Today, January 29, 2013, marks the 100th anniversary of the marriage of Alvin Birkey (1891-1973)  and Amelia Zehr (1891-1965). They were married at the home of Peter and Barbara Heiser Zehr, rural Foosland, Illinois by Samuel Gerber of Tremont, Illinois.

In honor of the anniversary, here are a few photos of the couple and their family.

Alvin and Amelia’s wedding photo

Alvin and Amelia’s wedding photo

Marriage License

Alvin and Amelia’s children. Born from Dec. 1913 to Feb 1933.
Oldest to youngest: Ellis “Turk”, Viola, Marvin, Floyd, Ivan, Margaret,
Carroll “Kelly”, Delmar “Del”. Roy Emery was born Aug 1923 and
died about a month later.

Metal plate from the casket of little Roy Emery who died about a month after his birth.

It has been quite some time since this website has been updated, but no longer. In addition to the familiar birth and death dates provided, a new version of Reunion software features new styles and a family tree for each of the 13,829 persons–click on the tree icon by each name.  As we all know, genealogy is an ever-changing story as new information is obtained, thus new or changed information has also been added. I hope you will take time to browse the pages and enjoy the new features.

As always, any additions or corrections are welcome.

Two Schrock Women–108 and Counting

by Donna Schrock Birkey

Originally published in the Summer 2012 issue (Vol. XXXIX  •  No. 2)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)

Two Schrock women, Estelle Elizabeth Schrock Lewis and Lydia Mae Schrock, both turned 108 in 2012. Third cousins, but they have never met. However, they have

a common childhood

Both grew up on farms and experienced the rigors of early farm life in America.

a common ancestry

Both are great-great granddaughters of Joseph and Marie Neyhousser Schrag.

Lydia Mae is great-granddaughter of Johannes and Catherine Salzman Schrock,
granddaughter of Joseph and Magdalena Guingrich Schrock,
daughter of Jonathan and Naomi Gerber Schrock.

Estelle Elizabeth is great-granddaughter of André and Anna Oyer Schrock,
granddaughter of Joseph and Mary Risser Schrock,
daughter of Joseph and Fannie Ehresman Schrock.

a common religious heritage

Both women descend from a long line of Amish Mennonites who emigrated from France to America.

Lydia Mae’s immediate family left the Illinois Amish Mennonite community to become members of the Apostolic Christian Church, and she remains in that tradition.

Estelle Elizabeth’s grandparents moved to California about 1876. Her parents left Illinois for Kansas during the 1890s and the family eventually became members of the Nazarene denomination where she continues to worship today.

Estelle Elizabeth Schrock

Estelle Schrock was born October 21, 1904, on a farm seven miles southwest of Sterling, Kansas, fifth and last child of Joseph Schrock and Fannie Ehresman. Joseph was a farmer, as was his father Joseph.

Joseph & Fannie Ehresman Schrock, a few years before Fannie’s death in 1934.
Photo Courtesy Joy Ehresman Rachoy.

Joseph and Fannie had three other children of their own: Mary, Elsie, and Frank. They also raised Emanuel Ehresman, a half brother to Fannie, from the time his mother died when he was 11 months old to adulthood.

Joseph Schrock Family, January 1918. L to R: Elsie (Pickens, Akers), Frank Schrock, Mary Schrock & husband Roy Ball, Emanuel & Martha (Rich) Ehresman, Estelle Schrock (Lewis). Front Row: Grandma Fannie holding LaVerne Ehresman, Merle Ehresman, Grandpa Joseph holding Kenneth Ball.
Photo courtesy Joy Ehresman Rachoy

The family owned the farm near Sterling, where they lived and produced primarily wheat and alfalfa. The majority of their food came from a large garden and the livestock they raised. “I remember having to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to milk the cows,” Estelle said. “I did the normal chores that a child had to do: carried wood in for the stove, pulled weeds in the garden, set and cleared the table, helped my mother in the kitchen, tended the chickens, and learned to cook. I had older sisters, so I didn’t really learn to sew as much.”

On occasion, the family hitched up their carriage to the two horses and headed the seven miles to Sterling on a Saturday night.  On Sundays they would gather in the pews of either the Missionary Bible Church or the Mennonite Church, both about three miles from the farmstead. “After church, we would usually have company over for dinner or we would go to someone’s house, “ Estelle recalled.  “ I liked playing with my friends.”

Estelle was a rather shy child but enjoyed playing “house” and “school” with her sister.  Even though Estelle was the younger by a year and a half, the two took turns playing pupil and teacher. She played outdoors a lot and made a lot of mud pies.

Estelle’s “real” school days were spent at Union 5 School—a small country school with four classrooms for students through grade 8. The Schrock children were transported about three miles to school by a horse and a hack (Estelle described it as a horse drawn school bus). By the time Estelle was 9 or 10, the family traded their team and carriage for a new Model T Ford. “That was a big deal,” she remembered.

Later, Estelle and her sister, Elsie, attended high school at Brezee College in Hutchinson. It was somewhat unusual for her parents to send two daughters to live as boarders with a Hutchinson family to attend classes, but they wanted the girls to attend a church school.

For Estelle, World War I hit close to home. Her brother Frank served in the Army, based at Fort Riley where the family drove to see him.  “As a child, you don’t pay as much attention to how things like war affect you, but I do remember one thing that was rationed was sugar.”

After the war and Estelle’s graduation from high school in 1923, the Schrocks traveled from Kansas to Los Angeles in their Model T Ford to visit friends and family (including her grandparents, Joseph and Mary Schrock).  Along the way, they slept in tents at campgrounds, cooking their meals over a campfire.  It was a trip full of discoveries and the first time Estelle and her sister Elsie had ever seen the mountains or the ocean.  It also launched her career.

Estelle’s parents’ friend arranged a job for her, so she stayed behind in California when the family returned to Kansas. She worked in the office of an architect for 2 ½ years, then when her father got sick, took the train back to Hutchinson where she continued work as a stenographer and bookkeeper at the Farmers Cooperative Commission Co., based at the Wiley building.

As a young single woman, Estelle felt fortunate just to have a job when the stock market crashed in 1929. “I did have to take a pay cut,” Estelle said. “I had been making about $100 a month, and then I was reduced to about $12 a week.  But it was a job.

In the early 1930s Estelle was hired on at United Power and Light.  A bookkeeper for the company seemed to take special interest in the electric meters–or perhaps the secretary in the room where the meters were stored, Estelle admits. Estelle married that bookkeeper, Philip Lewis, in a simple ceremony at her parents’ home in Hutchinson in 1935.  They would celebrate their 49^th wedding anniversary before Phil died in 1986. He had retired from his job as Vice President of Borten, Inc. after more than 30 years. They spent those 49 years together in the first and only home they had built at 2016 N. Monroe Street, Hutchison, Kansas.

Estelle & her husband Phil Lewis.
Photo courtesy Joy Ehresman Rachoy

While the decade of the 1930s brought great change in Estelle’s personal life, it also brought landmark changes in U. S. culture.

“I’d say some of the biggest advances were getting electricity,” said Estelle.   Since they lived in Hutchinson, they had electricity much sooner than the neighbors Estelle grew up with on the Sterling farm.  Electricity changed how people lived their lives.  One of the biggest changes was in refrigeration,” Estelle said.

“When we lived on the farm, we would get ice, 300 pounds at a time,” Estelle said.  “We would have to put it in the ice box to keep the food cold.  Prior to refrigerators becoming common place in kitchens, much of the produce and meat produced on the farm was canned and stored at room temperature,” said Estelle. It was during this decade that Estelle took her first plane ride, traveling to Europe on vacation with her husband.

