Private 1st Class Joseph Francis Lorenz
United States Army
150th Machine Gun Battalion, 42nd Rainbow Division
 





Over the Rhine
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Cincinnati had a long history of German immigration. Those German speaking people who came to Cincinnati settled in an area downtown overlooking the Miami-Erie Canal. That area came to be referred to as Over-the-Rhine. The Ohio River, flowing along the southern boundary of this area, was definitely an attraction. With its banks of Ohio and Kentucky on each side, it presented a familiar picture reminiscent of the many beautiful rivers in the Austro Hungarian Empire.

Over-the-Rhine area. 1985
Inset: Over-the-Rhine and Miami Erie Canal. Circa 1870

Joseph Francis Lorenz's birth certificate shows that his birth was attended by the midwife Mrs. M. Goenheimer. He was born at home at 60 Tafel Street, Cincinnati, Ohio on May 15, 1896.

His parents, Franz and Rosa, had emigrated to Cincinnati in 1891 as newlyweds. They came from the western edge of Bohemia; their villages were located northwest of Prague. Today that part of Bohemia is called the Czech Republic.

A Declaration of Intention, dated 30 August 1892, exists from the State of Ohio, Hamilton County for Frank Lorenz.

On this document "he makes a report of himself for NATURALIZATION, and declares an oath that it is his bonafide intention to become a citizen of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." His brother, Anton, sponsored him.

The Cincinnati City Directories reflect the Lorenz family moved three times before Joseph was born. In 1892, father Frank Lorenz was a laborer, and the residence is listed as 10 Lawrence; in 1893 Frank was a janitor and the residence is listed as Central Turner Hall. The Hall was a German Gymnasium Club. In 1894 there is no record of Frank Lorenz, but in 1895 Frank was a janitor living at 513 Walnut near Allison. We do not have the information from the 1896 City Directory.

The year Joseph was born the 1897 City Directory lists his father, Frank, as a laborer and the family residence as 60 Tafel. We do not have the information from the 1898 City Directory, but in 1899 Joseph's father, Frank, was listed as a cooper (barrel maker), and the address as 2123 Winchell Avenue.

At the time of Joseph's birth the Lorenz family consisted of a son Anthony Frank, born November 25, 1893 and a daughter Rose Elizabeth, born February 5, 1895.

The firstborn had been Wenzel, born January 30, 1892. When still a toddler he wandered away during the late winter. Oral tradition has it that the mounted police finally found him, but he became ill with pneumonia and died shortly thereafter in June of 1895. He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in St. Bernard, Cincinnati. His grave is in an area designated for "Single People and Children"; baby Wenzel's grave is unmarked.

In 1900 the family, with all their belongings, moved to Dayton, Ohio. We do not know the reason for this move. Dayton was further north along the Miami-Erie Canal and was a thriving manufacturing center.

Perhaps Frank was looking for a better job opportunity, to help him care financially for his growing family.

Lorenz family: Father Frank, Mother Rosa,
sons Wenzel and Anthony. 1894
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