Martin BENDER

According to Martin's family Bible, he had 5 brothers: Johan, Friedrich, Jakob, Martin, and Vallentin.
Johan, Jakob, and Martin are said to have died in Kassel.
Friedrich apparently was still alive in Russia.
Valentine is listed as dead in America.
Sisters - Christina, Philipina (b. 03 MAY 1863, d. 1944; buried at Linton ND), Katharina, and Karolina.
Christina and Philipina were in America and alive at the time of his entry.
Katharina died in America
Karolina died in Russia.

Entry RL:182 in the Kassel census of 1858 (Stumpp 694) shows a Johann Bender, age 37, with a wife named Katarina, age 32. Children are listed as Johann, 13, Friedrich, 11, Jakob, 8, Martin, 2, and Christine, 4. These names match exactly the entries in Martin's family Bible.

LIFE IN SOUTH RUSSIA

13 NOV 1860 - Martin Bender was born in Kassel, Glükstal province of South Russia, now the Ukraine.

15 APR 1861 - Christina Knoll was born in Kassel.

Birth to 1883 - Events and living conditions are unknown.

18 JAN 1883 - Martin married Christina in Kassel.
The new 34-year-old Kassel pastor who officiated at the wedding is listed as Pastor Ebele (Bender 12). This corresponds with Pastor Georg Leonhard Eppeler (GCRA Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 2, p. 2), born in 1849 in Winterbach, Waiblingen, Würtemberg, Germany who came to Kassel late in 1882 (age 33) from the Caucasus, where he had pastored in Alexanderhilf from 1875 to 1877, and in Elisabethal from 1879 to 1882. He served as pastor in Kassel from 1882 to 1897. Nothing else is known, except that he died in 1925.

17 JUL 1883 - ELIZABETH was born in Kassel. She was apparently born prematurely and died at birth. An entry in the family Bible says that she is with Jesus (Bender 15).

12 MAY 1884 - KATHARINA [Schnabel] was born in Kassel. She died 16 Mar 1987 in Wishek, ND at 102 y. 10 m. 4 d., two months short of her 103rd birthday.

20 SEP 1885 - MARTIN, Jr. was born in Kassel; he died 03 Feb 1968, age 82 y. 4 m. 14 d.

COMING TO AMERICA

02 DEC 1885 - At age 25, Martin, accompanied by his wife Christina (24), daughter Katharina (18 months), son Martin (2 months), mother-in-law Katharine Knoll (51), and her other daughters, Elisabeth (17) and Catharine (9) (Hamburg Passenger List Index, LDS, #473 085, p. 1592) left South Russia via Hamburg, Germany for New York on the German steam ship Suevia, under the command of Capt. Ludwig. They arrived at Castle Garden in New York on 16 Dec 1885.

Reasons for leaving Russia and details of travel from Kassel to America are unknown.

LIFE IN AMERICA

After disembarking in New York, the family rode the newly constructed Milwaukee Railroad to Tyndal, SD, where they spent the rest of the winter of 1885-6 (Venturia Golden Jubilee Book, 1951).

Spring of 1886 - traveled by ox-team to Venturia, ND. Homesteaded land located 6 miles west and 2 miles north of Venturia, ND (Schnabel anniversary article, Ashley Tribune, 16 Jan 1956).

Food had to be gotten from Ellendale, about 50 miles to the east. Martin would have to walk for several days, carrying everything himself, because they had no horses to ride.

Prairie fires were a common event, and to escape the flames, they would have to start a small fire and stand in the burned spot while the larger fire burned around them.

Martin loved to play the violin when the family got together (Leah Krause Wiedmann, Apr. 5, 2001).

20 JUL 1887 - FRIEDRICH was born in Venturia, ND (Headstone shows DOB as 20 Jun/Family Bible says 20 Jul).

21 SEP 1887 - Friedrich died at age 2 m. 1 d. Originally buried in a corner of a field. Remains were later moved to Kassel Baptist Cemetery, McIntosh County, ND.

12 JAN 1888 - The great "Children's Blizzard". Nothing is known about how it affected the Bender family.

10 JUL 1888 - PHILIPINA [Dockter] was born at Venturia ND. She died 08 JUL 1973, 2 days short of 85 years.

20 SEP 1890 - AUGUST was born at Venturia, ND. He died 15 MAY 1947, age 56 y. 7 m 25 d.

1891 - Martin and Christina became members of the Danzig Baptist church (Christina's obituary, Ashley Tribune).

