There were other Brunken families in Oklahoma. One family was that of the brothe
There were other Brunken families in Oklahoma. One family was that of the brother of William Leopold Brunken, Gus Brunken. There also were Brunken families in Garfield County.
Garfield County Brunken Families
It appears from their obituaries that the family patriarchs were two brothers who moved to Oklahoma. No connections to the Nebraska Brunken families were found in the limited search that was made. Interestingly though was that many of the individuals in the Garfield County Brunken families had the same given names as members of the Nebraska Brunken families. My suspicion is that they are somehow related to the Nebraska Brunkens and that the connection is back in Germany.
Gus and Ida Brunken Family
- BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Gustav “Gus” Brunken, Ida (Schlosser) Brunken
- Front: Irene Dorothea Brunken
- WHEN: August, 1914 – Their daughter, Irene, looks slightly older than the following baby picture.
- WHERE: Meno Township in Major County, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES:
- A sticky note attached to this portrait identified this couple as being “Uncle Gus Brunken & Ida”. Possibly it was one of my aunts or uncles who wrote this sticky note, given the reference to “Uncle”.
- From Find-a-Grave, the following information is known about the couple:
“Gustav was born in Platte County, Nebraska. He was educated in a county school and moved to Oklahoma as a young man appearing on the 1910 census in Meno Township in Major county, Oklahoma, where he bought a farm. He met his future wife at a combined church function. He attended Zion Lutheran at Lahoma and she attended Trinity Lutheran at Glenella. She was also born in Nebraska and her parents had also moved to Oklahoma from Nebraska. They were married April 13, 1913, at Zion Lutheran Church at Lahoma, Oklahoma. About 1920, they bought a farm just east of Perry, Oklahoma, where they lived until 1925 when they moved back to Columbus, Nebraska. The Perry farm stayed in the family for many years until it was sold. “
- WHO: Irene Dorothea Brunken – Her parents were Gustav and Ida (Schlosser) Brunken. Gustav “Gus” was a brother of William Leonard Brunken.
- WHEN: Circa 1914 – Irene Brunken was born 17 May 1914 near Lahoma, Oklahoma. So this photograph was taken about August, 1914.
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma. This photo postcard was probably hand delivered since William and Mary Brunken lived near Gustav and Ida in 1914.
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: A note on the back of the postcard reads “Age 12 weeks – Weight [not legible] pounds.
- WHO: Irene Dorothea Brunken.
- WHEN: Circa 1916
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
Lahoma Baseball Team
Why this 1909 postcard was in grandmother Brunken’s Post Card album was a bit of a mystery since William and Mary Brunken did not move from Nebraska to Lahoma, Oklahoma until 1910.
The captions on the right corners of the post card read, “1909 LAHOMA OKLA.” and “PHOTO BY ENRIGHT”[1].
On closer examination, the third man fr