Earlier, I reported that Margaretha Hinkel was likely born on 23 August 1860 somewhere in Indiana. I further proposed that she may have been the eldest child of John Hinkle and Elizabeth Morgel, both immigrants from Prussia (Germany). The surname spelling is interchangeable between Hinkle and Hinkel. I will try to be consistent with my usage.
Among all of my evidence to make my hypothesis, I cited that there were no other Hinkels old enough to be her parents in Harrison County, Iowa around the time of her marriage to Ohlrick Kucks. There are many Hinkels in Indiana in various counties, but only one John and Elizabeth living near Morgals and Kahlers who moved to Harrison County, Iowa at the same time as the same Morgals and Kahlers from Indiana. The Kahlers have direct ties to Ohlrick Kucks in Iowa (he lived with them and sometimes near them).
John Hinkel of Harrison County, Iowa was born in Prussia/Germany (lower Saxony near Hannover, probably in a town called Oebergoenns or Obergonns) he and Elizabeth Morgel were married in Prussia and immigrated to America with her family (mother, brother and his wife, and two sisters). Their ship, Therese, departed from the port of Bremerhaven, Bremen, Prussia/Germany and arrived in New York at the recently opened Castle Garden on 13 June 1859 (now Castle Clinton National Monument). On their papers they stated they were heading for Wisconsin.
Why were they headed for Wisconsin, specifically? Well, without further information on their religion or financial status, it is hard to say with certainty (I know, you’re probably tired of hearing how uncertain I am about things, but history is never really certain). There were several waves of German immigrants heading to Wisconsin and in different socio-economic groups who had various reasons for leaving the fatherland. The earliest wave to Wisconsin was due (mostly) in part to the ingenuity of land speculators and their relationship with early-early German immigrants. They had their new German friends write home to tell them how great it was and how much land was available at a reasonable price. Once word got out many groups of Germans were further influenced by religious persecutions at home, war/mandatory conscription, or limited opportunities. I don’t know who or what connections our Hinkels and Morgals had in Wisconsin as they may never have made it there.
Instead of Wisconsin, they ended up in Prairie Township, Warren County, Indiana. Their children were all born in Indiana, possibly all in Warren County and it is in Indiana that the Kahlers are introduced to the extended family. Their move to Iowa can be narrowed down to between 1875 and 1877 (the year of the last child born in Indiana by his brother-in-law, John Morgal and the year of the first child born in Iowa by his sister-in-law, Margaret Kahler). His eldest daughter, Margaretha, married Ohlrick Kucks by 1878 in Mondamin, Harrison County, Iowa.
John dies between 1880 and 1885. This was calculated based on the last census he is enumerated in and the first Iowa Census that Elizabeth is enumerated in identifying her as a widow. Find-a-grave attributes a civil war veteran burial to him, but as with all veteran headstones there are no dates inscribed, just his name and unit. This John “Hinkle” was buried in the Noyes Cemetery in Mondamin, Harrison County, Iowa. There is an Elizabeth Hinkel buried in the same cemetery, but the image of her headstone also lacks dates. Since these particular Find-a-grave profiles don’t specify plot locations, I can’t tell if they are buried near each other. I did find John “Hinkle’s” headstone requisition through the government which records his date of death as 5 April 1883 and burial in Mondamin, Harrison County, Iowa. No other John Hinkle or Hinkel of this age is buried in this county.
An interesting side-note (to a genealogist) about the Noyes family (which the cemetery was named for), John Hinkel’s daughter, Elizabeth/Lizzi may have been living with a Noyes or Noyer family in 1885 as Lizbeth Hinkel. There is another Noyes/Noyer family living near Elizabeth Morgal Hinkel in 1885 also. This is the same Aunt Lizzie Adams who moved to Nebraska and whose home one of Ohlrick and Margaretha’s daughters was living at briefly. Connections everywhere to which explanations are scarce!
Back to John…Iowa burial records show he was a Union Army veteran of the Civil War; a private in Company D, 86th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry. John was mustered into the unit at Warren County on 15 August 1862 and then was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps (aka the Invalid Corps) on 13 March 1865. Perhaps it was his service during the Civil War that stalled their movement to Wisconsin. He filed for a pension in 1872. Next step – order his pension file to see what information it contains about his transfer to the invalid corps. and his family.
Genealogical Summary:
John Hinkel was born in Prussia around 1831 or 1832. He married Elizabeth Morgel in Prussia before 1859. He and Elizabeth immigrated to America in 1859.
John was a veteran of the Civil War enlisting on 15 August 1862 in Company D of the 86th Regiment, Indiana Infantry. He was transferred on 13 March 1865 to the Veteran Reserve Corps possibly due to some injury in the line of duty.
He died in Harrison County, Iowa on 5 April 1883 and was laid to rest in Noyes Cemetery in Mondamin, Harrison County, Iowa.
John Hinkel and Elizabeth Morgel had the following children:
- Margaretha Hinkel who married Ohlrick Kucks.
- Elizabeth (Lizzie or Lizbeth) Hinkel born either 1868 or 1866 in Indiana. She married Thomas A. Adams on 1 December 1887 in Omaha, Nebraska. She died before 1930 based on absence in census and husband listed as a widow.
- Helena Hinkel was born about March 1870 or 1871 in Indiana. She married Edward Peary or Pearey on 29 August 1895 in Logan, Harrison County, Iowa. She died in 1944 and is buried in Magnolia, Harrison County, Iowa.
- John Hinkel was born on 24 October 1872 in Indiana and married Clara Fairchild on 22 August 1893 in Magnolia, Harrison County, Iowa.
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