| Notes |
- Obit: Gospel Herald - May 6, 1920 - page 111
Birky. - Bishop John C. Birkey died from a complication of diseases Apr. 19, 1920, at his home near Hopedale, Ill.; aged 71 y. 2 m. 15 d. He was born in Tazewell Co., Ill., Feb. 4, 1849. Married to Magdalena Zimmer, Jan. 25, 1874, who died near Selden, Kans., Oct. 29, 1893. September 24, 1896, he was married to Lizzie E. Nafziger, who survives him. His descendants are 4 daughters, 8 sons, and 19 grandchildren. He was received into the Amish Mennonite Church in 1866, ordained to the ministry in September, 1877, and Bishop in July, 1890. The burial services were held Friday, Apr. 23, conducted by Samuel Gerber, of Pekin, Ill., and others. He was loved and esteemed by all who knew him, being of a meek disposition, and untiring in his efforts for the good of his fellowman. His faithful service, devotion to Christ and the Church, are well worth patterning after. He was well known throughout the churches of the Middle West and his counsels in congregation and Conference were always respected as wise and worthy. To know him was to love him. While he will be greatly missed, we cherish his memory and believe that his helpful influence in the Church will continue to live for years to come.
John C. Birky, ordained a bishop in 1890, was for many years a leader in the Western District Amish Mennonite Conference. He served as bishop of the Hopedale, IL. congregation from 1896 to 1924.
“If one were to put into a single sentence what folks remember most about him [John] it would be: his long, beautiful gray beard; his love for the brother; his ability to settle disputes and his sense of humor. His life is best summarized by the last statements of his obituary in the May 6, 1920 Gospel Herald:
He was loved and esteemed by all who knew him, being of meek disposition, and untiring in his efforts for the good of his fellow man. His faithful service, devotion to Christ and the church, are well worth patterning after....To know him was to love him. While he will be greatly missed, we cherish his memory and believe that his helpful influence in the church will continue to live for years to come.”
Notes for JOHN C. BIRKY:
The following taken from "A Brief Account of the History, Ancestry & Descendants of the John C. Birky Family."
John C. Birky, the fourth child of Christian and Katherine, was born on February 4, 1849 in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois. This has been called the Dillon Creek area. This is near the present town of Tremont.
On January 25, 1874, John married Magdalena Zimmer. Information on her family is not at hand. She was born October 3, 1853. They lived in the southern part of Elm Grove Township until 1884, when they moved to Kansas. During this time these children were born to them: Benjamin (lived only two years), Samuel, Emma (died in 1901), Jacob and Katrina.
As with other pioneers of their day, lands to the west seemed to offer greater opportunities for them and their children. In 1884 a number of families including some of John's brothers moved to Decatur County, Kansas, locating near the town of Oberlin. At that time there was a town called Lund where they settled, but the only remains of Lund was an old church building and a nearby cemetery,as of 1960 when we tried to trace their travels.
On September 6, 1887, Brother Birky was called by lot to serve as minister of the Sheldon American Mennonite Congregation. This was the beginning of a special ministry for which he is remembered and loved, a ministry filled with love, suffering and searching. He was ordained to this special and high calling by Brother Joseph Slagel of Milford, Nebraska. In July of 1890, he was chosen by lot to be bishop, and was ordained to this office by Brother David Zook. It was this office which demanded so much of his patience, love, energy and time. From this time onward, he was known as Bishop Birky by the churches surrounding the church which he served each Sunday.
In the years that he lived in Kansas, six children were born to him and Maggie. They were; Magdalena, in 1887; Christian, in 1889; John (lived only five days); Bertha; and last a set of twins, of which only the boy, Levi, survived.
On October 29, 1893, Brother Birky was again painfully reminded of the insecurity of this life. His young wife, forty years of age, the mother of eight living children, departed from this earthly home. It must have been a time of real heart-searching and the seeking of God's will.
Meanwhile the Lord was working out His purposes in Illinois. In the church at Hopedale, Illinois, Bishop Christian Nafziger was getting older. His days of service to the church were drawing to a close. Realizing this fact he believed it would be good if another was ordained. In 1896 he requested that John C. Birky come and serve with him.
Brother Birky responded to the request of Bishop Nafziger and in the same year he came to Hopedale by himself. It was in the first few months at Hopedale that he courted and married Lizzie E. Grieser Nafziger whose first husband, Joseph Nafziger, had previously passed away. They were united in holy matrimony on September 24, 1896, by the bride's first father-in-law, Bishop Christian Nafziger. Brother Birky not only gained a wife and mother, but three additional children as well, Christian, Daniel B. and William.
Immediately following the wedding Brother Birky left for Kansas by train to get the rest of his family of six children, Sam and Jake having returned to Illinois in 1894.
For the trip back to Illinois, Brother Birky prepared a covered wagon with all the necessary provisions they could take. He decided that the four oldest children, Emma, Katy, Maggie and Christian along with their uncle Sam Zimmer would make the trip in this wagon while he and the two youngest children, Bertha and Levi, would go by train. The wagon party took with them dried meat, pickles, crackers and various foodstuffs and an oil stove to cook on. This supply lasted for only a few days and the food used after this had to be bought. Sleeping facilities were made out of a spring and mattress on different parts of the wagon for the girls and Chris and Uncle Sam. During the day a road cart pulled by a pony was used by the girls to ride in. A supply of six horses kept the wagon moving toward Illinois.
Back in Illinois the family was getting anxious. Time was drawing out, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks. Everyone was becoming uneasy. No one knew how they would receive word even if something did happen. Everyone knew that there was nothing to do but wait patiently upon the Lord. Finally one day in October the weary travelers arrived. The family praised and thanked God for His goodness and protection since their beginning in September.
A new home was begun. For the Birky children it meant a new mother and new brothers. For the Nafziger children it meant a new head of the household and new brothers and sisters. For Father it meant added mouths to feed; but there was the great blessing of a mother to nurse and kiss the knocks of the daily struggle of their children. For Mother, it too was added responsibility, but there was the joy of a new relationship which makes the family complete.
To seal the new family more closely together the Lord added a girl and four boys. They belonged just as much to the Nafzigers as to the Birkys and just as much to the Birkys as the Nafzigers. They were Elizabeth, Albert, John, Menno and Simon.
In thinking back over the life of this man who was my father, I am tremendously impressed again with the Christian motives and principles that governed his life and guided his decisions. I can certainly praise the Lord for such an inheritance.
-Simon G. Birky [3]
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1849 - 1920 (71 years)
