John Henry Hoffecker was an American engineer, and politician, from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware.

Early life and family

Hoffecker was born in Kent County, near Smyrna, Delaware, the son of Joseph and Rachel Van Gasken Hoffecker. He studied civil engineering and entered into that profession in 1853. He married twice, first to Annie E. Appleton, with whom he had four children, Walter

Walter O. Hoffecker

Walter Oakley Hoffecker was an American engineer, businessman and politician, from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware....

, John A., James Edwin, and Annie. He married secondly, Charlotte Jerman, the widow of Joseph H. Hoffecker. She had been a missionary in China from 1875 to 1878.

Political career

Hoffecker was originally a member of the Whig Party, but like so many others, became a Republican in 1856. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention

Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...

 in 1876 and 1884. He was also president of the Smyrna town council from 1878 until 1898. Elected to the State House in 1888, he served in the 1889/90 session and was chosen to be the Speaker. He ran for Governor in 1896 as the candidate of the Union (Addicks

J. Edward Addicks

John Edward Charles O'Sullivan Addicks was an industrialist and capitalist who used his wealth from financing and building gas works to wage four unsuccessful campaigns for a United States Senate seat in Delaware. His struggle with Henry A...

) Republicans and the National Prohibition Party

Prohibition Party

The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...

. However, enough votes went to the Regular Republican candidate, John C. Higgins

John C. Higgins

John C. Higgins was an American screenwriter. During the 1930s and early 1940s, the Winnipeg, Canada-born scribe worked on mostly complex murder mystery films including the James Stewart film Murder Man...

, that the Democrat, Ebe W. Tunnell

Ebe W. Tunnell

Ebe Walter Tunnell was an American merchant and politician from Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....

 was elected.

Hoffecker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1898, defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative L. Irving Handy. He served in the Republican majority in the 56th Congress. During a visit home from the 1900 Republican National Convention

Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...

 in Philadelphia, Hoffecker suffered a stroke and died. He had served from March 4, 1899 until his death on June 16, 1900, during the administration of U.S. President William McKinley.

Death and legacy

Hoffecker died at Smyrna and is buried there in the Glenwood Cemetery. His son, Walter O. Hoffecker, was elected to finish his term in the United States House of Representatives.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. Members of the Delaware General Assembly take office the second Tuesday of January. The State House members have a two year term. U.S. Representatives took office March 4th and also have a two year term.



{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|State Representative

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

|January 10, 1889
|January 10, 1891
|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

|-
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

|March 4, 1899
|June 16, 1900
|died in office


{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1899–1901
|56th

56th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

|William McKinley

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

|
|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
| Year
| Office
|
| Subject
| Party
| Votes
| %
|
| Opponent
| Party
| Votes
| %
|-
|1886
|Governor
|
| |John H. Hoffecker
| |Temperance
| |7,835
| |36%
|
| |Benjamin T. Biggs

Benjamin T. Biggs

Benjamin Thomas Biggs was an American farmer and politician from Middletown, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the Mexican-American War and a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U.S...

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| |13,942
| |64%
|-
|1896
|Governor
|
| |John H.. Hoffecker
| |Union Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

| |11,014
| |31%
|
| |Ebe W. Tunnell

Ebe W. Tunnell

Ebe Walter Tunnell was an American merchant and politician from Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....

John C. Higgins

John C. Higgins

John C. Higgins was an American screenwriter. During the 1930s and early 1940s, the Winnipeg, Canada-born scribe worked on mostly complex murder mystery films including the James Stewart film Murder Man...

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 
Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

| |15,507
7,154
| |44%
20%
|-
|1898

United States House election, 1898

The U.S. House election, 1898 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1898 which occurred in the middle of President William McKinley's first term....

|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

|
| |John H. Hoffecker
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

| |17,566
| |54%
|
| |L. Irving Handy

L. Irving Handy

Levin Irving Handy was an American educator, lawyer and politician, from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware. He was known by his middle name.-Early life and family:Handy was born in Berlin, Maryland,...

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| |15,053
| |46%

External links

• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• Delaware's Member of Congress
• Find a Grave
• The Political Graveyard

Places with information

• Delaware Historical Society
  Delaware Historical Society
  The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...
  
  ; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
• University of Delaware
  University of Delaware
  The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
  
  ; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
• Newark Free Library; 750 Library Ave., Newark, Delaware; (302) 731-7550.