Estelle remembers hearing the news about the bombing at Pearl Harbor after attending church that Sunday in 1945.  However, World War II didn’t impact Estelle as personally as the First World War, since she didn’t have family members involved.  Like many women of the era, Estelle did her part for the troops by knitting sweaters. She had tried quilting at one point in her life, but admits that baking was her best domestic task.

Estelle also remembers watching the moon landing on television three decades later.  “ I remember looking up at the moon, then watching the astronauts and thinking, ‘Oh mercy me!  This is amazing.’” All throughout her lifetime, Estelle was amazed at the advances in transportation.  “I went from the horse and buggy to the automobile to flying,” she said.

Even though computers and technology grew by leaps and bounds in the following years, Estelle never joined the ranks of computer users. “It was beyond me,” Estelle said.  However, she eventually did join the millions of Americans with cell phones.  “It’s pretty amazing,” Estelle said. “When I was growing up, our phone was a big box attached to the wall.  We were on a party line, and when it rang three times, that was our phone call and not the neighbor’s.  And now we have cell phones that keep getting smaller.”

Joy Ehresman Rachoy with Estelle on her 105th birthday.
Photo courtesy Joy Ehresman Rachoy

After her husband’s death Estelle remained in the family home until 2007, when she moved to Wesley Towers.  She remained active in their church, First Church of the Nazarene in Hutchinson, where she served as financial secretary for a number of years and was secretary of the adult Sunday school department “for practically all my life.” There is presently a gymnasium on the church campus named “Lewis Center” for Phil and Estelle. It was also at this church that Estelle was able to sing her favorite song, “Amazing Grace.”

She attributes part of her longevity to walking.  For years, she walked two miles a day, rain or shine.  She stopped walking the two miles

when she was 102 years old.  Estelle said, “It was a cold winter day and I went to get dressed for my walk.  I really didn’t feel like it and said to myself, ‘You are 102 years old and I think you can do what you want,’” she said with a laugh.  That was the last of her walks.

“I’ve lived a good life,” she said, “we were under privileged, but we didn’t know it.  I’ve been fortunate to be as healthy as I’ve been.  Some parts of old age aren’t so good, but there are a lot of people worse off than I am.”

Lydia Mae Schrock

Quite unheard of in the Jonathan Schrock household, big brothers Noah and Jesse were instructed to “go fishing” on Sunday morning May 1, 1904. Big sisters Nettie, Nima and Ada were to find something exciting to occupy their time for a few hours. When all five children returned to the house later, how delighted they were to find a brand new baby sister snuggled in her little cradle!

Lydia Mae at the 2010 Schrock Reunion in Metamora, IL.
Photo: Donna Schrock Birkey

During their time away, Lydia Mae was born on that Sunday into the family of Jonathan and Naomi Gerber Schrock. She would later be known to a host of Schrock family members as “Aunt Mae.” The family home was in Congerville, Illinois (originally named Schrock), and all of the siblings attended school in that village. Mae loved arithmetic and spelling. During a spelling bee Mae and her brother Joe were the last two survivors. After a few difficult words Mae emerged the winner!

Mae was a happy, carefree child, growing up with brothers who played tricks on her. Once she was told to catch a sheep and milk it and she would get ice cream. Off Mae ran to find a black sheep, for surely it would give chocolate ice cream!

Quite the young entrepreneur, Mae bought a setting of duck eggs from a friend. As a result of her expert nurturing they all hatched. In the fall Mae took the ducks to the grocery store and sold them to the grocer for the huge sum of $8.88, which was wisely spent on books. That profitable project probably sparked another in which Mae and her sister Ada gathered little chicks that had hatched in the fields and raised them until large enough to sell. Then there was Grandmother Schrock who paid Mae 25 cents for keeping her wood box filled with wood that she burned in her small stove. Mae had an eye for profit!

But not every new attempt turned out successfully, such as the cake Mae baked for company but didn’t realize she had added Watkins cough medicine instead of vanilla. And yet another time she omitted the baking soda, so the cake was flop—literally.

In May of 1919 Mae, Nettie, and Nima were baptized in the Mackinaw River. The service was in German. The Apostolic Christian church elder wore hip boots and walked into the river with the sisters.

Her earlier business success no doubt help Mae land her first employment. She took the job of washing bottles for the newly established Schrock Dairy begun by her brothers Joe and Alvin. Mae earned every penny of her 10 cents an hour salary, since the bottlebrush was run by electricity! But in the end the dairy business dwindled and the brothers started a new business, Schrock Hybrid Corn Company. A CPA was hired to help start the accounting department by teaching Mae everything he knew. Since arithmetic had been Mae’s favorite school subject, the job grew into one that Mae loved.

The annual two-week vacation perk attached to the position provided Mae with an opportunity to feed her love of adventure and took her to far corners of the country.

Her first “real” trip was to Florida by way of Mississippi with four relatives, to visit other relatives. All along the way they stayed in dingy cabins, and once in a hotel that was overrun with gigantic cockroaches. Mae later set that entire trip to poetry, 21 pages in length.  Later trips were to Michigan, Colorado, and one to Maine with an Audubon Society tour.

Lydia Mae tells one of her many stories at her home in 2011.
Photo, Donna Schrock Birkey

In 1948 Mae drove west with her sister Ada and ended up in California. They built a house and Mae found an office job. After a trip to Hawaii with a cousin, and then to Canada, Mae returned to Congerville and her job at Schrock Hybrid. But that didn’t satisfy Mae’s wanderlust: she travel to Israel and Egypt, spent 23 winters in Florida driving down and back until her 90^th birthday.

Mae’s health continues to be good even while turning 108 on May 1, 2012. Her longevity could be a result of laughter. Her family relates that Mae laughed through childhood and on into adulthood, and the laughing continues each day at the lunch table at Apostolic Christian Restmor in Morton, Illinois. Her life has been filled with fun and adventure, while always honoring God and acknowledging his goodness.

“Aunt Mae”, although never married, is an inspiration to her family of 21 nieces and nephews and to anyone who has ever had the privilege to know her.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Author’s Note:

In October of 2011 I received e-mail from Joy Ehresman Rachoy in response to my article about Andrew and Anna Schrock in the summer 2011 issue of Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly. In part her e-mail read:

“I have roots to Fannie Ehresman who married Joseph Schrock (#13 page 35 of the issue).  My Grandfather, Emanuel Ehresman (1889-1959), was Fannie’s half brother.  He was 11 months old when his mother died (Mary Oyer 1859-1890).  Fannie and Joseph had been married for only four months when they took Emanuel to raise him. They had four children of their own: Mary Ella, Frank Ezra, Elsie Mae and Estelle Elizabeth.  My great-aunt Estelle is still living in Hutchinson, Kansas and will be 107 years old in 5 days (Oct 21, 2011).  She still has clear thinking and can answer questions for me about my heritage. However, you have to talk pretty loud and she can’t see far away. I have had the privilege of going to help her celebrate her last 6 birthdays. What a thrill for me.

“I do so appreciate all of the Quarterlies I receive, even if I am not related to anyone mentioned that month.

“My husband and I were able to visit the Mennonite Heritage Center in Illinois in 2008 and were able to give large chalk drawings of Christian Ehresman (1832-1893) and Magdalena Wagler (1831-1870) Fannie’s parents, to the museum. I truly enjoyed my time there.”

Of course, the mention of Estelle still being quite alive at age 107 caught my attention—another Schrock woman lives to be 107! Estelle, living in Kansas, I calculated, would be a third cousin to Lydia Mae Schrock living in Illinois.

