52 Ancestors: Health – Finding Rev. Albert M. Hork’s Death Certificate & a Tip

I am doing one big happy dance today. Besides writing about my find, I want to give a tip on how I finally found a record I had been looking for.

I had been looking for the death record for my great-grandfather’s brother, the Reverend Father Albert M. Hork, for many years. He died in 1912 and I have visited his tombstone at the convent cemetery of the Sisters of St. Mary’s in Beaverton, Oregon.[1] I had searched in various Oregon death indexes online at FamilySearch and Ancestry with no luck.

I really wanted to write more about him because an obituary stated “he had come to Oregon on account of his health,” and “about a year ago his health became so poor that it was necessary for him to retire from active service.”[2]

More information came from the obituary written about him in the diocesan newspaper, Catholic Sentinel. It appeared that he had been of ill health all of his life:

    “He left his native country and entered the Scolasticate of the Jesuit Fathers at Exaeten, Holland, but ill health obliged him to leave.”

    “He was ordained priest on June 7, 1884, at malines, Belgium, for the Diocese of Brooklyn. Owning to the shattered condition of his health, he went to Omaha, Neb., to recuperate and labored for a number of years, with many interruptions, on account of his extreme nervousness.”

   “Most Rev. Archbishop Christie, who is known for his great kindness to the suffering members of his clergy, appointed him pastor of St. Louis, because of its seclusion from the turmoil of the outside world.”

   “He was compelled, because of his increased maladies, to retire to St. Mary’s, Beaverton, where he died on the Feast of the Pentecost, May 26.”[3]

I was hoping the death certificate would give a hint to his poor health. First, though, I needed to find it. His death in 1912 was late enough that there should be a certificate, however, he was not listed in the death index on Ancestry or FamilySearch. I needed another strategy.

I noticed that the “Oregon, U.S., Death Index, 1898-2008” on Ancestry had a place to put in the exact death date. I did that, leaving out a name, but putting in Washington County.

Searched on death date & place only

The only entry for that date in that place was for a John A. Hock. That is certainly not Albert M. Hork, as he was known as a priest. But I have his baptism record from Oberhundem in Westfalen, and his name listed there was Johan Albert. It was too close of a coincidence—I needed to order the certificate copy from the Oregon State Archives. Ten dollars was worth the gamble.

First result was close!

I received the certificate and John A Hock, which could really be Hork, birthday was listed as 10 Aug 1853, his parents listed as Joseph Hock and Mary C Trorster (which is really Trösster), and his occupation was Catholic Priest. This was the death record.[4]

So, what did he die from? Interstitial nephritis, which is a disease of the kidney. His doctor had been attending him for five months.

It’s sad that he suffered from mental illness, but comforting that he was taken care of. For more stories about Father Albert, see here, and here.

So the lesson learned: try leaving out names in search boxes and instead search using other parameters. Searching on his exact death date and place turned up a missed transcribed document.

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[1] I visited the convent in 2010 and photographed the tombstone.

[2] “Veteran Pastor is Dead,” Oregonian, 28 May 1912, p. 14.

[3] “The Late Father Hork,” Catholic Sentinel, 6 June 1912, p. 4.

[4]  Portland, Oregon, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Death certificate, Washington Co, No. 1725, John A. Hock [Hork], 1912.

Copyright © 2021 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.