Strack Strock Ancestors

The place of origin stated here as Wurtemburg should be the area of Wittegensteiner Land. Just notice part of the Count’s name. The following is from a marriage record: the records of the Millbach Reformed Church which states that John Henry Strack, youngest son of John Yost Strack, from Germany, County Wittgenstein, married Anna Elizabeth Hoffman, daughter of Henry Hoffman on 6 Aug 1762. There are other lists and records that Stracks’ were found in the Wittgenstein area as early as 1581 from a marriage record. Amtshausen, Bermershausen, Erndtebrück, Feudingen, Holzhausen, Oberndorf, Rückershausen, Volkholz and (Bad) Laasphe are some of the villages in this Wittgenstein area that have had a Strack connection at one time. One line of Strack’s that is not reported in the following is a line of 5 brothers that arrived in the Spring, Texas area ca 1850. They are reported as being from Feudingen. Then also there are Strack’s who stated there place of origin as the area of Alsace, France and the village of Soufflenheim there. (Robert E. Strock Jul 2002) The following is from the into to Ronald W. Strock’s book The Descendants of Joseph Strock of 1757 published in 1984. This book is out of print. Additions and corrections are being collected by Robert E. Strock, 242 N Church St, Dalton, OH 44618 e-mail [email protected]

Strack/Strock By Ronald W. Strock (1927-2002)

I did promise earlier to reveal some of the things my father, EDWIN E. STROCK had put together on the STROCKS in America. His source of much of this I can not verify. As I do know there were some of his papers missing when I took up This work, some of this may well be true. I do note however that he did use a very broad use of who were indeed STROCKS, he feeling that many of the variations should be included such as STROCK, STRACK, STRAUCH, and STROUCH. Others he also may have included. If not completely accurate, it may be of some use or interest and even help towards a more complete record of our families in America. JOSEPH (STRACK) STROCK, w as born in Wurtemb urg, Germany in 1748. At this time, Wurtemburg was a part of Germany known as the Lower Palatinate District. It varied in si ze f rom time to time depending on whether it had Catholic or Protestants as the rules, and at ti mes was torn by strife between the Rulers and the people of the District. This strife caused many of the people to flee f or the safety of their lives around 1750. A dispute arose between two brothers named Strac k and their Over- Lord, one Imperi al Lord and Count of Sayn, Hohenstein and Wittegenstein, Lord of Hamb urg, Vallender, Clottenberg and Lohra, also ducal Wurtemb erger Knight of the Great Order of the Chase. (His family name was John Ludig the Family name is never used in Gi ving the Titles, but some how i t got into some of the ol d records, and by having the Family name explains some of the acti on taken by Joseph Strock of 1757 toward two of his daughters). In this dispute, the two b rothers l ost their li ves, their property and the lives of their families became forfeit, so they had to fl ee from Germany in order to save thei r lives. (The names of these two men has not come to light). The Families spli t up and went in two directions, one group

