Howard Birky

Family/Spouse: Anna Beth Unruh. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Education: Goshen College And Moody Bible Institute
• Occupation: Bible Memory Program

Notes:

Obit:
Birky.- Harvey Christian, 86, Hesston, Kan. Born: March 2, 1907, Fisher, Ill., to Christian and Magdalena Cender Birky. Died: March 19, 1993, Hesston, Kan. Survivors-wife: Prudence Habegger Birky; children: Grace Busenitz, Howard; brother: Lewis; 11 grandchildren. Funeral: March 22, Whitestone Mennonite Church, by Ken Livengood and Ronald Guengerich. Burial: Eastlawn Cemetery

Buried:
Whitestone Mennonite Church:Eastlawn Cemetery

Harvey married Prudence Habegger on 31 May 1936. Prudence was born on 23 Feb 1909; died on 13 Oct 1994; was buried in Zimmerdale, Harvey Co., KS. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
http://www.deathfigures.com/index.php?id=Bi-44857009

Died:
http://www.deathfigures.com/index.php?id=Bi-44857009

Buried:
Eastlawn Cemetery

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Farmer
• Religion: Mennonite

Notes:

Obit:
Birky. Christian Benjamin, son of Christian and Barbara Birky, was born June 4, 1879, at Delavan, Ill.; died at his home near Fisher, Ill., June 3, 1940, just two hours before his 61st birthday. On Jan. 6, 1902, he was married to Kathryn Birky, who preceded him in death Dec. 1, 1903. On Jan. 25, 1905, he was married to Magdalena Cender. To this union were born 4 children, the eldest having preceded him in death in infancy. He leaves his sorrowing wife, and 3 children (Harvey of Goshen, Ind.; Lewis and Martha at home). Four brothers and 1 sister also survive (Lewis and William of Kouts, Ind.; John of Foosland, Ill.; Alvin and Mrs. Alvin Heiser of Fisher, Ill.). One brother and 3 sisters preceded him in death. In his youth he gave his heart to the Lord and his hand to the Church, serving Him faithfully until death. He served the Church as Sunday-school teacher for many years and as trustee for more than twenty years. Our great loss is his eternal gain. Funeral services were conducted at the East Bend Mennonite Church, with Bros. J. A. Heiser and Harold Zehr in charge.

Chris and Lena Birkey raised their family at "'the grove,” on the Fisher-Foosland road.

Birth:
Grave stone gives 1879

Died:
At home

Buried:
East Bend Mennonite Cemetery

Christian married Magdalena Cender on 24 Jan 1905 in Fisher, Champaign Co., IL. Magdalena (daughter of Joseph Cender and Mary Rouvenacht) was born on 12 Jun 1876 in Roanoke, Woodford Co., IL; died on 23 Sep 1962 in Fisher, Champaign Co., IL; was buried in Fisher, Champaign Co., IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
Berkey book says 4 Jun 1879

Buried:
East Bend Mennonite Cemetery

Notes:

Married:
By Peter Cender

Notes:

Obit: Gospel Herald - Volume XIII, Number 31 - October 28, 1920 - page 605

Birky.--Christian H., oldest son of Christian and Katie Birky, was born near Tremont, Ill., May 13, 1847; died Sept. 25, 1920; age 73 y. 4 m. 13 d. He was married to Barbara Wittrig of Wayland, Ia., Feb. 17, 1878. To this union were born 10 children 2 of whom preceded him to the spirit world. He also is survived by 26 grandchildren, 3 brothers, and 4 sisters. Early in life he united with the Amish Mennonite Church of which he was a faithful member until the end. Funeral services were held at the Hopedale, Ill., church, Sept. 28, conducted by Samuel Gerber of Tremont, Ill.

From Elm Grove, moved to Delavan, IL. Christian was registered as a Democrat.

Buried:
Hopedale Mennonite Cemetery

Christian married Barbara Wittrig on 17 Feb 1878 in Hopedale, Tazewell Co., IL. Barbara (daughter of Joseph Wittrig (Vitrich) and Anna Nancy Gascho) was born on 24 Apr 1854 in Ontario, Canada; died on 4 Feb 1939 in Bloomington, McLean Co., IL; was buried in Hopedale, Tazewell Co., IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Religion: Mennonite
• USR1: Complications Following A Hip Fracture Sustained In A Fall In Her Home

Notes:

