Tracing the Biele Tree Back in Time

I have been working on tracing the Biele family as far back as possible and have a few new leads. The tree I have been able to establish to date is as follows (starting with my grandfather)

Charles Edward Biele (1905 - 1983) - born in New York City, New York, USA

Carl Frederick Biele (1878 - 1964) - born in New York City, New York, USA

Friedrich Carl (Charles Frederick) Biele (1854 - 1930) - born in Barmen, Germany

Caspar Biele (1823 - 1875) - born in Hovestadt, Germany

August Clemens Biele (1773 - 1833) - born in Hovestadt, Germany

Joannes Fridericus (Frederick) Biele - (1730 - 1813) - born in Hovestadt, Germany

Joannes Matthias Biele (In De Bile)

In the later records, the last name changes at times between "In De Bile", "In De Biele" and "In Der Bile".  This may be from the way they were written in the original church records or how they were later transcribed by others.

All of the family members before Joannes Matthias have church or civil records establishing their birth dates and places.  The records for those listed as being born in Hovestadt include churches in Oestinghausen and Erwitte.  Joannes Matthias is recorded in church records for the christening of his children and his marriage.  In the "Haus Biele" publication, Joannes is listed as being born around 1700 and died around 1760 but it does not state where those dates come from.

The record I found that might be connected is one for "Joannes Matthias In Der Bile" christen on 04 Nov 1688, at the Catholic church in Rheine.  His father is listed as "Melchioris In Der Bile".  

There are several records that might be connected in Rheine.  Note that sometimes the mother is listed and sometimes only the father.  In summary, they are:

Matthias In De Biele, christened 02 Apr 1682, father Melchioris In De Biele, no mother listed, location Rheine

Christophorus Matthias In De Biele, christened 10 Apr 1684, father Melchioris In De Biele, no mother listed, location Rheine  

Gertrudis In De Bile, christened 30 Jul 1687, father Melchioris In De Bile, no mother listed, location Rheine

Joannes Matthias In Der Bile, 04 Nov 1688, father Melchioris In Der Bile, no mother listed, location Rheine

Maria In De Bile, christened 13 Jul 1690, father Melchioris In De Bile, no mother listed, location Rheine

Henricus Melchior In De Biele, 20 Feb 1706, father Melchioris In De Biele, mother Annae Christinae Probsting, location Rheine

Clara In De Bile, christened 18 Oct 1713, father Melchioris In De Biele, mother Christinae Probsting, location Rheine

There are also four marriages in Rheine of interest, though I am not sure how they connect to those listed above:

 20 Apr 1681 marriage of Melchior Cornelius In De Biele to Margaretha Joanna Meyer in Rheine

29 Nov 1681 marriage of Matthias In De Biele to Catharina Cordes in Rheine

01 Oct 1702 marriage of Melchior In De Bile to Maria Gertrudt Schiger in Rheine

11 Nov 1708 Margaretha Catharina In De Biele to Johan Herman Kettendors in Rheine

There are also two older records that may or may not be connected to the others.

6 Jan 1629 christening of Mari In Der Bile, father Euert In Der Bile in Rheine

25 Dec 1636 christening of Everhardus In Der Bile, father Mattia In Der Bile in Rheine   

The Arrival of Caspar Biele to America

For many years it has been unknown how and when Caspar Biele came to America.  Earlier research discovered that Caspar Biele was born in Hovestadt Germany in 1823, later moved to Barmen German where he married his wife Wilhelmine in 1852.
 

Undated Photo of Caspar Biele 

Records from Ellis Island show that Wilhelmine and the four children born in Barmen arrived in New York City from Bremen on the S.S. America on Dec 19, 1865, but no records list when Caspar arrived.  The first record of him in the US is in the Trow's 1868 directory where he is listed as a cabinet maker and living at 71 Ridge in lower Manhattan in New York City.  A previously discovered index card of Caspar's naturalization record is blank concerning his arrival port and date of arrival.

A new discovery provides some further clues.  A copy of the actual court record of his naturalization states that in "September or October 1864 he made a public declaration in the County Court at Philadelphia PA being a Court Record therein, that is was, bona fide, his intention to become a citizen of the United States and renounce forever all allegiance to the King of Prussia"  It further states that the original record of that declaration has been destroyed or lost.

This seems to imply that Caspar came to the United States from Germany through the port of Philadelphia in 1864.  Or it could be that he entered through a different port and just made his declaration there.  Or perhaps he never made a declaration there and that was just a convenient statement made when he applied for citizenship in 1868.

More digging is needed to definitively determine when and where Caspar Biele came to the United States.