Fleischhacker & Fleischhacker

The title of this blog post conjures images of collaboration. Is it the name of a law firm? A trucking company? A comedic “bit” from the Department of Redundancy Department?

No, this was a marriage partnership.

Joseph Fleischhacker

Joseph Fleischhacker (1891-1946) was the only son of Joseph and Susanna (Klein) Fleischhacker. Born in Bánfalu/Apetlon, Burgenland, Hungary on May 26, 1891, his baptism record is found in the Catholic Church Record book.¹“Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X2WP-GQB : 13 March 2022), Fleischhacker József, 1891.

Joseph immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was 12 years old. Within weeks of arriving in Minnesota, his father died.

As a young man, Joseph needed to work to support his mother and sisters. For several years, he worked at Foot, Schulze & Co. (a St. Paul shoe maker).²St. Paul City Directories. Jos. Fleischhacker entries 1906-1909. Later he was a teamster/driver and a grocer.

Naturalization

In order to become a citizen of the United States, a foreigner needed to first declare his/her intention.

Joseph Fleishhaker [sic] made his declaration on May 27, 1912 in Ramsey County (MN) District Court.³Declaration of Intention, Ramsey Co MN Court. Vol 24, page 3. Fleishhaker, Joseph entry, May 27,m 1912. There is a lot of information on this page. Interestingly, several items on the Declaration are misspelled or unknown:

• Joseph was 21. His birthday was the previous day: May 26th. Thereby, Joseph declared his intent as soon as was legally possible.
• He was 6-feet tall, weighed 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
• Joseph’s birth location is given as Abbitlone, Hungary – probably how Apelton sounded to the Clerk of Court.
• Resides at 1011 Marion Street. That house was built in 1890 and is still standing.
• Emigrated from Rotterdam. This is partly true because the family stayed in that city for 10 days before crossing the English Channel.
• Last former residence = Hungry [the clerk was not a great speller]
• Arrived at the port of Boston on October 6, 1903. Joseph was off by a month. See the ship manifest in this blog post.
• The signature on this form is not Joseph’s actual signature. It is likely the clerk’s copy.

Joseph completed his citizenship in 1915.⁴Ramsey Co MN District Court. Petition for Naturalization. Joseph Fleishhacker entry No 2217, Vol 35, page 234. April 12, 1915. Bearing witness to his petition are George Lendway (a fellow Burgenlander) and Martin Lackner (a friend and relative from Apetlon).

Katherine Fleischhacker

Katherine Fleischhacker (1890-1957) was the first-born child of Frederick and Franziska (Ganser) Fleischhacker. Like her future husband, she was born in the Burgenland, but not in his hometown of Bánfalu/Apetlon. She was born 8 km from Apetlon in the small town of Pomogy/Pamhagen.⁵“Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8QD-2PY : 25 September 2022), Fleischhacker Katalin, 1890.

She was born on April 29, 1890 and baptized the same day. Katalin is the Hungarian equivalent of Katherine. Her father was Frigyes (the Hungarian form of Frederick) Fleischhacker. Katherine’s mother was Franziska “Frances” Ganser.

In 1912, Katherine immigrated to the United States.⁶Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Katherine Fleischhacker aboard Kaiserin Auguste Victoria arriving in New York August 24, 1912. On the ship manifest, she reported that she was going to her uncle’s house in St. Paul, Minnesota. Uncle Joseph Kotzmacher.

Courtship

In St. Paul, Katherine lived just north of the capitol in the North End neighborhood where many other Burgenlanders resided. Active in the parish of St. Bernard, she met Joseph and his sisters. Katherine “Kitty” Blees recalled that her mother and father’s “friendship grew among good friends, going on picnics, meeting at their homes, singing and dancing, and other group activities.”⁷“Joseph and Katherine Fleischhacker.” in Fleischhacker Genealogy 1996 (Hastings NE: Br. Roman Fleischhacker, O.S.C., 1996). Copy personally held by Karrie Blees 26 Sept 2022.

Burgenlanders in St. Paul, Minnesota, circa 1914. Katherine Fleischhacker is seated in the center and wearing a dark sash/belt. Joseph Fleischhacker is standing behind her; he is wearing a white shirt and dark vest. Two of Joseph’s sisters are seated either side of Katherine.

Additional Research

In future posts, we will look at their marriage and family life.
Do you have photos of Joseph and Katherine in their younger years?
Were Joseph and Katherine distant cousins?

SOURCES

• 1
  “Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X2WP-GQB : 13 March 2022), Fleischhacker József, 1891.
• 2
  St. Paul City Directories. Jos. Fleischhacker entries 1906-1909.
• 3
  Declaration of Intention, Ramsey Co MN Court. Vol 24, page 3. Fleishhaker, Joseph entry, May 27,m 1912.
• 4
  Ramsey Co MN District Court. Petition for Naturalization. Joseph Fleishhacker entry No 2217, Vol 35, page 234. April 12, 1915.
• 5
  “Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8QD-2PY : 25 September 2022), Fleischhacker Katalin, 1890.
• 6
  Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Katherine Fleischhacker aboard Kaiserin Auguste Victoria arriving in New York August 24, 1912.
• 7
  “Joseph and Katherine Fleischhacker.” in Fleischhacker Genealogy 1996 (Hastings NE: Br. Roman Fleischhacker, O.S.C., 1996). Copy personally held by Karrie Blees 26 Sept 2022.