The present day members of the “Familie von Berckefeldt” trace their ancestry to Karl Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Eberhard von Berckefeldt, b. 23 May 1795 in Hannover, Germany, d. 12 November 1865 in Osnabrück, Germany. This was because his siblings all died in childhood or without issue, thus he became the primary ancestor of our family as we know it today. Karl Georg was a Colonel in the Royal Hannoverian Army and was Commandant of the garrison at Osnabrück. [photo: Commemorative poster]

Karl Georg married Sophie Dorothea Johanna Friederike Kritter on 29 July 1819 in Münden, Germany. She was b. 10 October 1796 in Harpstedt, Germany, and d. 19 January 1869 in Barsinghausen, Germany. She was the daughter of August Moritz Christian Kritter. [photos: Karl, Sophie, Karl and Sophie standing]

Karl Georg was the son of Ludwig Ernst Leopold von Berckefeldt and Christiana Sophie Laurette von Hugo. We can further trace his von Berckefeldt ancestry back over 10 generations through the use of old German records and publications as follows:

• Paternal grandparents:
  Christian Ernst von Berckefeldt and Albertine Christiane Wilhelmine von Hessburg
• Maternal grandparents:
  Georg von Hugo and Sophia Maria Eleonora Duve
• Paternal great-grandparents:
  Heinrich Ernst von Berckefeldt and Christine Luise von Stollenfels
• Maternal great-grandparents:
  Philipp Conrad von Hugo and Sophia Catharina Meyer
• Paternal gg-grandparents:
  Franz Ernst von Berckefeldt and Juliana Margarete von Lassberg
• Maternal gg-grandparents:
  Johann Burchard Hugo and Anna Sophia Wiesenhaver

Beyond the gg-grandparents we have records for only the paternal line that continues as follows:

• Ggg-grandparents:
  Jobst Rudolph von Berckefeldt and Dorothea von Minnigerode [photo: Jobst’s church]
• Gggg-grandparents:
  Otto von Berckefeldt and Katharina von Bültzingslöwen

It is from this point that surnames did not exist in all cases so we can only list the given names of the previous 7 generations of ancestors: Otto, Pfeil, Heinrich, Kuno, Georg, Henrich, and Barthold. This takes us back to about 1350. Some family files would indicate an ancestor by the name of Pils in the 11th Century.

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Children of Karl Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Eberhard von Berckefeldt and Sophie Dorothea Johanna Friederike Kritter

1. Rudolph Moritz Karl Ludwig Albert von Berckefeldt, b. 24 October 1823 in Münden, Germany, d. 17 December 1859 in Iburg, Germany. Rudolph is reported to have been an assessor and a law student. He did not marry.
2. Luise Laurette Antionette von Berckefeldt, b. 12 October 1825 in Münden, Germany, d. 28 June 1899 in Barsinghausen, Germany. Luise did not marry and, after her father died, she moved to Barshinghausen. She lived as a lady of the cloister until her death. It is her coat of arms shown in the picture of the stained-glass window in Barsinghausen on the Family Crest page. [photo: Luise]
3. Ottomar Karl August von Berckefeldt, b. 22 October 1826 in Münden, Germany, d. 2 April 1908 in Lingen, Germany. He served in the post office department in Germany, married, and had two children.
   »Descendants of Ottomar Karl August
4. Alexander Adolph Joseph Ludwig von Berckefeldt, b. 9 March 1830 (twin to Karl Edmund) in Münden, Germany, d. 4 April 1909 in Sacramento, Sacramento County, California. Alexander married and had 4 children. After leaving Germany, they first travelled in Europe for several years and then came to America about 1890 and lived in the Napa Valley area of northern California where many of his descendants still live. At least one of his children was involved in the early years of the Beringer Brothers winery and vineyards.
   »Descendants of Alexander Adolph Joseph Ludwig
5. Karl Edmund von Berckefeldt, b. 9 March 1830 (twin to Alexander) in Münden, Germany, d. 25 October 1899 in Hannover, Germany. Karl Edmund was reportedly wounded severely in the Franco-Prussian Wars and was retired as a Royal Prussian Major. He married and had ten children, one of whom, Otto, died while in the East Indies as a young man; and three others died before adulthood. Another son, Franz, immigrated to England following similar service in the East Indies, and a son, Karl, remained in Germany. In 1887 he brought his wife and the two youngest children – Ernst and Georg – to America, first to the Lutherville, Arkansas, area and later to Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Hugo and Eberhard it seems were already in America having come earlier and then Eberhard is thought to have gone back to Germany and may have influenced his father to come to America. Following the death of Ulrike in 1893, Karl Edmund mourned greatly and his health began to deteriorate. He, along with his son, Georg, returned to Germany where he lived out his years. The family of Ernst and their subsequent families spread throughout the United States. Hugo went to Mexico where he married and his family later came to the Los Angeles area and many remain in California to this day.
   »Descendants of Karl Edmund von Berckefeldt
6. Theodor Ludwig Adolph von Berckefeldt, b. 16 August 1833 in Göttingen, Germany, d. 22 May 1891 in Hannover, Germany. Married to Anna Schaumann but had no known children. He was reportedly a famous horseman and taught riding at an academy in Hannover.
7. Franz Karl August von Berckefeldt, b. 29 October 1834 in Göttingen, Germany, d. 17 July 1894 in Neustadt am Rübenberge, Germany. He married and had two children. An officer in the German army, he was wounded at Langensalza.
   »Descendants of Franz Karl August
8. Cacilie Sophie von Berckefeldt, b. 9 November 1835 in Göttingen, Germany, d. 24 May 1912 in Barsinghausen, Germany. Married Adolph von Bothmer but was widowed and had no known children. She too moved to Barshinghausen as a lady of the cloister where she died. [photo: Cacilie]

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