This is a continuation of my history of the ownership of the Rittenhouse Tavern. The previous article covered the period of time when members of the Rittenhouse family owned the tavern. The following article looks at the subsequent history, starting with James Wolverton and Mary Ann Sergeant in 1843, George Hoppock and Jane Elizabeth Wolverton in 1868 and Lambert B. Mathews and Lizzie Nixon in 1910, and ending with Frank W. Reading and Charlotte Venable in 1922.
Hoppock
Originally the name of this German immigrant family was spelled Happaugh or Hausbach. Johann George Hoppock and wife Anna Magdalena settled in Lebanon Township around 1730.
The Hoppock Family Tree
Johann George Hoppough and wife Anna Magdalena came from Seelbach, Germany to Hunterdon County with their six children. They settled in Lebanon Township and worshipped at the Readington Reformed Church. In 1745, “Jurey Happach” became a naturalized New Jersey citizen. The best source for information on this immigrant family is More Palatine Families by Henry Z. Jones.
Like many other family names, this one was spelled in a variety of ways: Habbaugh, Hausbach, Hopbach, Hobbach, Hoppaugh are just a few.
An Old Account Book
I am publishing this article now because it ties in with the other articles I have recently written about residents of or near the village of Sandbrook in Delaware Township. This is one of Mr. Bush’s articles that could be taken as an historical document in itself, because it includes the contents of two old records—an account book from the 1830s and an old family bible.