Hans Burki

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation, Abt 1668. ⁵⁹⁴ I became a warden (guard)

• Moved, 1675. We settled into a home in the neighborhood of Bruggmuhl in Langnau.

• Moved, Between 1675 and 1692. ⁵⁹⁵ We moved to Gibel, Langnau. I became known as an Anabaptist while living in Gibel

• Neighbor, 1692. My next-door neighbor was a petty judge who went by the name of Daniel Grimm. Daniel Grimm became an Anabaptist. Daniel and I were close friends. Daniel and I shared our Anabaptist faith with others, which offended the authorities in Langnau. The authorities arrested Daniel and I. We were taken to the outer limits of the Langnau district and told to never return.

• Returned, 1699. Daniel and I returned to Langnau without any complications from the authorities

• appointed, 1699. ⁵⁹⁶ The Mennonite congregation in Langnau appointed me as one of their ministers in 1699 and I served in that capacity until 1708.

• appointed, Jul 1708. In July of 1708, the Langnau church was in need of a person to act as deacon. I was asked by the congregation to fill the need. I served in this position until I was taken captive by the authorities.

• Arrested, Jul 1708. ^597,598 I was arrested in July of 1708. Upon learning of my imprisonment, my fellow brethren in Langnau enlisted the help of Mennonites in Holland. A Mr. Ritter the deporting agent, arranged for my release. The Mennonite leadership in Holland asked for a promise on the part of the States General that the prisoners upon their arrival in the country would be declared free, so that they could go unhindered to their fellow brethren, who would take care of them. This promise was granted with the stipulation that we were not allowed to return to our fatherland; for in such an event further protection would be impossible. I was held prisoner along with Fifty-five other prisoners. Twenty-eight of my fellow prisoners were incapable of traveling further and were released on March 29, 1710 in Mannheim. The rest of us were transported to Nimwegen where we were not allowed to disembark because of problems with the port authorities. We asked Ritter if we could send one of our members to meet with the Mennonites of Nimwegen.

Under guard, one prisoner was taken to meet with fellow-believers in Nimwegen. The prisoner met with Hendrik Laurens who described as follows what occurred after their meeting:

“The congregation of Nimwegen went together to the vessel and there found their Swiss brethren. They soon saw that refreshments ought to be supplied to the prisoners, as they had spent twenty days on the water in great distress and misery whereupon they were brought into the town. The brethren of Nimwegen took care of them for one day. The following day they left but they could only walk with difficulty because of their long imprisonment they had become quite stiff. The prisoners traveled on to the Palatinate, Germany to seek out their wives and children who were scattered there.

The prisoners were sturdy, hardened people, capable of enduring great privations and hardships, with long unshorn beards, wearing disordered clothing, heavy shoes, made all the more clumsy by horseshoes on the heels and great nails being driven into them. They were very assiduous to serve God with prayer, reading and other works, were very plain in all their actions, like lambs and doves.

The Swiss sufferers, Brechbuehl, Zahler, Burki and others, before mentioned as being at Nimewegen, afterwards went to Cleve, there to await the result of the negotiations of their brethren in Holland, of which they had no knowledge; and then to wonder further south. They met with their brethren in Cleve, the teacher being Isak Vrauken. Here the emotion and pity of the liberated brethren was great. One deacon asked the privilege of caring for half of them. All of them were taken care of by the brethren of Cleve. Whoever did not have a guest in their home brought clothing. The prisoners could not be persuaded to lie in a bed all of them preferring to sleep on straw, as most of them had subsisted for one or two years on just bread and water. Meats and other nutritive foods did not agree with them. Their only request was to be taken to Mannheim to meet up with their fellow prisoners. They refused monetary aid. Isak Vrauken and Vice Chancellor Heine slipped them 39 florins and procured a good passport.