Eventually I received photos from Joy Ehresman Rachoy and interviews from Dick and Linda Ehresman. My thanks to them for their help in telling the story of these two noteworthy women.

Bibliography

The Days of Yesteryear in Woodford County, Illinois, by Mae Schrock, 2001.

This is Your Life, Aunt Mae Schrock, prepared by family members and read at the occasion of Mae Schrock’s 100^th birthday, 2004.

Interviews with Estelle Schrock Lewis, one in 2009 and one on March 26, 2012, by Richard and Linda Ehresman, in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Name: Priscilla (Stalter) Mendez
Email: wilcilla@comcast.net
Comment: Hello,
I will be visiting the Eureka area on Oct. 5,6 and 7, 2012 and will use information from your blog to help with my Family tree. Doing this is new for me but my father came from there and most of that side of the family is unfamiliar to me. Any relative of the late Ruth and Lee (Levi) Stalter who would like to meet during the above dates for a cup of coffee or tea somewhere in the area, please let me know. My email is wilcilla@comcast.net

with kind regards,
Priscilla

I recently spent several days in Eureka, IL, and one of the interesting activities while there was to see, handle, and photograph a 100+-year-old-cane belonging to Joseph Schrock, son of Johannes and Catherine Salzman Schrock. I asked Byron Schrock to document the cane’s history and project its future. His story and my photographs are below.

Donna Birkey

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Joseph Byron Schrock holding his great grandfather’s cane	Detail of cane antler handle
Detail of cane decoration	Cane Tip

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The cane belonging to Joseph Schrock (1828-1901) is presently being handed down through each succeeding generation to a male named Joseph, or a close derivative.  As far as we know, Jonathan Schrock (1861-1947) had possession after his father died in 1901 until he died in 1947.  My earliest remembrance was of my father, Joseph Benjamin Schrock having possession and storing it in a hall closet. He told us it was his grandfather’s cane.  When he died in 1991, my brother and I agreed to keep its possession in the hands of a descendant having the closest namesake of “Joseph”.  Therefore I, Joseph Byron Schrock (b.1945), had possession until the next heir, Kevin Joseph Schrock (b.1975), my nephew, was settled in a home in about 2005.  The cane will reside with Kevin until the next three heirs are older and settled.  The next in line is my 18-year-old grandson, Eric Joel Schrock (b.1994). Following him will be two great-nephews named Caleb Joseph Schrock (b. 2001) and Josiah Frederick Schrock (b.2006).  All three future custodians are great-great-great grandchildren of the original owner.

The cane is exquisitely made, having a handle of antler fitted over brass. Even the pegs holding the antler parts to the handle are made from antler.  The tip of the cane is also made from antler.  The wood cane itself appears to be maple, but we’re not positive. From the length of the cane and from family hearsay, Joseph Schrock (1828-1901) was a big man, perhaps six foot, five inches tall.  The cane is over 100 years old.      

–By Joseph Byron Schrock

Barbara Schrock Belsly:

The Forgotten Wife and Mother

by Donna Schrock Birkey
Originally published in the Winter 2011 (Vol. XXXVIII  •  No. 4)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)

The Belsly family has known very little about Barbara Schrock as Joseph Belsly’s first wife; in fact, Barbara is the least known of her Schrock siblings as no primary documents have been found for her. She was probably born in France about 1815, possibly in the Saarebourg area of Moselle, Lorraine. Barbara is not listed along with her siblings on the quarterly arrival document for Baltimore, but at some point she also emigrated to America and lived for a while in Butler County, Ohio, where her brothers and sister lived at the time. Barbara married Joseph Belsly in Butler County, but she most surely knew the Belsly (Pelsy) family in France. However, just as her birth record has not been found to date, neither has her marriage record.

The couple eventually moved to Woodford County to Joseph’s farm north of Metamora, Illinois. Their first and only child, Christian, was born there in July 1835. Sometime in 1836, Barbara died at about 21 years of age. She was buried near their family farm.

Joseph Belsly was born 28 May 1802 (or 28 Mar 1802) at Hof Hellocourt, a farm about seven miles west from Rhodes in Moselle, France. He was known as “Joe de la Rouge,” or Red Joe, because of his distinctive red hair. About Red Joe’s emigration to America in 1828* at age 26, French cousin, Pierre Pelsy, observed, “It is told he took along a bag of flour, a sack of dried fruit and a belt in which gold coins were hidden. He must have been a very courageous and adventuresome young man.”

“Joe de la Rouge” – “Red Joe” Belsly

Barbara Engel Belsly, Red Joe’s Second Wife

After arriving in America, Red Joe went first to Ohio where he found employment. In about 1830/31 he moved to Illinois where the government was selling land for $1.25 per acre. According to History of Woodford County “…Mr. Belsley made claim to a tract on Partridge Creek, later [in 1833] sold to Joseph Johnson, and he settled then in Worth [Township] close to the Partridge line.” Partridge Township was at the time a wild, desolate, sparsely settled region. Red Joe was part of the Partridge Township Amish settlement. In 1832 he purchased a 240-acre tract of heavily wooded land on higher ground north of Metamora and built a French-style barn on the property.

In 1840 after Barbara Schrock’s death, Red Joe married another Barbara—Barbara Engel (1803-1881), daughter of Bishop Christian Engel and Barbe Brunner. They had no children. Twelve years after his marriage to Barbara Engel, Red Joe built a red brick farmhouse that was later painted white. The bricks used for building the house were made from clay dug up from Red Joe’s land. The house was fronted by an elevated buggy landing and fence. This farm has been in the Belsly family since the day Joseph purchased it and is considered to be the oldest one-family farm in the state of Illinois.

The French-style Barn Built by Red Joe Belsly

The elevated buggy landing and fence

The farmhouse Red Joe constructed with red bricks made from clay from his property. It is considered to be the oldest one-family farm in Illinois

Red Joe was a very successful farmer and was known to to have been one of the wealthiest persons in the area. He was successful growing clover on his land, something that had not been done before in that part of the country. As his assets increased he kept buying more land. At the time of his death he was the owner of 15 parcels of land ranging from 40 acres to 320 acres. His son, Christian, never learned how to handle finances and as a result his father, Joseph, left his estate to Christian’s children. He was able to leave farms in life estates to each of his grandchildren. His namesake and favorite grandson, Joseph (1861-1937) received the homestead on Lourdes Road. **

When Red Joe died on Christmas Eve 1872 at age 70 of what was then called dropsy, or abnormal swelling of the tissues, his nine-page will divided his sizable fortune into 33 units that took six years to disperse through the probate process. He chose to leave his widow $2,000 but only 80 of his 2,000 acres. Son Christian, who expected a life of leisure, was left only 120 acres and a payment of $150 a year for 20 years. The family farm on Lourdes Road passed more or less intact to the namesake grandchild.

Illustration from Portrait and Biographical Album of Woodford County, Illinois

Red Joe Belsly in his later years

The Feb 1873 Herald of Truth contained Red Joe’s obituary:  In Woodford County, Ill., December, 24th 1872, of dropsy, JOSEPH BALSLY, snr., aged 70 years, 6 months, and 26 days. He leaves a bereaved wife and one son to mourn their loss. Services by Jacob Unzicker, Christian Esh, and Peter Gingerich. Peace to his ashes.

Burial was in a cemetery near his farm. Red Joe’s widow, Barbara Engel, lived until 1881 and was also buried near their farm. At some time after the deaths, the graves of all three were moved to a different location—in a family cemetery near the homestead on Lourdes Road. Both wives were buried in the same grave, but the stone only names Barbara Engel. This could be the reason why Red Joe’s first wife, Barbara Schrock, was all but forgotten by the family.

