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John Leonard Bodwin

Male 1878 - Abt 1919  (40 years)


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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  John Leonard Bodwin was born on 24 Feb 1878 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin (son of John Bodwin and Emma Ella Benkelman); died about 1919.

    Notes:

    Jane Zimmerman shows that he married Annie MASHER.


Generation: 2

  1. 2.  John Bodwin was born on 20 Oct 1850 in Brussels, Belgium (son of Pierre Joseph "Peter" Beoudoin); died on 2 Dec 1929 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

    Notes:

    The 1900 census showed John Bodwin as a farmer and that he came to this country from Belgium in 1857 at the age of 6. Peter Bodwin, father of John, resided with his son at the time of his death and was age 86. Jane Zimmerman writes that after John's barn, near Mishicot, burned down, he worked as a night watchman at the Shipyards. He lost several fingers during his employment, for which he was never compensated.

    Manitowoc Herald News
    2 December 1929

    John Bodwin, Pioneer of County, Dies

    A heart ailment which has kept ...to his bed since last Thursday, at 10:30 o'clock this morning proved fatal to John Bodwin, former Gibson and Mischicot resident, who lived in Manitowoc county for 73 of his 79 years. Death occurred at the family home at 310 N. Ninth street.

    Born near Brussels, Belgium, on October 20, 1850, Mr. Bodwin moved with his parents to the town of Gibson when six years of age. He married Miss Emma Benkelman of Manitowoc on May 22, 1877, the couple taking up their residence in Gibson. Twenty-seven years ago he purchased a farm at Kings Bridge, disposing of it 11 years ago when he moved to Manitowoc where he was employed at the shipyards. The deceased was a lifelong member of the Catholic church and was a member of the Holy Name Society of the Sacred Heart Church here.

    In addition to his widow, he is survived by six of ten children. Mrs. James Cahill of this city, Mrs. Henry Hobbins of Milwaukee, four sons, Walter and Richard of Manitowoc, Arthur of Grand Haven, and Peter of Milwaukee, two brothers Charles and Louis of Chippewa Falls and 13 grandchildren.

    Funeral services have not been completed but will be announced tomorrow. Burial will take place at Mischicot.

    (Courtesy of Jane Zimmerman, transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, January 2009)

    (Research):Census Listings:

    1910 Census
    Wisconsin, Manitowoc County, Mishicott Town
    Enumerated 1 June 1900
    SD 3 ED 82 Sheet 11B
    Boudwin, John Head W M Oct 1851 48 M 24 Belgium Belgium Bel
    gium 1857 42 Farmer
    Boudwin, Emma Wife W F Feb 1860 40 M 24 10/9 Wisc Germany Ire
    Boudwin, Mary Dtr W F Oct 1879 20 S Wisc Belgium Wisc Housework
    Boudwin, Peter Son W M Apr 1881 19 S Wisc Belgium Wisc Day Laborer
    Boudwin, Emma Dtr W F Dec 1882 17 S Wisc Belgium Wisc Housework
    Boudwin, Arthur Son W M Sept 1885 14 S Wisc Belgium Wisc At School
    Boudwin, Walter Son W M Oct 1888 11 S Wisc Belgium Wisc At School
    Boudwin, Edward Son W M Jan 1891 9 S Wisc Belgium Wisc At School
    Boudwin, Richard Son W M Jan 1894 6 S Wisc Belgium Wisc
    Boudwin, Cora Dtr W F Oct 1897 2 S Wisc Belgium Wisc
    Boudwin, Peter Father W M Feb 1814 86 Wd Belgium Belgium Belgium

    1920 Census
    Wisconsin, Manitowoc County, Manitowoc City
    Enumerated 13 Jan 1920
    SD 5 ED 103 Sheet 9B
    310-157-178
    Bodwin, John Head M W 70 M 1856 Nat 1877 Belgium/French Belgium/French Belgium/French
    Bodwin, Emma Wife F W 60 M Wisc Germany/German Ireland/English
    Bodwin, Peter Son 38 Wd Wisc Belgium/French Wisc Laborer
    Bodwin, Walter Son 30 S Wisc Belgium/French Wisc Laborer
    Bodwin, Richard Son 26 S Wisc Belgium/French Wisc Painter
    Bodwin, Cora Dtr 22 S Wisc Belgium/French Wisc
    Bodwin, Clifford GrndSon 12 S Wisc Belgium/French Wisc

