Minerd.com Biography of Capt. Amos Schrock and Wives of Monroe, WI; Chicago; and Oakland, CA

Capt. Amos Schrock
(1832-1905)

Amos Schrock was born on Leap Day 1832 in Somerset County, PA, the son of Aaron and Catherine (Meyers) Schrock and stepson of Mary "Polly" (Younkin) Smith.

Unmarried at the age of 18, in 1850, Amos worked as a clerk and boarded in the household of merchant John R. and Catharine King in Milford Township, Somerset County.

Noted the 1906 History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Amos "was a manufacturer of and dealer in house furniture in Chicago for the greater part of his life.... He also held two commissions during the Civil war, as an army officer." As an adult, he stood 5 feet, 9 inches tall, with a fair complexion, dark hair and blue eyes, and weighed 136 lbs.

The couple produced two known children -- Arabella "Belle" Bickley and William Amos Schrock.

The Schrocks relocated to Chicago sometime between the births of their daughter in 1854 and son in 1858. The family is enumerated in Chicago's 9th Ward in the 1860 federal census, with Amos' occupation marked cryptically as "Conn."

In about 1859, Amos' younger brother William appears to traveled for a visit, and from there, lured by gold fever of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, embarked on a memorable but failed overland journey toward Colorado. William later wrote about his "Pike's Peak or Bust" experiences in the Meyersdale (PA) Republican newspaper.

Grief cascaded over the young family when Naomi died in Chicago on June 13, 1861.

During the war, Amos joined the Union Army and served in the 133rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, commanded by his brother Edward. When the brother was promoted to major, Amos was named captain. He took part in the bloody battle of Fredericksburg in mid-December 1862, part of the wave after wave of Union troops trying unsuccessfully to gain Marye's Heights. He was struck by a piece of shell on the right arm below the elbow. He was taken to Carver Hospital in Washington DC where the wound was treated and he spent two weeks. He was ordered to return to his regiment two days before Christmas 1862. He never recovered full use of the limb.

Then on a forced march from Falmouth to Chancellorsville, VA in late April 1863 when he contracted a severe case of diarrhea. He attributed the attack to "severe exposure [to bad weather] and fatigue, sleeping on damp ground and fording the Rapidan and heavy forced march." He received medication from the regiment's surgeon. Orderly sergeant Chauncey A. Brant of Shanksville helped him to ford the Rapidan River by helping him onto his horse so he could ride and then leading the horse across. Amos was so exhausted afterward that he had to lay down on the riverbank for relief. He somehow found his strength and took part in the three-day battle at Chancellorsville, although ailing the entire time. He later told physicians that during the fight, "I was on the battle field two days, was not wounded but was sick."

He also became ill with catarrh (excessive mucus of the throat and nose) and bronchial problems, and lost some hearing. Amos was honorably discharged at Harrisburg, PA on May 26, 1863, three-plus weeks after the Chancellorsville battle ended.

After returning home to Somerset County, he dwelled in Shanksville. During that time, he married again, to Annie Schrock (1845- ? ), daughter of (?) Schrock. The wedding was held at New Centerville. Amos was 13 years older than his bride.

Amos and Annie bore four additional children of their own -- Harry Schrack, Minnie Hall, Dr. Burton Schrock and Lottie L. Schrock.

In July 1868, the Schrocks relocated to Franklin Grove, IL, remaining less than two years until February 1870. They moved to Monroe, Greene County, WI. The United States Census of 1870 lists the family in Monroe, with Amos working as a clerk in a dry goods store and Anna generating income as a milliner.

The family in March 1872 migrated into the city of Chicago, where Amos acquired a furniture upholstery store. Among his employees in the store were Henry C. Green and Frederick Zimmerman. He also saw wholesale baker S.E.W. Martin almost every day.

In August 1879, he was granted a military pension as compensation for his wartime ailments. [Invalid App. #302.502 - Cert. #184.063] When examined by surgeon Henry S. Kimmell, his right hand and forearm were found to be weakened, with the ring finger tendon thick and rigid, drawing the finger toward the arm, causing a deformity. Amos claimed that the pain caused him constant suffering and sleepless nights and prevented him from doing normal manual labor. In fact, he said, his entire right side was relatively useless. He tried to obtain a raise in his pension circa 1897, with Joseph Schrock and S.D. Forquer of Ursina, Somerset County, witnessing his signature on the paperwork.

Amos and Annie made a home in Chicago at 350 West Madison Street and later at 623 West Monroe Street. In early 1891, the husband-and-wife incorporated the Schrock Furniture company, worth $10,000 in capital stock, for the purpose of manufacturing sofa beds and upholstery. The news was announced in the Chicago Tribune.

