| Family History Researcher |
- genealogist = Margaret Massa, 217 S. Hershey Rd, Bloomington IL, 61704.
From Andy Wegner files;!Also see notes for his wife. Please note Ref 297, confirms they had 15 ch ildren, only 8 of whom were living in 1900. Have a good later-in-life pict ure of Bernard and Petronella
!Alvern from Manawa Wisconsin, says (see Ref. 280) that her records show B ernard being born in "Bochoet (sp?), Prussia", which of course agrees wi th our previous information of Bocholt. Also in Ref 280 is his death annou ncement that says, "Mr. Barney Eiting, who was born at Bocholt (Germany ), Feb the 13th, 1822, and died in Butler Co, Nebraska, January the 8th 18 92....".
!Also in Ref 280 is his obituary that says, "An Old Settler Gone. In the d eath of Bernard Eiting of Center, a good citizen went to sleep with the ch ristian'a hope. Deceased would have been seventy years of age next mont h, had he lived. For several years Mr. Eiting was afflicted with poor heal th, and an attack of grippe settled on his lungs, and turned into pneumoni a. He was the father of fourteen children, nine of whom are living to mou rn with their mother over a good father's loss. Mrs. Dr. Murphy, of Dav id City, Mrs. Nicholas Miller of Olive, and Mrs. Joseph Brochtrup of Cente r, are daughters of deseased, and all the family have the Press' sympat hy in their great affliction. The burial took place in St. Francis cemete ry presided over by Rev. Father Bex. on Tuesday, at ten o'clock. In spi te of the severe weather a large number of friends attended the remai ns to their last resting place in token of their high esteem of "Father Ei ting" as a neighbor and friend." I once thought I had made a mistake, but lat er found out I was wrong :)
!On page (household?) # 46 of the 3rd (2nd?) section of LDS film 0465816 ( ref 250), the 1829 population register (list) for Zieuwent lists a Bernad us Eiting, can't make out occupation, born Feb 23, 1822, came from hou se No 203 L(?), May 1837. This would appear to be the "Slot." (sp?) househ old.
!Ref 338 tells of his tombstone marker in Center Cemetery, Nebraska, "At t he center Cemetary there is a tall white old grave marker with the followi ng info .... On the white upright stone quote, 'Bernard Eiting Born in Ger many Feb 13, 1822 Died in Butler Co NE Jan 8, 1892. We cannot tell who ne xt may fall beneath thy chastening rod, one must be first, but let us a ll prepare to meet our God'
!The sponsors at his birth were Bernard Pluckel (sp??) and Joa Eissinck(sp ?). This could be the Bernard Blukkel(sp?) that is listed in the Eiting 's prayer journal (reference 178). This journal lists his date of bir th as Feb 13, 1822.
!Just to keep it from getting lost, this info is noted here: Ancestry.c om printout of US Civil War Service Records lists a Henry S. Eytin g, as a Private in the Union Army, Kansas Calvery, Unit 2, Company "F", a nd that he was also discharged as a Private (in other words he survived t he war). This person is of interest because he is apparently not a current ly-known member of the Wisconsin/Nebraska Eiting's. He would have had to h ave been born before about 1847 in order to be old enough for the war.
!The following data is from my reference # 252 (March 12, 2001 downlo ad of Eiting data from Bocholt Westphalia area from LDS website, mostly I GI data): Gives christening date of Bernard Henrich Eitinck on Feb 24, 18 22 in Bocholt record.
