Here is a photo of him and his brothers, sisters, and father, around 1920.
Jakob is second from the right on the top row.
Top row, left to right, Maria Hoss , Michael Hoss, Jacob Hoss, Fritz Hoss
Bottom row, left to right, Magdalena Hoss, Elizabeth Hoss , and Albert Hoss
(father)
Born March 29, 1892 in Mainz Kastel Germany. Jakob was a master shipbuilder in Germany and an employee of the 'Berlinghaus-shipyard' at Cologne-Mühlheim prior to emigrating to the United States in the 1920s. Upon coming to the USA he purchased a butcher/sausage shop and deli in Rochester NY, and learned sausage-making. The shop made around 60 varieties of sausages and cold cuts, imported about 105 varieties of European cheeses, and over 300 varieties of European candies, plus other German items like multiple-types of pickled herring (imported in 20-50 gallon wooden barrels), eel in aspic, baking goods, and canned goods.
He married Margarethe Porzelt. They were Ferdinand Hoss and Margaret (Hoss) Borglum's parents (see borglum.com listing XD). Family photo 1943, on the immigration boat , Jacob with Keith 1952 , Magarethe with grandchildren 1960s
He died Feb 26, 1953, as a result of a heart attack suffered in court, apparently due to the stress of being sued by a person who tripped over a public utility gas pipe in the sidewalk in front of his meat market, the Hoss German Sausage Shop, in Rochester, New York, USA.
His wife died of old age some years later after suffering a stroke in her sleep.
His son Ferdinand died in a boating accident while duck hunting in upstate NY. His daughter Margaret married Carsten Borglum, both of whom took over the Hoss German Sausage Shop and ran it until the mid 1970s, when they sold it to Lawrence Rossiter. Lawrence had married Ruth, the widow of Ferdinand, and worked in the shop for many years. Cars and Marge's eldest son and daughter worked in the sausage shop until their teens when it was sold. They have six children, most of which live near them in the Orlando Florida area.
We believe Jakob is also in this 1913 photo. The scroll reads "Konigl. Bayr. Inf Regt. No.23 Saargemund", meaning "Company 5, The King's Bavarian Infantry Regiment No. 23 in the Saar 1911-1913". We would like help verifying this.
In October 2002 we recieved significant information on his ancestry, (listed below ), and would appreciate any additional input you may have.
The following is reprinted from emails received ( I LOVE getting emails like this, it's the best part of building this site):
Subject: Jakob Johann Hoss - Robert Hoss
From: robert.hoss@degussa.com
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 13:26:01 +0200
Dear Keith,
My name is Robert Hoss, I'm 46 years old and live in Germany.
Surfing in the internet I found your notice about one of your ancestors. I can give you further informations about Jacob Hoss / the Hoss family in Germany, because Jacob Hoss was the brother of my great-grand father.
I would like to give you a feed back concerning the family picture.
From the right to the left:
Fritz Hoss (Hoß), Jakob's brother, moved in 1920 from Mainz to Cologne
after he returned from his captivity as a prisoner of war in France during WW
I. There he met his sister Maria. Jacob joined them there (when, is not clear).
Fritz died in 1962 and is buried in our family grave in Mainz-Kastel.
Albert Hoss (brother and my grand-grandfather) is right in front of your ancestor Jakob Hoss (who emigrated to the US in early 1920 - that's what my family told me.
Who's the man next to Jacob, I'm not quite sure because due to the results of my investigations (approx. ten years ago) the father of Jacob, Johann Gregor Hoss, died 28.04.1896 (35 years old) in Mainz-Kostheim and his wife Katharina Hoss didn't marry again. So if this photograh was taken around 1920 - he was already dead. I know that there were 6 children (4 brothers and 2 sisters) therefore it's more realistic that the 4th man on the picture is the brother Michael Hoss.
One of the two sisters is Elisabeth Hoss ( Zerbe after marriage - this is the "Zerbe"-branch of our family and I can give you informations as well ). I'll try to get out more about the persons on the picture.
I have documents going back until the middle of the 18th century. Our family lived all the time in a close area ( near Mainz ). The origin is Mainz-Laubenheim. From there Johann Gregor Hoss moved to Mainz-Kostheim in the 2nd half of 19th century, got married and had his family.
Our families history is so exciting for me, therefore I today contacted all people I know to get clear about the "picture". What I knew was that I have seen this picture somewhere in the past and I recognized the discussions about who is who on this picture. Clear was who is your great-great-grandfather and who is mine. Today I visited my parents and my aunt to tell my story and get more information about the picture. My aunt told me that your mother visited us after World War II and your great-great-grandfather Jacob supported our family at that time by sending "care-packages" and more-over sponsored her Communion in the end of the 1940s (?) sending her shoes and a dress.
Tomorrow I'm going to meet a cousin (f) of my fathter to fix the "who is who" of the picture. Anyway, I'm happy to get a small kick to continue my investigations and I'm happy beeing able to support you. I hope my English is not too bad.
Awaiting your next mail with excitement
best regards
Robert
here's a letter from Fred Bouchard, one of Jacob's employees in 2005 at the time of Carsten's funeral (Marge's husband and Jacob's son-in-law )
