Johann Valentin Storck

Johann Valentin Storck was born in Arheilgen on December 12, 1793. On February 9, 1822, he married Anna Catharina Bach from Grafenhausen. He died June 4, 1854 and is buried with his medal in Riverside Cemetery in Defiance, Ohio.

In 1810, he joined the Hessian Army which was hired out to Napoleon. Valentin became a personal body guard to Napoleon and marched with him into Russia. Valentin was one of the few survivors of that march in the winter of 1812. Upon returning, Napoleon awarded Valentin a bronze medal for bravery and loyalty. He was given an honorable discharge from the army. He then became a gardener for the Duke of Hesse.

Valentin and Anna had eight children. As adults, some of Valentin's children came to the United States and stayed near Toledo, Ohio until Valentin, his wife and two children, Johann and Susanna, joined them there the following year. Once the family was united, they sailed down the Maumee River from Toledo to Defiance, Ohio where they landed on June 2, 1849. They had come by water from the East traveling the Hudson River, the canal to Buffalo, New York and Lake Erie to Toledo, Ohio. Valentin bought some land near Defiance, Ohio and became a farmer.