The home of the Schukar families, for several centuries, was Bernickow, just outside of Königsberg, Neumark, Brandenburg, about 50 miles northeast of Berlin, lying not far east of the Oder River which separates present-day Germany from Poland. Bernickow is now Barnkovo, near Chojna, Poland. In fact, the little village of Barnkovo has been absorbed by Chojna, and is not shown on the most recent maps.
This area was Prussian until after World War II, when this territory was given to Poland. The Germanic people either fled or were forcibly removed from all the area east of the Oder River.
As early as 1653, when church records were begun there, Schukar names (also spelled Schuckar, Schuker, or Schukarr) were listed as farmers, and were shown as holding all sorts of offices such as school board, church board, etc., indicating that they might have been living there for some time previous to 1653.
Church records from 1816 - 1857 were microfilmed by the LDS (Mormon Church) in 1971, and most of the data that we have comes from those microfilms. A letter from the pastor there in 1937 gives us the names of fathers for two generations earlier.
Bernickow 1997
Bernickow 2002
Chojna 2002
I. David Schukar, born 1693?, Bernickow.
The pastor at Bernickow stated in 1937 letter, "there were two David Schukars and I couldn't determine for certain which one" is the father of Martin.
II. Martin Schukar, son of David Schukar,
- born 1721, Bernickow.III. Peter Schukar, son of Martin Schukar
- born about 1758, Bernickow, (died at age 69)
- died 22 April 1827, Bernickow, BrandenburgTwo known children of Peter Schukar:
- A. Christian Friedrich Schukar, born about 1800. See below.
- B. Peter Schukar born 2 May 1799. See below.
A. Christian Friedrich Schukar, born about 1800 (son of III. Peter Schukar)
- married 5 February 1826 at Bernickow, Brandenburg
Caroline Charlotte Sophia Zillmer, daughter of Michael Zillmer (about 1763 - 30 November 1836)
- born December 1807, died 18 August 1849 at Bernickow, Brandenburg
Nine known children of Christian and Caroline (Zillmer) Schukar
- Wilhelm Friedrich Schukar,
- born 26 September, 1825, Bernickow, Koenigsberg NeuMark, Brandenburg
- died 16 May 1915, Fayette County, Illinois
- married 11 January 1852, Bernickow, Koenigsberg NeuMark, Brandenburg, to
- Marie Louise Augusta Prinz, daughter of Christian Prinz of Koenigsberg.
Wilhelm married 2) 25 July 1875 to Wilhelmine Werner nee Haup.
In a Bible that was in the possession of Josie Schukar Labs, is this page showing this second marriage
Known children of Wilhelm and Marie Schukar:- a. Wilhelm August Hermann Schukar, born 8 June 1852, died 1855, Bernickow
- b. Carl Wilhelm August Schukar, born 24 Oct 1853, died 1855, Bernickow
- c. Carl William August Ernst Schukar, 1856 - 1938
- married Emma Augusta Schukar, daughter of Fred and Marie Schukar - d. Herman J. Schukar, born November 1872, Germany
- April1885, immigrated to the US
- November 1892, filed his first naturalization papers in Marshall County, South Dakota
- 1918, registered for WWI Draft, Marshall County, South Dakota
- 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses in Marshall County, South Dakota
- died 14 November 1923, in Marshall County, South Dakota.
Herman Schukar moved to Marshall County, South Dakota, where several other Fayette County, Illinois families had gone, and he appears in census records there in 1900, 1910, and 1920. When he registered for the World War I Draft, he gave as next of kin, Carl Schukar of Watertown, Nebraska. Herman died in Marshall County, South Dakota, on 14 November, 1923.
- Karl Fr. Gustav Schukar, born 27 July 1827, died 1827, Bernickow.
