Germany In 2008 my wife, Connie and I were fortunate enough to be able to travel to Germany for two weeks in Munich. We stayed with the Hoffman family. Dominick Hoffman lived with us in our Arkansas home for one school year as an exchange student. They graciously provided bed and meals for two weeks. We also were able to spend one of those nights with Uli and Else Bentel in Iptingen, the ancestral home of our Bentel's. Uli's family was a fourth or fifth cousin and he was also an avid genealogist for the Bentel's. While in Iptingen I discovered much about the Bentel family and met several of our long lost cousins, visited many sites including the church and school my ancestors attended. I was also able to visit the church and given permission (with Uli) to browse through the church records that went back to 1000. We saw the Rossle (Little Horse) restaurant and bar that two of my great great grandfather's operated.
The Search for Bentels My genealogical journey began around 1990, I did some online searches and bought concise but useless articles about Bentel's in general, nothing to help me identify my Bentel's. We had a Bentel Family reunion at Judy Kerby’s (Bentel) home in Antioch, IL. As the Bentel’s and Madsen’s gathered my interest was greatly piqued. Fortunately, George Wendt, a great nephew of my paternal great grandmother, Augusta Wendt found his way to the reunion. I started very limitedly to look for the Bentel genealogy. I could not find a lot as the only information I had was a name and that he was born in Germany. George Wendt in his work on the Wendt family line had a copy of the marriage certificate of my great grandmother and great grand mother on the Bentel and Wendt side. The information showed my great grandfather was born in Hettingen and so that is where I began in earnest. I had no look as even with “Hettingen” in my files I was still unable to find anything. I finally decided to hire a German genealogist. He was able to pin down the correct person in the correct town by asking what religion they were. Finding out they were Lutheran he eliminated "Hettingen" as it was located in Bavaria, a Roman Catholic stronghold. He finally checked in the town of Iptingen and gave a list of possible Bentel’s to check. Sure enough my great-grandfather Jacob Friedreich Bentel was discovered in Iptingen Germany. With great help and some dollars and almost twenty years I have been able to go back to 1540 Iptingen where we find Steffan Bintel.
The Search for Madsens. The Madsen family was mostly an aside in my quest for the Bentel Family. They came and went as I found them in my main search, through website hints. When I began to look in earnest, I had a little more information about my mother's side of the family. I was able to develop a respectable amount of information. After I retired I decided to go back to my German genealogist and delve further back into the Madsen's and Spaningers. So what you will find on this site are fairly inclusive family trees. If you have information I do not have, photos and documents especially please email me and let me know. Enjoy.
The Chosen We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again. To tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve. Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do. In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors, 'You have a wonderful family; you would be proud of us.'. How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me? I cannot say. It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who I am, and why I do the things I do. It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying - I can't let this happen.
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