Josephine Ropp: The Schrock-Birkey Connection

Josephine Ropp

Female 1854 - 1883  (29 years)


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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  Josephine Ropp was born in 1854 (daughter of Joseph Ropp and Catharina Birky); died in 1883.

    Family/Spouse: Joseph Strubhar. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


Generation: 2

  1. 2.  Joseph Ropp was born on 6 Jul 1823 in Largitzen, Haut-Rhin, FR (son of Andréas Ropp and Elizabeth Eymann); died on 3 Mar 1885 in Washington, Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Washington, Tazewell Co., IL.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Reference Number: 183
    • Religion: Amish Mennonite

    Notes:

    Joseph was born at Largitzen, Upper Alsace July 6, 1823, died March 3, 1885, and is buried in Glendale Cemetery at Washington. On Feb. 3, 1850 he married Catherine Birky. She was born at Gern, Bavaria Jan. 29, 1826, and died March 18, 1870, a daughter of Valentine Birky and Elizabeth Unzicker. She is buried in Landes Mennonite Cemetery.
    ———————————————————————

    “JOSEPH AND CATHERINE
    Joseph Ropp (1823 - 1885) and Catherine Birky (1826 - 1870)

    Their Children
    Elizabeth Ropp Eyer (1850 - 1955)
    Barbara Ropp Burkey (1851 - 1882)
    Amos Ropp (1852 - 1886)
    Josephine Ropp Strubhar (1854 - 1883)
    Daniel Ropp (1855 - 1947)
    Catherine Ropp Strubhar (1857 - 1892)
    Fannie Ropp (1858 - 1885)

    Joseph Ropp was born July 7, 1823 at Barthel Heute near Dammerkirch, Upper Alsace, France. He was Andréas and Elizabeth Eiman Ropp's ninth child. Joseph was the third son they named Joseph - two older brothers named Joseph and a sister Barbara had died in childhood. Joe was welcomed by five older brothers - fifteen year old Andrew, eleven year old Christian, eight year old Peter, six year old Jacob and two year old John. His father was a leaseholder on a large farm - he farmed a portion of the land, giving part of the crop to the landlord as rent. Their home was humble.

    Joseph's parents were Amish Mennonites - their ancestors had been driven out of Switzerland because of their beliefs. Although they lived in France, the language in their home and church was German. Joe's older brothers attended private German schools. About the time Joseph was born, the family began considering emigration to America. Families that had emigrated earlier had sent letters describing their new homes and urging others to come. After Sunday services, people shared these letters and discussed the pros and cons of moving. In late 1825, his parents made the decision to go to America and began to make preparations.

    They left Alsace in the spring of 1826. Joe celebrated his third birthday on board the ship that carried the family and their wagonload of possessions from LeHavre, France to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Travel at that time was arduous and must have at times been overwhelming to a toddler. But his mother, father and brothers were there to reassure and care for his needs. His memories of his home in France and of the long journey to America were few - family stories related by his parents and older brothers sometimes recalled vague images from his early childhood.

    The family lived in Wilmot Township west of present day Kitchener, Ontario from 1826 to 1832. Their home was in an Amish settlement. The government offered fifty free acres to settlers - the settler had to improve the land and clear the right of way for the road. An additional one hundred and fifty acres could be purchased later. Their lot was forested with many large hardwood trees. They built a small log cabin when they arrived in early October, 1826. This cabin with only minor improvements was their home during the years in Canada. Using little more than an axe, Joseph's father Andréas and his older brothers began clearing the land. The first winter was very hard - the food supply was marginal and the cabin cold and drafty.

    The summer of 1827 was a busy one. Father planted some grain crops and he and mother planted a large garden. They acquired a milk cow and a young bull that father would train to do field work. Father and the older boys built a shed to house the animals. They fenced the gardens and fields to keep the animals out. Mother and the younger boys mixed clay and water and filled the cracks between the logs in the cabin wall. This was work even a four year old could do - Joe and John worked on the lower part of the wall. The cabin would be much more comfortable the second winter; and there would be ample food.

    Joseph learned by emulating his parents and older siblings. Father, Mother or an older brother would demonstrate and then help him master a task. Gradually he acquired the skills he needed to become a farmer. It didn't take many lessons to learn to drag and pile brush from Father's clearing projects. He soon learned to identify weeds and remove them either by hand or with the hoe. He learned to feed and care for the animals. When he was a little older he sometimes accompanied one of his older brothers when they checked the traps - pelts could be stretched, cured and sold or used to make warm winter clothes.

