My Trails into the Past

Johan Anton Hork (1843-1906) was my great-grandfather. He immigrated to the United States in 1870, married Julia Ann Sievert in 1872, had ten children, worked as a tailor, and died in Wyoming in 1906. I wrote about his life in The Family of Johan Anton Hork & Julia Ann Sievert – 12 for ’26 . Now is time to cover his origins in Germany. He was born on 9 November 1843 in Oberhundem, Westfalen. [1] It is a very small village in Kreis (District) Olpe. This area is now in the German state Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhein Westphalia). His baptism record was found and from there, working backward, his parent’s marriage and their baptism records were found. These records were found using microfilm at the Family History Library. Digital images are available now, but only at a FamilySearch Center. This is on my research plan the next time I am there. I want to update my source citations to the online images. For now, the reference will be to the microfilm number. On the name change. The...

Julia Ann Sievert, daughter of Vincent Sievert and Susanna Raduntz, and my great-grandmother, married Johan Anton Hork, son of Joseph Heinrich Horoch and Maria Catharine Trösster, on 6 June 1872 at St. John’s German Catholic Church in Joliet, Will County, Illinois. [1] Johan Anton Hork, born Johann Anton Horoch on 9 November 1843 in Oberhundem, Westfalen, arrived in the United States aboard the Idaho on 5 November 1870. [2] Though the ship manifest stated he was a laborer, he worked as a tailor in the United States. By 1872, he was working as a merchant tailor at 7 Jefferson Street in Joliet, while living at 47 Bluff Street. [3] In records, he was recorded either by John, Anton, Anthony, or J. A. Hork. In the above directory record, he was Anthony Hork. It is unknown whether he worked for himself or for someone else. Two merchant tailors had shops on Jefferson: S.C. Stearns at 61 ½ Jefferson and J & G Dippold, whose listing didn’t give an address. [4] The latter was living ...