    John married Emma Ella Benkelman on 22 May 1877 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Emma (daughter of Johann Leonhard "Leonard" Benkelman and Jane McCormick) was born on 18 Feb 1860 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; died on 14 Jan 1937 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  2. 3.  Emma Ella BenkelmanEmma Ella Benkelman was born on 18 Feb 1860 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin (daughter of Johann Leonhard "Leonard" Benkelman and Jane McCormick); died on 14 Jan 1937 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

    Notes:

    Jane Zimmerman writes that Emma Ella suffered from rheumatism for many years & was in a wheel chair for about the last 19 years of her life. She was always cheerful though, and did a lot of tatting and other handwork. Jane also supplied the following obituary of Emma, published in the Friday, January 15, 1937 issue of the Manitowoc Herald Times.

    Dies at Home of Daughter

    Services for Mrs. Ella Bodwin To Be Held Monday

    Mrs. Ella Bodwin, 78, life-long resident of ths county and city, died early today at the home of her daughter, Mrs. James Cahill, 310 North Ninth Street. She had been ill for several months.

    Funeral services will be held Monday, at 8:30 a.m. from the Wallaws, Urbanek and Schlat funeral home and at 9 o'clock from the Sacred Heart Church. Interment will follow at the Catholic cemetery at Mishicot.

    Born here in 1858

    Mrs. Bodwin, whose maiden name was Ella Benkelman, was born in this city in 1858. In 1877 she was married to John Bodwin. They located on a farm in Gibson and later moved to Kings Bridge. Eighteen years ago Mr. and Mrs. Bodwin came to the city to reside. Mr. Bodwin died in 1931.

    Mrs. Bodwin was a member of the Women's Relief Corps and the Altar society of the Holy Cross congregation at Mishicot.

    Survivors are three sons, Richard and Walter of this city and Peter, Milwaukee; two daughters, Mrs. Cahill, city, and Mrs. Henry Hobbins, Milwaukee; ?? grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

    The body may be viewed at the funeral home from Saturday noon until the hour of the services Monday.

    (Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, January 2009)

    Children:
    1. 1. John Leonard Bodwin was born on 24 Feb 1878 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; died about 1919.
    2. Mary E. "Mayme" Bodwin was born on 24 Oct 1879 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    3. Peter Joseph Bodwin was born on 15 Apr 1881 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; and died.
    4. Emma Bodwin was born on 13 Dec 1882 in Wisconsin; died on 15 Dec 1905 in Kingsbridge, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Holy Cross II Cemetery, Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    5. Arthur Bodwin was born on 17 Sep 1884 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; died on 9 Dec 1935 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; was buried in Holy Cross II Cemetery, Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    6. John F. Bodwin was born on 23 Sep 1885 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; and died.
    7. Walter Rudolph Bodwin was born on 17 Aug 1888 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; died on 30 Oct 1944 in Wisconsin; was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    8. Edward Bodwin was born on 26 Jan 1891 in Wisconsin; died about 1917; was buried in Holy Cross II Cemetery, Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    9. Richard Alfred Bodwin was born on 14 Jan 1894 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; died on 15 Mar 1969 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    10. Cora Bodwin was born on 28 Feb 1897 in Wisconsin; and died.


Generation: 3

  1. 4.  Pierre Joseph "Peter" Beoudoin was born in Feb 1814 in Belgium; and died.

    Notes:

    Alternate spellings BAUDUIN, BEAUDOIN, BODWIN. Jane Zimmerman writes that her Uncle Leonard always said that Emma Ella Benkelman, the daughter-in-law of Peter Bodwin, was the one who changed the spelling of the Bodwin name, most likely in an attempt to Americanize it. As a primary school teacher, she probably simplified Beaudoin to Bodwin to reflect the phonetic pronunciation.

    The maiden name of his wife may be Catherine Nouvellfosse, but this is not yet proven.

    Children:
    1. 2. John Bodwin was born on 20 Oct 1850 in Brussels, Belgium; died on 2 Dec 1929 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

  2. 6.  Johann Leonhard "Leonard" BenkelmanJohann Leonhard "Leonard" Benkelman was born on 5 Jul 1828 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany (son of Johann Leonhard Benkelmann and Maria Dorothea St?hle); died on 25 May 1913 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

    Notes:

    Leonhard, named for his father, was the trailblazer of the family. Parish records in Waldhausen show "ist 1849 Ausgewandert," meaning he emigrated in 1849. This makes him the first of the ten children [who lived into maturity] of Leonhard and Dorothea Benkelmann to leave Germany for America. Every one of his siblings eventually followed him.