    His brother Moses was born in March, 1828. Joseph and John often took turns rocking his cradle and entertaining him. When mother took Moses outdoors while she worked in the garden, they shooed the biting flies and mosquitoes away. When Moses began to walk, the two boys helped keep him away from danger. His older brothers had helped care for him; now Joseph helped care for Moses.

    There is no record of a school either public or private in Wilmot Township during the years the Ropps lived there. As in France, the language in their home and their congregation was German. His parents and older brothers read and told him biblical stories. He began to learn the basics of reading from his mother and older brothers. John was also learning to read. Church services were held on Sundays when weather and roads permitted travel. After the services, people visited and the children played together. Sometimes, when father worked with neighbors on a project such as dragging logs, erecting a building or butchering hogs, they would go along. Mother would help prepare a meal; the older boys and Father would help with the communal project; and the younger ones would play.

    They and their neighbors were transforming a wilderness area into productive farms; but the long harsh winters, lack of markets for their crops, and uncertainty about acquiring title to their lands led many to look elsewhere for land. When Joseph was nine, they sold their Canadian farm and moved to Butler County, Ohio where they lived for two years. This Amish settlement was prospering. His parents did not buy land there, but they and the older boys had no difficulty finding farm work. Joe and John and possibly Jacob and Peter were able to attend school during the two years in Ohio.

    Late in 1833, they decided to move to Illinois. Because there were no schools yet in Illinois, mother wanted to stay in Ohio over the winter so her younger sons could get at least a basic education. Brothers Andrew and Christian left for Illinois in January; the rest of the family would come in the spring. In April, Joseph's mother Elizabeth became ill and died. She had always been the one to make the everyday decisions for the family. Joseph was ten years old when she died - he would miss her often over the years.

    In May of 1834, they moved to Illinois. Joseph celebrated his eleventh birthday on their claim near the Mackinaw River. Andrew and Christian had cleared a few acres and built a log cabin in the early spring. Now they had a vegetable garden, a patch of ripening wheat, and another patch of corn. In the fall, they sold the claim and moved to the Peter Engel farm. Andrew had married Jacobena Verkler that spring. Jacobena was Peter Engel's stepdaughter. Andrew and Jacobena stayed at the Engels for only a brief time - he had found land in Elm Grove Township. In the spring Joe's father, Andréas, moved the family to a claim west of Washington, Illinois near the Illinois River.

    We have no record of how this all male household handled the cooking, laundry and mending chores. Because Elizabeth and Andréas had no daughters, the boys had always helped their mother with her work. Andrew's wife Jacobena and Peter Engel's wife Catherine surely helped them master cooking and baking techniques and to learn some basic mending techniques. Andréas kept his wife's sewing box for many years - eventually Peter had it.

    As soon as they built a cabin on the claim, Christian moved to Andrew's and set up a blacksmith shop. In 1836, both Peter and Jacob found work near Andrew - Andréas, John, Joe and Moses farmed and improved the claim. Late in 1836, they lost this claim. The reason for this loss is not known - we believe that Andréas failed to file some paperwork. They packed their possessions and moved to Andrew's home. We don't know where they lived for the next two years - probably in a cabin on Andrew's farm. There was plenty of work in the area for his older brothers. Joe, now a young teenager, usually worked with his father and John - sometimes for a neighbor. In 1838, his father purchased a farm in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois. This would be Joseph's home until about 1848. The farm was across the lane from the school. When he had no work, Joe attended school.

    Joe grew to be a strong, well-coordinated, vigorous young man. He was a quiet, friendly man who worked well with others. He was soon in demand as a hired hand. He often worked away from home - getting room and board in addition to his wages. He was saving to buy a farm. In 1849, he may have considered joining the wild rush to the gold fields of California. He decided to stay in Illinois. By the late 1840's, Joe was farming near Groveland. On February 3, 1850, he married Catherine Birky. Joe's brother Christian, now an Amish bishop, married them.

    Catherine was born in Bavaria, Germany on January 31, 1826. Her family emigrated from Bavaria to Butler County, Ohio sometime between 1830 and 1836. They moved to a farm near Groveland, Illinois about 1840. They too were Amish. There were several Birky families who came to Illinois in the 1800s. Their descendants were often classified as belonging to one of three clans - the big Birkys, the little Birkys, and the red Birkys. A redhead, Catherine belonged to the last clan. He and Catherine met at Sunday services and work and social gatherings.

    Joseph was twenty-six and Catherine twenty-four years old when they married. In the first months of their marriage, they lived on their farm near Groveland. That year they produced thirty-five bushels of wheat, three hundred bushels of corn, fifty bushels of oats, a hundred bushels of barley, and six tons of hay. They had two horses, two milk cows, six pigs and some chickens.

