Kleinsteuber Genealogy & Stories

This section is under reconstruction!!!! Eleazer Youmans, Sr - 1764 - 1844

12/17/2017

This section belongs elsewhere and is under construction

The Descendants Fan Chart for Eleazer Youmans shown below uses a different colour for each generation, the first fan chart is 5 generations, and is available in either jpg or pdf version, for the pdf version click on Download File to open in a new window (back button to return). Note that the pdf file size can be increased in order to read the fine print!

The second fan chart is 6 generations, same details as above.

Hover over gallery images for caption, click to enlarge.

Eleazer Youmans, Sr - 5 Generation Descendants Fan Chart

Eleazer Youmans, Sr - 6 Generation Descendants Fan Chart

1764_-_eleazer_youmans_sr_-_5_generation_descendants_fan_chart_2.pdf
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1764_-_eleazer_youmans_sr_-_6_generation_descendants_fan_chart.pdf
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Index of Genealogy Reports

4/1/2015

This Blog webpage will contain reports and photos of various genealogy studies, with reports and photos. Each Entry can be clicked on to "jump" to that report.

Actinolite Kleinsteubers - 1850s & 1860s Immigrant sailing ships
Jan 11, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Actinolite History
Jan 11, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - The Alexander (Alec) Kleinsteuber Story
- Mar 01, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - (The) Amanda Kleinsteuber Greatrix Story
Jan 9, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - German Settlement Log Church
Dec 20, 2014
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Godparents in German society in the 1800s & connections
Dec 17, 2014
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Hugo Kleinsteiber family & Descendants
Updated on Jan 1, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Istead Family and Kleinsteuber Connection
- March 1, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - The Millard Family and Kleinsteuber Connection
Feb 20, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Orser Connections & the Revolutionary War
Updated on Dec 31, 2014
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Orser (and Youmans) Family Connections
Updated on Jan 1, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Pictorial Journey from a King's Royal City to the backwoods of Canada:
Jan 17, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Rodgers/Kleinsteuber Connection:
Jan 28, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Twins Anna Therese aka Rosa & Hugo Kleinsteuber
Dec 15, 2014
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Who was Henry Kleinsteuber?
Updated on Mar 10, 2015
Actinolite Kleinsteubers - William Kleinsteuber (1845 - 1922)
Dec 18, 2014

Texas Kleinsteubers - Texas Kleinsteuber Origins
Dec 2, 2014
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The Alexander (Alec) Kleinsteuber Story:

1/30/2015

Author: Keith James Kleinsteuber, in collaboration with Keith Millard
Note: Alec Kleinsteuber was the author's father, and this story is as told to and remembered by his son Keith James Kleinsteuber

The Early Years:

Alexander Kleinsteuber was born in August of 1906 in the log home of his parents, Charles Eleazer Kleinsteuber and Mary Eliza Kenny, in the German Settlement founded by his German immigrant grandfather and uncles in Elzevir Township, Hastings County, Ontario.

In early childhood he lived in the German Settlement near Actinolite and about 11km north of Tweed. Throughout his whole life there were always fond reminiscences from this time, such as the horse and buggy rides and being able to hear the birds singing as they travelled quietly in the sand. The ‘Sheep Rock’, the footbridge over the Skootamatta river, and the sound of the church bell ringing in the distance, these and many other early experiences were all clear in his memory.

At about age eight (circa 1914) he moved to West Lake where he lived with his family near the Sand Banks. This is where he grew from a child to be a young man. Memories from this time included attending school, skating on the lake, playing baseball, family reunions, and many other events such as the socials that were organized by the church. Fishermen, farmers, boat builders, wonderful cooks, musicians, and all manner of colourful personalities came to life in his recollections about his family and neighbours.

Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for caption:

1900 - Joseph, Mitchel, & Detlor Kleinsteuber at their log house in the German Settlement.

A typical log house of those that were in the German Settlement.

The German Settlement encompassed 3 lots in Elzevir Township, and functioned much like a commune with everyone helping. Charles & Mary Eliza lived (we think) in the house later occupied by Charles Minnie.

A footbridge across the Skootamatta River, likely similar to the one at the German Settlement.

And a typical scene of the Skootamatta River at or near the German Settlement.

1914 - Mary Eliza with daughter Vera & daughter-in-law Martha (Detlor's wife) at their first house at West Lake.

1915 at West Lake - Detlor, Miles, Alex, Charles, Mary Eliza, Vera, Jessie & Walter Coulter, Mitchel, and Joseph

This would have been the view of the Sandbanks from the Kleinsteuber family farm circa 1920.

1920 (abt) Charles Kleinsteuber cultivating a field at his farm at West Lake

1920 - The Charles Eleazer Kleinsteuber family at West Lake

The Prairies Years:

As a young man in the 1920’s, Alec looked West for adventure and began to spend the late Summers grain harvesting in Saskatchewan.

During the harvests the vast blue skies of the prairies and the new frontier had ‘cast their charm’ on “Alec” (as he referred to himself). He decided to settle in the West, and chose Nut Mountain, Saskatchewan (named after the many hazelnut trees that grew in the area), and the Assiniboine River has its headwaters in the nearby Nut Hills.

This experience had its trials. Life was not easy on the Prairies. With the onset of the ‘Great Depression’, he had to work long and hard for very little more than his keep at times. In 1936 he married Sophia Boris and began a family and machinery repair business almost at the same time. A daughter, Betty Ann was born in 1937.

With a keen interest in technical things and having “grown up with the automobile” he possessed a remarkable ability with mechanical things. He repaired all kinds of automotive and farm equipment. He did such diverse things as providing emergency medical transportation in harsh winter conditions with a snow plane (a canvas enclosed vehicle which he had constructed himself, fitted with skis and driven by a propeller that he had also made!).

Two sons were born – Eslie Charles in 1942, and Stewart Alexander in 1945. The business grew and developed into a full service repair shop that sold fuel, cars, tractors and other farm equipment. Later on, a lumberyard was added and trucking services.