    BonnieMargaret Jacobs wrote that "as in all areas of German life, there were strict requirements to be met in order to be free to leave. The emigrant had to obtain certificates from the tax collector, the pastor and from school officials that he was free from taxes, tithes of other debts. The emigrant also had to renounce their citizenship, and have a specified amount of money to sustain them in their new country until they could establish themselves." (p. 80)

    Leonard settled first in Lancaster, New York, but sometime after 1851 moved to Wisconsin, taking his newly arrived younger brother Johannes with him west. They lived first in Milwaukee, and later Leonard alone moved to Manitowac county, where he spent the rest of his life. BonnieMargaret wrote that "pamphlets about Wisconsin had been prepared to be circulated amoung the villages back home in Germany. The Wisconsin Germans were anxious to create a German community with a German culture and they aggresively recruited immigrants to their area...The early settlers in Manitowac were primarily German, Swiss and Irish. They brought with them their cheese making skills and turned Wisconsin into the dairyland of the nation. But manufacture and shipbuilding developed quickly in Manitowoc, with its access through the Great Lakes to endless markets." (Jacobs, p. 1022)

    Leonard was a veteran of the Civil War, enlisting on 8 Sept 1861 for 3 years as a private in Company A, 1st Regiment, Mechanics Fusileers, though the company disbanded, and he was and discharged on 28 Jan 1862 at Camp Douglas, Illinois. BonnieMargaret Jacobs states that at the time of his enlistment, his occupation was listed as weaver. He reenlisted in 1865 for 1 year in Company D, 48th Regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and mustered out 19 February 1866 at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. BonnieMargaret Jacobs cites his Civil War Pension record as No. 696589, filed on 9 Oct 1890.

    His war record showed him as an engineer. The 1880 city directory listed him as the same.

    Leonhard appears to have remained in close contact with his family. The Cass City, Michigan paper had several articles over the years mentioning his visits. This brief article appeared one week after the death of Adam Benkelman. "Leonard Benkelman, from Wisconsin, brother of the late Adam Benkelman, is in town and will remain for some time." (Cass City Enterprise Published in Cass City, Mich., Jan. 6, 1898).

    A few years later, these articles also mention Leonard:

    Cass City Chronicle
    November 8, 1901

    Local Mentions

    A farewell party was given at Mrs. J. Schwegler's Monday evening in honor of her brother, Leonard and his niece Miss Cora Benkelman [daughter of Johannes Benkelman], who left for their respective homes in Manitowoc and Portage, Wisconisn, Tuesday.

    Cass City Chronicle
    October 30, 1908

    Local Mentions

    Leonard Benkelman of Manitowoc, Wis., is the guest of his sisters, Mrs. Louisa Striffler and Mrs. John Striffler and other relatives.

    A notice of his death was in the Friday, May 30, 1913 issue of the Cass City Chronicle:

    "Word has been received of the death of Leonard Benkelman, residing at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Clark* [nee Mary Jane Clancey] Sunday morning and was buried Wednesday. Mr. Benkelman was a brother of Mrs. M.M. Schwegler and the late Mrs. John Striffler and has visited Cass City a number of times.

    *It appears from the obituary published in the Manitowoc paper that Leonard actually died in the home of his other daughter, Ella Benkelman Bodwin.

    Leonhard's step-granddaughter also ended up in Cass City. Cora Horn (daughter of Mary Jane Clancey Horn Clark) married George Albert Striffler, a nephew of Leonhard's.

    Jane Zimmerman provided the following obituary of Leonard, published in the Manitowoc Daily Herald on May 30, 1913.

    Leonard Benkelman

    Manitowoc Citizen Well Known Among German Citizens here

    From Manitowoc (Wis.) Daily Herald

    While his comrades, assembled throughout the land for memorial services Sunday, listened to tributes to their deeds of valor, Leonard Benkelman, one of the best known veterans of the county, heard taps sounded and passed on, his death occuring at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Bodwin at Kings Bridge, due to infirmaties of age. Mr. Benkelman had been looking forward to the Memorial day services in which he had been a participant for years and the keenest disappointment shadowed his last hours when he realized that he could not survive to join with his comrades another year.

    Mr. Benkelman was born at Brech, Wuertenberg [BonnieMargaret Jacob's writes that Breech was just down and across the road from the Schneiderhof, both near B?rtlingen], Germany, July 5, 1828, and in 1848 came to America, locating at Lancaster, N.Y. where he remained two years and then came to this city where he has since resided.