    Late in 1850, they bought a one hundred-twenty acre farm on the Allentown Road a mile east of his brother Peter. This farm was in Elm Grove Township. It had been settled about 1828 by a family named Hodgson. There were fields under cultivation. It had a house and some outbuildings. On December 5, 1850, their first child was born - a daughter they named Elizabeth. 1850 was a big year for Joseph and Catherine.


    MEMORY DRAWING OF JOSEPH AND CATHERINE ROPP'S FARM
    1850 TO 1875
    Drawn in 1957 by Walter A. Ropp, who lived on this farm from 1875 to 1885

    Joe was a good farmer. He cared for the land, buildings and fences. Over the next ten years, he cleared the remaining acres for farming. He built a log barn, a granary, rail pens for the corn, and improved the house. The barn sides were logs - some were thirty feet in length. The roof was shingled with split white oak clapboards, and the floor was made of oak planks. His field fences were all hand split rails - the road cut through the farm, so he needed more fences than most of his neighbors. He became very adept with axe and maul.

    Their home was a frame house. It was larger than most homes of that time. It had six rooms and was warm and cozy and had a large attic where the children could play. He had a very large garden with vegetables and three long rows of grapes as well as currents and gooseberries. In the yard by the house he had cherry, peach and plum trees. He also planted a two-acre apple orchard. There were Maiden's Blush, Bellflower, sweets for cider and apple butter, and Northern Spy for long winter evenings. He also planted walnut trees - a half-mile long row along the road.

    While Joseph was improving their farm and tending to the crops and livestock, Catherine was caring for the home, her husband, and bearing and rearing children. They had seven children in their first nine years of marriage - Elizabeth in 1850, Barbara in 1851, Amos in 1852, Josephine in 1854, Daniel in 1855, Catherine in 1857, and Fannie in 1858. Her days were filled with activity - cooking and baking, sewing and mending, laundry and cleaning, gardening, harvesting and preserving food - and caring for an infant and several toddlers.

    In 1860, Joseph's farm produced a hundred bushels of wheat, a thousand bushels of corn, a hundred bushels of oats, a hundred bushels of potatoes, and ten tons of hay. The orchard was coming into production. They marketed twelve dollars worth of fruit. They now had seven horses, four milk cows, four steers, and twenty pigs. They sold a hundred fifty pounds of butter. The value of the animals they slaughtered that year was one hundred and thirty dollars. Their farm was valued at three thousand dollars, livestock at seven hundred dollars, and their farm implements at two hundred dollars.

    The 1860s brought prosperity to Illinois farmers. Railroads connected them to markets in the East, improvements in farm implements, and high Civil War prices for farm products combined to make farming very profitable. By 1870, Joseph was farming two hundred acres - one hundred was improved, the remainder was woodland. His farm was valued at ten thousand dollars, his implements at two hundred fifty dollars, and his livestock at twelve hundred dollars. In 1870, he and his sons and hired help produced three hundred eighty bushels of wheat, six hundred bushels of corn, three hundred bushels of oats, a hundred bushels of potatoes, and thirty-five tons of hay. They also sold four hundred-eighty pounds of butter, three hundred and forty dollars worth of orchard products, twenty-five dollars worth of garden produce, and two hundred dollars worth of forest products. They had seven horses, five milk cows, eight steers, twenty sheep and ten pigs. Animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter brought in four hundred twenty-five dollars. He also sold seventy pounds of wool. The farm brought in more than twenty five hundred dollars that year.

    At some time during her life Catherine contracted tuberculosis. By the late 1860s, she was greatly weakened by the disease. On March 18, 1870, Catherine died. She was buried at the Birkey-Landes Cemetery. Joseph and their children mourned her loss - the girls were old enough to take over the household duties. Catherine had trained her daughters well. Under nineteen-year-old Elizabeth's leadership, they were able to manage their home and gardens. Family and neighbors helped when needed.

    Joseph and his family lived on their Elm Grove farm for twenty-five years. All of their children attended Railroad School. Five of Joseph's six brothers lived within three miles of their farm and the sixth only about eighteen miles away. During most of their years in Elm Grove, they belonged to the Dillon Creek Amish congregation - Joe's brother Andrew was its bishop and his brother Peter one of the deacons. The brothers often shared work - butchering, harvesting, making cider, and erecting barns or other large buildings. While the men worked, the wives visited and prepared a meal. The children played with their cousins.

    Before Joe's sons were old enough to help in the fields, Peter often sent his older sons to help Uncle Joe. They went with enthusiasm. In those days, boys rarely had any money. Uncle Joe never failed to give each of them fifteen or twenty cents for the days work. When they worked for other neighbors, there was no money - only another day of work. Peter's son Jacob related that his Uncle Joseph was a kind, generous man and very good with children.

