Paul Preston Bien

Notes:

When he completed his draft registration for World War I, he was working as a farmer in Kalamazoo for Mrs. Jennie Cavender. He listed his location of birth as Pigeon, Huron County, Michigan. He was shown as medium heighth, medium build, with brown eyes and hair.

At the time of the 1920 census, he was a lodger in a boarding home in Ward Six, the 12th District, Detroit, with his occupation listed as Real Estate Salesman. In 1930, census records still show him as a boarder in Detroit, with his occupation as Retail Auto Salesman, and shown as a veteran of the World War. He was living in the 21st Ward, in the home of Elvin and Orpha Freeman, and incorrectly indexed as Paul BIEM. He was single at the time of both enumerations.

The Striffler-Benkelman Broadcast, Volume 10, dated September 1, 1947, reported that Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bien and two daughters of Houston, Texas visited relatives in Detroit, Lansing and Cass City. Paul has been away seventeen years.

Art Peck's book published a brief obituary, which appears to have been published in Cass City.

"Paul Bien, 60, former resident (Cass City) died April 27 (1955 penciled in) in Houston, Texas after two weeks illness caused by a heart attack. Mr. Bien left Detroit 25 years ago to make his home in Houston and is survived by his wife; two daughters; a step-son and two brothers, J. Stanley Bien of Lansing and Wm. Bien of East Syracuse, N.Y."

Name: Paul Preston Bien
Death Date: 27 Apr 1955
Death Place: Houston, Harris, Texas
Gender: Male
Race:
Death Age: 60 years 11 months 23 days
Estimated Birth Date: 1895
Birth Date:
Birthplace: Bay Port, Michigan
Marital Status:
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name: William H. Bien
Father's Birthplace: Ontario, Canada
Mother's Name: Salene Striffer
Mother's Birthplace: Cass City, Michigan
Occupation: Salesman, Radio School
Place of Residence:
Cemetery:
Burial Place:
Burial Date:
Additional Relatives:
Film Number: 2114388
Digital Film Number: 4165531
Image Number: 1840
Reference Number: 18453
Collection: Texas Deaths, 1890-1976


(Medical):See attached sources.

Paul married Helena B. Shaneyfelt on 22 Jun 1920 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. Helena was born about 1902 in Maryland; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Groom's Name: Paul P. Bien
Groom's Race:
Groom's Age: 26 years
Groom's Birth Date: 1894
Groom's Birthplace: Michigan
Bride's Name: Helena B. Shaneyfelt
Bride's Race:
Bride's Age: 18 years
Bride's Birth Date: 1902
Bride's Birthplace: Maryland
Marriage Type:
Marriage Date: 22 Jun 1920
Marriage Place: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Groom's Father: Wm
Groom's Mother: Salome Striffler
Bride's Father: Wm
Bride's Mother: Mary Leacock
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife:
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband:
Film Number: 2342741
Frame Number:
Digital Folder Number: 4032480
Image Number: 115
Reference Number: item 9 p 651 rn 196820
Collection: Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925

Paul married Anna Sue O'Brien before 1936. Anna was born about 1909 in Houston, Harris County, Texas; died on 2 Sep 1947 in Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Living
2. Living

Notes:

Lorraine Smith Benkelman excerpted the following letters between William H. Bien and George Albert Striffler. These letters were written in the late 1880's who was looking for work. Just a few years later William would marry George Albert's younger sister, Salome.

January 8, 1886 Whittemore, Michigan

So many men that they commenced discharging 5 or 6 every day. They cut wages from $26 to $18-$20. Finally we got work up on the Au Sable River. I got in 24 days and then they put the damper on my winter job, so I came on down to this god forsaken palce Whittemore and stuck a tree camp and scored ties for seven days then had the good luck to cut my foot a very bad cut. Dr. says it should be healed in three more weeks.

April 8, 1886 Oscoda, Michigan

Everything is kind'o dull here, but things will be booming if the good weather keeps up. there was quite a lawsuit here about some fellows breaking into a house of ill fame and destroyed almost everything. There were about 15 in the scrape and six of them were sent to Tawas county jail awaiting trial at circuit court. They were a hard looking crew, but the girls got the start of 'em.


July 25, 1886 Black River, Michigan

Never see the face of a woman here. Tell Will Striffler to write. Tell me who your sweet potato blossom was for the fourth. Write me back at Mr. Wards Camp at Black River, MI.