Sophia looked after the children and household as well as lent her support to the business. She could be found pumping gas at odd hours and doing many other things as needed. Another son, Keith James was born in 1951.

In the 1950’s the farm based community experienced hard times, with successive years of crop failure and poor market conditions. In Dad’s own words: “Business was good but nobody had any money – everything was out on the books.” This resulted in a devastating loss for the whole family. House and home were left behind and most personal possessions were auctioned for pennies on the dollar.

The house is long gone but as close as I can recall it would have been on the North side of 1st Avenue about 1 block East of Main St. The garage would have been on the SE corner of the intersection of Main St. and Highway 49 (the garage is also long gone) - only the cement sidewalk remains where I used to sometimes ride my tricycle. I have a story about that trike. One minute I was riding it and in the next it was being auctioned off in advance of moving to Golden BC - I had not a clue why any of this was happening!!! (I was 5).

Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for caption, or click on the video (6 min clip about Nut Mountain):

Location of Nut Mountain, Saskatchewan

Remnants of community of Nut Mountain, Saskatchewan

The "Golden" Years:

In 1956 at age 50, with his young family and precious few resources Alec moved the family to an uncertain future in Golden BC. Sophie and Alexander had visited B.C. the year before and they were very impressed! At this time B.C. was in a period of rapid development. He believed that B.C. held the promise of opportunities for the whole family.

‘Strangers in a strange land’, the family had to adapt to the very different culture of a logging and lumbering village nestled in the Rocky Mountains. Alec worked variously as a labourer on the Trans Canada Highway project, sawmill worker, then he later operated his own trucking company. The youngest member of the family, Terrance Dale was born 1959.

In 1960 fate was to deal another hard blow. At age 54 his pelvis was severely crushed in an industrial accident – doctors told him that he would not walk again. After a lengthy convalescence, the doctors were proved to be mistaken! Alec took training in First Aid and lumber grading, and worked in various sawmills until his late seventies.

At the same time as he was working in sawmills he started developing his “profitable hobby” (circa. 1964) of growing raspberries. This was something he loved and continued to do until near the end of his life at age 96. Each spring he would emerge from the long winter to tend his raspberries. His produce had unlimited demand. Many local people as well as the chefs at Chateau Lake Louise and at the Banff Chateau would wait anxiously for his berries to make their seasonal desserts.

Although Dad’s life choices led him far from his family, he liked to share his memories of his early life in Ontario and in later years he visited ‘back East’ many times. Dad was always proud of his heritage and it was clear from how often his family were in his thoughts that they were very important to him. Dad loved to travel by car and would make marathon trips back to Ontario in as few as 3 days from Golden – even at an advanced age!

Alec Kleinsteuber was an optimistic man with a quick wit, sparkling blue eyes and a sense of humour that remained with him to his dying days at age 96.

My parent’s remains are buried in a shared plot in the cemetery at Golden BC marked with a simple polished red granite stone.

Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for caption:

Location & topography of Golden, BC

Welcome sign to Golden, BC

Winter scene near Golden, BC

Summer scene near Golden, BC

Google Earth satellite view of Alec Kleinsteuber family home vis a vis Golden, BC

Alec Kleinsteuber's home near Golden, BC, and his retirement home on the same property.

1970 (abt) - Mitchel, Alex, Joseph Kleinsteuber - at Pleasant Grove

1978 (abt) - Florence, Sophie, Alex, & Mitchel Kleinsteuber

1995 (abt) Alex & Sophie Kleinsteuber at Smith Falls

2000 - Aunt Sophie & Uncle Alex Kleinsteuber, Roly & Pat Istead

Alec Kleinsteuber - Geni Family Tree

Alec Kleinsteuber & Sophie Boris gravestone.

The Rodgers/Kleinsteuber Connection:

1/28/2015

Author: Keith Millard

Note: As with so many of the families that lived in these rural communities in the 1800s, there are often multiple connections between families, and there ARE other connections between the Kleinsteuber and the Rodgers families. This is the connection between a son of Carl Kleinsteuber (one of the original German immigrants to the German Settlement) and a daughter of one of the founders of the nearby Potter Settlement.

After Theodor Kleinsteuber died of cholera in September 1866, his sons Carl, 17, and Julius, 19, travelled from Germany to New York, arriving there on Dec 13, 1866, still having to travel on to Bridgewater Ontario to join their brothers Henry and John Henry Lorenz, and likely bringing the news of their father's death with them. Crossing the Atlantic in December, in steerage, must have been an extremely unhappy experience.

Carl lived in the German Settlement for a number of years, and in 1873 married Hannah Potter (from the Potter Settlement), and at some point they were living on Lot 2 of Concession VIII of Elzevir Township, directly north of the Potter Settlement.

Rudolf (Rudi) was the youngest of Carl and Hannah's six children and was born in 1887 at the family home in Elzevir Township.

At this time, Bridgewater was still the economic and social centre for everyone living within abot 10 miles radius. And at this point in time the James Rodgers family, including his son Emory Rodgers, were still living in Hungerford Township very close to the small community of Bogart and Bogart's Mill.

Click on photos to enlarge, cursor over for caption:

1888 - Carl Kleinsteuber - Elzevir & Potter Settlement

George Potter - Immediate family, as per Geni

1873 Marriage of Carl K & Hannah Potter

1887 Birth of Rudolf Kleinsteuber

1888 Elzevir Directoy

1891 Census - Rudolf Kleinsteuber & family

James Rodgers in relation to Bridgewater and Elzevir

Bogart residence, Con XI, Lot 20, Hungerford

James Rodgers in relation to village of Bogart

1887 Rudi Kleinsteuber immediate family

In 1910 Rudi married Frances (Frankie) Rodgers, daughter of Emory Rodgers and Adeline Mayne, in the village of Queensborough, Elzevir Township. James Orville was born in 1912, in the house on Con VIII Lot 2 of Elzevir Township. We assume they were living in the house of Carl and Hannah, as Carl had died in 1897.

