2001 Elbergen, Germany

FAMILY ORIGINS: The Buenker (now Bunker or Bunkers) family had its origins hundreds of years ago in several small villages in northwest Germany. The ancestral home of our family was the Feldmann farm in Elbergen, Germany. My great-great-grandfather, Herman Dietrich [Theodore] Buenker, was born on January 15, 1815. His family members were "Heuerleute" (hired hands) at the Feldmann farm near Elbergen, where life was hard because the hired hands were able to keep only a small portion of what they harvested off the land.	VISIT TO ANCESTRAL HOME In July 2001, several of the American Bunkers cousins went to Germany to visit again with Michael Buenker, his wife Maria, and his parents and siblings. Michael and Maria took us to Elbergen, Germany, where we met Leo Monnich, who has studied the history of the area. With Mr. Monnich as our guide, we visited the parish church and the old Feldmann farm, where our ancestors once lived. Photographs of our visit are below. Scroll down to see selected photographs from the summer 2001 visit made by the American Bunkers cousins to meet our German and Dutch cousins.

The American Bunkers cousins meet the German Buenker cousins at the Theodor & Jeannette Buenker farm in Helschen, just a few kilometers from Emsburen.	Here is a view of the front side of the Buenker family home in Helschen. The old farmhouse/barn has been remodeled into a two-family home. The mutual ancestor of the German and American Buenker/Bunkers cousins was Wessel Dirting, born in Elbergen/Emsburen in the early 1600s.

Pictured above is the Catholic Church in Elbergen, where our ancestors worshipped. Our immigrant ancestor, Herman Dietrich (known as Theodore) Bunkers, was baptized in this church in 1815.	Pictured above are several of the American Bunkers cousins just after visiting the old Heuerleute (hired hands') house at the Feldmann Farm in Elbergen. This house is where our Bunkers ancestors lived for several centuries before H. Theodore Bunkers left for the United States in the 1840s. Our guide, Leo Monnich, researched and published the history of the village.

Above are several of the youngest generation of Buenker cousins, wearing hats sent by Dale and Mary Bunkers of Bunkers Feed and Supply in Granville, Iowa. At right are Theodor Buenker and his sons	The original farm of Herman Theodore Bunkers´ great-grandfather in located near the village of Helschen. This farm still exists and is the property of a distant cousin named Theo(dor) Buenker. We visited these cousins in July 2001 and toured the area, learning more about ancestral villages, immigration patterns, and life today.

Pictured above are the Dutch and American Bunkers cousins when they met over dinner in Amsterdam. Left to right: Verna Bunkers, Hanneke Bunkers, Denny & Barb Bunkers, Marcel Bunkers, Annelies de Koning &Chantal Bunkers. In front: Iris and Marc Bunkers. Photograph: July 2001.	Above: Maria, Norbert, Michael, and Luise Buenker
Below: Luise, Verna, and Norbert Bunker(s)
	One of our German cousins, Hermann Buenker of Helschen, is a sculptor, and his home page (with examples of his work) can be found at www.sandstein-skulpturen.de