November 18, 1888 Baraga, Michigan

What are you doing in upper Michigan. Is it the homestead we spoke of?

December 23, 1888

Am working in a lumber camp for Thos. Nester co. and our foreman is one of your Cass City neighbors, Malcolm McEachin. Certainly you must know him, his folks live in the scotch settlement and he knows you folks. Wages are $26 to $30, so if you come you are sure of $26.

Mary Hicks, a grand niece of William Bien's ex-daughter-in-law, Helena Shaneyfelt Bien, emailed in July, 2010 that the "Bien / Biehn / Bean family was Mennonite. William H. Bien's father was David G. Bean in Ontario, and he was the son of Abraham Bean (Bien, Biehn) and Susannah Graybill (Grebiel). Abraham was born in Doon, Ontario, Canada, and Susannah was born in Druemore, Lancaster Co, Pennsylvania. "

William married Salome Striffler on 25 Nov 1891 in Kilmanagh, Huron County, Michigan. Salome (daughter of John "Uncle John" Striffler and Anna Maria "Mary" Benkelman) was born on 19 Sep 1866 in Elkland Township, Tuscola County, Michigan; died on 26 Jan 1922 in Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Lorraine Smith Benkelman transcribed the following letters from Salome to her brother, George Albert

May 11, 1888

The men have been working near the river these two weeks, when the weather was so they could plow. Today they were sowing oats. Pete Burg helped mother with the garden. I let the deer out one evening and he ran around the house in the orchard and garden and tracked the garden all up. We got him back in. The report around is that Adam Benkelman was coming home. We were so glad to think they were going to be here again, then we were disappointed to hear it was only Minnie Burg's talk. It seems odd to not see you, with a book under your arm or in the morning see you come from upstairs. Mother wants to know how far it is from church, are are there any girls in your neighborhood?

Your fat sister, "Baby Elephant Jumbo", Salome

June 6, 1888

I am staying at the Muck's for three weeks now. Anna Peterson is dead. She had a tumor and died under an operation. I heard that Adam Benkelman was expected home any day, but will not be sure until I hear that Minnie Burg did not make it up. The population of Cass City has increased since you left. Adam Muck has a girl, Del Landon a girl, Duncan Graham and Alex McKenzie both boys.


July 31, 1888

What are you doing there? Are you going to stay there. What do you eat anyhow? is Mrs. W. Weydemeyer working where you board? Berries and huckleberries are scarce this year. The Enterprise says "Two women to eveyr raspberry." Lucy Meier was here begging for the new church in Fremont. Did you hear from Will Bien yet, since you are up there? He gets $28 a month. How much are you getting. David said you should come home and cut his hair.

October 10, 1888

folks making syrup again. Mother and Mattie are helping in the sugar house and I am doing the housework. Charlie Yous is working for us again this fall. Johnnie Zinnecker hired out to Pa for a month, he may stay and go to school this winter. Dora Schenck has engaged to teach the Walmsley school. Walter Gamble and Lissie Ale are teaching the CC school. Mrs. John Doying died last Monday. Ada's funeral was yesterday. Peter Dodge is married to Sam's stepdaughter, got license in Caro at 8 pm, thene married at 2 am, lots of talk. Archie's father is married again to Albert Scarr's widow. Adam Muck has a girl, Del Landon a girl, Duncan Graham has a boy, Alex McKenzie a boy.


November 9, 1888

You mentioned going West, how far, Wisconisn or further? Mattie and I sent for the Normal course books. Mrs. Wunderlich organized the class. We younger folks have clubbed together and bought a book for the minister, "the Beautiful story and Gold gems of religious thoughts." Got is from James Waldon, the fellow who's feet got frozen. He is a book agency, walks with crutches.

November 29, 1888

Today is Sam and Mary's wedding day. Rev. N. Wienderlich performs the ceremony. I was not invited. Did you know Mr. Champion died last week. Archie has no hired man at present. Elmer Eastman was working for him but he is gone. Johnnie Zinnecker is going to work for his board this winter and go to school. George Zinnecker is a worker here now. Jake Striffler and family have gone to New York on a visit. Mrs. Waldon has a pair of artificial feet.


Cass City Chronicle
August 15, 1919
The Week's Doing, Page Eight

Mrs. Salome Bien left Monday for a short visit at the home of her son, Stanley Bien, at Lansing.

