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CHARLES WEST HANCOCK

CHARLES WEST HANCOCK. Among the retired business men who have found congenial homes in Bucks county, though born without her borders, and have become identified with and interested in the affairs of their adopted county and town, is Charles West HANCOCK, of Langhorne, a native of Philadelphia, where he was born June 19, 1835, of distinguished English ancestry.

            John HANCOCK, the paternal ancestor of the subject of this sketch, was a native of London, England, and came to Fenwick’s colony, Salem county, West New Jersey, by way of Maryland, in the “Willing Mind,” arriving in New Jersey 10 mo. 25, 1679, according to an account given by himself and transcribed upon the records of Salem Monthly Meeting of Friends.  His father, William HANCOCK, seems to have preceded him to New Jersey, as one thousand acres were allotted to him  on Alloway’s Creek, and suryeyed (sic) in 1676 by Richard Hancock by order of Fenwick.  John Hancock inherited five hundred acres of this land on the south side of the creek, while his brother, inheriting the personal estate of his father, settled at Elsinboro.  John HANCOCK built in the year 1708 a bridge over Alloway’s Creek that has given the name to the present town of Hancock’s Bridge.  His son William built in 1734 the brick house, now historic as the scene of the massacre of American militia and defenceless (sic) noncombatants by the British soldiers under Colonel MAWHOOD in 1778.  William HANCOCK, then seventy-eight years old, was mortally wounded and died a few days later in the house of his brother-in-law, Joshua Thompson.  Both John and William HANCOCK were prominent in the affairs of the colony and province, the latter being a member of assembly for upwards of twenty years and a justice of the courts of Salem county for a longer period, holding that position at the time of his death.  John HANCOCK married Mary CHAMPNEY, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth.  She was also a native of London, and came to New Jersey with her mother in the ship “Henry” in 1681.  John and Mary (CHAMPNEY) HANCOCK were the parents of ten children; John, William, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Nathaniel, Edward, Joseph, Jonathan and Samuel.  John HANCOCK, Sr., died in the year 1725.

            Samuel HANCOCK married 4 mo. 26, 1727, Rebecca FOGG, and had several children, among them a son Samuel, born 8 mo. 28, 1738, who on arriving at manhood married  Rachel BRADWAY, born 11 mo. 17, 1738.  Samuel HANCOCK, son of Samuel and Rachel, born 3 mo. 25, 1772, was the grandfather of the subject of this sketch.  He married Hannah PANCOAST.

            Joseph Lee HANCOCK, son of Samuel and Hannah (PANCOAST) HANCOCK, was born at Hancock’s Bridge, Salem county, New Jersey, 1 mo. 6, 1806, and died in Philadelphia 6 mo. 5, 1878.  He was a prominent and influential man in Philadelphia, serving a term in the state legislature and filling the office of school director for several years.  He moved to Philadelphia at an early age, and pursued various occupations.  In 1845 he settled in West Philadelphia and became actively identified with its development and growth.  He married in 2 mo., 1832, Susanna Pryor BACON, born in Philadelphia, 2 mo. 22, 1810, died there 3 mo. 19, 1878, daughter of David and Margaret E. (PRYOR) BACON, and granddaughter of Joseph and Sarah (WEST) BACON of Philadelphia.  On the paternal side she was a descendant of an early settler in Salem county, New Jersey, and on the maternal side from early Quaker settlers of Chester county, Pennsylvania, her mother, Margaret Edge PRYOR, being a daughter of Thomas W. and Susanna (EDGE) PRYOR, and granddaughter of Jacob EDGE and Margaret PAUL, and great-granddaughter of Robert, son of John ap THOMAS and Ellen JONES.  Anna BACON, a sister of Mrs. HANCOCK, married Mitchell WATSON, late of Langhorne.  Joseph Lee, and Susanna Pryor (BACON) HANCOCK were the parents of six children: 1. Margaret Bacon, born 9 mo. 16, 1833; married William B. LIVEZEY, January 6, 1876, and died November 13, 1895, without issue.  2. Charles West (the subject), born 6 mo. 19, 1835.  3. George W., born 3 mo. 2, 1837, died March 22, 1903; married Elizabeth JAMES, May 7, 1862; issue, Henry J., born August 18, 1865; Walter W,. born October 21, 1870; George B., born December 17, 1867; Clement who died in infancy.  4. Albert, born 11 mo. 21, 1838, died February 14, 1891; married Josephine KIMES, April 12, 1871; issue, Francis Bacon and Katie K.  5. Franklin died in infancy.  6. Mary Anna, born 10 mo. 14, 1848, died December 20, 1886; married Charles A. DIXON, September 15, 1869; issue, Edward C. and Susannah H.

            Charles West HANCOCK was educated in the schools of Philadelphia, and on February 22, 1852, entered the employ of JENKS & OGDEN, wholesale druggists in Philadelphia, where he proceeded to learn the business.  He also attended the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and graduated there in March of 1857.  On completing his education he went to Trenton, New Jersey, where he passed a year.  Returning to Philadelphia he purchased the drug store of his former preceptor, and in 1861 sold it to advantage.  He then removed to West Philadelphia and built up a large and profitable business in an establishment he continued to rent until 1876.  In that year he purchased a piece of ground and erected thereon a place in which to carry on his business, and a commodious residence.  His business continued to increase with the growth of the section of the city in which he was settled.  He had the entire confidence of his profession and was well known to be accurate and highly educated.  In September, 1895, he retired from active business and moved to Langhorne, Bucks county, where he enjoys the advantage and luxuries incident to the career of a successful business man.  He enjoys also the warm esteem and the highest respect of his fellowtownsmen, (sic) who have testified their appreciation of them by electing him to the town council, the presidency of the board of health, and a number of local offices.

            Dr. Hancock is a distinguished and prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, a member of Newtown Lodge, No. 427; Temple Chapter, No. 248; Philadelphia Commandery, No. 2; and is a thirty-second degree member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.  He is also a member of Hamilton Lodge, No. 596,  and Logan Encampment, No. 83, I. O. O.  F.; of Mantua Council, No. 22, O. U. A. M.; and Mantua Degree Council, of Mohave Tribe. No. 320, I. O. R. M.; Wenona Council, No. 1, Degree of Pocahontas; William Penn Division, No. 143, Sons of Temperance; and is a past grand chaplain of the grand division of the sons of Temperance of Pennsylvania, and also its grand treasurer.  He has been for fifteen years a member of the board of managers of the Odd Fellows’ Home, and was for a time treasurer of the institution.  He is a past officer of all the foregoing organizations except Newtown Lodge, Temple Chapter, Philadelphia Commandery and the Scottish Rite bodies.  He is a life member of the Philadelphia college of Pharmacy, a member of the State Pharmaceutical Association, and a life member of the American Pharmaceutical Association.  Dr. HANCOCK has been an extensive traveler both in Europe and his native country.  In politics he is a Republican. 

Test taken from page 516 to 517 of: 

Davis, William W. H., A.M., History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905] Volume III

Transcribed August 2005 by Joan Lollis  as part of the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project,

Published August 2005 on the Bucks County, Pa., USGenWeb pages