Their immediate whereabouts after James' birth in 1912 has not been determined, though we know Rudi's brother Herman had moved to Hallowell Township in Prince Edward County before 1911. At some point before Sherman's birth in 1918, Rudi and Frankie had moved to Prince Edward County as well, and we believe some of these sap bush and other pics were taken at West Lake.

Click on photos to enlarge, cursor over for caption:

1910 - Marriage of Rudolf Kleinsteuber & Frankie Rodgers 2

1910 - Marriage of Rudolf Kleinsteuber & Frankie Rodgers

John David Kleinsteuber + 2 others at Wishing Tree, West Lake, may have included Rudi & brother Herman.

John David & Rudy Kleinsteuber - boiling cauldrons in forest, may have been at West Lake

Rudi (Rudolf) son of Carl & Hannah Potter Kleinsteuber carrying sap buckets, likely at West Lake

1914 - Rudy (Rudolf) son of Carl & Hannah Potter Kleinsteuber & Emory Rodgers - Poor bunny Likely at West Lake

1913 Birth of James Orville Kleinsteuber

1921 Census - Rudolf Kleinsteuber family + Neighbours at West Lake

1921 Census - Rudolf Kleinsteuber family at West Lake

In 1925, many Kleinsteuber descendants had also moved to the West Lake community, and in fact more than half of the students at the West Lake one room schoolhouse in 1925 were immediate Kleinsteuber relatives, including all three of Rudi and Frankie's children, James Orville, Gertrude, and Sherman. The school certainly seemed bigger in the early 1950s to myself when I attended it!

Rudi and his brother Herman were partners in a small general store and gas station in the 1930s through the 1940s, until Rudi died in 1948. Herman continued to operate the more and more insignificant location until sometime in the mid 1950s, but after he retired, his daughter Verna and her husband Ted Stewart took over the property, renaming it The Tambo, a very popular summer stop for groceries, ice cream cones, etc.

Rudi's son Jim Kleinsteuber was married in Oshawa and daughter Lois was born there in 1942. Jim moved back to West Lake and operated a small live bait and soda stand at the corner of the West Lake Road until passing away in 1962 at the young age of 48.

Rudi's daughter Gertrude married a gentleman named Dunning, and son Sherman married a lady named Elda Clement. Frankie died in 1981 in Picton, at the age of 90.

Little else is known about the descendants of Rudi and Frankie.

Click on photos to enlarge, cursor over for caption:

1925 - West Lake School photo - Kleinsteubers are all identified

West Lake school & Church of Christ

1930s thru 1950s general store, then Tambo in the 1960s, at West Lake

James Orville Kleinsteuber home in the 1950s

1887 - Rudolf Kleinsteuber Geni family tree

Pictorial Journey from a King's Royal City to the backwoods of Canada:

1/17/2015

Or, Why did thousands of young German men leave the Saxony region of Germany and travel thousand of miles over treacherous seas to an unknown life in an unknown country?

We've talked before about Gotha, Germany being a royal city in Saxony, a position it shared for 6 months of each year with Coburg. We hadn't realized that it had been made a kingdom (rather than a duchy as it had been before) by Napoleon, so let's take another look.

First up is the new 1806 map showing the Kingdom of Saxony, next are the Kings of Saxony (1806 – 1918), then the city in 1730 followed by a watercolour of Gotha in 1850, then the castle (Schloss Friedenstein) exterior and interior pics, lastly the church at the castle (Schlosskirche Friedenstein) where Johann Theodor Wendel Kleinsteuber my 3rd great grandfather was baptised. Other pics are of the Gotha City Hall (Rathaus), and two other churches.
Click on photos to enlarge, cursor over to see caption:

1806 map of the French Empire (under Emperor Napoleon. Saxonf was made into a Kingdom, and the location of Gotha and Bremen are noted.

Kings of Saxony, 1806 to 1918

Gotha, Germany in 1730

Gotha, Germany in 1850

Schloss Friedenstein

Schlosskirche Friedenstein

Rathaus (City Hall) in Gotha since the mid 1600s.

St Margarethenkirche in Gotha

St Augustinkirche in Gotha

Theodor Kleinsteuber's sons, all 7 of them that lived past childhood, were raised in a middle class environment, Theodor was a Master Shoemaker, had his own shoemaking shop in a good part of the city, and his two eldest sons were also raised as shoemakers.

So, why would the sons leave and go to somewhere totally unknown?

One reason may have been that Saxony had been involved in an unending series of wars over the previous hundred years, first Austria, then Prussia, then France (think Emperor Napoleon), and which, in fact, continued for the next 100 years.

A second reason could have been young men looking for adventure and reading the wonderful stories about free land in a growing country. And, a third reason could have been family dynamics or overcrowding in a small city, perhaps visits to cousins who lived on farms in the neighbouring villages, and so on, no one can be sure.

The first part of the journey was the trip from Gotha to the port of Bremen, about 310 kilometers or 192 miles, there were categorically no railways from Gotha before 1857.

Then, of course, poor people always traveled in steerage, stuffed below decks like livestock and with little or no ventilation, sanitation, or comfort of any kind. The distance from Bremen to New York (as a crow flies) is about 3,800 miles or 6,100 km, so likely closer to 7,000 miles or 11,000 km by sailing ship, and on average took 40 days.

Steerage conditions were deplorable, overcrowded and not sanitary. Water was scarce for cooking and drinking let alone bathing, and many were not allowed on deck for sunlight and fresh air. Many of the passengers were suffering from fever and disease and in the 1840s and 1850s, it would have taken the sailing ship between 21 to 42 days to reach New York. Conditions in steerage were barely improved as steam ships took over, but the voyage became 10 to 12 days.