    In 1875, Joseph sold the Elm Grove farm and bought a farm east of Washington, Illinois. Their older children were grown and ready to marry and leave home. The younger ones had completed their schooling. Their relocation was motivated in part by a desire to move to an area where he could more easily find farms nearby for the children. They also wanted to move to a different Amish congregation. The Dillon Creek congregation was very conservative. The congregation near Washington was liberal. In the years prior to the move, Joseph, his children, and others in the area had been worshiping with the Washington group. In the 1870s, Joseph and several of the other dissenters who lived in the Elm Grove area relocated to the prairies near Washington. Joseph wore his beard short and replaced his hooks and eyes with buttons.

    Joseph farmed at Washington for five or six years. All but his youngest daughter Fannie soon married and he quit farming. He still had a garden and a few animals to care for, but he no longer did the heavy work. Elizabeth, Barbara, Josephine, Catherine, and Amos lived nearby. There were grandchildren for him to visit. He also exchanged visits with his brothers and many of his nieces and nephews.

    Tuberculosis continued to haunt the family. In the early 1880s, two of his daughters died of complications of tuberculosis. Three of his grandchildren died as small children. Barbara and her daughter Elsie and Catherine's daughter Ada died in 1882, and Josephine and her son Alvin died in 1883. These were difficult years for Joseph and his family. Catherine and Fannie would also become victims of consumption brought on by tuberculosis.

    Joseph died on March 3, 1885. The cause of death is not known. He is buried in the Glendale Cemetery in Washington, Illinois. His wife Catherine had died fifteen years earlier on March 18, 1870. Two of their daughters and three grandchildren preceded him in death. Five months later Fannie also died. Joseph lived sixty-one years. He was a quiet man - sociable and willing to listen. He usually let others do most of the talking. He was like his brother Peter in temperament and appearance. He was about five foot, ten inches tall and muscular. The years of hard physical labor had made him strong. He was kind and generous - much liked by his neighbors.“

    Buried:
    Glendale Cemetery. His stone is the taller grey one, just to the north and front of the big Pink Strubhar stone.

    Joseph married Catharina Birky on 3 Feb 1850 in Tazewell Co., IL. Catharina (daughter of Valentin (Valentine) Bircky (Birky) and Elisabeth Unzicker (Hunsiker)) was born on 18 Jan 1829 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR; died on 18 Mar 1870 in IL; was buried in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  2. 3.  Catharina Birky was born on 18 Jan 1829 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR (daughter of Valentin (Valentine) Bircky (Birky) and Elisabeth Unzicker (Hunsiker)); died on 18 Mar 1870 in IL; was buried in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Reference Number: 168
    • Religion: Amish Mennonite

    Notes:



    Birth:
    Father Valentin described as farm leaseholder, Mennonite, from Dachau, Weilbach, No. 17, normal birth at 1:00 am.

    Buried:
    Landes Mennonite Cemetery Grave #29 on printed plot map dated 8/12/2013

    Children:
    1. Elizabeth Ropp was born in 1850; died in 1955; was buried in Gilman, IL.
    2. Barbara Ropp was born on 25 Nov 1851; died on 25 Jan 1882; was buried in Deer Creek Twp., Tazewell Co., IL.
    3. Amos Ropp was born in 1852.
    4. 1. Josephine Ropp was born in 1854; died in 1883.
    5. Daniel Ropp was born on 20 Aug 1855 in Elm Grove Twp., Tazewell Co., IL; died on 16 Aug 1946 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., KS; was buried in Kansas City, Jackson Co., KS.
    6. Catherine Ropp was born in 1857; died in 1892.
    7. Veronika (Fannie) Ropp was born in 1858; died in 1885.


Generation: 3

  1. 4.  Andréas Ropp was born in 1776 in Alsace Lorraine, FR (son of Johannes (Hans) Rupp and Barbe Hochstettler); died on 12 Oct 1868 in Hudson, McLean Co., IL; was buried in Hudson, White Oak Twp., McLean Co., IL.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • HEIG: Just Over Six Feet Tall; Lean And Muscular, Weighed About 165 Pounds In His Prime.
    • Occupation: Farmer And Miller
    • Religion: Amish Mennonite
    • USR1: Old Age
    • Residence: 1825-26, Altkirch, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, FR
    • Immigration: 1826

    Notes:

    Obit: Herald of Truth, Vol V, No 11, November 1868

    On the 14th of October, in McLean county, Illinois, of old age, Andrew Ropp, in the 92nd year of his age. His memory was good and he was rational to the last.

