THE JOHN BURKHARDT FAMILY
In 1870 John Burkhardt came to America from Bohemia. He first worked
in a stone quarry near Chicago, but his dream was to find a place
where water and wood were plentiful. This dream was fulfilled when
he took a homestead, built a log house, and obtained a timber claim
along the Middle Branch Creek, southwest of Verdigre.
John’s future wife, Margaretha Sukup, came to America from Hoslaw,
Bohemia, prior to John’s arrival, and established a homestead on 160
acres ten miles southwest of Verdigre. In December of 1876, they
were married in Niobrara and settled on John’s homestead. Their
daughters were Annie, Mary, Barbara, Elizabeth and Rose; their sons
were Joseph, Andrew, and John, Jr.
Several of the Burkhardts were carpenters; Andrew inherited this
ability, also. In 1911 he built a home on the land which his mother,
Margaretha, had homesteaded. Andrew married Ida Janna in 1915 at St.
Wenceslaus Church. Their children were Marjorie, Gordon and Rosalie.
Marjorie began teaching in 1937 in a rural school near Niobrara,
with a salary of $55 per month. Eight years later, she became the
wife of Wm. Rudloff. They farmed northwest of Verdigre. Nine
children were born to them: Denis, Loretta, Marce, Joe, Cecil,
Vivian, Helen, Mary and Tom. Father Oborny baptized all of them.
Helen died at the age of seven; Cecil drowned at the age of 20, and
her husband William died in 1968.
Marjorie moved to Creighton with Mary and Tom in 1972. The Care
Centre is where Marjorie was employed for ten years. In 1981 she
married Felix Rayer of Omaha.
Denis farms the “home place” west of Verdigre. His children are
Paul, Glen, Jason, and Kristi. Loretta married David Hrbek and they
farm near Creighton. Their daughters are Kayla and Christina. Marce
and her husband, Curt Sikyta, an attorney, live at Ord. Their
children are Heather and Jacob. Joe Rudloff, owner of Rudloff
Construction, married Gloria Pavlik and they reside in Norfolk with
their daughters, Rochelle and Tricia. Vivian and husband, Ray
Patrick, farm near North Loup. They have a son, Adam. Mary and her
husband, Mike Vollbrecht, a medical technologist, live in Norfolk
and have a son, Nathan. Tom is an electrician and lives with his
wife Beata in Creighton.
John and Margaretha’s grandson Gordon Burkhardt married June Schuman
of Spencer in 1959. They reside on a ranch four miles southwest of
Verdigre and also own the land that his grandfather homesteaded,
marking a third generation ownership. Their children are: Bill, who
with his wife Deb lives in the home built by Andrew in 1911 (on
Grandmother’s homestead), George is a carpenter, having received a
diploma from trade school. He has a lumber mill and also does
cabinetmaking. Elizabeth attended the University of Nebraska four
years and is in her second year at the University of California in
Berkeley, studying for a Ph.D. in chemistry. Ed attended the
University of Nebraska.
[pg211 PHOTO The Andrew Burkhardt family - from left: Marjorie
Rudloff Rayer, Mrs. Andrew [Ida Janna] Burkhardt, Gordon, Rosalie
Vondracek, and Andrew Burkhardt [center’
Rosalie married John Vondracek in 1953. They reside at Oxford,
Nebraska, where they manage their real estate development company.
John graduated from the University of Nebraska ad was a teacher and
administrator for 23 years. Their children are: Kathryn, a R.N.
graduate of the College of St. Mary’s at Omaha. Her husband is Kirk
Fox and their children are Nathan and Kylie. Susan is a Kearney
State graduate, married to Kevin Biskup; children are Blake, Sally
and Bret. Debbie’s husband is John Gibson; Tricia and Adam are their
children. John, Jr., attended K.S.C. and is an automotive salesman
in Lincoln. Barbara attended Kearney State College.
In 1972 it was learned that Burkhardt descendants were living in
Austria and Germany. Gordon corresponded with them. In 1984, a son
of theirs, Karl Burkhardt with his wife Anna, daughter Regina and
husband Gunter came to visit relatives in Nebraska.
Research shows over 250 descendants in America, including John’s
brother George’s family and their two sisters, Mary and Margaret who
married Hoffman brothers at Pierce, Nebraska.
In 1985 Felix and Marjorie Rayer visited in the homes of the cousins
in Austria and Germany. It was most interesting to meet the
relatives and see the country that was the home of their
grandparents over a century ago - 115 years to be exact.
-Submitted by Marjorie Burkhardt Rayer
Pages
210, 211