Click on photos to enlarge, cursor over to see caption:

Map showing the travel from Gotha to the port of Bremen

Pictorial layout of a typical immigrant sailing ship

Composite photo showing the conditions for passengers in steerage.

Castle Garden Immigration Centre in New York.

Castle Garden Immigration Centre Hall in New York.

We're not sure how immigrants to Canada got there from New York in the 1840s and early 1850s, they likely took another ship to Montreal, then a lake boat to Kingston. In 1856 a railroad line was completed from New York to Cape Vincent and there was a ferry service across to Kingston. In 1859 a railroad line was completed between New York and Montreal, and by 1856 there was regular rail service between Montreal and Toronto (with stops in Kingston and Belleville).

So – our citified shoemaker ancestors had made it as far as Kingston, and we'll look at the map for a moment. In 1755 the entire population of Canada was 90,000, the large majority being east of the current Ontario border with Quebec. During the 1770s and 1780s, some 50,000 United Empire Loyalists came to Canada, with close to 10,000 settling in Ontario, the largest percentage of those in Eastern Ontario.

If we look at the map, we can see where Highway 401 crosses east to west, and the beast farmland in eastern Ontario is south of that line, rich alluvial soils deposited and left behind after the last ice age about 10,000 years ago. Our UEL cousins were each (incl. children and wives) 200 acres each or about 81 hectares, and most of this land was south of Hwy 401. The area between 401 and the east west highway # 7 is much less arable, with many swamps, small lakes, and rocky outcroppings – and this is mostly where the tens of thousands of Irish refugees during the potato famine in the 1840s ended up, given about 160 acres each IF they constructed a liveable habitation and had a certain amount of land cleared and planted in the first 2 years.

The land to the north of highway 7 was the southern edge of the great Canadian Shield with almost no arable land at all, forests, swamps, rivers, a myriad of small lakes, rock outcroppings, and black flies the size of starlings (well, almost seemed that way!).

In the general view of the land area they were given, do you see anything here that looks like arable land? Lots of water, rock, and trees! Same with a more specific view of the land area they were given.
Click on photos to enlarge, cursor over to see caption:

Map of Eastern Ontario

Google Earth general area view of the landscape where they were given land.

Google Earth more specific area view of the landscape where they were given land.

Well, today the area has returned to nature and there is a campground where Henry and John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber first arrived. But here's what they saw when they first arrived.

Typical Skootamatta River and countryside views.

So they probably cut trees down and built a lean to shelter to start, started to clear land for gardening, and they likely both started peddling their shoe making expertise in the booming village of Bridgewater, only 4 kilometers away (now known as Actinolite) with a population of several hundred people.

And it is likely in Bridgewater where they charmed the daughters of UEL descendants who all had large families. John Henry Lorenz married Annie Youmans, who had 11 siblings and 6 aunts and uncles who all had large families. We think they helped build the first actual homes for the 2 Kleinsteubers, and they likely looked like this.

As time went by, more of the Kleinsteuber siblings immigrated from Germany, including their mother in 1867 after their father, Theodor, died of Cholera in 1866. They all worked together to clear land, build homes, and raise families. This area became known as the German Settlement.

The entire family had been raised as Evangelical Lutheran, and the brothers built their own log church, which was used until the 1930s. Neighbours said on a frosty December night they could hear the Kleinsteubers singing German Christmas Carols from a mile away.

As time went on, the next generation gradually moved away to areas with better soil, or more urban areas with better job opportunities for their children.
Click on photos to enlarge, cursor over to see caption:

Typical log cabin houses in the 1840s to 1870s.

The German Settlement as it was drawn by a descendant in the 1930s.

Homemade footbridge across the Skootamatta river, likely very similar to the one the Kleinsteubers built to join the two sides of the German Settlement

The 1880s log church built by the Kleinsteuber brothers.

About 1910 - John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber on the right, his nephew from Hamilton standing next to him, and his son Julius on the left side, outside of Julius' new home on Concession VIII Lot 2..

And even today, more than 150 years later, we can still see the vague outlines of all the fields that were cleared to try and grow crops in this inhospitable environment. The green lines show the three 160 acre lots that were involved in the German Settlement, the yellow deltas indicate the fields that were cleared in the mid 1800s and that have returned to nature, and the yellow asterisk is where we believe Henry Kleinsteuber's house was located.

The general area and the former location of the German Settlement is now a popular tourism area in the summer, and my ancestors would likely roll over in their graves if they knew a Gay campground was located on their property. One of the owners, Derek, is a charming guy, and he is convinced the ghost of John Henry Lorenz visits the grounds regularly, and Derek has told me several stories of the spooky things that have happened.

1850s & 1860s Immigrant sailing ships

1/12/2015

Many of our ancestors came to Canada in the 1840s and 1850s before the advent of steam ships. Either before OR after, most were poor and travelled in a category called steerage, basically configured like swine pens, a totally enclosed area below the real passenger cabins and above the cargo hold and bilge, and carrying 600 or so souls in this category on each voyage.

Life on board (in steerage) was pretty deplorable in either case, but the steam ships completed the journey in 7 to 12 days compared to 21 days up to 42 days in the sailing ships. All the steerage passengers had to share a tiny galley and try to cook food for their own family, often while the ship was being buffeted by winds and waves. Bathroom facilities were a cruel joke, and steerage passengers could only take turns for a few brief minutes each day to go on deck for fresh air, if seas were rough or weather was stormy they were confined below deck.

This composite is of sketches that appeared in newspapers during that time frame.

Actinolite - The History of the Village

1/12/2015

We often talk about the early days of the German Settlement and what life was like, and have mentioned several times about the opportunities for the younger people to meet, often suggesting the Market in nearby Bridgewater as one of those opportunities.

The community began as a tiny village called Troy, basically in the middle of nowhere at the junction of Hungerford and Elzevir Townships, but located on a fast moving section of the Skootamatta River.

