Erhard Kahny of Pierce was buried in the St. John Lutheran Cemetery ini Pierce with his second wife, Johanna Glaser. I am looking for the burials of his first wife, Louise Brugger Kahny, and of her first husband, Leonard Brugger, in the same geographical area.

On behalf of the Lied Pierce (Nebraska) Library Genealogy Help Group we are glad to supply the following information.

According to Mr. Kahny’s obituary dated July 4, 1912, the family moved to Pierce County nine years previously (1903) from Platte County Nebraska. You may need to look at Platte County for more information. In the event that you do not have the obituary a transcript follows:

Pierce County Leader; Pierce, Nebraska; 4 July 1912; page 1

Ed. Kahney (sic) Dead.

Ed. Kahney (sic), one of the highly respected farmers living about five miles northeast of Pierce, passed away at his home on Monday afternoon, July 1, about 1 o’clock. Funeral services were held yesterday afternoon at the Lutheran church east of Pierce, and interment was made in the nearby cemetery.

The direct cause, as near as we can learn, is the result of a stroke of paralysis Mr. Kahney (sic) suffered in April of this year. At that time while he was working in the yard he was paralyzed and since then he has been failing gradually, and for the past few weeks has been obliged to remain in bed.

Mr. Kahney (sic) was about 53 years of age and had been a resident of Pierce county for about nine years, coming here from Platte county. He was well-to-do and was held in high regard by all who knew him. He leaves a wife and four children, and to these the Leader extends its heartfelt sympathy.

Dear Vickie, I am most grateful for this information. I did not have the obit previously, and I had no information on their various residences before settling in Pierce. Many thanks.

I don't know if you ever got an answer to your question about a gravesite for Louise Brugger, but I am happy to share the information I've been able to find.

It appears Luise (Kessler) Brugger married Erhard Kahny on October 11, 1886 in Germany. They immigrated to the USA sometime in 1888, the same year their daughter, Lydia, was born. (Their son, Emil, died in infancy before they left Germany.) Therefore, Louise's first husband must have died in Germany.

From what I've been able to piece together, Louise died in Omaha, NE, when Lydia was 3 years old, so around 1891. I don't have specific information about where she was buried, but either a Catholic or Lutheran cemetery is probable.

It appears Luise and her first husband, Leonhard Brugger, had three children: Emma (b. 1877), Emilie (b. 1878), and Leonhard (b. 1881). Apparently, although they would have been relatively young at the time, for some reason these children did not emigrate with their mother and stepfather in 1888. However, family gossip has it that they did attempt to contact their half-sister, Lydia, in the aftermath of WWII, which is how we found out they existed.

Erhard & his second wife, Johanna Glaser, are my great-grandparents. Do you have a copy of Adolf Gottfried Kahny's "Familien-Chronik"?

Hello, and thanks for your reply to my query. I am very happy to hear from you about these families. I have known Adolf Kähny for over 10 years, and visited him in Adelhausen in 2001 to learn about my own Kähni ancestor who emigrated from Adelhausen. Afterwards, he sent me some information about these Brugger/Kähny families which, interestingly, varies somewhat from what you have just told me, and which also seems to be at odds with what I have found in my own research. A most complicated story! Perhaps you did not know that Leonhard and Louise Brugger had emigrated with their children to the US earlier, but, first, let me just quote verbatim in my translation what Adolf said to me in an email: "Leonhard Brugger emigrated with his wife Louise Kessler and his children Emma and Emilie in 1878 to the USA. Leonhard died in 1881 in the USA. Louise then returned with their children to Germany, and in 1886 she married the smith Erhard Kähny of Adelhausen. The family then emigrated once again to the USA in 1888. The children from the marriage of Leonhard and Louise remained in Germany. Louise died in 1892 in the USA, and the widower Erhard married Johanna Glaser-Zach in 1893." Notice that Adolf states that Leonhard Brugger died in the USA rather than Germany, but I have so far been unable to locate a death or burial record for him or for Louise. Adolf also gave me some information about the children of Leonhard and Louise; "Emma b 1877 d 1955 in Basel, Emilie b 1878 d 1881 on the ship during the trip back to Germany, Anna Margaretha b 1880 USA d 1937 in Baden-Baden, and Leonhard b 1881 d unknown in USA". I did some checking and found that Leonhard b 1881 came back to the USA at a later time since he lived and died in Butte, Montana on 5 June 1960. He apparently did not return to the USA with Louise and Erhard, however. So that is the story as I currently understand it. I am also connected to the Bruggers by ancestry, hence my interest in this family. Incidentally,. I also have all the data on the children of Erhard Kähny with both Louise and with Johanna. I have several of Adolf's books, but not the "Familien-Chronik". I do have one on various emigrants from the Eichsel parish which is called "Auswanderungen aus der Pfarrei Eichsel-Adelhausen". Perhaps that is the same book? I also understand he has made a CD with all the parish families on it, but he is out of those at the moment (though I would dearly love to have one). I would be grateful to hear if you ever come across any information on the gravesites for Louise and Leonhard. Thanks again.
Tony Kaney - arkaney@excite.com