Myrl "Muriel" Binkelman

Notes:

SSDI:

MYRL BINKELMAN 14 Apr 1885 Oct 1969 54901 (Oshkosh, Winnebago, WI ) (none specified) 388-30-7117 Wisconsin

(Research):Census Information:

1920 Census
Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Oshkosh Ward 10, Algoma Twp
Enumerated 6 Jan 1920
SD 5 ED 180 Sheet 4A
578-73-76
Binckelman, Myrle Partners (head) F W 30 S Wisc Wisc Vermont Partners Grocery Store
Binckelman, Luella Partners F W 40 S Wis Wis Vermont Partners Grocery Store
Huebotter, William Nephew M W 10 S Tx Tx Wisc
Huebotter, Dale Nephew M W 6 S Tx Tx Wisc
Huebotter, Keith Nephew M W 5 S Tx Tx Wisc

1930 Census
Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Oshkosh
Enumerated April 7, 1930
ED 70-23 SD 8 Sheet 7B
246-180-187
Binkelman, Luella Hd F w 55 S Wis Wis Wis None
Binkelman, Myrle Sister F W 46 S Wis Wis Wis Saleslady grocery
Huebotter, William J Nephew M W 20 Tx Tx Wisc Stock Man Notion Store
Huebotter, Richard K Nephew M W 16 S Tx Tx Tx Pin Setter Bowling Alley
Huebotter, Dale V Nephew M W 15 S Tx Tx Wisc Stock Man Dry Goods Store

Notes:

Took his step-fathers last name, however he spelled it Binkelman. Art Peck shows his place of birth as Joliet, Jane Zimmerman instead writes that he was born in Chicago.

Marion Advertiser - Marion, WI - May 18, 1917
Reminiscences of Old Times - By D. A. Ramsdell
(Courtesy of Lorraine Smith Benkelman)

William R. Binkelman, was born in Chicago, Ill., March 2nd, 1848. From there moved to Manitowoc Wis. Apr. 2nd 1887 (sic) he married Mary M. Ramsdell, daughter of Erastus and Sylvia Ramsdell of this place. Here they resided for several years, doing business in fruit and grocery store. Hoping to better their fortunes they like many others, thought there were more opportunities in a newer country. Disposing of his business in Manitowoc in 1878, they located at Perry's Mill, Dupont.

In writing this early experience of Mr. Binkelman, I desire the reader to take into consideration this fact that from childhood, he had been afflicted with a hip disease that debarred him--or should have done so--from strenuous labor. His education was received in the schools of Manitowoc. That he was qualified to teach a common school; he proved with the discrimination and ambition to understand anything in sight to care for and support his family. His life and expectence one of the early settler and families of Marion; should or ought to be an example, that many a man with a more rugged constitution could follow. That his first few years here were ? ? of hardship and endurances, I can well believe. To illustrate, they had been without flour for some time. He started for Clintonville, and prevailed upon F. M. Guernsey to let him have a 60lb. sack, it being all he had and all there was to be had in Clintonville at that time. With this 60 pounds of flour upon his back, he, a cripple, whom every step was the cause of pain, it must have meant a great deal to them. About half way home he met James H. Churchill and asked him where he was going. He replied, "I am going to Clintonville for flour." Mr. Binkelman told him he had the last to be got in Clintonville. Churchill said, "I have got to have flour and I am going until I find it," which he did at New London. Mr. Binkleman said of that 60 pounds of flour they had one baking of biscuit the balance of it was loaned to their neighbors, this showing the disposition and self sacrifices made for each other.

When in 1873 the Binkelmans came to Perry's Mill they lived in a small frame house built by W. I. Ramsdell and owned by his widow. They had one child, a daughter born at Manitowoc in 1872 Ollie Estelle. She married Eldert G. Vischer, then pastor of the M. E. Church at Marion. Her's was a life of devotion to her husband and friends. She passed from earth life several years ago, with the blessed faith of life eternal.

Ervinin May, the second daughter was born at Marion Nov. 11th 1874. She was educated at Oshkosh and Valparaiso, Ind. Married Wm. D. Huebotter of Texas in 1898. She departed this life a year or so ago, leaving three bright young boys, the eldest being 7 years. They are living with their grand parents at Oshkosh. Mr. Binkelman having legally adopted them.

Luella, the third daughter, was born at Marion Oct. 22nd, 1876. With her father and mother her life has been one of self sacrifice to her two departed sisters.

Frederic Mark, a son was born at Marion in 1877, a promising boy of eight years when he departed this life. The earthly remains of the brother and two sisters are laid to rest in the Dupont Cemetery.

