William Jones Bockus (1861 - 1948)

Born Oct 1861 in Canada West

Ancestors

Husband of Luella (Whiteman) Bockus — married 25 Nov 1885 in Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle, Delaware, USA

Descendants

Died 15 Sep 1948 at age 86 in Goshenville, East Goshen Township, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

William Jones Bockus was born in October 1861 at his parents' home in Ontario ("Canada West"), then still a British colony. His mother was Edith Jones, 1832-1907, born in Delaware, USA. His father was John A. Bockus, 1829-1863, the Canadian-born son of an American-born United Empire Loyalist, Joseph Bockus, who had fled to Canada after the American Revolution. William was their 2nd child; he had an older sister: Mary Emma Bockus, born 1 November 1859 in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The family had moved to Canada with the outbreak of the US Civil War. William's father, John A. Bockus, died in Ontario, Canada on 19 July 1863. His widow, Edith (Jones) Bockus, then returned to her native Delaware with her 2 young children. In 1866, in New Castle County, Delaware, USA, she married Stephen Davis, a widower also with 2 young children. They settled in Wilmington, New Castle Co., Delaware. Stephen was a House Carpenter and William Jones Bockus also became a House Carpenter, not a Farmer.^[1]

On the 1870 US Census, as "William Backus" [sic=Bockus], he was recorded as 8 years old, born in Canada "of American parents," now living with his remarried mother, Edith Davis in his step-father: Stephen Davis' household. His 10-year-old sister, "Mary E. Backus" [sic], was also living with them. The 1870 Davis household also included 4 of Stephen Davis' children (by his 1st marriage), ranging in age from 17 to 7 years old, plus 2 young children by Edith & Stephen Davis together, so half-siblings to William J. & Mary E. Bockus: "Lawrence" [sic=Florence] Davis, age 2, & Edith Davis, 1 year old, both born in Delaware. Stephen Davis, age 41, born in Maryland, was a "House Carpenter". The family was living in a rented house in Wilmington Sub-Div 28, New Castle, Delaware, USA. ^[2]

William J. Bockus married Miss Luella Whiteman (1863-1924) on 25 November 1885 in Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, USA. ^[3]

Luella and William J. Bockus first settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then they moved to Newark, New Castle Co., Delaware around 1893. They had 3 children:

1. Blanche Bockus, 1889–1966; b: Pennsylvania
2. William Roland Bockus, 1891–1992; b: Pennsylvania
3. Henry Leroy Bockus, MD, 1894–1982; b: Delaware

On the 1 June 1900 US Census, Luella W. Bockus was recorded as 37 years old, born in Delaware, married to William J. Bockus, 39, a [House] Carpenter, "born in "Canada of American Parents;" living with him in a rented house on Main Street, Newark, ED 65, White Clay Creek Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, USA. They had 3 small children: Blanche, age 11; William R., age 9; and Henry L. Bockus, 6 years old. The Census also recorded that the couple had been married for 15 years and that Luella had had 3 children, all of whom were still living (with them) on 1 June 1900. The Census further stated that William J. Bockus had emigrated to the USA in 1863 and that he had been living in the USA for 37 years. ^[4]

On 5 July 1909, in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, Luella's older son, William R. Bockus, 21, married Eleanor Rose McCann, 20 years old. She was the daughter of Edward McCann and Annie (Lambert) McCann. ^[5]

Before 1910 William and Luella Bockus moved their family from Delaware back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were recorded there (Surname misspelled as "Buckus") on the 15 April 1910 US Census living in a rented house on 42nd Street, Philadelphia Ward 24, ED 526, Pennsylvania, USA, as follows: ^[6]

Name	Sex	Age	Infos	Birth
William J Buckus	M	48	Insurance Supt.	Canada
Lucella W Buckus	F	47	Wife	Delaware
Blanche Buckus	F	20	Dgr. - Engraver	Pennsylvania
William R Buckus	M	19	Son - None	Pennsylvania
Henry L Buckus	M	16	Son - At School	Delaware
Calvin Whiteman	M	46	In-Law - Insurance	Delaware

On 30 August 1915 in Delaware County (suburban Philadelphia) their daughter, Blanche Bockus, married Carl H. Bischoff. ^[7]

Carl must have been sent overseas during WW I, as "Blanche Bischoff" was again living with her parents (still "Married"), as was their son William R. Bockus, who was a Widower. The 1 January 1920 US Census recorded the family, including their 3 children (Surname again was misspelled = Backus), as living in a rented house on Hazel Avenue, Philadelphia Ward 46, ED 1737, Pennsylvania. ^[8]

Name	Sex	Age	Infos	Birth
William Backus	M	58	Insurance Mgr	Delaware [sic]
Luella W Backus	F	56	Wife	Delaware
Blanche Bischoff	F	30	Nurse	Pennsylvania
William R Backus	M	28	Photographer	Pennsylvania
Henry L Backus	M	25	Son - M.D. Surgeon	Delaware

Louella (Whiteman) Bockus passed away on 23 June 1924 at Landsdowne, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA. She was 60 years old. She was buried at Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA; Section: Avon.^[9]

Her husband, William Jones Bockus, survived her passing for another 24 years; so far as is known, he did not remarry and continued to live in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died on 15 September 1948 at 84 years old in Goshenville, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and was buried next to his late wife in the Avon Section, Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA. They share a common gravestone with their daughter Blanche and a grand-daughter, Luella Mowrey.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Details for William Jones Bockus on FamilySearch; cites 12 sources
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4BR-WWS : 28 May 2021), William Backus in entry for Stephan Davis, 1870.
3. ↑ "Delaware Vital Records, 1650-1974," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQJ-FDB5 : 16 April 2022), Luella Whiteman in entry for William J Bockus, 25 Nov 1885; citing Marriage, United States, Delaware Public Archives, Dover; FHL microfilm .
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M315-Y14 : 9 March 2022), Luella W Bockus in entry for William J Bockus, 1900.
5. ↑ "Delaware, Wilmington Vital Records, 1847-1954", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28Y-DPC4 : 25 April 2022), Wm Roland Backus and Eleanor Rose McCann, 1909.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGCX-QW8 : accessed 11 January 2023), Lucella W Buckus in household of William J Buckus, Philadelphia Ward 24, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 526, sheet 10B, family 212, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1398; FHL microfilm 1,375,411.
7. ↑ "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHNC-6L8 : 5 August 2020), Luella W Whiteman in entry for Carl H Bischoff and Blanche Bockus, 30 Aug 1915; citing Marriage, Delaware, Pennsylvania, United States, multiple County Clerks, Pennsylvania.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXMY-2DN : 3 February 2021), Luella W Backus in entry for William Backus, 1920
9. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69508365/luella-bockus
10. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69506336/william-jones-bockus NOTE: Has photo of gravestone with names, dates.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69506336/william-jones-bockus: accessed 12 January 2023), memorial page for William Jones Bockus (Oct 1861–15 Sep 1948), Find A Grave: Memorial #69506336, citing Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by T&C Lloyd (contributor 47320243).