Jacobina Birky

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: In Europe A Bauer (Farmer), In USA Farmer
• Reference Number: 97
• Religion: Mennonite
• Residence: Bef 1800, Völlerdingen, Alsace, FR
• Residence: 1811, Flugelsberg, Bavaria, GR
• PURC: 10 Nov 1815, Arzbach, Bavaria, GR
• Residence: 1818-1824, Pellheim, Bavaria, GR
• Immigration: 13 Mar 1851, Bavaria, GR
• Immigration: 7 Jun 1851, Le Havre to New York
• Census: 1860, Tazewell Co., IL

Notes:

Of Kirshstockach, Bavaria. Lived first in Odenstockah, near Munich, Bavaria, then moved to Neukirchstock, also near Munich.

According to Hermann Guth's 1989 research, “at 62 years of age Christian applied to emigrate to Illinois on 13 Mar 1851, with his second wife Elizabeth Stalter, age 37. He had 10,000 fl of assets and his wife had an additional 2,225 fl. This was much more than most immigrants had. Traveling with them were Elizabeth 23, Andréas 29, Anna 28, Katharina 17, Veronika 15, from his first wife, and, Jakobine 5, Heinrich 4, Jakob 3, and Helena 6 mo. from his second wife. Christian noted to authorities that several older children were already in America.

Christian's daughter, Barbara Birki, from Kirchstockach (unmarried, but with child, Jacob, whose father was Thomas Luiderer from Putzbrunn) applied on 29 Feb 1849 for permission to emigrate to Illinois. Her father gave approval because she wished to travel with his brother, Valentine Birki from Gern, who was the child's guardian. The document indicated that three brothers/sisters were already in America. Barbara and Valentine planned to travel via Mannheim-Le Havre-New York, with ship agent Karl Dick from Augsburg, but evidently plans changed since they are on the ship list of the Minnesota sailing from Liverpool, England to New York in 1849. Included were Valentine Birki (1794) with niece Barbara and her illegitimate son; Valentine's daughter, Mary Burkey Birky (1833); and Daniel Zehr. “
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“Christian Birkÿ, farmer at Mair in KIrchstockach and widower, intends to marry Elisabeth Stalter, forestry farmer’s daughter from Gern, and sought reception into and consent of the community. Since Christian Birkÿ possesses an entire estate, and his future bride brings a dowry of 800 guilders, and their advancement is adequately assured, and they are liable for insignificant debts, we agree to this marriage on behalf of the entire community.
In confirmation of this, Brunnthal the 13th of August 1841, the local authorities of Brunnthal:
Andreas Zimmermann, Georg Fischer[?], Johann Heiss[?]”

“Christian’s assets at the time of immigration were 10,000 fl. and the assets of his children’s mother was a further 2,225 fl. for the children of his first marriage. He emigrate from Bavaria to the New World with one of the higher known fortunes. His brother Valentine also left the Europe with 10,000 fl. Many immigrants left with only a few hundred.”

“In the 1860 Illinois census, Christian and Elizabeth "Berky" are found in Groveland Township where Christian had purchased 120 acres of land in Section 22. Seventy two year-old Christian and 48 year old Elizabeth lived with their children, Henry, Jacob, Helena, Jacobina, and John (born in Illinois after the family arrived). Upon arriving in Illinois, Christian purchased 80 acres of farmland just north of Groveland in Tazewell County. Christian died on February 14, 1866 and was buried on his farm next to Heinrich Stalter, his father-in-law. His son Joseph was appointed administrator of his estate. The estate was valued at $2050.75 plus 120 acres of land valued at $4400. Each child received $264.13 from the estate settlement on 4/15/ 1868. Elisabeth received her widow's share. The last documentation of Elizabeth Stalter "Burky" is in the 1870 Census when she was living in Groveland, Tazewell County with her 5 children, Jacobine, Henry, Jacob, Helena, and John. Elisabeth died on September 24, 1872 and was buried next to her husband and father. In 1875 the children sold the land to Meinrad Biender, reserving one quarter of acre where the cemetery lay. It is now referred to as the “Birki Cemetery”.