!Reference 278 are articles written by Helen M. Eiting published in the Bu tler County Nebraska Centenial Edition about her grandfather Benard Eiti ng (born 1822) and her father Bernard Henry Eiting born 1871. The artic le on her grandfather follows in its entirely, with my comments . It says "Bernard of Germany and Petonilla of Holland were married bef ore coming to America, settling in Hollandtown, Wisconsin". . It continues, "In 18 77 they purchased land in Center Township, Butler County NE and moved the ir children to their new home. William the oldest son remained in Wiscons in . John, at age 15 di ed in an accident on the trip and was the first to be buried in S t. Francis cemetery . Other children were Henry, Barney, Frank, Johanna (Mu rphy), Mary (Vandenberg), Francis (Brochtrup), Anna Kate (Miller), Elizabe th (Brochtrup), Henrietta, and Bernadine . There were many Catholic families from the Hollandtown are a, who settled in Center, once called Alverno. They were all instrument al in helping to develop and build St. Francis parish." The articles go es on, "The Eiting farm was located in the first section south of the chur ch. The house was built on the north east corner of the property near a gr ove of cottonwood trees. It was a long rambling strudy structure with a b ig back porch and a small front porch. The porch was covered with a flower ing vine, at one side stood a large lilac tree, on the other a bed of tans y. Each spring Eiting Aunts would give us tansy tea to drink. This we d id not relish. The big storm cave was another point of interest for the yo unsters. Milk, cream, and butter were kept there during the warm mont hs as well as other goodies. The corn crib was the pride and joy of the Ei ting men. It was built from black walnut lumber, which was pegged into pos ition. This building stood for many years as a tribute to our grandfather s' skills. Dad often referred to his father as a "Gentleman Frmer." Befo re coming to Nebraska he was involved in the construction trades as a cont ractor and builder. Dad told the story of how grandpa would walk behind h is sons, with his two big dogs on heavy chains, checking the plumb li ne of the furrows they make with the walking plows. Tales of his mother al ways included a description of a big white stiffly starched apron and matc hing cap, which she wore every day. We younger grandchildren did not kn ow our Eiting grandparents. Bernard Eiting died in 1892 at age 70, Petroni lla in 1901 at age 69. The parents and 7 of their children are buried in S t. Francis cemetery and four are buried in St. Mary's David City. Anoth er story dad frequently told was of the blizzard of 1888 which struck duri ng the afternoon school hours. Mr. Graham their astute teacher, immediatel y, upon the sudden striking of the storm, tied the largest children to a h eavy rope establishing a line which he headed to the wood. Wood logs we re passed from one to the next until they could no longer tolerate the fu ry of the storm. Before morning they had burned everything available. By t hen the blizzard had passed over, and soon they saw Barney Eiting walki ng toward them on the large crusted snow drifts carrying a big basket fill ed with food."
!Ref 340 (map) says the farm where the Eiting's settled when they first ca me to Nebraska was 3/4 mile south of Center Church, apparently in the NW q uarter of Section 21 of Center Township, Butler County.
!Also see notes for his brother, Antone. Bernard also went by name Barne y. Wisconsin Land Patent records show that on August 2, 1852, 80 acres we re purchased by Bernard in Calumet County: South half of NW 1/4 of secti on two of township twenty North, range nineteen east. This would be very c lose to Hollandtown, but in Calumet County. I don't know if he actually li ved on this land, as the censuses list him in Brown County. The 1860 cens us lists children: Anna 8, a female Francis 7, Mary 4, Catharine 2, and Jo hn, 1 year old. The 1870 census lists all of these, except Francis (she m ay have died, or married, or just have been working, say, as a domest ic in somebody else's home -- a marriage record of 1877 was later found f or her). The 1870 census also lists the following additional children: Eli zabeth 10, Harriette 8, Henry 6, and Bardeen 4. A John Gasper, age 18, bo rn Holland, was also listed as living with them, with the notation: "liv es with daughter" (not sure what that means). A Brown County birth reco rd lists an Adrian Francis Eiting born Aug 17, 1868, Holland Twnshp, b ut he may have died because he does not show up in the 1870 census. Oth er Brown County birth records show the birth to Bernard and Petronel la of a Bernard H. Eiting, 1871, John Francis, 1873, and Gerhard, 187 4. I don't know if I thoroughly checked for this family in the 1880 Bro wn County census or not, but it is possible they had by then moved to Butl er County, David City, Nebraska. In the Nebraska State Gazetteer Farmers D irectory for 1890, a Barney and a Henry (his son?) are listed at David Cit y.
!Ref 340 gives the 1880 Butler County, Center Precinct, Nebraska census a nd lists Barney and Petronella and following children: Elisabeth age 21, C atherine age 19 (age doesn't jive birth date. Also she supposedly marri ed in 1879), Harrietta 17, Henry 15, Bardeen 12, Barney 8, and Frank 7. Al so Francis age 25 is living with husband Joseph Brochtrup, their two you ng sons.