In the 1850s a lumberman named Billa Flint purchased a large section of land along the river and built a large lumbermill. The community flourished and by 1860 was named Bridgewater. More and more businesses soon opened, a flour mill, a General Store, a furniture store, and so on. By the 1870s over 500 people lived here, and the various businesses were the focal point for anyone living within 10 or 15 miles. The German Settlement was just 4 kilometers away (2 1/2 miles). Most of the residents in the German Settlement lived on the north side of the Skootamatta River and would have used a footbridge to shorten their travel time to Bridgewater.

When built, the Bridgewater Hotel was the largest and most lavish hotel in Hastings County. It was too big for the area (and too expensive) but Bella Flint believed the area would continue to develop into an industrial centre. Although it survived the fire of 1889, it burned to the ground in 1913.

In 1889 a devastating fire destroyed most of the village, from which it never fully recovered. Soon after, a mine was opened for a large amount of a soft mineral called actinolite, and in 1895 the remnants of Bridgewater was renamed Actinolite.

A large mine operation for the mineral actinolite commenced in the area in the 1880s and 1890s, and in 1895 the remnants of the Bridgewater were renamed as the village of Actinolite.

Today Actinolite is a sleepy backwater just off the highway 37 and highway 7 intersection.
Hopefully, most of the pages and photos shown below from Times to Remember in Elzevir are legible enough to read.

The map below shows the general area on the north shores of Lake Ontario, Prince Edward County which is a peninsula out into the lake, Hastings County immediately north, Kingston and Frontenac County to the east. The most arable lands on this map were those immediately along the shores of Lake Ontario (about as far as the east west expressway 401), and these were mainly settled by the United Empire Loyalists through land grants. The lands to the northeast of Kingston, as far as the east west highway 7, were largely settled by the floods of indigent Irish and English families during the 1840s. And the basically non-arable lands of Elzevir and other Townships on the north side of highway 7 were essentially "given away" to anyone who would settle there and meet basic conditions of clearing a certain amount of land and a habitable dwelling within two years.

The Google Earth satellite view shows the area encompassed by the German Settlement and the yellow deltas mark the areas that were cleared for crops, the outlines of these fields can still be seen more than 100 years later. A footbridge, similar to the photo below, connected the two sides of the German Settlement.

Eastern Ontario map showing Hastings County and location of Kingston, Actinolite, and the German Settlement.

The Google Earth satellite view shows the area encompassed by the German Settlement and the yellow deltas mark the areas that were cleared for crops, the outlines of these fields can still be seen more than 100 years later.

A footbridge, similar to this, connected the two sides of the German Settlement.

The daily Tweed / Actinolite stagecoach.

Newspaper ad for Billa Flint's general store in Bridgewater.

Hotel Bridgewater, the largest and most lavish hotel in Hastings County when it was built.

County description of Bridgewater in the 1870s and 1880s

The Bridgewater"gold rush and description of the big boarding house.

Description of the 1889 Bridgewater fire.

A plaque erected in 1964 to commemorate the naming of the village in 1895.

The Skootamatta River today, where highway 7 crosses over it.

Actinolite never recovered its economic prosperity which was based on logging, mining, and being a mercantile centre. One of the few buildings that survived the great fire of 1889 was the marble church. During the 1930s as Highway 7 was built to replace the poor road to Kaladar, a bus stop restaurant and store with motor court cabins was built (largely using the logs from the old Kleinsteuber church from the nearby German Settlement. It had a tourist attraction of caged black bears, a store that sold Indian moccasins and trinkets, and the restaurant was later rebuilt.

Today Actinolite is primarily a country village on the Skootamatta River to drive through.

Price's Log Cabin bus stop and restaurant opened in 1933.

The Log Cabin motor court cabins in the 1940s.

The rebuilt Log Cabin restaurant in the late 1950s.

The Marble Church in Actinolite

Driving in to Actinolite on Hwy 37 north from Belleville.

Orser Connections & the American Revolution

12/30/2014

Revolution comes to Westchester County

Most of us have little or no comprehension of what life was like for a Loyalist during the Revolutionary War. Thanks to cousin Paul Orser, and excellent document provides insight.

Excerpt: The successful separation of the American colonies from British rule was a momentous accomplishment. American historical tradition tends to focus attention on the independence movement as a clash of ideologies and the triumph of freedom over old world despotism.

The reality of the revolutionary movement, particularly in New York, was a more complex and far darker story. In Westchester County, New York City, and Long Island, support for independence was much less widespread, and opinion far more divided, than in most other parts of thirteen colonies. New York was both the headquarters, and the last bastion of British rule. It was the refuge to which beleaguered Loyalists could retreat “within the lines” for protection, and it was the place from which many Loyalists eventually evacuated when the war was finally lost in the summer of 1783.

The full document can be read below, just click on the word Download and the file will open in your browser window. Note: This document has been updated to only include the Revolutionary War and the immigration to Ontario.

orsers_and_the_american_revolution_1.pdf
File Size:	2013 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Orser (and Youmans) Family Connections

12/29/2014

The Orser family and the Youmans family were early settlers in Duchess County, New York. Eleazer Youmans, born 1702, married Maritie Aerste (Mary Orser) in November of 1728. One of their sons was Arthur Orser, born in 1729 and immigrated to Canada as a United Empire Loyalist, dying in 1800.

A small group of UEL Orsers and Youmans immigrated to Frontenac County during the Revolutionary War. Their harrowing life during the Revolutionary War and their travel to Frontenac County is documented separately in this website at http://www.millard-and-kleinsteuber-histories.com/kleinsteuber-genealogy-reports/orser-connections-the-revolutionary-war.

Arthur Youman's grandson, Eleazer married Marie Magdeleine Levesque, and their daughter Annie married John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber. Thus, all the descendants of John Henry Lorenz, including many Greatrix cousins, are also descendants of the Youmans and the Orsers.