Cass City Chronicle
February 3, 1922
Page One

Deaths of the Week

Mrs. Salome Bien

The Evangelical church was crowded Sunday afternoon by relatives and friends who came to attend the funeral of Mrs. Salome Bien whose death occurred at her home in Lansing last Thursday. Rev. F. L. Pohly conducted the services and interment was made in Elkland cemetery.

Salome Striffler was born Sept. 19, 1866, on the parental farm near Cass City. She was united in marriage with Wm. Bien in Kilmanagh, Mich., Nov. 25, 1891. This happy union was of short duration, for Mr. Bien preceded his wife in death 26 years ago. Three sons came to bless the home for whom their mother toiled and sacrificed these many years to make possible their education and welfare and whose privilege it became, in these later days, for them to reciprocate their love and devotion in caring for her.

For the past few years, Mrs. Bien has suffered greatly from cancerous trouble but in it all manifested a most patient and hopeful spirit. All that medical skill and kind hands could do could not overpower her affliction. On Jan. 26, 1922, she peacefully passed away at Lansing, Mich., at the age of 55 years. Mrs. Bien gave her heart to God in her youth and united with the Cass City Evangelical church of which she remained a member.

She leaves to mourn her departure three devoted sons, Stanley of Lansing, Paul of Detroit, and William, a student at the U. of M. at Ann Arbor, an aged father, John Striffler of Cass City, two brothers, G.A. Striffler of Cass City and David Striffler of Columbus, Ga., three sisters, Mrs. Archie Mark, Miss Martha Striffler and Mrs. W.R. Kaiser, all of Cass City, besides a host of other relatives and friends.

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, March 2008)

(Research):Census Infomation:

1900 Census, Michigan, Tuscola, Elkland, ED 110
Enumerated the 12th of June, 1900 by John Marshall
SD 8, ED 110, Sheet 6 B
126 126
Striffler, John Hd W M March 1833 67 M 41 NY France France Farmer
Striffler, Mary Wife W F May 1839 61 M 41 7/6 Germany Germany Germany 1856
Striffler, Martha Dtr W F Nov 1871 28 S Michigan NY Germany
Striffler, Ester Dtr W F May 1878 22 S Michigan NY Germany
Striffler, David A. W M Aug 1883 16 S Michigan NY Germany Farm Laborer
Bean, Saloma Dtr W F Sep 1866 22 Ed 3/3 Michigan NY Germany
Bean, Stanley G.Son W M Dec 1892 7 S Michigan Michigan Germany
Bean, Paul P. G. Son W M May 1894 6 S Michigan Michigan Germany
Bean, William D. G. Son W M Dec 1895 4 S Michigan Michigan Germany


1910 Census
Michigan, Tuscola County, Elkland Township, Cass City Village
Enumerated 21 Apr 1910
SD 8 ED 113 Sheet 4A Stamped 135
95-95
Bien, Salome Hd F W 43 Ed 3/3 Mich NY Germany Own Income
Bien, John C Son M W 17 S Mich Canada/English Mich
Bien, Paul P Son M W 15 S Mich Canada/English Mich
Bien, William D Son M W 14 S Mich Canada/English Mich

Notes:

Art Peck writes that they were among the first families in Tuscola County, Michigan, moving there about 1860 on land purchased for $2 an acre, land they had never seen. They cleared the land to establish a farm, a mile east and a mile north of Cass City. John was Elkland County, Michigan treasurer from 1868 to 1870, and again from 1885 through 1887.

Cass City Chronicle
Cass City, Mich., Friday, July 14, 1922
Vol. 18, No. 9

John Striffler has Passed Away
Settled in Elkland Township 62 Years Ago; Prominent in the Early History of Cass City Community

On the tombstone we carve the name of our beloved dead and then two dates--the year of birth and the year of death. Between these two lies the history of the dead and yet so few know that history. Between Mar. 15, 1833 and July 12, 1922, lies the life history of John Striffler. He was born on a farm near Lancaster, N.Y. and passed on to his home eternal at Cass City, Michigan.

A few months after his marriage to Miss Mary Benkelman at Lancaster on Nov. 14, 1858, Mr. Striffler came to Tuscola county. They resided six months at Watrousville and then completed their journey overland through the timber to Elkland township where they hewed out a home in the woods, and finally saw beautiful farms take the place of the timber tracts. Mrs. Striffler passed away on May 4, 1913. Two children also preceded the father in death, one child at the age of four years, and Mrs. Salome Bien, a daughter, whose death occured but a few months ago.