Isak Vrauken wrote a letter to the Committee at Amsterdam that he has found the prisoners well versed in the Holy Scriptures and very humble without any hypocrisy or deceitful show of character. Of the twenty, seventeen were married. They had a heartfelt longing for wife and children after such a long and grievous separation. None of them had a desire to return to Switzerland. They preferred rather to settle down in the Palatinate, at Mannheim or elsewhere.”

The Committee of the Mennonites at Amsterdam had asked some of us who were freed at Nimewegen to come before them in order to thoroughly learn the conditions in Switzerland. We agreed to meet with the committee and the meeting was scheduled for April 25, 1710. Twenty-four questions were submitted to each one to be answered. The Swiss who were questioned that day were: Benedicht Brechbuhl of Trachselwald, teacher and elder at Mannheim; Hans Burki, of Langnau, deacon, and Melchoir Zahler, deacon of Frutigen. Brechbuhl had once before been expelled from the Bernese territory and gone thence to Mannheim. Returning to fetch his wife and children, he was taken prisoner and in that way got among the deported. Upon his liberation in Nimwegen, he at once traveled toward Mannheim and was then recalled to Holland. Three of the prisoners made their reports in writing.

The following is the report Hans Buerki presented to the committee in writing:

Hans Burki's Report

“For the remembrance of my descendants and of all my fellow-believers, I, Hans Burki, of Langnau, want to relate what happened to me. I had gone to the mountain called Bluttenried, in company with my wife and two sons. There a poor man came to us to whom we gave something to eat; this man subsequently went to Harvag to the authorities and told them that he saw me. Thereupon the Bailiff of Trachselwald sent the traitor with a few others to take me prisoner. They came quite early in the morning to my hut, in which I stood unawares of any evil, and when I noticed the man before the door whom I had supplied with something to eat. Then I was made a captive and they took me away from my wife and twelve children and led me to Castle Trachselwald and placed me into a prison or dungeon, for four days, during which time I was taken sick. Then the bailiff with two provosts brought me on a cart into the city of Berne. There they placed me sick as I was, in the prison, called Ahur. After two days the gentlemen called and questioned me, whereupon I confessed my faith. Then they locked me up alone in a separate hole in the Ahur, and there I lay sick about five weeks, and altogether 17 weeks, in solitary confinement. Thereupon they led me into another prison, named the island. There I lay during the whole long and cold winter with an unhealthy body, and suffered very much from the intense cold. For a long time I was watched so closely that none of my family or anyone else could come to me, so that my friends did not know whether I was living or dead. Thereupon, at the beginning of the month of May 1709, I was brought with all the other prisoners to the hospital, and there, too, I was kept in such close surveillance that only very few persons could speak to us. We were compelled to work on wool from early morning until late at night, viz: from four o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock at night, and we got nothing to eat and drink but bread and water. This lasted about thirty-five weeks. Thereafter ten more weeks we were treated less severely. Then the authorities had us conveyed to the ship, viz: on March 18, 1710 with the design of having us taken to America. The authorities told us that if any time and by any means we were to return to their country, they would inflict the death penalty on us. Thus the merciful Father has by his strong hand and through the medium of our brethren and friends in Holland, delivered us from our oppressors, as we arrived at Nimewegen, and came to the town where they had to release us. For this we thank the Almighty God and Father of all mercy, who will not forsake all those who place their confidence in him, but will cause them to prosper. The whole time of my imprisonment has been about 21 months, for in the month of July 1708 I was taken captive and on the 18th of March 1710, I was led away from Bern. Will come to a close here.”

• Conflict, 1711. ^599,600 Following the interview with the Holland Mennonite Committee; I met up with my neighbor, Daniel Grimm. Daniel and I made plans to return to Switzerland to make arrangements to move our families out of Bern. The authorities learned that Daniel and I had returned to Bern and went to our homes to apprehend us. I quickly ordered everyone to grab pitchforks, clubs or anything that they could use to hold the authorities at bay. Our attempts were futile and we were both arrested and imprisoned. ,

Samuel Reber and I were released from prison due to the efforts of Runckel. We were brought by the government of Bern to Basel and put upon a ship called the “Ementhaler. George Ritter and his superintendants were in command of the flotilla of four ships. Daniel Richen and Christian Gauman, the elder were appointed as Ritter's advisors. Daniel and Christian appointed (me) Hans Buerki, Jacob Richen, Emanuel Lartscher, Michael Lusser, Hans Meier and Peter Zehnder to care for and supervise the immigrants.

