Johann Leonhard Buehrly

1859 - 1939  (79 years)

• Name	Johann Leonhard Buehrly  [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Birth	21 Feb 1859	B?rtlingen, G?ppingen, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	3 Feb 1939	Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan   [1, 2]
  Burial	Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan   [2]
  Notes	Hilda Stickley Benkelman writes that "When Leonard was eight, his father died. His mother later remarried, and life with his new stepfather was unpleasant. At age 14, using a small inheritance from an aunt to pay his passage, Leonard emigrated to America. He landed at Ellis Island with 25 cents in his pocket, and went to first live with his Uncle John Schiefle near Buffalo, New York. He worked for others on farms, and also attended school, but became very homesick for Germany. He was persuaded to visit his Aunt, Catherine Benkelman nee Schiefle in Cass City before returning to Germany, and did so. His Aunt made a home for him, and he again worked for neighboring farmers, helping to clear the land on which part of Cass City is located. Leonard was happy to find the Buerk family living in Cass City, as they were well acquainted in Germany. He visited them often, and in 1885 married their only child, Catherine. The young family started out with one cow, a one room home, and a log stable. Leonard often left home at daybreak, working all day for 50 cents, and returning home after dark. Since they didn't even have a fence, he then had to light a lantern and go in search of their cow in order to milk her. Leonard was active in his church, on both the building committee and superintendent of the Sunday School. In 1900, the Buehrly family moved into the Buerk home and took care of Catherine's aging parents. They remained in the family home after her parents died." Cass City Chronicle Vol. 22, Number 46 Cass City, Mich., Friday, Feb. 10. 1939 L. Buehrly Was Elkland Pioneer Came From New York and Continued Residence Here Since 1876 Leonard Buehrly, for 62 years a resident of Elkland Township, passed away at his farm home three miles northeast of Cass City, late Friday afternoon, after an illness of nearly a year's duration. Funeral services were conducted at the Evangelical Church on Tuesday afternoon by Dr. R.N. Holsaple. Burial was in Elkland Cemetery. Leonard Buehrly was born in Borthinger, Wuertemberg, Germany, on February 21, 1859, and at the age of 14, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean all alone as far as his friends and relatives were concerned. He landed in Buffalo, N.Y. with exactly 25 cents in his pocket. An uncle lived at Buffalo and after a short stay in his home, Mr. Buehrly found employment on a farm. At Christmas time in 1876, he came to Cass City where he entered the employ of Adam Benkelman on a farm two miles northeast of the village. On March 24, 1885, he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Buerk. The early married years of Mr. and Mrs. Buehrly in Section 23, Elkland, presented the hardships of Pioneer days in this community which they met with a courageous spirit and with unfailing industry. The have resided on the same farm since their marriage nearly 54 years ago. In 1935, they celebrated their golden wedding at their farm home on the afternoon of March 24, surrounded by a large company of relatives, and the next evening, they were honored at a public reception at the Evangelical Church attended by a large group of relatives and friends. During his residence here, Mr. Buehrly had been a member of the Evangelical Church, serving that society as a member of the board of trustees for 25 years, as Sunday School superintendent for three years, and as calls leader and steward. Mr. Buehrly was a member of the building committee in charge of the erection of the first Evangelical Church edifice her in 1884.In this age of endevouring to shift burdens on other shoulders, it is rather unusual to find one anxious to assume more than his allotted shares of the day's burdens. However, there are such rare people, and such a man was Leonard Buehrly, who early in life, was taught that every industrious many, in every lawful calling, is a useful man. Coupled with an industrious spirit was honesty and frugalilty, all of which combined in making Mr. Buehrly a useful citizen. Mrs. Buehrly is survived by his widow and six children, Fred, Edward and Lawrence BUEHRLY, Mrs. Burt A. ELLIOT, Mrs. S.C. STRIFFLER, and Miss Elsie BUEHRLY. All are residents of Elkland Township. Friends and relatives from a distance in attendance at the funeral services were: Mr. and Mrs. Fred BERNICKER of Saginaw, Frank STRIFFLER, Mr. and Mrs. W. R. KAISER and son, Kenneth, of Detroit; Mrs. Margaret GOLL and son, Carl of Unionville; Mr. and Mrs. Fred MENZEL of Sebewaing; Mr. and Mrs. Henry BLASI and threee daughters of Kilmanagh; Mr. and Mrs. Oscar WEBBER of Owendale; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph BEST of Kingston; Mr. and Mrs. Dan SCHIELE of Caro; Mr. and Mrs. Harry YOUNG of Elkton. (Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, Spring 2007) (Research):Census Information: 1880 Census Census Place:Elkland, Tuscola, Michigan Source:FHL Film 1254607 National Archives Film T9-060 7 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
  Person ID	I12739	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	1 Jan 2021

