HERMAN FLOCK was born July 3, 1797 in Quadrath-Ichendorf, his mother's home village (see Map, pg. 12). Within the week he was baptized in the Church of St. Lawrence, Quadrath. He died August 13, 1880, St. Mary Ridge, Monroe County, Wisconsin. Herman's father was MATHIAS. FLOCK, born in Stommeln, September 24, 1765 and died there December 1, 1832. Herman's mother was MARIA KATHERINA IVEN, born in Ichendorf about the year 1765 and died in Stommeln on June 19, 1846. We can only speculate why a Stommeln lad became acquainted with a Quadrath-Ichendorf lass. Very probably Matthias, like many young men from small villages, had to seek employment wherever it could be found. At any rate, Maria Katherina and Mathias were married January 13, 1795 but their first child had been born the previous December 8 and christened Wilhelm. This Wilhelm was the Grandfather Monsignor Flock of Sparta. Herman was the second child, followed by a brother Joannes (1799) that was the father of the Henry Flock, Herman's nephew, who came to America earlier in 1857 and settled near Sterling, Illinois. Sometime between the Fall of 1799 and the early part of 1801 Matthias and Maria moved to Stommeln, where their other six children were born and where Herman spent his childhood, went to school, grew into a young man, worked as a day-laborer beside his father and brothers. His Flock Grandparents, John and Catharina, also lived in Stommeln. In March of 1801 Herman's first sister was born and named Elizabeth after her paternal Grandmother, Elizabeth Schieffer. Three years later another sister, Marqaretha, was added to the family but. She died at the age of four. Herman had four more brothers: Otto and Reiner both lived but a few months. A second brother Wilhelm grew up to be a policeman of Stommeln. It was the custom to name children after their Godparents; as a result two children in a family could be given the same name; or if a child died, the name would be passed on to a later son or daughter. Thus Herman had an older and younger brother named William. Mathias and Maria named their last child Heinrich.

His 1st wife was: Agnes Baus (1807-1839).
She died and was buried in Germany.

His second wife was Apolonia Breuer (1803-1891).
She is buried at St. Mary's Ridge, Monroe Co, WI.

National Archives of Washington, D.C. - discovered that the Herman Flock Family boarded the Steamer "Belgique" in Antwerp. Its Captain was M.J. Frantzen. Although no departure date is given, they arrived in New York Harbor June 20, 1857 with 464 passengers listed.

Source: Herman Flock "A Little Bit of History"