My Trails into the Past

This is my second year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow . I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past . I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. Albert Joseph Hork, the fourth child of Johan Anton Hork and Julia Ann Sievert, was born 2 August 1879 in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois. [1] He was an older brother of my grandfather, William Cyril Hork. As a young man, he was of medium height and build, and had gray eyes and light colored hair. [2] His parents were of Germanic heritage, so most of their children had light or blond hair. Albert worked many different jobs in his lifetime. In the early 1900s he worked as a bartender at the Hotel Hamilton and Saloon, run by Henry S. Page. [3] Later he worked at the Western News newspaper as foreman. [4] In 1907, he was the Deputy County Clerk and Recorder, working at the Court House. [5] He ...

A new (to me) database is on Ancestry.com called “U.S., Northern Pacific Railway Company Personnel Files, 1890-1963.”  I was pretty excited because until this point, I have had no direct ancestors who worked for the railroad. I’ve been a huge railfan most of my life and I was pleasantly surprised to have my grandfather turn up in this database. The Northern Pacific Railway Company was based out of Minnesota but had tracks that went west as far as the Pacific Ocean. My grandfather, William Cyril Hork, lived in Hamilton, Montana, which is in western Montana near the Idaho border. [1] Northern Pacific Ry Co map; wikipedia So what is this database all about? This is a “collection of personnel files from the Northern Pacific Railway Company…and includes company correspondence, job history, salary and promotion documents, leaves of absence, and more.” So this is more than a database. It has digital images of the records! The employee records can include multiple...

Julia Ann Sievert was born 31 Oct 1854 in Joliet, Will Co, Illinois [1] , the second child of eleven known children of Vincent Sievert and Susana Raduntz.  Her parents came from Schneidemühl, Posen, Prussia [2] which today is in Poland. Riverview Cemetery, Hamilton, MT Julia married Johan Anton Hork in Joliet on 6 June 1872 [3] .  They had ten children, the youngest, William Cyril Hork, my grandfather. John was a tailor and the family moved often when he searched for work.  Finally the family settled in Hamilton, Ravalli County, Montana. [4]  John and Julia were separated and John died in Sheraton, Wyoming in 1906. Julia Ann (Sievert) Hork with granddaughter & daughter -in-law, Anne (Sullivan) Hork Julia continued living in Hamilton until her death 4 Aug 1928. [5]  I know she did some traveling as I have a photo of Julia holding my grandfather's first child in California.   Julia was buried in Riverview Cemetery in ...