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 surnames, 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.
(There is a Hachenburg in Germany today, in Westerwald Kreis, located SE of Bonn, Lat. 50d 39' 0", Long 7d 49' 59". It is implied in Renick (see below) that this is the town of interest. In addition, there is a Hakenberg in Ostprignitz-Ruppin, Nordhein-Westfalen, NW of Berlin, Lat. 51d 1' 50", Long 7d 15' 0"; a Hagenburg, Schaumburg, NW of Dortmund; and a Berod bei Hachenburg, Allenkirchen, Westerwald. See www.multimap.com and www.infoplease.com/atlas/latitude-longitude.html)
Records indicate several early immigrants to America with variants of this name; their relationship, if any, is not yet established.
1.) Herbert Hockenbury, b.~1690 in Germany, arrived in Hunterdon Co., NJ about 1720. His will was probated there on 13 June 1769. The will names wife Margaret, children John, Peter, Jost (George), Henry, christopher, Harman, Eve, Anney Elsie, Margaret, anna Elisageth, Catren, & Mary. [Research by Fred Hockenbary, Matawan, NJ, in Descendants of Peter Hockenberry and His Son John by Horace & Edith Renick, Stuart, FL, 1975.]
Source: Early Germans of New Jersey, p. 406, page copy contributed by chuck Owens (see Contributors link at left).
Peter Hockenberry b. ~1718 in Germany, immigrated in 1750 to Chambers, NJ. They proceded to the Suusquehanna River and settled just beyond it in what is now Fannett Twp., Franklin Co., PA, in the northern tip of the county, north of Chambersburg.. His will was probated in Chambersburg, PA on 20 Feb. 1811. The will names children Henry, John, Mary, Margaret, James, Jeremiah, Peter, Catherine, Nancy, Samuel, and Robert.
Henry, James and Jeremiah remained in Franklin Co., PA. Samuel lived in Franklin and Huntington Counties for a time, then disappeares from the record. Second son, John, (our direct ancestor) resided after marriage in Perry Co. for a time, then moved west to Butler Co., PA. Robert and Peter, Jr. also lived in Butler Co., Peter, Jr. moving on to Michigan. Each of these had numerous descendants. [Horace & Edith Renick]
Reinhard Hachenburger arrived in Philadelphia 21 Sept. 1750 on the ship "Anderson", an English vessel transporting immigrants from the Palatinate, embarking from Rotterdam. [History of the Penna. German Pioneers by Strassberg & Hinke, Vol. I, provided by Mrs. Clarence Hockenberry of East Butler, PA to Horace & Edith Renick]
Johann Peter Hachenberg, b. 1741 in Germany, arrived in Philadelphia in 1764 on the English ship "Jannefer". He settled in Bucks Co., PA. He was an officer and a prisoner of war during the American Revolution. Afterward, he moved his family to what is today Snyder Co., PA. His will names children Catherine; Christina; Peter, Jr.;John; Michial; and Micheal. [from Mrs. Harold Albrecht, Manhattan, KS to the Renicks.]
Some degree of relationship between Herbert (b.~1690) and Peter (b. ~1718) is suggested by the fact that Herbert's son Harmon Hockenbury left Sussex Co., NJ in 1799 and went to live among the Peter Hockenberry clan in Franklin Co., PA until 1833. Many of the descendants of Haromn remain in this area today. Harmon returned to Sussex Co., NJ at some point; he was buried in LaFayette, NJ, near Newton, NJ. [Horace & Edith Renick].