    He has seven children living, all of whom were present except one, who was on a journey at the time. He had 82 children, grand-children and great grand-children, who are still living, and 20 which have died.

    A large concourse of people were present at the funeral, and a discourse appropriate to the occasion was delivered by Pre Joseph Stuckey, from Rev 21. He was a member of the Amish Mennonite Church.
    ———————————
    • Source: Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois by Joseph Staker

    "At the time of the marriage [Andreas' marriage to Elizabeth Eiman], Andreas's brother and sister were living at Jettingen. It is located about 10 miles southeast of Froeningen, midway on the 20-mile road between Altkirch and Basel, and less than 10 miles from the Swiss border community of Allschwil. Both Froeningen and Jettingen fall within the canton/department of Altkirch.
    Elisabeth Eymann's first two children were born at Jettingen in 1807 and 1809. The birth entry of oldest child André (later bishop Andrew Ropp) describes father Andreas as André Ropp, a
    29-year-old Anabaptist farmer and cultivator, married to 'Elisabetha Ayman.' Witnesses included 37-year-old Anabaptist farmer Jacob/Jacques Stauffer and his 21-year-old valet Joseph Burgermeister. Neither birth entry states that Andreas was actually a resident of Jettingen.

    Their next three children were born at Falkwiller in 1810, 1812, and 1815.58 (The marriage entry of sister Catharine suggests that Andreas may have been living there as early as 1804). Christian Ropp wrote: “My father lived in Upper Alsace about six miles from Basel, two miles from Dammerkirch, and five miles from Belfort.” These were 'German miles': an hour's walk, or three English miles. The tiny village of Falkwiller is 5.8 miles north of Dannemarie, and the distances west to Belfort and southeast to Basel are approximately 15 and 18 miles. The largest employer in the area of Falkwiller was the Wasserhaus estate in adjacent Linden. 59 The Wasserhaus Château was destroyed after the French Revolution, and Linden no longer exists, but carp are still raised there in clay basins and man-made ponds created in the 16th century. Jean Burÿ [Buri], a witness on one Ropp family birth entry, was a laborer at Wasserhaus.
    Andreas' ties to his uncle Joseph Ropp are apparent. Joseph was probably the reason that Andreas, his sister, and his brother are found in the Sundgau Region.

    ...Andreas may have been influenced just as much by his uncle Christian Rupp, who lived at a far greater distance. A number of coincidences link them:
    Christian and Andreas were both very familiar with Amish Mennonite families on the opposite side of the Vosges Mountains in the tiny village of Hellocourt, Moselle (now Maizières-lès-Vic). It is likely Christian met them through his second wife, Magdalena Brechbühl; Brechbühls also married into the Vercler and Mosiman families.
    Christian was a witness at the marriage of Peter Engel at Hellocourt in 1804. Peter was a son of elder Christian Engel, who Andreas later considered his 'cousin.'
    Christian's children include Barbe, who married André Vercler; Joseph, who married Anne Mosimann; Jean, who married Marie Vercler; Elisabeth, who married Joseph Gerber and Joseph Augspurger; and Madeleine, who married Jean Salzman. Catherine Vercler, an older sister to the Verclers mentioned here, married Christian Bälzli/Belsely and lived at Azoudange; they were the parents of 'Red Joe' Belsley, who may have been the first Amish Mennonite to settle in Tazewell County (in a part that later became Woodford County). See the supplemental genealogy VERCLER.
    Andreas Ropp's oldest son Andrew married Jacobina Vercler, from the next generation of this Hellocourt family.
    And finally, two of Christian's great-grandchildren emigrated to McLean County, Ill., where they married two of Andreas Ropp's grandchildren (Marie A. Rupp and Peter S. Ropp, 1868; and Marie Anne Valerie Rupp and John S. Ropp, 1872). Andreas lived to see the first marriage."

    Residence:
    Farm Barthel Hutte

    Buried:
    Ropp Cemetery

    Andréas married Elizabeth Eymann on 20 Mar 1806 in Lubine, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, FR. Elizabeth (daughter of Johannes Eymann and Anna Barbe Goldschmidt) was born in 1784 in Lubine, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, FR; died in 1834 in Butler Co., OH. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  2. 5.  Elizabeth Eymann was born in 1784 in Lubine, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, FR (daughter of Johannes Eymann and Anna Barbe Goldschmidt); died in 1834 in Butler Co., OH.

