USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Historical sketches : a collection of papers prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1921-1925, Volume VII > Part 10
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John George Hocker took the oath of allegiance to Great Britain on September 24, 1760, in Cocalico township, then Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. I have this document in my possession, a much treasured paper. I have also an affidavit of citizenship to the State of Pennsylvania, taken before Zebulon Potts, Esq., in Philadelphia, on May 27, 1778. I have also an old German Bible, the property of this man, on the first cover of which, in the German language, is a family record mentioning that to John George Hocker and Margaretta, his wife, were born two sons, "John George" and "Johannes," who later, I think, were known as George and John. There is no further record in this book of the births of any children, although there were four other sons and two daughters. I have also another old relic of John George's, a silver seal ring with a figure of three stars and boot and spur, and the letters "I" or "J," "G," "H," and some other old papers that I will refer to later.
John George Hocker was about seventeen years of age when he came to Pennsylvania. After living some time in Lancaster county he is supposed to have married there. (William A. Yeakle History.) His wife's name was Mar- garetta (not sure of last name). He came east to what was then Philadelphia county, and bought about two hundred acres of land, which he named "Erdenheim," a German word meaning "Earthly Home," or "Home on Earth"-a very beautiful name; so much so, that the people living in
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the vicinity of what has been long known as "Wheel Pump" (the name of the old hotel at the place) adopted this name for their village and its post office.
Dr. Naaman Keyser, of Germantown, a careful inves- tigator in old family records, thinks John George may have been married twice, and that one of his wives was named Elizabeth. I find no evidence, however, of this, as his wife Margaretta is mentioned when he buys "Erdenheim," and also in the old Bible above-mentioned; also, I find the name of Margaret, his wife, on the old tombstone in the church- yard of old St. Michael's Church, Germantown. George Hocker and Margaret, his wife, were members of this church, and the record of their deaths on the tombstones in this church-yard is as follows: "George Hocker died Oct. 4, 1820, aged 87 years and six months." "Margaret, wife of George Hocker, died July 5, 1816, aged 77 years"- their deaths being only four years apart.
The children of George and Margaret Hocker were George, Martin, John, Adam, Jacob, Christopher and two daughters, Margaret and Elizabeth. I have not tried to trace the descendants of these sons and daughters, except partially. Adam, a son, married and moved to Virginia, where he had quite a family. Dr. Keyser, above-mentioned, I think, is connected with this line, and is working on the history of his family. It is believed one of the descendants named Hocker is conducting a large female college in Kentucky.1
John, another son of John George, married, according to Edward Matthews, Elizabeth, a daughter of Christopher Mason. I think John afterward lived in Philadelphia. This is a family tradition. Of George, another son, I do not have any history except that I believe that this is the one men- tioned; I recently saw, in a copy of the "Norristown Herald," an item, saying that, one hundred years ago, January 30, 1822, George Hocker, of Springfield township,
1 J. M. Hocker has a clipping from the hands of Christopher Hocker, of Barren Hill, that tells of their 65th wedding anniversary on October 24, 1909. (Married October 24, 1844.)
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died. Of the son Jacob, I have not found anything, of his later history. Of the son Christopher, I have the following: He married first, in Montgomery county. He was of a rather headstrong disposition; he left his wife here in Montgomery county and went to Ohio, lived and married there a sec- ond time, and one of his sons, George, returned to White- marsh, Montgomery county, Pa. He was well known here, and had ten children; one son, Christopher, is still living, and is the assessor of Whitemarsh township, and is the only one of this line of the name of Hocker in this section. His home is in Barren Hill, and he is the source of this information.
Rev. M. Luther Hocker, pastor of the Whitemarsh Luth- eran Church, is a descendant of Adam Hocker, who came to Pennsylvania and located in Lancaster county in 1749, as mentioned in William A. Yeakle's History of White- marsh. One of the daughters, Margaret, of John George Hocker, married William Cress, whose son, George, and daughter, Margaret, I remember to have seen. The other daughter of John George Hocker, Elizabeth, married Gen- eral Henry Scheetz, whose military and civil record has become a part of the history of Montgomery county; and their descendants are quite numerous in the county.