Birth:
Near Diemeringen

Residence:
Lutterbacherhof. This is assumed because we know his brother Valentine lived there before going to Bavaria.

PURC:
Near Dachau, borough Rohrmoos. A half farm, the “Pasten estate,” house No. 8. Purchased from Jakob Hiser (Heiser) from Hanfeld, Country Court Starnberg. Size of the half farm was 84 days work and included a potato distillery.

Residence:
Mennonite and partial leaseholder on the grounds of the Pellheim estate of major general Maximilian Graf von Spreti at Arzbach, Bavaria, a few miles north of Dachau.

Immigration:
Applied for emigration

Immigration:
On French Bark, Adhimary (Adhema?), with his second wife and nine children, and Christian’s brother-in-law, Georg Kettner and his family (husband of Maria Birki).
Traveling with Christian and Elisabeth were Andréas (29), Anna (18), Elizabeth (23), Katharina (17) and Veronika (15) -children of Christian and his first wife - and Jakobine (5), Heinrich (4), Jakob (3), and Helena (6 mo.) - children of Christian and Elisabeth. He left capital of10,000 guilders. He deposited 2225 guilders for the children of his first marriage.

Census:
Listed as age 72 with wife Elizabeth, age 48.

Died:
Estate document from Tazewell Co. on file. Burial site is in Section 22 of Groveland Two., Tazewell Co., IL.

Buried:
Birki Cemetery - https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2596053/birki-cemetery/map#share_email

Christian married Elisabeth Stalter on 4 Aug 1841 in Kirchstockach, Munich, Bavaria, GR. Elisabeth (daughter of Heinrich Stalter and Jakobine Stalter) was born on 18 Apr 1813 in Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR; died on 24 Sep 1872 in Tazewell Co., IL; was buried in Groveland Twp., Tazewell Co., IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: 96
• Religion: Amish Mennonite
• RWDN: S243
• Immigration: 7 Jun 1851, Le Havre to New York

Notes:

The 1870 census of Groveland shows: Elizabeth Burky, 54, Bavaria; Jacobine, 24, Bavaria; farmer Henry, 23, Bavaria; Jacob, 21, Bavaria; Helena, 20, Bavaria; and John, 18, Illinois; and carpenter John Gerber, 28, born in Canada.

“Despite many efforts to find additional information on Jacobina, Henry, Jacob, and John Birky, no additional information has been found after the 1870 U.S. Census. (Some researchers have incorrectly stated that John Birky, son of Christian and Elizabeth, married a woman named Edith Kelso. However, in the 1880 census, Edith Kelso Birkey and John are living with his mother, whose name is Magdalena Birky. Thus, Elizabeth Stalter Birkey's son, John, did not marry Edith Kelso. The husband of Elizabeth Kelso was John Burkey Jr., son of John Burkey and Magdalena Roggy ). “

Birth:
Holzbauerstochter von Gern (MBy 148)

Immigration:
Ship Adhimary

Buried:
Birki Cemetery (in middle of a field in Section 22)

Notes:

Married:
Just east of Munich

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]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Religion: Anabaptist
• USR1: Paralysis of the lungs

Notes:

Died:
At 78 years old

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Hofbesitzer In Germany (Estate/farm Possesser/owner)
• Religion: Mennonite
• PURC: 1802-1803, Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR
• PURC: 6 Aug 1830, Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR
• Immigration: 1842, New Orleans, LA - Then Tazewell Co. IL.

Notes:

Went to Bavaria in 1802. Owner of the grounds of the St. Theresa Cloister at Gern near Munich. Went to the USA with 8 children in 1842. One son, Jakob, stayed in Germany (page 248.) However, he probably only traveled with seven children, since Jakob stayed in Europe and Elizabeth immigrated with Christian Birki in 1851.