The graves of Red Joe and his wives in the family cemetery on Lourdes Road in rural Metamora. Both Barbara’s were buried in the same grave, but only Barbara Engel is named on the stone.

Red Joe distrusted his son Christian’s easy nature. Relatives considered the only child to be spoiled. But Christian did help his father on the farm. They loaded produce on wagons and hauled it to Chicago. On the return trip they brought back supplies or equipment for the farming operations.

Christian more than likely found his prospective wife during a visit to his uncle Peter Schrock in Butler County. Mary lived in the next house on Salzman Road. The marriage ceremony was conducted by minister Nicholas Augspurger at Trenton in Butler County on Nov. 18, 1856. Red Joe was 21 and his new wife 19.

Researcher Joseph Staker tells us who Christian’s wife was: “The wife that son Christian Belsly found in Butler County was his second cousin Mary Schertz, who was born in Butler County in 1837. She was the oldest of three daughters of John Schertz and Catherine Engel, who lived on Salzman Road next to Peter Schrock. And when Johannes Schrock left Ohio for Illinois, John Schertz bought his land. John was also the business partner of John Staker, and his daughters were trained in business and accounting. No doubt Mary Schertz made an appropriate partner for the errant son of Red Joe Belsly. Red Joe [had shown] his displeasure with his son by declining to present the groom with the customary gift of acreage from the family farm. Christian was forced to make his own living.”

Christian and Mary,  first settled for a short time on a farm at Crow Creek in Marshall County, then lived on a farm in Spring Bay for two years. Finally, Christian purchased land near Deer Creek, IL, where he and his wife lived and raised their family. Mary was a slightly built lady, loved and respected in the community. Her obituary included the following: “In recognition of a quiet, unassuming Christian life, the following simple verse will apply most appropriately—Her hands were filled with deeds of charity, the Golden Keys that open the palace of Eternity.

According to the remembrances of several grandchildren, “they attended the early East Washington Mennonite Church. They raised nine children…When the first son (second grandchild) was born Grandpa Red Joe drove from his homestead in north Worth Township to see his first grandson. The parents had already chosen a name for the boy, but Grandpa Red Joe said ‘his name is Joseph,’ so that is what he was named. It was that first grandson who later inherited the Red Joe homestead and when grandson Joseph married Ida Foster they moved to that homestead where they raised their family.”

The family of Christian and Mary Belsly

Grandson Louis Phillips tells some interesting stories about the life of Christian.

” Chris soon began to realize that from the possessions his father had he wouldn’t have to work and at the early age of eighteen he decided that a life of leisure was what he should have. “Red Joe” would have Chris get up every morning and run down to the barn and pump water for the livestock. “Red Joe” thought it would make Chris healthy and hardy but it only served to make him rebellious against family discipline and to develops theory of independence.

“Early in his married life Chris trained Mary as few wives were trained. His clothes were always laid out on the bed ready for Chris to put on. If he wanted something at the table he didn’t ask for it. He simply held his knife straight up and Mary would know what he wanted and see that it was started on the way to him. There was no idle chatter at the table when Chris was there but when he was finished with his meals helot up and went into the bedroom–or the hammock in the summertime–for a nap. Mary and all the children loved Chris but he ruled with an iron hand.

“‘Deer Creek, which was Chris’ home town, was quite a baseball town. They had a local team which would play neighboring teams and would take on traveling teams. When this happened they would usually bolster the team with some extra good players from other towns and would often bring out special ones from Peoria if they thought the competition warranted it. The management of the Deer Creek team lined up a game with the Kansas City Gems which was an organization made up of Negro players. For this game the local management secured the talent of some exceptional players and though they didn’t expect to win they didn’t think they would be beaten too badly. The Negro boys were players who were capable of defeating almost any team that most towns would put on the field. Chris, true sportsman that he was, made a trip over to Danvers where the team was playing the day before their game at Deer Creek, saw the manager, and for forty dollars had the assurance that the Gems would lose the game. Then he hurried back to Deer Creek and had no trouble in placing two hundred dollars at even money that Deer Creek would win. That looked fine for Chris except that the Gems won. Since the manager left town before the game was over Chris never did find out how that came about, but it was rumored that another true sportsman had given the manager fifty dollars to win.”

In 1902, on his 67^th birthday, The Progress newspaper carried the following article:

“Today Christian Belsly one of the oldest and most respected citizens of this township, reaches the 67^th milestone of his life, and the children are giving him a happy day…they went to his splendid home on his farm at the south edge of the village limits loaded with provisions enough for a good sized regiment of soldiers and proposed to feast not only their father but themselves, in a manner fit for kings.

“To say Chris was surprised to see all the children at home, would be the truth, but when they actually “caned him” with a gold-headed walking stick it became evident to him that with the passing of years things have reversed somewhat, for if we miss not, even our good-natured friend Belsly never raised all his big family of children without doing some caning himself….”

Item in “The Progress” about Christian and Mary Belsly’s 50th Anniversary

Christian Belsly’s 67th birtrhday party

In 1906 he and Mary celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary. Again The Progress describes the celebration: “Unbroken Vows for Fifty Years! These Two Still Lovers.”

“….Mr. and Mrs. Belsly are among our most highly respected citizens, and the whole community rejoice that they have been permitted to celebrate their fiftieth marriage anniversary. The event was one long to be remembered by the children and grand children in attendance. The wedding dinner was all that the season’s products and good culinary skill could make it. The social part of the program was also a source of great enjoyment. Olden times were freely discussed for Mr. and Mrs. Belsly had a liberal touch of pioneer days when the comforts of life were far less than they are today, but these hardships were encountered without complaint. Their chief end in life was to rear their children and educate them for great usefulness in the world; in this they succeeded admirable, as all are useful citizens with ample means to make them useful in their various communities.”

Christian liked fine horses. His granddaughter Verna Belsly observed, “He liked to drive foxy horses.” It was said his work horses were always strong and good pullers and many a time Christian would bet a little on the loads they could pull. As Christian was a member of the school board he talked to school children whenever he had a chance. The story was that when he and his father were driving a load of produce to Chicago one early spring when the roads were broken up they came to a sign that read: TAKE CARE OF THE RUT YOU CHOOSE, YOU WILL BE IN IT FOR THE NEXT 50 MILES. He would refer to that and then continue, “Would that we can say to every young man and woman: Take care of the path you choose—you will be in it for the next 50 years. Choose a path of vision and courage with a goal you have to reach for and your life will be a pleasant and profitable adventure.”

Christian Belsly with one of his “foxy” horses

In the end, Christian and his wife ran a prosperous farm and raised nine children (three others did not reach maturity). He served as a school director and commissioner of highways in Deer Creek and was highly regarded in his community. Mary died in 1911 at the age of 74 and Christian died in 1917 at age 81. They are buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery at Deer Creek.

Barbara Schrock Belsly left the family picture not long after entering it, but her contribution of producing the one heir was gigantic. From her son came many generations of Belsly families populating the Illinois countryside and beyond.

*********

* The Belsley-Sauder Genealogy states that ‘Red Joe’ emigrated in 1820, worked in Ohio, moved to Illinois in 1825, and bought land in Partridge (then part of Tazewell County) in 1830. The early dates are not substantiated by other sources.