Coming into the community when it was sparsely settled and all covered with timber and when it took four days' travel with ox teams to go from Vassar to the cite where Cass City now stands, Mr. Striffler had ample opportunity to test the hardships of early pioneer life in the Thumb district. His services in the early days proved valuable and his neighbors soon placed him with the responsibilities of various township offices.

John Striffler was a man of generous impluse and never forgot the hospitable ways of the pioneer. Friend or stranger never failed to find food and shelter if he sought it at his hands, and he delighted in kind and neighborly deeds. Many a poor family found relief from his storehouse and many people enjoyed his hospitality. His home was always open to all, poor or well-to-do, and many found pleasure in the entertainment provided therein. He had borne adversity bravely and enjoyed prosperity quietly. He had filled the various relations of life as husband, father, brother, friend and filled them satifactorily and his life work was well done.

He is survived by five children, Mrs. Archie MARK, G.A. STRIFFLER, Mrs. W.R. KAISER, and Miss Martha STRIFFLER, all of Cass City, and David STRIFFLER of Columbus, Georgia, 12 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Since the death of his wife, his daughter, Martha, has been the companion and faithful attendant of her father.

Funeral services will be held in the Evangelical church which Mr. Striffler attended for many years. It is planned to hold the service Saturday afternoon unless David Striffler, who is on his way home from Georgia, is delayed in his journey from the south.

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, Spring 2007)

(Research):
Census Information:

1850 Census
New York, Erie County, Lancaster
Enumerated 23 Aug 1850
Page 200
1048-1082
Otil Strifler 59 F $2550 Germany
Jacob Strifler 30 M Farmer
Susanna Strifler 27 F
Joseph Stifler 24 M Farmer
Christian Strifler 22 m Farmer
John Strifler 17 Farmer New York (sic)
David Strifler 14


1860 Census
Michigan, Tuscola County, Elkland
58-56
John Striffler 27 Farmer $280 $75 NY
Mary Striffler 21 Domestic Wirtinburg, Germany
The household immediately following theirs was that of Jacob and Louisa Striffler

1870 Census
Michigan, Tuscola County
56-56
Striffler, John 37 Farmer $5,075 $860 NY
Striffler, Mary 31 Germ Wirtinburg
Striffler, Emeline 10 Mich
Striffler, Albert 6 Mich
Striffler, Salome 4 Mich
The households preceding theirs were occupied by Jacob and Louis Striffler (#53), Adam and Catherine Benkelmann (#54), George & Katherine Kolb (#55).

1880 Census
Census Place:Elkland, Tuscola, Michigan
Source:FHL Film 1254607 National Archives Film T9-0607
Page 95B Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace
John STRIFFLER Self M M W 47 NY Occ: Farmer Fa: FRANCE Mo: FRANCE
Mary STRIFFLER Wife F M W 41 WERTENBURG Occ: Keeping House Fa: WERTENBURG Mo: WERTENBURG
Emmiline STRIFFLER Dau F S W 19 MI Occ: Without Occupation Fa: NY Mo: WERTENBURG
George A. STRIFFLER Son M S W 16 MI Occ: At School Fa: NY Mo: WERTENBURG
Salome STRIFFLER Dau F S W 13 MI Occ: At School Fa: NY Mo: WERTENBURG
Martha STRIFFLER Dau F S W 7 MI Occ: At School Fa: NY Mo: WERTENBURG
Esther STRIFFLER Dau F S W 2 MI Occ: At Home Fa: NY Mo: WERTENBURG
Leonard BUEHRLY Other M S W 21 WERTENBURG Occ:Farmer Fa: WERTENBURG Mo: WERTENBURG
Philipp STRIFFLER Nephew M S W19 NY Occ: Farmer Fa: NY Mo: NY

19 year old Philip Striffler is likely the son of David and Sophia Striffler of Lancaster, New York. David was said to have died in 1872, and it appears that at least his oldest son left New York after his father died, so perhaps Philip did as well. Leonard Buehrly was from same village in Germany as Mary, and would later marry the granddaughter of her brother, Frederick Benkelman.

