About this Site

This blog primarily documents the ongoing results of my research on the Rorick families of Sussex County, beginning with the descendants of Gaspar Rorick. Family history states that he emigrated to America in the 1730s as a “bound boy” with a Dutch mine owner named Schlottenbergh in order to work in Schlottenbergh’s mines in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. His two sons, Gaspar, Jr. (born about 1748) and Michael (born in 1749) settled in Sussex County, NJ where they started the families whose members are recorded here. Subsequent generations have left their mark across the United States in the communities where they lived and worked. In addition to a strong presence in Sussex County, places where the family has been prominent include Lenawee County, MI, where the Roricks and related families were among the earliest settlers; Yamhill County, OR, where the descendants of Lucy Ann Rorick and Gabriel Walling were pioneers; Beaumont, TX, where the descendants of Helen Rorick and W.C. Tyrrell were leading citizens and philanthropists; Toledo, OH, where the family was involved in the Spitzer-Rorick Bank; Allen County, IN,  where the descendants of James Madison Rorick were prominent settlers; and many more.

Using this Site

This website is dedicated to collecting and sharing information about the family that Gaspar Rorick started, and it primarily contains transcriptions of newspaper articles about family members.  In addition, I have collected many biographies.   Starting with the centennial of the United States in 1876, many state, county, church, and other local histories were published across America. These often included information on a community’s founding families and biographies of its prominent citizens.

Obvious mistakes such as misspellings are documented with the word “sic” in brackets, but otherwise I have I transcribed everything as faithfully as possible.  As with all sources, it is up to individual researchers to evaluate them carefully and to seek additional confirmation if needed.  Nonetheless, the information on this site presents valuable insights and information on the daily lives of its subjects.

You can search for information on this site by clicking on a Category to bring up all items in that category (i.e., all  posts categorized as obituaries), by clicking on a Tag to bring up all items with that tag, or by using the Search feature.  Posts are tagged with the last names of all family members mentioned in the article, and the Tag cloud shows the 50 most frequently used tags, so I’d recommend using the Search feature to look for other last names, place names, or other data.

Researching the Roricks

The History of the Rorick Family, written by Horton C. Rorick and delivered at a family reunion, is a good starting place, especially for the branch of the family that settled in Lenawee County, MI.  Another resource for the Lenawee County branch of the family is The Rorick Family in America, a manuscript by Helen Rorick Lundahl in the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.

Not all Roricks living in the United States are related.  There are at least five or six major groups of Roricks that I’m aware of.  If you are researching the Rorick family of Schoharie County, NY, the best starting place is the manuscript by Warren Marsh that is available through FamilySearch.

To the extent that I’m able to, I will try to answer any questions that come my way.  Please leave a reply below to reach me.

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