John Zook - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on September 9, 1845, to his parents, John and Barbara (Stricker) Zook, John (Jr.) and his sister, Mary, appeared on the 1860 census of Defiance - without their parents.  They were instead living with J. Wisemantel, 40, and his wife Rosella, 31, and their family.  The reason the children were here has not been established, nor has it been discovered if there was a relationship between them and the Wisemantels.  John Zook was 14 at this time and Mary was 7.  Wisemantel was a merchant/ tailor, born in Bavaria, with three children. Also living with the Wisemantels were John Hengsteter, 23, merchant/tailor; Joseph Haller, 23, carpenter, and Louisa Jantry, 17, servant.




On January 13, 1864, John Zook enlisted into the 68th Ohio Infantry, Company G, as a private.  He served for five months and 26 days, as he reported on the veterans census in 1890, and was discharged on July 10, 1865, with no disabilities.

Elizabeth Luckas (Lucas) became his wife on April 22, 1867, in Defiance.  Defiance Township was their home in 1870; John, 23, worked as a day laborer, and Elizabeth, 22, kept house.

Marriage record for John and Elizabeth Zook

John worked in a saloon, as reported in the 1880 census.  His age was given as 31, while Elizabeth was 28, which does not quite fit with the previous census.  (Perhaps they were not the reporters to the census enumerators.)  Frank S. Gerber lived with the Zooks as a boarder and he worked as a clerk in the saloon.  They all lived at 308 Warren Road, Defiance. 

By 1900, the Zooks had moved into Defiance to 204 Auglaize St.  John was a weaver, working six months of the year, he reported, and they owned their home, free and clear.  In just a short while, Elizabeth Zook passed away on April 28, 1905.
The couple never had any children.

The Defiance Express reported on April 28, 1905:

DEATH CAME SUDDENLY

MRS. JOHN ZOOK DIED IN THIS CITY THURSDAY.

Mrs. Elizabeth Zook, wife of John Zook, the carpet weaver, died at her home on Auglaize Avenue in this city Thursday evening, shortly after 8 o'clock.

Death came suddenly and without warning while she sat in her home in the presence of several neighbors who had called upon her.  At attack of heart trouble seized her and she fell over.  A physician was summoned, but she expired a few minutes after his arrival. 

Mrs. Zook was born in this city 56 years ago on the first of January.  Her name previous to marriage was Lucas.  In April, 1867, she was united in marriage to John Zook.  No children were born to them.  The deceased was a devoted member of St. Mary's Catholic church, and there, Monday morning at 9 o'clock, the funeral will be held, Rev. Doherty officiating.

Mrs. Zook was a member of the WVRU and the Ladies Altar Society of her church.  One sister survives her, Mrs. John Bremen of Lima."

Strangely, her husband, John, was not mentioned in Elizabeth's obituary, although the census indicated they were living together.

Five months later, on September 9, 1905, John married Susie Compo, a former neighbor, now divorced from Camili Compo (Compeau).  In 1900, prior to the divorce, the Compos had been married 28 years and lived on Main Street in Defiance. 

  

 One Sandusky paper noted that John was given a 30 day leave to Defiance from Cottage A of the Soldiers' Home on October 19, 1905, just a few weeks after his second marriage.  Perhaps he needed to settle his first wife's estate and sell their home because he and his second wife then moved to Sandusky. According to the Home's records, John Zook was admitted on July 17, 1905, with chronic diarrhea.  The records also noted that he received $12 a month pension, was a weaver, and had no family living.  He named Catherine A. Gorman, (his sister), 507 Jackson Street, Defiance, as the person to contact regarding his welfare.  

By the time the 1910 census enumerator rolled around in 1910, John, 64, and Susie, 53, lived on Foose Avenue, Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio.  One source mentioned Homeville as the residence.  The Zooks had Blanch Campion (Compo), John's step-granddaugher , 17, living with them.  She worked as a laundress for a private family - perhaps the Zooks, themselves.  Susie reported that she had eight children and all were living.

Susie lived alone in 1920 and reported herself as married.  The guess is that John was admitted and back into the Home where he died on November 14, 1923, of a cerebral hemorhage.

Sandusky Star Journal, November 14, 1923

 

Sandusky Daily Register, November, 15, 1923

 The Defiance Crescent News reported that John, a former resident of the city and a brother to Mrs. M. B. Gorman, would be brought back to Defiance for burial.

Susie Zook placed a notice in the newspaper thanking the local G.A.R. "for their kind assistance in the burial of Mr. Zook."

It could be assumed that John Zook was buried next to his first wife, Elizabeth, in Riverside Cemetery.  A stone was erected for Elizabeth Zook and was recorded by our genealogy society back in the 1970s, but none existed for John.

Riverside Cemtery, Defiance, Ohio

(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)