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Henri E Bieber (b. 07 Aug 1862, d. 12 May 1928)
Henri E Bieber (son of Henri Bieber and Charlotte Geissert)66, 67, 68 was born 07 Aug 1862 in Schoenbourg, Bas-Rhin, France69, 70, 71, and died 12 May 1928 in Natrona, PA. He married Sophia Burr on 09 Sep 1885 in New York Imigrations NY72.
Notes for Henri E Bieber:
Rev Beaver's Story
The very first paragraph in Chapter 1 of Rev Beaver's book says: "In La Grande Encyclopedia, Vols 5 and 10, we learn that the original family name for Bieber (Beaver) was de Beauvoir. This was the original family of Huguenots in France" (IMB-9). Rev Beaver goes on to say that the Beauvoir family lived in Burgundy, in the village of Beauvoir on the Yonne River, Canton of Tucy. He then quotes letters from Anna W Beaver of San Francisco and Charles W Beaver of Connecticut, both of whom claim that the Beauvoirs fled France around the time of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). The Beauvoir family settled in Alsace, and the name became Germanized to Bieber.
When I first read this story of Bieber origins, it seemed rather outlandish, and I was struck by the lack of primary documentary evidence supporting it. In "La Grande Encyclopedia" I read of the exploits of the French Beauvoir family, but I found no passage supporting a connection between the Beauvoir and Bieber families.
I queried Dr Gerhard Hein about the Beauvoir theory. He has written numerous books about the history and genealogy of Lower (northern) Alsace (see references), and he himself has Bieber ancestors. His evaluation of the Beauvoir theory: "absoluter Nonsens" --- utter nonsense (G Hein, private communication, 1997).
There is another factor that may have impelled Rev Beaver towards the Beauvoir theory: In the first half of the 20th Century, there was a tendency for some experts on Pennsylvania Dutch history to emphasize -- some say to exagerrate -- the non-German origins of the Pennsylvania Dutch, owing to strong anti-German sentiment associated with events in Europe at the time. Perhaps Rev Beaver, whose book was published in 1939, the very year World War II began, succumbed to this tendency.
The Pronunciaton of the Name
On the other hand, there is one puzzle that the "Beauvoir" theory would solve very nicely. It concerns the pronunciation of the name Bieber.
My family uses the spelling "Bieber," but there is a strong family tradition, passed on to me by my father, that the correct pronunciation is "beaver," exactly like the name of the animal beaver. And, of course, there is a large branch of the Bieber family that has actually changed the spelling to Beaver.
Why should there be this peculiar pronunciation ? The German "b" sound is much like the English "b" --- it does not sound like a "v." Can it be that the "beaver" pronunciation is a remnant of the original Beauvoir name that has survived through 10 generations ?
The 1542 Hirschland Türkenschatzung
The earliest mention of the name Bieber that I know of is a 1542 document called the Türkenschatzung. (I'm not sure of the correct translation, but I think it is essentially a tax list.) It lists citizens of Hirschland, including "Bieber hanns, the richest man in this place" (GHH-xx).
This shows that, if the Huguenot Beauvoir family really did move from Burgundy to Alsace and change their name to Bieber around 1685, they were preceded by other Biebers who lived in Hirschland more than a century earlier. The year 1542 is very early in Huguenot history. It is before Henri IV promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598), before the St Bartholmew's Day massacre (1572). Hans Bieber lived in Hirschland while John Calvin (1509-1564) and Martin Luther (1483-1546) were still alive !
This does not disprove the Beauvoir theory. Perhaps members of the Beauvoir family did flee to Alsace to escape religious persecution after the Edict of Nantes was revoked, but if so, they joined Biebers who had already lived there for generations.
Biebers in Switzerland
The name Bieber is common in Switzerland today. It would be interesting to know how the Swiss and Alsatian Biebers are related (if they are). Did the Swiss Biebers come from Alsace, or vice versa ? Or did both originate in some other place, perhaps Burgundy ? I can document one case of Bieber migration from Switzerland to Alsace: The Hirschland Kirchenbuch records a Joseph Bieber from Switzerland and wife Elisabetha, also from Switzerland, who had a child baptized in Hirschland in 1701 (GHH-88).