Prior to embarking on the ship, Runckel and I had exchanged words. Runckel wanted me to go to Rotterdam, Holland and I wanted to migrate with my wife and children to Coregemont, Jura.. I argued that the authorities were not expelling me from Switzerland but from Bern. Runckel was furious with me for returning to the country and complicating the immigration process. Runckel considered me a nuisance and a troublemaker. Runckel wrote a letter to the Holland Mennonite Committee regarding me.

The letter was dated, July 18, 1711. He says in the letter that Samuel Reber and Hans Buerki refused to go along to Holland. He said they had the rudeness, in company with a number of others whom he names, all of whom had been imprisoned and whom he had gotten out of prison with great difficulty - that we had the rudeness to inquire of him in a public place in the presence of Mr. Ritter and other prominent men, whether he (Runckel) intended to take us away as prisoners or free men. He states that he answered us by saying that we were certainly to go as free men but the order was, we must go on to Holland, where full liberty would be granted us. He continues saying, “Buerki reported that the Burgess of Bern, when he delivered him up to the ship merely told him that he zimust keep away from the Bern territory in the future and did not say that he must go to Holland. He (Hans Buerki) now insisted that here at Basel, he was outside of Bern territory and was at liberty to go wherever he pleased; and further that he did not intend to go into the ship again; but says Runckel, Buerki finally submitted, after being informed that he (Runckel) would get the aid of the Basel government to order him locked in irons and to be taken to Holland in that manner, if he would not go willingly, according to his vow and pledge. Runckel says further, that he lectured Burki very severely for his opposition to all that was being done for his and others best interest.”

“The immigrants bearing our scant effects left our land with tearful eyes, casting last glances upon the valleys of our native land. We sang Psalms as we traveled sitting on boxes and bundles piled up on the deck of the ships, old men, and the weak and infirmed are seated. The young and strong stand together looking at the land as the ships glide along. Our faces are lined with anxiety.”

“I took the first opportunity I could to leave the ship at Breisach. I took with me twelve companions. Samuel Reber and thirty others left the ship when Mannheim hove into view, the haven of refuge of so many friends and acquaintances

• Immigration, 1711. ⁶⁰¹ “The immigrants bearing our scant effects left our land with tearful eyes, casting last glances upon the valleys of our native land. We sang Psalms as we traveled sitting on boxes and bundles piled up on the deck of the ships. The old men, the weak and infirmed are seated while the young and strong stand together looking at the land as the ships glide along. Our faces are lined with anxiety.”

“I took the first opportunity I could to leave the ship at Breisach. I took with me twelve companions. Samuel Reber and thirty others left the ship when Mannheim hove into view, the haven of refuge of so many friends and acquaintances."

• Moved, 8 Sep 1724. ⁶⁰² I moved my family to Coregemont, Jura

• Friend and neighbor. ⁴²⁵ Uli Gerber who was my hired hand was born October 11, 1674 in Bern, Switzerland. His parents were Peter Gerber and Catharina Neuenschwander.