10 JAN 1892 - LYDIA [Woehl] was born at Venturia, ND. She died 09 Jun 1942, age 50 y. 4 m. 30 d.

22 FEB 1893 - JACOB was born at Venturia, ND. He died 22 Nov 1900 at age 7 y. 9 m.

11 JUN 1894 - CHRISTINA [Schrenk] was born at Venturia, ND. At age 99 she is still living in a nursing home in Aberdeen, South Dakota as of this writing (12/93).

30 NOV 1895 - ALBINA [Feiock] was born at Venturia, ND. She died 22 Jun 1956, age 60 y. 6 m. 23 d.

20 JUN 1897 - BERTHA [Krause] was born at Venturia, ND. She died in 1987 at age 90.

18 JAN 1899 - FRIEDA [Krause] was born at Venturia, ND. She died in Fargo, ND at the home of her daughter, Leah [Wiedmann] on 18 Jan 1988, her 89th birthday. She is buried beside her husband, Jacob Krause in the Sunset Memorial Gardens south of Fargo, ND.

11 JUN 1900 - SAMUEL was born at Venturia, ND. He died 16 Jul 1972, age 72 y. 1 m. 5 d.

22 NOV 1900 - JACOB died at age 7 y. 9 m. He was originally buried alongside Friedrich in a corner of the family field, but their remains were later moved to the Kassel Baptist Cemetery, McIntosh County, ND.

1902 - Martin bought the first steam threshing machine in McIntosh County. At first an engineer had to be hired to run it, but within a short time, the family could run it without professional help.

21 OCT 1902 - GINTHON was born at Venturia, ND. He died 11 Mar 1942, age 39 y. 4 m. 18 d.

15 DEC 1903 - JOHAN was born at Venturia, ND and died at birth. Originally, he was buried with Friedrich and Jacob in a corner of the family field, but their remains were later removed to Kassel Baptist Cemetery, McIntosh County, ND.

When the Kassel Baptist Church was built (1/2 mile east of the Bender house), the graves of the three children buried in the field were dug up and the remains moved to the Kassel Cemetery. The wooden caskets had rotted and the bodies had deteriorated to bones, which fell apart when moved. This was a very disturbing experience for Martin, and affected him throughout later life.

16 JAN 1906 - KATHERINA was the first of the children to marry, wedded to Jacob Schnabel at the Kassel Baptist Church, northwest of Venturia in McIntosh County, ND.

03 JAN 1910 - PHILIPINA married Gottlieb G. Dockter.

1912 - MARTIN and CHRISTINA BENDER became charter members of the newly-organized Venturia Baptist Church (Christina's obituary, Ashley Tribune).

28 JAN 1913 - LYDIA married Fred Woehl in Wishek, ND.

05 APR 1915 - BERTHA married Gottlieb Krause.

1917 - Lightning hit the barn and killed all of the family's cattle.

Before 1925, but after 1910 - MARTIN wrote his family's history in his Bible. No weddings or grandchildren are mentioned. His mother is listed on the first page as having died in 1910; Valentine died in 1924 and is listed as dead on the last page.

12 APR 1925 - SAMUEL married Leah Breitling.

1928 - MARTIN left the farm to operate a service station in Venturia with his son Ginthon for three years, until selling his interest in the station just prior to his death.

03 JUL 1931 - MARTIN died at Venturia, ND, age 70 y. 7 m. 20 d. According to his death certificate (Essig), he died at his home on Friday morning at 8 A.M. from cancer of the lung and senility after an illness of about 6 months. He is buried in the Venturia cemetery.

11 MAR 1942 - GINTHON died at Venturia, ND, age 39 y. 4 m. 18 d.

09 JUN 1942 - LYDIA [Woehl] died at age 50 y. 4 m. 30 d.

15 MAY 1947 - AUGUST died at age 56 y. 7 m. 25 d.

13 OCT 1953 - CHRISTINA died of cancer at the home of her daughter, Katy Schnabel, in Venturia, ND at the age of 92 y. 5 m. 28 d. She is buried in the Venturia cemetery.