Grief cascaded over the family when daughter Lottie died in Chicago Corners, WI on Jan. 31, 1891 at age nine, and then again when son Harry died in Sept. 1893, at the age of 30. Harry's death notice in the Chicago Inter Ocean said that the funeral was held in the residence at 623 Monroe Street.

Sadly, Annie died in their Chicago residence on Aug. 1, 1899. A short death notice was printed in the Tribune, and reprinted in the Somerset Herald.

His address in 1901 was 318 West Madison Street, Chicago. That year, he received a check for $6 every month from the U.S. Pension Office. At year-end 1901, he relocated to Oakland, Alameda County, CA, where he shared a home with one of his sons at 1503 12th Street.

In the spring of 1902, he returned to his old home in Somerset County and married for a third time, on April 22, 1902 to Mary Jane (Auman) Hicks ( ? - ? ). Rev. Hiram King officiated. News of their marriage license was published in the Meyersdale (PA) Republic.

The newlyweds apparently relocated to Oakland, reputedly, said the Somerset Daily American, to "escape the severe climate conditions of Somerset." They were expected to come back to Somerset, but "on account of some important changes his son -- who is a wholesale furniture dealer -- was making at his establishment Mr. Schrock remained to assist in the work." In August 1903, he received a U.S. patent for a detachable collapsible couch frame.

The Angel of Death gathered Amos away without warning at the age of 73 on June 10, 1905. His death occurred at the Central Livery Stables, while seated in his buggy, preparing for what the Oakland Tribune called "his customary afternoon drive. One of the employees of the stable noticed that the man did not give any signs for the horse to move, so he went up to the buggy and found that he was dead. The death of Capt. Schrock was a great shock to his family as he was apparently in the best of health." The Alameda County Coroner held an inquisition over the body, with seven other citizens present, and found that death was caused by acute enlargement of the heart.

His remains were shipped to Chicago to rest with his first wife in Graceland Cemetery. [Find-a-Grave] News of his death was announced in the Tribune and Watertown (WI) News. The Tribune listed his other surviving children as Mrs. W.A. Hall and Burton Schrock of Chicago.

Mary applied for, but was not granted, her late husband's pension. [Widow App. #839.029]

A detailed history of the 133rd Pennsylvania, naming Amos and his brother Edward, was printed in the Pittsburgh Dispatch on Feb. 4, 1900 and reprinted in the Meyersdale Republic on Sept. 1, 1932.

Daughter Arabella Schrock (1854-1901) was born on May 31, 1854 in New Lexington, Somerset County, PA.

As a child, by 1858, Arabella and her parents relocated to Chicago. She was only age seven when her mother died in 1861 and her father went off to war. She appears to have been taken into the home of her uncle Matthias Miller in Orange Township near Waterloo, Black Hawk County, IA. She may have rejoined her father and stepmother in an 1868 move to Franklin Grove, IL, and a further migration in February 1870 to Monroe, Greene County, WI.

While in Wisconsin, Arabelle joined the Baptist Church, and then when returning to Orange Township was admitted to the membership rolls of the German Baptist Brethren Church.

In 1875, Arabella exchanged marital vows with Elias Goode Bickley (Dec. 11, 1848-1929), a native of Meyersdale, Somerset County, and the son of Rev. E.K. Bickley.

Elias' father had settled in 1854 as a pioneer of Orange Township, "riding horseback much of the way," from Chicago to Waterloo, said the Waterloo Courier newspaper. There, he established the local Dunkard Church. Then in 1861, Elias at age 12 migrated with his mother to join the father in Orange.

They settled on a farm in Waterloo. The Courier said that Elias "knew the hardships of pioneer life on the Iowa prairie. He broke considerable corn and wheat ground in Black Hawk county with oxen, declaring he was as proficient witha cattle team as was his brother with a team of horses... He hunted buffalo in Colorado, as a young man, having many exciting experiences."

Two offspring produced by this union were Dr. William Henry Bickley and Alice Margaret Bickley.

They lived in Orange Township and held a membership in the Church of the Brethren at Enon. For one winter the Bickleys dwelled in California, with Elias "associated with a man named Houser, who developed one of the first combines for harvesting and threshing grain," said an obituary.

Row of Bickley graves in Orange Township Cemetery
Courtesy "A Pair of Gravers"

Arabella surrendered to the angel of death at the age of 47 in Waterloo on Sept. 2, 1901. Her remains were placed into eternal repose in Orange Township Cemetery in Waterloo, a burying ground originally platted by her father-in-law. The Waterloo Courier published an obituary.

