August Henry Sieks

August Henry Sieks emigrated to the United States of America in 1902 from Bunde, Westfalen in Germany. He was born in 1876. Details of his parentage are not known. Some records indicate his father's name was Henry Sieks and his mother, Augusta.

According to immigration records, August noted on the ships manifest that he was visiting his brother Heinrich Bernhard Sieks in Chicago. The address in Chicago is noted in the manifest. Details of the relationship with his brother are sketchy. Bernhard had three children, one of which was Arthur.

The 1910 US Federal Census shows August and Bertha living at 515 Millman Street in Peoria. August lists his occupation as bookkeeper for a distillery company. The census states that he emigrated to the US in 1892 in Pennsylvania. August Sieks apparently was a successful businessman, dealing in coal and Ice. A story from his son Frederick indicated he also had a contract with the city of Peoria for trash pickup and disposal. The garages on Helen St. in Peoria would bear that out; there were many stalls in the garage.

On Sept 12, 1918, 'Gus' Sieks registered for the draft. That was two months before the first world war ended. According to Lillian, He was in full Army gear and ready to ship out when they declared the war over on Nov 11, 1918. Gus Sieks showed on his draft form that he was self employed as a coal dealer with offices at 302 Cedar Street, Peoria, Illinois. At that time his home was shown as 201 Helen Street in Peoria.

Although his army draft form shows his first name as Henry, all other records show him as August Henry Sieks. Research still ongoing and any help from the Sieks families in Germany would be greatly appreciated.