Some months later William took his children to eat at the Koenigstein Hotel in Norfolk. A waitress, Miss Ann Vonderohe, cleaned them up before they ate. On April 22, 1883, William and Anna were married by Rev. August Leuthauser. The witnesses were Herman Krahn and Martin Hansen, an uncle of Charles Hansen. To this union seven sons and four daughters were born: Herman, John, Henry, Arthur, Leo, Paul, Elmer, Minnie (Prauner), Tillie, Lena (Gardels) and Ella (Tegeler).

As a bride, Anna described the Elkhorn River Valley as God's acre. She always said it was lovely beyond words in the spring. The Elkhorn River was full of fish to be taken. Ducks, geese, prairie chicken and quail were plentiful. Rabbits and deer were everywhere, so meat was never a problem. Wild plums, gooseberries, grapes, chokecherries, raspberries, and strawberries were in abundance on the banks. She often related to her children stories of the Indians. They were peaceful as long as they were fed, but they objected to eat "like dogs" outside of the house. They always wanted to take Minnie because she was pretty and blonde.

In 1883 William's brother Fred, returned to visit his birthplace. During the winter of 1889 William visited his sister and other relatives in Hanover, Germany. His family took him to Norfolk, where he boarded a train to the East Coast. The voyage to the "Old Country" took approximately three weeks. While he was gone, Minnie stepped in some hot potato peelings and severely burned herself. Their hired man at the time was Peter Gerhits.

When William returned home, he sold some cattle. He never received cash for them, but instead, he received the property and house where Lonnie Hale now lives. During the winter they moved to town because he wanted his children to go to school for a short time and he also was afraid that the river would get too close to the house. He hired Henry Barry to stay on the farm.

The day finally came when the river came too close to the buildings. In the winter of 1904 they started to move the buildings to the place where Richard Bierman now lives. Although it was a dry year, they were continually getting stuck in the swamps. It took them abut a month to move the house and another month for the barn and other small buildings by horses.

William Bierman died on April 9, 1916 at his home three miles north of Battle Creek. He had suffered for sometime with cancer of the liver. He was buried at the Lutheran Cemetery by Rev. J. Hoffmann. His descendants include 15 children, 33 grandchildren, 60 great grandchildren and 29 great great grandchildren.

William was gifted with natural shrewdness in business matters. He was a good natured man who enjoyed life and friends. His hospitality was widely acclaimed and the weddings he gave his daughters were talked about by those in attendance until

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