Father Anthony Hoch, Catholic Priest

The last two posts contained the marriage licenses and certificates for two of my grandfather, George Henry Haitz's siblings.  Both Robert and Emma were married by Father Anthony Hoch who was the Catholic priest assigned to Saint Michael Church in Ripley, Ohio at that time.  This prompted me to see what I could find about Father Anthony.

Portsmouth Daily Times
16 January 1942

Father Anthony was born in Germany in 1881.  By 1900, he had immigrated to this country and was enrolled as a student at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama. (1900 census)  St. Bernard Abbey is still operating today as a monastery for Catholic Benedictine monks.  

Shortly after he was enumerated in the 1900 census, Father Anthony was sent by the Benedictine Order to Hungary to learn the Magyar language and to study the customs and character of the Hungarian people in preparation for a mission in Virginia.  Upon his return in 1902, he, along with another priest, Father Vincent, was sent to Pocahontas, Virginia where there was a large congregation of Hungarian people.  CATHOLICISM AND COMMUNITY: MOUNTAIN MISSIONS AND "NEW" IMMIGRANTS IN APPALACHIA

I wasn't able to locate Father Anthony in the 1910 census, but he was still living in Pocahontas in 1920.  By 1930, he was back in Cullman, Alabama at the Abbey.  He is listed on that census as a Catholic clergyman.

Portsmouth Daily Times
14 January 1942

St. Ann's Mission is located in Nile Township, Scioto County, Ohio.  It was a mission church of St. Michael Catholic Church in Ripley, Ohio.  In August 1933, St. Bernard Abbey sent Father Anthony Hoch to replace Father Ambrose Reger to care for St. Ann's. Brasilia de la Santa Maria 1990  I assume that this was when Father Anthony arrived in Ripley as the priest for St. Michael's.  In the 1940 census, he is listed as the priest for the church and Anna Germann is listed as his housekeeper.  

Father Anthony did not live a long life.  At the age of 61, he was found slumped over in his car after a visit to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in Cincinnati.  His death was ruled as a coronary occlusion.  The newspaper articles I found of his death claim he was very much loved by his congregation.  His funeral was held at St. Michael, but his burial took place at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama.