Adversity: Single Mothers Raising Their Families

In three consecutive generations in the Hork family, women had to raise their young children without a husband. I had not thought about the loss of the breadwinner before, but now I will.

Maria Catharine Trösster (1813-1874)
Joseph Heinrich Horoch, who lived in Oberhundem, in Kreis (county) Olpe in Westfalen, died on 5 October 1857 of dysentery.[1] Two other children also died two days previous on 3 October: Maria Elisabeth who was just eighteen months old[2] and Johan Joseph Carl, who was eleven.[3] Joseph was fifty-three years old and the father of at least five children. I have two more children whose baptisms I have found but whose death I have not.

In 1857, at the time of her husband’s death, the five children living were Frederich, age twenty-one; Franz, age sixteen; Anton, age fourteen; Clementine, age six; and Albert, age four. What would she have done? Who would have taken care of her? The likely answer was the older boys found work to help support her. She may have done work at home, such as sewing or laundry, or selling food from the garden or eggs from her chickens. The village they lived in was small and perhaps they moved to the larger town of Altenhundem nearby. I do know that the older boys did not marry until they were much older. Frederick was thirty-four (1872) and Franz was twenty-four (1865). Albert, the youngest, later went into the priesthood. Anton emigrated to America in 1872.[4] So did Albert in 1876 and Clementine in 1891.

Julia Ann Sievert (1854-1928)
Julia Ann Sievert married John Anton Hork on 6 June 1872 in Joliet, Illinois.[5] They moved often, living in Michigan, Iowa, Portland, and finally settling in Hamilton, Montana. Sometime in 1902, Julia either kicked her ever-drinking husband out of the house or her husband deserted them. The report in May 1902 that the sheriff was looking for J.A. Hork, a tailor, who deserted his family in Hamilton. The news item reported he departed Missoula for Spokane.[6] The 1903 Missoula & Ravalli Directory, the Hamilton portion, stated he moved to Seattle, Washington.[7] But there was a notice in a February 1904 newspaper that Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Hork of Hamilton were visiting in Missoula.[8] Did they get back together? He was listed in the 1905 directory as a tailor.[9] John died on 15 August 1906 in Sheridan, Wyoming.[10]

John Anton and Julia had ten children, nine of whom were living at the time of his death. The two youngest children were Urselle at fourteen and Cyril at seven. Their two oldest daughters, Ida and Susan, were married and living elsewhere. Albert, Carrie, Frank, and Tony all had jobs and were probably already helping support their mother, with their father in and out of the house. Albert worked as a saloonkeeper, Carrie as a clerk, Frank as a tailor probably trying to keep his father’s business going, and Tony as a baggage man. Raymond may or may not have finished school and was working. The two youngest were in school. Tony was the only one of the four who married. He ended up being the county clerk for ten terms. The other working children continued living with Julia until her death. The two youngest children married and moved to Washington and California. Julia was fortunate to have children who helped support her.

Anna Marie Sullivan (1892-1979)
Anna was seven years older than Cyril Hork when they married, though she fudged her age on the license.[11] I always wondered if he knew. After their marriage, they moved to California and had five children, four of whom lived to adulthood. Cyril had a hard time keeping a job. Likely, he had the same problem as his father – alcohol interfering with his life.

By 1940, Cyril was out of the house.[12] It is likely that Anna asked him to leave. Anna worked as a waitress in a restaurant and once school was out that year, she moved her four children and herself up to Napa, where her brother-in-law, Vir Quigley, offered his home to her. Lorene had just graduated from high school, so she found a job. Virginia and June were in high school and Billy, the youngest was just ten.

Anna first worked in Vir’s diner and then went back to school at San Francisco State to get a California teacher’s credential. She had taught school in Montana before her marriage and her three-year Normal school degree was not enough to teach in California. In Napa, she taught at one of the one-room schoolhouses. After they were settled, they moved into a home of their own. The oldest girls got jobs during the war. Lorene and Virginia worked at Mare Island along with their cousin, Margaret Patterson, who lived with them.

Anna managed to support her family without Cyril’s help. He ended up living in a veteran’s home until his death in 1967.[13] It is likely that her daughters helped with covering expenses and it was a blessing that her sister’s widowed husband wanted to help, too.

Conclusion
I would like to think that I come from three strong women who made do with what they could. Maria Catharine had no choice, with the death of her husband, to continue and hopefully with the help of either her family or her children. Julia and Anna had to deal with alcoholic husbands. They both had a good support system that let them live on in peace, safety, and security.

Julia and Anna 1923

#52 Ancestors: Week 38: Adversity

This is my sixth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] Katholische Kirche Oberhundem (Kr. Olpe) (Oberhundem, Westfalen, Germany), "Toten 1848-1878," Joseph Heinrich Horoch, 1847, p 33; FHL microfilm 1,257,843, item 3.

[2] Ibid, p. 33, M. Elisabeth Horoch.

[3] Ibid, p. 33, Johan Joseph Carl Horoch.

[4] "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7488/), film 336, 5 Nov 1870, SS Idaho, line 39, no. 1030, Joh Hork..

[5] St. John's Catholic Church, Joliet, Illinois, marriages, p 13, Hork-Sievert.

[6] “Sheriff Watts and Deputy Pursuing Three Men,” Butte Miner, 7 May 1902, p. 13.

[7] Missoula and Hamilton City Directory and Missoula and Ravalli County Directory, 1903-04, (Helena, Mont: RL Polk & Co, 1903), 332, John A. Hork.

[8] “Missoula Notes,” Anaconda Standard, 16 Feb 1904, p. 14, col. 3.

[9] Missoula and Hamilton City Directory and Missoula and Ravalli County Directory, 1905-06, (Helena, Mont: RL Polk & Co, 1906), 351, John Hork.

[10] "The Carbolic Route," The Sheridan (Wyoming) Enterprise, 17 Aug 1906, p 3.

[11] St. Patrick's Church, Butte, Montana, marriage, p 434, Hork-Sullivan.

[12] 1940 U.S. census, San Bernardino Co, California, pop sched, Cucamonga, ED 36-36, sht 65a, fam 150, Anna M Hork.

[13] California, Dept of Public Health, death certificate, # 049175, Los Angeles County, William Cyril Hork, 1967.

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