Call Number:

21

Repository:

Germantown Historical Society

Extent:

4.33 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1886-1959 (inclusive)

Creator:

Hocker, Edward W., 1873-1962

Abstract:

Edward W. Hocker (1872-1962) was a librarian at the Germantown Historical Society, a local historian, and a journalist who wrote the popular column "Up and Down Montgomery County." The Edward W. Hocker papers, 1886-1959, include manuscripts for Hocker's books and articles, his correspondence as librarian for the Germantown Historical Society, genealogical research on the Hartman family, scrapbooks, and correspondence.

Edward W. Hocker was a librarian at the Germantown Historical Society, a local historian, and a journalist who wrote the popular column "Up and Down Montgomery County."

Hocker was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1872. His father, a German immigrant, was granted American citizenship after fighting in the Civil War. Edward became a newspaperman soon after graduating from high school, working for the Norristown Review and the Philadelphia Press. After he married Frances Moser and moved to the Germantown section of Philadelphia in 1903, Hocker accepted a post as editor of the Independent Gazette. He was an active member of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and of the Germantown and Montgomery County Historical Societies. He wrote extensively on genealogy, Pennsylvania German history, and the history of Germantown and Montgomery County. His best-known works include the books Germantown, 1683-1933 and History of Trinity Lutheran Church, Germantown, Philadelphia, 1836-1936, and the Times Herald column "Up and Down Montgomery County" (under the pen name "Norris"). Hocker died in 1962.

Bibliography:

Kennedy, Joseph S. "Historian Detailed a Lasting Record of Local Heritage: Edward W. Hocker Died in 1962, after Learning about and Documenting the Story of the Region." Philadelphia Inquirer, April 12, 1998. Accessed March 26, 2012. http://articles.philly.com/1998-04-12/news/25764093_1_county-historian-historical-society-civil-war

A large portion of the collection consists of Hocker's manuscripts for a book on local history. Another significant section is correspondence with Hocker as librarian for the Germantown Historical Society regarding research. The last large section of the collection consists of genealogical research on the Hartman family, including correspondence of John W. Hartman, circa 1886-1910. Rounding out the collection, there are also manuscripts for book chapters; correspondence, essays, and historical research, circa 1930s-1940s; a Germantown scrapbook, 1914-1959; a scrapbook of columns by Hocker; and genealogical data from German newspapers.