Bernhardt *1834

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=9 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03fa30f1egerdp.png"> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=145 BGCOLOR="#333399" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03ea2c00erkjzj.png"> <div> <A HREF="mailto:george@hilficker.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:george@hilficker.com"><U><B><IMG SRC="04c77a50.jpg" border=0 width="119" height="165" ALT="Hilfiker Family Crest" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:george@hilficker.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:george@hilficker.com"><U>George Hilficker</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:john@hilficker.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:john@hilficker.com"><U>John E Hilficker</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:saknopf@earthlink.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:saknopf@earthlink.net"><U>Sandra Knopf</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:hilfiger@frontiernet.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:hilfiger@frontiernet.net"><U>Ray Hilfiger</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto: lstuhler@rochester.rr.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: lstuhler@rochester.rr.com"><U>Lin Stuhler</U></A></div> <div> <B>  <script type="text/javascript"> var sc_project=2858058; var sc_invisible=0; var sc_partition=29; var sc_security="fac02cca"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter_xhtml.js"></script><noscript><div class="statcounter"><a class="statcounter" href="http://www.statcounter.com/"><img class="statcounter" src="http://c30.statcounter.com/2858058/0/fac02cca/0/" alt="unique visitor counter" /></a></div></noscript>   </B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=471 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Bernhardt *1834</I></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04007040.png" border=0 width="263" height="4" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Biography of Bernhardt Hilfiker and descendents in Jay County, IN.</div> <div> by Sue Hilfiker and Richard Hilficker</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Bernhardt Hilfiker *1834</div> <bR> <div> Ancestry 01</div> <bR> <div> Bernhardt Hilfiker b 24 February 1834 in Kolliken, Canton of   Argau, Switzerland, son of Bernhardt Hilfiker and Barbara Kayser.</div> <div>   </div> <div> Bernhardt helped his brother Johannes(Sandra’s great grandfather) build the Hof in Switzerland in 1817 and he worked as a tanner and a saddler. After completing his course and passing the government examination, he traveled for two years to France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany practicing his trade as a saddler.</div> <bR> <div> When a young man of 21 years, he caught the vision of the fields of opportunity in America. In 1854 he left his native land and sailed for New York City NY. He labored there and other eastern cities until work in his trade was not in demand, then he traveled to Ontario NY where other relatives lived. He stayed there until 1859 when he returned home on a visit. In the spring of 1860 he returned to Rochester NY where he labored for one year , then he went to Michigan and labored there as a farm hand.</div> <bR> <div> He then traveled to Preble Co Ohio for a short time until he came to Jay County Indiana, where he continued to work as a farm hand until 1865. In early 1865 he purchased a farm in Jay County Noble Twp Indiana and continued to farm for himself.</div> <div> On August 3, 1865 he was married to Mary Jane Money. In December 1865 he bought the farm, which remained his home until his death 29 January 1916; Mary Jane Hilfiker having passed away 18 June 1912.</div> <bR> <div> He increased his land holdings and improved on them as the farmstead was in disrepair. He improved the land until it was a good producing farm.</div> <bR> <div> To Bernhardt and Mary Jane were born 4 sons and 1 daughter, they are William Fredrick, James Henry, Alonzo C, Alfonso M, and Flora Angeline.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="0c21e100.jpg" border=0 width="798" height="528" ALT="Bernhardt, Mary Jane and Family" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>L-R Alonzo C, (Dick’s grandfather) Bernhardt, Mary Jane, Alfonso, back row, William F, Flora A. and James H. (Allen’s grandfather) </I></div> <bR> <div> William Frederick married Harriett O Waldron on 20 January 1895. They had no children.   WF or “Uncle Will” as the family called him, raised two of   his brother’s (James H) sons, Howard E and J William after their mother died in 1910. W F lived in Jay County his entire life, he farmed and was a fertilizer salesman, and he was on the Jay County Council for many years and was instrumental in the building of the Jay County Courthouse, which is in use to this day.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0c5ab740.jpg" border=0 width="427" height="628" ALT="Jay County IN Plaque" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="8" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> “Uncle Will” was a collector of just about everything, books, unusual silver butter knives, old buttons, the kind that were made from bone and shells, brass military buttons, Indian arrow heads by the hundreds, which he found while tilling the ground to plant crops. His farm and surrounding farms were Indian encampments at one time and he kept finding more each year as he tilled the soil for a new crop. He also found hammers and other tools they used plus some ceremonial stones.