Glasgow. His father died on 16 September 1891 when Alexander was 16 years-old.²

On 27 January 1899, he married Christina Peace, daughter of James and Isabella (Brown) Peace, in Loanhead, Lasswade, Edinburgh, Scotland.³ By the fall 1900, Alexander and Christina were living in England as their eldest child James P. Bonnington was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland on 5 November 1900. They were living in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne at the time of the 1901 census for England.⁴ Alexander was a clerk.

The Bonningtons did not remain in England, however. By the fall of 1913, the family was living in Wallaceburg, Kent, Ontario, Canada. Their daughter Alexandra Marguerite Bonnington was born there on 9 November 1913.⁵ Alexander was a chemical engineer.

Alexander made several trips to the United States. He crossed into the U.S. at Niagara Falls on 5 December 1915, then at St. Albans, Vermont on 24 December 1915.⁶ According to his border crossing card, he had previously been to the U.S. in 1910 to visit his sister Elizabeth Cochrane of 35 West 18th Street, Harrisburg. He had arrived on 1 August in New York.

This time, apparently, was to settle in the U.S. His wife Christina followed him, entering through Niagara Falls on 6 January 1916, accompanied by her children James and Alexandra.⁷ It appears from her entry card that her husband was working for a chemical company, perhaps out of New Jersey.

The family was settled in South Charleston, West Virginia by 17 January 1920 when they were listed in the 1920 U.S. Census.⁸ Christina died sometime between the 1920 census and 1924 when Alexander remarried.⁹ He married Martha Krich and the couple had a son. In 1930, the family was living in Huntingdon, Cabell County, West Virginia.¹⁰

Martha (Krich) Bonnington died in Cabell County, West Virginia on 1 March 1953.¹¹ I believe Alexander died in Nebraska in February 1964.

Alexander was my 3rd great uncle, his sister Eliza Craig (Bonnington) Smith Cochrane, my GG grandmother. My grandfather Hocker and his sister Jean spoke of their parents visiting him in West Virginia.

Convoluted Family Relationships…

Kris Hocker on 18 May 2012

I just discovered that Maria Margaretha (Hager) Elser was the aunt of Hans Adam Hacker’s brother-in-law Lorentz Haushalter. My ancestor Hans Adam traveled to Pennsylvania on the same ship as Heinrich Mock and Johan Peter Elser, also of Rußheim. Heinrich Mock was Margaretha’s fiancée and Johan Peter Elser was her son. They all settled in Lancaster County and were members of the Warwick Congregation in Warwick/Elizabeth Township.

Surname Saturday: Henry Fetter

Kris Hocker on 5 May 2012

On 26 June 1781, Henry Fetter married Christina Hacker, daughter of Hans Adam and Maria Elisabetha (Weidman) Hacker, at Christ Lutheran Church in Stouchsburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.¹ Bill Wingeard in his A German-American Hacker-Hocker Genealogy names Henry as the son of Bernhard and Gertrude (___) Fetter. Unfortunately, he doesn’t provide a source for that information.

In rewriting the genealogy, I’ve been trying to identify and make sense of the contemporary Fetter/Fehder/Feather/Vetter/Vehders living in the Warwick and Cocalico township in the late 1700s. There are at least two Henry Fetters that I need to clarify in the source data that I’ve found. Since writing about my research helps me to clarify my thoughts and findings, here goes.

Henry Carpenter 700-acre tract in Warwick (now Clay) & Cocalico townships

On 13 May 1759, William and Salome (Wister) Chancellor sold 95 1/2 acres in Cocalico Township to Henry Feather.² It adjoined land that had been or was to be granted to Bernhard Feather. This 95 acres was part of a larger tract of 350 acres that Henry Carpenter had sold to his grand-daughter Salome Wister on 21 November 1743.³ This tract included 32 acres that Daniel Fiere had sold Salome Wister on 12 June 1750.⁴ The tract the Chancellors sold adjoined land of “Henry Stouffer,” placing it on the north-eastern portion of the two tracts shown in the map (see Henry Carpenter’s 700 acres).

I did not find a deed record of Bernhard Fetter’s purchase, but both he and Henry took out mortgages on their properties—both 95 1/2 acres—on 1 Jun 1759.⁵ Bernhard’s wife’s name is recorded as Gertraut. Henry’s wife’s name is recorded as Anna Maria.

Bernhard & Henry Feather tracts, Cocalico Township

Bernhard is listed in Warwick tax records as “Berned Feter” in 1754.⁶ There is also a “Leard Fether” in Warwick in 1751. Bernhard is listed in 1769 in Cocalico and in 1770 in Warwick with the note “& a place in Cocalico.”⁷ Two Henry Feather’s are listed in Cocalico in 1770, as is a Conrad Feather.⁸ One Henry Feather is listed as “a single man with his father.” The other Henry’s listing indicates that he was listed as “Fetter” in 1769.

