Eva Margaretha (Bekker) Becker (abt. 1883 - abt. 1959)

Born about 20 Nov 1883 in Shcherbakovka, Volgograd, Russia

Descendants

Died about 1959 at about age 75 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Julie Mangano [send private message]

Biography

Margaretha (Bekker) Becker was a Volga German.

Margaretha (Bekker) Becker has German Roots.

Eva Margaretha Bekker was born 20 Nov 1883 in Scherbakovka, Saratov, Russia. She married Gottfried Becker in 1907, and their oldest children, Lydia , born 1911, and Carl, born 1913, were born Scherbakovka. The family immigrated to the United States in 1913, according to passenger manifest lists. They arrived in Quebec, Canada on June 1, 1913, on the S.S. Wittekind. The ship's port of departure was Hamburg, Germany. From Canada the family crossed into the U.S. at St. Albans, Vermont. This was a common arrival point for Volga Germans. Upon their arrival, they made their way to Oklahoma.

Some records suggest that they became Canadian citizens before immigrating again to the United States. I believe this is an error. His naturalization papers clearly stated his previous citizenship as being Russian.

There is another passenger manifest record that says the family arrived at the Port of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in July of 1913. Since that is only one month from his arrival in Montreal, I believe this was simply the next stop on the family's journey to America's midwest, specifically Oklahoma, where their daughter Emma was born the following September.

Like many Volga German immigrants, they did not remain long in the first U.S. city they called home. After a few years, the family moved next to Nebraska, where their youngest daughter Clara was born in 1919. Eventually the family moved to Wisconsin, a place where many Volga Germans settled.

Her husband Gottfried was an electric welder for the steel industry. The family lived at 5331 37th Street in Milwaukee.

Once in the United States, she changed the spelling of her middle name, Margaretha, to the more American-looking Margaret. She became a citizen on April 14, 1938.

Note: On his draft card, her husband states that his birthplace was Millberg. This is a misspelling of Muehlberg, the town named for its many mills. It was another name for the Colony of Scherbakovka, also spelled Tscherbakowka.

1913 Immigration Record ^[1]

Name: Eva Marguerita Becker

Event Type: Immigration

Event Date: 1913

Event Place: Vermont, United States

Gender: Female

Age: 29

Birth Year (Estimated): 1884

Birth Country: Russia

Canada Passenger List ^[2]

Name: Eva Margarelle [sic] Becker

Event Type: Immigration

Event Date: Jun 1913

Event Place: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Gender: Female

Age: 29

Birth Year (Estimated): 1884

Birthplace: Russia

Ship Name: Wittekind

Digital Folder Number: 004544699

Border Crossing Record from Canada to United States ^[3]

Name: Gottfried Becker

Event Type: Immigration

Event Date: 1 Jun 1913

Previous Residence: RUS

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Race: German

Birth Year (Estimated): 1885

Birthplace: Russia

Ship Name: Wittekind

1920 United States Federal Census ^[4]

Name: Gottfriedt Baker [sic]

Age: 35

Birth Year: abt 1885

Birthplace: Russia

Home in 1920: Havelook, Lancaster, Nebraska

Street: P Street

House Number: 1840

Residence Date: 1920

Race: White

Gender: Male

Immigration Year: 1913

Relation to Head of House: Head

Marital status: Married

Spouse's name: Eva Baker

Father's Birthplace: Russia

Mother's Birthplace: Russia

Native Tongue: German

Occupation: Machinist

Industry: Shop RR

Employment Field: Wage or Salary

Home Owned or Rented: Rented

Naturalization Status: Papers Submitted

Neighbors: View others on page

Household Members: Name Age

Gottfriedt Baker 35

Eva Baker 36

Lydia Baker 9

Carl Baker 7

Emma Baker 6

Clara Baker 0

1930 United States Federal Census ^[5]

Name: Gottfried Becker

Event Type: Census

Event Date: 1930

Event Place: Milwaukee (Districts 416-417), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Gender: Male