Elias survived his bride by 28 years and made his home with his son. He was "a great lover of nature and the out-of-doors," said a newspaper. "The lovely garden that surrounds the Bickley home on Fourth street west is largely the result of his handiwork."

He passed into the heavenly host at age 80, in Waterloo, on Oct. 21, 1929. An obituary in the Courier included his photograph and called him a "pioneer settler" and said the cause of death was heart disease and the complications of age. Funeral services were conducted in the First Brethren Church by the hand of Rev. A.P. Blough, assisted by Rev. S.M. Whetstone.

Son Dr. William Henry Bickley Sr. (1876-1942) was born on Dec. 14, 1876 in Waterloo. He was a West High School graduate and went on to earn a degree at the University of Iowa. Upon returning home he taught school in Orange Township and then obtained a medical education at his alma mater and the St. Louis Homeopathic Medical College and the New York Homeopathic College. He interned in New York's Metropolitan Hospital and during that time served for six months as acting superintendent. He also is known to have been a traveling physician for Col. G.G. Green, spending summers in New Jersey and winters in Los Angeles. On Oct. 15, 1902, at the age of 25, William was joined in wedlock with St. Louis school teacher Beulah Vick Bickley (March 18, 1878-1958), daughter of Edward Dickin Bickley and originally from Vicksburg, MS. The wedding was held in St. Louis. They became the parents of William Henry Bickley Jr., Robert Crippen Bickley and Jean Burhans Jones. The family lived in Waterloo, IA over the years at the address of 2625 Fourth Street West. William was a longtime physician in Waterloo, keeping an office at 807 Black Building. In 1938, he was named Iowa Division Surgeon for the Illinois Central Railroad and also was chief surgeon of the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railway and local surgeon for the chicago Rock Island and Great Western Railroad. He also served terms as president of the Black Hawk County Medical Society and Waterloo Medical Society, was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and held a membership in the Iowa Medical Society, American Medical Association and American Association of Railway Surgeons. His social memberships included the Masons, Knights Templar, Order of Eastern Star, Fortnightly Club, Symposium Club, Knife and Fork Club and Rotary Club. In 1942, he helped found the Waterloo Humane Society and created a small shelter for stray animals. In about 1927, said the Waterloo Courier, "he studied in continental Europe and attended the clinic of Dr. Bastinelli, who was surgeon to the King of Italy. Dr. and Mrs. Bickley made a trip to Great Britain in 1938 and at the time he attended clinics in London. They likewise went on a trip to Mexico. In 1941, they visited in California...' Beulah was very active with the Waterloo Woman's Club over the years, meeting circa 1922 in the Pinkerton's Grocery Store on West Fourth Street. She led an initiative to obtain a new clubhouse by acquiring the "Old Snowden House" on Independence Avenue and negotiating a $15,000 price, and then leading the fundraising to secure those funds. Sadly, while traveling by rail to visit his daughter Jean in the summer of 1942, he was stricken by a heart attack. While eventually arriving and getting situated in a hotel, he died not long after, on July 3, 1942. The body was returned to Waterloo for funeral rites jointly conducted by Rev. Dr. J. Richmond Morgan and Rev. Charles F. Jacobs in the First Congregational Church. Beulah outlived her spouse by many years. She also was an accomplished poet and published a book circa 1945, Discs of Time. One of her poems in 1944 received American Poetry Magazine's "best lyrics published in American Poetry during 1944" award, and her work "When Young Spring Comes 'Round," won a National League of American Pen Women Award in 1948. She passed away in Waterloo on June 24, 1958.

Daughter Alice Margaret Bickley (1893-1926) was born on June 17, 1893 in Orange Township. She was educated in the township school and was a graduate of West High School. She furthered her study at St. Katherine School for Girls at Davenport. Alice resided for three years in Oakland, CA, and then in about 1909 returned to Waterloo and moved into the home of her brother. She then proceeded to teach elocution and dramatics in town. In 1914, she graduated from the Leland Powers School of the Spoken Word in Boston in a program of elocution and dramatic reading. Said the Waterloo Courier,

Alice's address in the mid-1920s was with her brother and father at 2625 Fourth Street. She became seriously ill in February 1926 and never recovered over the final five months of life. At the age of 33, she died at home in Waterloo on July 16, 1926. Funeral services were held in St. Mark's Episcopal Church, presided by Rev. C.W. Baxter, Rev. Dr. J.R. Macartney and Rev. Dr. J. Richmond Morgan. Her remains were lowered into the sacred soil of Orange Township Cemetery.