    When the civil war broke out Mr. Benkelman responded to the call for volunteers and enlisted in what was known as the First regiment, Mechanic Fussillers, attached to Co. A of which Capt. W. Bates, a Manitowoc man, was in command. Later, after being honorably discharged, Mr. Benkelman enlisted with Co. D, Forty-eighth Wisconsin, and served with the comman in trying experiences on the western plains. He returned here after the war to make his home.

    Mr. Benkelman is survived by three children, Mrs. William Clark, of this city; William Benkelman, Marion, Wis., and Mrs. J. Bodwin, of Kings Bridge, sixteen grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. A brother, John Benkelman, Portage, and one sister, Mrs. M. M. Schwegler, Cass City, Mich. also survive. One sister preceded him just two weeks ago.

    Decedent was well known in the county and was universally esteemed.

    Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon from the Clark home, 410 Park Street, to St. James Episcopal church and interment will be at Evergreen.


    Cemetery records, from the Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Genealogy website:

    BENKLEMAN: [W2-150-3]-[Leonard Benkelman/bur. 05-27-1913/cause: adetic [aortic?] insufficiency/bur. on John Horn lot] (William/d. 25 May 1913/age 85/cause: arterial schlorosis/bur. Evergreen 28 May 1913/from record of St. James Epis. ch., Manitowoc)

    BENKELMANN: Jane............Aug. 23, 1894 Cem.#44, same name, same year *same, vol.4, p.234

    BENKELMANN: Leonard Benkelmann/Co. D. 48th Wis. Inf., ossw: Jane Benkelmann/1830-1894

    ossw: CLARKE/HORNE, next to: L. Benkelmann/Co. D/48 Wis. Inf.

    (Research):Census Information:


    1860 Census
    Wisconsin, Manitowoc County, First Ward
    8 June 1860
    Page 49 (bottom)/Page 50 (top)
    389-390
    Leonard Brinkleman 30 M Weaver Wurtemburgh
    Jane Brinkleman 29 F Ireland
    William Brinkleman 11 M Illinois
    Mary Brinkleman 8 F Wisc
    Frederick Brinkleman 3 M Wisc
    Emma Brinkleman 1 F Wisc
    Note: William and Mary are Jane's children from her first marriage

    1870 Census
    Wisconsin, Manitowac, First Ward
    17 June 1870, Stamped 192
    107-117
    Bingleman, Leonard 42 M W Carpenter Ireland (sic)
    Bingleman, Jane 40 F Keeping House Ireland
    Bingleman, William 21 M Grocery Store Ill
    Bingleman, Fred 15 M Wisc
    Bingleman, Emma 11 F Wisc

    Mary, age 18 is no longer living with her parents. It is possible that she moved to Brown County, Wisconsin, as this is where her daughter, Cora Horn, was born in 1871. On the 1870 Brown County, Wisconsin census, a 19 year old Mary HORAN, House Servant, born in Wisconsin, can be found. This may be Mary Clancey Benkelman, already married but living apart from her husband? Or it may be someone else entirely. Living two households away is a 25 year old George McCORMICK, a teamster from Ireland. McCORMICK is the maiden name of Mary's mother, also born in Ireland. However Jane Zimmerman, a descendant of Leonard and Jane Benkelman, notes that McCORMICK was/is a fairly common name, and she does not know of a connection between Jane McCormick Benkelman and George McCormick.


    1880 Census
    1st Ward, Manitowoc, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
    FHL Film 1255434 National Archives Film T9-1434
    Page 17
    RelationSexMarrRaceAgeBirthplace
    Leonhard BINGELMAN Self M M W 52 WURTEMBERG Occ: Engineer Fa: WURTEMBERG Mo: WURTEMBERG
    Jane BINGELMAN Wife F M W 50 IRE Occ: Keeping House Fa: IRE Mo: IRE


    1900 Census
    Wisconsin, Manitowoc, Manitowoc Ward 2
    9 June 1900
    SD 3 ED 72 Sheet 12B
    412-227-264
    Clark, William Hd W M May 1846 54 M18 NY England England Horse shoer
    Clark, Mary Wf W F Feb 1852 48 M18 4/3 Wisc Germ Ireland
    Clark, Cora Dtr W F Feb 1871 29 S Wisc Ny Wisc
    Clark, Walter Son W M Sept 1883 17 S Wisc Ny Wisc At School
    Clark, Warren Son W M June 1885 15 S Wisc NY Wisc At School
    Bingleman, Leonard Father In Law W M July 1828 72 Wd Germ Germ Germ Retired

