Franz Joseph Loebach is the son of Heinrich Loebach and Josepha Bennerscheid. He was born on March 21, 1856, in the village of Geisbach, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Geisbach is part of the town of Hennef and is located about 13 km south of Neunkirchen. His birth was registered in nearby in Geistingen. He died on March 6, 1924, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. According to the 1930 Federal Census for Chicago, Illinois and a 1939 German publication in which nearly 1500 German immigrants were documented, he immigrated to Illinois from the Nordrhein-Westfalen vicinity of Siegburg, Germany in 1882 at the age of 26. There is a passenger list record for the Vandalia which left Hamburg, Germany and arrived in New York on May 16, 1882. Aboard this ship a was Franz 'laback'. This record states he was 23 years old. This may or may not be his immigration record. He went by Joseph in the 1900 census, but Frank thereafter. In 1904 he indicated that he immigrated in 1881.
Maria Catharina Brosheid is the daughter of Johann Broscheid and Anna Catharina Cornet. She was born December 21, 1855 in the village of Ueberdorf in the town of Nümbrecht, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Her birth was registered nearby in Neunkirchen, Germany, which was where the central church was located. She was the 51st birth registered that year. She died on March 12, 1941 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Doris (Loebach) Forsythe, my mother and her granddaughter, the daughter of Al Loebach, and Ruth Neilsen, the grandaughter of Helen Nielson, and her great-grandaughter, both stated she was born December 21, 1856, as did her death certificate; a date supported by the 1920 and 1930 census records, however Josef Schneider a researcher from Much, Germany, found her baprism record and verified the year as 1855; a date supported by her marriage license and the 1900 census. She went by Katherine and was known as 'Little Gramma' by Ruth because she was so short. Doris listed her last name as Brochett on Al Loebach’s death certificate because she was not sure how to spell the name. According to the the 1920 Federal Census for Chicago, Illinois, Katherine immigrated in 1881 from Germany. The 1930 census says 1882 however.
Frank and Katherine obtained their marriage license on November 16, 1883 and were married on December 1, 1883, in Kankakee County, Illinois. He was living in Cabery, Ford County, Illinois at the time, and she was living in Dwight, Livingston County, Illinois. Their marriage license lists both of their parents' names and lists the German towns where their births were registered, not where they were actually born. They had 5 children:

    1. Mary Helen "Lena" (23 Aug 1884, Cabery, Illinois - 22 Sep 1975, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois) m. 28 Jul 1910, Carl Martin Nielson (25 Jul 1884 - 22 Nov 1960). son of Ander Neilson and Catherine Franzen.
        Children:
            Martin "Marty" (11 Mar 1914 - Mar 1980, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana) Carl William (1 Jul 1911 - 16 Jan 1994, North, Aurora, Kane County, Illinois)
            Francis "Fran" (1913 - )

    2. Frank Joseph "Joe" (26 Oct 1886, Kankakee, Illinois - 21 Oct 1947, Illinois) m. 11 June 1913, Catherine Florence Vander Kooi (13 Jun 1890 - Mar 1985, Palatine, Cook County, Illinois). She was the daughter of Frederic Vander Kooi and Catherine Kuhn. Strangely, he is listed in the 1920 census with his parents, even though he was married and had children - they are not found in the census.
        Children (Frederick or Paul was called Joseph, probably a middle name):
            Frederick (16 May 1916 - )
            Paul (abt 1918 - )
            Edward (abt 1922 - )

    3. Peter John (30 Dec 1888, Livingston County, Illinois - May 1965, Dade County, Florida), never married. He was still at home in the 1920 census. He is found living alone in the 1930 census in Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Florida listed as a retail grocery proprieter. According to my mother, he became a commercial fisherman in Florida.