Tilden (sic) J., a second son was born April 14th 1879. He married Edna Cuff of New London. They have three sons, the two eldest being twins, all fine boys. Jay, as we know him, was educated in the Marion schools, finishing up a business course at Racine. Was in business with his father until he sold to L. M. DeVaud & Co. Since then he remained in their employ until six months ago, he accepted a position with a Detroit house as travelling salesman, and two weeks since his family left for Port Huron, Mich. to make their future home.

Muriel, the youngest daughter of the family, was born in this village April 14th 1884. She is with her parents in Oshkosh, the life and joy of the household.

I have no wish or desire to flatter or give honor or respect where it is not due, but in this case, where I can write from a knowledge of what I am writing about I think it no flattery to say that for a family laboring under the conditions that this one did, all honor is due. That he was willing anxious to undertake any kind of labor to support his family he proved. He taught school at Belle Plaine two terms, cooked in the woods, purchased 10 acres of land on the town and county line road 1 1-2 miles west of the Marion Cemetery, and now owned by Wm. Anelam, moved his family there and was living there when we came in 1875. Here with no team, trying to clear up enough to get in a crop to keep them from starving, with his neighbor Aug. Dieck who had an ox team, they would exchange work, Binkelman driving the oxen, while Dieck with his two sons August and Jule would pile up the logs, fine maple logs worth now 40 dollars per thousand feet. Had to burn them up to make room to grow something to eat. That it was a struggle to live I can well believe. In 1876 he sold his farm to Wm. Anelam and came to the village and lived in a house located where Chas. Wiesman now lives and owned by Mrs. M. Timm. On the site or near it now occupied by Joseph Miller's grocery store, Binkelman and a man named Ritter, started a Hardware Store. It was a little frame building and I think built by a man from Royalton, have forgotten his name. Later the same year, Mr. Binkelman bought out Ritter. In 1877 he bought of W. R. Brainard, two lots in Block 8; original plat, and erected the north half of the DeVaud hardware store. In this was the only hall we had for years. In this half our different societies met, here our debating club thrashed out the principal questions of the day. Perhaps the world's war could have been amicably settled by us, had Germany been ready to fight. I believe here is where Louis Bowers did his last playing for our dances. 'Twas good music and faithfuly performed. Just before daylight a hat was passed around for collection. It came back, the hat did, 'this is a fact for I was there as the 2nd Violinist, and was to receive one half and there was no division of that collection, it was mostly pants buttons. Had Louis found out who was ? these buttons he would have returned them but he never did. That Mr. Binkelman prospered and his business grew, is due to his attention and hard work. In a few years he added to his store as it stands today. In 1913 he sold to L. M. DeVaud & Co. and moved to Oshkosh to take a rest. Call on him at 575 Main St. and see if you think he is. Mr. Binkelman has always taken a great interest in Marion. He is still the possessor of two fine residences, one on Garfield Ave., occupied by the Jos. Miller family and the other on Railroad Ave. and Clinton St. now the home of the Kelly family. Was Postmaster one term, Clerk of the Circuit Court at Waupaca, Chairman of the town of Dupont, Treasurer of the School District and also director of High School. Has been prominent in all that pertained to the welfare of the town and village. Their removal from this village to Oshkosh was a loss to the community and more especially the M. E. Church of which I think they are still members. That they received the rest they required by their removal would appear to an onlooker as a question for our old Debating Club. What do you say to it Will?

http://www.wigenweb.org/waupaca/News/waupnews1917.htm

BonnieMargaret Jacobs wrote that she had received a handwritten copy of his obituary from Mrs. John Arndt, and that it was carried in the Marion Advertiser on September 26, 1969(???). She does not show a date of death, however, and 1969 would make him nearly 120.

(Research):
Census Information:

1900 Census
Wisconsin, Waupaca County, Marion
Enumerated 21 Jun 1900
SD 6 ED 124 Sheet 14A
238-241
Binkelman, William Head W M Apr 1849 51 M 29 Ill Germany Ireland Hardware Salesman
Binkelman, Mary M Wf W F Sept 1849 6/5 Wisc Vermont Vermont
Binkelman, Zinnia M [Ervenia] Dtr W F Nov 1874 25 S Wisc Ill Wisc Music Teacher
Binkelman, Luella Dtr W F Oct 1876 23 S Wisc Ill Wisc School Teacher
Binkelman, Lindon J Son W M Apr 1880 20 S Wisc Ill Wisc Salesman
Binkelman, Murel Dtr W F Apr 1885 15 S Wisc Ill Wisc At School
Krueger, John Boarder W M Jan 1877 23 S Wisc Germany Germany Tinker

1910 Census
Wisconsin, Waupaca, Dupont
William R. Binkelma 60 Ill England England
Mary M. Binkelma 59
Luella Binkelma 32
Merl Binkelma 25

(Index info only, was unable to open the actual census page on Ancestry.com)

William married Mary Ann Ramsdell on 28 Mar 1871 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Mary was born in Sep 1849 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Daughter of Erastus and Sylvia Ramsdell of Marion, Wisconsin.

