Nicholas Augustin (Augstin) (Eigsti-Eigstein) b. 1779 Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, FR d. 1 Feb 1852 Kirchdorf, Bavaria, GR: The Schrock-Birkey Connection
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Nicholas Augustin (Augstin) (Eigsti-Eigstein)

Male 1779 - 1852  (73 years)


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  • Name Nicholas Augustin (Augstin) (Eigsti-Eigstein)  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] 
    Birth 1779  Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, FR Find all individuals with events at this location  [7] 
    Gender Male 
    CLER Y 
    Occupation Estate manager, farmer 
    Religion Mennonite 
    USR1 Herzwassersucht - cardiac dropsy 
    Death 1 Feb 1852  Kirchdorf, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    • 1852 Kirchdorf church register. He died at noon and was buried on Feb 3 in Kirchdorf in the grave belonging to the farm.
    Burial 3 Feb 1852  Kirchdorf, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    • In the grave belonging to the farm
    Person ID I6547  Schrock-Birkey Connection
    Last Modified 8 Jan 2024 

    Father Christian Augustin (Augsti-Augster),   b. Abt 1758   d. 13 Jun 1829 (Age ~ 71 years) 
    Mother Elisabeth Eymann,   b. Abt 1757   d. 18 Feb 1820 (Age ~ 63 years) 
    Marriage 1780  [8] 
    Family ID F6059  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Barbara Gascho,   b. 10 Nov 1800, Desseling, Bas-Rhin, FR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 26 Dec 1880, Tiskilwa, Bureau Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 80 years) 
    Marriage 1822  Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Maria Eigsti,   b. 3 Feb 1823, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 17 Jan 1904, IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 80 years)
     2. Barbara Augustin (Eigsti?),   b. 25 Sep 1827, Unterweilbach, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 6 Aug 1911, Milford, Seward Co., NE Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 83 years)
     3. Katharina Augustin (Eigsti),   b. ? 1825, Unterweilbach, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 11 Feb 1891, Hennepin, Putnam Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 66 years)
     4. Joseph Augustin (Eigsti),   b. 29 Apr 1824, Pellheim, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 16 Dec 1899, Woodford Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 75 years)
     5. Christian Augustin (Eigsti),   b. 2 Feb 1832, Pellheim, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 5 Mar 1903, Morton, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 71 years)
     6. Jacob Augustin (Eigsti),   b. 21 Aug 1833, Pellheim, Munich, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 5 Mar 1914, Middlebury, Elkart Co., IN Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 80 years)
     7. Magdalena Augustin (Eigsti),   b. 22 Oct 1835, Pellheim, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Mar 1913, Pekin, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 77 years)
     8. Jacobena (Phebe) Eigsti,   b. 7 Aug 1838, Pellheim, Munich, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 25 Nov 1913, Tiskilwa, Bureau Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 75 years)
     9. Veronica (Franike, Fannie) Eigsti (Augustin),   b. 12 Apr 1840, Pellheim, Munich, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 9 Nov 1921, Pekin Twp., Tazewell Co., IL, Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 81 years)
     10. Elizabeth Augustin (Eigsti),   b. 14 Aug 1841   d. 20 Aug 1841 (Age 0 years)
     11. Johannes Augustin (Eigsti),   b. 22 Aug 1845, Munich, Bavaria, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 8 Jun 1925, Milford, Seward Co., NE Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 79 years)
    Family ID F4551  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 12 Oct 2022 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 1779 - Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, FR Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 1822 - Bavaria, GR Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 1 Feb 1852 - Kirchdorf, Bavaria, GR Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - 3 Feb 1852 - Kirchdorf, Bavaria, GR Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • Nicholas owned a large farm near Munich and was also a preacher of the Mennonite church.

