GEORGE M. HOCH

 Portrait and Biographical Records ~ Pages 801 and 802

Kindly submitted by: Pauline Anthony

GEORGE M. HOCH, one of the leading business men and the efficient Register of Wills of Easton, is a native of Northampton County, and was born in Moore Township April 2, 1841.  His parents, Matthias and Sarah (Welty) Hoch, were also natives of Northampton County, but were born in Bushkill Township.  The ancestors of our subject were originally from Holland, but for several generations have resided in Pennsylvania, having emigrated to America and settled in this county in an early day.  Jacob Hoch, the grandfather, who was a weaver by trade, died at the advanced age of ninety-three, and is buried in Moorestown churchyard.  Eight children clustered around his family hearthstone, but only one survives — Simon, a resident of Somerset County, Ohio, who is eighty-seven years of age at the present time.  Grandfather Hoch was a Democrat in politics, and an ardent supporter of the principles of his party.  He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and an active worker in the same.

The father of our subject was a weaver and farmer by occupation, and was a very successful business man.  In his political views he was a Democrat, and kept well posted on all questions of the day.  Religiously he was a member of the Lutheran Church, and gave liberally to the support of the Gospel.  His family consisted of six children: Stephen; Charles; George M., our subject; Elizabeth, wife of Reuben Miller; Mary, deceased; and Louisa, now Mrs. Edwin Kuntz.  The father departed this life April 11, 1863, and the mother in December, 1885.

George M. Hoch was reared on his fathers farm in Moore Township, Northampton County, and attended the public schools of his locality.  When about fifteen years of age he engaged as a clerk in dry-goods stores in Carbon and Northampton Counties, where he remained five years, and by his pleasant manners and willingness to wait on customers gained for himself many warm friends and the respect and confidence of his employers.   In 1862 Mr. Hoch responded to his countrys call for volunteers, and, September 16, enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Fifty-third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, commanded by Col. Charles Glantz.  During his term of service he took an active part in a number of engagements, the principal ones being those of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.  He was First Sergeant of his company, and as such performed his duties as a brave officer and true soldier.  He was honorably discharged July 24, 1863.

After Mr. Hoch returned from the war he followed farming and surveying and a number of other vocations for a time, filling many offices of trust in his township, and in 1890 was elected Register of Wills for Northampton County.  He was re-elected in 1893, and is at present attending to the duties of that office to the satisfaction of all.   Our subject is actively interested in politics and is a warm advocate of the principles of the Democratic party.  He takes an intelligent interest in the civil and industrial problems, and is well posted on all political questions of the day.  Socially he is a member of the Knights of Malta, the Grand Army of the Republic, and the I. O. A. M.

In July, 1865, George M. Hoch and Catherine Snyder were united in marriage.   Her parents, John and Diana Snyder, are natives of this county, and reside in Bushkill Township.  Five sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hock, all of whom are living: Willis E., a teller in the First National Bank of South Bethlehem, PA.: Charles E., teller of the Easton Trust Company; Thomas M., a painter and paper-hanger by occupation; Harry F., Deputy Register; and George W., a student in the schools of Easton.  This family is highly esteemed in the community in which they live, and their social standing is among the best families of Easton and vicinity.