Additional tax records list Bernhard Fetter in Warwick Township in 1771, 1772, and 1773.⁹ In 1779, a “Fetter, Geo & Henry” are listed instead of Bernhard.¹⁰ It’s possible (maybe even probable) that these were Bernhard’s sons. Meanwhile, a Henry Feather is listed as a freeman (unmarried) in Cocalico Township in 1771, 1772, and taxed on 90 acres in 1773 and 40 acres in 1779.¹¹

An inventory is listed for Bernhard Feather of Warwick Township in 1777 in the Archive Collections at the Lancaster County Historical Society.¹² So, depending on the actual date of the inventory, Bernhard died in late 1776 or 1777. A will abstract is online for Gertraut Feather of Warwick Township. It indicates her will was written on 22 December 1792 and filed on 19 June 1794.¹³ It only names one child: Elizabeth, wife of John Frymyer.

Henry and Anna Mary Fetter of Cocalico Township sold 95.5 acres to Henry and Peter Fetter on 24 May 1773.¹⁴ These were likely their sons. They likely also had a son named Bernhard. A will abstract of Bernhard Feather of Cocalico Township in 1816 names his brother Peter and his nieces as: Susanna Brubaker, Christiana, Elizabeth Schlebach (wife of Henry), Mary Klingaman (wife of Michael).¹⁵ A deed naming appraisers for the lands of Henry Feder of Cocalico Township in 1822 names the same women as his daughters, plus Susanna Henly, a widow and only daughter of Henry’s son, Henry [III?].¹⁶

Given that Henry and Bernhard Fetter purchased land in 1759, they would have to have been born at or before 1738 (≥21 years of age). Because he was listed in tax records in 1754, Bernhard was likely born prior to 1733. Henry [Jr.] and Peter Fetter would have been born at or before 1752 (≥ 21 years of age in 1773). One of the two Henry Fetters listed in Cocalico Township tax records in 1770 was likely recently of age. The other at least a couple of years older.

Henry and Christina (Ernst) Vetter had a daughter Susanna, born 31 January 1774, baptized in Reiher’s Reformed Church on 9 January 1774.¹⁷ I believe this Henry Vetter is Henry Jr., the son of Henry and Anna Maria (___) Fetter. Henry and Christina had two other children baptized at Reiher’s Reformed Church: John Henry, born 10 March 1776, baptized 5 Apr 1776 and Samuel, born 6 November 1777, baptized 21 December 1777.¹⁸ Susanna’s birth places the marriage of Henry and Christina (Ernst) Fetter about 1772. That would place Henry’s birth about 1751, possibly a few years earlier. This fits perfectly with a child of Henry and Anna Maria (___) Fetter and the Henry Fetter taxed in Cocalico Township in 1771—1773.

The 1822 deed naming appraisers for the land Henry Fetter left his daughters also names a widowed daughter of his son. What’s interesting about her is the fact that her guardian, Isaac Erb, is also named in the document. This indicates that although she was a widow, she was not yet 21 years of age. Therefore, she was born about 1802, maybe a few years later. That is certainly consistent with a father who was born in the 1770s or very early 1780s.

Which of these Henry Fetters married Christina Hacker, daughter of Hans Adam and Elisabetha (Weidman) Hacker? Until I can find the means to distinguish between the various men of this name, I won’t be able to accurately document Henry and Christina (Hacker) Fetter. I’ve got a start in gathering data, but I believe I need more information on these families—if I can get it—to truly be able to identify them in the records. If you have information on any of these families, please leave a comment!

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:

Josephine Cammarata (age 17), possibly a cousin of Concetta Prestifilippo
Dora Evans (age 18)
Max Florin (age 23)
Maria (Tortorelli?) Lauletti (age 33), her younger sister Isabella Tortorelli also died
Concetta Prestifilippo (age 22), possibly a cousin of Josephine Cammarata
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?

Are We Related?

Kris Hocker on 10 Feb 2011

I received an email a while back from a woman who was looking for information on a Jacob Hoover of Maryland and wondered if we were related. The short answer is “Yes,” but not as initially thought.

She had found my site by searching for “Jacob Hoover Maryland.” I believe, she found my information on the family of Andreas Hoover (1723—1784) of Frederick (now Washington) County, Maryland and Fayette County, Pennsylvania and Andrew’s son Jacob (ca 1746—1800). She was searching for the father of Jacob Hoover of Garrett County, Maryland. She had information going back from a John Hoover (1860—1929) to his parents Jacob and Mary (Bittinger) Hoover. She had no dates for Jacob and Mary, but believed Jacob’s father was also named Jacob. Looking at information online, she had found two possibilities, both sons of two Andrew Hoovers.

From my research, I knew that Andrew Hoover’s (1723—1784) son Jacob had only one son—George Hoover who moved from Fayette County, Pennsylvania to Ohio County, Kentucky. George did have a son named Jacob, but he lived in Kentucky, dieing there sometime between 1840 and 1850. Based on this information, I knew that her Jacob Hoover [Sr.] was not a son of Andrew Hoover, nor a grandson through his son Jacob. It was possible that he was the son of one of Andrew’s other sons, but if so, I had no information on him.

The other possibility was Andrew Hoover (1724—ca 1794) of Frederick (now Carroll) County, Maryland and Randolph County, North Carolina. He, too, had a son named Jacob (1754—1821). However, I believe, he went to North Carolina with his family and died there in 1821.

