To All the Descendants of Jacob and Margaretha Bredehoeft December 2005
Seasons Greetings to all.
Well it truly looks like the winter holiday season here in Missouri as I look out at the cold snowy weather.
So much has happened this last year. The year started off on a sad note as we heard of the unexpected death of Mel Bredehoeft, Tribe of Paul. Mel was the son of Lambert, grandson of
Paul, and great grandson of Jacob and Margaretha. He was much too young, but God must have needed him to sing in the heavenly choirs up above. Mel, a resident of Fort Worth, Texas had served in the U. S. Air Force for four years and retired from Lockheed-Martin after 30 years.
He was a collector of antique radios. Mel was in the Schola Cantorum choir and was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church. Mel was survived by son, Paul, and daughter, Elena, as well as a sister Beverly Baumann, and a brother Elwood (Woody) Bredehoeft.
Then on May 19 th , Clarence Flandermeyer went on to his heavenly home. Clarence was from the Tribe of Louis. His wife, Edna, had preceded him in death in April of 1995. Clarence was over 97 years old. A son, Robbie, had also preceded him in death. He left two sons, Merle and
Gary and their families.
On November 16 th , Leona Flandermeyer, Tribe of Louis passed away. Leona had been preceded in death by her husband Bill in August of 1971. Leona was 89 years old. Leona was survived by her daughter Mary Ann Burkhart and husband Bill, three granddaughters, and one great grandson. Leona had excelled in making beautiful quilts.
Within the same week we received the news that Gladys Steinkuehler, Tribe of Lena, had died on the 21 st of November. Gladys was preceded in death by her husband Melvin in February of
1962. Gladys loved to crochet and knit and I can still see her hands making a potholder or dishcloth while she talked to us and her hands hardly stopped moving. She lived in Guymon,
Oklahoma. Gladys taught school for many years. She is survived by sons Dwain, Wayne and
Dale and daughter Linda as well as their families.
BABIES, BABIES, BABIES
Well yes, there were a number of babies born this year.
Brooks Dean was born to Kyle and Lorie Kriesel on January 18 th . Brooks is a grandchild of Neal and Kathy Bredehoeft, and great grandchild of Harvey and Ruth Bredehoeft, Tribe of Louis.
Owen Andrew was born to Kevin and Anna Danze on February 18 th . Owen is the grandson of
Terry and Cheryl Dittmer, and great grandchild of George and Lavona Dittmer, Tribe of Nora.
Seth Andrew, son of Sean and Heather Flandermeyer was born on May 26 th . Seth is the grandson of Gary and Barb Flandermeyer, Tribe of Louis.
Ellen Reese, daughter of William and Erin Dempsey arrived on May 28 th . Ellen is the granddaughter of Terry and Cheryl Dittmer and great grandchild of George and Lavona Dittmer,
Tribe of Nora.

On July 28 th , Zachary Ray was born to Troy and Beth Brackman. Zachary is the grandson of
Curtis and Sharon Brackman, and great grandson of Vernie Nierman, Tribe of Alvin.
On July 31 st Samantha Autumn was born to Guy and Linda Meador. Samantha is the granddaughter of Connie Bredehoeft, and great granddaughter of Alberta Bredehoeft, Tribe of
Paul.
Alexandra Appleby Holeman was born to Kevin and Aileen Holeman on September 12 th .
Alexandra is the granddaughter of Joyce Kuhl, Tribe of Harry.
Addison Claire Beloncik was born to Jason and Cathy Beloncik on October 6 th . Addison is the granddaughter of Glenda Robinson, and great granddaughter of Escal and Eileen Pierce, Tribe of Lena.
Lance Edward Collins was born to Bryan and Melinda Collins on November 1 st . Lance is the grandson of Steve and Tina Bredehoeft, and great grandson of Etheleen Bredehoeft, Tribe of
Ralph.
Were there anymore? If so, please send us the details. We love hearing about the new babies, marriages, and any other things going on in your lives. You can either send me a letter in the mail or e-mail me at jsraymore@aol.com
. Or you can send it to Joyce Kuhl at
JoyceK210@sbcglobal.net
. Changes and updates can also be sent to us by using the form
Joyce has provided on our family web site, www.jacobbredehoeft.org
. If you haven’t visited the site lately you might want to do so since Joyce updates it often.
The Tribe of Paul coordinated the Family Celebration in July of this year. Again this was held at the Tri-City Country Club at Emma, Missouri. It was a great celebration. Approximately eighty people from all over the country attended.
The silent auction had some beautiful quilt blocks made by Beverly Baumann that she had made using the old wedding photos of the children of Jacob and Margaretha transferred onto cloth as the center portion of the blocks. Other items included a unique wall mounted coat rack crafted out of old barn wood, hand made and decorated bird houses, crocheted items, and other crafts. The walls in the auction room were lined with family tree charts that I had put together.
These were more extensive than in the past as I was able to include information about the families of Jacob’s brothers and sisters.
One unique and very interesting item that was for sale by Angela Bredehoeft, Tribe of Paul, was a copy of a DVD she had made showing some sites in Germany near where our ancestors came from. This was excellent and helped us to see what the “old country” looks like today.
Angela is living in Germany, teaching school.
The Tribe of Nora is hosting the next Celebration to be held in 2007. I am sure this will be a lot of fun and who knows what they will come up with!!

