HOW THE BERTKES GOT TO CINCINNATI

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PICTURED ABOVE: The Cincinnati Bertke's; Nettie Bertke Kanis top left, her mother, Nellie Kurmer Bertke to her right and her son Earl John Kanis bottom left. It is believed the woman on the far right is Catherine Bertke, John Dietrick Bertke's daughter. Circa 1920

Bernard Bertke and Maria Adelheid Bertke were from the Kettenkamp-Ankum area in Lower Saxony, Germany. There, they lived in the barn on the property where they were tenant farmers. Bertke descendants who have traveled back to the old country in recent years have confirmed that this barn still stands in Saxony. 

Farm life was very difficult in 1830’s Germany. The Bertkes, like so many other Germans at the time, were hearing about inexpensive farmland and the many opportunities to be found in the new world. 

So, in the summer of 1837, Bernard and Maria packed up by their four sons; Bernard II, Herman Henry, John Dietrick and George, and their only daughter Catherine along with all that they could carry and set out for America seeking a better life. On July 27, 1837 they departed from the Port of Bremen, Germany most likely traveling northward up the Weser River to the North Sea, then setting sail for the nearly 4,500 nautical mile westbound trip to America.

After the arduous journey across the Atlantic, the Bertke family arrived on the coast of Virginia near Norfolk. They traveled up the James River to Richmond where they regrouped and began their trip over land. Traveling up and over the Appalachian Mountains, they eventually arrived at the Kanawha River somewhere near Charleston, West Virginia. There they gathered materials, built a raft and launched it. They floated downstream to the where the Kanawha meets the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. There they turned their raft westward and began heading down the mighty Ohio. 

After days and days of traveling down steam they landed near the mouth of the Miami River in the southwestern most part of Ohio near the Indiana border where they disembarked with all of their belongings. After a few days of preparation, they began their travel northward over land up the Miami River Valley to Dayton, Ohio. Now on the high ground, they continued on until arriving on the southeastern corner of Mercer County. There, they were able to acquire title to one hundred sixty acres of land. It was now late autumn, They quickly constructed a log cabin, gathered food and supplies and prepared for the long winter ahead. Their diet consisted of wild game and grain that was given to them by other settlers. 

During that first winter, The Bertke's began clearing several acres of land on the high ground for cultivation. Each year they toiled expanding their tillable land acre by acre getting a foothold on the farm. Tragically, Bernard I was struck and killed by a falling tree while clearing the land. The actual date of which is unknown. 

Bernard II, being the eldest son, was left to tend to the farm which he did for his entire life. Getting on in years, Bernard II would often rest under a shade tree with his children and grand children and tell tales of his life. He would often talk about about the tremendous obstacles his entire family had to overcame while traveling to America. He spoke about the early days of farm life in Ohio, about making cornmeal in the hollow of a tree stump, chasing deer from the fields, about the cholera epidemic and about the bushwhackers. 

Bernard II also spoke of his friend Phoebe Ann Moses (Annie Oakley) who he apparently knew very well. She lived a few miles down the road from him just over the Darke County line. Annie often came up to hunt on the Bertke farm. Bernard II told the story of the time when Annie was challenged to show off her marksmanship skills. So she quickly looked up, turned, and with just one shot from her rifle picked off the lead goose in a flock flying in formation over the Bertke farm. There was tonight's dinner!

By the late 1840's, the youngest Bertke son, George, decided to leave farm life behind and head out over land west to California, a treacherous 2,400 mile trip. Not knowing if George was even dead or alive for years, the Bertkes eventually got word that he was indeed successful in surviving the long trip to California. Later in life, it is documented that George Bertke became the sheriff of Mariposa County, California near what is now Yosemite National Park. 

Catherine, the only Bertke daughter, became a cook in one of the Miami and Erie Canal construction camps. Sadly, she took sick and died. It's told that Catherine is buried in an unmarked grave near the edge of the Miami and Erie Canal somewhere between lock #2 and St Mary’s, Ohio. 

As for how the Bertkes eventually settled in Cincinnati, well that was because of John Dietrick Bertke. In 1850, John Dietrick married a very young Frances Heitman. She was only 18 at the time. They too were growing weary of farm life and decided to move south to the big city. By that time, Cincinnati was a bustling city of over one hundred thousand people and was quickly becoming one of the largest cities in the United States. 

When John Dietrick and Frances first arrived in Cincinnati they moved into a home on Sycamore Street. There, they began a very large family having eight children in all. Sadly, one died shortly after birth, two died very young and one died at the age of 20.

John Deitrick Bertke worked as a boot maker in Cincinnati. He did well until severely injuring his right arm forcing him to give up the trade. Sometime after, he and his wife Francis leased a building in the west end of Cincinnati at the corner of Gest and Freeman Streets. There, the Bertkes opened a saloon and boarding house.

By the late 1870’s, John Dietrick's health began failing. His two sons, Edward and Henry, were now old enough to take care of the family business. His wife Frances and his oldest daughter Catherine cared for him. In 1879, with his family by his side, John Dietrick Bertke passed away in his new-found hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was only 59 years old.

John Dietrick's son, Edward Bertke, would eventually marry Nellie Kurmer. Together they had three children, Arthur (Uncle Art), Petronella (Nettie) and George Dewey (Uncle Dewey). 

Nettie would go on to marry Clarence John Kanis. Together they had one child, Earl John Kanis. Earl would eventually marry Mary Frances Corcoran. Together they had six children; Jerome, Thomas, Richard, John III, Patrick and Katherine Ann, many of whom still live in the Cincinnati area to this day.

- Adapted from stories told long ago under a shade tree on the Bertke Family Farm in Mercer County, Ohio