Notes:

Married:
There is perhaps no more prominent businessman in the northern part of Waupaca County than Mr. Binkelman. He has been a farmer, schoolteacher, and merchant, and, on his upward to a comfortable competence, he has also engaged in various other vocations. His present mercantile establishment is the largest in the village of Marion. Mr. Binkelman was born in Joliet, ILL, in 1849, son of Leonard and Jane (McCormick) Binkelman, the father a native of Germany, the mother of Irish extraction. Leonard Binkleman was a ship builder by trade, and for many years was a resident of Joliet, removing thence in 1852 to Manitowoc, Wis., where he also followed his trade. Mrs. Binkelman died in 1894, and he now resides with his son, W.R. at Marion. Their children were: W.R., Mary Jane, wife of William Clark, of Manitowoc; Fred, and Emma E., wife of John Bodwin, of East Gibson, Manitowoc County. W.R. Binkelman was reared in Manitowoc, and after leaving the schools there, clerked in a grocery store for some time, after which for about ten years he was engaged in the confectionery business of Manitowoc. In 1872 Mr. Binkelman moved to Shawano County, and there engaged in farming, teaching school and speculating in land for several years, teaching in Grant and Belle Plaine Townships, and also in Dupont Township, Waupaca County. In 1876, he removed to the later township, locating on a tract of land one and a half miles distant from Marion. Three years later he opened a hardware store at Marion, where he has since been continuously in business. There was only one store in the village when he located there, that of McDonald and Ramsdell, a firm that has since gone out of business. The village contained but three houses, Mr. Binkelman erecting the fifth building, but there is now a population of 800, and it is still growing rapidly. He erected his present building, a good two-story frame, in 1881, and carries of full line of hardware and farm machinery, the most valuable stock of goods in Dupont Township. He is a notary public, and for thirteen years, up to January 1, 1895, he was in the insurance business. In earlier life Mr. Binkelman filed cross-cut saws, and adopted various other honest and honorable means of obtaining a start in life, and he began business in Marion with only $350, his present extensive trader testifying to his abundant, perhaps unequalled, success at this point. Mr. Binkelman was married, in 1871, to Miss [Mary] Ann Ramsdell , who was born in Manitowoc Rapids, daughter of Erastus Ramsdell, an early pioneer of Manitowoc country, who subsequently moved to Dupont Township, where he died in 1890. To Mr. and Mrs. Binkelman came 6 children, five of whom are now living: Olla A., Irvine, Luella, Lindon J., and Murrell. Mark died at the age of eight years. In politics Mr. Binkelman is a Republican, and socially he is a charter member of Marion Lodge No. 256, I.O.O.F., in which he has passed all the Chairs, and is now serving as Chaplain. He attends the M.E. Church, and his eldest daughter, Olla A., is Superintendent of Sunday School at the flourishing Church. In January, 1895, Mr. Binkelman was elected Chairman of Dupont Township; he was Clerk of the Courts of Waupaca County from 1884 to 1888; was Postmaster at Marion under President Harrison from 1888 to 1892, resigning in the later year; he was Town Clerk of Dupont for five years; In January, 1895, was appointed chairman of the town board, and, in the spring of that year was elected chairman, receiving 241 votes out of a total of 307, a fact which testifies better than words his popularity. He is well known throughout Waupaca County, and commands the esteem and good fellowship of all who know him.

From "Commemorative Biological Record of the Upper Wisconsin Counties of Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas, Langlade and Shawano" by Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1895. (Courtesy of Lorraine Smith Benkelman)

Notes:

Leonhard, named for his father, was the trailblazer of the family. Parish records in Waldhausen show "ist 1849 Ausgewandert," meaning he emigrated in 1849. This makes him the first of the ten children [who lived into maturity] of Leonhard and Dorothea Benkelmann to leave Germany for America. Every one of his siblings eventually followed him.

