Born in Mount Carmel, Pa. in 1902 to parents George Hook and Mary (Paholsky) Hook. George, his father, was born in 1858 and Mary, his mother, in 1863. Both parents imigrated to the United States from Ruthenia in 1885. George became a citizen in 1894.

His mother gave birth to six children. The direct descendants are:

Mary       ??/??/1886 - ??/??/1969
Anna       ??/??/1891 - ??/??/1986
Michael    ??/??/1889 - ??/??/1924
John       ??/??/1893 - ??/??/1893
George     ??/??/1899 - ??/??/1974
Edward     ??/??/1902 - ??/??/1948
       

Edward's father worked as a coal miner until he lost is right arm, and nearly his life, in a mining accident. His father then owned and operatated a barroom on the first floor of their home on the corner of 6th and Walnut Streets in Mount Carmel, Pa. It is assumed that the barroom was in operation until the prohibition era, at which time it was converted into a grocery store.

After his marriage to Cecelia Strike, and then his father's death, Edward bought the family home from his siblings and continued the operations of the grocery store for the remainder of his life. Perhaps he was motivated by the strains of providing for six children for he also established a rather successful catering business. Apparently sustaining those two businesses did not deplete all his energies since he entered local politics and eventually succeeded in being elected to the office of Justice of the Peace. During World War II he administered government food rationing stamps for his area and was also an Air Raid Warden during periodic "Blackouts". Both his age and the number of children in the family prevented him from being drafted into the army.

He was just hitting his stride when, in 1948, his life was suddenly snuffed out in a tragic accident.

There are no photographs of Edward's early years and little information on how he spent his youth. Edward's relatively early death at a time when his children were not old enough to have delevoped an interest in family history, prevented the normal interactions that would otherwise have taken place. His siblings left the Mount Carmel area and they were not inclined to keep in touch. So, the exchange of family information, both physical and oral, was regretfully, infrequent at best. Edward's sister Anna produced a hand written document that provides important insights into Hook family history. It is hoped that this web site will serve as a catalyst for uncovering more information such as that provided by Anna.