They made a home in East Oakland, CA in 1901-1905 at the address of 1503 12th Street. Continuing in his father's line of business, William owned what the San Francisco Call said was an "extensive furniture plant." Known as the California Furniture Factory, it consisted of several one-story buildings located over the sprawl of five acres in the town of Richmond near Oakland. Reported the San Francisco Chronicle, "The eucalyptus furniture being turned out by the plant is to be used in furnishing the Claremont Hotel when it is opened. The wood, as a coincidence, comes from Berkeley, being the logs from the forest back of Cragmont that is being felled by the Havens interests."

As his business grew, newspapers reported that he was a "man of considerable means." He also was a longtime member of the Alcatraz Lodge of the Masons.

Etta was a celebrity in her own right, hosting scores of elaborate dances, parties and luncheons over the years, with her name regularly printed in newspaper society columns.

William died in Alameda County, CA at the age of 82 on Aug. 30, 1939. (His grave marker has a death year of "1940.") A death notice was printed in the Oakland Tribune, saying he was a "native of Pennsylvania." Funeral services were held in Truman's Chapel at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and 30th Street in Oakland.

Etta outlived her husband by two decades. She joined him in death in 1960. They repose in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.

Daughter Etta Schrock (1892- ? ) was born in about 1892. In her early years, she was considered an "Oakland society girl" with her glamorous photograph portrait often printed in the San Francisco and Oakland newspapers. She attended the University of California for several years and on Jan. 3, 1913 hosted a dance for 300 society guests at the Hotel Oakland. Etta is known to have traveled to visit with New Jersey relatives in September-October 1914, where she met her future husband. In a surprise wedding in April 1915, Etta married Paul Bancel ( ? - ? ), a resident of New York City. Her wedding portrait was published in a large size in the San Francisco Chronicle. Circa 1919, they dwelled in Nutley, NJ and in 1922-1939 in Montclair, NJ. In 1922, she traveled back to Oakland to attend the wedding of a classmate, Elya Ghirardelli and John Welby Dinsmore

Harry died in Chicago at the age of 30 on Sept. 24, 1893. His death notice in the Chicago Inter Ocean said that the funeral was held in the residence at 623 Monroe Street.

Daughter Minnie Schrock (1864-1921) was born on Nov. 12 or 29, 1864 in Somerset County, PA.

In July 1868, when she was about four years of age, Minnie accompanied her parents in a relocation to Franklin Grove, IL. They remained less than two years until February 1870, when they pulled up stakes and moved to Monroe, Greene County, WI. The United States Census of 1870 lists the family in Monroe. The family in March 1872 migrated into the city of Chicago, where Minnie's father acquired a furniture upholstery store.

At the age of 24, on Nov. 14, 1888, Minnie entered into marriage with 27-year-old William A. Hall (1863-1841). Their nuptials were held in Chicago.

They bore one child, who sadly did not survived his or her youth. As of 1900, the Schrocks lived on Warren Avenue in the Windy City, with her teaching school and him earning a living as a salesman with a dry goods store. They also kept two boarders that year.

Census records for 1920 show the pair as boarders in the Magnolia Avenue household of widow Mary Evans and her teenage daughter. William's occupation at that time was selling trucks. In 1921, their address in Chicago was 7349 North Pauline Street.

Death swept her away in Chicago on Oct. 29, 1921. Funeral rites were administered in the First Congregational Church in Rogers Park at Morse and Ashland Avenue. Interment was in Graceland Cemetery. The Chicago Tribune ran a short death notice.

Son Dr. Burton Schrock (1871-1931) was born on July 7, 1871 in Monroe, Greene County, WI.

Circa July 1897, he is known to have served as an usher for the Chicago wedding of Charlotte Sears and Claude Dillie Stephens. He became a dentist and operated a practice on West Lake Street in Chicago circa 1905.

With a residence in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, he and Mabel Stark ( ? -1965) applied for a marriage license in June 1905, as noted on the pages of the Chicago Inter-Ocean. She was the daughter of Andrew and Susan M. Stark of 2826 Washington Boulevard.

Their address in the early 1930s was 202 North Austin Boulevard, Oak Park. He held a membership in the Austin lodge of the Masons.

Sadly, Burton died at the age of 59, in Oak Park, on April 24, 1931. A brief notice of his passing in the Chicago Tribune said he was the "brother-in-law of Kate and Mary Stark." His remains were lowered under the sod of Forest Home Cemetery.

Mabel passed away at the age of 90 in June 1965, with burial in Forest Home Cemetery. A death notice appeared in the Tribune.

Research for this page graciously shared by the late Olive (Rowan) Duff and the late Donna (Younkin) Logan.