1900 Census, Michigan, Tuscola, Elkland, ED 110
Enumerated the 12th of June, 1900 by John Marshall
SD 8, ED 110, Sheet 6 B
125-125
Archie and Emeline Mark and family
126 126
Striffler, John Hd W M March 1833 67 M 41 NY France France Farmer
Striffler, Mary Wife W F May 1839 61 M 41 7/6 Germany Germany Germany 1856
Striffler, Martha Dtr W F Nov 1871 28 S Michigan NY Germany
Striffler, Ester Dtr W F May 1878 22 S Michigan NY Germany
Striffler, David A. W M Aug 1883 16 S Michigan NY Germany Farm Laborer
Bean, Saloma Dtr W F Sep 1866 22 Ed 3/3 Michigan NY Germany
Bean, Stanley G.Son W M Dec 1892 7 S Michigan Michigan Germany
Bean, Paul P. G. Son W M May 1894 6 S Michigan Michigan Germany
Bean, William D. G. Son W M Dec 1895 4 S Michigan Michigan Germany

1910 Census, Michigan, Tuscola County, Elkland Twp, ED 113, Cass City Village
Enumerated 13 Apr 1910
SD 8, ED 113, Sheet No 5 B

138-138
Striffler, John Hd M W 76 M1 NY Germany Germany
Own Income
Striffler, Mary Wife 70 M1 6/6 Germany Germany Germany
Striffler, Martha Dtr F W 37 S Mich Germany Germany

They were living in the household immediately preceding that of Mary's nephew, Benjamin Benkelman, Sr.

John married Anna Maria "Mary" Benkelman on 14 Nov 1858 in Lancaster, Erie County, New York. Anna (daughter of Johann Leonhard Benkelmann and Maria Dorothea St?hle) was born on 22 May 1839 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 4 May 1913 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

German Parish records show "ist 1853 ausgewandert" (left for America) in 1853. On the Oberant Welzheim Emmigrants list, 1818-1891, She is listed as Anna Maria, g. d. 22t. Mai 1839 ledig, and travelling in a party headed by her mother, Maria Dorothea, the widow of Johann Leonhard Benkelmann, a farmer of Schneiderhof. Three of her sisters were on this list as well.

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] ).

Cass City Chronicle
Cass City, Mich., Friday, May 9, 1913
Vol. 8, No. 3

Elkland Twp. Loses Pioneer Settler
Mrs. John Striffler passed away Sunday Evening
Has Been a Resident of This Township for 54 years; was 73 Years of Age

Following an illness of several months duration, Mrs. John Striffler, one of the pioneer settlers of Elkland Township, died at her home on Pine Street Sunday evening at the age of 73 years.

Mary Benkelman was born in Brech, Wuertemberg, Germany*, on May 22, 1839, and came to this country in 1852, landing at Baltimore. She with some of her brothers and sisters settled in Lancaster, N.Y., and here on Nov. 14, 1858, she was united in marriage with John Striffler. This union was blessed with seven children, six of whom survive.

[BonnieMargaret Jacob's writes that Breech was just down and across the road from the Schneiderhof, both near B?rtlingen]

It was 54 years ago this month, when they, in the prime of life, came to Michigan, locating on the land now known as Striffler homestead, two miles east and north of Cass City. They belonged to that distinguished number of early settlers who opened up this section of Tuscola county and laid the foundation for future prosperity for those who came into these parts later on and here was established a home where the generous impluses and the hospitable ways of the pioneer held sway. When the life on the farm grew to sternouse (sic) for their advanced years, Mr. and Mrs. Striffler moved to Cass City to spend their remaining years.

Mrs. Striffler became a Christian in early life and ever since the establishment of the Evangelical society in this section, has been a regular attendant of that church. Her life was of such a self-sacrificing nature that she became a blessing to all who came to know her and in return God gave her a peaceful life full of hope and joy. Her last sickness was born with patience. She will be missed by the many friends and especially in the home by the husband and daughter.

The funeral services were held at the Evangelical church on Thursday morning. Rev. D.J. Feather, the pastor, officiated, assisted by Revs. J.M. Bittner and J. Schmaus, and the remains were carried to their last resting place in Elkland cemetery by the following nephews of the deceased, who served as pall bearers: B.F. and J.A. BENKELMAN, G. E. and John KRAPF, Solomon and Samuel STRIFFLER.