** An unpublished autobiographical manuscript was brought to our attention, written by Verna Belsly, great grandchild of Red Joe and Barbara Schrock, in the 1980s-1990s. Betty (Kenneth) Worner of Metamora has the original and at least one copy is with another Belsly family member. The manuscript contains the following description of the Red Joe Belsly family cemetery near the old homestead on Lourdes Road:

   ”A church was built on one corner of the farm. Dad (Red Joe’s grandson Joseph) donated the ground for it and a cemetery started there. I was too small to remember. I’ve tried to find out the date, but so far have not been able to get that information.  Rev. Strubhar of Washington Mennonite Church would come every few weeks and have a Sunday eve service and some of the Protestant families nearby became members. Hattie Goehring and I stood up when the invitation was given and sometime later there must have been around six of us who were baptized, but for communion we always went to the Washington church that was a mile east of Washington where the Pleasant View School now stands. In our little church we had S.S. and I recall at least one program–Children’s Day, I presume.  Later on, possibly after we moved to Washington, the church was sold and only the cemetery remains. ”Red Joe” and his two wives had originally been buried in a little cemetery 1/4 mile further north, so their remains were transferred to the one where the church stood.  There were just bones, and those of both wives were put in one container and their tombstone has the name of only the second wife. We knew the first wife was a Schrock but it was later revealed her first name was Barbara. She was the mother of “Red Joe’s” only child, Christian, who was my Grandpa and my Dad’s father.  As mentioned, the second wife was Barbara Engel and I told my Father I thought she looked cross, but he said she was very kind so she must have been a good mother to little Christian who didn’t remember his real Mother. What caused his Mother’s death is not known.  I heard several people died from cholera so perhaps she was a victim.”

Sources

The Descendants of Joseph “Red Joe” Belsly, by John Robert Belsly. Copyright 1982.

Much material taken from manuscripts prepared by Verna Frances Belsly

Belsley-Sauder Genealogy, Woodford Co., Illinois, by Jean Wallace Sauder. Printed 1985.

Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois, by Joseph Staker. http:/www.tcghs.org/AmishPart1.pdf

Here is a video taken of the ABC 7 Newscast reporting on Michelle Obama’s visit to Chicago for the signing by Governor Quinn of an Illinois law making it easier for service personnel families to transfer licenses from state to state.  Jim and Jan (Heiser) Hatch’s daughter, Courtney Sensenig, a nurse and US Navy wife at Great Lakes Naval Station was introduced by Governor Quinn and then Courtney introduce Mrs. Obama.

Courtney is a granddaughter of Elmer and Eileen Bruehl Heiser Schrock

Courtney (Hatch) Sensenig (far right) watches Governor Quinn sign Senate Bill 275 bill along with Michelle Obama and other dignitaries.

Thanks to my creative daughter, I have a new and improved Welcome page. And continued thanks to my son for hosting the site and providing lots of “tech” help!

The Tale of Two Andrews:

The Story of Andrew Schrock (1804-1855)
and his son, Andrew (1842-1925)

by Donna Schrock Birkey
Originally published in the Summer 2011 (Vol. XXXVIII  •  No. 2)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)

This article, fourth in a series on descendants of Joseph and Maria Neuhauser Schrag (Schrack), highlights new information and expands on the dramatic reading presented by Debbie Birkey at the Illinois Mennonite Heritage Center’s Schrock Immigrant Day, June 18-20, 2010.

Andrew (André, Andreas) has been a recurring name given to Schrag males. The name shows up numerous times in my database beginning 1629, but in this direct Schrock line, our two main subjects are the first. One, adventurous enough to cross the ocean to a new land, marry and have a family, purchase acreage, conquer the prairie, and build a substantial landmark “fine brick house.” The second lost his father at age 13, was perhaps despondent about life, a loner and wanderer, and at times inconsistent and irresponsible. Many questions have remained about his later life and his death. Both Andrews came to a sad and dramatic end, but in totally different circumstances.

Andrew  (1804 – 1855) (André/Andreas).

1803 birth document of André Schrack, Gondrexange, Moselle, France

“Mayor’s office in Gondrexange, arrondissement of Sarrebourg, 14 Messidor XII of the French Republic [July 3, 1804], birth certificate of André Schrack, born the same day, about 8 a.m., son of Joseph Schrack, miller, and Marie Neyehouser, living at the said Gondrexange. The sex of the infant has been recognized to be male. The baby has been presented to me by the witnesses, Antoine Honquet, 36, mason, and Hubert Barthelemy, 40, school teacher, both living in the said Gondrexange. And following the declaration made to me by Joseph Schrack, father of the child, they have signed [the document]. Prepared according to law by me, Joseph Thiébeau, mayor of the community [commune] of Gondrexange, serving as public official for recording vital statistics of citizens [l'état civil].” ¹

About 30 years after his birth, Andrew was in America when his first child was born in 1835. We know Andrew was living near his two brothers in Dompcevrin, Meuse, in 1828 when he served as witness to the birth of brother Peter’s first child. Even though several descendants give his emigration date as either 1830 or 1831 and report he came with family, Andrew’s name is not on the Baltimore ship list as traveling in 1831 with his brothers Johannes and Peter, and sister Magdalena. His name has yet to be found on a ship list.

Sometime before 1835 and probably after arriving in America Andrew married Anna Oyer, daughter of Jacob Oyer (ca 1778 – 1885) and Suzanne Shertz (ca 1780 – 1829). Anna was born in Niderhof, Lorraine, France, and arrived with her parents in New Orleans on the ship Superior, December 4, 1830, after 53 days on the ocean. The Amish passengers, including the Oyer family, traveled on to Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving Christmas Day. Andrew and Anna’s first three living children were born in Butler County, Ohio. The family was in Illinois in 1842 for the birth of Andrew’s namesake.

Illinois Land Purchases.

Andrew may have first purchased land in Livingston County next to Waldo Cemetery², before settling in Tazewell County, Washington Township, about four miles west of Washington near today’s Sunnyland. However, on April 11, 1839, Andrew made his first purchase of land in Tazewell County—168 acres from Benjamin Rediger in the northwest corner of Section 18, Township 26N.³ The purchase price was $1000.

It seems the Minch family was selling off their land holdings in the spring of 1850. Adam Minch sold 40 acres to Andrew for $600; John Minch was paid $500 for 40 acres, excepting a small tract of land deeded to the Lutheran Church by George Minch. Later Adam’s wife Mary Ann sold Andrew another 80 acres for $100.

The Schrock family is named in the 1850 Federal Census: Andrew Schrock, age 45, born Germany, farmer, $2000 [of real estate]; Ann, age 35, b. Germany; Joseph 15, b. OH; Susan 13, b. OH; Anna 10, b. OH; Andrew 7, b. IL; Mary 5, b. IL; Peter 1, b. IL.

Twenty years later in early 1870, two children (Joseph and wife Mary Risser, Anna and husband Ludwig “Louis” Stalter) sold 240 acres to their mother Anna for $3200. Since both couples moved away from Tazewell County soon thereafter, they no doubt needed cash rather than the land they had inherited when Andrew died.

The 1873 atlas shows the owner of Andrew’s property to be A. Schrock—no doubt Anna, as head of family. Land deeds found⁴ show Andrew had purchased a total of 328 acres in Section 18, with the house towards the middle of the acreage. There was an orchard south of the house, a timber to the east, and a stream to the north.  Water and wood close by—necessities for a pioneer. But they had to drive or walk approximately ten miles to take a ferry to Peoria, the nearest larger town.

In 1877, all of the Schrock siblings agreed to sell 170 acres to David D. Augsburger for $1250. David was the husband of Magdalena, Andrew and Anna’s youngest child.⁵ On November 12, 1890, Peter divested his 120 acres to Louis and Katharina Reim and realized $5900.⁶   Two years later David Augsburger and his wife Magdalena sold 120 acres to William Keil for $8400. In 1893, parts of Andrew’s original acreage were owned by Louis Reim and D. D. Augspurger.⁷ Son Andrew was not named in any land transaction found, nor did the documents give a clue to the date of Anna’s death.

