Harmon L. Hockenberry

NOT A DIRECT ANCESTOR Harmon L. Hockenbury is not in my direct ancestry. He is possibly a nephew of Peter Hockenberry, b. (~1718)

THE HOCKENBERRY NAME & EARLY IMMIGRANTS
The name Hockenberry is one of several Anglicized forms of Hachenburger (such as Hachenberger, Hockenbury, Hillberry, etc.) In earlier times when individuals did not have set surname spellings, immigrants were often distinguished from others in their new location by a name reflecting their place of origin. Thus, anyone from Hachenburg could be know as a Hachenburger. This appelation was probably applied more than once, and to individuals not necessarily related.
Records indicate several early immigrants to America with variants of this name; their relationship, if any, is not yet established.
(Click here for complete text Hockenberry Name & Early Immigrants)

	Date	Location	Notes	Sources
Birth	10 March 1744	Albany, NY
Marriage
Death

Places of Residence

Location	Dates	Notes	Sources
Albany NY	10 Mar. 1744	born
Knowlton Twp., Sussex Co. NJ	Aug. 1774	1774 tax list, Sussex Co. NJ
Path Valley, Franklin Co. PA	possibly since 1798	other 1833 residents of Path Valley "have known him for 35 yrs." per 1833 Rev. war pension application. Note: present-day Path Valley is in Fannette Twp., PA.
Fannett Twp., Franklin Co. PA	1828	1828 tax list, Franklin Co. PA
Path Valley Franklin Co. PA	1833	1833 Rev.war pension application;

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	Revolutionary War Pension Application, Harman Hockenbery made in 1833 at ~age 89, to obtain benefits established by act of Congress passed June 7th 1832. Application describes service under several officers at several sites, & lists his birth as in Albany, New York on 10 March 1744. See documents at right. Pages 1-4 show application. Page 5 shows grant of pension by War Dept. For full transcription of pages 2-4, see Transcriptions
2	Harmon L. Hockenbury, 1828 Fannett Frankin PA Tax List, from Chuck Owens,Apr 2015 ; see Contributors list. Harmon L. Hockenbury, farmer, age 84. Listed these two pages with 8 additional Hockenbury names: John, Abraham, Ruth (widow), Jeremiah, Thomas, Ephreum, Jeremiah, Jacob. See also:http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/franklin/taxlist/1828fannett.txt, which lists also the names Jain, John, & Samuel Heckenberry, and Larey Hockenbery. See See transcription with ages, occupations
3	1774 August Tax Listings, Sussex Co. NJ,Harman Haukenburier in Knowlton Twp. (pg.004) & Honis Hoghanborogh in Newton Twp. (pg.005) from "New Jersey, Compiled Census & Census Substitutes Index, 1634-1890", Ancestry.com.
4	Notes and Queries: Historical, Biographical and Genealogical, relating chiefly to Interior Pennsylvania, Volume 1900, William Henry Egle, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1970, page 221 "No. 45., April 12, 1782, John Hackenberry, enlisted to serve during the war, about 32 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches high, born in Albany, black hair, a dark complexion, a blacksmith, last place of residence Path Valley; bounty paid by Capt. Parker." This source contributed to us by researcher Chuck Owens, who notes "John Hockenberry probably a brother of Harmon L., as both born in Albany, both resided in Path Valley,near Peter Hockenberry but much earlier than Harmon.
5	Research of Chuck Owens, personal correspondence , 2015 & ongoing; see Contributors list.
7	Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams.	N/A

Source notes

Connecting the dots:

• Birth Year.(Source 2) 1828 Tax Record Fannette Twp, Franklin Co. PA - lists Harmon L. Hockenbury, age 84 (i.e. born ~ 1744). (Source 1) 1833, Harman Hockenbery, of Path Valley, Fannette Twp., Franklin Co. PA, lists his birth year as 1744.
• Birth Place. (Source 1) 1833, Harman Hockenbery, of Path Valley, Fannette Twp., Franklin Co. PA, lists his birth place as Albany, NY. (Source 4) John Hackenberry, also a resident of Path Valley, was also born in Albany. John is age "about 32 yrs old" in 1782, so born about 1750 and thus about 6 yrs younger than Harman L.
• Residence: Both Harman and John were born in Albany. Both reside in Path Valley, Franklin Co. PA roughly 45-55 years later, in proximity to the Peter Hockenberry family. (The testimony of Path Valley residents (Source 1) suggests that Harmon L. may have been in Path Valley for over 35 yrs., so since before 1798. John is recorded in Path Valley by 1782; perhaps he and Harmon came west together in that year. Harmon would have been age 38 in 1782, young enough to re-establish himself in a new location. The circumstantial evidence is not conclusive but suggests these two, Harmon L. and John, could have been brothers or cousins, and both likely related somehow to the Peter Hockenberry family.
• Father of Harman L.? Researcher Chuck Owens suggests the possibility that (Source 3) Harman Haukenburier in Knowlton Twp.,Sussex Co. NJ may be the same individual as Harman L. Hackenbury, heading west from NY but still living among family. If it is indeed Harman L., he would be 30 yrs. old. Unfortunately, the abstracted record from ancestry.com doesn't list ages. Honis Hoghanborogh, also on the Sussex Co. NJ tax roll but in Newton Twp., is suggested as a possibility for the father of Harman, on the basis of his first name. Honis is a nickname for Johannes, the German form of John. Per Owens,Harmon L. named a son John, and appears to have had a brother (or cousin) named John.

• Source 3 - 1774 August Tax Listings, Sussex Co. NJ. The borders of these townships were fluid during this period, and today are no longer in Sussex Co., but in present-day Warren Co. NJ
  From Wikipedia: "Warren County was incorporated ...November 20, 1824, from portions of Sussex County,,,". Today it is part of the Allentown & Bethlehem PA/Easton NJ metropolitan area.
  Also on Wikipedia:"Newton Township, Sussex Co. NJ": "Potions of the township were taken to form Wantage Township (30 May 1754), Hardyston Township (25 February 1762), Frankford Township (10 April 1797), Byram Township (9 April 1798), Sparta Township (14 April 1845) and Lafayette Township (14 April 1845). On 11 April 1864, the remaining portions of Newton Township were split up to create Andover Township, Hampton Township and Newton Town, at which point Newton Township was dissolved."
  

Conjecture

• There are more than one Harmon Hockenbury/Hockenbury of similar age in the record. The other Harmon Hockenberry seen in research records was a son of Herbert Hockenbury, but this Harmon died in 1808 in Newton, NJ. Some Harman Hockenbery lived for a time near our direct line ancestor, Peter Hockenberry(b. 1718). Harmon L. Hockenberry appears to be a likely candidate.

If related, the 26 year age difference suggests that Harmon L. could have been a nephew of Peter.