Harlock

This one could be sub-titled "A short lesson in genealogy" because looking through this particular bunch of papers made me realize how easy it would have been to come to a standstill with Mr. William Harlock or to settle for the basic names, dates and places we usually find.  Reading the attached articles,  it is obvious that the researcher kept digging and, in doing so, came up with the bits of history that make genealogy that much more interesting and bring us closer to understanding our ancestors. I cannot imagine what steps led this particular genealogist to find such interesting stories, but let's give it a shot-----

In a scrapbook loaned to us from Jan Hanson and the FCCFH, there are the following obituaries:

WILLIAM HARLOCK DIES AT HOSPITAL (from the Herald, 02 Sept 1920)

William Harlock, of 317 Pearl street, passed away Wednesday evening at 6 o'clock at Mercy Hospital.  His death was caused from the physical shock, following a fall from a chair last Monday, when he sustained a broken hip.

Deceased was born in Cambridgeshire, England, December 24, 1828 and was 91 years, eight months and six days of age at the time of his death.  He was married October 13, 1848 to Miss Sarah Brown. Three years later they came to America and settled in Lyons, where they lived practically the greater part of their life.  Of his immediate relatives he is survived by three children, Mrs. Lizzie Phillippi of Oklahoma who has tenderly cared for him the past six years, Mrs. Mary (? Au ?) of Gentry, Ark. and William Harlock of this city.

The funeral will be held Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock from the Shadduck chapel.  Burial will be in Oakland cemetery.

And the very brief obituary of his wife:

LYONS WOMAN DIES (from the Clinton Daily Record 12 June 1905)

Mrs. Sarah Harleck, Aged 76 Years, Passed Away This Morning -- Funeral Wednesday

Mrs. Sarah Harleck, wife of William Harleck, died at 11 o'clock this morning at her home on the north side.  The deceased was 76 years of age and had been a long time resident of Lyons.  A few years ago, with her aged husband, she went to Oklahoma, and later they removed to Michigan to live.  The last few weeks of her life she spent with her son, William Harleck and family on North Fourth street.

The funeral will be held at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon.

Now what?  Well, there are birth and death certificates that can be sent for, and cemetery records might provide another clue or two. Since they were in Clinton County for almost 70 years, there would be census records and they probably owned their home, so there would be a deed filed.  And there's the children to follow-up on.  These items would probably yield more facts and possibly a link to a cousin to two -- But......

Don't you want to know more?  What did they do for 70 years?  Where did they work?  Who were their neighbors, friends, what church did they go to? The son lived on North Fourth street -- go there, interview the neighbors -- does anyone remember your family.  You may get a wonderful surprise and a photo to boot!

Be sure to check the library, gene and historical societies for local history books. Also many churches have member lists and  even publish books with short biographies of their members. 

Now, what to do?  I think the two most over-looked sources of information in researching a family's history are  tax records and city directories .

We don't like to pay them, that's for sure, but county and city tax records can give us quite a bit of info about our ancestor's lives.  When other records don't seem to exist, tax records can help establish where our ancestors lived when we can't find any other indications.  I think one reason we tend to skip over them is that you usually can't write to the county recorder and ask "Did So-and-So ever pay taxes?"  You might have to do some  research to find out what your ancestors would have been taxed for. First of all, there's Land--not only owning but buying and selling.  Then there would be inheritance taxes.  Let's say we didn't know who the Harlock's children were.  After the husband and wife were gone, any property, real or personal,  would most likely be divided between their heirs--children?--and they would probably have had to pay taxes on this inheritance.   Most businesses were taxed in one way or another, usually by needing a license to operate.  Some occupations required that the workers be bonded.  Many times, family members would vouch for the person looking to be bonded. These are just a few instances.  I have heard that some cities got quite creative at taxing in order to raise much needed, ever increasing funds.  I will try to look into finding out what other things might have been taxed in Clinton County.

City Directories: I don't know how, why or when they started but they're there and you should get in the habit of using them.  Almost every library has them.  I check the directory first off, before the census or anything else when I can.  It's the first indication to me if my relatives were where I think they were.  I'm not talking about the phone book here.  A city directory tries to list everyone, everyone, everyone and they were around long before the phone was. I don't know exactly how they do (or did) it.  (I think by magic.  My husband and I have been in there and we didn't tell anyone to put us there. <grin>) 

Seriously, the city directory tries to list every resident and business.  Along with the person's name, you could find an address, whether they own or rent, what their phone number is (even if it's unlisted), their age, where they work, what position they hold, how much they earn and even the spouse's name.  Different places may have different info listed. The 1869 Clinton directory listed the person's name, occupation and residence.  Checking the city directory may show that your ancestor owned a business or may help find land records.  It could also lead to other relatives living in the same area.

If you're really stuck -- check the records of the surrounding areas especially when researching an area like Clinton.  Many early records are in Whiteside County, Illinois.  Later, many people went to Davenport, in Scott County, because that was the nearest 'big city'.

I can't help but wonder what turn of events led the researcher of Mr. Harlock to the small photo under which is printed "The W. Harlock Ferry Boat" and the articles regarding Fulton's Last Ferry.

One of the articles reads, in part:

"W. Harlock began to operate a ferry at an unrecorded time.  On Oct. 2, 1900, he was using the boat Bertha and a barge.  He sold the Bertha in 1901.  His next ferry was the Nina Dousman and, perhaps, a small launch.

The Nina was using a new and improved fuel -- slack coal, tar and coal dust pressed into nuggets.  Her destination was revealed to the knowing ones --- three toots meant she was headed for Lyons, four for Fulton.  One busy day in July, 1905, she carried 400 passengers.  Many of them were headed for Mount Pleasant Park to hear W. J. Bryan.

W. Harlock had a new ferry built in 1905.  It was named after him.  There were four W. Harlocks then -- father, son, grandson and boat.

In 1918, W. Harlock steamed away to the Illinois-Mississippi Canal (now called the Hennepin). Mr. Harlock made his home in Sterling."

Finally, the importance of interviewing is illustrated by the hand-written note on the back of one of the pages:

"Wm. Harlock line continued to operate profitably well into the 1910s.  These 2 crafts the Nina built at LaCrosse & the W. Harlock built at Clinton and piloted by Harlock's second wife (Adel Smith) were in constant crossing carrying capacity crowds, according to Rockwood & Lund who still remember that time period.   One reason for this was that Iowa was dry and Illinois was wet and the thirsty patrons of Fulton spas were many.  The boats were always full, Rockwood said with a twinkle & so were alot of the passengers.  Finally as the teens drew to a close, the Nina sank & the Harlock went coal hauling on the Ia-Il canal."