“At age 26, Heinrich Stalter II accompanied his widowed mother and two younger siblings, Johannes and Maria, to Upper Bavaria. From 1803 until 1806 it is unclear where they lived specifically, but it is thought that they initially went to an area near Donauworth, some 35 miles north of Munich. By 1807, Heinrich II was married to a woman named Jakobine Stalter. It is unclear whether her surname Stalter was only her married name or if Heinrich married a girl with the maiden name of Stalter. Heinrich II became owner of two estates of a former Catholic cloister located at Gern near Munich. (This area is 1.4 miles east of the center of downtown Munich today. The abbey that was subsequently returned to the Catholic church is now the Kloster St. Theresa). The estates became central habitation points for Heinrich's siblings. His brothers, Johannes, Jacob, and Josef all lived at the estates at one time. Heinrich and Jacobina had a son, Jakob, born July 22, 1807. Over the next 35 years, Heinrich and Jacobina raised a family (nine children) and successfully operated their estates. In operating their lands, they employed a number of Amish workers. Among these were Valentine Birkey and Nicholas Augstein (Eigsti) although their involvement in the operations is vague. There were a number of marriages among the families of the Stalters, Birkeys and Augsteins. By 1842, Jacobina had died. Several of Heinrich's children had already left Bavaria for America. Heinrich disposed of his assets in Germany and, with several of his children, emigrated to America. Although the passenger list with Heinrich's emigration data has not been located, Guth reports his emigration occurred in 1842. What is known is that he after he arrived in Illinois, he lived with various family members, including his daughter, Catherina Stalter Yotty in Tazewell County in 1850. There is no historic evidence that he purchased any real property in America, not unexpected given his advanced age at the time he immigrated. He died sometime between 1852 and 1860 in Tazewell County, Illinois and is buried in the Birki Cemetery, just north of Groveland. His daughter, Elizabeth, was the second wife of Christian Birki on whose farm the Birki Cemetery is located. “

While in Bavaria, Heinrich was one of the signatories to a letter sent March 18, 1811, to King Maximilian I. Joseph (ruler from 1806-1825). In it the “Elders of the Menonists” of the dairy farm Oberndorf, appealed to the King for permission to hire their own private instructors to educate their children in their own catechism, since he had allowed them freedom of religion. But “some of the community have received legal orders to send their children to school a good half hour away.”

The answer came to them on Sept. 11, 1811, that “attendance of the local school remained compulsory, but the Mennonite children were not compelled to participate in religious instruction.”

Others signing the letter were: Christian Güngerich, Christian Bürcky, Johannes Bächler.

Birth:
Kirschbacherhof

PURC:
Awarded “outright” ownership of the cloister of St. Theresa at Gern by Max Joseph of Bavaria.
Elector Max IV Joseph signed a lease in July 1803 for the “Ditzschen Hof” in Gern at Nymphenburg to the ”Mennonite Stalter the older.”

PURC:
Heinrich buys from the Bavarian Queen Friederike Wilhelmine Caroline von Bayern, widow of the late King of Bavaria, the Holzbauer property: house No. 2 with 155 daily work of 2.720 guilders. In the emigration documents Heinrich has sold his property in 1841 for 10,766 guilders. (A Bavarian daily work has 3407 sqm = 36,672.64 sqft)?

Immigration:
According to Herbert Holly research, Heinrich Stalter had considered the idea of emigrating, but his wife was against it even though three children were already living in the USA. It was only after the death of his wife that Heinrich made the decision to emigrate with his family. He applied to emigrate on August 28, 1841, which was approved.




