Bejettia (Machinskw) Bernhardt was born in or near Neisse, Silesia, Germany, now Nysa, Poland in 1800. Her name has been found in records as Renatta and Sarah.
Bejettia was married to Michael Bernhardt in Germany. Michael "followed the occupations of farming, fishing and tailoring" in Germany, where he died in 1843. See the biographical sketch of their son, Julius, in Holand's History of Door County, Vol. II (1916).
Bejettia came to the U.S. in about 1853 as a widow. She settled in Sheboygan Falls with her four sons: Ernst, Robert, Franz, and Julius.
Ernst and his wife, Otilee, had arrived in New York on the Brig Ellen, from Hamburg, Germany, on August 8, 1850. They settled in Sheboygan Falls, where they purchased property.
Robert bought a parcel of land Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan County from Ernst and his wife:
6 July 1854 Warranty Deed.
Ernst Bernat and Ottilie Bernat his wife to Robert Bernat, all of Sheboygan County, the South 1 half of the South 1 half of the SW Quarter of Sec. 4 in Town 15 North of Range 22 E, 40 acres, for $490. Vol. R, p. 252. Recorded 6 July 1854.
In 1855 the family moved to Forestville in Door county, settling on government lands for which Robert and Franz filed preemption claims. Those preemption claims enabled Robert and Frank to buy the land at 75 cents per acre rather than the usual government charge of $1.25 per acre. Ernst took an assignment of a seaman's U.S. Military Bounty Land Warrant for 160 acres in the nearby Town of Ahnapee in Kewaunee County. On his parcel, Robert built a 14x16 foot cabin with one window, one door, a shake roof and heated by a fireplace. Franz's cabin was similar but had a stove rather than a fireplace.
According to Martin's History of Door County (1881), Robert and his brothers, Ernst and Frank, operated the first sawmill and blacksmith shop under the name "Bernhardt Bros." in Forestville, Door Co., Wisconsin. Holand's History of Door County, Vol. I, p. 436 (1916) tells more about the building of that first sawmill.
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October 26, 1883, Weekly Expositor (Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin)
Forestville locals. October 23.
On Sunday last the aged mother of Julius, Robert and Frank Barnhart departed this life.
Her remains were deposited in the Catholic Cemetery, near the Catholic Church today.
The bereaved relatives have the sympathy of a large circle of friends in their sad affliction.
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No link is provided below for a memorial for the oldest son son, Ernst Bernhardt, because his burial site is unknown at this point. His trail goes cold with the 1870 Federal Census which shows him as a millwright residing at Hub Factor, P.O. Port Republic, Egg Harbor City, Atlantic Co., New Jersey; married to Ottilia, with one daughter - Emma. Ernst was born in Silesia between 1819 and 1827.
The family was Catholic. They attended St. Mary's Catholic Church, which was located 1.8 miles north of Forestville on Hwy. 42. The church is gone, replaced by Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Maplewood. The church cemetery remains on Hwy. 42. Bejettia's remains were removed to St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in Sturgeon Bay, in the same lot as her son, Frank.
Bejettia (Machinskw) Bernhardt was born in or near Neisse, Silesia, Germany, now Nysa, Poland in 1800. Her name has been found in records as Renatta and Sarah.
Bejettia was married to Michael Bernhardt in Germany. Michael "followed the occupations of farming, fishing and tailoring" in Germany, where he died in 1843. See the biographical sketch of their son, Julius, in Holand's History of Door County, Vol. II (1916).
Bejettia came to the U.S. in about 1853 as a widow. She settled in Sheboygan Falls with her four sons: Ernst, Robert, Franz, and Julius.
Ernst and his wife, Otilee, had arrived in New York on the Brig Ellen, from Hamburg, Germany, on August 8, 1850. They settled in Sheboygan Falls, where they purchased property.
Robert bought a parcel of land Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan County from Ernst and his wife:
6 July 1854 Warranty Deed.
Ernst Bernat and Ottilie Bernat his wife to Robert Bernat, all of Sheboygan County, the South 1 half of the South 1 half of the SW Quarter of Sec. 4 in Town 15 North of Range 22 E, 40 acres, for $490. Vol. R, p. 252. Recorded 6 July 1854.
In 1855 the family moved to Forestville in Door county, settling on government lands for which Robert and Franz filed preemption claims. Those preemption claims enabled Robert and Frank to buy the land at 75 cents per acre rather than the usual government charge of $1.25 per acre. Ernst took an assignment of a seaman's U.S. Military Bounty Land Warrant for 160 acres in the nearby Town of Ahnapee in Kewaunee County. On his parcel, Robert built a 14x16 foot cabin with one window, one door, a shake roof and heated by a fireplace. Franz's cabin was similar but had a stove rather than a fireplace.
According to Martin's History of Door County (1881), Robert and his brothers, Ernst and Frank, operated the first sawmill and blacksmith shop under the name "Bernhardt Bros." in Forestville, Door Co., Wisconsin. Holand's History of Door County, Vol. I, p. 436 (1916) tells more about the building of that first sawmill.
*****
October 26, 1883, Weekly Expositor (Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin)
Forestville locals. October 23.
On Sunday last the aged mother of Julius, Robert and Frank Barnhart departed this life.
Her remains were deposited in the Catholic Cemetery, near the Catholic Church today.
The bereaved relatives have the sympathy of a large circle of friends in their sad affliction.
******
No link is provided below for a memorial for the oldest son son, Ernst Bernhardt, because his burial site is unknown at this point. His trail goes cold with the 1870 Federal Census which shows him as a millwright residing at Hub Factor, P.O. Port Republic, Egg Harbor City, Atlantic Co., New Jersey; married to Ottilia, with one daughter - Emma. Ernst was born in Silesia between 1819 and 1827.
The family was Catholic. They attended St. Mary's Catholic Church, which was located 1.8 miles north of Forestville on Hwy. 42. The church is gone, replaced by Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Maplewood. The church cemetery remains on Hwy. 42. Bejettia's remains were removed to St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in Sturgeon Bay, in the same lot as her son, Frank.
Gravesite Details
Reinterred from the old St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery on Hwy. 42, north of Forestville.