GENEALOGY NEWS
For those of you who are not interested in this old stuff, now is the time to stop reading. I am still on the trail of finding out who our “cousins” are. Thank goodness for the days of the computer. Using my Family Tree software I now have almost 2400 names in the data base for
Bredehoefts.
I have tra ced some of the children of one of Jacob’s sisters, Adelheid, who was married to
Jacob Helmers. One of these children, Claus Helmers first lived in Illinois when he emigrated and then eventually lived in Sibley, Iowa. Another child, Magdalena (Lena) married Klaus
Mehrkens and lived in Illinois after emigration to America. I have been in contact with someone in Chenoa, Illinois who is doing some research for me. Apparently there may be some descendants in both Sibley and Chenoa. Another son, Jacob also emigrated and I have traced him also to Illinois.
Another of Jacob’s sisters, Anna, was married to Cord Peper. There were three sons born of this marriage, Heinrich, Cord, and Johann. I have traced two of them to Queens, New York where I found naturalization certificates that match their birth dates. I have not been able to pursue that further.
Just keep in mind that these children, Claus and Jacob Helmers and Lena Mehrkens, as well as
Heinrich, Cord and Johann Peper were first cousins of the children of Jacob and Margarethe, first cousins to my father and aunts and uncles, and neither of them probably knew the others existed or that they had even emigrated to America.
I really would like to be in contact with any of the descendants of these sisters of Jacob just to let them know that Johann Bredehoeft, their direct ancestor is buried at Emma, Missouri.
I am taking the liberty of copying below an item from the internet that was sent to me by someone who is also a genealogist. This is from a web site at www.thepastwhispers.com/The_Chosen.html
.
My feelings are, that in each family, one is called to find the ancestors,
To put flesh on their bones and make them live again,
To tell the family story and to feel that, somehow, they know and approve.
To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead,
Breathing life into all who have gone before.
We are the storytellers of the tribe.
We have been called, as it were, by our genes,
Those who have gone before cry out to us: tell our story.
So, we do.
And, in finding them, we somehow find ourselves.
How many graves have I sto od before and cried? I’ve lost count.
How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me?
I can’t say,
It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who I am and why I do the things I do.
It goes to see a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying I
Can’t let this happen.
It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish,
How they contributed to what we are today.

It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up,
Their resoluteness to go on and build lives for their families,
It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a nation,
It goes to an understanding that they were doing it for us…..for the future,
That we might be born who we are,
That we might remember them.
So we do,
With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence……
Because we are them and they are us.
So, as scribes called, we tell the story of our families.
It will be up to the ones called in the next generation
To answer the call and take their places in the long line of family storytellers.
That is why I do family genealogy,
And that is what calls those young and old to step up
And put flesh on the bones.
Author Unknown
And another poem by Sara John English
The Old Graveyard
Beneath the roots of tangled weeds,
Afar in country graveyards,
Lie the ones whose uncrowned heads
Have stamped this nation’s destiny.
Beneath those tottering slabs of stone,
Whose tribute moss and mold efface,
Sleeps the calm dust that made us great,
The true sub-stratum of our race.
And so in closing – May all of your tomorrows be better than your yesterdays.
Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.