The prompt this week is ‘Challenge’. In part I I talked about a genealogy challenge I have; to learn more about George Kolk! The earlier post lists most of what I know about George Kolk, the grandson of Jacob Kolk. Today I want to talk about George Kolk from Centralia, Illinois, who may or may not be the grandson of Jacob.
Here is some of the information I’ve found about ‘Centralia George’.
George W. Kolk registered for the WWII 27 Apr 1942. He resided in Centralia, Marion County, Illinois. He listed Mrs. Susan Kolk, of the same address, as the person who would always know his address. He stated he was born 11Jan 1889 in Alton, Illinois.
The 1930 Census shows 42 year old George W Kolk living in Cliinton County, Illinois with his wife, Susie, stepson, Paul D Knicker, and foster son, Arnold Knicker. He is listed as a WW veteran and a truck farmer, #41 on the farm schedule.
George’s obituary details many facts of his life. He was 88 years old at the time of his death in 1976. He married Susie Bierman Knicker in 1927 in Centralia. He moved to Centralia in 1952 after retiring from Illinois Central Hopspital in Chicago as an attendant, where he lived 10 years. Prior to that, he worked as a registered nurse in St. Louis area hospitals. He served in the hospital corps in France during WWI. It also tells me that George was born near Alton, the son of Henry Kolk—good news/bad news, as I’ll discuss later.
I found a marriage record that shows George married in Clinton County, Illinois 31 May 1927. He is 40 years old and was born in Alton, Illinois. His parents are shown as Henry Kolk and Emma Ricks.
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Ancestry has an entry in the Social Security Applications and Claims Index for George William Kolk, born 11 Jan 1889 in Godfrey, Madison County, Illinois. Godfrey abuts Alton to the north, so this is in agreement with the obituary. His parents are shown as Henry Kolk and Emma Reicke.
All the above applies to ‘Centralia George’ but does it prove he is the grandson of Jacob Kolk?
A lot of the facts line up. Centralia George was born near Alton, Illinois and presumably, grandson George was born near his grandfather and uncles, also near Alton. So far, I have not found a Kolk in the Alton area who was not descended from Jacob. Centralia George was born in 1889. Grandson George was a minor in Dec 1900, under age 21. This means he was born after 1879 (but before 1900). His uncle William posted bond as George’s guardian in 1908, which means he wasn’t yet 21. This means George was born sometime after 1887, but before his grandfather's death in 1900, which fits the 1889 birthdate on Centralia George’s draft registration and his social security claim. The middle name on the social security document, William, could be a nod to his guardian and uncle, perhaps a favorite brother of his Kolk parent.
This all sounds good, but there is one problem, and it is a big one. Centralia George’s parents are recorded as Henry Kolk and Emma Reicke. Jacob Kolk did have a son named Henry, but he was not dead in 1900! He was born in 1867 and didn’t die until 1916! And to make things even more interesting, he did marry a woman named Emma, but her name was Emma Weiss! (I wrote about Emma for week 1 here).
Is it possible that Jacob had another son named Henry? It is possible, but it seems highly unlikely. I have seen incidents of a second child carrying the name of a previous child who had died, but as I mentioned, George’s uncle Henry was very much alive when he was born, meaning there would have to be two living sons named Henry at the time of George’s birth.
I’ve been unable to find a marriage record for Henry Kolk and Emma Reicke, however, interestingly, I did find a marriage record for Henry Rieke and Emma Kolk, married in 1893 in Montgomery County, Illinois.
Emma was born in 1871, the daugher of John Kolk and <> Smith. Could she be the long lost Anna Kolk I mentioned in part !? Anna was 2 years old in the 1870 census, obviously born before 1871, but a small discrepency in age on a marriage record is not that unusual. Anna’s parents were Jacob Kolk and Mary Smith. It’s possible ‘John’ is a mistake and should have been ‘Jacob’. Another possibility is that Anna did indeed die before the 1880 census, and Emma was a younger sister born after 1870, She would have been only 7 when her mother died, and possilby sent to live with another family when her father was not able to care for her. That may explain why she didn’t know her parents’ names. But even with all this rationalization, this marriage occurred 3 years AFTER the 1889 birth of Centralia George.
And it still doesn’t explain why Centralia George had the last name Kolk instead of Riecke. It’s possible that after his parents died, that George was raised as a Kolk by Kolk relatives and he didn’t realize that his mother was a Kolk and his birth name was Reicke. Maybe, because he went by Kolk, he assumed his father was a Kolk and his mother a Reicke (or Rieke).
All of my reaching to make the facts fit is no proof that Centralia George and Grandson George are the same person. I am still left with the challenge of finding Grandson George. I strongly suspect that Centralia George is also Grandson George, but I have no smoking gun to prove it! I can search for military records for George, I can order the Social Security application, but if George believed his name was Kolk and his parents were Henry Kolk and Emma Reicke, that is what he would have reported and wouldn’t clear up my mystery at all! Unless I can find a birth record created while George’s parents were still living, this may be a challenge I will never solve! If you have some ideas or evidence to add, it would be very much appreciated. Just leave a comment or
contact me!
To learn more about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow, visit her website
here.