Age: 46

Marital Status: Married

Race: White

Race (Original): White

Birth Year (Estimated): 1884

Birthplace: Russia

Immigration Year: 1914

Father's Birthplace: Russia

Mother's Birthplace: Russia

Relationship to Head of Household: Head

Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Head

Sheet Letter: B

Sheet Number: 18

Record Number: 47467

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

Gottfried Becker Head M 46 Russia

Eva Becker Wife F 46 Russia

Carl Becker Son M 17 Russia

Emma Becker Daughter F 16 Oklahoma

Clara Becker Daughter F 11 Nebraska

1934 Naturalization Record ^[6]

Name: Goetfried Becker

Birth Date: 20 Apr 1884

Birth Place: Russia

Age at event: 50

Court District: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa

Year of Arrival: 1913

Date of Action: 13 Sep 1934

1940 United States Federal Census ^[7]

Name: Gottfried Becker

Event Type: Census

Event Date: 1940

Event Place: Ward 9, Milwaukee, Milwaukee City, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Last Place of Residence: Same House

Gender: Male

Age: 55

Marital Status: Married

Race: White

Race (Original): White

Birth Year (Estimated): 1885

Birthplace: Russia

Relationship to Head of Household: Head

Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Head

Sheet Letter: B

Sheet Number: 1

Digital Folder Number: 005461258

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

Gottfried Becker Head M 55 Russia

Eva Becker Wife F 56 Russia

Clara Becker Daughter F 21 Nebraska

Carl Becker Son M 27 Russia

Lydia Becker Daughter-in-law F 27 Kansas

Lyle Becker Grandson M 2 Wisconsin

Elaine Becker Granddaughter F 0 Wisconsin

Find A Grave Burial Record ^[8]

Name: Eva M Becker

Event Type: Burial

Event Place: Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America

Photograph Included: Y

Birth Date: 1883

Death Date: 1959

Affiliate Record Identifier: 151001873

Cemetery: Graceland Cemetery

Sources

1. ↑ "Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK3B-71Q7 : 16 August 2019), Eva Marguerita Becker, 1913; citing M1464, Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District, 1895-1924, 223, NARA microfilm publications M1461, M1463, M1464, and M1465 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, publication year); FHL microfilm 1,561,309.
2. ↑ "Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HGM-YVC : 11 March 2018), Eva Margarelle Becker, Jun 1913; citing Immigration, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, T-4797, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
3. ↑ "United States Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895-1956", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPQJ-X2N : 14 November 2019), Gottfried Becker, 1913.
4. ↑ 1920 United States Federal Census, Gottfried Becker, age 35, born in Russia, Year: 1920; Census Place: Havelook, Lancaster, Nebraska; Roll: T625_995; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 46; Ancestry.com online database, accessed 24 July 2023.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X99P-ZB8 : accessed 15 May 2020), Clara Becker in household of Gottfried Becker, Milwaukee (Districts 416-417), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 417, sheet 18B, line 89, family 21, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2594; FHL microfilm 2,342,328.
6. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Soundex Index to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, Northern District of Illinois and Immigration and Naturalization Service District 9, 1840-1950 (M1285); Microfilm Serial: M1285; Microfilm Roll: 11, Gotfried Becker, born 20 April 1884 in Russia, arrived in U.S. in 1913; Ancestry.com online database, accessed 24 July 2023.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7KP-YYN : 22 January 2020), Elaine Becker in household of Gottfried Becker, Ward 9, Milwaukee, Milwaukee City, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 72-203, sheet 1B, line 50, family 13, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4549.
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 16 May 2020), memorial page for Eva M Becker (1883–1959), Find A Grave: Memorial #151001873, citing Graceland Cemetery, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA ; Maintained by Jennifer Madison (contributor 48089528).

See also:

• Personal family records of her grandson, Jerome Kaiser, in the files of Julie Miller Mangano, Round Rock, Texas.