Other descendants of Eleazer Youmans and Marie Magdeleine Levesque include Maybee families, Rodgers families, Badgley families, and all their descendants.

I have a separate connection to the Orsers, as my great grandmother was Effie Caraline Orser, born in 1866 to John Brown Orser who had a farm in Hallowell Township, Prince Edward County.

A 10 generations of Orser descendants fan chart beginning with Aert Willemszen is shown below, each generation is a different colour. This fan chart is likely too complex to read the text on your monitor, it is also available below as a pdf version file you can click on and "blow up" in size (using Ctrl & + keys).

Also included is an 1880 map of Hallowell Township showing the location of John Brown Orser's farm where Effie Caraline was born, the approximate location of my mother's birth in 1922, and where my mother, Effie's daughter Florence and husband Mitchel Kleinsteuber lived, named Maple Rest. Effie Caraline lived out her final years at Maple Rest as well, and my mother and husband Frank Millard lived here for a number of years as well (also where my brother and I grew up).

Last photo shows 4 generations, Effie Caraline Orser Foshay, Florence Foshay Kleinsteuber, Ruth Kleinsteuber Millard, and Mitchel Ross Millard.

Click on photos to enlarge:

Ten generation descendants fan chart for Aert Willemszen, ancestor of the Orser family.

1880 map composite of Hallowell Township, showing the John Brown Orser farm, birthplace of Ruth Kleinsteuber Millard, and Maple Rest, home of Mitchel Julius Kleinsteuber and Florence Irene Foshay Kleinsteuber.

Effie Caraline Orser Foshay, Florence Foshay Kleinsteuber, Ruth Kleinsteuber Millard, and Mitchel Ross Millard.

10_generation_orser_descendants.pdf
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Who was Henry Kleinsteuber?

12/26/2014

Henry is an enigma in many ways, with what we don't know being much more interesting than what we do know. We will begin with what we do know, proceed to what don't know, then perhaps even engage in some wild speculation!

Most of the information about our ancestors is based on snippets of data, birth records, census records, and the like, and these provide tiny snapshots in time, often years apart.

PART 1: What we do know about Henry Kleinsteuber;
- He was the founder and acknowledged leader of the Kleinsteuber German Settlement near present day Actinolite in eastern Ontario.
- We know he arrived at the Castle Garden immigration centre in New York on September 20th in 1852 on the ship Kosmos, reported he was 23 years old, and that he was a shoemaker. He was accompanied by his girlfriend, Elisabeth Pfeiffer, traveling with Henry on the same ship.
- We know he purchased part of Lot 4 Concession 6, Elzevir Township, in the 1850s, property being on both sides of the Scootamatta River just north of present day Highway 7.
- We know he was married twice, first to Elizabeth with whom he had 6 children between 1858 and 1869, and that Elizabeth died in 1870.
- We know that in 1861 John Henry Lorenz had arrived in Canada and was living with Henry and Elizabeth and their 2 children.
- We know that in 1871 Dorothea Heym Kleinsteuber, widow of Johann Theodor Wendel Kleinsteuber had arrived in Canada and was living with widower Henry and his children.
- We know that over time Henry was the owner of a number of other lots in the area, including at one time a lot several miles to the west during the brief Gold Rush of the late 1860s.
- We know that Henry remarried in 1884 to Louisa Both, and that the marriage record showed his parents names as Theodor Kleinsteuber and Dorothea Heym.
- We know that his name appeared several times in the Directory of ”important people” in Bridgewater during the 1880s, reported as Yeoman or as Shoemaker. Note: Bridgewater was a booming lumber town of about 500 people in the 1880s and located on the Scootamatta River just to the north of present day Actinolite, and several kilometers west of the German Settlement. The entire town was destroyed in a disastrous fire in 1889.
- The 1901 Census required a full birth date for everyone in Canada, and Henry reported his birth date as December 13, 1829 in Germany, that he arrived in Canada in 1852, and that he was a farmer.
- We know that Henry died in 1915, and in his Will he left all his property to his eldest son Theodore, as well as sending some money to his sister Leontine in Germany, if she still lived. Note: Leontine was the only living child of Theodor and Dorothea that remained in Germany, and was the ancestor of our cousin Ines Muller who currently lives near Gotha.

PART 2: What we do not know about Henry Kleinsteuber;
- There is no birth record for Henry; we have the parish records from all 4 parishes in Gotha (where Johann Theodor Wendel Kleinsteuber was born and lived his entire life). His stated birth date of December 13, 1829 is derived from the 1901 Census where every respondent had to provide their birth date; these were remarkably inaccurate and were usually just guesses (we must remember that birthdays were not considered of any significance in the 19th century).
- Theodor married Anna Dorothea Heym on June 11, 1832, and their first daughter Caroline Christiane Kleinsteuber was born on September 20, 1832. As their 14 children were born, the parish record showed each in sequence (e.g. 1st daughter, 7th son, etc.) and all 14 children (excluding Henry) are accounted for in our records. In these St Augustin parish records, John Henry Lorenz, born 1834, was recorded as being the second child and first son.
- We do not know where Henry was or what he did for much of the 7 years between 1852 and 1859 when his brother John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber arrived, but we don't believe he started life in Canada at Elzevir Township.
- We do not know if Henry's actual birth date was 1829, as no records have been found in Germany, and as we found with Carl Kleinsteuber (Preston Waterloo Kleinsteubers), his 1901 Census reported birth date was 5 years later than his actual birth date.
- We have no marriage record for Henry and Elizabeth, and do not know her birth surname for sure. When Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, Annie Maria, a widow, remarried in 1908 she reported her parent's names as Henry Kleinstuber and Elizabeth Pfifer. There are essentially no Pfifers to be found in ancestry records, but a few Pfeifer and Pfeiffer, mainly in the Waterloo South area. In the 1861 Census she reported she was born in Saxony (as did Henry).
- German children in the 1800s usually had 3 “given” names, typically the first and third were after their godparents, and the second was the name they used during their lives. Aside from knowing Henry's given name was Heinrich, we have no idea what his other given names were.
- We do not know if Henry was born illegitimate, if he was adopted, or if he was born elsewhere. There are no occurrences of any Heinrich Kleinsteuber in all the parish records we have received that could be a viable match for Henry.