!The June 1885, Center Township, Butler County, Nebraska census shows Barn ey Eiting age 63 farmer,born Prussia, wife Petronella age 52 born Hollan d, Kate age 26, keeping house, Hattie age 22 housework, Henry age 20 wor ks on farm, Laur(sp?) Bardina age 18 helps in house, Barney 13 helps on fa rm, and Frank age 12 at school. All the children are listed as either s on or daughter, and all born in Wisconsin.
!Dave Schlickbernd in a March 1999 e-mail, indicates that a Mary Eiting (t his is Bernard's daughter Mary) married, either in Hollandtown or in Nebra ska, Dave's ggrandfather William Vandenberg. Mary died not long after th ey married, from TB. William had to mortgage the homestead to pay for h er medical care, and lost the homestead to the mortgage company. William 's older brother Nicholas bought that homestead and added it to land purch ased by his son, Arnold. William later married Petronella Bruecker, a nd a 1911 photo shows five children, the youngest about 12. The original V andenberg homestead in Center Township, David City is still in the famil y. Dave said there are several Eitings buried in St. Francis Catholic ceme tery in Center Township.
!In 1978 the St. Francis Catholic Parish of David City, Nebraska (Butler C ounty) published a Centennial brochure (my reference #283). It begins, "T he Hollander Settlement or Alverno was a settlement 5 miles south and t wo miles east of David City, Nebr. now known as the Saint Francis Parish ( in Center Township). During the later years of 1860's and early 1870's ma ny families were arriving from Holland and Wisconsin. Some of the early pi oneers were the Dowlings, Sanders, Saunders, John Jacob, Fred Witzel, Jac ob Daniels, Theodore Aerts, Andrew van Lom, Lambert Van der Heyden, W. V an den berg and Gilbert Litjen families, followed by the Theo. Theewen, Jo seph Brocktrop, James Kearney, John Fox, Thomas Flynn, Gilbert Zegers a nd many others." Our Eitings, who came from Wisconsin in 1877, were not am ong the earliest of these settlers, but the following excerpt shows they w ere immediately involved: "In 1877 a collection was taken up presumedly f or a building fund; a summary of the 1877 collection is as follows with t he names of the contributors spelled as are on the church records. One dol lar each from Wm. Fox, John Danaher, James Ruby, Frank Bouga (rds) 50 cen ts each Frank Bougenermot, Theodore Aerts, Joseph Varin, Lambert Vander He yden, Theo. Theewen, Gilbert Zeyhen, Joseph Brocktrop, Herman Daniels, W m. Bateson, John Jacobs, Albert Schaaf, James Kearney and Thomas Flyn n. 25 cents each Barney Eiting, Albert Boug (rds), Wm. Boweres, A. Herman s, Ino Bos., C. Bos, H. Vanert, A. Van den berg, C. D. Clark, Wm. Becke r, M. Coughlin, Wm. Cornell, Frank Eiting, Henry Eiting, Wm. Quade, Thom as Jones and Pat Cornell." . The br ochure goes on to list names in the 1878 to 1880 period, then the followi ng reference to an Eiting: "At the meeting in December in 1881 it was agre ed by the trustees to pay Mr. Eiting $25.00 for boarding the priest for o ne year." On August 23, 1881, the minister wrote to Bishop James O'Conn or of Omaha, sending him the church deeds and asking him to come and dedic ate the church, saying that St. Francis was finished "except for the insi de painting and it could be painted within 4 or 5 weeks ..... He also ask ed for sacred vestments and linens, saying that the people of St. Franc is had done all they possibly could for the time being and were too po or to meet the demands." Many other names are given in the brochure, whi ch should be revisited once we know where more of these people fit. A Bern ard Eiting was part of a confirmation class on June 24, 1882, and Bernardi na Eiting part of a First Communion class on June 5, 1881. Of interesti ng note, "During the depression, or as some prefer to remember it "The dir ty thirties," many well known bands made their debut at Center (at the par ish hall), including the world famous Lawrence Welk Orchestra who made sev eral appearances here."
