Hubert Bury ^{3 4 5 6 7 8}

   Other names for Hubert were Hubert Buri and Herbert Bury.

  Birth Notes:

On 6/4/1975 his son, Martin, wrote a letter to Hubert's grandson, Hubert H. Bury, stating that Martin's father Hubert was born and raised in Berlin, Germany but of British parents from Exeter, England who held a minor diplomatic post in Germany for the British Crown. Martin had learned this through a jeweler in Philadelphia who sold him a ring with the family seal of the Burys from England. However, the elder Hubert on his 1910 Census listing reported he and his parents were born in Germany.

  Death Notes:

He is listed on his death certificate as Herbert Bury.

  Burial Notes:

The undertaker was J. Sterner of 116 S 8th Street in Allentown, PA.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Residence, 1885, Annaberg, , Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. On the passenger list on the ship Eider in 1885, the city of origin for Hubert is listed as Annaberg, Germany.

• Immigration: on the ship Eider, sailing from Bremen, Germany, last from Southampton, England, arriving, 18 Jul 1885, New York, New York County, New York, USA. ¹³ In the ship's passenger register are:
Burg, Huber, age 28, laborer, from Annaberg, Germany
Burg, Martha, age 18, wife, from Lennep, Germany
Burg, Helene, age 2 months, from Lennep, Germany

They were likely traveling with others, because the names right above theirs are also from Annaberg, the only others from that village on this large ship:

Weber, Lina, age 27, wife, from Annaberg, Germany
Weber, Martha, age 3, child, from Annaberg, Germany
Weber, Johanne, age 3 months, child, from Annaberg Germany

Heinz, Johanne, 32, wife, from Annaberg, Germany
Heinz, Alfred, 4, child, from Annaberg, Germany

The Eider was a new ship built in 1883. It was a 4722 gross ton iron built vessel, built by John Elder & Co. of Glasgow, for Norddeutscher Lloyd. Her dimensions were length 429.8 ft x beam 47 ft, straight stem, two funnels, four masts, single screw and a speed of 16 knots. There was accommodation for 120-1st class, 130-2nd class and 1,000-3rd class passengers. She was launched on 15 Dec 1883 and left Bremen for Southampton and New York on her maiden voyage on 19 Mar 1884. She left Bremen on her last voyage on 31 Jan 1892 and stranded on Atherfield Ledge, Isle of Wight, was refloated and scrapped.

• Residence, 1886, Hazleton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA.

• Occupation: a jeweler in a store he opened, 1887, Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, USA. ⁹ Like his father Ferdinand and his brother Hugo, Hubert was a jeweler.

• Citizenship, 13 Jan 1894, Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, USA.

• Occupation: jeweler in his store on North 7th Street which he opened, 1898, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA. Hubert moved to Allentown sometime between the birth of his daughter, Violet, in 1893 and his son, Martin, in 1898.

• Census, 1900, Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA. ¹⁴ The 1900 Census for Salisbury Township in Lehigh County lists Hubert Bury, age 43, born Apr 1857 in Germany, parents born in Germany, occupation jeweler, renting his home. He was married for 16 years to Martha A., wife, born Oct 1867 in Germany, parents born in Germany. In 1900 she had born seven children, four of whom were still living.
With them is daughter Helen C., born Apr 1885 in Germany, age 15, single. Helen, Hubert, and Martha all immigrated in 1886. All can read and write English. Also in the home are three children born in Pennsylvania: Frank H., born Aug 1886; Violet P., born Jun 1892; and Martin H., born Oct 1898.

[Note for researchers: Hubert is indexed in this census as Burg, not Bury, although the handwriting of the census taker clearly wrote Bury. His immigration is incorrectly reported as 1886, but should have been 1885. Further, on the ship's passenger list his name appears as Burg, not Bury!]

• Census: Ward 10 Precinct 1, 1910, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA. ³ He is shown living at 537 Seventh Street as a boarder in the household of William Herb living with Herb's family. Hubert's marital status is listed as Wd for widowed. His place of birth is listed as Germany, plus his parent's place of birth is also listed as Germany. The date this was recorded was April 15, 1910. His occupation is jeweler in a watch repair shop.

• Cause of Death: Myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, 27 Jun 1912, Bethlehem: St. Luke's Hospital, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, USA. ¹⁵ He was hospitalized from June 24th to June 27th, 1912 and died at 6 A.M. that morning.

• Obituary: Allentown Morning Call, 28 Jun 1912, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA. ¹⁶ Hubert Bury, a well known jeweler, died at 6:10 o'clock Thursday morning at St. Luke's Hospital, South Bethlehem, aged 55 years and 2 months. He had been a great sufferer from stomach trouble and went to the hospital on Monday for treatment. Undertaker Sterner removed the remains to the residence of a daughter, Mrs. H. Benfield, No. 229 North West street, this city.

