Catherine (Burkel) Grammel (1845 - 1912)*

According to the immigration documentation that I have accepted as the most likely match for Sebastian Burkel, he had a single child before he and his wife, Catherine, emigrated to the United States in 1847. That child, a daughter also named Catherine, is listed as two years old in December of 1847 which would put her birth date in 1845.
Catherine is listed on the census in 1860 as 15 years old. By the time of the next census, in 1870 she is no longer listed with the family. She would have been 25 years old by then.
I had assumed that she had been married at some point between 1860 and 1870. It was not until this past year that my assumption was proven correct by the release of  more Michigan marriage listings on Ancestry.com.
On 9 Nov 1869 Catherine Burkel was married to Louis "Grimel" of Royal Oak, MI. They were wed at St. Mary's Church. Catherine's brother Anthony "Anton" Burkel was a witness along with Josephina "Schobe". The place of birth for both Catherine and Louis is listed as France, and Louis is listed as a Farmer. (See Below)

Detail of marriage record for Catherine Burkel and Louis Grimel - 9 Nov 1869

With each year the census documents include more and more information. That is why finding the marriage information for Catherine was so important. Without her married name I lost track of her after 1860. I had no way to tell what had happened in her adult life, or if she even survived past the age of 15.
On the 1870 census "Kate" and Louis "Gremmal" are listed as living in the township of Royal Oak. Their estate was worth a modest $1400.00 (Compared to Sebastian's $2400.00). They both have parents of foreign birth. By 1880 "Catarina" and "Loui Grammel" were listed as living in Detroit, Wayne, MI. Both of them list their own, plus their mother and father's birthplace as France. Loui's occupation is listed as "Dealing in Wood" which likely meant he was a carpenter. Catherine's occupation is listed as "Keeping House". (Interesting that they considered this an occupation in 1880!) There are no children listed.

Census for Louis and Catherine Grammel, 1870

In the census from 1900 Catherine  "Kate" is listed as 55 years old, her birth year is 1845 and she has been married to Louis for 31 years. They lived in Royal Oak, MI. According to the census, Louis immigrated in 1854 and became a naturalized citizen. Catherine's immigration year is listed as 1848 and she is not listed as a naturalized citizen. Under "mother of how many children" there appears to be a very faint number 1. Under "number of those children living" there is a very clear "0". The nativity of Catherine, Louis and both of their parents is listed as France. They can both read, write and speak English. Louis owns his home "free" meaning it is not mortgaged. Neither of them have an occupation listed.
By 1910 "Katherine" and "Loius Grammel" were still living in Royal Oak. Most of the information is similar to, but slightly different from what was listed in previous years. The nativity of Louis, Catherine, and their parents is now listed  as "France Ger" instead of France. Catherine's immigration year is listed as 1865. Neither of them are listed as having an occupation, Louis is listed as living on his "own account". They both speak English and can read and write. In the 1900 census, Louis is listed as owning his house, now he is listed as owning a home that includes a farm. There is a space for veteran of the Civil War, and in this space there is a very faintly written "19" for Louis. There is also a "9" in the space for blind and an "X" in the space for deaf and dumb. On this census it is more clear that Catherine had at least one child, and it did not survive.

Census for Louis and Catherine Grammel, 1910

After the 1910 census I have not been able to locate any further information for Catherine. Louis was married again on 6 Nov 1913 to Mary Bower of Macomb Co. My guess is that Catherine passed away sometime between 1910 and 1913.
There is a death certificate for someone named "Esther Gremmel" of Royal Oak. She was born in 1846 in France. Her mother is listed as Catherine "Shope" and her father is listed as John Rusie, and he was born in Michigan. I feel like, even though some of the information does not match up, this might be Catherine. Sometimes the records don't always match. For instance, the marriage record of Louis Grammel and Mary Bower seems to be attached to the wrong "next" page. (See below) As you follow across the page, it looks like the lines do not match up. I am wondering if this could be the reason that there is some matching and non-matching information in the death record for "Esther". For instance, it seems odd that she would have been born in France, but her father was born in Michigan.
So, for the death record the last name, residence, mother's first and last name, birth place and year are all a close match. Since Louis remarried in 1913 I have accepted (for now) that Catherine passed away in 1912.

Detail of marriage record for Louis Grammel and Mary Bower

Anthony (Anton) Burkel (1849 - 1918)

Anthony (Anton) Burkel was born sometime between 1845 and 1850. He was the first son of Sebastian and Catherine Burkel. He was also the first of my particular branch of "Burkel's" to be born in the United States. Although I have been unable to find an exact date of birth for Anthony, the 1870 census lists him as being 21 years old in July of that year. That would put his date of birth around 1849.
The census of 1870 lists Anthony as working on the family farm in Greenfield Township in SE Michigan. The census of 1880 also lists him as working on the farm, but in a column to denote "Sick" persons Anthony is listed as having "Asma". The relevance of this information did not dawn on me until later in my investigation.
From information from the Michigan "Wills and Probate"database I was able to locate copies of the settlement of Sebastian Burkel's estate. The initial documents were filed on 12 Jun 1884, but it looks like the estate was not settled until October of 1889. Since Anthony was the eldest son, he served as executor of the estate. After all was said and done each of the brothers (Anthony, Aloysious, Joseph, and August) received the sum of $125.00. This would have been about $3289.47 in today's dollars.

