52 Ancestors, Week 12: Vincent Sievert (1823-1890)

This is week 12 of the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge” by Amy Crow from No Story Too Small.  I am a bit behind but intend to catch up.

I am writing about my great-great grandfather, Vincent Sievert. I have no photo of Vincent, so do not know what he looked like, but I have photos of his daughter, Julia, who was my great-grandmother.

Vincent was one of my German immigrant ancestors. He was born in Schneidemühl, Kolmar county in the Provence of Posen, which is now in Poland, to Christoph Siewert and Anna Marianna Ewald.[1]  It is thought that Vincent was born on 23 Jan 1823 because his obituary stated he died on his 67th birthday.[2]

He married Susanna Raduntz in Posen and they came together to America, arriving on 23 Jun 1852 aboard the Johanna Elise with one child, a 6 month old boy, named August.[3] 

Vincent Sievert, wife, susanna, and son, August
aboard the Johanna Elise, arriving in NY, 23 Jun 1852

Vincent wasn’t the only one in his family to come to America. He had one brother, John, and two sisters, Eva and Henrietta, as well as one of his wife’s sisters, Wilhelmine, who all arrived on the Bark Elida on 22 May 1854.[4] So Vincent must have arrived first and then sent word back home for the rest of the family to come.

Records were found for Vincent and his family in 1859 and 1860.[5] He was living in Joliet, Will County, Illinois. The directory stated he was a laborer, while the census record stated he was a farmer. His brother, John, lived next door.

Vincent and Susanna had 11 children that I have found:

• August, born 2 Oct 1851
• Julia Ann, born 31 Oct 1854
• Peter, born 29 Jun 1857
• John, born 23 Aug 1858
• Maria, born 1 Apr 1861
• Susanna Julia, born 20 Sep 1863
• Teresa, born 23 Mar 1866
• Elizabeth, born Sep 1869
• Josephine, born 16 Oct 1871
• Catharine, born 9 Jul 1875
• Ida Elizabeth, born 21 Jan 1878

Eight of these children lived to adulthood. John, the only son who lived, did not marry, so the Sievert name did not carry on from this line.

The 1870 census listed Vincent as a stone mason.[6] This occupation continued with the 1872, 1875, and 1877 Joliet city directories and the 1880 census.[7] After that time, he was found in city directories as a farmer and then as a laborer.[8] He was also listed as a stone mason on several of his children's delayed birth certificates, so this was the occupation known to his children.

Here is an example of a quarry where he might have
worked. From Will County 1873 Vol 1, Thompson Bro's & Burr, 1873.

According to census records, Vincent stated he was a citizen but I have not yet found his naturalization records. The family lived on North Hickory Street in Joliet and Vincent's son, John, continued living there after the death of his parents.

What is known about the family was they were Roman Catholic and were members of the St. John the Baptist German Church.  Eleven children were born to Vincent and Susanna in Joliet and were baptized at the church. This church has the original records and it was from the marriage record of their daughter, Julia to John Anton Hork in 1872 that gave me the town where they had come from![9]

I wondered about whether Vincent and Susanna spoke German or English. The church wrote records in German and had German Masses up to the beginning of the World War I. The 1870 census had Vincent not being able to write.[10] This was not checked on the 1880 census, though there were none checked on the whole page.[11] Perhaps the census taker didn’t ask the question. The 1900 census record for his wife, Susanna, did state that she could speak English but could not read or write.[12]

Most of the family is also buried in the St. John’s Cemetery.  Vincent died 23 Jan 1890 and he was buried two days later.[13] According to the official death certificate he died of senility and gangrene.[14]  It also confirmed the occupation of stone mason.

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[1] I do not have sources for the information in Posen. A cousin had a person research for him in German records but he only received the data but not the source of the information.

[2] I don’t have a copy of this obituary either, and plan to search for it. The same cousin told me about it.

[3] "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1957" National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, Record Group 36. Online images. (Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com), Johanna Elise, 23 Jun 1852, p 2, Winzent Sivert.

[4] "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1957" National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, Record Group 36. Online images. (Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com), Bark Elida, p 5, 1854.

[5] John C.W. Bailey, Will County Directory for 1859-60 (Willaim S. Sand, printer 1859), pg 55, Vincent Seever. 1860 Will Co, Illinois, pop sched, digital image, Ancestry, (ancestry.com), NARA microfilm publication M653, Joliet, pg 377, p 612 (penned), household 2791/2721, Vincent Sever.

[6] 1870 Will Co, IL census, digital image, Ancestry, (http://www.ancestry.com), Joliet 2nd ward, pg 19, p 211 (stamped), 133/159, Vincent Seivert.

[7] For the directories: W.F. Curtis & Co's, Joliet City Directory, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), 1872, p 91, Vincent Seavert; Western Publishing Co, Holland's Joliet City Directory, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), 1875, p 100, Vicent Seavert; 1877, p 176, Vincent Seavert; and for census: 1880 Will County, Illinois U.S. Census, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), ED 202, p 20d, Vincenes Zepert.

[8] W.F. Curtis & Co's, Joliet City Directory, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), 1884, p 198, Vincent Seivert; 1885, p 234, Vincenz, lab., res 1142 N. Hickory; 1887, p 299, Vincentz Sievert.

[9] St. John's Catholic Church, Marriage (Church) Record of Anton Hork & Julia Sievert, Joliet, Illinois, Marriages, p 13, Hork-Sievert. The church is located at 404 North Hickory Street, Joliet, IL 60435.

[10] 1870 Will Co, IL census, Joliet 2nd ward, pg 19, 133/159, Vincent Seivert.

[11] 1880 Will County, Illinois, Joliet, ED 202, p 20d, Vincenes Zepert.

[12] 1900 Will Co, IL census, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), ED 122, sht 2a, p 79 (stamped), fam 21, Susana Sivert.

[13] St. John's Catholic Church, Death Record (Church) of Vincent Sievert, pg 32. The record was about the funeral but does not state the cemetery name.  See also: Find A Grave," database and digital images, Find A Grave  (http://www.findagrave.com), Memorial# 82120618, St Johns Cemetery, Joliet IL - Vincent Seavert.

[14] County Clerk's Office, Joliet, Will Co, Illinois, death certificate, V. Seavent, death certificate 3419 (1890).

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