Dora (Hoffmeyer) Jarsombeck Block
1833 – 9 January 1892
Dora is apparently buried alone in the middle of one of the quietest corners of the cemetery. She was born in Germany around 1833. She married Ludwig Jarsombeck, and together they had at least four children, but he likely died around 1873 when his youngest child was either an infant or possibly not yet born.
Dora remarried to Ferdinand Block prior to 1879. Ferdinand was a few years younger than Dora, and I couldn’t find whether he had also been married before. He appears to have had no children of his own, however, nor does it appear that he and Dora had any children together.
In 1879, Dora, Ferdinand, and her four Jarsombeck children – Ludwig (18), Laura (14), Rudolph (8), and Paul (6) – emigrated to the US together. By 1880, they’d settled in Chicago and appeared together on the census, living on Hubbard St, very close to the Chicago River in what is now the River North neighborhood. I couldn’t find Ferdinand after this, but Dora’s death record lists her as a widow, so it seems he died before her.
There are various reasons why he might not be buried with Dora, a major one being financial, but what we do know is that Dora was not buried under his name. Her children gave her their name and their father’s name, erasing Ferdinand. Whether this was due to simply wanting to claim her with a shared name or an active dislike of their stepfather is unknown.
All four of her children survived well into adulthood, and in a sign that they all deeply loved their mother, all but oldest Ludwig named a daughter after her. All four children are buried in different cemeteries around the area, though Ludwig and his wife are also at Concordia.
RIP Jarsombecks