Joseph Heinrich Horoch, my second great-grandfather, was
born in Altenhundem, Westfalen on 3 February 1804 to Johann Horoch and Anna
Gertrud Sommer.[1] He
was the middle child of five.
As was typical of Catholics in Germany at this time, he was
baptized the next day, February 3, at the church in Kirchhundem. His godparents
were Joseph Sommer of Kirchhundem and Anna Margarete Horoch of Meggen.[2]
Kirchhundem and Altenhundem are located in the current state
of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
These communities are still very small. They are situated in narrow valleys
with steep hillsides. The nearest large city is Cologne, some hundred miles to
the west.
 |
| Altenhunden is in the top image and Kirchhundem the bottom, they were very close to each other, along with Meggen |
Joseph’s father was a tailor (“Schneider” in German), as was
Joseph, and later, his son. Johan Anton Hork (our great-grandfather, who came
to America). It was common to learn the trade of your father.
Joseph married Maria Catharina Trösster in Oberhundem on 2
August 1835. He was thirty years old and she was twenty-one. They had ten children, but known children
lived to adulthood. Three known children emigrated to the United States: Johan
Anton, Rev Johan Albert, and Maria Clementina.
In October 1857, two young children and Joseph succumbed to
dysentery within days of each other.[3]
What sadness that must have been for Maria Catharina to lose two children and
her husband within days of each other.
Unfortunately at this time, all I know about the family is
through the religious sacramental records that are microfilmed and can be
viewed at the Family History Library. Someday, I’d like to visit the towns and
see what else I can find.
A view of Kirchhundem/Oberhundem today:
By the 1870s, the name Horoch had changed to Hork as we know of it today.
[1] Katholische Kirche Kirchhundem (Kr.
Olpe) (Kirchhundem, Westfalen, Germany), Taufen 1779-1808, p. 210, 1804, 3 Feb,
Josepbus Henricus (Joseph Heinrich) Horoch; FHL film 1257833.
[2]
Ibid.
[3] Katholische Kirche Oberhundem (Kr.
Olpe) (Oberhundem, Westfalen, Germany), "Toten 1848-1878," Joseph
Heinrich Horoch, 1847, p 33; FHL microfilm 1,257,843, item 3. See
also p. 33, Joseph Carl Horoch. See also
p. 33, Maria Elisabeth Horoch.
Copyright © 2019 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.
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