William Washington Bock 1851-1917 (11110)

Monongahela River

William Washington Bock was born in May of 1851 near Fairmont, Marion County, in what was then Virginia, and now West Virginia. He was the seventh of nine children born to John & Mahala (Ensminger) Bock. He would have been welcomed into the family by three older brothers and three older sisters. Fairmont and its vicinity was primarily a farming community, and William was raised on his father's farm. It was a life of hard work, with rich rewards.

William appears with his parents family in the 1860 and 1870 Census:

William at eight years of age, enumerated in his parents home for the 1860 Census.

William with his family in the 1870 Census

William married Rebecca Garrison, daughter of Jeremiah and Susan (Bissett) Garrison of Greene County, Pennsylvania. Their marriage probably took place in Marion County, West Virginia, or in Greene County, Pennsylvania, because William is found with his parents in Marion County WV in the 1870 Census, and Rebecca is with her mother in Greene County PA in the 1870 Census.  No marriage record has been found on the West Virginia Vital Records site. A book listing marriages in Greene County PA also yielded nothing. The closest we can come to a marriage date is to look at the census data. In the 1900 Census they declared that they had been married 29 years, which gives us a date of about 1871.

They had the following children:

1) Sarah Lavinia Bock b. 17 Aug 1871 Marion, WV; d. 10 Feb 1941 Fairmont, Marion, WV; m. Fitzhue Lee Nutter 1896 Marion, WV

2) Martha Ellen Bock b. 1876 Marion, WV; d. 1930 Grafton, Taylor, WV; m. Andrew J. Murphey 1892 Marion, WV

3) Lillie Manda C. Bock b. 22 Jun 1879 Marion, WV; d. 10 Jan 1937 Shinnston, Harrison, WV; m. George F. Pyles 21 Nov 1898

4) Roseanne Belle Bock b. 2 Sep 1881 Marion, WV; d. 23 Apr 1933 Shinnston, Harrison, WV; m. James J. Fortney in 1871 prob. Marion, WV or Greene, PA

5) Lorie Victoria Bock b. 25 May 1886 Marion, WV; d. 23 Apr 1933 Shinnston, Harrison, WV; m. Clarence Hann 1904 Preston, WV

By 1880, he was enumerated in the census with his wife and children. He is listed in the Federal Census for that year with an occupation of Laborer, which meant that he did work for his neighbors on their farms.

1880 United States Federal Census

Name:	William Bock
Age:	30
Birth Year:	abt 1850
Birthplace:	West Virginia
Home in 1880:	Church, Wetzel, West Virginia
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Becca Bock
Father's Birthplace:	West Virginia
Mother's Birthplace:	West Virginia
Occupation:	Laborer
Household Members:	Name Age William Bock 30 Becca Bock 26 Sarah Bock 6 Martha Bock 4 Manda Bock 2

1900 Census showing William and Rebecca Bock in Marion County, West Virginia

In the 1900 Census, William is listed as the foreman for coke workers at the local mine. Coke was in high demand in that age of steel. William probably earned a good wage as foreman. We know in 1900 he was still renting his home, but that he was able to save up enough to buy a farm before the 1910 census was taken. In the 1910 Census, he was living in Lyon District, Preston County, West Virginia. He owned his own home, and was listed as a farmer.

William W. Bock as enumerated in the Winfield District, Marion County, West Virginia, in the 1900 Census.

William & Rebecca Bock were enumerated in Lyon District, Preston County, WV, next to their daughter, Rosa Belle (Bock) Fortney, in the 1910 Census.

The day that William was able to buy a farm of his own must have been one of the happiest of his life. Owning land was the accepted standard of wealth at the time, and being a farmer was the highest calling. It meant security against want and status within the community. William had finally made it in the world. However, he was only able to enjoy his status for about a decade.

The West Virginia vital records site has no death record for William, but his grave marker gives us a death date of December 1917. He was buried on his own farm, located in Preston County, West Virginia and the site became known as Bock Cemetery.  A kind person visited the cemetery and posted a picture of the gravemarker on find-a-grave for me.

An interesting fact is that in the directions that they posted on how to get to Bock Cemetery, it describes the road as the same one that leads to Fortney's Mill. Fortney's Mill is now a public park, but was originally built by our Fortney ancestors. This brings home the fact that the Fortneys and Bocks, who intermarried, were near neighbors.

His marker reads:

Birth: May, 1851 Death: Dec., 1917 Inscription: "Our dear Father gone but not forgotten"

Birth:         May, 1851        

Death:         Dec., 1917        

Burial: Bock Cemetery

Plot: grave #7 Newburg & Independence Chronicle map.