Hanging from the Family Tree: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

In preparing for this I needed to use google to determine the distance traveled by my ancestors from their home to their destination in the United States. I checked the distance for my three immigrant ancestors to the cities where they settled.

Villmar, Hesse-Nassau to Milwaukee, Wisconsin is 6840 km

Bergen, Norway to Chicago, Illinois is 6206 km

Limerick, Ireland to Chicago, Illinois is 5768 km

Clearly the distance traveled by my German Great-great-grandfather and his family is the longest.

Around 1845, Georg Burbach left his birth village of Oberselters[1] in Hesse-Nassau and traveled to the village of Villmar about 12.4 km to 16.3 km away. His parents were both deceased and as a second son, he would inherit no land. The journey probably took two to three hours on foot depending on the route he took.

Georg found work as a laborer on a grain farm and settled into village life.

Perhaps his attendance at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul led to meeting Catherina Caspari whom he married in the church on 22 April 1849.[2]

The young couple had their first child, a son Adam, born 5 Sep 1849,[3] Adam was followed by Hermann in 1852[4] and Johan in 1854[5]. Sadly Adam died in Dec of 1854[6] and is buried in the cemetery of Saints Peter and Paul Church.

Shortly after the death of Adam, Georg and Catherina received news from their relatives in Wisconsin about the opportunities in the United States. The young couple decided they would leave Hesse-Nassau and seek their fortune in the United States.

On 18 June 1856[7] Georg and Catherina, along with their sons Hermann and Johan (John) arrived in New York and began the journey to Milwaukee.

After arriving in Milwaukee, Georg worked as a laborer to support his family, gradually improving his employment by advancing to cattle drover (herder) by 1863[8] and cattle broker by 1870[9]. In 1875 he had advanced to Cattle Broker and in 1877 he was a butcher in a shop owned by his sons Hermann and John.

Georg and Catherina had six other children after their arrival in Milwaukee but only the last child Eva, born in March of 1880 is known to have survived.

Georg died 20 July 1897[10] in Milwaukee and is buried in Calvary Cemetery there. His wife Catherina spent the remainder of her live living with their son John and his wife and family. Catherina died 17 September 1913[11] and is buried next to Georg in Calvary Cemetery.

[1] Kirchenbuchduplikat 1818 - 1874, Dupilcate Church Book Baptisms 1820-1840: 7 Aug 1825 George son of Huburtus Burbach and Catheruine Schaaf, St Anthony Catholic Church, Oberselters, Hessen-Nassau, Germany.

[2] Villmar Catholic Church (Villmar, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia), "Kirchenbuch 1632 -1884," (Church Book 1632-1884), page 45, Marriage of eorg Burbach and Catherine Caspari 29 APR 1848; 1632-1884, Diocese of Limburg, Limburg, Hessen-Nassau, Germany. LDS film 1272248.

[3] Villmar Catholic Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Villmar), Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, 1272247, 5 Sep 1849, Birth and death of Adam Burbach; FHL microfilm 1272247.

[4] Villmar Catholic Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Villmar), Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, 1632-1884, 13 Mar 1852, Baptism of Hermann Burbach; FHL microfilm 1272247.

[5] Villmar Catholic Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Villmar), Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, 16 Apr 1854, Birth and Baptism of Johan Burbach; FHL microfilm 1272247.

[6] Villmar Catholic Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Villmar), Kirchenbuch 1632 - 1884, 5 Sep 1849, Birth and death of Adam Burbach; FHL microfilm 1272247

[7] Ancestry.com, New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Year: 1856; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 164; Line: 21; List Number: 676.

[8] Milwaukee City Directory (Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin:n.p.n.d.), 1863 p 38, occupation of George Burbach; digital image, ancestry,com (https://www.fold3.com/image/255348646 : online 11 March 1863).

[9] 1870 US Census, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Ward 9 Milwaukee, Page 379B, 1749, Georg Burbach; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=1870usfedcen&gss=angs-d&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=Herman&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Burbach&gsln_x=0&msbdy=1852&msbpn__ftp=Germany&msbpn=3253&msbpn_PInfo=3-%7c0%7c1652381%7c0%7c3253%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c&msrpn__ftp=Milwaukee%2c+Milwaukee%2c+Wisconsin%2c+USA&msrpn=54011&msrpn_PInfo=8-%7c0%7c1652393%7c0%7c2%7c3247%7c52%7c0%7c2025%7c54011%7c0%7c&MSAV=1&uidh=dk3&pcat=35&fh=8&h=14921654&recoff=&ml_rpos=9 : accessed 7 March 2016); Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch..

[10] Wisconsin Death Records 1867-1907 Wisconsin State Historical Society, FamilySearch.org, database (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XLCC-XS8 : online 11 March 2016), p 465 death and occupation of George Burbach.

[11] Death Notices, Germania-Herold Abendblatt, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 15 September 1913, pg 5 col 6. death and burial of Katharine Burbach.