The earliest mention of the Biber name in Switzerland that I have located is a Heini Biber, one of 14 citizens of Horgen, Zürich canton, who died in the Battle of Kappel, 1531 October 11 (ref). In terms of antiquity, this is a virtual tie with the earliest mention of the Bieber name in Alsace in the 1542 Türkenschatzung (see above).
The Biber family is already prominent in the first pages of the Horgen Kirchenbuch: Elsbeth, child of Ludwig Biber was born 1546 December, Wollffmonat. Joannes, child of Andres Biber was born 1547 Hornug 22. Joannes, child of Joannis Biber was born 1547 April 17. Margrat, child of Laurentz Biber was born 1547 December. In the Horgen records, the spelling is almost always "Biber," in contrast to Alsace where "Biber" and "Bieber" both occur frequently.
Is the Biber family of Horgen, Switzerland connected with the Biber/Bieber family of Alsace ? At present I can't say, but further research may answer the question, as the old Swiss church and civil records are quite extensive. I would enjoy hearing from anyone who is researching the Biber/Bieber family in Switzerland.
Conclusion
I cannot prove or disprove the Beauvoir theory. I see the lack of primary documentary evidence as a major problem, however. On balance, I doubt the validity of the Beauvoir story, but I'm keeping an open mind. Research on primary sources may reveal new pieces of this fascinating puzzle.
To Contents.
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PHILADELPHIA SHIP LISTS
In 1727 Patrick Gordon, colonial governor of Pennsylvania, observed to the Provincial Council that 400 Palatines had recently arrived from Holland intending to settle "in the back parts of this province." As many more immigrants were expected to follow, the governer felt it "highly necessary to concert proper measures for the peace and security of the province, which may be endangered by such numbers of Strangers daily poured in, who being ignorant of our Language and Laws, and settling in a body together, make, as it were, a distinct people from his Majesties Subjects" (Pennsylvania Colonial Records quoted in SH-1-3). I find it interesting how similar this sounds to anti-immigrant rhetoric one hears today applied to entirely different groups of people.
The "proper measures" called for by Governor Gordon resulted in three types of passenger lists being kept for each arriving ship. The first two types are easy to understand. One is a list of passengers provided by the ship's captain. In many cases only male passengers aged 16 and older were included, but sometimes women and children were also included. In a few instances, the ages of arriving passengers were also recorded. The second list was simply an Oath of Allegiance to King George II and his successors, which adult males were required to sign or make their mark upon. For these first two types of list, approximately 40 % of each type survive to the present day.
Beginning in 1729, the arriving immigrants were required to take yet another oath, the Oath of Abjuration. This list was an indirect result of England's Glorious Revolution (1688), in which the Catholic King James II was deposed and replaced with James's daughter Mary (who had been raised a Protestant) and her husband William of Orange. The Oath of Abjuration was, in essence, a renunciation of any claims that James's Catholic descendants might make upon the English throne.
From our perspective it seems strange that the Colonial legislators of the time feared that these German-speaking Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anabaptists flooding into Philadelphia, seeking a better life, had as their true objective the restoration of a Catholic monarch to the English throne. But we are lucky these fears existed, because nearly all of the lists of immigrants signing (or making their mark upon) the Oath of Abjuration have survived, and for many 18th Century Philadelphia immigrants, it is the only record of their arrival in the New World.
In the table below I record all of the Biebers that I could find in the index of Strassburger and Hinke (SH), including probable variant spellings. What constitutes a "probable" variant spelling is to a large extent guesswork. The ship lists include immigrants of the name "Biebel," "Bebel," "Biebl," "Bibeler," "Biebeler," and "Bower," but I have assumed they are not members of the Bieber family.
Following the table are additional comments about some of the Bieber arrivals.
