Walter O. Hoffecker
Encyclopedia
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.
at Bethlehem
, Pennsylvania, where he studied civil engineering.
In a special election on November 6, 1900 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his father, U.S. Representative John H. Hoffecker, Walter Hoffecker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Democrat Edward Fowler. He served in the Republican majority during the last session of the 56th Congress. He did not seek reelection to a full term and so served only from November 6, 1900 until March 4, 1901, during the administration of U.S. President William McKinley. Several years later, in 1908, Hoffecker was a delegate to the Republican National Convention
.
{|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
|-
|U.S. Representative
|Legislature
|Washington
|November 6, 1900
|March 3, 1901
|
{|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
|U.S. House
|Republican
|William McKinley
|
|at-large
{|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
| %
|-
|1900
|U.S. Representative
|
| |Walter O. Hoffecker
| |Republican
| |22,381
| |54%
|
| |Edward Fowler
| |Democratic
| |18,712
| |45%
Early life and family
Hoffecker was born in Smyrna, Delaware. He graduated from Smyrna Seminary in 1872 and in September 1873 entered Lehigh UniversityLehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
at Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
, Pennsylvania, where he studied civil engineering.
Professional career
Hoffecker was engaged in a variety of business ventures in the Smyrna area including farming, insurance, banking and canning. As a professional engineer, with interest and expertise in transportation issues, he succeeded his father, as President of the Philadelphia & Smyrna Transportation Co. He was also a Director of the Delaware Railroad, and a member of the original State highway commission in 1917. Hoffecker’s banking interest was the Fruit Growers Bank and Trust of Smyrna, of which he was President for thirty-two years.In a special election on November 6, 1900 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his father, U.S. Representative John H. Hoffecker, Walter Hoffecker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Democrat Edward Fowler. He served in the Republican majority during the last session of the 56th Congress. He did not seek reelection to a full term and so served only from November 6, 1900 until March 4, 1901, during the administration of U.S. President William McKinley. Several years later, in 1908, Hoffecker 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...
.
Almanac
Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. U.S. Representatives took office March 4th and have a two year term. In this case he was completing the existing term, the vacancy caused by the death of his father, John H. Hoffecker.{|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
|-
|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
|November 6, 1900
|March 3, 1901
|
{|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
| %
|-
|1900
|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...
|
| |Walter O. 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...
| |22,381
| |54%
|
| |Edward Fowler
| |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...
| |18,712
| |45%
Places with more information
- Delaware Historical SocietyDelaware Historical SocietyThe 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 DelawareUniversity of DelawareThe 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