Perhaps it was after the 1890 sale that Peter and his wife pulled up stakes in Illinois and moved to Hamilton County, Nebraska, where all their children were married. Eventually they moved to California where both died.

Andrew’s oldest son Joseph married Elizabeth Rediger three years following his father’s death. Before long the family moved west to Kansas, then settled in California where most of his descendants live. According to Donald Roth, a Rediger researcher, Joseph fathered 17 children.⁸

Andrew began building a large brick home on his property before his death. It is told that his young children, Andrew and Mary, carried all the bricks for this home [from the banks of the stream on the property?].  One of the children in later years finished the house using the original plans that called for half of the second story to be used for church services.⁹

Cholera Epidemic.

Two Schrock families were torn apart by the cholera epidemic that invaded Illinois in 1855.

“…all four [died] of cholera in a short space of time, from Wednesday afternoon when Grandpa [died].  [He] contracted it in Bloomington the day before.  There was a funeral for him on Thurs. – the rest all well yet, but by Sat. night Grandmother went at 12 o’clock and Barbara a half hour later and John, 6 yrs. old Monday morning at 3 o’clock.  No funeral held for them.  The rest all sick with cholera.  Those who took sick at Grandpa’s funeral were Andrew Schrock, Grandma’s brother and Mrs. Ulrich. …This is the way my father [Peter Smith] gave it more than once and said how sad it was for them.”¹⁰

If we follow the chronology of this Oyer account, Andrew’s sister Magdalena’s family was stricken with cholera the first day of August 1855. Husband Christian Smith contracted it first, according to family tradition, after a trip to Bloomington. He died the next day, a Wednesday, and was buried on Thursday. Two days later (Saturday) Magdalena died. The following day Andrew, who had evidently become sick at Christian’s funeral and then stayed with his ailing sister on Friday, died on Sunday the 5^th of August.

The Smith family is no doubt buried in Slabtown Cemetery located near Congerville where the Smith’s lived. It is sometimes called Cholera Cemetery, but there are no Smith stones. Andrew, however, is buried near his farm in Guth Cemetery.

About six months after Andrew’s death, Anna signed away her right to administer her husband’s estate to Peter Guth (Good), but remains as guarding of the heirs. In his position as administrator, Peter’s opinion is that personal goods and chattels are valued at $275. A listing of personal property totals $1839, less the widow’s allowance of $691.50, equaling $1147.50.

One of the sale bills included in the probate file shows 9000 shingles sold to Lewis Tobias and Adam Keil for $858. A second bill was to Peter Guth for unnamed items, totaling $584.60.

During the personal property sale on March 15, 1856, items were sold to John Spring, Nicholas Roth, Joseph Onsecker (Unzicker), and Joseph Schick among others. Nicholas Roth served as one of the appraisers.

At the time of Andrew’s death Peter Guth owned the land on which the cemetery is located. It was a Guth family burying ground. Peter and his wife Susanna are buried there. Andrew’s wife, Anna, and Peter’s wife, Susanna, were sisters, and that family connection resulted in Andrew’s burial there. In 1873 the land on which the cemetery was located was owned by J. Oyer. This would have no doubt been Anna and Susanna’s father, Jacob Oyer, who died in 1885. In 1891 Christ Guth owned the land around the cemetery—most likely Christian, son of Peter and Susanna. Today, instead of being a small plot in a corner of Guth farmland, the cemetery is a fenced off area beside a busy road, surrounded by the commercial properties of Sunnyland Plaza.

Andrew  (1842 – 1925) (Andy). 

Andrew “Andy” Schrock

Andrew was the first of his parents’ children to be born in Illinois, on December 9, 1842. He grew up next to neighbors, Joseph Schick (1818 – 1898) and Magdalene Augspurger (1823 – 1893), who had a sizable farm and enough money to easily care for their large family of ten children. The father had served as a Pershing Army officer, was quite wealthy and loved his wine. He married his wife in Butler County, Ohio.

One of the Schick daughters, Magdalene, was a few years younger than Andrew and his sister Mary, and surely spent many hours playing with the two Schrock children by the stream that ran nearby. Perhaps she even helped the children carry the bricks for the house being built for the Schrock family before father Andrew died of cholera. Historical records indicate the Schick family worshiped with other Amish Mennonite families in the house after it was completed.¹¹

Marriage and Westward Movement.

Time passed and the children grew to adulthood. Eleven years after father Andrew died, Andrew and Magdalene were married in 1866. They were soon blessed with first child Magdalena, and with her in tow in 1868 they moved to Lamar, Barton Co., Missouri. Lamar was about 50 miles south of Cass County where an Amish Mennonite community had just developed; however, there is nothing to indicate the Schrock family had connections there. In two years little Elizabeth, “Lizzie” as she was called, joined the family. But trouble was brewing. As it turned out, Andrew wasn’t a very responsible husband and father. He came and went as he pleased and didn’t provide well for the family. There were some very lean years. With Andrew gone so much of the time, another child didn’t arrive until seven years later, when the first son Samuel was born; then Edward, and finally ten years later, Andrew, namesake of his father and grandfather.

The Andrew Schrock Family ca. 1902 Elizabeth, Magdalena, Andrew, Samuel, Edward Family tradition says Andrew and Magdalena did not want to sit close in this photo. Thus, son Andrew stands between them.

Magdalena Schick Schrock with her three boys ca. 1892: Samuel, Edward, Andrew

The family could not continue living with constant uncertainty, not knowing where money for food and clothing would come from. During 1888 the two girls were married to men from Nebraska—Edward King and William Unzicker—and so Magdalene decided to move with the children to Nebraska the next year. The girls and Magdalene rode in the passenger section of an immigrant train and the men rode in the baggage car. Andrew remained behind in Missouri where he worked as a blacksmith.

After the move Magdalene and the children seldom saw or heard from Andrew. He would occasionally visit them in Nebraska. At the end of one of those visits during the early 1920s the family told Andrew goodbye, he walked off down the road never to be heard from again. Magdalene’s playmate and husband had in reality abandoned his family years earlier, but it must have been painful to finally realize Andrew was never coming back.

Andrew the Wanderer. Finally some Answers!

Where was Andrew in the years after his family left him in Missouri? What sort of life did he lead? So far there are no clues for the decades of 1890 and 1900. But 1910 finds him in Nebraska.

The 1910 Federal Census lists Andrew Schrock, age 67 living in Medicine, Lincoln County, Nebraska; he was head of household and a farmer. Andrew had a farm free and clear, indicating he was able to earn enough money to acquire an asset. He told the census taker his father and mother were born in France and he was born in Illinois. Ten years later, in the 1920 Federal Census under the name Andy Schrock, he appears in Linn County, Paris Township, Kansas; 77 years old, head of household, widowed, and a farmer who [a second time] owns his farm.

Andy’s age, birthplace, and parents’ birthplace match known information for Andrew in both of these census entries. The fact that he is “widowed” sheds light on thoughts and feelings about his family—he seems to have “burned his bridges.”  Andrew never shows up in a later census.

At age 77 Andrew is no longer a young man, but family acquaintances reported he had gone to Portland, Oregon, in 1924. His family advertised for him in the Northwest but received no response.  In my first draft of this article the next sentence was, “What happened there we may never know.” However, that statement is no longer valid!

During the first week of June I was browsing the Find a Grave website for an unrelated person and on a whim searched the Schrock surname. A long list of names appeared that I began looking through. When I arrived at name number 47 I did a double take. The name—Andy Schrock! The place—Sacramento, California—close enough to Portland, Oregon, to make me cautiously optimistic and a bit excited.