Another son, Martin, the great grandfather of the writer of this paper, married Ann, daughter of Christopher Mason, who owned and lived on the farm in Whitemarsh, and sold it, in 1803, to his son-in-law, Martin Hocker; one hundred and six acres for two thousand pounds, with the house, built by Ann and Martin in 1804, the date stone being still in the wall. The house is still standing in a good state of preservation, though somewhat modernized, but now owned by the Philadelphia Cricket Club, who bought the farm from the Yeakle Estate two years ago. The house will be used as a club-house. Martin Hocker, son of John George, died in 1830, from a contagious disease, possibly small-pox, having gone on a visit to his relatives in Lancaster or Leb- anon county, where he died. The place of burial I have not yet been able to locate. His will was probated November, 1830. His wife Ann died October 4, 1826 (and was buried
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in St. Michael's grave-yard, Germantown) at the age of fifty-eight years, seven months. George died at the age of fourteen years, on July 31, 1808, and was buried in the same cemetery. By will, the farm of Martin Hocker de- scended to his son, John, my grandfather.
The old house, the home of John George Hocker, is still standing at "Erdenheim," on what is now the property of George D. Widener; it is a quaint old building, plastered, with high columns in front reaching to the roof, and has an ancient appearance. A wing to the house appears to have been built at a later date. Mr. Edward W. Hocker, of the "Independent Gazette," Germantown, who does not claim descent from these ancestors, but perhaps may have some family connection, recently took a photograph of the old mansion, and very kindly gave me a picture, which I, of course, appreciate very highly.
John George Hocker, of "Erdenheim," became an influ- ential man in the local community. He was one of the last surviving trustees of the old cemetery on the farm adjoin- ing "Erdenheim," which deed of trust I have in my pos- session, dated August 11, 1780, and which I will describe further on. He was a member of St. Michael's Church, above-mentioned, and, as I heard from my aunt, who was a great-granddaughter of John George, he frequently walked to church a distance of five or six miles. As stated above, John George Hocker died in the year 1820. According to W. A. Yeakle's records, the farm was next owned for a short time by William Cress, a son-in-law. According to Edward Matthews' records, Martin Hocker, after the death of his father, as administrator or executor, sold the farm ("Erdenheim") to Caspar Schlotter, of Upper Dublin, for $15,568, in 1823. In 1830, Schlotter sold to Henry Scheetz, son-in-law, 155 acres, who sold it to his son, Jacob Scheetz, for $14,000; he owned it until 1842; Scheetz then sold to William Longstreth for $23,500, who, in turn, sold it in 1855, to George Bright for $35,500. In 1862, the property was bought by Aristides Welch, who held it as a stock farm for breeding running horses, and raised some of the best blooded horses in the country at that time. He owned the
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"ERDENHEIM"
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famous stallion Leamington, also the famous old trotting mare, Flora Temple. Both of these horses were buried by Mr. Welch in the lawn near the old house, where stones mark their graves. It was during the occupancy of this farm by Mr. Welch that General U. S. Grant, whose 100th birth- day we have just celebrated, paid a visit to "Erdenheim," and was royally entertained by his host for three days, in the year 1868, General Grant being also a lover of horses. This information I have from Mr. Louis Kittson, a son of a later owner of "Erdenheim," Norman W. Kittson, who bought the property from A. Welch in 1882 for $125,000, in all, 246 acres, additional acreage having previously been bought by Mr. Welch. Mr. Kittson later bought the Lewis A. Lukens farm, adjoining, but on the west side of the Wissahickon creek, making the entire tract about 400 acres of as fertile land as can be found anywhere. In 1896, Robert N. Carson bought the entire farm of 400 acres from the Kittson estate. The heirs of Mr. Carson sold the same a few years ago to George D. Widener, the present owner.