Philadelphia Arrivals
Name Arrival Date Ship Source
Christina Bever
Jacob Bever
Dorothy Bever 1732 Oct 17 John and William SH-1-102
Peter Biever
Lowrens Piever 1739 Sep 3 Robert and Alice SH-1-263
SH-1-264
Johan Bevert 1739 Sep 3 Loyal Judith SH-1-269
Hans Geo. Beaver, 21
Dieble Beaver, 43
Hans Jacob Beaver, 19
Dieble Beaver, 16
Peter Beaver 1741 Sep 29 Lydia SH-1-300
SH-1-300
SH-1-300
SH-1-301
SH-1-303
Jerg Biewer
Johann Bieber
Dewald Beaber 1744 Nov 2 Friendship SH-1-357
Andereas Bieber
Jacob Bieber 1749 Sep 15 Edinburgh SH-1-403
Anthoni Biber
Jacob Bieber
Hans Nickel Bieber 1749 Sep 15 Phoenix SH-1-406
Gerg Bewer 1751 Aug 25 Anderson SH-1-451
Johannes Bieber
Michel Bieber
Henrich Bieber 1751 Sep 16 Brothers SH-1-463
Johannes Bibr 1752 Nov 3 Queen of Denmark SH-1-506
Ulrick Bieber 1764 Nov 5 Jeneffer SH-1-700
Nicol Bieber
Felden Bieber
Jacob Bever 1768 Nov 12 Betsy SH-1-724
Peter Bewyr, 12
Abraham Bewyr, 10 (dead)
Anna Bewyr, 11
Margaretha Bewyr, 9 1794 May 31 Columbia SH-2-70
Comments
John and William 1732. Christina, Jacob, and Dorothy appear only on the Captain's list, listed under the heading "Women and Children."
Robert and Alice 1739. Lowrens Piever is probably Lorenz Bieber, son of Theobald and Sara.
Lydia 1741. All three lists survive for this arrival, and there are some major discrepancies. Here is my current interpretation:
Hans Geo. appears only on the Captain's list. He is the right age to be Johann Georg, son of Theobald and Sara.
"Dieble Beaver, 43" and "Dieble Beaver, 16" are recorded as such on the Captain's list, but I think it is a mistake. The same individuals appear on the other two lists as "Brua" or "Prouva" (signed with their marks). The Hirschland Kirchenbuch records that the family of Theobald and Catharina Brua emigrated to America. Theobald was born about 1697 (based upon a confirmation record of 1711), and his son Theobald was born in June 1727. The age of the younger Theobald is not an exact match, but I think that the two Dieble Beavers were actually Theobald Brua and his son Theobald.
Hans Jacob Beaver's surname is given as Beaver only on the Captain's list. The same individual seems to have signed his own name on the other two lists. Strassburger and Hinke deciphered this name as Brua on one list (SH-1-301) and Becker on the other (SH-1-303). In any case, I don't believe this Hans Jacob is a member of the Bieber family.
Peter Beaver appears only on the Oath of Abjuraton list (signed with his mark).
To summarize, I think that only Hans Georg and possibly Peter were correctly recorded as Biebers on the various ship lists, though other members of the Bieber family (women and children) may well have been aboard.
Friendship 1744. This is Georg Bieber with sons Johannes and Theobald.
Betsy 1768. Possibly Valentine Bieber with son Nicholas. Unclear who Jacob is. To Contents.
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BIEBER FAMILY IN HUNGARY AND RUSSIA
Overview
Biebers emigrating from Alsace in the 18th and early 19th centuries sought their fortunes not only in the New World, but also in distant parts of the Old World. Some settled in Bulkes, Tscherwenka, and nearby villages in the Batschka region of Hungary. Bulkes today lies in Serbia and goes by the name of Maglic. It is near the town of Novi Sad.
The "Big House" in 19th Century Glückstal, Russia, home of Jacob Bieber and later his son-in-law Christian Eisenbeisz. Photo courtesy Werner Bieber. Enlarge
A few members of the Bieber family subsequently pushed further east, to the German settlements near the Black Sea. Most settled in the village of Glückstal. The "Germans from Russia" researchers have done a superb job of putting useful historical and genealogical information on the Web, including detailed compilations of the Glückstal church records.
Alsace, Bulkes, Glückstal: What binds these places together is the Danube River (see map). The Danube rises in the Black Forest of Germany, just a stone's throw from the Alsace border. It then flows more than 1,700 miles eastward across Europe, passing within 10 miles of Bulkes on the way. Finally, it empties into the Black Sea just south of the German Black Sea settlements in Russia. One cannot know for certain, but it seems logical that some of the Bieber emigrants to Hungary and Russia travelled by floating down the Danube, passing through famous capitals of eastern Europe -- Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade -- on the way.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, the Russian government revoked many of the religious and cultural freedoms that had attracted Germans to settle in Russia. This stimulated another wave of migration. The American Midwest received a large number of "Germans from Russia," including members of the Bieber family who settled mostly in the Dakotas.