    Johann married Jane McCormick on 19 Feb 1855 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Jane was born on 13 May 1830 in Ireland; died on 21 Aug 1894 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried on 23 Aug 1894 in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  3. 7.  Jane McCormickJane McCormick was born on 13 May 1830 in Ireland; died on 21 Aug 1894 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried on 23 Aug 1894 in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

    Notes:

    On the Mantiowoc, Wisconsin, genealogy website, she is referred to as "a young widow from Chicago." Her dates of birth and death are based her tombstone in the Evergreen Cemetery in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The actual death certificate shows August 23, 1894, which appears to actually be the date of her burial. Some sources show that her first husband was named Richard CLANCEY. BonnieMargaret Jacobs shows him as William Richard Clancey, and Jane as a daughter of John and Catherine McCormick, citing Manitowoc County Marriage Records, Vol. 1, Page 67.

    Her obituary, from the Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, website, follows:

    JANE BENKELMANN
    From Der Nord Westen, 30 Aug. 1894

    Death of Mrs. L. Binkelmann, an old resident of our city, last Fri. Burial was Sun. in the Catholic Cemetery.

    [Note: The newspaper was in error about the cemetery as well as the misspelled surname]

    Jane Benkelmann/bur. 08-23-1894/age 64 yrs./cause: exhaustion

    http://www.2manitowoc.com/44Bobit.html#benkelmannjane

    Notes:

    Married:
    BENKELMANN: Leonhard (also Leonard Benkelman) b: Wurtenburg, Germany res: Manitowoc p: Leonhard and Toladea Benkelmann m: 19 Feb. 1855 at Manitowoc to: Jane (McCormick)Clancey (a young widow from Chicago) p: John and Cath. McCormick

    source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tomanitowoc

    Jane Zimmerman writes that Leonard was quite easygoing, whereas Jane was hard to please.

    Children:
    1. William Richard Clancey Binkelman was born on 2 Mar 1848 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; and died.
    2. Mary Jane Clancey was born on 8 Feb 1852 in Wisconsin; died on 3 Jul 1916 in Wisconsin; was buried on 6 Jul 1916 in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    3. Friedrich Benkelman was born between 1856 and 1857 in Wisconsin; and died.
    4. 3. Emma Ella Benkelman was born on 18 Feb 1860 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; died on 14 Jan 1937 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Mishicot, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.


Generation: 4

  1. 12.  Johann Leonhard Benkelmann was born on 6 Feb 1796 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany (son of Johann Jakob Binkelmann, III and Maria Catharina Baur); died on 24 Feb 1848 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany.

    Notes:

    In a 1979 letter that Margaret-Bonnie Jacobs wrote to Ben Benkelman, Jr she said: "You may have heard from one source or another that I'm putting together rather a comprehensive history of the Benkelman family. To date, it's taken me most of my time just to track the original 10 immigrants and get them firmly placed and dated and documented. This year I am concentrating on the reach back to Germany. I have hired a genealogist there to see how far back we can go with the family before the mass emigration of the '50s. Just by collecting the data on the 10 immigrant children I have learned a great deal. All of the boys were artisans with trades. In Germany that usually meant long apprenticeships. Since Adam and his brothers and sisters were born in different villages I assume the father, Leonhard, was also a tradesman of some sort rather than a farmer."

    BonnieMargaret later concluded they were all actually born at the Schneiderhof, across from Breech, on the outskirts of B?rtlingen, and Parish records discovered later showed Leonhard's occupation as bricklayer

    In her 1981 unpublished manuscript, BonnieMargaret wrote that "On February 6, 1796 Johann Leonhard Benkelmann was born to Katharina Bauer, and according to the parish record, he was born at the Schneiderhof. The pastor dutifully recorded that he was unehelic (illegitimately) born and that he bore the name of his unehelic father, Johann Jacob Benkelmann of Pl?derhausen. BonnieMargaret indicated that His mother was refered to on Leonhard's and his wife Dorothea's family register page as "Maria Katharina, frueher des Johannes Haeller auf dem Schneiderhof Ehefrau geborene Bauerin." This means that she was then the wife of Johann Haeller, and was born Maria Bauer. (pp. 56-58)

    When Leonhard's father, Johann Jacob, married another woman the year after Leonhard's birth, he was first required to provide 75 of the 200 florins he had inheritied from his grandfather to his "Weibsbild" for the upbringing of his son born out of wedlock. (p. 58)

    Leonhard was only 2l when his stepfather died , and as a result became the head of his mother's household. He must have discharged all of his responsiblities admirably, because only five years later he was allowed to be married to Dorothea St?hle, the daughter of a respected citizen and farmer of B?rtlingen. (Jacobs, p. 70).