</div> <bR> <div> James Henry married Nellie E Nichols, and had 4 children, 3 sons and 1 daughter. Clarence A, Howard E, J. William, Mary Emma. Nellie passed away in 1910 when the youngest child was 6 months old. W F, his brother raised the two sons, Howard E and J William and Nellie’s parents, Emerson and Emma Nichols, raised Clarence A and Mary Emma. Mary Emma is still living in Arizona. James Henry was a salesman of DeLeval cream separators, and in his later years a rancher in Clayton New Mexico. Howard E married Irene Delauter and had 3 daughters and one son. Wilma Jean married Ernest Theurer, Carol Joan married Paul Klingel, Martha Lou married Jack Shaneyfelt, Allen Wayne married Sue Newell. Notice those good German names! Jay County is a huge German immigrant settlement and some of each of the families has continued to live and farm and prosper in Jay Co Indiana through the descending generations.</div> <bR> <div> Alonzo C married Mary Scholer and had 8 children. Bernard H, Frederick A, Raymond L, Edith M, Walter V, Edna E, Wilbur E, Everett S. Everett S is still living. Raymond L married Mildred E Lewis, children Richard (cousin Dick Hilfiker), Sondra L. and David J.</div> <bR> <div> Alfonzo M married Mary E Huey and had 2 children. Mary died of tuberculosis 5 May 1908 and Alfonzo never remarried and raised the two children, Kenneth and Ruth Alice, alone. He was killed in a farming accident on 5 July 1929. Kenneth married Ida Fern Kunkle. Ruth Alice married Harry Stoner .</div> <bR> <div> Flora A married Henry Scholer and had 3 children. Henry Scholer and Mary Scholer (Alonzo’s wife) were brother and sister. Alonzo and Alfonzo were twins. Children of Flora and Henry are Mary Inez, Carl Henry, and Noah Bernard.</div> <bR> <div> The family tells stories of relatives from Rochester NY visiting on their way to other parts of the country.   </div> <bR> <div> William Frederick kept the pictures that were taken during that time, and in 1957 their home burned to the ground. Most of the pictures and other items from Bernhard and Mary Jane were destroyed. </div> <bR> <div> There are several Hilfiker family descendents still living in Jay County IN and several of them are still in farming. Among Bernhard’s descendents are Registered nurses, teachers, engineers, barbers, mechanics, businessmen and businesswomen, administrators, factory workers, heavy equipment operators. Just about all of the Hilfikers have a high, wide forehead like Bernhardt and have above average intelligence. </div> <bR> <div> It has been exciting to find new relatives in the United States, and a real plus to be in contact with relatives in Switzerland. Alfred and Christian Hilfiker and our other relatives in Switzerland have been invaluable to us while searching for our roots. </div> <bR> <div> Our family thought there were very few Hilfikers in the US and we have been proven wrong. We thought if it wasn’t spelled exactly like we spell it they weren’t related. Relatives are spread across the United States from coast to coast.</div> <div> By the way, the Hilfikers in this area pronounce the name with a long “i” after the f. This is the way Bernhard *1834 pronounced the name and it has been carried down through the generations. </div> <bR> <div> Farming has changed a great deal since Bernhard’s farming days. The typical farm then was from 50 acres to 150 acres was considered large. They farmed with horses and of course small tillage tools. Now with large machinery and advanced corn and soybean hybrids allowing planting earlier in the spring, the acreage climbs to 500 acres to 2000 acres one family can handle and do a thorough job. We now have   the ability to dry large amounts of   shelled corn down to a moisture level that will keep safely stored until the next summer. The huge 50,000 bushel grain bins are used to store shelled corn and soybeans and also some wheat. Livestock enterprises are also larger and getting larger yet each year. 120,000 laying hens would have been impossible back then and it is commonplace today. There are pullet houses that raise the chickens to fill the large layer houses. 2000 to 5000 head of various size hogs, from baby pigs to market size hogs, also a herd of 100 or more sows, and thousands of turkeys for market. All of these animals are in confined housing where the lights, feed and temperature are controlled to promote the most eggs or the quickest growing hogs. Most diseases that were fatal to livestock back then are pretty much under control with the advances in veterinary medications. Cholera and other dreaded diseases have been wiped out. There are days when we wonder if getting larger, faster, more proficient and so forth is better than the old ways of farming, I know it is still hard work, very time demanding and requires large capital resources.</div> <div> Land or whole farms that sold for $100.00 or less per acre in Bernhard’s day now sell for $3000. to $4000. per acre. Combines to harvest soybeans, wheat and shell the corn sell for $150,000. to $200,000 today. Tractors of 200 horsepower are selling for $75,000 to $80,000. Old Dobbin just needed a warm, dry place to stay, some good hay and oats.<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Photos courtesy of Alan & Sue Hilfiker</div> <div>       </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.globalscape.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.globalscape.com"><U><IMG SRC="0c754290.gif" border=0 width="84" height="41" ALT="CSB Bug" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>  Send your comments or suggestions to web master at <A HREF="mailto:wm@hilficker.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:wm@hilficker.com"><U>wm@hilficker.com</U></A>.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.addr.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.addr.com"><U><IMG SRC="071581f0.gif" border=0 width="88" height="31" ALT="Addr Bug" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></FONT></div> <div>  </div> <div>    </div> <div>   </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>