| Notes |
- Obit: Waukegan Daily Sun, Tuesday, February 21, 1928
Andrew J. Burkey of Zion passed away at his apartment in Zion Home Sunday evening about eleven o'clock. Mr. Burkey has been a highly respected member of the community for more than twenty years and his death from anthrax, commonly called carbuncles, is a loss to the community. He leaves behind to mourn his loss his wife, Lena, and five sons and five daughters, three of whom reside in Zion. They are, Mrs. Fred Fleeger, Mrs. Burton Innes and Sam Burkey. Another son, Simon, lives in North Chicago, where he is the proprietor of a butcher shop. Services will be held from the branch tabernacle number eight Thursday afternoon at two thirty, Apostle Neal officiating. The body will be laid to rest in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
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“Si Burkey was born into a Mennonite family 91 years ago, 1894, one of 12 children. His family were farmers around Pekin (Tazewell County), Illinois. They moved to Kansas where Si was born, after a number of years and following a four year drought and the loss of crops, the family moved to Walnut (Bureau County), Illinois. It was during these years that a younger sister, Marie, became ill. The family had heard of a healing minister in Chicago, named John Alexander Dowie. Marie elected to go to Chicago and be healed, which she was. She had an Uncle who lived in Zion when Dowie built the city, Peter Ropp, he was also made an elder in the original church, Marie came to Zion and lived with them. Elder Ropp appealed to Andrew Burkey, Si's father, to come to Zion. Andrew after his wife, Lena's urging, moved his family to Zion around 1905. They were members of the Christian Catholic Church where Si sang in the choir and was employed in the Zion Industries.
“Si's father became disenchanted with some of Zion's practices and decided to take his family to Warren, Wisconsin. Si was then 12 years old, where they lived for 3 to 4 years. After which the family moved back to Walnut, Illinois where they farmed for 5 to 6 years and later returned to Zion. Si worked as a sausage maker and meat cutter in the Zion Store, where he met Eva Brown. After a few years Si courted Eva, who now lived on the family farm outside of Zion near Wadsworth, Illinois.”
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Andrew and Lena were originally Amish-Mennonite. They were married 29 Jan 1871 in Tazewell County, Illinois. They farmed many years in the area around Pekin, Illinois. They moved for a time to Decatur County, Kansas, but after several years of farming there and four years of continual drought the moved their family to Walnut, Bureau County, Illinois.
Sometime after moving to Walnut, their daughter Marie became ill. The family had heard of a healing minister in Chicago name John Alexander Dowie. Marie elected to go to Chicago and be healed, which she was. Marie had an uncle, Peter Ropp, her mother's sister Anna's husband, who lived in Zion when Dr. Dowie built the city (Peter also became one of the original elders of the Zion church). Marie came to Zion and lived with her aunt and uncle. Elder Ropp appealed to Andrew Burkey to come to Zion. Upon Lena's urging, Andrew moved his family to Zion around 1905. They became members of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion and Andrew was employed in the Zion Industries.
(Some of this information provided to Cathlene J. Landis by Andrew's granddaughter, Lorna Burkey Bieneman.)
In addition to the eleven children listed here at Find A Grave for Andrew and Lena Burkey, they had another son who lived to adulthood, John Fred Burkey, born 12 Sep 1884, in Tazewell County, Illinois and died 22 July 1974 in Alameda, Alameda County, California. His place of burial is unknown at this time.
Census records indicate that Andrew and Lena were the parents of 15 children, 12 of them living to adulthood. The names of their other three children are unknown at this time. [2, 3]
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1850 - 1928 (77 years)
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