  
  

  Father	Johannes B?hrle,   b. 30 Mar 1827, Bartenbach, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany d. 4 Apr 1872 (Age 45 years)
  Mother	Anna Maria Schaufele,   b. 3 Sep 1835, B?rtlingen, G?ppingen, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany d. 13 Jun 1904 (Age 68 years)
  Marriage	12 Aug 1858	B?rtlingen, G?ppingen, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany
  Family ID	F5222	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Catherine Buerk,   b. 16 Aug 1865, W?rttemberg, Germany d. 20 Mar 1954, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan (Age 88 years)
  Marriage	24 Mar 1885	Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan   [1, 4, 5]
  Children	1. Bertha Catherine Buehrly,   b. 7 Mar 1886, Elkland Township, Tuscola County, Michigan d. 10 Mar 1953, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan (Age 67 years)   2. Mary Magdalene Buehrly,   b. 19 Jun 1887, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan d. 30 Dec 1963, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan (Age 76 years)   3. Fred Leonard Buehrly,   b. 7 May 1889, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan d. 24 Aug 1971, Elkland Township, Tuscola County, Michigan (Age 82 years)   4. Elsie Christine Buehrly,   b. 24 Apr 1891, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan d. 24 Apr 1980, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan (Age 89 years)   5. Edward Buehrly,   b. 6 Sep 1895, Elkland Township, Tuscola County, Michigan d. 1 Feb 1989, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan (Age 93 years)   6. Lawrence William Buehrly,   b. 30 Jun 1902, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan d. 12 Oct 1981, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan (Age 79 years)
  Headstones		Buehrly, Leonard and Catherine (Buerk)
  Family ID	F2350	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Jul 2013

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 21 Feb 1859 - B?rtlingen, G?ppingen, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany Marriage - 24 Mar 1885 - Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan Death - 3 Feb 1939 - Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan Burial - - Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S492] Peck, Edward Arthur THE TEN BENKELMANS WHO EMIGRATED TO AMERICA Ca. 1850s AND CERTAIN OF THEIR DESCENDANTS, 1982. [S653] Cass City Chronicle, P.O. Box 115, Cass City, Michigan 48726, Published continously since 1899, archived from 1899 through 2005 at http://newspapers.rawson.lib.mi.us/chronicle/, Friday, Feb. 10. 1939 (Reliability: 3). [S311] Bonnell, Kathy Brandt (kbonnell@byu.edu) "G?ppingen, W?rttemberg, Germany and surrounding villages" http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=kbonnell, (RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: G?ppingen, W?rttemberg, Germany and surrounding villages. This database is one large family tree; everyone is connected by birth or marriage. Many of the families were inputted from the family books which were compiled by the pastors of each village beginning in 1808. Villages include Heiningen, Bartenbach, Gruibingen, Faurdau, Schlat, Hattenhofen, Eislingen, Holzheim, Auendorf , D?rnau, Bezgenriet, Ebersbach , Maitis, Gammelshausen, B?rtlingen, Boll, and others. Kathy Brandt Bonnell work directly from German records to the computer.). [S1610] Jacobs, BonnieMargaret McDonald "The Family Benkelman" Unpublished Manuscript, 276 pages, October 1981 Version, (Copy owned by Barney Benkelman, Helena, Montana; which he xeroxed and sent to Melinda McLemore Strong in San Antonio, Texas), p. 162 (Reliability: 3). [S653] Cass City Chronicle, P.O. Box 115, Cass City, Michigan 48726, Published continously since 1899, archived from 1899 through 2005 at http://newspapers.rawson.lib.mi.us/chronicle/, Friday, March 26, 1954 (Reliability: 3).