I will refer in this paper to what may be of interest to those who care for old things of this character. On the Lukens farm adjoining, as I said, and of which John George Hocker was one of the last trustees, was, until recently, an old grave-yard, which is now entirely obliterated, the walls having been torn down, and the tombstones taken away and broken. This ruthless destruction of this old land- mark occurred about the time, or perhaps-just before, the present owner got possession. In fact, I have knowledge that it was one of the conditions under which the property was bought. This old graveyard is referred to in William A. Yeakle's History of Whitemarsh. About 1885, a list of those whose graves were then marked with tombstones may be found in this article, in the first volume of the pub- lications of the Historical Society of Montgomery County. The inscriptions on about twenty-five tombstones erected in memory of those buried there were quite distinct at that time. There were evidences of many other graves, un- marked. I remember, when a boy, attending the old eight- square Williams school, that this old burying-ground was
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in a fair condition, with a good wall, covered, and with a gate at the entrance, but since then the place seemed to have been neglected, and it is to be regretted that this old land-mark is gone; as many of us have a sacred regard for such old-time places, particularly old burial-places. The original deed of trust was given by Edward Farmar to Henry Bartleson and Peter Knight, trustees, on Septem- ber 2, 1746, and on August 2, 1786, a Declaration of Trust was made by Peter Knight, merchant, of Philadelphia, sur- viving trustee, to the following trustees: George Hocker, Nicholas Kline, Patrick Menan, Peter Bartleson and Bartle Bartleson. Patrick Menan and Bartle Bartleson were buried in the old grave-yard above-mentioned. In this grave- yard, I remember well, was an old tombstone erected to the memory of John Nichols Knight, and it was an elaborate stone, with the inscription "In memory of John Nichols Knight, died December 29, 1722, aged 40 years 10 months." This stone, with the others, was evidently removed and broken. I remember that on this stone was also inscribed the Scripture passage from Colossians, chapter 3, verses 3 to 10. I thought this account of the old burying-ground would be interesting to all who care for old-time things. From an old paper in my possession, I find Bartle Bartleson bequeathed twenty pounds to this old cemetery. Elizabeth Bartleson, a daughter of Bartle Bartleson, gave by will ten pounds, both bequests to be used for repairs to the ceme- tery. Another fact I would refer to is that a part of this "Erdenheim" property is now occupied by Carson College. Robert N. Carson, who died in 1907, by will, dated 1903, left $1,000,000 to found a school for orphan girls, six to ten years of age; that is, for those having neither parent living ; also, one hundred acres of land to erect buildings for those and establish this school, which was a very praiseworthy and commendable object. This college has been in active operation for several years, and at present there are about eighty girls in the school, and, as provided for in the will of Mr. Carson, are under the control of a Board of Trus- tees; the Dean of the College is Miss Elsa Uhlan, who has served in that capacity since its organization-a very
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capable and energetic lady-and the College has pros- pered under her management.
The Whitemarsh Hunt Club has also been located, for a number of years past, on this property.
The recent proposed extension of Fairmount Park and drives passes through, or over, this "Erdenheim" property. How or when this proposed extension will be consummated is uncertain, but land has been bought as far as Militia Hill, in Whitemarsh township, having in view its setting apart, by the State of Pennsylvania, as historic ground, Militia and Camp Hills, both having been occupied by General Wash- ington's army after the Battle of Germantown, in the fall of 1777, and until the army moved to Valley Forge, in December of the same year.
Some of these accounts of past doings are perhaps a digression from the first intention of the writer, but we trust they may not be uninteresting to those who are patient enough to listen to the recital of events as given above.
E
The Lutheran Missions and Ministry of the Two Stoevers*
By S. GORDON SMYTH
It has been frequently said that Lutheranism, in this country, had its beginnings in what is now Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and it was here that her first mis- sionaries, almost immediately upon landing upon these shores, sought the outlying settlements in the western part of the country, largely composed of Germans, and there began their Christianizing influences in organizing congre- gations and preparing the way for the distinguished min- istry that was soon to follow, among whom, and about the first in prominence, was the Rev. Henry Melchoir Mühlen- berg, one who also, in firmly establishing that body, has long been recognized as the founder of the Lutheran church in America.
Among the denominational divisions that preceded the Lutherans in this particular field were those of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospels, which was made up mainly from the adherents of the Church of England; those of the Calvinistic tendencies were represented by the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, and members of the Reformed German church (who claim to be Hollanders, and Swiss), the Mennonists of like nationalities, and the Quakers-a sect which embraced the principal racial elements of the Brit- ish kingdom, who were the most formidable of all in point of numbers and position, holding their meetings in widely separated settlements established within this province.
About 1730, the borderland of this province, between the Indian ranges and the white outposts, extended along
*Read before the Society, November 18, 1922.