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consisting of f our b rothers of one family fled to the town of Holstein, Canton of Basel in Switzerland, they were Heinrich, l ater known as Henry Strock of 1753 and another of the older b rothers named Joh an with two of the younger brothers, Samuel and Anthony. In 1753 they made thei r way to Rotterdam, and sailed f rom there on the Ship Edinburgh, c ommanded b y Capt. James Russell , Heinrich and Johan being over the age of Si xteen had to take the Oath of Allegiance to the English Crown, this they did at Portsmouth, Engl and, Samuel and Anthony being un der sixteen years of age did not have to take the Oath. This party of four brothers landed at Philadelphia, Pa. on September 14, 1753. All four of them settled in Pennsylvania. All four married, and wi th the exception of Samuel had a family. It i s not known at this time how many children Johan had or their names; Anthony had three sons, the f amily of one son, Henry i s known and that of the other two, Joseph and Davi d are not known, having been l ost track of b y brother Henry's famil y. However, it is known that both J oseph and Davi d moved to the vicinity of Carlisl e, Cumb erland Co., Pennsylvania. Heinrich or Henry Strac k settled in Heidelberg Twp. Dauphin Co., Pennsylvania. He married Roseane Warner, and to them w ere born ' nineteen children. While the exact order of bi rth or dates i s not known, some of their descendants are well recorded. Henry's family i s Maria Eli zabeth (Kochenderfer); Magdalene (Knower), Catherine (Bower), Barbara, Susanna, Elizabeth, Margaret, Roseanne Anna Maria, Annegelia and Philippine were the daughters. His sons were George (the oldest), Henry, John, Jacob, Yost, Michael, Peter and Christi an. While dates of bi rth are not known, it i s known that Henry and Michael were b orn in the 1760's. Heinrich died in 1795Johan Strac k of 1753, was kn own to have been married and having a family, as yet the names and numb er of the children are not known, so no genealogical data can b e given on them. He is known to have settled in Pennsylvania. Samuel Strac k (Strock) of 1753 under the age of si xteen on his arrival in America, settl ed near Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He was married but had no children of his own. (He however raised a nephew, Henry Strock, born in 1771, who was the child of Joseph (Strack) Strock by his marriage to Susan Bensinger in 1769. Susan died at the birth of Henry, J oseph di d not re-marry until several years later, and to Susan's sister, (Betsy) Elizabeth Bensinger, possibly around 1776 or 1777. Henry Strock, b orn 1771 has his descendants li sted fairl y well up to date. At this point, 1, Ronal d W. Strock have come into some di sagreement with the part of this Henry Stroc k. I have not listed him as a child of our JOSEPH for the reason I beli eve this Henry was a son of the Henry (Heinrich of 1753) and not of our line. Anthony Strack-Strock of 1753, the youngest of the four to arrive in 1753. He settled at Perkiomenville, Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania. He was a butcher and drover, supplying meat to Philadelphia. He was at Valley Forge, under General George Washington during the winter of 1777-1778. Was married and had three sons, Henry, Joseph, and David. Anthony became discouraged over the worthlessness of the Continental money and decided to settle in Swi tzerl and, not daring to return to Germany. He sold his

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farms and set out for Europe, on reaching Spain, the enti re family bec ame ill, Anthony died and is b uried there. His widow and three boys returned to America and she took back one of the farms they had owned, and rai sed them to manhood. Henry the oldest is the only one of the boys that has any family history availabl e. Joseph and Davi d having went to near Carlisl e, Pennsylvania and the descendants of them I so far have no knowledge of. Many of Henry's descendants live around Springtown, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania near Bethlehem. The others of this Family group fleeing Germany in 1750 c onsisted of the widowed mother and her two youngest sons, John and our Joseph, who was two years old at this time, by Johannes, one of her ol der sons an d a nephew Johann Jost Strock whose father was one of the two killed b efore they got out of Germany. They went to a small villa 8 in the Voseges Mts. in Alsace-Lorraine, then part of France . (This by some fl eeing to Switzerl and and some to AlsaceLorraine has caused the deb ated question as to whether the Strack-Strocks were Swiss, French or of German Descent. In order f or the widowed Mrs. Strock to get to America to b e near the four sons already in America, it was necessary that she woul d re-marry. This she did to a man that we know as a Mr. Sassaman. When they set out for America, they took only the youngest boy, our Joseph with them. The other son John was sent to Charleston, South Carolina with either f riends of the family or relati ons of another name.. After the arrival of Mr. & Mrs. Sassaman with our Joseph, the Sassamans dropped c ompletely out of sight, there is n o menti on of them. Joseph Strac k-Stroc k was b ound out until he was 21 years of age to pay for his passage to America, to whom he was b ound is not known, b ut sai d to have been a farmer that lived near Philadelphia. Joseph was married tw ice, and married sister by the name of Bensinger. His first marriage was in 1?69 to Susan Bensinger who died at the bi rth of thei r first child, Henry on 27 March 1771 in Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania near the home of Joseph's brother Samuel. Samuel raised Henry, as J oseph did not remarry for several years. Joseph 's children of his second marriage did not of Henry as a brother but most likel y as a cousin. Joseph must have been living at Vall ey Forge, Pa. at the ti me of his secon d marriage, he also served under Gen. Washington at Vall ey Forge, J oseph also owned a farm near by, and sold produce from his farm to the camp there. Joseph of ten tol d his sons of his seeing Gen. Washington at P rayer in a little grove, and of his stealing q uietly away s o as in no way disturb the prayer. Joseph Strock was married to Betsy-(Elizabeth) Bensinger in 1777 or 1778, their first child was born in 1780, they had el even Children. Six of these were born at Valley Forge, and the other five were born in Cumberland Co., Pa. near Churchtown (now Allen). Mary or Mari a Strock b orn at Vall ey Forge, Pa. 1780. Single-died in Medina Co., Ohio. John Henry Strock born Nov. 14, 1781 at Valley Forge, Pa. Veteran of War of 1812-died Dec . 11, 1830 in Ohio. Mollie Strock-Ludwick l ater Lodwick, was changed first from Ludi g to Ludwick, was a rel ative of John Ludig, Count of Sayn, Hohenstein an d Wittgenstein,. with the father of Joseph and his b rothers had the dispute that cost him his lif e and that of his brother, the father of Johann Jost Strock of 1764. Betsy (Elizabeth) born 1784 at Valley Forge, Pa., died in Ohio. Married a Mr. Clinger. George Strock b orn Apr. 23, 1786 Valley Forge, Pa., died May 11, 1867

