Bierwirth Genealogy

Descendants of Andrew Bierwirth
(1821-1902)
Rensselaer County, NY

Andreas W. Bierwirth (b. 1/18/1821, d. 1902) was a descendant of George Beroward, an officer in Sweden's King Gustav Adolph's army who settled in the area of "Germany" about 1630 following the Swedish conquest of "German" (Prussian) territory. Andreas (Andrew) himself was an immigrant, coming to America from "Germany" with his first wife Antoinette (Rudolph) Bierwirth and their six children in 1861. Settling in Petersburgh, NY, in eastern Rensselaer County, his homestead is listed on an 1876 map of Petersburgh. (Scroll down to bottom of map, see "A. Bierwirth" beneath "Dist. No. 2".) It appears that Andrew and Antoinette divorced at some point (date unknown) and he travelled back to Germany for a visit. Soon after he returned, his second wife, Rena Cordes, also from Germany, arrived with his son, Alec. She, it is told, then became homesick for her homeland; consequently, he agreed to let her return to Germany, but she could not take the child with her. He married his third wife Florence Myrtle Cook (see photo below) about 1894, he being in his mid-70's and she around fourteen, and had three more sons by her, Charles, Otto, and Joseph. Andrew died in 1902, and is buried in a small family cemetery near the original Bierwirth farm property now listed as the "Petersburgh -Amos Babcock" cemetery.

"Lydia (Vincent) LaMere whose mother was Theresa (Bierwirth) Vincent Freund, told me many years ago that her Bierwirth ancestor came from Germany in the mid-nineteenth century. He was a musician and became a member of Doring's Band of Troy, NY. She said his brother was a stowaway on the same ship. Like many other German families who settled in rural Renssealer County, they soon intermarried with families already there. Other related names are Church, O'Dell and Nugent." - excerpt from "The Families of Petersburgh, NY," ©1991 by Hilda M. Allen, p. 4.

"Germany to America, List of Passengers Arriving at U.S. ports, Vol. 14"

Disembarking from the Hammonia, from Hamburg and Southampton, April 30, 1861:

Andrew Bierwirth, 40, farmer
Antoinette Rudolph Bierwirth, 46
Clara, 22
Andr., 16
Eduard, 14
Marie, 7
Therese, 6
Joseph (Josephine?), 4

(See maps of historical Prussia: http://www.rollintl.com/roll/prussia.htm
and map of 1700s and 1800s German and Russian settlement: http://www.rollintl.com/roll/grsettle.htm )

Bierwirth Family Tree Genealogical Charts

Three brothers: Joseph, Otto and Charles Bierwirth, 1970

Notes:

Genealogical chart is arranged chronologically as much as possible from bottom to top and left to right with earliest births and events at bottom left of chart. In the interest of conserving space surnames of all bearing the Bierwirth name are omitted in the chart.

In the interest of minimizing personal security risks, the genealogy does not show birth dates beyond 1920 or middle names. Anyone wishing not to have their names listed please e-mail vanatalan@yahoo.com for removal.

This Bierwirth Genealogy is now linked to the Petersburgh NY Church Genealogy; clicking on a highlighted Church name will jump to his or her place in the Church Genealogy.

Please help us complete this genealogy! If you are a descendant of Andrew Bierwirth send your family tree information to Dan Bornt, webmaster at vanatalan@yahoo.com.

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Genealogical Research and Page Layout by Daniel J. Bornt, 2001

"The Bierwirth Family Tree" website at http://bierwirthtree.tripod.com
©2005 by Daniel J. Bornt, e-mail to: vanatalan@yahoo.com