George Hook:1969, Cincinnati
George Hook was 74 when he was beaten and robbed of $22 dollars outside his apartment building on Sunday, February 2nd of 1969.
In the days before direct deposit it was sadly very common for older retired people to be targeted in this way. When direct deposit came about in the mid to late 1970’s it was marketed as a way to prevent this. Elderly people were urged to sign up for direct deposit to ensure that the social security that they earned through a lifetime of hard work would not be stolen in check form from their mailbox or stolen from them after they cashed it.
A week later, on Sunday February 9th, George Hook was again beaten, this time to death in his apartment at 1725 Republic Street. Was this done in retaliation because he had called the police to report the earlier robbery?
I imagine that whoever robbed him was possibly from the neighborhood and targeted Mr. Hook for robbery. Perhaps that person did not want to get arrested for the robbery and murdered Mr. Hook to silence him? That seems very simplistic but murders can be just that simple sometimes.
Did the original robber/robbers come back to try to steal more?
After being beaten and robbed 7 days before; wouldn’t Mr. Hook be reluctant to open the door to a stranger? Who would have looked like a safe person to open up for? Was he tricked into opening the door? I didn’t find any mention of forced entry into the apartment.
The building that occupies that address now might not be the original apartment building. It looks more like a small factory or other industrial building.
I was curious whether $22 was Mr. Hook’s entire benefit check for the month. In 1969, the average monthly Social Security check was one hundred dollars and forty cents. Perhaps Mr. Hook had hidden some of the money on his person or had already paid some bills the day before on Saturday. We don’t know.
George Hook was born in 1895. He was in that generation that registered for the draft in both W.W.I and W.W.II. On his First World War draft card he was 22 and his widowed mother was listed as his dependent. Not the other way around. Women were expected to stay home and keep house. There was no alternative except for the poorest of the poor. His occupation then was “shoemaker”.
He worked,at age 22, at the Duttenhofer Shoe Company at 714 Sycamore in Cincinnati. (I love that he was a shoemaker and a craftsman.) A very sleek and modern building stands there now.
He signed his own name on his draft cards and his handwriting looks very nice. He likely went to school in his childhood and did well enough.
Several census documents mention him and his parents and siblings. In 1900, George was five. His older siblings were “At School” for their occupation. But, George was not yet “At School” at 5 years old. His 14 year old brother, Frank, the oldest of the kids, was working as a “tele. delivery”. Was he a messenger who delivered telegrams? It seems so. Both Parents were alive in 1900 George Sr. worked as a laborer. Mily Anna was a housewife.
In the 1910 census the family is still together. In 1917 on George’s W.W.I draft card his mother is listed as his dependent. So, his father had died. In 1920, George was living with his sister and her husband. His mother must’ve died between 1917 and 1920. His parents were born in 1857. If they had both lived into 1920 they would’ve been 63.
It is unlikely that anyone could solve George’s murder. But, perhaps? Anything is possible.
Rest in Peace George Hook.
https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Law-Enforcement/Investigator/Cold-Case/Homicides/Hook
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