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at Newton Falls, Ohio. Marri ed Eli zabeth Lotman-12 children. Veteran of War of 1812. Joseph Strock Jr. born Jul y 7, 1788 Valley Forge, Pa. died Nov. 7, 1851 in Mahoning Co., Ohio. Jacob Strock born Apr 1, 1793 in Cumberland Co., Pa. died Apr. 3, 1872 near Canfield, Ohio. Hannah Strock born 1795 in Cumberl and Co., Pa., date of death unknown, b uried at West Salem, Ohio, Married Joseph Stitle. Samuel Stroc k born May 7, 1799 in Cumb erland Co., Pa., died June 29, 1878 near Pricetown, Ohio. William Strock born June 21, 1801 Cumb erl and Co., Pa. died Mar. 20, 1858 near Canfield, Ohio. John Strock, the youn gest child of Joseph and Betsy (Bensinger) Strock born 1804 in Cumberl and Co., Pa. came to Ohio about 1815, the dates of bi rth and death not known. Li ved in Ohio and Michigan. Married and had 13 children, th ree died of fever at Lordstown, Ohio. John Strock, b orn in Wurtemberg, Germany about 1746 was taken by his mother along with his youngest brother Joseph to Alsace-Lorraine, France in 1750. In 1757 instead of being taken b y his mother and step-father Mr. Sassaman along with J oseph, John was taken to Charl eston, South Carolina by either f riends of the family or b y relatives of another name. (The reason for not giving the exact dates on John and Joseph and the names of Shi ps they arrived on, stems from the fact that this recording was not kept from 1755 to 1762 by the English, due to troubl e between France and England at that time). These records were kept by the Engli sh from 1729 to 1776 giving names of 30,000 men bought from Germany during those years. Only mal es of over the age sixteen were recorded, so it is not possible to give the exact number of people who came from Germany to America at that time. As the listings are for only English Ships, sailing mostly f rom the port of Rotterdam to first English Ports then to America. Nothing is known of people arriving on Ships from other c ountries during this peri od. John Strock arrived in 1757 at Charleston is best that can b e done. John settled in the North Orangeb urg District of South Carolina near Elloree. The 1790 census lists him as having five daughters and one son under sixteen at home. Through c orrespondence to descendants, a large amount of his family through the son are known. Johannes Strack-Stroc k of the seven brothers to come to Americ a, leaving Alsace-Lorraine f or Rotterdam, he sail ed on the Ship Prince of Wales, commanded by Capt. James Edgar, b eing over six- teen took the Oath of Allegiance to the English Crown at Cowes, England. He arrived at Philadelphia on Nov. 5, 1764. Settled in Pennsylvania, kn own to have married and having family. Sad to state however there is n o data on his descen dants. ( One thing not mentioned i s whether these seven men had any sisters, and if they di d, there is no rec ord of them. Johann Jost Strack- Strock, a fi rst c ousin to the seven brothers, and with Johanes Strock helped esc ort the widowed Mrs. Strock, his aunt and her two youngest sons to Alsace-Lorraine, remained in Alsace-Lorraine until 1764, going bac k to his ol d home town of P uderbach, and was granted permi ssion to leave for America b y the old Over-Lord with the provisi on that he n or any of his kin that had fl ed Germany because of the dispute ever return to Germany, and as long as the edic t was obeyed, as he was concerned, the incident was closed.

