Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1922 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Henry Sieker passed away on the 7th, all very sudden. My 66th birthday came and went and I don’t know as I had many bad effects from the day.”
Henry Sieker was a Chicago painter and one-time Sosman & Landis employee. This is one of those instances where Moses brought to light an individual who otherwise may have remained unknown, a individual lost to time and theatre history. Not everyone makes a name for themselves in the theater. Sieker is an example of a painter who came and went without any fanfare.
Henry Ernest Sieker was born on Feb. 10, 1886, in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents were Frank (Franz) Sieker (1849-1890) and Catherine Kemper (1853-1901). The couple celebrated the birth of seven children, with four growing to adulthood. The 1880 Census listed that Henry was living at home with his three siblings – Fred (1876), August (1882), and Martin (1885). By 1900, their father passed away and all four boys were living with their mother at 29 Lufkin Street in Cleveland, Ohio. At the time Henry was working as a messenger boy. Henry and Martin remained close throughout the duration of their lives, eventually moving to Chicago and living together.
Henry married Nattley C. Buselski (b. 1886), the daughter of Mathias and Johanna Buselski.
Henry and Nattley celebrated the birth of their only daughter in 1909, Irene Florence. The 1910 US Federal Census listed Siecker as a scenic artist in the scenic studio profession. At the time, he was still living with his brother, Martin who worked as a candy maker in a candy factory.
Sieker’s draft registration card provides a little information about his physical appearance. He was tall, medium build with blue eyes and blond hair. The registration also listed him as living at 4016 W. 21st Chicago and working as a sign painter at Sosman & Landis.
Eight years later, the 1920 census still listed Sieker as a sign painter, working in the Factory industry and living at 4016 West 21st Street. He was still living with his brother, wife and daughter.
Sieker passed at the age of 36 on July 7, 1922. At the time, he was living at 4023 W 21 St., just up the street from where he lived in 1920; an unknown change of circumstances perhaps. Sieker was buried on July 10, 1922 at Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum in River Grove, Illinois. I not yet located any details or cause of death.
To be continued…
