The Acker Storyby Robert F. Delaney June 2009 My search for our Acker roots began in 1999 when my father, Franklyn Lowery Delaney, gave me a copy of a typewritten list of Acker family members that had been prepared by his mother's uncle, Joseph Bernard Acker. It's a typewritten document dated March 28, 1934. For many years I had heard reference to, and stories about, "Uncle Joe," "Uncle Ben," "Uncle Charles," "Aunt Lillian" (or "Lil Lil"), as well as others in my father's Acker heritage. They were, in fact, actually the uncles and aunts of his mother, Edwina Acker (Lowery) Delaney. Seeing that list prepared by Joe Acker in 1934 stimulated my interest in our family history and was immensely helpful in the initial stages of my search for information about the Acker line. Whether Joseph Acker was an amateur genealogist or was simply recording his personal recollections, and those of other family members, may never be known. He appears to have worked on this project over a number of years and several of his lists have survived. Fortunately for us, he recorded not just names but also birth dates and in a few instances collateral information. I have spent the past several years documenting the Acker line and Joe Acker's notes have proven to be amazingly accurate. Thus, the information that he noted likely came from his own knowledge as well as that of family members who were still alive at the time that he was recording the information, and perhaps he even drew upon family documents to which he had access. Very few family papers related to the Ackers have survived and been passed down to the current generation, except for Joe's notes. Fortunately, however, some of the Acker family pictures did survive. Although I have spent a considerable amount of time attempting to discover the origins of our Acker line in the United States, I've been largely unsuccessful. Thus, for the time being, the story begins in New Jersey with my great-great-grandparents, Abraham and Sarah Acker. For readers who do not wish to pursue the story in a linear manner, the table below may be utilized in order to jump to a particular individual or to that individual's family members.
Index to Acker Families & Allied Lines Marriage of female members of an Acker-surnamed family results, of course, in a branching and continuation of the Acker lineage through the allied surnames. Readers interested pursuing the Acker lineage through the allied lines can do so via the links in the "Allied Line" column or the "Children" column of this table. Allied surname stories and information can also be reached from the Surnames Index. Unless research produces evidence of a male child of Milo P. Acker, it would appear that the Acker surname for descendents of Abraham and Sarah Acker dies out at the 4th generation with Gladys Olive Acker, Grace Vera Acker and Mary Ellen Acker. Therefore, one needs to delve into the histories of the various allied lines in order to obtain the full picture of the Acker family tree that began with the marriage of Abraham and Sarah.
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