Find My Dead

Genealogy of Sharon & Scotty

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

Research Update

I was in Salt Lake City recently doing research and I worked hard on the Burggraaf information that I was missing.

There was no record found concerning the death of Peter Burggraaf (b. abt 1824) in either Marion or the surrounding counties. There was also no record of land exchanges concerning Peter Burggraaf.

There was no record of death for Willem Burggraaf (1822-1900) or Sygje Stek Burggraaf (1820-1901) I checked Marion County for Willem and Marion, Sioux and Lyon counties for Sygje. The last document I find is a land sale in April 1900 for Willem and the best I can figure is that Willem sold his property off shortly before his death.

There is no record of death for Elizabeth Burggraaf (John’s first wife) or for Little Albert in either Sioux or Lyon counties.

The only thing left to do will be to attempt to find a church in Holland Township, Sioux County that may have recorded the passing. Failing that I will be reduced to hiring a researcher to look at the Dutch papers in both areas for information.

Ah well, a negative result is still a result, but I sure would have liked some closure on these folks.

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

John and Mary Kortlever Burgraff

From this point on in the story I will use his preferred spelling of John Burgraff. John and Mary leave South Dakota after the death of Little Arrie and return to Iowa. They will remain there only a short time before moving on to Minnesota. We can be pretty specific about the time frame because the family appears on the 1895 Iowa State Census in Lyon County, Iowa.1 On 20 March 1895, 3 years to the day after big sister Maggie, daughter Elizabeth (named for John’s first wife) is born in Bigelow, Nobles County, Minnesota.3 This is where the family is enumerated on 21 June 1895.3

The family grew quickly with son John Jr. born 26 Nov 18964 and daughter Janry (Jane/Jenny) born 6 Dec 1899.5 This is the family that appears on 25 June 1900 census in Ransom, Nobles, County, Minnesota.6

Also found on this census living next door is William Burgraff, the youngest brother of John’s late wife Elizabeth. William and his family would eventually return to Sioux County, Iowa.

John and Mary’s next child Hugo was born 19 October 1901.7 Hugo was named for Mary’s brother, but he was known to the entire family as Hookie – pronounced Who-Key. Next to arrive in the family was Albert. Albert is the first of the recycled names in the family and is named for Little Albert who died in the early 1890s. Albert was born 17 December 1902 according to his birth certificate.8 However, family members told me that Albert always swore the date was wrong. He celebrated his birthday as 19 December and that was the date that appeared in his obituary. He also swore the year was wrong and that he wasn’t that old.

In 1904 the family moved west to Lynden in Whatcom County, Washington. Mary’s parents and siblings had already made the move as had many Dutch American families. Washington was attempting to populate the territory in its bid for statehood and there were many great land deals to be had. Equally important was the special offer by the railroads of the time. $5 would buy an adult a ticket west and small children could travel free.

Family members told me there was another factor besides the lure of reasonably priced land. Mary asked John to find her somewhere a little more temperate than Minnesota. She was always cold and hated the long winters. Mary longed for a climate closer to that of the Netherlands and the family found it in Lynden.


1. Iowa State, “Iowa State Census, 1895,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 Jul 2009), John Burgraff; 1895 Iowa State Census, Des Moines, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa.
2. Minnesota Dept. of Health, birth certificate (19 Mar 1895), (No Name) Brugraff (Female); Nobles County District Court, Worthington, Minnesota.
3. 1895 Minnesota State Census, Nobles County, Minnesota, population schedule, Bigelow, p. 10, family 73, John Burgraff; digital images, The Generations Network, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 Jul 2009); citing Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905.
4. Minnesota Dept . of Health, birth certificate (17 Dec 1896), John Burgraff; Nobles County District Court, Worthington, Minnesota.
5. Minnesota Dept . of Health, birth certificate (26 Nov 1898), (No Name) Burgraff (Female); Nobles County District Court, Worthington, Minnesota.
6. 1900 U.S. census, Nobles County, Minnesota population schedule, Ransom, enumeration district (ED) 210, p. 12A, dwelling 203, family 203, John Burgraff; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Jun 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 778.
7. Minnesota Dept . of Health, birth certificate (19 Oct 1901), (No Name) Burgraff (Male); Nobles County District Court, Worthington, Minnesota.
8. Minnesota Dept . of Health, birth certificate (17 Dec 1902), Albert Burgraff (Male); Nobles County District Court, Worthington, Minnesota.