Obit: March 9, 1939 - Vol. XXXI, No.49 - pages 1062, 1063, 1064
Birky.-Barbara, daughter of Joseph and Anna Wittrig, was born in Ontario April 24, 1854; died at the Mennonite Hospital in Bloomington, Ill., Feb. 4, 1939; aged 84 y. 9 m. 10 d. Death was caused by complications following a hip fracture sustained in a fall in her home. When but a small child her family moved to Wayland, Iowa, where she grew to womanhood. At the age of 23 she came to Hopedale, Ill., where she spent the remainder of her life with the exception of six years that she and her family lived in Kansas. On Feb. 17, 1878, she was married to Christian H. Birky. To this union were born 10 children, 4 of whom preceded her in death, namely: Joseph, Emma, Mrs. Lydia Nafziger of Nampa, Idaho, and Mrs. Anna Springer. Father also passed away in 1920. The remaining children are: Chris, John, Alvin, Mrs. Lizzie Heiser of Fisher, Ill., and Will and Lewis of Louts, Ind. On Feb. 23, 1928, she was united in marriage to Chris J. Birky who remains to mourn her departure. She also leaves 6 stepchildren, 36 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and 2 brothers (Pete Wittrig of Washington, Iowa, and Daniel Wittrig of Hopedale), and 1 sister (Mrs. Susan Augsburger of Tremont, Ill.). In her youth she united with the Mennonite Church and she was a faithful member throughout life. Of a quiet disposition, she lived an exemplary Christian life. She was a kind and devoted wife and mother, always exercising a spirit of trust and patience. Mother has gone but her influence lives on and some day we can all be united again. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Funeral services were held Feb. 7 at the Hopedale Mennonite Church, conducted by the brethren, Simon Litwiller and Ben Springer. Text, Rev. 14:13. Burial in the Hopedale Mennonite Cemetery.

Died:
Mennonite Hospital

Buried:
Hopedale Mennonite Church

Other Events and Attributes:

• Immigration: 1854
• PURC: 28 Feb 1870, Roanoke Twp., Woodford Co., IL
• Census: 1880, Roanoke Twp., Woodford Co., IL
• Residence: 1892, Fisher, Champaign Co., IL
• PURC: 4 Feb 1892, Fisher, Champaign Co., IL
• Census: 1900, East Bend Twp., Champaign Co., IL

Notes:

Obit: Herald of Truth Feb 3, 1910
Cender.-- Jos. Cender was born in France, June 13, 1827; died near Fisher, Ill., Jan. 17, 1910; aged 82 y. 7 m. 4 d. He united with the A. M. church in his youth and remained a faithful member to the end. He united in marriage with Mary Rouvenac, Mar. 13, 1870. This union was blessed with seven children. He leaves 3 sons, 2 daughters, 8 grandchildren, one sister and many friends to mourn his departure. Two children and his companion preceded him to the spirit world. Funeral services were conducted at the home by Bro. Peter Zehr from Psa. 90:2, and at the church by Bro. Samuel Garber in English from Gal. 2:20, and by Bro. Andrew Schrock in German from II Tim. 4:7.
C. W. S.

Joseph and Mary settled in Roanoke in 1870. With them were Mary’s parents.

Immigration:
He is on the passenger list of the “John Hancock” along with his sister Madeleine.

PURC:
Sec. 26 Twn. 27N - 80 acres at $12/acre

Census:
Shows John, Mary and three children

Residence:
Moved from Roanoke, Woodford Co., IL

PURC:
Purchased land from William H. and Mary F. Swayze. Legal Description: W 1/2 of E 1/2 of W 1/ of NW 1/4 of SW 1/4 of Section 17, Township 22N, Range 8E of 3rdPM.}



Census:
shows them as Joseph Centner, 72, born in June 1827; Mary, 58, born in March 1842; and three children born in Illinois: Mary, John, and Peter. It states that they both immigrated in 1854. They were living next door to Peter and Barbara Heiser Zehr.

Buried:
East Bend Mennonite Cemetery

Joseph married Mary Rouvenacht on 13 Mar 1870 in Tazewell Co., IL. Mary (daughter of Christian Rouvenac and Maria Switzer (Suisse)) was born on 29 Mar 1842 in Guermange, Saarebourg, Moselle, FR; died on 4 Mar 1909 in Fisher, Champaign Co., IL; was buried in Fisher, Champaign Co., IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Immigration: 1854

Notes:

Obit: Herald of Truth 3/27/09
Cender - Mary Cender (maiden name Rouvenac) was born in France, March 28, 1842; died of paralysis near Fisher, Ill., March 4, 1909; aged 66 y. 11 m. 6 d. She united with the A. M. Church in her younger years and remained a faithful member to the end. She was married to Joseph Cender and lived in this relation for nearly 39 years. To this union were born seven children. She leaves to mourn her departure an aged, mourning husband, three sons and two daughters. Funeral services were held at the house by Andrew Schrock of Metamora, Ill., in German and Samuel Gerber of Tremont, Ill., in English. Text Psa. 103; Gal. 2:20, and I Cor. 15:22.