Besides the husband, six children, Mrs. Archie MARKS, G. A. STRIFFLER, Mrs. Salome BIEN, Miss Martha STRIFFLER, Mrs. W.R. KAISER and David STRIFFLER, one sister, Mrs. M.M. SCHWEGLER of this city, two brothers, Leonard BENKELMAN of Manitowoc, Wis. and John BENKELMAN of Portage, Wis., 11 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren survive.

Cass City Chronicle
Friday, May 16, 1913
Local Items, Page 4

Mrs. Mary BURK, Mrs. Sarah HOYT and daughter, Miss Iva, of Caro attended the funeral of Mrs. John STRIFFLER Thursday

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, Summer 2007)

A copy of her actual Michigan Death certificate can be viewed online:

http://seekingmichigan.org/

Indexed as Marry Striffler

Her date of birth on this certificate was instead shown as 22 May 1839, and her parents were listed as Lenard Benkelman and Dora Slatey[St?hle]. The informant was W?/D? A Striffler of Cass City.







(Medical):See attached sources.

Notes:

Married:
BonnieMargaret Jacobs also shows a daughter, Martha, born Nov. 1873???

Notes:

According to the Rev. Roy J. Striffler, the Striffler's emigrated from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France to New York State in 1830. They were part of the German-speaking population of Alsace. Some of the older Striffler family members recalled a family joke---there were 11 boys in the family, and all of them had a sister Susanna. She married Christian Oscar Lenzner. Family genealogists have only been able to account for eight of the 12 children however. Two of the boys married Benkelman sisters. One son married Mary Rommel, and as there were several Benkelman/Rommel marriages as well, the two families became further intertwined.

Although the family originally settled in New York only Jacob's son David remained in New York. Peter pushed further west, to Kansas. Around 1880, most of the others settled in Cass City, Michigan, where they lived until their deaths. They cut off the stumps remaining on the land they built and turned the wilderness into fruitful farm land.

(Excerpted from Art Peck's THE TEN BENKELMANS WHO EMIGRATED TO AMERICA. He in turn references a September 4, 1950 article from the "Striffler-Benkelman Broadcast", Volume 13, Cass City, Michigan)

Both the flyleaf of the Striffler family Bible, and the tombstone of Jacob Striffler in Lancaster, showed him to be be born in Kirrberg, "departmente de Rhein." (Jacobs, p. 164). In the chapter on the Striffler family in her unpublished 1981 manuscript, BonnieMargaret Jacobs noted that widely spread family stories stated that the Striffler family originated in Switzerland (p. 164). It would appear these were either errorneous, or that the family moved from Switzerland to Alsace.


BonnieMargaret Benkelman Jacobs, in an undated family report she prepared for some of the descendants of the Striffler brothers who married Benkelmann sisters, wrote that birth records had been of the children born to Jacob and Otillia "Have been extracted from the French civil records and translated, and show 8 children born in France, two of whom died while still just children (one was only 15 months old, the other just a few months past their sixth birthday). She stated that "these official civil records support the oft repeated family joke, "There are seven brothers and each one has a sister." On page 165 of her unpublished 1981 manuscript documenting the Benkelman family, she repeated this saying, adding however that "one Striffler heard the riddle with 11 brothers and it should be noted that there is still much to be learned about this family."

With the records in France showing 8 children were born there, and census records show two known children born in the United States, it appears we can account for 10 of the 11. It is possible that records may be uncovered one day to find the final child, or that this final son may have been stillborn or died at a young age, and his memory passed down only through the family joke or riddle.

Jacob married Ottila "Odila" "Otil" Zimmerman on 4 Nov 1809 in Kirberg, Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine, Imperial Territory Of Alsace-Lorraine, Elsa?-Lothringen, Germany. Ottila was born on 10 Nov 1790 in Kirberg, Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine, Imperial Territory Of Alsace-Lorraine, Elsa?-Lothringen, Germany; died on 17 Sep 1863 in Lancaster, Erie County, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Her father was a school master.

(Research):

Census Listings;

1850 Census
New York, Erie County, Lancaster
Enumerated 23 Aug 1850
Page 200
1048-1082
Otil Strifler 59 F $2550 Germany
Jacob Strifler 30 M Farmer
Susanna Strifler 27 F
Joseph Stifler 24 M Farmer
Christian Strifler 22 m Farmer
John Strifler 17 Farmer New York (sic)
David Strifler 14

1860 Census
Not located

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.