- In short, Henry Kleinsteuber is an enigma.

PART 3: Wild speculation about Henry Kleinsteuber;
- It is conceivable that Theodor's firstborn, Caroline Christiane, was only the first to be baptised at St Augustinkirche, but one can only assume the parish would have been made aware of Henry's existence as the firstborn child (if that were the case).
- Henry may have been an adopted child for Theodor (e.g. from one of his sisters who was not yet married), or a child of Theodor's before he met Dorothea, or a child of theirs before they married in 1832. However, we have seen that all Kleinsteuber children born in the area were baptised, whether or not their parent or parents were married.
- Carl Kleinsteuber (Preston Waterloo) was baptised at the Augustinkirche in Gotha in 1826, and he became a stepchild at an early age. All of Theodor Kleinsteuber's children were baptised at the Augustinkirche in Gotha, except for Henry. Were Carl and Henry friends? Did they both decide, because of their unusual childhood, to immigrate to Canada? Did they meet in Canada?

Footnote:
From page 118 of “Times to Remember in Elzevir Township; the manuscript was started in 1958, the book was published in 1984, and much of the 295 pages consists of interviews with descendants and their reminiscences of those early settlers.

Interview with Don Kleinsteuber circa 1960: Henry Kleinsteuber had an official position in the early 1900s. His name was found on a warrant saying a man-at-large was wanted. Henry lost his second set of teeth, and to his surprise a third set grew in.

Attachments: Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over to see description

- 1900 (abt) Portrait of Henry Kleinsteuber & Louisa Both
- 1910 (abt) photo of original immigrants from Germany, including Henry & Louisa
- 1852 Arrival of Henry Kleinsteuber in New York
- 1861 Census record for Henry Kleinsteuber
- 1884 marriage of Henry Kleinsteuber & Louisa Both
- 1901 Census records including DOB
- Elzevir Township properties owned by Kleinsteuber settlers
- 1854 arrival of an Elisabeth Pfeifer in New York
- 1930 (abt) Elzevir Township - Kleinsteuber German Settlement Area - Historical record - The home occupied by Theodore Kleinsteuber was the original home of Henry Kleinsteuber
- Google Earth view of the German Settlement area.

1852 Arrival of Henry Kleinsteuber in New York

1852 Sept 20 arrival in New York of Elisabeth Pfeiffer

1852 Kosmos ship manifest - Sept 20 arrival in New York of Henry Kleinsteuber and Elisabeth Pfeiffer

1861 Census record for Henry Kleinsteuber (& Elizabeth, children, and John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber)

1900 (abt) Portrait of Henry Kleinsteuber & Louisa Both

1910 (abt) photo of original immigrants from Germany, including Henry & Louisa

1884 marriage of Henry Kleinsteuber & Louisa Both

1901 Census records including DOB

Elzevir Township properties owned by Kleinsteuber settlers

1854 arrival of an Elisabeth Pfeifer in New York

1930 (abt) Elzevir Township - Kleinsteuber German Settlement Area - Historical record - The home occupied by Theodore Kleinsteuber was the home of Henry Kleinsteuber

This edited Google Earth image show where the fields had been cleared during the 1860s and 1870s for the German Settlement, you can still see the outlines of the cleared land 100 years later. We think Henry's house was where the yellow asterisk is.

The German Settlement log church

12/20/2014

Times to Remember in Elzevir says that in the 1880s three of the Kleinsteuber brothers built a log church in the German Settlement and that it was visited frequently by a Methodist Circuit Rider minister.

It also said that on a frosty winter night the singing of traditional German Christmas carols could be heard more than a mile away.

Photos include the log church (with added Christmas decor), taken about 1930. It was dismantled and became part of the Price's Log Cabin restaurant in Actinolite, at the junction of Highway 7 and Highway 37. The hand drawn map of the German Settlement circa 1930s is also included.

Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over to see description:

In the 1880s three of the Kleinsteuber brothers built a log church in the German Settlement

Price's Log Cabin restaurant in Actinolite

The hand drawn map of the German Settlement circa 1930s is also included.

William Kleinsteuber 1845 - 1922

12/18/2014

Heinrich Wilhelm Georg Kleinsteuber was born in 1845 in Gotha, Germany, we know him as William, and he was the last sibling to immigrate to Canada, arriving in 1868 and rejoined the rest of his family at the German Settlement near Actinolite.

William was a cigar maker by trade, it is not known whether he learned this in Germany or after he arrived in Canada.

He married Isabella Hafner in a civil ceremony in 1872, and at some point in time they moved to Detroit, Michigan. I had always assumed they stayed together and contrary records were due to typos and spelling errors. Such was not the case.

We don't know what happened to Isabella, we do know they are shown in the 1900 US Census living in Detroit. We also know that William moved back to Kingston and died there in 1922 at the age of 77.

Here's the surprise. His wife at the time of his death was Ida Belle Hafner, and they married in Kingston in 1911, he was 66 and she was 42. It turns out she was the first cousin to Isabella and the daughter of Eckhardt Hafner (the brother of Isabella's father Philip). Unfortunately she died in 1914, so they only had 3 years together.

Following is the baptismal record for Heinrich Wilhelm Georg Kleinsteuber, as well as a Geni screenshot showing his family relationships.

Actinolite Kleinsteubers - Heinrich Wilhelm Georg Kleinsteuber

12/18/2014

Heinrich Wilhelm Georg Kleinsteuber was born in 1845, we know him as William, and he was the last sibling to immigrate to Canada, arriving in 1868 and rejoined the rest of his family at the German Settlement near Actinolite.