Read at East Bend Mennonite Church Centennial:

“I was born in 1842 near Saarbourg, Lorraine, France. My parents were Christian and Maria Switzer Rouvenacht. They named me Maria too. My parents were Amish Mennonites and they, along with others of the same faith, experienced many hard times. Lorraine was a beautiful land, but since many families in our area, including the Oyers and the Mosimans, had already gone to America, my parents decided that it would be good for us as well. It was a long, hard trip. We were on the ocean many days. And then it was many more days until we would reach Woodford County where we made our first home. The first years in America were much different, and in some ways more difficult, than life had been in Lorraine, but we were happy with our new freedoms.

“One day when I was almost 28 years old, a visitor came to our door. Since he was also from France we made him very welcome. It was good to visit with someone from our homeland. Joseph Zentner (Cender) had been in America a few years and was now ready to find himself a wife. Even though he was 16 years older than me, I consented to marry Joseph on March 13, 1870. We began our life together on a farm just south of Roanoke, Illinois. We attended the Roanoke Amish Mennonite Church where Joe served as a trustee for a while. It was here that our seven children were born. That was Katie, Chris, Joe, Lena, John, Mary and Peter. Katie died when she was eight years old and we buried her in the Roanoke Mennonite Cemetery.

“It didn’t seem long until Joe had some good help as our young sons were growing up quickly. They were full of life, as Joe and I found out when we returned home to a surprise one day during hay season. It seemed the boys had been busy pulling the hay up into the haymow with a horse-drawn hayfork. All went well until they decided to send Katie up with a load of hay and left her stranded half way up the side of the barn. That is where we found her when we arrived home sooner than the boys expected us. A switchin’ was in order on that occasion. Joe decided he’d better be looking for more land to farm to keep the boys busy. And then too, they’d need their own places when they decided to get married. Land was getting scarce and prices were high in Woodford county, so Joe began looking around. He was hearing good things about Kansas, so he decided to make a trip there.

“When he arrived in Kansas he stepped off the train and started looking the area over. He noticed piles of buffalo chips scattered about and asked someone if the land required fertilizer already. Joe was told the buffalo chips were burned for fuel, as there were no coal mines in Kansas and coal was very expensive there. Joe had already made his decision about moving to Kansas. He quickly boarded the train and sat quietly in his seat while the lady land agent walked through the train calling, “Where’s Zentner, where’s Zentner?” He didn’t answer her because he didn’t even want to discuss a Kansas land purchase! When Joe got back to Woodford County, he told the family, “Kansas is not for us.”

“Joe said he’d heard about an Amish Mennonite settlement that had just been started near Fisher in Champaign County, Illinois. So he decided to check this out next. He took our oldest son, Chris, with him since he was almost 19 years old. When they got there Peter Zehr took them to look at some farms that were for sale. Joe decided he liked the William Swayze farm, so on February 4, 1892, he signed the papers and bought our new farm. Just in case we didn’t like this new place, Joe kept the one at Roanoke for a little while longer. Well, we made arrangements to move to our new home yet that spring. Our six children were a big help; Peter, the youngest, was ten years old. When the train reached Gibson City, we found Peter Zehr, Jacob Heiser and Charles Stormer there to meet us. They loaded our things on the wagons and tied the horses behind. The boys drove the cattle along behind the horses. The weather was cold and wet, and we were glad when that eight mile trip was over.

“We really weren’t very happy when we reached our new home. That spring of 192 was cold and rainy, which didn’t help our attitude either! But things began to happen and there were a lot of changes in the East Bend area. That year eleven new families moved nearby, and among them were four Birkey families. After Joe built our new house, we were much more comfortable and we began to appreciate our surroundings. It was such a nice neighborhood where we lived! Our house was almost across the road from Peter Zehr, then west of us was Charles Stormer, north were Joe Beacher and John Zehr, and south was August Ingold. A little east of us were Jake Heisers and Barbara Heiser and her family.

“As the years went by, we felt we’d made a good choice. When our children married we were happy to have them living nearby. We all attended the East Bend Mennonite Church, and as we worshipped with our family and friends, we thanked God many times through the years for His goodness and blessings. Because He was faithful in caring for us, we wanted to be faithful and live for Him.”

Birth:
headstone date is 28 March

Buried:
East Bend Mennonite Cemetery