Wednesday, November 6, 2019

A Mystery solved....at last?

Readers of Faith of our Fathers might remember the chapter dealing with the Peter Alois Gerk family of Crespo, Argentina. So, here's an update:

Stories abounded when I would visit my grandmother.  One of those stories was that my great-grandfather, Georg Gerk, left Russia around the time of the Russo-Japanese War to escape being drafted.

Strange, since he was not a young man in those days....but Russian officials decided to draft older men who had already served their military duty.  It left farms without the head of the family to run them.  Many men left Russia so they would not have to serve.

My great grandfather traveled to Argentina to be with his older brother, also named Georg, and his family.  He would later return to Russia, eventually retire and die in 1924.

When my grandfather escaped Russia, he searched for his uncle and family...with probably hopes he could travel to Argentina.

He's actually listed in this Volga German publication from 1923, Number 34, looking for Georg Gerk.

We dont actually know if he ever heard from his, or the family.  We do know he would try to travel to the USA, and unable to do that, would travel to Canada as a refugee.

Meanwhile, for some years I have tried to research what happened to this line of the Gerk's.  Interesting.  As time wears on, and records become available online, I have been able to trace some of their movement in Argentina.  One of my grandfather's cousins, Elena Gerk, married Johannes Kloster in April of 1903 in Puán, Argentina.  Johannes would die in 1918 in Crespo....and then Elena will marry Peter Alois Gerk in 1919 also in Crespo.  Peter Alois Gerk was a widower, also from Josefstal, but only a distant relative.


So what happened to them?  Through the years I've been in touch with some descendants,  but they said they knew nothing of their history.

This past week some more pieces of the puzzle arrived.  Some contact with some of the great-grandchildren of Johannes and Elena (Gerk) Kloster. 

So far we know this: Elena Gerk died about 1959 in the State of Santa Fe.  It is believed that her parents also died there, Johann Georg and Margareta Haberkorn.  Folks are now working on getting confirmation and possible photos of graves.

In the meantime, they found a photograph of Elena and her husband, Peter Alois Gerk, and children.  Dates are not known...but at last we have something...and additional clues!


More later....it's been many years of searching....but we are close to closing this file on this line of the family!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Gerk's of South Dakota buried in Spokane


The Gerk family of South Dakota were originally from Russia.  I will post more documents here, but on a recent trip to Spokane Washington, I came across two graves of members of the family.  Charles Gerk was originally born in Argentina, but moved with his family shortly after to Yankton, South Dakota.  Both Charles and is wife Anna are buried in the Holy Cross cemetery in Spokane.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Col Joseph A Gerk, Sr


Birth: Sep. 26, 1874
Death: Apr. 2, 1957

Colonel Joseph A. Gerk, retired Chief of Police from the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department died at Missouri Basptist Hospital of cardiac arrest. He had also been suffering and chronic bronchitis and asthma for 15 years prior to his death. . He lived at 2635 Gurney Ct. in Saint Louis. After his retirement from the department he was a consultant for Mallinkrodt Chemical Company. He lived to be 82 years, 9 months, and 26 days. He was predeceased by his wife Corinne Gerk in 1938, and his son Joseph A. Gerk Jr. in 1931. He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery on April 5Th, 1957

Family links:
 Spouse:
  Corinne Korzendorfer Gerk (1886 - 1938)*

 Children:
  Joseph A Gerk (1902 - 1931)*

*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Oak Grove Cemetery
Saint Louis
St. Louis County
Missouri, USA
Plot: Section Number 6, Plot Number 57, Grave Number 10.

Maintained by: Timothy Tumbrink
Originally Created by: Susan Ing
Record added: Dec 22, 2010
Find A Grave Memorial# 63212645

So...here is the question.  It states on his death record that he was born in the USA.  Is that accurate? 

Paul Gerk: Death record June 1954

The BC Archives have released scans of their inventory of vital even records, including death records.

While I had always had a scan of the death record of Paul Gerk, the quality of these records is excellent.

The link to the site is here.

Paul Gerk passed away on June 3, 1954.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Book Project: Done.



After many, many years...the book is finally done.  There were so many kind people that assisted me in my quest...and I could not have done it without them.

I was 18 years old when I told my grandmother I would be writing a book about my grandparents...and what they went through to escape Russia.

It grew to include how the family even ended up in Russia, and now includes data on Gerk's all over the world.

Adventures?  I've had a few.  Working in former Soviet archives and even visiting the site of where my grandparents were born and raised, as well as standing in the abandoned cemetery where so many of my ancestors were buried.

I kept my promise.

The link to purchase can be found here.


Monday, May 14, 2012

The Gerk's of Brazil: From Slovenia to Brazil...

In 1930, there were a series of articles published in the "Buchenblätter", which was a publication of the Fuldaer Zeitung, a newspaper out of Fulda in Germany.  This one specific article was entitled: "Die Auswanderung fuldaischer Landes-Untertanen nach Ungarn 1717-1804", which, loosely translated means, The emigration of Fulda area residents to Hungary, 1717 - 1804.

The articles document various families applying for and then leaving for Hungary.  It's a fascinating account also because emigration to Russia was illegal in those days...so many thought that the people on these lists actually ended up in Russia.

One such family is listed here in May of 1766: Joh. Bast. Gerd (?), which archivists think was Johann Sebastian Gerk with his wife and three children.  Leaving from the area of Großenlüder, specifically the village of  Kleinlüder, Germany, which was located about 5 miles from the city of Fulda.

We know the first Gerk to Russia was Sebastian Gerk, from  the area of Fulda....who emigrated from Germany to Russia in 1766...arriving in the Volga village of Koehler in 1767.

But what if it is a different Sebastian Gerk?  

What if this Sebastian Gerk and family actually settled in Hungary?  How about Slovenia? Given the changing borders of Hungary of the day, anything is possible.

But what of Church records?  Although no further information seems to be available about this Joh. Bast. Gerk, we do find a reference for a Jois Sebastian Gerck born in 1730 in Kleinlüder, married in 1750 to a Anna Maria, born also in 1730 in Kleinlüder. They have listed 3 children: Marie Agnes Gerck born 1754; Joannes Gerck born 1757 and Maria Elisabetha born 1760.

Could this be the Gerk's who settled in Slovenia, and then made their way to Brazil?

It's another of those Gerk Mysteries!


Saturday, May 12, 2012

Faith of Our Fathers: A History of the Gerk Family

Well, it's almost here.  This blog has been set up to promote this book that takes a "small" look at the Gerk Family.

I say "small" because, really, how could I ever complete a project that documents every Gerk?

For those interested, the book examines the Gerk's of Russia...how they got there...and then branches off into Paul & Elisabeth (Dieser) Gerk (my grandparents).  There are additional sections on some of the Gerk families of other Canadian provinces, American states, as well as Argentina and Brazil.

Those sections have been designed as "first step" chapters.  That is, designed to assist those Gerk's from those areas to start their own family history project.

Instructions on how to order the book will be made will be made available here shortly, as well as the Facebook community page set up for members of the Gerk family.

If all goes well, this first edition should be published in June or July.

We will also publish on this blog research material that may or may not have made into the final version of the book...as well as new information and documentation that we acquired after the printing. That way members of the Gerk family can keep current on the latest research news.

Keep watching!!