Buried:
Birki Cemetery, Groveland Twp., Section 22: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2596053/birki-cemetery/map#share_email

Heinrich married Jakobine Stalter about 1806. Jakobine was born about 1790; died on 11 Oct 1834 in Bavaria, GR. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: 50
• Religion: Mennonite

Notes:

Died:
at 44 years of age

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Farmer at Tenscherhof in 1750
• Reference Number: 61
• Religion: Mennonite
• Residence: 1750, Sarralbe, Moselle, FR
• Residence: 1770, Homburg, Saarland, GR
• Residence: Abt 1776, Zweibrücken, Rheinland-Pfalz, GR
• Residence: 1777, Sarralbe, Moselle, FR
• Residence: Abt 1802-1803, Gern, Munich, Bavaria, GR

Notes:

Heinrich was leaseholder on Kirschbacherhof (near Zweibrrücken, GR), a very old and sizable ducal estate which is known from documentary sources as early as 1295. The original buildings were destroyed during the Revolution and the present ones were rebuilt in the early 1800s.
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“ Henry Stalter, born in 1725 in Zweibrücken, was a farmer there since at least 1750 when his wife gave birth to a child named Christian, and that first wife died before 1776. Since that year, his second wife, Catherine Imhoff gave birth to two son to Homburg Saar, Henry named the youth, and Jacques (quoted above at Haras). The family is back at Tenscherhof in 1777, year of birth of a daughter. Two daughters died in 1794 aged 23 years, and Henry Stalter, father, dies Tenscherhof, February 23, 1800.“


A Brief History of The Kirschbacher Hof and the Ducal Family That Owned It

“The Kirschbacher Hof estate was the birthplace of our ancestor, Heinrich Stalter. This estate is located on the western edge of present-day Germany, near the city of Zweibrücken, close to Luxembourg and Lorraine, France.

“This estate is very old and is documented back to 1295. Duke Johann I purchased it at the end of the 1500s and gave it to his hunting master Christian von Bernstein. It was he, too, who built the Kirschbach mill.

“In 1737, the widowed Countess Palatine Caroline, née Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken, as ruling sovereign and guardian over her minor son Christian, bought the estate for 12600 guilders and leased it to the Mennonite Heinrich Stalter. Historians consider her an especially prudent and active sovereign.

“The members of the ducal family preferred to stay at this estate during hunting. The grandsons of the Duke’s mother, the Counts Palatine Karl and Max, and the Counts of Forbach, Christian and Willhelm, were frequent hunting guests and, in this way became acquainted with the tenant Heinrich Stalter, which later proved to be advantageous for the Stalter family.

“In 1762, Duke Christian IV took over the estate from his mother and granted it to his sons. Then Duke Karl II August seized the estate again and donated it as perviously mentioned, to his wife Amilie.

“During the French Revolution (started in 1789 and lasting about a quarter of a century), French troops moved across the border into German territory and set fire to the estate. (The French Revolution was about eliminating the ruling class so estates such as this became targets.) Heinrich Stalter and his family were forced to leave the estate and find temporary shelter on another estate, the Bickenaschbacher Hof, where Heinrich’s eldest son, Christian Stalter, was living.”

At the beginning of 1800 the family moved to Bavaria, near Munich, living on property in Gern near the Nymphenburg palace.

Heinrich was a friend of King Maximillian I Joseph of Bavaria. He is known to have at least six children, but probably had four more. Hermann Guth read documents in the archives in Neuburg telling how Heinrich complained to neighbors and acquaintances that a monestary at Thierhaupten (near Hemerten) was sold for too low a price. The story reached King Max, who insisted that the price be increased. He trusted Heinrich's judgement enough to act upon it.

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Birth:
(an hour away from Grostenquin/Linstroff)

Residence:
Tencherhof estate--son Christian born there

Residence:
Lingenhof estate--son Josef born there

Residence:
Kirschbacherhof: Three children born there: Heinrich, Johannes and Maria

Residence:
Tenscherhof

Died:
Tenscherhof

Heinrich married Katharina Imhoff before 1770. Katharina was born in 1744. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: 62
• Religion: Mennonite
• Residence: 1802, Bavaria, GR

Notes:

Katherina was Heinrich's second wife. The first is not known.

Residence:
Left with her children for Bavaria after Heinrich’s death