Signature of Anthony Burkel as appeared on Will and Probate documentation for the estate of Sebastian Burkel

At some point (presumably following his inheritance) Anthony moved to Colorado. In 1893 Anthony is listed in the Denver, CO city directory. He lived at 934 10th street. He was still in Denver by the next year, but had moved to room #3 at 1466 S. 10th street. He moved again before the directory was published in 1895 (945 11th Street). 

The next 10 years of Anthony's life are not well documented, but in 1905 he is listed as an employee of the St. Anthony's Hospital on W. 16th Ave. (between Quitman and Raleigh) in Denver. He was a resident of the hospital working as a staff gardener. 

From the 1910 census I learned that Anthony was single, still working and living at the hospital. The census lists his parent's birthplace as Germany. He was a wage earner, and he could read and write. There is also a column on this census that denotes Civil War veterans. There is a #4 in this space next to Anthony's name. 

Initially, I assumed that the #4 in the space meant that Anthony had served in the Civil War for 4 years. When I did the math, this did not make a lot of sense. If Anthony was born in 1849 - he would only have been 11 years old at the start of the war. I searched the Civil War veteran database for his name - and I did find the name "Anton Burkel" who was a soldier for the Confederacy that had been taken prisoner. Was this our Anthony? Maybe he was part of a drum and fife corps or maybe he lied about his age (which was not unprecedented). 

In 1911 Anthony was still at the hospital working as a "driver". In 1912-13 he is listed again as a gardener. Anthony died on 8 Aug 1918. He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery at Wheat Ridge in Jefferson County, CO. (Section 10, Block 5) Someone made sure that he was buried and had a monument to his life. 

Monument for Anthony Burkel 1849 - 1918 at Mount Olivet Cemetery at Wheat Ridge in Jefferson County, Colorado

Two facts about Anthony were interesting to me: first - why did he move to Denver, Colorado? Second, was he really a Civil War veteran?
An article from the Denver Post (Tuberculosis in Colorado History) helped shed some light on a

"It was a widely held belief that by 1900 'one-third of Colorado’s population possible reason for Anthony's move to Denver:were residents of the state because of tuberculosis,' Fresh air, year-round sunshine, low humidity and the higher elevations provided relief from the symptoms ... according to a doctoral dissertation by history scholar Cynthia Stout."

The symptoms of Tuberculosis are similar to the symptoms of Asthma. Recall that Anthony is listed on the 1880 census as having "Asma". Perhaps (2nd Great) Uncle Anthony traveled to Denver with the hopes that the change in climate would help minimize the symptoms of his sickness. It is possible that he may even have been suffering from Tuberculosis (or Consumption as it was called then) and it had been misdiagnosed on the 1880 census.
The hospital that Anthony worked for (St. Anthony's) began as a sanatorium for Tuberculosis patients. As the population in Denver began to swell the need for hospitals and places to house the sick grew. In 1884 seven nuns arrived from Lafayette, Indiana. As part of the newly formed "American Branch of the Poor Sisters of St. Francis Seraph of Perpetual Adoration" the sisters worked tirelessly with the sick. They also raised enough money to open a hospital that was dedicated 13 Jan 1893. It was here that Anthony lived until he died in August 1918.

Photo from St. Anthony's Hospital, Denver CO. Website

Trying to determine if Anthony truly was a veteran of the Civil War ended up being much easier than I had anticipated. Knowing that he was only 11 years old at the start of the war made it seem unlikely that he had served. Additionally, Michigan was decidedly part of the Union. Anthony would have had to "switch sides" to be part of the Confederacy.

For the last several years I have conducted my ancestry investigations using Ancestry.com. They charge a monthly fee - which I gladly pay. Over the years the amount of information that I have had access to has more than doubled. The website is constantly expanding their databases.

A few weeks ago I was finally able to solve the mystery of Uncle Anthony's alleged Civil War service. Believe it or not, there was a second "Anthony Burkel" who was from Louisiana! His real name was "Antoine F. Burkel" and he was born in 1845. His was the name I had seen on the Civil War Muster rolls and prisoner lists. At some point following the war Antoine moved to Illinois (just outside of Chicago). He lived there with his wife, Alice, until he died in 1893.

At this point I do not have enough information to determine if this branch of Burkels are blood relatives. Recently, there have been a few Burkels from New Orleans that have popped up on my ancestry radar. It is possible that these are relatives, but I may never know for sure.