    4. Fredrick Albert "Al" (14 May 1891, Dwight, Livingston County, Illinois - 19 May 1979) m. 26 Oct 1921, Clara Elizabeth Mayer

    5. Fredrick William "Willy" (16 Mar 1895, Dwight, Livingston County, Illinois - April 1976, Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois), never married (he had encephalitis and spent most of his life in institutions. He lived for a while beginning in 1935 in a board and care facility in Aledo, Mercer County, Illinois). The 1900 census lists his name as Fred Willie and his WWI draft registration card (Draft Board 60, Roll Number 1613663) lists his name as Frederick Wm Loebach. His draft card also lists his birthdate correctly, his birth location as Dwight, Illinois, his address as 1628 Catalpa Ave, Chicago and his reason for exemption as feeble minded.

The 1900 census record shows they were living in Madison, Carroll County, Indiana at the time where Frank was working as a grocer. It also states that all of the children were born in Illinois. The WWI registration cards for the three youngest show they were born in Dwight, Livingston County, Illinois. The WWI Draft Registration card for Frank Joseph Jr. states that he was born in Kankakee, Illinois. I have not found their 1910 census record, however I have found the 1910 census record for their oldest son Frank (Joseph Loebach), age 23 who was working as a hired hand in Norton, Kankakee, Illinois and living in the household of George Murphey, wife and daughter. According to the 1904 ships manifest, Frank Sr. was living at 887 Belmore (probably Belmont) Ave, Chicago and according to his WWI draft registration card he was living at 1628 Catalupa Ave, Chicago in 1917. I checked the 1910 Census Ward 26, district 1111, which shows a Peter Janish living at that last address in 1910. I have not been able to find 887 Belmont Ave, Chicago in the 1910 census (Ward 25, ED 1082, pg 29).

There are only 2 other early Loebach families represented in central Illinois in the 1880s. It is likely then they were somehow related. The first family included two brothers, Henry (b. 1839) and Christian (b. 1845), who immigrated to Eagle Township, LaSalle County, Illinois in 1867/68 and married there. They were farmers and remained there until their deaths. Their sister, Gertrude the wife of Peter Honscheid, immigrated to Odell, Livingston County, Illinois in 1881. They were the children of Henry Loebach and Frances Stokhausen. The other family included two brothers, Michel (b. 1854) and Henrich (b. 1862), who emmigrated from Mittelscheid, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany to Richland, LaSalle County, Illinois. Mittlescheid is located about 13 km east of Geisbach where Frank was born. They arrived with Michel's wife aboard the ship Waesland arriving in New York on March 19, 1881. They were both miner's and remained in Richland the rest of their lives. Michel and Henry were the sons of Peter W. Loebach (b. 1802) and Magaretha Kompel (b. 1821) who were married December 2, 1843 in Uckerath, Germany. Uckerath is about 5 miles SE from Geisbach. Peter was the son of Heinrich Loeach and grandson of Wilhelm Loebach and Elisabeth Becker. It may be sheer coincidence that these families all ended up living near each other, but it seems more than likely that they were related in some fashion. The townships of Richland and Eagle in LaSalle County border each other. The towns of Odell and Dwight in Livingston County are about 8 miles and about 15 miles east of Richland and Eagle Townships. Cabery in Kankakee County is about 15 miles east of Dwight. In addition, Christian Loebach's sons, Conrad, Peter, and Henry all married grandaughters of Anna Marie Broscheid - Maria Catharina Brosheid's aunt. Anna Marie Broscheid immigrated to Leonore, LaSalle County, Illinois, on the border of the Richland and Eagle townships. Lastly, Christian had a son named Frank Joseph Loebach born just 4 years after our Frank Joseph appeared in Illinois. Henrich Loebach's youngest sons, twins, were named Frank and Joseph born about 20 years later.

The ships manifest for the "Zeeland" which left from Antwerp, Belgium and arrived in New York on October 4, 1904 lists Franz Jos[eph] Lobach and his sister Margaret [Selewickke?]. He is listed at age 48 and his sister as age 50. His is listed as a U.S citizen, but his sister is not and it states that she is coming to live with her husband in Winamac, Indiana. Perhaps, Frank went to fetch her, or they both returned for a wedding or funeral. In either case, she was not yet a citizen. The next person listed in the manifest was Peter Broscheid, age 49 from Brlgenand, Germany. Brlgenand is an unknown location. It states that he is visiting a friend in Champagin Illinois, so is is not likely that his is a brother-in-law.