!Greta Massa writes in Ref 280, "St Francis is also known as Cente r. It is just a few miles west of Brainard (Nebraska) where I grew u p. I am sending you a history as it was established by family and many a re buried there. It is a nice little church and peaceful cemetery. .... T he Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Willa Carther's "O' Pioneers" was p artly filmed in St Francis, especially using the church hall. .... Accordi ng to what my mother has said the immigrants from Wisconsin came to Nebras ka on the railroad as far as Valparaiso, Nebr. which is where the railro ad ended and that is where (son) John was killed and buried at Cent er in an unmarked grave. They continued west but soon realized they had pa ssed the best farmland and returned to the area. It has rich soil and gent ly rolling hills. .... Wonder if Bob Litjen would have one (a pictur e) of Elizabeth Eiting (Bernard's daughter) as she would be his great gran dmother and his mother is my grandfather's half sister, although they nev er considered the relationship that way, maybe because the mothers were si sters. Does that make any sense?"
!Also in Ref 280, Greta Massa quotes from her mother Lillian Brochtrup's j ournal about the Center Church: "The first mass ever celebrated in Butl er County was in the home of Thomas Dowling of the Holland settlement in J une 1971. This settlement was called Center because of its geographical lo cation according to Franciscan settlement maps. First mention of the erect ion of a church was in 1877. A collection was taken up during the year 18 77 and 78 but the church wasn't started until the fall of 1879. Among t he list of contributors was Gilbert Litjen (my grandfather) $30.00, Jose ph Brochtrup (also my grandfather) $8.00, Bernard Eiting my great grandfat her $35. *** By an act of congress in 1864 the land on which the Center Ch urch and cemetery is located was made Homestead land. On Feb 12, 1881 it w as deeded to John Jacob and Co. This company consisted of John Jacob, Andr ew Van Lom, Gilbert Litjen and John Bos and their wives, Mrs Ellen Jaco b, Mrs Maggie Van Lom, Mrs Wilhelmina Litjen and Mrs Anna Bos and on Ju ne 18, 1881 they relinquished the dower rights of the property for $1 f or use of the church yard. *** On the 11th of Feb 1879 a meeting was he ld at the home of Andrew Van Lom (brother of Grandmother Wilhelmenia Litj en for the purpose of selecting a place to build a church. The majority de cided on the grounds of the grave yard (5 acres). ** Grandma always told h ow they (Jacob and Co) gave 40 acres to start a church and they sold all b ut 5 acres. There are no records to prove this but several changes in tit le to the property seem to confirm this. Fr. Marama who gave me acess to t he old papers says he has heard it too. *** The year of 1966 was one of pl entifull rain and a bountiful harvest. Dave helped Ron Stanek with truck d riving whe he could get away from the farm and all winter. *** We had a fi re in the station wagon at the Schmits cabin over July 3rd and it took 3 . ... " ---> and grave yard for the Cathol is of Center Precinct and vicinity. Later the Holland settlers were join ed by the Irish nearby, at St Francis church Center ...." .
!Robert Litjen says in Ref 338, "I do remember Frank (Francis) Eiting, car penter, Bernard H. G. Eiting selling cars and real estate, Aunt Kate Mill er adopting Mary Alice, Aunt Hattie never married and adopting Jenrimet ta (sp?). living in David City, I as a kid. In the 1930's and 40's wh en my folks drove several times to Wisconsin to visit, I did not get invol ved with conversations about cousins when they came back home. We were ope rating a dairy between 1932 and 1952 and really didn't have much time to s it and visit as I now wish we had."
!In a second letter from Robert Litjen, he tells of the Eiting tombsto ne in Nebraska, "At the Center Cemetary there is a tall white old grave ma rker with the following info ...... On the white upright stone quote, 'Ber nard Eiting Born in Germany Feb 13 - 1822 Died in Butler Co NE Jan 8 - 189 2. We cannot tell who next may fall beneath thy chastening rod, one mu st be first, but let us all prepare to meet our God'. On one side inscribe d, 'Johanna K. Daughter of B & P Eiting, Died at Omaha NE Mar 31 - 18 92 - 39 yrs Rest in Peace.' One the same side and below that listing is qu ote, 'Maria J. Daughter of B&P Eiting Died at David City NE Jan 1 - 1888 A ged 30 yrs 8 mo 17 Ds'. On another side of the stone, the inscription, quo te, ' John son of B&P, Died Center Nov 1 - 1878 19 Yrs, 2 mo 24 Ds', als o, 'Frances died Center NE Apr 30 - 1884 Aged 29 yrs 5 ms, 16 Ds' ".
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1822 - 1892 (69 years)
Has 2 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.
1850 Census
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
Language
Eiting, Johanna B.
