The Family of John Jacob Hacker

Benjamin was the fourth child born to Johann Hacker and his first wife, Elizabeth Lueth. So much of Ben's life is a mystery to those researching him. Our main brickwall is that his name keeps changing. Documents that I have found, show him listed as Benjamin, Bernhard and Bernard. I know he was born in Buffalo, Erie Co., New York in 1863. He was about age 2 when his family moved to Detroit, Michigan. Ben would spend the rest of his life living in the Detroit and Toledo, Ohio regions as that is where both parts of his family settled. He appears to have followed his father's footsteps in his trade as a Cooper but that wasn't the only similarity Ben would share with his father. Ben died from Tuberculosis in Toledo, Lucas Co., Ohio on 20 May 1908, exactly 10 years to the day that his father would die in 1918.

Ben was mentioned in his brother John's diaries numerous times, however in the copies of the pages that I have received, John never mentioned Ben having a wife. He always spoke of Ben as if he was living nearby in Detroit, not in Toledo. John mentioned his other brothers' wives at family gatherings, but never Ben's. Based on these diary pages, I had assumed Ben was never married but recently I found out that may not be the case.

A family group sheet in the possession of Carolyn Hall (a descendant of Ben's brother John) lists Ben's wife as "Minne / Minna Gillzeissce" (sic). I did some checking on a "Min* Hacker" in Toledo and came up with a possible family of Ben's. The reason I say "possible" is because Ben is never listed in their household on the census pages and the children state that their father was born in Ohio. What makes me believe that this is Ben's family is because there are indications that it could be:

1. Ben was in Detroit without his wife and at the same time, Minnie was always in Toledo without her husband.

2: On her 1900 census page, Minnie states she is "married" (there is no spouse in the household) but on her 1910 census she is a widow (Ben died in 1908).

3: Also on the 1900 census, Minnie states she is born in Ohio. Her children all show "New York" for their MOTHER'S birthplace. Could this have been meant for their father? Ben was born in New York. It's a work in progress.

From their census pages, I collected this info on Ben's "possible" family:

Wife: Minnie / Minne / Mina: born 27 Jan 1867 Ohio.
Daughter: Florence Hacker, born 27 Oct 1885 Toledo, Ohio.
Son: Edwin George Hacker, born 11 June 1888 Toledo, Ohio.
Daughter: Gertrude Hacker, born 13 Sep 1889 Toledo, Ohio.

If you have information on the Hacker family shown above and can help us solve this mystery, please contact me! Any information you have may put us on the right track in researching our Benjamin C. Hacker.

Also, I am currently working on a multi-generation migration project and would like to include all descendants of Benjamin's children. If you are a descendant and wish to be included or just want additional information, please contact me by email.