Mary was born 16 Jul 1850 in Sarrebourg, Moselle, Lorraine, France, the 4th of six children of Andrew Birky and Anna Kempf. She came to America in about 1854* with her parents and siblings Joseph, Anna and Phoebe. Sisters Delphine and Victoria were born in America. The 1860 census shows Mary living with her parents and 2-year-old sister Delphine, in Arispie township, Bureau County, Illinois. They were in Iowa by 1866 because Mary’s mother, Anna, died in Iowa in that year.


(Strangely, even though Mary was apparently married in 1868, the 1870 census shows her living with her father in Greene township in Iowa County, Iowa with sisters Delphine and Victoria.Perhaps she was helping her father out after her mother’s death. The 1870 census also shows her living with her husband in Greene township, so apparently she was counted twice!)


Mary married Philip Glider, son of William Henry Glider and Sarah Schears, on 16 Mar 1868 in Washington County**. The couple farmed first in Iowa County, then in Washington County. Mary reports in the 1900 census that she had twelve children, and 6 were living at that time. Ten children could be identified for this biography: Henry, Sarah Ann, Charles, Joseph, Caroline L, Emma J, Nelson, Lewis Walter, Bertha E, and Arthur Raymond. Henry, Charles, Joseph and Bertha all died young.


In the 1870 census, Mary and Philip are living in Greene township, Iowa County with four-month-old Henry; in 1880, they have moved to Lime Creek township in Washington County with daughters Sarah and Caroline; in 1885, still in Lime Creek township with Sarah, Carrie [Caroline] and Emma in the household; in 1895: they are still in Lime Creek, now with Sarah, Carrie, Emma, Nelson, Lewis and Arthur; in 1910, still in Lime Creek and sons Nelson and Lewis are living with them; in 1920, the last Federal census before her death, she and Philip are living in Lime Creek and son Nelson is living with them.


*New York Passenger lists a Birky family including a 4-year-old “Marie” that arrived in New York Harbor upon the Sarah Jane on 14 Sep 1854 from Le Havre, France. Additional comparative research needs to be done to prove this family record.
**The record states that "Mary Beckey” married Philip Glider.


Note: Mary's parents are buried at West Union Mennonite Cemetery, a couple of miles north of Wassonville.

submitted by Findagrave member # 47223271