    Notes:



    Birth:
    Date from Neil Ann Levine

    Children:
    1. Bishop Andrew Ropp was born on 6 Sep 1807; died on 11 Jun 1890 in Bureau Co., IL; was buried on 13 Jun 1890 in Tazewell Co., IL.
    2. Christian Ropp was born on 27 Apr 1812 in Alsace Lorraine, FR; died on 3 Aug 1896 in Hudson, McLean Co., IL; was buried in White Oak Twp., McLean Co., IL.
    3. Peter Ropp was born on 24 Apr 1815; died on 27 Jul 1893.
    4. Jacob Ropp was born on 7 May 1817 in Altkirch, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, FR; died on 24 May 1895 in Morton, Tazewell Co., IL; was buried on 26 May 1895 in Elm Grove Twp., Tazewell Co., IL.
    5. Joseph Ropp was born in 1819; died in 1820.
    6. John Ropp was born on 9 Jun 1821; died on 26 Jun 1890.
    7. 2. Joseph Ropp was born on 6 Jul 1823 in Largitzen, Haut-Rhin, FR; died on 3 Mar 1885 in Washington, Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Washington, Tazewell Co., IL.
    8. Moses Ropp was born on 28 Apr 1828 in Wilmot Twp., Ontario, Canada; died on 3 Aug 1891 in Berkley, Carlisle Co., KY; was buried in Berkley, Carlisle Co., KY.

  3. 6.  Valentin (Valentine) Bircky (Birky)Valentin (Valentine) Bircky (Birky) was born in 1794 in Dehlingen, Völlerdingen, Alsace, FR (son of Johannes (Jean) Bircky (Bircki, Percky) and Barbara Bircki); died on 12 Sep 1860 in Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Sep 1860 in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Occupation: In Europe A Bauer (Farmer), In US A Farmer
    • Reference Number: 36
    • Religion: Amish
    • Residence: Bef 1803, Völlerdingen, Alsace, FR
    • Residence: ? 1803, Riedenburg, Bavaria, GR
    • Residence: 1813, Dachau, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • PURC: 1825, Dachau, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • Residence: 1815 - 1828, Dachau, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • Immigration: 31 May 1828, Dachau, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • Residence: 1830, Pellheim, Bavaria, GR
    • PURC: 8 Mar 1833, Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • PURC: 15 Apr 1841, Ludwigsfeld, Bavaria, GR
    • Death: 12 Aug 1848, Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • Residence: 1831-1849, Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • Immigration: 21 Jun 1849, NY
    • Census: 1850, Morton Twp., Tazewell Co., IL
    • Residence: 1860, Morton, Tazewell Co., IL

    Notes:

    Valentine, father of thirteen children, all of whom emigrated to America, although not all at the same time, lived in Gern, Bavaria, when his children were born. The year after his wife died, Valentine, with some of his family came to America. He left Gern near Munich, Bavaria with five children, and with 10,000 fl., one of the larger amounts taken out of the country--much more than most immigrants. His brother Christian took the same amount. Valentine was of the "Little Red" Birky's. The family’s emigration is documented in Friedrich Blendinger’s material (the emigration to North America from the governmental district Upper Bavaria in the years 1846-1852, in: ZBLG (magazine for Bavarian national history) 27 (1964), p. 431-487. The magazine is on line with full text.

    Birth:
    Probably born at either Lutterbacherhof or Buscherhof (both near Sarre-Union and Rimsdorf). Lutterbacherhof is now a part of the Cultural Heritage Inventory Department Palais du Rhin. See https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/IA67006033

    Residence:
    Lutterbacherhof, near Saar-Union/Saarbrücken, FR

    Residence:
    Lived on rented farms with brother Andreas (Country court Riedenburg [Flugelsberg]), and with Christian (in County Court Munich.
    Google translation :
    Gern and Riedenburg
    lt. deed of citizenship of
    In 1828 he stayed until about 1815
    with his brother on the
    Wing mountain.

    Residence:
    Unterweilbach tenant, of Court Spreti, near Dachau.

    PURC:
    Purchased an estate in Arzbach from his brother Christian.

    Residence:
    Tenant at Unterweilbach.

    Immigration:
    Received France to Bavaria immigration permit. ”Here appears Valentin Bircky from Lutterbach in Alsace, 34 years old, father of seven children, five boys, and two girls, the oldest 13 years of age, the youngest two years of age, asking for permission to emigrate.”

    Residence:
    Arzbach estate (about 2 miles north of the center of Pellheim) called Schloss Pellheim.

    PURC:
    Purchased Kandler farm estate, house No 3 from Joseph Stalter, Elisabeth’s step-father.

    PURC:
    Mayerrhof, house No. 8, called “Wurzer estate in Ludwigsfeld near Munich, and Dachau.

