Benjamin H. Wenkel 1 of 4 #NotMyWenkel

So, this man is not my Wenkel relative, but as I was mining the newspapers for Wenkel stories, I kept coming up against his name.  Over. and Over. and Over. Forty newspaper articles over the span of 14 years, from the start of World War I to the start of the Great Depression.  I have a feeling he was a very likable fellow.  Now, to be sure, half of these forty articles are about missing and wounded lists from several newspapers all across the area.  We will check into these soon enough.

It's A Boy vintage card
source unknown

He is the third son of Squire Frederick E. Wenkel, who immigrated from Germany when he was about 6 years old, 1847.  Many Germans immigrated about this time, became farmers with financial backing from their families back home in the old country.  His mother died a few years later, when he was 11 years old.  His father, the Squire, had authority to marry couples, and apparently he performed quite a few ceremonies.  Frederick was drafted into the Missouri Civil War 30 June 1863, aged 25.  This means he'd managed to avoid the war until the very last year.  He started as Private of Company B, ending as Sergeant of Company E.

1889

birth, 5 October 1889, Champion, Douglas MO

1892 age 2

birth of brother Martin L. Wenkel, June 1892, who died in 1961.  His wife was Clarissa, of whom we find a record later on.  He is buried in Owensville MO.   He was in World War I and in World War II.

1898 age 8

birth of sister Grace M. Wenkel, May 1898, MO.  She married Walter Lottman, and they both lived with Frederick in one of the censuses.  She died 1984, and is buried in Franklin County MO.  

1900 age 11

Residence Boone, Franklin MO per Census

McGuffey's Eclectic Primer Page 4
photographed by Dayspringacres

He lives with parents Frederick and Veronica, who were married for 21 years by then.  He is a farmer and owns his own farm.  We know he was born in Germany, Veronica was born in Ohio but her parents were also born in Germany.  William age 20  and 19 year old Charles H. were born in Missouri.  Benjamin is age 10, Martin L. is age 7, and Gracie is age 2.  According to the census, every child was born in Missouri.

1905 age 16

death of brother Charles H. Wenkel, 26 April 1905, Champion
Row 3, plot 17, born 11 June 1881, died 26 April 1905, aged about 14 years.  This would have been a traumatic time for Benjamin at this young age.
http://files.usgwarchives.net/mo/franklin/cemeteries/champin2.txt

Travel Tuesday -- August Wenkel 1861-1954

1887 Immigration Card for August, Sophie and Lina Wenkel

I found this really cool immigration document.  It is cool because of the information this document provides.  Yes, I have already posted about August, Sophia and Lena's immigration using the Ship's manifest for the proof.  That is cool, too, and you can see it here.  Images of those documents are found in these following links:

• 1887 Immigration Manifest Part 1
• 1887 Immigration Manifest Part 2
• 1887 Passenger Ship Donau from http://fdpiech.tripod.com/ships/ssdonau.htm

But now I include this 1887 Immigration card.   Some information I can glean from this card is that it was filled out much later, sometime after 1937.  How can I tell that?  Good question.  See the very tippy top left where it says "Stand, Paint. & Litho. Co. Balto.?  Right after that is the date.  About this time, as part of the Conservation Corps program during or after the Great Depression, people were hired to index and categorize historical documents.  Someone who was grateful for a paying job read all the ship manifests and put the names down on cards, which were then alphabetized.  This is the most efficient method when there are no computers.

So, what else can we find?  Not much more than we already know.  August Wenkel age 26, male, Farmer from Germany, destined for the United States.  He came with Sofie age 23 and Lina age 10 months.  How difficult would it be to have an infant in a crowded ship for a month?  Was the ship crowded?  Did they get enough food and sunlight?  Did they get sick?

They entered through Baltimore Maryland on 24 May 1887, disembarking the ship Donau.

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