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Rev Emil Daniel Becker
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Birth: Oct. 28, 1896
Velykokomarivka
Odes'ka, Ukraine
Death: Sep. 2, 1958
Bismarck
Burleigh County
North Dakota, USA
Bio by Elaine (Becker) MORRISON —
Emil Becker was born on 28 October 1896 in Kassel, Glueckstal, Odessa, South Russia to Daniel and Katharina Eberhart Becker. He attended the village school and was confirmed in the local Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Because Katharina could not envision her three sons serving in the dreaded Russian army, she convinced the family to immigrate to Canada. In April of 1913 they and the Adam and Paulina Darr family arrived in Alberta where they joined the Johann and Magdalena Haas family who had immigrated in 1912. Magdalena and Paulina were Emil's sisters. It appears that the Becker and Darr families spent the first months with the Haas family while they looked for suitable land.
As a sixteen year old boy, Emil settled into the farm life, helping with the usual activities on the home place and seasonal jobs when the day's wages were counted in cents rather than dollars. His initial exposure to the English language was in part trying to communicate with the local Chinese restaurant owner. Later, he realized that "po' chum" was really "pork chop."
In 1913, Emil's parents acquired a homestead (pre-emption of Hudson Bay land) two miles south of present Hilda. It was diagonally across the road of the present Hilda Baptist Cemetery. Under the ministry of E.P. Wahl, Emil and his parents joined that Baptist Church. The parents, a son Otto and several of their grandchildren are buried in that cemetery.
In May of 1918 he was drafted into the Canadian Army and spent a short time in the induction location in Calgary before his father arranged for his release to help with the farm work. Likely that was accomplished because it was anticipated that the enemy would surrender shortly. Emil always spoke with regret about not being able to serve.
The Alberta Genealogical Society has been very helpful to find and supply the trail of the family's history: Emil applied for his own homestead (pre-emption) 14 Dec 1915 to S27 SE, T 16, R1, M 4 (north of Schuler). According to land records, during that time he "broke a total of 37 acres, cropped 35 acres and raised horses." Emil was granted Canadian citizenship via naturalization of his father, 3 May 1917. (He became a United States citizen in 1934.)
In the fall of 1920, Emil left his property and family and began studies for the ministry in Rochester, New York. Because of his limited formal education and previously little use of the English language, his initial time there was spent at The Academy learning the necessary attributes for admission to the seminary. In November of 1920 he was sent patent papers for his property, which he then relinquished.
The siblings that he left in Alberta were Magdalena Haas (John), Justina Bender (Friederich); Paulina Darr (Adam); Rudolf Becker (Anna Holstein); Lydia Jeschke Betkar (Fred, Gottfried) and Otto (Martha Neth). Both parents died while he was in seminary.
During summer months, it was customary for seminary students to travel from town to town selling religious books. On such a trip, Emil approached one house at the same time that a young lady was "shaking the rugs." The cloud of dust was the beginning of a courtship that culminated with their marriage in 1926. Emil, with Marie, returned to Rochester and he was graduated in 1927 from the German Department of the Rochester Theological Seminary.
Emil served as pastor of North American Baptist and American Baptist churches in: Lacrosse, Wisconsin; Ableman, Wisconsin; Hutchinson, Minnesota; Washburn, North Dakota; Herreid, South Dakota: Bethany in Vancouver, B.C.; Buena, Washington and New Leipzig, North Dakota. There were always two services each Sunday, and often also an afternoon service; because he never knew which of the parishioners might attend all three services, he prepared three different sermons for those three-services Sundays. He was comfortable preaching in either German or English. He enjoyed speaking Russian to the early immigrants and occasionally preached Russian sermons for them.
Emil never gave up his love for learning; because the village schools in Russia provided only elementary classes, he was given permission to "sit in" on classes the year after he graduated. He was a voracious reader including Greek, French and Russian; he took additional college classes and received the bachelor of law degree.
Two daughters were born to Emil and Marie: Virginia Chapman (Orville), a teacher who served many years as missionary in Africa and Elaine Morrison (Charles), a registered nurse in government services.
In August, 1958, Emil succumbed to a ten year battle with chronic leukemia. During that time he continued his pastoral duties until a few weeks before his death. Per his request, he and Marie are buried in the city cemetery of her home town, Goodrich, North Dakota.
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Family links:
Parents:
Daniel Becker (1853 - 1924)
Katherina Eberhardt Becker (1861 - 1923)
Spouse:
Marie Anita Mauch Becker (1901 - 1978)*
Siblings:
Magdalena Becker Haas (1880 - 1966)*
Justina Becker Bender (1885 - 1971)*
Paulina Becker Darr (1887 - 1965)*
Lydia Becker Betker (1892 - 1980)*
Rudolph Becker (1894 - 1976)*
Emil Daniel Becker (1896 - 1958)
Otto Becker (1899 - 1936)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Goodrich Cemetery
Goodrich
Sheridan County
North Dakota, USA
Created by: DG Bender
Record added: Jan 18, 2013
Find A Grave Memorial# 103775900
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1896 - 1958 (61 years)