The deceased was born in Germany and came to America 26 years ago. For 10 years he was in the jewelry business, when he came to Allentown. For a time he was employed by Faust and Sterner and later he opened a jewelry store on Seventh street, near Gordon. Mr. Bury was an expert watchmaker and repairer having learned the trade in Germany, Switzerland and England. His wife died years ago and he is survived by four children, Mrs. H. Benfield and Martin Bury, of Allentown; Mrs. Fred Hale recently of Detroit, and H. Bury, of Northampton. There are also two brothers, Frank, an officer in the custom house, New York, and another brother living in Ohio.

• Letter, 2006. ¹⁷ Helen Hale Barnes, granddaughter of Hubert Bury, wrote her family history in a letter in January, 2006:

The history of Hubert Bury and Martha Papenkuhl began in their native Germany.

Hubert in his youth was a Roman Catholic, serving his priest as an acolyte. At one point in his maturity he went to Switzerland where he studied gemology and watchmaking. It was probably during this period that he met Martha, fell in love and planned to marry her. There was a conflict here in that she was a Lutheran, so Hubert solved the problem by dropping out of the Catholic church and married the 18 year old young lady.

Their first child, Helen, was just an infant when they emigrated from Germany to America and settled in New York City. Hubert had a fine position as a diamond setter for Bailey Banks and Biddle.

They learned about German speaking residents living in the coal mining towns of Pennsylvania and decided to locate there, first in Hazleton then on to Shenandoah. This was where Edith was born, the infant sister who died of pneumonia. It was a bitter cold winter and the snow so deep that the undertaker agreed to keep the body until grave diggers could prepare a burial site. Violet and Frank were already part of the family.

Hubert had opened a jewelry store in Shenandoah and business was so successful he decided to establish a branch in Shepton. Of course this required a manager and Hubert came each week to check on supplies and sales. All went well until he came one weekend to find an empty shop - all stock and cash were gone. The culprit was never found.

Before this tragedy, Aunt Helen said there were some very happy gatherings of friends each Saturday evening for music and dancing. Martha played the mandolin and Hubert was accomplished on the zither, quite an expert to the extent he was 1 of 4 experts across the country able to teach it.

Also during this period of success, Martha planned to visit her homeland and take Helen along. Unfortunately, Helen became ill with typhoid and was too weak after recovery to make the trip; Violet was given the honor.

The sad episode in the coal region prompted Hubert to move his family to Allentown, where he opened a shop on N. 7\super th\nosupersub St. I know your Uncle Hubert has a photo of him with family member at this store front. How much I regret never having pressed Aunt Helen for dates and details about their lives, but in my youth such things didn't seem important to me.

To my knowledge, Martha had 5 pregnancies when it was apparent she had a serious health problem. She was in her early thirties and sought the help of a physician. The family learned later that uterine cancer was responsible for her declining health. Her doctor recommended that the family relocate somewhere in the country - fresh air and a new environment might be good for her.

They rented a small house with a barn on the property along a road leading from Allentown to Emaus (now spelled Emmaus). The house still stands and is occupied; the mail box has #2732 painted on the roadside box today. Soon after the family settled there, a man knocked on the door saying he had a farm nearby with an orchard and fields of vegetables. He was looking for help and noticed young people in the household. Your grandfather Frank was the only one available for the work and he did so for a short time. That "farmer" was Jacob Barnes who fathered 2 sons, Douglas and Harold, and built the very large stone house in which I've lived now for 62 years!

Little did I realize that as I grew up I'd be living here as Mrs. Harold Barnes. The coincidence of this history was unknown to me until our marriage and Aunt Helen (a widow) was invited to live with us.

Martha's health didn't improve in the country, but the house had a summer kitchen which gave her great pleasure - she was an excellent cook. Shortly after their move, Mother Bury decided it was time to decide on a church membership somewhere and the closest was Emaus Moravian Church. That's how they became Moravians and Helen met Charles Norman. In her 18\super th\nosupersub year they were married and purchased a home about a mile from the 2732 house toward Emaus.

Charles was a fine and energetic young man employed by the railroad with a goal to reach higher positions through earned promotions. The couple had been married less than a year when a R.R. official knocked on the door to say Charles had been crushed to death between 2 freight cars. In the family photo I've sent you, she is wearing her black mourning dress and a young widow of 19 years.

Martha died soon after this tragedy. Hubert tried to cover his grief by drinking to excess, and with his death, Helen was forced with a difficult future providing support and guidance for 2 younger siblings. The Bury family had left the country and were living on Gordon St. in Allentown and here Horace Benfield entered the picture. He proposed marriage and offered to help raise Violet and Martin.

Hubert married Martha A. Papenkuhl, daughter of Henry Papenkuhl and Alwine Vogelmann, on 25 Jun 1884 in , , , Germany.^{1 2} (Martha A. Papenkuhl was born on 19 Oct 1867 in Brandenburg an der Havel, , Brandenburg, Germany,^{1 2 13 14} died on 27 Jul 1904 in , Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA ¹⁸ and was buried on 28 Jul 1904 in Salisbury Township: Emmaus: Moravian Cemetery, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA ^{1 2 9}.) The cause of her death was cancer.