Joseph A. Benkelman

1889 - 1968  (78 years)

• Name	Joseph A. Benkelman  [1, 2, 3]
  Born	5 Oct 1889	Elkland Township, Tuscola County, Michigan   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Died	11 Jun 1968	Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan   [1, 2, 4]
  Buried	Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan   [2]
  Notes	Cass City Chronicle January 8, 1909 Local Items, Page 4 Ernest Schwader, Joseph Benkelman, Philip Much and Herbert Wood returned to college at Lansing Monday after spending several days at their parental homes here. Cass City Chronicle October 6, 1933 Local Happenings, Page Four Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Benkelman and William Ackerman spend Sunday afternoon at the Adolph Wahl home near Bad Axe. Cass City Chronicle January 21, 1949 Local News, Page 4 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Benkelman visited with Mr. and Mrs. Adolph WAHL near Bad Axe Sunday afternoon. Cass City Chronicle Thursday, June 20, 1968 Page Four Benkelman rites held Friday Joseph Benkelman, lifelong resident of this area, died Tuesday, June 11, at Hills and Dale General Hospital. Mr. Benkelman, retired farmer, was 78. He had been a patient at Hills and Dale for one day. Mr. Benkelman was born October 5, 1889 in Elkland Township. He and Miss Esther Ackerman were married June 10, 1911 in Cass City. Survivors are his widow and a brother, Ward, of Cass City. Services were conducted at 2 p.m., Friday, by Rev. Ira Wood, pastor of Salem United Methodist Church, and Rev. Stanley P. Kirn, retired pastor. Burial was in Elkland Cemetery. (Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, Summer 2007)
  Person ID	I12013	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Father	Samuel G. Benkelman,   b. 26 Aug 1857, Bowmansville, Town of Lancaster, Erie County, New York ,   d. 22 Dec 1940, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan  (Age 83 years)
  Mother	Mary Striffler,   b. 8 Dec 1860, Madison, Monroe County, Missouri ,   d. 5 Aug 1952, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan  (Age 91 years)
  Married	28 Nov 1888  [1, 3, 5]
  	Lorraine Smith Benkelman transcribed the following letters from Salome to her brother, George Albert November 29, 1888 Today is Sam and Mary's wedding day. Rev. N. Wienderlich performs the ceremony. I was not invited....
  Family ID	F619	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Esther Selma Ackerman,   b. 12 Feb 1888, Minden City, Sanilac County, Michigan ,   d. 9 Feb 1980, Caro, Tuscola County, Michigan  (Age 91 years)
  Married	10 Jun 1911	Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan
  	THE STRIFFLER-BENKELMAN BROADCAST-1961 reported that The Joseph Benkelmans celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on June Tenth. They were entertained by the E.U.B. Ladies' Aid at dinner, and their friends gave them another dinner. The 1967 issue reported that they celebrated their 55th anniversary with a dinner in Frankenmuth with Mr. and Mrs. Jack Esau and Leonard Striffler.
  Children	1. Fern Marie Benkelman,   b. 27 Mar 1912, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan ,   d. 2 Feb 1928, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan  (Age 15 years)
  Photos		Ackerman, Esther with her husband Joe Benkelman A snapshot of Esther and Joe, longtime residents of Cass City, Michigan
  Last Modified	11 Sep 2008
  Family ID	F5032	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 5 Oct 1889 - Elkland Township, Tuscola County, Michigan Married - 10 Jun 1911 - Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan Died - 11 Jun 1968 - Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan Buried - - Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Benkelman Cousins in the Sugar Bush, ca 1905 L to R, Glen Benkelman, Alvin Benkelman, Joe Benkelman, Ward Benkelman, and Dorus Benkelman, ready to "sugar" maple trees Joe and Ward, in the center of the photo, were sons of Samuel Benkelman. Glen, Alvin and Dorus were the eldest children of John Adam Benkelman, Sam's brother.
  		Benkelman, Joseph A. ca 1910-1920 with his brother Ward Sons of Samuel Benkelman and Mary Striffler. It appears this photo was taken between 1910 and 1920.
  		Benkelman, Adam and Anna Catherine (Schaufele) Descendants ca 1912 Family Reunion Back, Standing, l to r: Mae Benkelman, Kate Schwegler, John Benkelman Sr., Ester Ackerman Benkelman, Minnie Jesse Benkelman, Joe Benkelman, Augusta Krehl Benkelman, Dorus Benkelman, Will Schwegler, Ward Benkelman, Ben Schwegler, Sam Benkelman Middle Row, kneeling, l to r: Alvin Benkelman, Harold Benkelman, Ruth Benkelman, Marie Benkelman (standing), Lena Benkelman Schwegler, Barbara Rommel Benkelman, Louisa Benkelman Schwegler Bottom Row, seated, l to r: Bertha Benkelman, Glen Benkelman, Ida Benkelman, Lottie Benkelman, Ben Benkelman Sr. behind his nephew John Donald Benkelman, Lois Benkelman, Ben Benkelman Jr., Alice Ross Schwegler with her baby Edward William Schwegler, and ,facing left, Mary Striffler Benkelman (Mrs. Sam) (Legend Courtesy of Bonnie-Margaret Benkelman Jacobs)
  		Schwegler, Benjamin Adam ca 1953 with Esther & Joe Benkelman l t r, Ben Schweger, Esther Ackerman Benkelman, and Joseph Benkelman