    On the Parish records, he is referred to as a "Bauer and Maurer"...farmer and bricklayer.

    After Leonhard's death early in 1848, each of his 10 children that had survived into maturity emigrated to the United States. The first to leave was his namesake son, Leonhard, in the summer of 1849, who was age 21. The last was eldest son, Friedrich, and he left in 1873 at age 50, taking a large group of family members with him.

    The Benkelmanns were not alone. A huge number of Germany left their homeland in and around 1848. This excerpt, from a website about the "The Origins of the Forty-Eighters" in Davenport, Iowa applies to the Benkelmann family as well, even though Leonhard and Dorothea's children instead settled in first in New York, and later Wisconsin, Michigan and Colorado, versus Iowa.

    Letters ... sent back to Germany were instrumental to channeling the influx of immigrants from Germany.....

    Historian Scott Christiansen explains the purpose of the letters:

    "They wanted to tell their friends back home how good it was in America. And they tended to exaggerate a little bit, because they were lonely and liked to have some of their compatriots come over and join them."

    The decision to emigrate from one's homeland is generally informed by two forces: the so-called push and pull forces. Letters from family and friends who had already settled in the new world certainly qualify as pull factors. Other such factors were the multitude of job opportunities, inexpensive, yet fertile cropland, and - especially important to the politically motivated Forty-Eighters - the guarantee of democratic liberties such as freedom of speech and expression.

    Many of the push factors are related to the causes of the German revolution. As the social and economic conditions in Germany worsened during the 1840s, many people were forced to look for new opportunities. [E]migration has become a matter of life or death, as one German newspaper put it. America with its promise of a new chance for everyone appealed to many Germans ready to emigrate. Reports from America, printed in German newspapers, underscored this notion. Iowa, for example, was described in 1847 as leaving little to be desired both to the productivity of its soil and the more bearable nature of its climate.

    While economic necessity might have been a major driving force for many to emigrate, political reasons also factored into the decision to leave the homeland. In fact, the Forty-Eighters are per definition political refugees who for the most part did not struggle financially. But one might argue that a majority of emigrants regarded both political circumstances and economic distress as making life in Germany unbearable. The causes for emigration thus intermingle in many cases.

    The strong early presence ...triggered a chain migration...in succeeding years. The term chain migration is defined by the Dictionary of Geography as [a] migration process which depends on a small number of pioneers, who make the first moves to set up a new home in a new place. They send information back home, and this encourages further migration from the originating area.

    BonnieMargaret Jacob's cited similar reasons in her manuscript, pointing out the decrease of demail for high-quality goods of the small town artisan, the reluctance of these artisians to move to cities to work in factories, the restrictive craftsman guild system that made it difficult to learn and advance in a trade, and the equally restrictive marriage laws.

    "The auswanderer went less to America to build something new than to regain and conserve something old...to till new fields and find new customers, true enough, but ultimately to keep the ways of life they were used to, which the new Europe seemed determined to destroy...people who traveled thousands of grim miles in order to keep their roots, their habits, their united families and the kind of future they wanted for their families. They did not wait passively for their roots to be broken, to be sure; yet they were conservatives, who acted radically in order to preserve, and who journeyed to another world to keep their homes." (Walker, Mack, GERMANY AND THE EMIGRATION 1816-1885, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1964, Page 69, as transcribed by BonnieMargaret Jacobs on pages 77 and 78 of her manuscript).

    Johann married Maria Dorothea St?hle on 20 Nov 1822 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany. Maria (daughter of Georg Friedrich St?hle and Anna Maria Leins) was born on 5 Jan 1800 in B?rtlingen, G?ppingen, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 22 Oct 1853 in Transit to America, Lost At Sea. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  2. 13.  Maria Dorothea St?hle was born on 5 Jan 1800 in B?rtlingen, G?ppingen, Donaukreis, W?rttemberg, Germany (daughter of Georg Friedrich St?hle and Anna Maria Leins); died on 22 Oct 1853 in Transit to America, Lost At Sea.