BonnieMargaret Jacobs wrote that "as in all areas of German life, there were strict requirements to be met in order to be free to leave. The emigrant had to obtain certificates from the tax collector, the pastor and from school officials that he was free from taxes, tithes of other debts. The emigrant also had to renounce their citizenship, and have a specified amount of money to sustain them in their new country until they could establish themselves." (p. 80)

Leonard settled first in Lancaster, New York, but sometime after 1851 moved to Wisconsin, taking his newly arrived younger brother Johannes with him west. They lived first in Milwaukee, and later Leonard alone moved to Manitowac county, where he spent the rest of his life. BonnieMargaret wrote that "pamphlets about Wisconsin had been prepared to be circulated amoung the villages back home in Germany. The Wisconsin Germans were anxious to create a German community with a German culture and they aggresively recruited immigrants to their area...The early settlers in Manitowac were primarily German, Swiss and Irish. They brought with them their cheese making skills and turned Wisconsin into the dairyland of the nation. But manufacture and shipbuilding developed quickly in Manitowoc, with its access through the Great Lakes to endless markets." (Jacobs, p. 1022)

Leonard was a veteran of the Civil War, enlisting on 8 Sept 1861 for 3 years as a private in Company A, 1st Regiment, Mechanics Fusileers, though the company disbanded, and he was and discharged on 28 Jan 1862 at Camp Douglas, Illinois. BonnieMargaret Jacobs states that at the time of his enlistment, his occupation was listed as weaver. He reenlisted in 1865 for 1 year in Company D, 48th Regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and mustered out 19 February 1866 at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. BonnieMargaret Jacobs cites his Civil War Pension record as No. 696589, filed on 9 Oct 1890.

His war record showed him as an engineer. The 1880 city directory listed him as the same.

Leonhard appears to have remained in close contact with his family. The Cass City, Michigan paper had several articles over the years mentioning his visits. This brief article appeared one week after the death of Adam Benkelman. "Leonard Benkelman, from Wisconsin, brother of the late Adam Benkelman, is in town and will remain for some time." (Cass City Enterprise Published in Cass City, Mich., Jan. 6, 1898).

A few years later, these articles also mention Leonard:

Cass City Chronicle
November 8, 1901

Local Mentions

A farewell party was given at Mrs. J. Schwegler's Monday evening in honor of her brother, Leonard and his niece Miss Cora Benkelman [daughter of Johannes Benkelman], who left for their respective homes in Manitowoc and Portage, Wisconisn, Tuesday.

Cass City Chronicle
October 30, 1908

Local Mentions

Leonard Benkelman of Manitowoc, Wis., is the guest of his sisters, Mrs. Louisa Striffler and Mrs. John Striffler and other relatives.

A notice of his death was in the Friday, May 30, 1913 issue of the Cass City Chronicle:

"Word has been received of the death of Leonard Benkelman, residing at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Clark* [nee Mary Jane Clancey] Sunday morning and was buried Wednesday. Mr. Benkelman was a brother of Mrs. M.M. Schwegler and the late Mrs. John Striffler and has visited Cass City a number of times.

*It appears from the obituary published in the Manitowoc paper that Leonard actually died in the home of his other daughter, Ella Benkelman Bodwin.

Leonhard's step-granddaughter also ended up in Cass City. Cora Horn (daughter of Mary Jane Clancey Horn Clark) married George Albert Striffler, a nephew of Leonhard's.

Jane Zimmerman provided the following obituary of Leonard, published in the Manitowoc Daily Herald on May 30, 1913.

Leonard Benkelman

Manitowoc Citizen Well Known Among German Citizens here

From Manitowoc (Wis.) Daily Herald

While his comrades, assembled throughout the land for memorial services Sunday, listened to tributes to their deeds of valor, Leonard Benkelman, one of the best known veterans of the county, heard taps sounded and passed on, his death occuring at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Bodwin at Kings Bridge, due to infirmaties of age. Mr. Benkelman had been looking forward to the Memorial day services in which he had been a participant for years and the keenest disappointment shadowed his last hours when he realized that he could not survive to join with his comrades another year.

Mr. Benkelman was born at Brech, Wuertenberg [BonnieMargaret Jacob's writes that Breech was just down and across the road from the Schneiderhof, both near B?rtlingen], Germany, July 5, 1828, and in 1848 came to America, locating at Lancaster, N.Y. where he remained two years and then came to this city where he has since resided.

When the civil war broke out Mr. Benkelman responded to the call for volunteers and enlisted in what was known as the First regiment, Mechanic Fussillers, attached to Co. A of which Capt. W. Bates, a Manitowoc man, was in command. Later, after being honorably discharged, Mr. Benkelman enlisted with Co. D, Forty-eighth Wisconsin, and served with the comman in trying experiences on the western plains. He returned here after the war to make his home.

Mr. Benkelman is survived by three children, Mrs. William Clark, of this city; William Benkelman, Marion, Wis., and Mrs. J. Bodwin, of Kings Bridge, sixteen grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. A brother, John Benkelman, Portage, and one sister, Mrs. M. M. Schwegler, Cass City, Mich. also survive. One sister preceded him just two weeks ago.