    Death:
    Death of wife Elisabeth Unzicker

    Residence:
    Valentin moved with his family to his father-in-law living in Gern near Munich

    Immigration:
    Via Liverpool on ship Minnesota. Evidently the family was originally booked to depart with ship agent Karl Dick from Augsburg via Mannheim-LaHavre-New York. Plans must have changed since they ultimately arrived on the ship Minnesota, via Liverpool to New York.

    Census:
    Age 67, living with son Joseph and Barbara (Eigsti) Birky; also living there was Christian Springer, laborer.

    Residence:
    Year of his death

    Buried:
    Birky-Landes Cemetery, personal visit, Plot #36 on cemetery map dated 8/12/2013

    Valentin married Elisabeth Unzicker (Hunsiker) in 1812 in Munich, Bavaria, GR. Elisabeth (daughter of Unzicker (Hunsicker) and Magdalena Nafziger) was born in 1796 in Breimthal, Heidelberg, Bavaria, GR; died on 12 Aug 1848 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR; was buried on 15 Aug 1848 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  4. 7.  Elisabeth Unzicker (Hunsiker) was born in 1796 in Breimthal, Heidelberg, Bavaria, GR (daughter of Unzicker (Hunsicker) and Magdalena Nafziger); died on 12 Aug 1848 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR; was buried on 15 Aug 1848 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Reference Number: 37
    • Religion: Mennonite
    • USR1: Stroke

    Notes:

    Unzicker, originally Hunzicker= from Hunzicken, Canton Bern. The initial H was probably lost during a stay in France where an H is not pronounced at the beginning of a word.

















    More likely, Elizabeth could have been a sister to Daniel b. 1798 who married Magdalena Kahn.}

    Birth:
    Near Wieslock and Heidelberg

    Died:
    Farmer’s wife, at age 54, on her father’s farm

    Buried:
    Gern Mennonite Cemetery

    Notes:

    Settlement of Valentine’s estate lists Joseph first and Jacob seond--the rest in the same order as here.

    Married:
    about 1812-1813 - 2,500 Guilders given to the bride and groom on the occasion of their marriage by the bride’s family.

    Children:
    1. Jakob Birky (Bircky) was born in 1813 in Unterweilbach, Bavaria, GR; died on 1 Mar 1887 in Peoria, Peoria Co., IL; was buried in IL.
    2. Joseph Bircky (Burkey) was born on 13 May 1816 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR; died on 13 Mar 1902 in Milford, Seward Co., NE; was buried in Milford, Seward Co., NE.
    3. Christian (Harry) Bircky (Burkey) was born on 4 Sep 1819 in Obersanding, Bavaria, GR; died on 6 Nov 1890 in Milford, Seward Co., NE; was buried in Milford, Seward Co., NE.
    4. Valentin Bircky (Birky) was born on 12 Oct 1820 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR; died on 28 Jun 1901 in Tiskilwa, Bureau Co., IL; was buried in Bureau Co., IL.
    5. Andréas Bircky (Birky) was born on 11 Oct 1822 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR; died on 7 Nov 1892 in Tazewell Co., IL.
    6. Magdalena Bircky (Birky) was born on 12 Dec 1824 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR; died on 18 Feb 1897.
    7. Elisabeth Bircky (Birky) was born on 19 Nov 1826 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR; died in Oct 1866 in Tazewell Co., IL.
    8. 3. Catharina Birky was born on 18 Jan 1829 in Nymphenburg, Bavaria, GR; died on 18 Mar 1870 in IL; was buried in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL.
    9. Heinrich (Henry) Bircky (Birky) was born on 31 Dec 1831 in Arzbach, Bavaria, GR; died on 4 Aug 1918 in Groveland Twp., Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL.
    10. Maria (Mary) Bircky (Birky) was born on 19 Mar 1833 in Bavaria, GR; died on 28 Oct 1908 in Shickley, Fillmore Co., NE; was buried in Shickley, Fillmore Co., NE.
    11. Johann (John) Bircky (Birky) was born on 1 Jan 1835 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR; died on 28 Mar 1925 in Peoria, Peoria Co., IL; was buried in Groveland Twp., Tazewell Co., IL.
    12. Jacobine (Bena) BIRKY (BIRCKY) was born on 13 Jan 1838 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR; died on 5 Sep 1914 in Milford, Seward Co., NE; was buried in Milford, Seward Co., NE.
    13. Barbara Bircky (Birky) was born on 9 Jan 1840 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR; died on 28 Jul 1934 in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL.
    14. Joseph Bircky (Birky) was born in 1861; died on 21 Mar 1861.