Today, Bulkes, Hungary is the Serb town of Maglic. Most (if not all) of the ethnic German population is gone. Some were killed in World War II and its aftermath, and the rest dispersed. The Black Sea settlement that was Glückstal today lies within the Trans-Dniester Republic, a breakaway region of Moldova, one of the nations formed from the former Soviet Union. I've not been there, but it appears to be a grim, dangerous place.
Acknowledgments. I thank Werner Bieber and Ardella Bennett for sharing their knowledge of the Bieber family in Russia and subsequent emigration of this family to America. Several Internet contacts have been most generous in helping with research in the Hungarian Batschka and in the Saarland of Germany: Herbert Hoffman, Bob Lang, Warren Zahler, and Robert Zink. The German town of Kirchheim-unter-Teck has "adopted" the extinct Hungarian German community of Bulkes, in the sense of remembering and conserving its heritage, and officials of this town have been generous in their response to my research queries.
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Bieber family in Hungary
Towards the end of the 18th Century, a number of Bieber families emigrated from Alsace to the Batschka region of Hungary. This was part of a policy of the Austro-Hungarian empire designed to populate areas won from the Ottoman empire. The Batschka region today lies mostly within Serbia.
In many cases the new emigrants' arrival was chronicled by officials of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As time permits, I will try to add to this site specific information about Bieber families who emigrated to the Batschka.
The German settlements in Hungary flourished for more than a century, but they were essentially eradicated during World War II and its aftermath. Many members of the Hungarian Bieber family, young and old, perished in internment camps established in the new state of Yugoslavia after World War II.
Other members of the Hungarian Bieber family dispersed to Germany and other parts of the world. If any of these, or their descendants, have a story of the Batschka they would like to share, please contact me, your very distant cousin.
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Bieber family in Russia: Peter Bieber and Christina Werkhäuser
Based upon research of Ardella Bennet and John W Bieber
From the Glückstal death records, we learn that Peter Bieber died 1836 Oct 26, age 62, and that he was born in "Eiweiler." This implies that Peter was born between 1774 Oct 26 and 1775 Oct 25.
We learn further that Peter's wife Christina Werkhäuser died 1863 Oct 4, age 82 years, 11 months, and 28 days, and that she was born in "Elweiler, Baden." This implies that her birthdate is 1780 Oct 7.
At first it seemed that both "Eiweiler" and "Elweiler" might be misspellings or misinterpretations of Eyweiler, Alsace, because this village is in a region where many Biebers lived in the 18th Century. This idea was discarded in Christina's case, because a search of the church records in Eyweiler and several nearby villages found no occurrence of the name Werkhäuser (or likely variants). Further research (aided by MapQuest) determined that a village named Ellweiler exists in the Saarland, and it is only 7 miles distant from another Saar village named Eiweiler.
Christina's Birthplace: Saarland
Saarland research is simplified by a series of family books by Rudi Jung. These books list family groups derived from Saarland church records. They are currently available on CD-ROM.
In Rudi Jung's book for Baumholder, Saarland, we find the following entry (RJB-244): Wilhelm Werkhäuser and his wife Maria Sara (maiden name not given) had two daughters baptized at Baumholder: Maria Katharina, 1778 Dec 23, and Christiana Magdalena, 1780 Oct 14. The dates are stated as birth dates, though I think the original records should be examined to see whether they are really baptism dates. The family record also indicates that Wilhelm was a miller in Berschweiler, and that his father was also named Wilhelm.
Baumholder is about 8 miles east of Ellweiler. From this and the excellent consistency of the baptism date with the birth date inferred from Glückstal, it is safe to conclude that Christina's birthplace has indeed been found.
Up till this time, I have not found records of this family in Hungary. We know for certain that Christina was there, however, because the Glückstal records show that several of Christina's children were born in Bulkes. A Wilhelm Werkhäuser family is recorded as having gone to Tscherwenka, but this does not seem to be a good match with Christina's family. Rather, this appears to be a different Wilhelm Werkhäuser family which is recorded in the Reichenbach, Saarland church book (RJR-239).
Peter's Birthplace: Still Unknown
With Christina found in the Saarland, it seemed natural to guess that Peter's birthplace might indeed be Eiweiler, Saarland rather than Eyweiler, Alsace. A search of the CD-ROM of Rudi Jung's books, however, reveals that the Bieber name is not common in 18th Century Saarland. No evidence of Peter's birth in Saarland has been found.