- Carolina Wilhelmine Henrietta Schukar
- born 29 July 1828, Bernickow
- married 29 August 1852, Bernickow
Frederick Julius Ferd. Krueger, son of Michael Krueger. - Carolina Wilhelmine Augusta Schukar, born Nov 1830, Bernickow
- Wilhelmine Augusta Carolina Schukar,
- born 23 October 1832, Bernickow,
- married (1) Mr. Feist
- married 19 May 1885, Fayette County, Illinois,
(2) Heinrich Lemke - Carl Heinrich August Schukar, born 28 July 1834, died 27 December 1845, Bernickow.
- Carl Julius Ernst Schukar, born 18 July 1837, Bernickow.
- Carl Heinrich Ernst Schukar (1841-1926)
- married "Lena" Augusta Wilhelmina Caroline Kampf
This couple came to the United States in 1873. - Louisa Wilhelmina Augusta Schukar
- born 9 September 1842, Bernickow.
B. Peter Schukar, (son of III. Peter Schukar)
- born 2 May 1799, Bernickow, Brandenburg
- died 10 Apr 1890, Fayette Co., Illinois
- married 27 January 1828, Bernickow, Brandenburg
Henriette Grawunder, daughter of Martin Grawunder
Click here for details of this family
Children of Peter and Henrietta:
- Caroline Wilhelmine Henrietta Schukar
- born 30 Dec 1827 died 10 Apr 1828, Bernickow. - Stillborn son Schukar
- born 17 Jun 1831 died 17 Jun 1831, Bernickow. - Louisa Fredericka Augusta Schukar, (1832 - 1915)
- married (1) Carl Schwan; (2) Fred Fellwock. - Friedrich Johann Christian Schukar (1834 - 1882)
- married Marie Sasse. - August Heinrich Eduard Schukar, (1837 - 1913)
- married Bertha Peterman. - Stillborn infant Schukar, born/died 6 Februry 1841, Bernickow.
- Carl Wilhelm Ferdinand Schukar, born 25 Jan 1843 died 1843?
- Maria Mathilde Wilhelmine Schukar, born 18 Jul 1845, died 14 Oct 1846, Bernickow
Augusta D. W. Schukar, born May 1860, Koenigsberg, came to the US in 1879, was the daughter of David Schukar and Frederieke Hollumhu (Hollmichel). Augusta married on 9 February 1880 in Fayette County, Illinois, to Carl "Frederick" Oertwig, born October 1848, Nahausen. She married (2) Henry Hahn.
Louise Schukar, and her husband August Gabriel had a daughter Marie Minna Sophie Gabriel who was born 28 March 1885 and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran, Fayette Co, Illinois. Is this Louise, 9th child of Christian Fr. Schukar, mentioned above?
Marie Elisabeth Schukar, and her husband Fr. Renzmann had a son Gottlieb Carl Reinhold Renzmann who was born 14 October 1866 and who died in 1879, Fayette County, Illinois. Marie was the daughter of Johann Schukart and Frederieke Hollmichel. She married (2) Mr. Bublitz in 1890.
Otto Schukar, born in Germany, married Johanna Volmer who was born in Posen about 1867. They were married in Wisconsin and then moved to Washington state. There are a number of their descendants living in the Seattle area now. I've been it touch with Chuck Schukar, who has made several mission trips to Eastern Europe. On one of his trips he visited Barnkovo (Bernickow), and got a picture of the village church. We have yet to discover the connection between this family and ours, but I believe we are related.
Solomon Schukar, born April 1884, Poland/Russian, married Rebecca Lehr. This couple was from that part of Poland that was sometimes part of Russia. They came to the US in about 1900, and lived in St. Louis, Missouri, where Solomon and his sons had a furniture store. Their name may have originally been spelled with a "d" or "t" at the end.
When I began working in earnest on the Schukar genealogy in the early 1980's, I borrowed a book from Alvin Schukar of Olmsted, Illinois, which listed all the people named SCHUKAR in the US, taken from phone-books, drivers' license registries, etc. I was able to connect every one of them to one of the above named ancestors. Except for the family of Solomon Schukar, I think we can presume that the rest of us are related, one way or another.