      “Nikolaus and his family moved from Strasbourg in Alsace to Unterweilbach near Dachau. Later they leased the castle farm in Pellheim. Other Amish families and individuals were also in the neighborhood. For example, the families of Christian and Valentin Birki who owned properties in Arzbach. Christian Habecker's Amish family also lived there for three years as subtenants of Christian Birki. Also tenants in this area were the Zehr and Hiser families, all of whom were named in the Pellheim parish register. Jakob Müller was a farmhand in Pellheim, Christian Gascho and his wife Maria née Güngerich in Pellheim, Georg Hochstettler farmhand in Arzbach, the siblings Johann, Barbara & Valentin Ackermann also in Arzbach and Anna Zwalter (Schowalter), “Austräglerin” or elderly farm woman in Pellheim. We may assume that all of the people named in Pellheim were employed by Nickolaus Augustin or lived on the farm. According to the church register, Christian Gascho was the subtenant of Nikolaus Augustin on the estate in Pellheim. The same was the case with Christian and Katharina Jotter (née Augsburger).

      “Nikolaus Augustin must have been a very good farmer, because in the Staatsarchiv I found an application for a certificate of property by the Pellheim community dated 21 May 1841 when he left his lease there. It records what he had in terms of cash, agricultural property, and equipment and livestock, as well as outstanding debts from creditors.” [Totaling 16,174 Guilders]

      “Following are the names of local leaders of the community who gave attestations to Nikolaus’ wealth and reputation: Eduard Count Sprety, Landlord of Weilbach; Franz Mayer, mayor, community of Pellheim; Dachau regional court.”


      Information taken from Eigsti Genealogy Book.
        Nicholas, a farmer, owned a large farm in Germany.  He was also a preacher in the Mennonite Church.  The children received training in the home which produces industrious and faithful citizens.  Being instructed in the faith of their parents, they accepted Christ as their Saviour in their youth.  Nicholas died at about 50 years of age in Munich, Germany.  Elizabeth, the youngest daughter, contracted dipthiria and died from the disease in 1849, at approximately 7 years of age.

        In Germany, the law of conscription required all young men to serve three years in military duty.  The family left a comfortable, prosperous farm to come to America, suffering the privations of pioneer life.  They came not for financial gain, but to escape militarism, believing that it was not in accordance with the teachings of Holy Scriptures.

        The first to come to America, was Joseph Burkey.  He lived for one year in Tazewell Co., Illinois, then returned to Germany and married Miss Barbara Eigsti, in 1847.  The following year Joseph Burkey with his new bride, Barbara and her brother, Christian, came to America and settled in Tazewell Co., Illinois.  Following the death of Nicholas Augstien, his widow Barbara and the remaining children joined the family in America.  The trip was made in small wooden vessels, taking 56 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  They landed in New York City, proceeded by rail to Chicago and by canal to LaSalle, Illinois, on by boat to Hennepin, and by team to Bureau County, Illinois.

        Barbara Augstien owned land two miles south of Morton, Illinois.  A deed was recorded on August 19, 1853 in Tazewell County.  The land was purchased for the sum of $5,000.  Barbara Augstien is recorded in both the 1870 and 1880 federal census as residing with her youngest son, John Eigsti.  On December 26, 1880, she passed away at the age of 80.  She was buried in the Willow Springs Mennonite Church Cemetery, near Tiskilwa, Illinois.

      ——————————
      “In 1818 Nicholas Augstein left Strasbourg and moved to Gern (near Munich) with a number of other families. The family name was changed to Eigsti after resettling near Munich and it has been thought the cause could have been an anti-semitic climate.” [1, 3]

  • Sources 
    1. [S398] Joseph Staker, Amish Mennonites in Tazewell Co.

    2. [S723] Our Ancestors - ancestry of Michael Swalter and Elizabeth Nafziger.

    3. [S1309] Herbert Holly (translated by Sem Sutter), The Families of Nikolaus Augustin and Joseph Augustin in Upper Bavaria.

    4. [S1280] Nikolaus and Barbara Gascho Augustin’s children’s birth records.

    5. [S1309] Herbert Holly (translated by Sem Sutter), The Families of Nikolaus Augustin and Joseph Augustin in Upper Bavaria, This source gives details of the family in Dachau region on Counmt von Sprety’s farm estate in Pellheim for 11 years.

    6. [S1289] Mary Ann (Augsburger) Kristiansen Eng, People of Landes Cemetery: A summary (Part II) .

    7. [S403] Brumbaugh/Saltzman Family Tree.

    8. [S103] Steven R. Estes, Illinois Ministers Attending Amish Ministers’ Meetings of 1862-1878.


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