  
  

  Documents

  Striffler-Benkelman Annual Labor Day Family Reunion, 1936 Newspaper article In the mid 1850's, in Erie County, New York, two sons of Jacob & Otilla Striffler married two Benkelman sisters. Shortly after their marriages, the couples moved to the Michigan frontier, many of their brothers and sisters following them. The two families remained intertwined for subsequent generations. At a reunion of the Henry Striffler family in 1930 it was decided to enlarge the scope of the reunion to include descendants of Henry, Jacob, Joseph, Christian, John and Susan Striffler. Members and "in laws" of these families first gathered at the Assembly grounds in Sebewaing for a reunion in 1932. As the Benkelman-Striffler family had remained very close over the years, all branches of the Benkelman family were invited to their Sixth Reunion, and since that time it remained a joint event. This articles from the 1936 "Cass City Chronicle" details one of the earliest joint reunions. Attended by over 170 family members, the reunion was held on the John Striffler homestead northeast of Cass City, with attendees travelling from Ontario, Ohio and many places in Michigan. President W.D. STRIFFLER presided at a business meeting in 1936, and Harry HUNT, Mrs. S.G BENKELMAN (the former Mary Striffler), and Mrs. Ben SCHWEGLER (the former Joanna Mark) were elected officers for the ensuing year. The first volume of the STRIFFLER-BENKELMAN BROADCAST was published for the September 1936 reunion.

  
  

• Sources

  [S492] Peck, Edward Arthur THE TEN BENKELMANS WHO EMIGRATED TO AMERICA Ca. 1850s AND CERTAIN OF THEIR DESCENDANTS, 1982. [S653] Cass City Chronicle, P.O. Box 115, Cass City, Michigan 48726, Published continously since 1899, archived from 1899 through 2005 at http://newspapers.rawson.lib.mi.us/chronicle/, Thursday, June 20, 1968 (Reliability: 3). [S653] Cass City Chronicle, P.O. Box 115, Cass City, Michigan 48726, Published continously since 1899, archived from 1899 through 2005 at http://newspapers.rawson.lib.mi.us/chronicle/, Friday, December 27, 1940 (Reliability: 3). [S595] Striffler-Benkelman Broadcast, (Family Publication, published sporadically to record family milestones in connection with the annual Striffler-Benkelman Family Reunions, with Vol. 1, Number 1, published Sept. 7, 1936. Issues on file at the Rawson Memorial Library in Cass City, Michigan include Vol. 5 (1941), Vol. 7 (1944) and Volumes 8 (1945) through Vol. 28 (1968). Issues published from 1961 through 1964 were not assigned volume numbers, and 1963 appears to be missing. Xeroxes of the existing issues were also made by Melinda McLemore Strong in 2007. According to a article published by the Cass City Chronicle on August 6, 1981, commemorating the Fiftieth and Final Striffler-Benkelman Reunion, the final issue of the STRIFFLER-BENKELMAN BROADCAST appears to have been Volume 28, published in 1968.), Volume 28, September 2, 1968 (Reliability: 3). [S1610] Jacobs, BonnieMargaret McDonald "The Family Benkelman" Unpublished Manuscript, 276 pages, October 1981 Version, (Copy owned by Barney Benkelman, Helena, Montana; which he xeroxed and sent to Melinda McLemore Strong in San Antonio, Texas), p. 133 (Reliability: 3).