The search for Peter's birth record thus returned to Alsace. Here we find abundant Peter Biebers in the church records of Eyweiler and nearby villages, but none exactly match the birthdate implied by the Glückstal records. In the Lutheran church book of Eyweiler itself, the nearest match is Johann Peter Bieber, son of Nichol Biber and Catharina Baur, born 1773 April 19. This could be the Peter we seek, but there is a discrepancy of more than a year with the birthdate implied by the Glückstal records. More data are required to solve this puzzle.
Family of Peter Bieber and Christina Werkhäuser
The following is based on Glückstal records:
Peter Bieber Family
Child Birth Date and Place Death Date and Place
Philipp abt 1799 --
Magdalena abt 1803 --
Heinrich 1805 --
Peter 1808 Feb 10
Bulkes, Hungary 1874 Feb 16
Glückstal, Russia
Margaretha 1811 Apr 5
Bulkes, Hungary 1877 Oct 3
Glückstal, Russia
Solomon 1812 --
Dorothea abt 1815
Bulkes, Hungary 1840 Jul 9
Glückstal, Russia
The Glückstal death records also list a Johann Bieber, born 1800 Mar 11 in Bulkes, died 1844 Jan 4 in Glückstal. This may be another child of Peter and Christina, but the current evidence is not decisive.
Rev Martin Bieber's Research
Pioneering research into the emigration of the Bieber family from Glückstal to America was performed by Rev Martin Bieber. He derived his information principally from interviews and correspondence with Bieber family members. Thus, his work is an invaluable complement to the documentary evidence recorded in Glückstal.
Rev Martin Bieber's work was self-published and is not widely available. Fortunately, this lack is being remedied by Jeffrey Allen, who is scanning Rev Bieber's family group sheets and posting them on the Web. This new resource can be accessed at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bieber/. Don't miss the wonderful photo of the Jacob Bieber farm in Glückstal.
One aspect of Rev Martin Bieber's book warrants special comment. Rev Bieber concluded that the original Bieber emigrant to Russia was Jacob Bieber, a son of Heinrich. His conclusion is based on oral traditions passed through several individuals and spanning a time period of a century and a half. In contrast, the evidence favoring Peter Bieber is primary documentary evidence. It was recorded at that time by pastors and officials who knew Peter Bieber and his children, who actually spoke to them. To our great fortune, the records have been preserved unchanged since that time.
Weighing this conflicting evidence, we believe the evidence shows decisively that Peter Bieber is the progenitor of the Bieber family in Russia.
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More About Henri E Bieber:
Arrival: 188573, 73
Date born 2: 1863, Germany.73
Date born 3: 1865, Germany.74
Residence 1: 1900, Crab Orchard, Lincoln, Kentucky.75, 75
Residence 2: 1910, Allegheny, PA.76
More About Henri E Bieber and Sophia Burr:
Marriage: 09 Sep 1885, New York Imigrations NY.77
Children of Henri E Bieber and Sophia Burr are:
- +Charles Edward Bieber (Beaver), b. 01 Oct 1886, Lincoln County, KY78, d. 17 Feb 1959, Pinnellas County - St Petersburg, Florida.
- +Henry Edward Beaver, b. 18 Sep 1888, Kentucky, d. date unknown, Harisburg, PA.
- +Leona Sophia Bieber, b. 06 Feb 1891, Kentucky, d. date unknown, Natrona Heights, PA.
- Emma Christine Bieber, b. 31 Mar 1893, Kentucky, d. 15 Jan 1977.
- +Anna Lydia Bieber, b. 04 Mar 1895, Kentucky, d. date unknown, Natrona Heights, PA.
- +Emilie Louise Bieber, b. 15 Sep 1897, Kentucky, d. date unknown, Waynesboro, PA.
- +Margarette Christine Bieber, b. 13 Jul 1899, Kentucky, d. date unknown, Richmond, IN.
- Albert Chase Bieber, b. 27 May 1902, Kentucky, d. 20 Feb 1955, Oak Wood Place Tarentum, PA.
- Kathryn Violet. Bieber, b. 11 Apr 1904, Kentucky, d. date unknown, Jasper, TX.
- +Martha Helen Bieber, b. 27 Jan 1908, Kentucky, d. date unknown, Bairdford, PA.

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