My Trails into the Past

Some of my unexpected discoveries are learning that other siblings of our ancestors also came to the United States. We get so busy focusing on our direct lines, that we do not realize other family members immigrated, too. Sometimes they came to the same area, and sometimes they settled in other parts of the country, especially if they came years later. Unexpected discoveries can also be pleasant surprises. Finding more kin is always great, as their records can aid in taking the family back further generations. My Husband’s Family A good example is the Voehringer family. His great-grandmother, Matilda “Tillie” Wollenweber’s parents were Ludwig Wilhelm Wollenweber and Philappina Margaretha Voehringer. [1] Census records hinted that Ludwig was from Bavaria and Philappina was from Württemberg. [2] There was no obituary for Philappina, only death notices, one in English, [3] and one in German. [4] Neither gave information about next of kin. Her death certificate gave no information ...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's  Saturday Night  again -  Time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! O ur assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to: 1)  Family stories are often about "Turning Points" and "Major Decisions."   2)  This week, please describe a "Turning Point" in the life of one of your parents (or for both of them, or for grandparents).  Describe the decision, and discuss the outcome of it. Here's mine: A turning point in my father, and his sisters’ lives was when his mother and father separated sometime in the 1930s. They were living in Southern California. He was probably five or six, maybe even seven. I don’t know what year the split was. The 1937 Pomona city directory lists his dad, William Cyril Hork along with wife, Anna, at 215 ½ N. Euclid Avenue in Ontario. [1] By the 1940 census, they were listed apart. She lived at 236 East Foothill Road in Cucamonga, [2] while he lived at 215 ½ N ...

Mom made many of our clothes: dresses, jumpers, shorts, and pajamas. The only clothes she did not make were jeans, coats, uniforms, and items for the boys, though she once made matching outfits for the four oldest children.  She barely used patterns to make our clothes. Yes, she cut out the pattern pieces. She placed them carefully on the fabric and pinned them down before cutting. But I doubt she really read the instructions. She said she had her way of putting the pieces together.  One thing she did as a short cut was to forgo facings and linings. She rolled the seams at the armhole and collars. She made simple hems she could sew on the sewing machine. She had four daughters and made lots of clothes for them. One special time for sewing was those hours between when Dad left for work at 5 a.m. and we got up at 7. She hid the clothes away if they were to be gifts for birthdays or Christmas. She also made doll clothes for Barbies, baby dolls, and trolls, though the clot...

We lived in the best house and neighborhood growing up. In 1963, my parents purchased a home in Walnut Creek, California. They had been living in a rental on East 9th Street in Pittsburg, that had two bedrooms for six people. My parents made the dining room into their bedroom and the girls had one of the upstairs bedrooms and the boys had the other. It was definitely too small for the growing family. There were probably other factors in the decision as well. They were paying for tuition to St. Peter Martyr School for two kids. The schools in Walnut Creek were top-notch, so they would not need to pay tuition in the new town. My father got a new job at Loray Market in Walnut Creek and the commute added to his time away from home. The new home was only three blocks away and he would walk if my mother needed the car. How my parents pulled it off financially was with the help of my grandparents and their friends. I believe money was loaned to them for the down payment and other money ...

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 ...