Generation: 4

  1. 8.  Johannes (Hans) Rupp was born in 1752 (son of Jacob Roup and Elizabeth Sommer); died on 26 Nov 1788 in Sigolsheim, Haut-Rhin, FR.

    Notes:

    Birth:
    ?

    Died:
    Now Kaysersberg-Vignoble.

    Johannes + Barbe Hochstettler. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  2. 9.  Barbe Hochstettler (daughter of Johannes Hochstettler and Anna Wagler).
    Children:
    1. 4. Andréas Ropp was born in 1776 in Alsace Lorraine, FR; died on 12 Oct 1868 in Hudson, McLean Co., IL; was buried in Hudson, White Oak Twp., McLean Co., IL.
    2. Catharina Ropp was born about 1785; died on 31 Jan 1840 in Dornach, Bavaria, GR.

  3. 10.  Johannes Eymann was born in 1747 (son of Ulrich Eymann and Barbara Mosimann); died on 13 Apr 1808 in Lubine, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, FR.

    Notes:

    Died:
    Pre du Chene

    Johannes + Anna Barbe Goldschmidt. Anna (daughter of Joseph Goldschmidt and Bachman) was born in 1750; died on 29 Oct 1819 in Niedernai, Bas-Rhin, FR. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  4. 11.  Anna Barbe Goldschmidt was born in 1750 (daughter of Joseph Goldschmidt and Bachman); died on 29 Oct 1819 in Niedernai, Bas-Rhin, FR.

    Notes:

    Died:
    Riedhof (or Tauferhof) Obernai

    Children:
    1. Magdalena Eymann was born on 20 Nov 1789 in Lubine, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, FR; died on 13 Feb 1873 in Tazewell Co., IL.
    2. 5. Elizabeth Eymann was born in 1784 in Lubine, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, FR; died in 1834 in Butler Co., OH.

  5. 12.  Johannes (Jean) Bircky (Bircki, Percky) was born about 1748; died in 1802.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Religion: Mennonite
    • Residence: late 1700s, Rimsdorf, Lower Alsace, FR
    • Residence: Abt 1803, Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR
    • Immigration: 11 Jun 1803, Dehlingen, Völlerdingen, Alsace, FR
    • Immigration: 1804, Dehlingen, Völlerdingen, Alsace, FR

    Notes:

    An entry from a document in Bern, Switzerland of emigrant families

    Jan 1700
    Benedikt Bürcky from Trimstein, Switzerland (abt 30 miles SE of Bern) moved to Griesbach, Alsace (Hanau-Lichtenberg)

    3 Jun 1710
    Christen Bürcky moving out from Switzerland

    3 Apr 1727
    Niclaus Bürcky from Höchststetten, Germany (Near Karlsruhe and Heidelberg) moved out with his children

    19 Sep 1748 (This could be our Johannes)
    Johannes Bürcky from Herblingen, Germany, moved to Zweibrücken/Palatinate/Germany.

    Birth:
    an estimation derived only from the birth year of his second wife

    Residence:
    Buscherhof, also near Saarewerden

    Immigration:
    Permission for emigration to Bavaria granted - from Lutterbacherhof

    Immigration:
    Buscherhof in Alsace to Steingaden, Bavaria

    Johannes + Barbara Bircki. Barbara was born in 1748; died on 24 Jan 1826 in Perlach, Bavaria, GR. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  6. 13.  Barbara Bircki was born in 1748; died on 24 Jan 1826 in Perlach, Bavaria, GR.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Religion: Anabaptist
    • USR1: Paralysis of the lungs

    Notes:



    Died:
    At 78 years old

    Children:
    1. Andreas Bircky (Burcky), Sr. was born in 1778 in Rimsdorf, Lower Alsace, FR; died in USA.
    2. Barbara Bircki was born about 1782.
    3. Christian Birki was born on 14 Mar 1788-1789 in Rimsdorf, Lower Alsace, FR; died on 14 Feb 1866 in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Feb 1866 in Groveland Twp., Tazewell Co., IL.
    4. 6. Valentin (Valentine) Bircky (Birky) was born in 1794 in Dehlingen, Völlerdingen, Alsace, FR; died on 12 Sep 1860 in Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Sep 1860 in Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL.
    5. Maria Birki was born on 18 Jan 1824 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR.

  7. 14.  Unzicker (Hunsicker)

    + Magdalena Nafziger. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  8. 15.  Magdalena Nafziger
    Children:
    1. 7. Elisabeth Unzicker (Hunsiker) was born in 1796 in Breimthal, Heidelberg, Bavaria, GR; died on 12 Aug 1848 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR; was buried on 15 Aug 1848 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR.


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