Decedent was well known in the county and was universally esteemed.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon from the Clark home, 410 Park Street, to St. James Episcopal church and interment will be at Evergreen.


Cemetery records, from the Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Genealogy website:

BENKLEMAN: [W2-150-3]-[Leonard Benkelman/bur. 05-27-1913/cause: adetic [aortic?] insufficiency/bur. on John Horn lot] (William/d. 25 May 1913/age 85/cause: arterial schlorosis/bur. Evergreen 28 May 1913/from record of St. James Epis. ch., Manitowoc)

BENKELMANN: Jane............Aug. 23, 1894 Cem.#44, same name, same year *same, vol.4, p.234

BENKELMANN: Leonard Benkelmann/Co. D. 48th Wis. Inf., ossw: Jane Benkelmann/1830-1894

ossw: CLARKE/HORNE, next to: L. Benkelmann/Co. D/48 Wis. Inf.

(Research):Census Information:


1860 Census
Wisconsin, Manitowoc County, First Ward
8 June 1860
Page 49 (bottom)/Page 50 (top)
389-390
Leonard Brinkleman 30 M Weaver Wurtemburgh
Jane Brinkleman 29 F Ireland
William Brinkleman 11 M Illinois
Mary Brinkleman 8 F Wisc
Frederick Brinkleman 3 M Wisc
Emma Brinkleman 1 F Wisc
Note: William and Mary are Jane's children from her first marriage

1870 Census
Wisconsin, Manitowac, First Ward
17 June 1870, Stamped 192
107-117
Bingleman, Leonard 42 M W Carpenter Ireland (sic)
Bingleman, Jane 40 F Keeping House Ireland
Bingleman, William 21 M Grocery Store Ill
Bingleman, Fred 15 M Wisc
Bingleman, Emma 11 F Wisc

Mary, age 18 is no longer living with her parents. It is possible that she moved to Brown County, Wisconsin, as this is where her daughter, Cora Horn, was born in 1871. On the 1870 Brown County, Wisconsin census, a 19 year old Mary HORAN, House Servant, born in Wisconsin, can be found. This may be Mary Clancey Benkelman, already married but living apart from her husband? Or it may be someone else entirely. Living two households away is a 25 year old George McCORMICK, a teamster from Ireland. McCORMICK is the maiden name of Mary's mother, also born in Ireland. However Jane Zimmerman, a descendant of Leonard and Jane Benkelman, notes that McCORMICK was/is a fairly common name, and she does not know of a connection between Jane McCormick Benkelman and George McCormick.


1880 Census
1st Ward, Manitowoc, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
FHL Film 1255434 National Archives Film T9-1434
Page 17
RelationSexMarrRaceAgeBirthplace
Leonhard BINGELMAN Self M M W 52 WURTEMBERG Occ: Engineer Fa: WURTEMBERG Mo: WURTEMBERG
Jane BINGELMAN Wife F M W 50 IRE Occ: Keeping House Fa: IRE Mo: IRE


1900 Census
Wisconsin, Manitowoc, Manitowoc Ward 2
9 June 1900
SD 3 ED 72 Sheet 12B
412-227-264
Clark, William Hd W M May 1846 54 M18 NY England England Horse shoer
Clark, Mary Wf W F Feb 1852 48 M18 4/3 Wisc Germ Ireland
Clark, Cora Dtr W F Feb 1871 29 S Wisc Ny Wisc
Clark, Walter Son W M Sept 1883 17 S Wisc Ny Wisc At School
Clark, Warren Son W M June 1885 15 S Wisc NY Wisc At School
Bingleman, Leonard Father In Law W M July 1828 72 Wd Germ Germ Germ Retired

Johann married Jane McCormick on 19 Feb 1855 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Jane was born on 13 May 1830 in Ireland; died on 21 Aug 1894 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried on 23 Aug 1894 in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

On the Mantiowoc, Wisconsin, genealogy website, she is referred to as "a young widow from Chicago." Her dates of birth and death are based her tombstone in the Evergreen Cemetery in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The actual death certificate shows August 23, 1894, which appears to actually be the date of her burial. Some sources show that her first husband was named Richard CLANCEY. BonnieMargaret Jacobs shows him as William Richard Clancey, and Jane as a daughter of John and Catherine McCormick, citing Manitowoc County Marriage Records, Vol. 1, Page 67.

Her obituary, from the Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, website, follows:

JANE BENKELMANN
From Der Nord Westen, 30 Aug. 1894

Death of Mrs. L. Binkelmann, an old resident of our city, last Fri. Burial was Sun. in the Catholic Cemetery.