I clicked on the Odd Fellows Cemetery link shown beside the name and called the phone number shown. I was told they had been given minimal information about the names of some persons buried in the historic Sacramento City Cemetery¹² and decided to put them on line along with their own burials. I would need to call someone within the Sacramento County offices to find out if this Andy Schrock was who I thought he might be.

After quite a few phone calls I arrived at the Public Information Office of the County and a very helpful person emailed me a list of possible contacts. After two more calls I hit pay dirt! The very helpful City Cemetery archives volunteers filled in the rest of the story:  the record showed that Andy Schrock of Illinois died February 7, 1925 in Sacramento County Hospital at 82 years of age of pulmonary tuberculosis. He was indigent/destitute, a transient with no home. Andy was buried in Sec. 5-B SSW Potters Field, Tier 1, Gr. 156, along with many others like him, and without a stone.

But then I was curious about the Potters Field burial site. Several days later I again contacted City Cemetery archives office asking if they could identify where on their map Potters Field might be. Their answer sent me back to Odd Fellows Cemetery,¹³ for I was told that Potters Field is actually there rather than in City Cemetery. Another call to Odd Fellows Cemetery finally answered all the questions. I was pointed to the area on the map of their cemetery called Potters Field, and Google Maps revealed the cemetery that you will see included at the end of this article.

My research continued in the main Sacramento newspaper to see if there might be an article revealing the details of how Andy entered the hospital.  When the microfilm for February 1925 arrived I spent several hours looking through the pages of the Sacramento Bee, but was unable to find any further information. However, Andy’s descendants can finally put to rest their questions about his death, even if not every detail is known.

Andrew II’s Son Samuel.        

Samuel Truman Schrock (1876 - 1975)

Andrew and Magdalene’s son Samuel was born in Lamar, Missouri, and hometown of President Harry S. Truman. He was given the middle name Truman for Harry’s father, John Anderson Truman. After moving to Holdrege, Nebraska at age 13 with his mother and siblings and then living on the farm in a sod house six miles north of town, Sam learned to love and master all aspects of farming. As a family they worked hard and knew how to make the most of what they had. In the first year they broke 15 acres of sod. Sam showed his mettle that first winter when there was no money to buy fuel. He took his two brothers and with their two little white mules gathered 15 wagon loads of buffalo chips and corn stalks in order for the family to survive the cold winter with a little bit of comfort. Sam was the very opposite of his father.

Samuel’s mother sent him to a sod schoolhouse two months in the spring and two months in the fall. Every morning he left home carrying his own chair, walking one mile in rain, snow, sleet, hail, blizzard, or Nebraska heat, to sit around a long wooden table in the center of the [school] room.

Sam always referred to his mother as “my poor widowed mother” and would often cry when he mentioned her. She was not actually widowed but instead left her husband in Missouri and came to Phelps County with her five children by Immigrant Train. Her husband stayed in Missouri, worked as a blacksmith, visited Nebraska, but never lived here. While here, he used to sit in Sam’s gas station, barefooted, much to his son’s irritation.¹⁴

“He [Sam] was one of the pioneer farmers of Holdrege and farming captured him the rest of his 98 years. In the Phelps County Courthouse cornerstone is “one perfect corn ear raised by Sam Schrock in 1910!”¹⁵

While Sam put down deep roots in Holdredge, his brother Ed went to live in Burley, Idaho. Next he tried farming in Colorado but lost his farm in the Depression. He tried to get some help from his brother Sam to pay taxes to keep from losing his land, but the $500 needed was not forthcoming and he lost 1000 acres. Ed struggled financially for the remainder of his life.¹⁶

“Sam’s two older sisters were big, strong, healthy women who lived in a dugout in Phelps County and later moved away from the area. Lizzie moved to Wyoming and Lena [after the death of her husband, William Unzicker] moved to Chappell, Nebraska. They farmed and raised their children by themselves.”¹⁷ Elizabeth “Lizzie” was married to Edward King in the famous brick house west of Washington,¹⁸ but at some point the couple divorced. One relative remembered that Lizzie loved men and had a house on the edge of Holdrege, possibly a house of “ill repute.”¹⁹  She later lived on a 1280-acre ranch twenty miles north of Cheyenne, Wyoming, managing a large herd of cattle.

“In 1903 Samuel married Helen Sauer, and they bought a 1000-acre farm near Holdrege. Sam used his good business sense again and again. He bought a grinder and mixed his own feed using a scoop of corn, a scoop of cobs and a bundle of atlas sorgo. Using this method his cattle feeding program continued to show a profit. The Great Depression didn’t seem to have a great effect on him.

“After moving to town by no means did Sam slow down. He built one of the first service stations, and the first locker plant for Holdrege. He used parolees from the penitentiary for farm labor, and the results were successful. Sam was good to them and one stayed on with him for five years. Sam was a ‘go getter’, thrifty, and seemed to know how to make things turn a profit. He thought about retiring, but he couldn’t just sit around, so he bought an old hotel in Ragan and one in Atlanta and used the lumber to build a large building in Holdrege, The Schrock Building, for many businesses.

Sam Schrock’s gas station in Holdrege, Nebraska

“Sam was a true entrepreneur. He bought the ice plant and delivered ice to the railroad so travelers would buy his ice. He built an IGA grocery store, and during WWII when housing was short, he remodeled many old houses and apartments. Then, when in his 60s and 70s, he went back to farming. One of his sons said, “When Dad moved to town, he quit raising pigs and raised little girls, but it doesn’t seem that Sam ever stopped farming a day in his [98-year] life.’”²⁰

Sam’s daughter, Violet, had some negative memories of her “controlling” father, but she said she never heard her parents quarrel, argue or fight. She remembers the huge house her father built in Holdrege where she was later married, and that house was later described in the Holdrege Daily Citizen as, “the house that Sam Schrock built in 1926, now a Bed and Breakfast.”

Son Sammy had very distinct impressions of his father, Samuel, Sr., “He was ornery and self-centered.” One of his earliest memories was riding to town with his father in the 1914 Republic truck around 1920. His feet couldn’t touch the floor. Sammy thinks the truck was actually a 1916 model but his father wanted it to coincide with the year of his son’s birth—he wasn’t above stretching the truth to fit his pleasure! He was flamboyant and larger than life. Sam, Sr. had a love for music and passed this love on to several in his family.

Sam Sr.’s children remember some of his quotes: “Style and education ruin the country;” “I can talk myself into trouble and I can talk myself out of trouble,”  (his wife, Helen, on the other hand used to say, “Silence is golden,” and be embarrassed at what her husband said); “Hello, I’m Sam Johnson.” (Everyone knew who he was—this was just part of his personality. Sam was a Democrat and of German descent, but he managed to live comfortably in Phelps County with its preponderance of Swedes and Republicans.)²¹

The “ranch” (the land 12 miles north of Holdrege) was always important to the family, but Samuel wouldn’t sell the property to his son and namesake. He was ready to sell to another party but his wife Helen stuck up for her family and wouldn’t sign the papers. About 20 years later Sam Jr. and his sisters approached their 94-year-old Papa and were able to buy it—at more than market value! About this same time Sam’s children (Sammy was appointed conservator) had to take over his affairs, and Sam was furious at this loss of control and never really forgave his children for doing this. Sammy once commented, “Papa used to brag about me to other people, but he never complemented me to my face.”  This caused Sammy to change his behavior with his own children. He put his sons in charge of the farming at an early age in order to teach them independence.

Dramatic endings.

The life of immigrant Andrew ended dramatically during the prime of his life. He acquired a good amount of acreage, a productive farm, reared seven living children and had a good wife. He planned for and was building a fine brick home for his family that included a large room on the second floor where church services could be held on Sundays.  As it turned out, Andrew did not realize his dream. Instead, a deadly outbreak of cholera snuffed out his life and left his family without father and husband.

However, as often happened in Amish Mennonite communities, relatives put themselves and their resources on the line and made sure Anna and her children were cared for. A Tazewell County document exists for the $10,000 guardianship bond for Andrew’s children, dated August 10, 1857:

“Know all Men by these Presents, That we Anna Schrock, Peter Guth, Johannes Schrock and Joseph Schrock…for the use of Anna Schrock, Andrew Schrock, Mary Schrock, Peter Schrock and Madaline Schrock, minor heirs of Andrew Schrock, late of said County, deceased….”

The document contains the signatures of Peter Guth and Johannes Schrock (Anna’s brothers-in-law), Joseph Schrock, her nephew; and the mark of Anna Oyer Schrock. 

In one document Anna signed with her mark

In another document Anna signed her name

Peter Guth’s signature, administrator of Andrew’s estate.

Five years after her husband’s death the 1860 Federal Census reveals that Anna was carrying on successfully as a widow. She is listed as head of household, 45 years old, a farmer with real and personal property totaling $7000. Born in France. Children listed as Susan 23; Ann 20; Andrew 17; Mary 13; Peter 11; Magdaline 4. Counted with the family is Lewis List, farmer, age 21. No doubt Lewis was a hired hand helping with the farm work. Anna’s real and personal property totaled much more than her neighbors’, and $5000 more than the family reported in the 1850 census.

Father Andrew’s legacy was his loyalty within the Amish community of Lorraine, France, and his determination to make a better physical life in a New World where there was also the opportunity to worship God unhindered, and serve his fellow believers at whatever cost. He knew the value of hard work—a value expressed in the lives of several of his children and grandchildren, but unfortunately not so much in the life of his namesake. He was a visionary in his own environment, but didn’t live to see that vision completed.

On the other hand, son Andrew’s life and death leave mostly conjecture.

Did he lead a life void of happiness? It seems he did not miss his family or wish to reconnect, but was a loner all his life, without a community of support. The two census records from Nebraska and Kansas indicate that Andrew may have in his later years settled down sufficiently to earn enough money to own his farms, but they also show he continued to move from place to place. One wonders if Andrew had any connection to a faith community. Perhaps at some point Andrew remembered the “faith of his fathers” and made it his own. His legacy was not positive, in that his children were determined not to follow in their father’s footsteps, but rather live their lives as their immigrant grandfather had. Andrew was known to have said, “When I feel I can no longer be of use on this earth, I’ll jump in the river.” Perhaps losing his father at such an early age affected him more than his family realized, for he was never able to meet the challenges of providing for and loving a family.  His oldest son Sam always believed Andrew drowned himself in the Columbia River. Now we know that didn’t happen, but what did was just as heart rending.

**************************************************************

Sam Schrock sitting at the grave of his ancestor Andrew

Sam and Sharon Schrock of near Holdrege,
Nebraska, were unable to attend Schrock
Immigrant Day in June 2010—they had
crucial irrigation work at that time. Instead,
they spent a day in Illinois during a longer
trip in August. I had the privilege of taking
them to visit many of the Schrock family sites.
Of special interest to Sam was the
gravesite of his ancestor, Andreas Schrack,
in Guth Cemetery. He mused, “I never
thought I would ever be able to see my
great-great-great grandfather’s grave.” –DB

 ENDNOTES

---

¹ Neil Ann Stuckey Levine was kind enough to translate for me the birth document of André Schrack. She made further comments: There is no signature or mark of Joseph Schrack at the end of the document—at least not on the scan I received—and yet the man is not described as having been unable to write. And the fact that the father had to tap non-relatives to witness this birth indicates, as so often, that he and his family may have been perhaps the only fellow believers in town at the time. [Joseph Schrack did,however, sign birth documents of other children. db]

² Donald Kaufmann’s Stalter information says the land next to Waldo Cemetery in Livingston County is farmland once owned by Anna’s family. Anna married Ludwig (Louis) Stalter.

³ The deed reads: Benjⁿ Rutiger to Andrew Chrag. Years later in August 1915 in an affidavit filed in Hamilton County, Nebraska, Peter Schrock affirmed that Andrew Chrag was indeed his father Andrew Schrock. The error in the last name, he said, “was probably made by the draftsman of the said old deed, who evidently was not familiar with the correct spelling of declarant’s father’s family name.”

⁴ Carol Dorward, Collections Manager/Archivist for the Washington Historical Society, was instrumental in finding and sending relevant land deeds at the Tazewell County Court House in Pekin for my research.

⁵ David D. Augspurger was an ordained minister. According to Schertz Family Descendants: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/e/m/Dennis-G-BeMent/GENE17-0004.html, David established a church in Goodland, Indiana, then conducted mission work in the Chicago area, and later established a church at Bethel, east of Pekin.

⁶ E-mail from Carol Dorward, Washington Historical Society, 25 May 2011. Louis and Katharina Rein, in turn, sold the property for $7000 to John Wenger on 1 December 1903.

⁷ The acres bought and sold as seen in the land records do not match. However, there may still be transactions that took place that have not been found.

⁸ Descendants of Johannes Rediger. Received from Donald W. Roth September 2005.

⁹ “Also, there is still a house standing which in the second story had a large room built for the purpose of serving as a Mennonite Church meeting place.  Families attending there were Schrock, Augsburger, Schick and Guth.  Other early names were Muench, now Minch, and Riech, now Rich.  Few of these names remain, their descendants have gone on to business or professions or to engage in farming in other parts of the country.”  History of Washington, Illinois, Sesquicentennial, 1825-1975, page 16.

¹⁰ Mary Smith Oyer’s account of her grandparents’ death: Magdalena Schrock (1811 – 1855) and Christian Smith (1810 – 1855).

¹¹ Ibid. History of Washington, Illinois, Sesquicentennial, 1825-1975.

¹² Much information can be found on line about this historic cemetery, begun in 1850 on land donated by John Sutter who laid out the city plan for Sacramento—a son of John A. Sutter of Sutter’s Fort—famous for its role during the California Gold Rush.

¹³ http://oddfellows-cmtry-sac.com/index.php.  The name of Andy Schrock will not be found in a search on this website.

¹⁴ Schrock Farms 1908-2008, compiled by Sharon Schrock and Nancy Morse.

¹⁵ Adapted from information given in the book, Schrock Farms 1908-2008.

¹⁶ Raymond C. Schrock e-mail, 2008.

¹⁷ Ibid. Schrock Farms

¹⁸ Johannes Schrock: His Children and Grandchildren. Unpublished manuscript by Willard Smith.

¹⁹Ibid. Schrock Farms.

²⁰ Ibid.

²¹ Ibid.

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Map showing location of Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery near City Cemetery

 

Map of Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery that includes Potter’s Field

 

Goggle Maps aerial view of Potter’s Field—on the left ed

The 59th Joseph S. Schrock (1859-1936) and Joseph Lester Schrock (1896-1986) fish fry and reunion will be held September 11, 2011, according to David Schrock of Milan, Illinois.

The catfish fillets (caught by Schrock relatives) will be served at noon at New Boston Park, Broadway Street, New Boston, IL. There will be BBQ for those who don’t eat fish. Bring a dish to pass.

The gathering is open to all relatives, close and shirt tail. Last year’s event drew about 120 adults and children. In addition to the picnic there will be time for visiting and sharing of family information and photos. Concludes about 2:30 p.m.