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SAMUEL GORDON SMYTH President of the Society, 1921-1923
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the foothills of the Blue Ridge from the Susquehanna to the forks of the Delaware, where the Sussex range inter- sected, and concealed the tribesmen of the Lenni-Lenape in its forested impenetrability. Southward of the Delaware, below the Oley Hills, and along the Manatawney and the headwaters of its neighboring streams in the water-shed of the Schuylkill, there lay a beautiful, rolling region, rich in agricultural promise, and of exceeding value in mineral wealth. Of this section, some 22,000 acres had been granted originally by William Penn to Francis Daniel Pastorius, but by subsequent sale had passed into the possession, first, of Daniel and Justus Falckner, then of John Henry Sproegel; and from him, by successive later transfers, and divisions into smaller parcels, to the possession of sundry persons, as that part of the country became more densely settled.
Very early in the history of this section it was found that its mineral resources were of great value and easily accessible-that iron, copper, magnesite and other deposits abounded in several localities. These were exploited exten- sively, principally among the inducements held out by the Frankfort Company and its successors in their colonizing enterprises, or, by the agents of the Proprietary while busy abroad amidst the restless refugees in the Rhinish prov- inces and Palatinate. Great numbers were thus allured and made the more eager to emigrate, aside from considera- tions of security in their desire to escape from the bigotted religious persecutions of Europe. In addition to the mass of Germans, Swiss and Dutch,1 there were many English who came over and took up land along the upper Schuylkill and its adjacent valleys. The European element colonized in families, or in community groups, especially where min- erals were being sought.
Thomas Rutter, an Englishman, appears to have been the first to capitalize and profit by the mineral prospects. He secured large quantities of land on the Manatawney,
1 The Dutch element in the settlement of Pennsylvania was unimpor- tant in numbers, and was generally merged with the German immigration, which passed, mostly, through the ports of Holland .- Ed.
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and started operations by erecting furnaces and forges near the ore-pits along the creek. Near the same time, Samuel Nutt, another English settler, became similarly engaged at Coventry and on French Creek, on the west side of the Schuylkill, in Chester county, and very nearly opposite the mouth of the Manatawney. Both industries prospered, and later their interests were merged, but with the introduction of John Potts into the firm at a subsequent period, the latter family practically became the founders of that great iron industry with which the Potts, for generations past, have been intimately associated.
In the course of a few years, as the furnaces multiplied, many of the settlers were employed, but it was found necessary, we are told, that in many instances skilled mechanics be imported from Germany to supply deficiencies in that class of labor here. As a consequence of these im- portations, the product was greatly improved, plants were enlarged and a wider market was provided, so that the material was exported. Many of these emigrants were well educated people, of a high moral character, thrifty and industrious, and usually constituents of the Lutheran church in their native land, but on coming here, unfortunately, found no such regular religious establishment as that to which they had been accustomed at home. A condition that was not relieved until a later period, so that a few passed into the Reformed Dutch church, while others affiliated with the Episcopalians "who worked in harmony with the Lutherans," or, joined with the Mennonists, but the larger number, by far, languished in spiritual impoverishment, unchurched, till missionaries of their own faith began to appear among them, prior to 1730.
In regard to religious affiliations, it was said that "It was easy to pass from one church to another, and through- out the 18th century Lutheranism was looked upon as closely allied to the Church of England, and they worked in harmony, while in a similar manner the Reformed Church was classed with the Presbyterians, because the shade of difference between the principles of the German Reformed Church and those of the Presbyterians of the
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United States were scarcely discernible and unimportant." (See Kuhns, 162-3.) There were, about that time, says another writer, "scarcely any ministers, while the church members numbered many thousands." Such were the re- ligious conditions among the Lutherans in this county for at least two decades prior to the organization and estab- lishment of its first church, at Falckner's Swamp, in 1730.
Falckner's Swamp took its name from Daniel Falckner, a member of the Frankfort Company, and a brother of Rev. Justus Falckner, who was one of the earliest of the Lutherans from the mother church to visit and preach in this region, the date being about 1703. (See Bean, 993.) The church established after this date is now known as the New Hanover Lutheran Church, and was organized in 1719 in a movement which was initiated by John Henry Sproegel, himself a Lutheran, who gave 50 acres of land upon which the present church, built in 1721, now stands, conditioned upon "the erection of a church, schoolhouse and grave- yard." This gift was surveyed by Heinrich Pannepacker, for the New Hanover congregation at Falckner's Swamp, in 1719.
With the development of the history of this church, I am not further concerned, except to state that while look- ing over its recently published annals, my attention was attracted to a statement in the narrative relating to one of its former pastors-in fact, one of its very earliest, the Rev. John Casper Stoever, Jr., and to his father of the same name, and the conjecture as to what became of the latter. We have ample authority for the date and circum- stances regarding the arrival of the father and the son in this country, but for the first few years thereafter there is little known, apparently, but much speculation among church historians concerning the younger man's ministry among us. However, it was he who was the immediate predecessor of, and did more than any other to prepare the way for, the permanent work of the greatly distin- guished Rev. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg. Our late esteemed colleague, Henry S. Dotterer, says, (see "Perki- omen Region," III, 45.) "Long before Mühlenberg came to
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America, a faithful Lutheran minister went about among the settlers in our region, performing those offices to which they were accustomed in their native land, but of which they were deprived in the wilds of Pennsylvania; preach- ing to them, solemnizing marriages, baptizing their chil- dren, and the burial of the dead. His name was John Casper Stoever. He was a regular minister of his faith," etc. In his history of the New Hanover Church, to which I am in- debted for many facts herein, its compiler states that "of all the pioneers, Rev. John Casper Stoever apparently de- voted more care in the preparation and instalments of protocols, or church records, than any one else." To which he might have added-and of drawing the Lutherans to- gether, and organizing congregations in this county and many others far distant.
Among the Lutheran clergy, the story of the young mis- sionary's work may be familiar enough, but to the average layman of whatever persuasion, it will be of interest to know what Stoever accomplished, especially in this county, both in the character of his labors and in the large number of churches whose origin is credited to him, while the province was yet emerging from its primitive conditions.
A brief autobiography of the "student" missionary, found in his records (Records of Rev. John Casper Stoever; Baptismal and Marriage; 1730-1779; p. 3), inform us that he was born December 21, 1707, in a place called Luedorff, in Solingen Amt, Duchy Berg, in Unter Pfaltz. His father was Johann Caspar Stoever, a native of Frankenburg in Hesse; and his mother, Gertraudt (family name not given), born in Amt Solingen.
The young man was carefully educated by some of the scholarly ecclesiastics of the district, under his father's supervision, and prepared for the ministry. When about 21 years of age, he accompanied his father to this country from Europe, and arrived here in 1728. He also states that he preached on the way over, and on his journeyings here, continued to preach. However, he was not ordained until April 8, 1733, by Rev. John Christian Schultze, at which time, also, he was married to Maria Christina Merckling.
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His wife was born May 14, 1715, in Chur Pfaltz, and was the daughter of Christian Merckling and his wife Catarina, nee Brucher. Rev. John Casper Stoever, Jr., had 11 children.
As to the official record concerning their arrival in this country, we have this information: "September 11, 1728, a number of Palatines with their families, about 90 persons, exported in the ship James Goodwill, David Crocket, Master, from Rotterdam, late from Deal, whence she sailed June 15, among the passengers, Johann Casper Stoever, missionarie, and Johann Casper Stoever, S. S." (See Rupps "30,000 Names," pp. 37, 58; also, his "Religious Denomina- tions in the United States"; also, Pa. Archives; etc.)
The church at New Hanover, where young Stoever began his ministry, in its early days was called "the Luth- eran church at Falckner's Swamp," and is said to be the oldest Lutheran church in America. (See Bean, 993.) There was also in its locality another church, a German Reformed church, where Rev. John Philip Boehm preached in 1720. Rev. Justus Falckner is said to have preached to a congregation at the Swamp in 1703. He was followed by Rev. Gerhard Henckle, from about 1716. Later pastors in- cluded Rev. Samuel Hesselius, pastor of the Swedish church at Mollatton, now Douglasville, until 1732; then came Rev. John Christian Schultze who began to labor here in 1732, following his founding of the church at the Trappe, and was followed a year or two later by John Casper Stoever, whose last entry in the church book is in 1735. (See "Perkiomen Region," I. p. 63.) Schultze supplied this congregation for a short time, or until he was sent abroad to collect funds for the establishment of the Lutheran church in Pennsylvania. It was he who ordained Stoever, and it was probably in anticipation of his absence abroad that Stoever prepared to succeed him, and was ordained and married by Schultze on the eve of his departure for Europe.
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