[Note: The newspaper was in error about the cemetery as well as the misspelled surname]

Jane Benkelmann/bur. 08-23-1894/age 64 yrs./cause: exhaustion

http://www.2manitowoc.com/44Bobit.html#benkelmannjane

Notes:

Married:
BENKELMANN: Leonhard (also Leonard Benkelman) b: Wurtenburg, Germany res: Manitowoc p: Leonhard and Toladea Benkelmann m: 19 Feb. 1855 at Manitowoc to: Jane (McCormick)Clancey (a young widow from Chicago) p: John and Cath. McCormick

source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tomanitowoc

Jane Zimmerman writes that Leonard was quite easygoing, whereas Jane was hard to please.

Notes:

In a 1979 letter that Margaret-Bonnie Jacobs wrote to Ben Benkelman, Jr she said: "You may have heard from one source or another that I'm putting together rather a comprehensive history of the Benkelman family. To date, it's taken me most of my time just to track the original 10 immigrants and get them firmly placed and dated and documented. This year I am concentrating on the reach back to Germany. I have hired a genealogist there to see how far back we can go with the family before the mass emigration of the '50s. Just by collecting the data on the 10 immigrant children I have learned a great deal. All of the boys were artisans with trades. In Germany that usually meant long apprenticeships. Since Adam and his brothers and sisters were born in different villages I assume the father, Leonhard, was also a tradesman of some sort rather than a farmer."

BonnieMargaret later concluded they were all actually born at the Schneiderhof, across from Breech, on the outskirts of B?rtlingen, and Parish records discovered later showed Leonhard's occupation as bricklayer

In her 1981 unpublished manuscript, BonnieMargaret wrote that "On February 6, 1796 Johann Leonhard Benkelmann was born to Katharina Bauer, and according to the parish record, he was born at the Schneiderhof. The pastor dutifully recorded that he was unehelic (illegitimately) born and that he bore the name of his unehelic father, Johann Jacob Benkelmann of Pl?derhausen. BonnieMargaret indicated that His mother was refered to on Leonhard's and his wife Dorothea's family register page as "Maria Katharina, frueher des Johannes Haeller auf dem Schneiderhof Ehefrau geborene Bauerin." This means that she was then the wife of Johann Haeller, and was born Maria Bauer. (pp. 56-58)

When Leonhard's father, Johann Jacob, married another woman the year after Leonhard's birth, he was first required to provide 75 of the 200 florins he had inheritied from his grandfather to his "Weibsbild" for the upbringing of his son born out of wedlock. (p. 58)

Leonhard was only 2l when his stepfather died , and as a result became the head of his mother's household. He must have discharged all of his responsiblities admirably, because only five years later he was allowed to be married to Dorothea St?hle, the daughter of a respected citizen and farmer of B?rtlingen. (Jacobs, p. 70).

On the Parish records, he is referred to as a "Bauer and Maurer"...farmer and bricklayer.

After Leonhard's death early in 1848, each of his 10 children that had survived into maturity emigrated to the United States. The first to leave was his namesake son, Leonhard, in the summer of 1849, who was age 21. The last was eldest son, Friedrich, and he left in 1873 at age 50, taking a large group of family members with him.

The Benkelmanns were not alone. A huge number of Germany left their homeland in and around 1848. This excerpt, from a website about the "The Origins of the Forty-Eighters" in Davenport, Iowa applies to the Benkelmann family as well, even though Leonhard and Dorothea's children instead settled in first in New York, and later Wisconsin, Michigan and Colorado, versus Iowa.

Letters ... sent back to Germany were instrumental to channeling the influx of immigrants from Germany.....

Historian Scott Christiansen explains the purpose of the letters:

"They wanted to tell their friends back home how good it was in America. And they tended to exaggerate a little bit, because they were lonely and liked to have some of their compatriots come over and join them."

The decision to emigrate from one's homeland is generally informed by two forces: the so-called push and pull forces. Letters from family and friends who had already settled in the new world certainly qualify as pull factors. Other such factors were the multitude of job opportunities, inexpensive, yet fertile cropland, and - especially important to the politically motivated Forty-Eighters - the guarantee of democratic liberties such as freedom of speech and expression.

Many of the push factors are related to the causes of the German revolution. As the social and economic conditions in Germany worsened during the 1840s, many people were forced to look for new opportunities. [E]migration has become a matter of life or death, as one German newspaper put it. America with its promise of a new chance for everyone appealed to many Germans ready to emigrate. Reports from America, printed in German newspapers, underscored this notion. Iowa, for example, was described in 1847 as leaving little to be desired both to the productivity of its soil and the more bearable nature of its climate.