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Johann Jost Strack- Strock sailed from Rotterdam on the Shi p Sarah c ommanded by Capt. Francis Stanfiel d, Johann Jost took the Oath of Allegiance to the English at Portsmouth, England, and he arrived in Philadelphia on Sept. 20, 1764. After landing, he went di rec tly to Cumberland Co., Pa. an d settled near Churchtown (now Allen) near Carlisle, Pa. He b ecame known as the Joseph Strock of 1764. He don ated land for a school and a ch urch at Churchtown. He married the daughter of a fell ow passenger on the Ship Sarah, whose name was Wiese (Wise). This Mr. Wise was a veteran of the Revol utionary War and through Joseph's wife, the descendants are entitl ed to the D.A.R. or S.A.R.. Joseph had three children, a daughter, the oldest named Elizabeth and two sons, Joseph and Jacob. Descendants of Elizabeth still li ve in the Carli sle, Pa. area. A great deal of Data on the families of the sons has been collected. Four other Strack- Strocks settl ed in Philadel phia around 1785, they being four brothers, Joseph, Christi an, Samuel and John Daniel Strack. Ch ristian was a Catholic by religi on, the other three were protestants. Joseph, Christian and John Daniel were in what is kn own as the Kensington District of Philadel phia and that Samuel moved to Chamberburg, Pa. All married and had families, but I have no data on the descendants of J oseph or Christian. On John Daniel there is some data, and on the descendants of Samuel of 1785 there is quite a lot that is up to date. I can not say j ust how cl osely related these four men were to the eight already named. (Much of the older data b eing lost or mi splac ed makes it impossi ble to give exact relationships.) Besides these twelve known closely related famili es of Strack- Strock, there are other families of Strack-Strock that are related to them, as they came at Different dates, one earlier and two much later. (Information f rom Germany, says that all Immigrants f rom Germany bearing the name Strack-Stracke are all from the same family line. ( Stracke) is a variati on of the spelling Strack. Many Stracks have come to America, but never changed the spelling, so f rom that it can b e seen that the Strack-Strocks many relatives they know nothing about, and i t probably is the cause of many of us to remark that person looks just like so and so of their own family. The first known Strac k-Strock to Arrive in America was J ohann Peter Strac k, c oming f rom th e Lower Pal atinate District of Old Germany, he sail ed from Rotterdam on the Ship Pennsylvania, commanded by Capt. John Stedman. Johann Peter Strac k took the Oath of Allegi ance to the Engli sh Crown at Plymouth, England. He arrived in Philadel phia on Sept. 11, 1732, settled in Pennsylvania. Nothing is known of any descendants. Philip Stracke-Strock came f rom Germany in 1860, and settled first near Lancaster, Ohi o then Union City, Indiana. His ol dest child, a daughter was born in Germany and si x other children in Ohio. Names of these children are not known but three grand children are Ray Strock of Union Ci ty, Indiana and Ira and Earl Strock, b rothers that live in Anderson, Indiana. In 1870, a Henry Strack-Strock with his wife and four sons, Jacob, John, Alfred and Daniel came to America and settl ed fi rst somewhere in western Illinois. The four sons later left Illinoi s, one going to Storm Lake, Iowa and the others to Yates Center, Kansas. The only member of this family that has been

