A new surname will appear in today’s story…Hassebrock. It is a tale that takes place in Illinois, but it certainly does not take place in the same location from beginning to end. There are plenty of moves from place to place, but almost all of those places are found in just that one state.
We begin with a birthday girl that is found in our German Family Tree. Ida Anna Weseloh was born on May 10, 1899, thus making today her 125th birthday. There was another Ida Weseloh highlighted in a previous post, Meister Bauer’s Boy, and in that story, it was said that I had to be careful with this name because there were 2 Ida Weseloh’s, one born in 1897 and one born in 1899. It also said these two Ida’s were cousins. Today’s birthday girl was the daughter of Johann and Anna (Luedemann) Weseloh. Ida was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. Her baptism record is shown below in 2 images.
Ida was just 1 year old when she appears in the 1900 census. Her father was a farmer in the Fountain Bluff Township. There was a teenage girl named Anna Versemann in this household who was called adopted.
Ida’s father died in 1905, leaving her mother as a widow. In the 1910 census, we find this entry for the Weseloh’s. This must have been a rough time in the Weseloh family made up of a widowed mother raising 4 girls and no male presence.
In 1911, Ida’s mother married again. Her second husband was Fredrick Oetjen, who had lost his second wife in 1910. Fredrick had children from his previous 2 marriages, so when the 1920 census was taken, we find this blended Oetjen/Weseloh family. His father was a farmer who was getting help from some of his older Oetjen sons. Ida was listed as being 20 years old at this time.
Ida would get married before the next census, so we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was August Friedrich Hassebrock, who was born on January 10, 1890. I also had to be careful when looking at someone named August Friedrich Hassebrock. I know I was excited to find this confirmation record for August Friedrich Hassebrock from the books of Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Okawville, Illinois.
However, the above record says that August was born on April 20, 1890. I eventually determined that there were 2 August Friedrich Hassebrock’s, both born in 1890, and both born in Illinois. The one in the confirmation record above is not the one who married Ida. The one who married Ida was born in St. Peter, Illinois. He was the son of Heinrich and Mary (Storck) Hassebrock. So, you can also see that both August’s had a father named Heinrich. August is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10. He was part of a rather large Hassebrock family. His father was a butter manufacturer in St. Peter.
When the 1910 census was taken, we see that the Hassebrock’s had moved to Marion, Illinois where August’s father was a farmer. I find it a bit surprising that August, at the age of 20, is not given an occupation. I like to think that he was helping his father on the farm.
August moved to Murphysboro, Illinois in 1912. August Hassebrock married Elsie Hughes in 1914. This marriage took place in Jackson County, Illinois, almost certainly in Murphysboro. I do not know much about Elsie. When August had his World War I draft registration completed, it said he was living in Murphysboro and had a wife and 2 children.
In the 1920 census, we find the Hassebrock household in Murphysboro. August was working at a grocery store.
Elsie Hassebrock died in March of 1925. A later obituary for August says that Elsie died in the 1925 Tri-State Tornado. I think that Ida Weseloh may have moved to Murphysboro after the 1920 census, and got to know August Hassebrock at some point in time while she lived there. However, there is also the possibility that both Ida and August ended up in St. Louis in 1925 and met there, because that is where they were married on October 27, 1925. A St. Louis marriage record for this event is shown here. It is the only evidence that I located with that had Ida or August being found outside the state of Illinois.
August and Ida had two children of their own. They were born in Illinois. In the 1930 census, we find the Hassebrock’s living in Murphysboro where August was a driver for a brick plant. There were 4 children in their household, 2 from August’s first marriage, and 2 from his marriage to Ida.
Next, we discover that the Hassebrock’s made another move prior to the 1940 census. By then, they were living in the Johannisburg Township of Washington County, Illinois, which is north of Murphysboro closer to Belleville. August was a farmer at that time. Just the 2 children of August and Ida were living with them.
August had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. It gave him a Lenzburg, Illinois mailing address.
The last census the public is allowed to view is the one taken in 1950. The Hassebrock’s were living in Venedy, Illinois, which is just up the road from the Johannisburg Township. In addition to their 2 children, who were then in their 20’s, there was a grandson named David.
August and Ida can be found living in Belleville, Illinois according to this 1956 city directory. He is called a janitor at the Belleville Shoe Factory.
August Hassebrock died in 1959 at the age of 69. I located this obituary for him.
Ida Hassebrock did not die until 1986 at the age of 87. August and Ida are buried together in the Lake View Memorial Gardens in Fairview Heights, Illinois, which is near Belleville.
Just one church record in the books of Christ, Jacob has led us all over the state of Illinois and has introduced us to a new surname for this blog. It led us to a pair of Ida Weseloh’s who could be confused with one another as well as a pair of August Friedrich Hassebrock’s who also had the potential of being confused. Doing family research sometimes has unexpected results.