While economic necessity might have been a major driving force for many to emigrate, political reasons also factored into the decision to leave the homeland. In fact, the Forty-Eighters are per definition political refugees who for the most part did not struggle financially. But one might argue that a majority of emigrants regarded both political circumstances and economic distress as making life in Germany unbearable. The causes for emigration thus intermingle in many cases.

The strong early presence ...triggered a chain migration...in succeeding years. The term chain migration is defined by the Dictionary of Geography as [a] migration process which depends on a small number of pioneers, who make the first moves to set up a new home in a new place. They send information back home, and this encourages further migration from the originating area.

BonnieMargaret Jacob's cited similar reasons in her manuscript, pointing out the decrease of demail for high-quality goods of the small town artisan, the reluctance of these artisians to move to cities to work in factories, the restrictive craftsman guild system that made it difficult to learn and advance in a trade, and the equally restrictive marriage laws.

"The auswanderer went less to America to build something new than to regain and conserve something old...to till new fields and find new customers, true enough, but ultimately to keep the ways of life they were used to, which the new Europe seemed determined to destroy...people who traveled thousands of grim miles in order to keep their roots, their habits, their united families and the kind of future they wanted for their families. They did not wait passively for their roots to be broken, to be sure; yet they were conservatives, who acted radically in order to preserve, and who journeyed to another world to keep their homes." (Walker, Mack, GERMANY AND THE EMIGRATION 1816-1885, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1964, Page 69, as transcribed by BonnieMargaret Jacobs on pages 77 and 78 of her manuscript).

Johann married Maria Dorothea St?hle on 20 Nov 1822 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany. Maria (daughter of Georg Friedrich St?hle and Anna Maria Leins) was born on 5 Jan 1800 in B?rtlingen, G?ppingen, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 22 Oct 1853 in Transit to America, Lost At Sea. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

On "January something" in 1983, Bonnie Jacobs wrote "A search for some years has finally yielded information for me. As you have probably heard, the last of the 10 Benkelman children to emigrate from Germany were the four girls and their mother [Dorothea, age 52, and daughters Dorothea age 23, Catharina, age 21, Maria, age 13, and Lena, age 7]. We had heard from family legends that the mother died at sea and I have pursued that information for years. I have finally retrieved it. It is a painstaking process to get the facts, but I finally found an obituary that identified the port of entry as Baltimore---a stroke of luck since Baltimore was one of the few American ports of entry that did have a Customs passenger list. I have retrieved the film from the Archives in Washington--but it has brought a new mystery. It is remarkable that finding the answer to one question almost always raises another. Missing from the party of four daughters and the mother is the second eldest daughter, Catharina. She was released from the Empire with the others on 20 September of 1853--but there is no record of her having arrived in Baltimore!

At least I have a death date on the mother now. She died at sea on 22 October, barely a month into the voyage. The ship arrived in Baltimore on December 15. Can you imagine being packed into one of those filthy sailing vessels for six to nine weeks? Try to imagine the day to day living with no privacy, no way to bathe or attend to personal needs and only buggy, dried food to eat! Our ancestors suffered much. I will go and try to retrieve the Captain's actual report now that I know the ship and the Captain--to see if a cause of death is listed. Cholera was rampant that year, but I think it was not the cause since the part of the list I have seen shows only one other death during the voyage."

BonnieMargaret Jacobs shows her, on her transcription of the familienregister page of the Benkelmann family, as a daughter of George Friedrich St?hle and Anna Maria REIK or RECH. However, Anna Maria REIK is actually the mother of Dorothea's daughter-in-law Catharina Schaufele, who married Dorothea's son Adam Benkelmann. Kathy Bonnell, on her transcription of G?ppingen church records, shows her mothers maiden name was LEINS. BonnieMargaret appears to have been simply confusing the two Anna Maria's. Additionally, the family register for the family of Georg Friedrich St?hle, listing his wife and children, shows his wife Anna Maria was born to Georg Friedrich Leins, a farmer.

On the Oberant Welzheim Emmigrants list, 1818-1891, She is listed as Maria Dorothea, Witwe (widow) des Bauers Johann Leonhard Benkelmann von Schneiderhof, Gd. Waldhausen geb. den 5ten Januar 1800. Their guarantor was Johann Georg St?hle, Bauer von B?rtlingen.

(BonnieMargaret's full source citation was: Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, "Verzeichnis der Auswanderung aus dem Oberamt Welzheim 1818-1891" F 214 B?schel 91 Fortlaufende Number 42 [or possibly 47] ).