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contacted is Charles R. Stroc k of Covina, California. Charles could not give much data on this family as his mother died when he was young and he was raised by different families and l ost touch with relatives. He did say that his grand father left two sons and a daughter in Germany b ut c oul d give little on them except one sons was named Louis and the daughter was named Elizabeth. There w ere several other families now bearing the name Strock, but using a different spelling, all came from the same l ocality of Old Germany, the Low er Palatinate District, and at near the same times as the Strack-Strock were coming. Not having enough data on any of them I can not, and will not attempt to say that they are related to the Strack-Strocks. I am listing them so if any of their descendants see this Sketch, i t is my hope that they may c ontact me and help clear the subject up, or give me as much data as possible so all will have a chance to establish a fi rm line of Descent. Adam Strauch, from the Lower Palatinate Di stric t, sai led f rom Rotterdam on the Shi p Saint Andrews Galley, commanded by Capt. John Stedman. Adam Strauch took the Oath of Allegiance to the English Crown at Cowes, England, arriving in Philadel phia Sept. 26, 1737. Settled in Pennsylvania. No other data. Simon Peter Strauch f rom the Lower Palatinate District of Old Germany, sailed f rom Rotterdam on the Ship Windsor commanded by Capt. James Good. Simon Peter Strauch took the Oath of Allegiance to the English Crown at Cowes, England arriving at Philadelphia on Sept. 27, 1753. Settled in Pennsylvania. Jacob Strach f rom the Lower Palatinate district. Sailed from Rotterdam on the Ship Halifax, c ommanded b y Capt. Thomas Coatem. Took Oath of Allegiance at Cowes, England and arrived Philadel phia on Oct. 22, 1754. Settled in Pennsylvania. Johan Heinrich Strauch f rom the Lower Palatinate District, sailed from Rotterdam on the Shi p Pallas c ommanded b y Capt. Richard Milner. Took Oath of Allegi ance at Cowes, England and arri ved at Philadel phia on Nov. 25, 1763. Settled in Pennsylvania. In 1802, a Wilhelm Strock arrived at Philadelphia and settl ed there. No other data. About 1805 or 1807, tw o famili es b y the name Stroc k arrived in Boston, Mass. and settl ed there. While many descen dants are known, have f ound n o name for the heads of these two famili es or number of children each had. A Charles A. Strock born Aug. 25, 1813 Hanover, Germany; died Oc t. 11, 1855. His wife, Caroline W. Funk born June 18, 1806 in Lobenstein, Germany, died Apr. 18, 1892 at York, Pa. They c ame to America in the late 1830's. Their four children born after they settl ed at York, Pa. are Mary Eli zabeth StrockDeitth born Jan. 29 1840; C. Sophia Strock-Craver b orn Nov. 4, 1848; Charles A.

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Strock J r. b orn Mar. 4, 1843 and A ugustus C. Strock b orn Feb. 4, 1845- Some data on the children and grand chil dren till about 1912. The last addi tion to the Strock f amily i s that of Ri chard Strock He was born Richard Strzok of Poli sh Desc ent in Wisconsin. ( Strzok is pron ounced Strock). He i s an Officer in the US Army, Dental Corp. In order to avoi d confusion over spelling-pronunciati on, he legally changed name to Stroc k in 1960. This lists contains only names of people that used the spelling Strock that are known to the writer of this sketch, and is not claimed to be f ully complete, as after 1776 it i s possible that others of the Famil y name came to America, and made their homes and have been missed or never c ontacted. Edwin E. Strock 518-32nd Street South Bend, Indiana 46615

Now as I stated at the beginning of these pages, this is the thoughts of my father. I myself have not as yet attempted to spread my knowledge on these other Strock families. I have however found some errors on the part of oour own line which I have corrected in my write up such as where our Joseph lived and more on each of his children than was known a few years back. I have also in my census searching turned up some other Strack-Strock families unknown to Edwin. If there is any relationship near or far among all these other families and ours, I have yet to uncover it. Edwin so wanted our ancestor Joseph to be living near Valley Forge as tradition says he did business with the Army there. It has been found out however that many who did supply food and other items were not necessarily only ones who lived close by but some traveled many miles. As our Joseph did live well within a distance that he could have covered, it may so then be true that he did so bring some supplies. There are many questions that come to mind on our ancestor, Joseph, and hopefully some day more will be answered. So we will leave you with that thought and maybe someone will take up the search for more that is out there someplace.

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