Fred J. Hockett

Birth: He was born around 1861 in New York.    

Family Information:  

Description: He was remembered as a good co-operator and brother in the work.  

Pre-Colony History: In 1920 he was living in Oklahoma with his second wife and several children. Arrived alone in the colony in January 1929, it was reported from California, and started right to work.  

Home in Colony: Listed as a lodger with the Charles Kimball family on the 1930 US Census.  

Job in Colony: He worked as a carpenter in the colony. In 1929, among other jobs, he added an additional room on the old Phillips house; worked on the new steam laundry building; helped Ole build a "winch" near the cut-off saw, to be used to move the heavy slabs of wood; helped Comrade Thomas build a counter for a Leesville merchant; helped Cleve Campbell rebuild the laundry washing machine; Helped Taylor level up and put solid foundations under all the best colony houses so they would last until new homes could be provided for everyone; did some carpentry work on the ice saw and worked with Cleve Campbell to put some truck beds on outside autos and repair a wrecked sedan for a neighbor -- the building of automobile bodies was especially active at that time.

In 1930 he continued to do many carpentry jobs and often helped out at the planing mill and in the lumber sheds. In 1931 he was still at work -- in March he was among a group of volunteers that went to Cravens and worked all day gathering more than $200 worth of brick from the abandoned sawmill town; in July he was working on a water tank and pumping station at the big poultry laying plant even though he was suffering from a bad leg at the time.  

Other Info: On August 1, 1931 he was brought in from the Graves ranch and placed in the health home for a few days recuperation. It was reported that the hot sun had reduced his resistance and he had decided to lay up for a short time. He died later that month. 

Post-Colony History:  

Death: He died in August 1931 at the age of 71 after long-standing and chronic disease.  

Sources: Family Source: Joyce Hockett Hoffman;US Census: 1920, 1930; Llano Colonist: January 26, 1929, February 9, 1929, February 23, 1929, March 9, 1929, March 16, 1929, March 23, 1929, March 30, 1929, April 13, 1929, April 20, 1929, April 27, 1929, June 1, 1929, June 8, 1929, June 15, 1929, June 22, 1929, July 13, 1929, August 3, 1929, August 24, 1929, August 31, 1929 September 7, 1929, September 21, 1929, September 28, 1929, October 55, 1929, October 12, 1929, October 19, 1929, November 2, 1929, November 9, 1929 November 16, 1929, November 23, 1929, November 30, 1929, December 7, 1929, January 25, 1930, February 15, 1930, March 8, 1930, March 15, 1930, May 17, 1930, May 24, 1930, June 7, 1930, October 11, 1930, October 25, 1930, March 7, 1931, March 28, 1931, July 18, 1931, August 1, 1931, August 29, 1931; Louisiana Statewide Death Index