William was a cigar maker by trade, it is not known whether he learned this in Germany or after he arrived in Canada.

He married Isabella Hafner in a civil ceremony in 1872, and at some point in time they moved to Detroit, Michigan. I had always assumed they stayed together and contrary records were due to typos and spelling errors. Such was not the case.

We don't know what happened to Isabella, we do know they are shown in the 1900 US Census living in Detroit. We also know that William moved back to Kingston and died there in 1922 at the age of 77.

Here's the surprise. His wife at the time of his death was Ida Belle Hafner, and they married in Kingston in 1911, he was 66 and she was 42. It turns out she was the first cousin to Isabella and the daughter of Eckhardt Hafner (the brother of Isabella's father Philip). Unfortunately she died in 1914, so they only had 3 years together.

Attached photos/documents;
- 1845 Baptismal Record
- Castle Garden Immigration record of Kleinsteuber arrivals
- 1868 Immigration record for William Kleinsteuber
- 1911 Marriage record to Ida Belle Hafner
- Geni family tree image for William Kleinsteuber
- Uncle William was a favourite of his nieces Sylvia Madeline Kleinsteuber b 1900, and Rachel Elizabeth Kleinsteuber b 1896

1845 Baptismal Record

Castle Garden Immigration record of Kleinsteuber arrivals

1868 Immigration record for William Kleinsteuber

1911 Marriage record to Ida Belle Hafner

Geni family tree image for William Kleinsteuber

Uncle William was a favourite of his nieces Sylvia Madeline Kleinsteuber b 1900, and Rachel Elizabeth Kleinsteuber b 1896

Godparents in German society in the 1800s - & connections

12/17/2014

Johann Steuding - Today's subject is Godparents in German society in the 1800s.... and family connections.

It was typical for a child to have 3 godparents and sometimes more, the godparent's role was to care for the child if anything happened to their parents, and gifts were often given at the baptism of the child.

It was a usual custom for the godparent's name to be one of the given names for the child as well. Johann Theodor Wendel Kleinsteuber's (my 3rd great grandfather) first godfather was Johann Wendel Thomas, and very likely was his mother's brother.

Theodor Kleinsteuber (1804 – 1866) and Dorothea Heym (1805 - ) had 14 children; of these, 4 did not survive past 1859, 9 eventually immigrated to Canada (as well as their mother Dorothea), and 1 daughter, Leontine Charlotte Agnes Eugenie Kleinsteuber but known as Annie, stayed in Gotha and in 1869 married Ernst August Ferdinand Steuding.

Annie was the 3rd great grandmother of our cousin Ines Müller who lives in Eisenach, not very far from Gotha.

Now, the family connection. My 2nd great grandfather, born in 1834, was Johann Heinrich Lorenz Kleinsteuber. One of his godfathers was Johann Steuding, likely born 1800 – 1810.

A Johann Friedrich Steuding, born 1806, was the father of Ernst August Ferdinand Steuding (and who married Annie Kleinsteuber).

It is likely the 2 Johann Steudings were the same person, though cannot be proven. And who knows what the other family connections may have been, related by marriage or just friendship.

These are the tiny elements that make genealogy research fascinating.

The following is an example of Godparents, the attached photo is the parish church baptismal record for Johann Theodor Wendel Kleinsteuber, and following is the translated text;
Church Book Gotha, Baptism of
Johann Theodor Wendel Kleinsteuber,
No. 68, Page 121, 1804

Date of Birth: May 7th at 10 AM
Date of Baptism: May 10th
On May 10th Johann Theodor Wendel, a son of Johann Michael Kleinsteuber, ranger outside the Brühler Gate, and of his wife Anna Maria née Thomas was baptized by the above1.

Godparents were:
1) Johann Wendel Thomas, his Excellency’s, the Privy Councilor von Frankenburg’s coachman, godfather;
2) the wife of master potter Georg Heinrich Erdmann, Mrs. Eva Dorothee Maria née Kohlstock;
3) estate administrator2 Johann Georg Christoph Thomas, godfather.

Added Remark in Margin:
+ 30 September 1866
1966 August3
1 see preceding record: Pastor Gasterstädt
2 administrator or farmer
3 both remarks added in different handwriting: apparently the second scribe was not in agreement, and noted August instead of September

Twins Anna Therese aka Rosa & Hugo Kleinsteuber

12/15/2014

This is the baptism record for twins Anna Therese "Rosa" Kleinsteuber and Hugo Kleinsteuber on April 30th 1854. A photograph of page 54 of the Augustinkirche record is shown below, as well as the official translation.

This is of particular interest to descendants of Hugo Kleinsteiber and descendants of Rosa Rolufs.

Baptism of twins Anna Therese and Hugo Kleinsteuber
No. 70 & 71, Page 54, 1854
1. Twin’s Name: Anna Therese
13. – thirteenth child,
7. – seventh daughter
Date of Birth: April 15. fifteenth, 2:30 two thirty AM
2. Twin’s Name: Hugo
14. fourteenth child,
7. seventh son
Date of Birth: April 15. fifteenth, 4:30 four thirty AM
Date of Baptism: April 30. thirtieth at church,
by Mr. Pfitzner, deacon
Father: Johann Theodor Wendel Kleinsteuber
local master shoemaker
Mother: Anna Dorothee née Heÿm
Godfathers:
1. Eduard Schenk, local master butcher
2. Gustav Rostock, manager of a farm
3. Joh. Christian Friedrich Müller, local master baker
4. Caspar Kaiser, leaseholder and innkeeper at the Lion Inn.
Godmothers:
1. Mrs. Antonie Mälzer née Buddeus, town scribe’s wife
2. Mrs. Emilie Rochser née Binder, house manager’s wife
3. Mrs. Emilie Catterfeld née Reinhardt, rifle maker’s wife

Attachments are the translation document as well as the parish baptismal record.

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