    Notes:

    On "January something" in 1983, Bonnie Jacobs wrote "A search for some years has finally yielded information for me. As you have probably heard, the last of the 10 Benkelman children to emigrate from Germany were the four girls and their mother [Dorothea, age 52, and daughters Dorothea age 23, Catharina, age 21, Maria, age 13, and Lena, age 7]. We had heard from family legends that the mother died at sea and I have pursued that information for years. I have finally retrieved it. It is a painstaking process to get the facts, but I finally found an obituary that identified the port of entry as Baltimore---a stroke of luck since Baltimore was one of the few American ports of entry that did have a Customs passenger list. I have retrieved the film from the Archives in Washington--but it has brought a new mystery. It is remarkable that finding the answer to one question almost always raises another. Missing from the party of four daughters and the mother is the second eldest daughter, Catharina. She was released from the Empire with the others on 20 September of 1853--but there is no record of her having arrived in Baltimore!

    At least I have a death date on the mother now. She died at sea on 22 October, barely a month into the voyage. The ship arrived in Baltimore on December 15. Can you imagine being packed into one of those filthy sailing vessels for six to nine weeks? Try to imagine the day to day living with no privacy, no way to bathe or attend to personal needs and only buggy, dried food to eat! Our ancestors suffered much. I will go and try to retrieve the Captain's actual report now that I know the ship and the Captain--to see if a cause of death is listed. Cholera was rampant that year, but I think it was not the cause since the part of the list I have seen shows only one other death during the voyage."

    BonnieMargaret Jacobs shows her, on her transcription of the familienregister page of the Benkelmann family, as a daughter of George Friedrich St?hle and Anna Maria REIK or RECH. However, Anna Maria REIK is actually the mother of Dorothea's daughter-in-law Catharina Schaufele, who married Dorothea's son Adam Benkelmann. Kathy Bonnell, on her transcription of G?ppingen church records, shows her mothers maiden name was LEINS. BonnieMargaret appears to have been simply confusing the two Anna Maria's. Additionally, the family register for the family of Georg Friedrich St?hle, listing his wife and children, shows his wife Anna Maria was born to Georg Friedrich Leins, a farmer.

    On the Oberant Welzheim Emmigrants list, 1818-1891, She is listed as Maria Dorothea, Witwe (widow) des Bauers Johann Leonhard Benkelmann von Schneiderhof, Gd. Waldhausen geb. den 5ten Januar 1800. Their guarantor was Johann Georg St?hle, Bauer von B?rtlingen.

    (BonnieMargaret's full source citation was: Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, "Verzeichnis der Auswanderung aus dem Oberamt Welzheim 1818-1891" F 214 B?schel 91 Fortlaufende Number 42 [or possibly 47] ).

    Notes:

    Married:
    BonnieMargaret and her husband Bruce visited Germany in September, 1980. In a letter to Ben and Avis dated October 13, 1980, she shared the following information "Then we were on to B?rtlingen, where Adam and Catherine were married. The church there was built in 1484 and is one of the most beautiful we saw anywhere. I decided to see the village of Breech--for no particular reason except I that I'd heard Elsie Anthes speak of it and it had turned up in various records. WE had no real family association there--but it was nearby. What a stroke of dumb luck! Without that decision we might never have found the Schneiderhof, where Adam and his siblings were born and lived until they emigrated. The Schneiderhof is not a town and is not on any map. It's just a cluster of about 4 houses and supporting buildings, just down and across the road from Breech, and if you were looking away for just a second, you'd miss the sign to it.

    I cannot tell you my excitement! ...There is nothing new there. Adam would recognize it as if he had never left. The tools and equipment are there as they have been for who knows how long. It is surrounded by orchards (apples) and small plots of vegetables. B?rtlingen is on a hill and is lovely with good views. The Schneiderhof is on top of the world, looking out on miles of hills and valleys and villages. It is incrediably beautiful. Again I found myself out in some cabbage patch, trying to explain to some farmer that this was my family heimat (home)...Clearly Americans are accepted as eccentric and harmless!...Vocabulary doesn't reach the beauty of that hilltop and its vistas out over hazy valleys, looking at other hills where red tiled houses form little villages. I can just imagine it at night--looking out over perhaps two dozen sparkling little villages on other hills around. One climbs from B?rtlingen to the Schneiderhof. But going down the back side of the mountain, through dense forest, the trail winds back and forth across the mountain into Waldhausen--which the Schneiderhof also looks down upon. This is the trip the family took to get to church, and probably to work."