• Notes of Interest. ⁶⁰³ 1. Hans Buerki can be found with his name as Hans Burkholder. The two names are used to refer to the same individual, frequently within the same document and even within the same paragraph of documents. It is possible that Buerki is short for Burkholder.

a. Text from Emigrants and Refugees: Hans Bürki, b. 29 Jun 1651, Langnau. He was called an Anabaptists of Langnau when he and wife Barbara Langenegger lived at Corgemont, Jura on 8 Sep 1724. He was a minister from Switzerland when he signed a letter on 19 Oct 1699. He was first mentioned as an Anabaptists at the baptism of his daughter in Jan 1692. He was also called an Anabaptists in 1692, living at Gibel, Langnau next to Daniel Grim, also an Anabaptists. He was called an Anabaptists in 1694 and 1697 and it stated that he was the father of 12 children. In July 1708 he was called a deacon of Gibel, Langnau when he was captured. He was exiled from the country in 1710, but returned. He put up an armed resistance but was captured again in 1710. He was exiled in 1711 to Holland but left the ship at Breisach on the Rhine River. Hans Bürki and his wife Barbara Langenegger were both Anabaptists of Langnau living at Corgemont, Jura on 2 Oct 1727. He lived at Brüggmühl in Langnau in 1675. He may have died in the Jura or in Germany. Fact: He was known as an Anabaptist.

b. Daniel Grimm's descendents fled Switzerland in the 1700's for Pennsylvania where the family flourished.

2. In 1711, the Baptist or Mennonite teacher, Daniel Grimm, had been arrested at Langnau with Hans Burki, and was to have been transported to America the previous year. But, upon his liberation in Holland, he became one of the three trustees or men of confidence of the Mennonites in the Netherlands, though he had, as we have just stated, violated his pledge and returned to Switzerland. Burki's action caused great difficulties; and the more so because all of his children, in company with Uli Gerber, his hired man, as well as the tens sons of three other Mennonites, Peter and Daniel Grimm and Christian Neuenschwender, armed themselves with pitch forks, sticks and clubs and made a stubborn resistance to either being thrown out of Switzerland or being arrested. (From R. M. July 9, 1711)

3. Hans Burki and Samuel Reber were released from imprisonment and brought by the government of Bern to Basel and put upon the ships. These men had been condemned to severe punishment because they sneaked or stole back into Switzerland. Through the efforts of Runckel they were allowed to board the ships at the last moment. George Ritter and his superintendents were in command of the flotilla. Daniel Richen and Christian Gauman, the elder were appointed to advise Ritter. They in turn chose Hans Burki, Jacob Richen, Emanuel Lartscher, Michael Lusser, Hans Meier and Peter Zehnder to care and supervise the immigrants. (Muller 302).

4. He was called an Anabaptist of Langnau when he and his wife Barbara Langenegger lived at Corgemont, Jura in September 8, 1724. Records show him still living there on October 2, 1727. Ernest Muller states in his book on page 248 under the title of, “The Anabaptists from Switzerland in and about the Principality of Basle”, the following: “In 1745, were found here the families - Christian Weidner who came from Sumiswald- Ulrich Engel of Rothenbach, Joseph Bumgardner and John Steiner of Langnau, peter Brobst and John Newcomer of Eggville, Christian Gauman from Great-Hostetten - Samuel and James Geiser of Langenthal - Ulrich Berger of Signau - Magdalena Burger and Elizabeth Dreier of Truh; Simon Siezenthal and David Ingold of Lauperville. And that in 1729 there were Peter Siegenthaler, Ulrich Newcomer, Nicholas Luthi, Abram Bomgardner, Abram Grier, Ulrich Zolner, Hans Burky, Christian Jacob and Peter Brobst.

5. Most of the Bernese Mennonites who stayed in Switzerland fled to the Jura Mountains during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. This was the area of the Bishopric of Basel, which was partly under the German empire and partly under Swiss Jurisdiction. Others settled in the southern part of the Jura, which was the Principality of Neuchatel, a possession of Prussia. After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era, the Bishopric of Basel was given to Canton Bern, and the Neuchatel became a canton in the Swiss Confederacy.

Hans married Barbara Langenegger, daughter of Ulrich Langenegger and Catharina Gehman, before 1672 in Langnau, Switzerland ¹⁶.^,592 (Barbara Langenegger was born on 13 Apr 1645 in Langnau Im Emmental, Canton Of Berne, Switzerland ^{604,605,606,607} and died after 1724 in Corgemont, Jura, Principality Of Basel, Switzerland.)