Jost Family in Inzenhof, Austria: My Tallest Brick Wall

[Note: One of my genealogy goals for 2011 is to find my elusive 16th great-grandparent. To do this, I need to list everything I know and don't know about my great-grandmother. This is the only way I will find more about her mother.]

My great-grandmother is Cecelia Yost, though I believe her name is really Cecelia JOST.

What I know:
I retrieved the following facts from her death certificate:
Birth: 6 December 1892 in Inzenhof, Austria
Death: 23 Sep 1932 in Nuevo, Riverside, California
Father: John Jost (also possibly Johann Jost)

Federal censuses say she immigrated to Lehigh County, PA in 1909. She was a cigar maker in Allentown in the 1910 census.

By the 1920 census, she is married to Albert Turk. I was hoping a marriage record would list Cecelia's parents' names, but Lehigh County Historical Society has no record of the union. It cost me $30 to find that out, so I've been gun shy about further requests. I have not contacted repositories in the surrounding counties yet. If anyone is able to search in this area, I may consider purchasing your services. Contact me.

The 1930 census provide no clues, and Cecelia died a year later. Her youngest daughter (my grandmother) does not remember her mother. She believes Cecelia had relatives (possibly sisters) in Pennsylvania.

I made an initial inquiry on the Ancestry message boards in October 2010 and received some great leads. I need to follow up on these. I also need to scour the Burgenland Bunch website, especially the list of Jost researchers. There are several people researching Josts who settled in the Lehigh Valley, as well as some who came from Inzenhof!

My attempts to research this name in Pennsylvania so far have been unsuccessful. There are simply too many Yost / Jost folks and I don't have enough details to make my ancestors stand out. As for passenger lists, there are several possibilities for my Cecelia Yost / Jost. I'm wondering if I'm just spinning wheels trying to research Pennsylvania and maybe it's time to cross the pond to Austria in search of an answer.

The next step I'm going to take is to contact some of these Jost researchers and see if they have my Cecelia in their trees. After that, I need to analyze the passenger lists and study all the possibilities for my great- grandmother. I need to look at their destinations, look the contact person on this end and see if there's a paper trail anywhere that could lead to my Cecelia (and possibly other relatives).

I don't believe Cecelia's parents made the trip to the United States, though the answer to the identity of my 16th great-grandparent may be here.

Well, there you go, my tallest brick wall to date. If you have any advice or expertise in Austrian research, please comment below. I'm also interested in any historical resources for this area in the late 1800's. Given Inzenhof's proximity to the Hungarian border, I'm thinking I need a basic history lesson.

Anatomy of a Military Pension File, Part 20

Previously, I reported on the acquisition of my great-great-great grandfather's military pension file. The documents contained within paint a picture of a man and his family about which I knew very little. I've decided to share this 103-page treasure with you a few pages at a time.

Page 36: Bill/Statement from Amalia Baerecke's physician:

This is a bill for medical services related to the last days of my great-great-great grandmother's life. Five house calls and medicine for 11 bucks. 

What did I learn from this document?

I have Lena Baerecke Smith's place of residence on 27 February 1912.

I have a timeline of decline for Amalia Baerecke.

If I feel so inclined, I can look up Dr. William Sickles, his place of business and place of residence.

Coming up: the reimbursement form that spells out how much it cost to die in 1912. Stay tuned...

On to part 21

Surname Saturday: Turk / Türk

The surname for this Saturday is Turk / Türk.

Albert Turk (1880-1964) was my great-grandfather. I don't know much about him so bear with me. The few documents I have say he was born in Eickel, Herne, Germany. He came to the United States in 1914. He met and married his wife in Pennsylvania. I don't know the exact date of their marriage, but it was likely in Allentown or Bethlehem. They had a daughter in Pennsylvania, then moved to Los Angeles and had 3 more children.

Albert was widowed in 1931. He worked for an electric company and was a carpenter. He is buried with his wife in East Los Angeles.

I know little about Albert Turk's family in Germany and have not crossed the pond to investigate. My grandmother has a German postcard addressed to (brother) Albert from Heinrich. I also have a document that says Albert's father is Albert and his mother is Elisabeth Brauckman.

The few documents I have that were created in the United States say "Turk" but the documents handwritten by Albert say "Türk."

Turk is a somewhat common name, so I'm not interested in casting a wide net. If you have connections to the places I've mentioned above (especially Eickel) I'd love to hear from you.