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

Peter & William Burgraff

As you could tell by the previous post and article, the family is now using the Burgraff spelling. After the death of Little Arrie in South Dakota, the family moved back to Iowa, where they can be found on the 1895 Iowa Census for Lyon County, Iowa.1 Shortly after that census they moved to Nobles County, Minnesota, and the family was enumerated on 21 June 1895 on the Minnesota State Census in Bigelow Township.2

In the aftermath of the tragedy Peter would adopt the letter A. in front of his name in honor of his brother Arrie. He grew into a quiet man who lived out his life farming in Whatcom County, Washington. According to family members that knew him, he was very private and did not have a close relationship with his father John. He appeared to always get along well with his step-mother Mary and he visited her frequently before her death. Peter married Myrtle E. Nichols on 27 October 1908 in Whatcom County, Washington.3 He died 23 April 1956 and is buried in Lynden Cemetery, Whatcom County, Washington.4

William survived his injuries although they were severe. He had been hit by several pieces of shot in the chest, arm, neck, and head. According to family members he had a spot of white hair where a pellet had lodged in his scalp. He also did not appear to get along well with his father, but according to one of his daughters, he was very close to his step-mother Mary Kortlever. William lived in Washington for some time with his family and married Lelia Bell Faler on 1 December 1907.5 After Lelia’s death in 1910,6 William moved back to Minnesota and on 4 March 1912 he married Gertrude Stootman in Willmar, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.7 William would remain in Minnesota for the rest of his life and died on 14 February 1940 in Raymond, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.8

I had often wondered about the relationship later in life between Peter and William and started asking family members that knew them both. By all accounts the brothers had a push-pull relationship throughout their lives. They visited each other and stayed in touch, but when together they often fought. Mad at each other one minute, the next minute they were over it. It comes as no surprise that neither men kept guns in their homes or hunted. That they were able to maintain a relationship at all is a tribute to the strong family ties that must have been fostered after the accident.

None of their younger siblings or their children knew anything of Little Arrie’s death or the role that Peter played in it. In fact none of them were even aware of the existence of Little Arrie or his brother Little Albert until one of their nieces began doing research in the 1970s. They all knew about Sadie because one of children had found her death certificate in John’s desk.


1. Iowa State, “Iowa State Census, 1895,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 Jul 2009), John Burgraff; 1895 Iowa State Census, Des Moines, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa.
2. 1895 Minnesota State Census, Nobles County, Minnesota, population schedule, Bigelow, p. 10, family 73, John Burgraff; digital images, The Generations Network, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 Jul 2009); citing Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905.
3. Whatcom County, Washington, Marriage Licenses, 3719, Peter Burgraff-Myrtle E. Nichols, 27 Oct 1908; Whatcom County Marriage Records, Bellingham.
4. Whatcom County Historical Society, “Whatcom County Funeral Notices,” database, usgenweb
(http://theusgenweb.org/wa/whatcom/wgsobits/deathsbur_buz.htm: accessed 7 Jul 2009), Burgraff, A. Peter; USGenWeb Whatcom County, Washington.
5. Washington State Archives, marriage certificate 5481 (1 Dec 1907), Will Burgraff-Lilia B. Faler; digital image, Washington State Archives, “Spokane County Marriage Records,”Washington State Digital Archives (http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov).
6. Latah Cemetery (Latah, Spokane, Washington), Lelia Bel Faler Burgraff marker, Plot 2-6-4; Photo online.
7. Family Group Sheet of William Burgraff (1883-1940), Burgraff-Scott Family Archives; privately held.
8. Family Group Sheet of William Burgraff (1883-1940), Burgraff-Scott Family Archives; privately held.