Notes:

Married:
BonnieMargaret and her husband Bruce visited Germany in September, 1980. In a letter to Ben and Avis dated October 13, 1980, she shared the following information "Then we were on to B?rtlingen, where Adam and Catherine were married. The church there was built in 1484 and is one of the most beautiful we saw anywhere. I decided to see the village of Breech--for no particular reason except I that I'd heard Elsie Anthes speak of it and it had turned up in various records. WE had no real family association there--but it was nearby. What a stroke of dumb luck! Without that decision we might never have found the Schneiderhof, where Adam and his siblings were born and lived until they emigrated. The Schneiderhof is not a town and is not on any map. It's just a cluster of about 4 houses and supporting buildings, just down and across the road from Breech, and if you were looking away for just a second, you'd miss the sign to it.

I cannot tell you my excitement! ...There is nothing new there. Adam would recognize it as if he had never left. The tools and equipment are there as they have been for who knows how long. It is surrounded by orchards (apples) and small plots of vegetables. B?rtlingen is on a hill and is lovely with good views. The Schneiderhof is on top of the world, looking out on miles of hills and valleys and villages. It is incrediably beautiful. Again I found myself out in some cabbage patch, trying to explain to some farmer that this was my family heimat (home)...Clearly Americans are accepted as eccentric and harmless!...Vocabulary doesn't reach the beauty of that hilltop and its vistas out over hazy valleys, looking at other hills where red tiled houses form little villages. I can just imagine it at night--looking out over perhaps two dozen sparkling little villages on other hills around. One climbs from B?rtlingen to the Schneiderhof. But going down the back side of the mountain, through dense forest, the trail winds back and forth across the mountain into Waldhausen--which the Schneiderhof also looks down upon. This is the trip the family took to get to church, and probably to work."

In her 1981 unpublished manuscript, BonnieMargaret noted that only the top floor of the Benkelmann home shows from the road leading in. The house is three stories high on the back side, two stories high in the front. It was built in 1733, by the state, to provide housing for state licensed artisans who were not allowed in the town as guild craftsmen. Apparently it gained its name from its first inhabitants, since the name literally means "the place of tailors." The official state description of the Schneiderhof in 1845 states that it was a place with 22 Evangelical residents, lying on the mountain top about one-half an hours walk from Waldhausen. The rents were paid to the city of G?ppingen, in 1845 twelve of those residents would have been Leonhard and Dorothea and their 10 living children, others would have included Leonhard's widowed mother and some of her children by Herr Heller, and likely their families. The land was described as rocky and and lying on a mountainside, "even today it is impossible to use machinery to work the land" and that the "people who lived there would have to have outside work." The house itself lies on the very crest of the mountain, with the house built on the downside of the mountain, overlooking Waldhausen. A very small patch of is on the level crest at the top of the mountain. When BonnieMargaret visited the home in 1981, she said it had four or five dwellings in all, and barns and sheds nearby the house and in the orchards. Just west of the house stands the old Bauernhaus, perhaps the homestead of Leonhard's maternal grandparents. The fields to the south were planted in potatoes and turnips, the high production crops that all of southern Germany turned to in the early 1800's. Beyond the westernmost buildings were apple orchards, beautiful and well tended. (pp. 68, 69 and accompanying photos).

BonnieMargaret also noted that German life centered in the family. Even today we're told that day to day life included few close relationships with people outside the family. Certainly they were cordial and friendly with neighbors and cooperating artisans, but the joy of living was carefully protected within the walls of the home. Country people had no protection but each other, and the trusted "other" were kinsmen. Unlike the towns that were structured to protect the citizens from difficult times, the country folk were on their own, in good and bad times. Parents carefully nutured the bonds of affection and caring, and though they may have experienced the sibling rivalry that modern children do, it was not expressed in the German home, where only mutual caring and consideration were approved and encouraged.

Names and birthdates for this family were from the Waldhausen Parish Kirchlichen Familienregister Band I, Blatt 244, Dekanat Welzheim, Schw?bisch Gm?nd. BonnieMargaret noted that all the family information shown on pages 95 and 96 of her book were certified by Pastor Rau of the Ev. Pfarramt Waldhausen to be the complete record of the family of Johann Leonhard Benkelmann, with the exceptions of the dates of death, which were included by BonnieMargaret from other sources. They had one stillborn child, neither name or sex listed, on 4 July 1838. She also noted that they were married on November 20, but the year was illegible.

The family register for the family of Georg Friedrich St?hle and wife, Anna Maria Leins shows that Maria Dorothea was the fifth of their 15 children. She was married at the Schneiderhof on 20 Nov 1822, approximately 10 months after the birth of eldest son Friedrich.