Based on the birth dates of these Jacob Hoovers—1746 and 1754, respectively, I knew it was unlikely that either of them were the grandfather of John Hoover, born in 1860. If her Jacob, Jacob, and John were related to either of these men, then there was a missing generation. More information was needed on both Jacob Sr. and Jacob Jr. before their ancestry could be determined.

Curious, I started looking at John Hoover in the census records, starting with the most recent and working backwards:

1920: John married to [Anna] Savora and living in Grantsville, children: Della E. (b. ca 1904), Zelda M. (b. ca 1907), Orval (b. ca 1910), Dora V. (b. ca Mar 1915), Claton E.(b. ca Jul 1918)¹
1910: John (2nd marriage) married for 7 years (ca. 1903) to Annie S. (1st marriage) and living in Grantsville, children: Della E. (b. ca 1903), Zelda (b. ca 1906), Orval (b. ca Feb 1910), Burly (b. ca 1895)²
1900: John, born April 1860, living in Grantsville, widowed, children: Clara (b. Mar 1891), Burly (b. Nov 1894), Harry (b. Feb 1897) and Allie E. (b. Jun 1899) ³
1880: John, born ca 1860, living in Grantsville at home with parents Jacob & Mary Hoover, siblings: Jefferson (b. ca 1849), Lydia (b. ca 1851), Ellen (b. ca 1855), Mary (b. ca 1862), Daniel (b. ca 1866), Elizabeth (b. ca 1869), Jacob (b. ca 1872), Sarah (b. ca 1875) ⁴
1870: John, born ca 1860, living in Grantsville at home with parents Jacob & Mary Hoover, siblings: Jefferson (b. ca 1850), Lydia (b. ca 1853), Ellen (b. ca 1855), Mary (b. ca 1863), Daniel (b. ca 1866), and Elizabeth (b. ca 1869) ⁵
1860: John is not listed, instead Jacob Jr. & Mary Hoover’s household includes: Jefferson (b. ca 1846), Lydia (b. ca 1848), Ellen (b. ca 1858), and Daniel (b. ca Jan 1860); It’s possible that this “Daniel” is actually John ⁶

The 1860 census lists Jacob Hoover as Jacob Jr. Junior can often be interpreted to mean that the father shared the same given name. However, it can sometimes mean “the younger” with no familial relationship attached.

However, an examination of Maryland deeds through MDLandRec.net showed that Jacob Hoover Sr. and his wife Mary sold 25 acres in Allegany County to their son Jacob Hoover Jr.⁷ Jacob Hoover Jr. sold this land to his wife Mary in 1874.⁸ Both deeds refer to lots 2138 and 2139. Additionally, Jacob Hoover and wife sold 25 acres of their property “Shylock War” to Jacob Hoover Jr. in 1862.⁹ Other pieces of this property were sold to Carlisle and William Hoover, their other sons.¹⁰,¹¹ This establishes, to my mind, that Jacob Hoover Jr. was most likely the son of Jacob Hoover Sr. and his wife Mary “Polly.”

Jacob and Mary Hoover Sr. were alive and living in the third district (Grantsville) in 1860 and 1870.¹² Their son William (b. ca 1834-1837) was living with them in both census enumerations. Both enumerations also list Jacob and Mary as being born in Pennsylvania. In 1850, they’re living in district 10 with their daughter Sarah.¹³

Based on these census records, Jacob Hoover Sr. was born about 1790-1797 in Pennsylvania. Given the location of Grantsville, Allegany and Garrett counties, it’s likely that Jacob came from Bedford, Somerset, Fulton or Adams counties in Pennsylvania. There were several Jacob Hoovers in the Casper Hoover family of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, so I contacted another researcher who knows much more about this family than I do on the off chance that this Jacob was possibly related.

He wrote back:

“The Jacob Hoover who married Mary “Polly” Eckenberger was the son of George and Elizabeth (_____) Hoover of Somerset County, PA. George Hoover was the son of Casper and Catherine (Ernst) Hoover of Somerset County, PA, as described in my NGSQ article (vol. 91 (December 2003), pgs. 298-313). Jacob Hoover was born in Somerset County on or about 25 March 1797 and moved to Garrett County, MD, around the year 1820 with his wife Mary “Polly” (Eckenberger) Hoover. They remained in Garrett County the rest of their lives. This family is reasonably well described in Wayne Bittinger’s book “The Bittinger, Bittner, Biddinger, and Bidinger Families and their Kin of Garrett County, Maryland” (McClain Printing Co., Parsons, WV, 1986, pgs 609-611). Some information is also given in the same book regarding Jacob “Ecenbarger/Akenberger”, Jr., the brother of Mary “Polly” Ekenberger Hoover (pgs. 551-553).”

So, yes, we are related through Jacob Hoover Sr.’s grandfather Casper, brother to my presumed ancestor, George Hoover of Lancaster, Bedford, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties.

Tag: Family Research

In the Census

In Tax Records

Conclusions

Conclusions

From Scotland to West Virginia