    In her 1981 unpublished manuscript, BonnieMargaret noted that only the top floor of the Benkelmann home shows from the road leading in. The house is three stories high on the back side, two stories high in the front. It was built in 1733, by the state, to provide housing for state licensed artisans who were not allowed in the town as guild craftsmen. Apparently it gained its name from its first inhabitants, since the name literally means "the place of tailors." The official state description of the Schneiderhof in 1845 states that it was a place with 22 Evangelical residents, lying on the mountain top about one-half an hours walk from Waldhausen. The rents were paid to the city of G?ppingen, in 1845 twelve of those residents would have been Leonhard and Dorothea and their 10 living children, others would have included Leonhard's widowed mother and some of her children by Herr Heller, and likely their families. The land was described as rocky and and lying on a mountainside, "even today it is impossible to use machinery to work the land" and that the "people who lived there would have to have outside work." The house itself lies on the very crest of the mountain, with the house built on the downside of the mountain, overlooking Waldhausen. A very small patch of is on the level crest at the top of the mountain. When BonnieMargaret visited the home in 1981, she said it had four or five dwellings in all, and barns and sheds nearby the house and in the orchards. Just west of the house stands the old Bauernhaus, perhaps the homestead of Leonhard's maternal grandparents. The fields to the south were planted in potatoes and turnips, the high production crops that all of southern Germany turned to in the early 1800's. Beyond the westernmost buildings were apple orchards, beautiful and well tended. (pp. 68, 69 and accompanying photos).

    BonnieMargaret also noted that German life centered in the family. Even today we're told that day to day life included few close relationships with people outside the family. Certainly they were cordial and friendly with neighbors and cooperating artisans, but the joy of living was carefully protected within the walls of the home. Country people had no protection but each other, and the trusted "other" were kinsmen. Unlike the towns that were structured to protect the citizens from difficult times, the country folk were on their own, in good and bad times. Parents carefully nutured the bonds of affection and caring, and though they may have experienced the sibling rivalry that modern children do, it was not expressed in the German home, where only mutual caring and consideration were approved and encouraged.

    Names and birthdates for this family were from the Waldhausen Parish Kirchlichen Familienregister Band I, Blatt 244, Dekanat Welzheim, Schw?bisch Gm?nd. BonnieMargaret noted that all the family information shown on pages 95 and 96 of her book were certified by Pastor Rau of the Ev. Pfarramt Waldhausen to be the complete record of the family of Johann Leonhard Benkelmann, with the exceptions of the dates of death, which were included by BonnieMargaret from other sources. They had one stillborn child, neither name or sex listed, on 4 July 1838. She also noted that they were married on November 20, but the year was illegible.

    The family register for the family of Georg Friedrich St?hle and wife, Anna Maria Leins shows that Maria Dorothea was the fifth of their 15 children. She was married at the Schneiderhof on 20 Nov 1822, approximately 10 months after the birth of eldest son Friedrich.

    Children:
    1. Johann Friedrich "Fredrick" Benkelman was born on 6 Jan 1822 in Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 28 Aug 1897 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried on 29 Aug 1897 in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
    2. Leonhard Benkelmann was born on 22 Dec 1823 in Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 18 Jul 1824 in Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany.
    3. Johann Adam Benkelman was born on 13 Feb 1825 in Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 30 Dec 1897 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried on 2 Jan 1898 in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
    4. Maria Dorothea "Dorothy" Benkelman was born on 13 Jul 1826 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 5 Jan 1888 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
    5. Johann Georg Benkelmann was born on 7 Aug 1827 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 19 Sep 1827 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany.
    6. 6. Johann Leonhard "Leonard" Benkelman was born on 5 Jul 1828 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 25 May 1913 in Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin; was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
    7. Johann Georg "George" Benkelman was born on 25 Jun 1830 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 16 Jan 1908 in Denver, Denver County, Colorado; was buried in Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Denver County, Colorado.
    8. Maria Catharina Benkelman was born on 16 Aug 1831 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 9 Dec 1883 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
    9. Anna Maria Benkelmann was born on 18 Oct 1832 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 25 Nov 1832 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany.
    10. Luise "Louisa" Benkelman was born on 14 Sep 1833 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 22 Oct 1910 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
    11. Johannes "John" Benkelman was born on 3 Apr 1836 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 18 Jan 1917 in Portage, Columbia County, Wisconsin.
    12. Anna Maria "Mary" Benkelman was born on 22 May 1839 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 4 May 1913 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
    13. Magdalena Benkelmann was born on 13 Sep 1840 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 22 Sep 1840 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany.
    14. Rosine Benkelmann was born on 10 Mar 1842 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 25 Nov 1844 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany.
    15. Maria Magdalena "Aunt Lena" Benkelman was born on 31 Aug 1845 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 22 Jan 1926 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.