Hugo Kleinsteuber and his twin sister Anna Therese (Rosa) Kleinsteuber were born on April 15, 1854 in Gotha, Germany, and were baptised at the Augustinerkirche (St Augustine, protestant since 1524, and where Martin Luther preached several times).
Hugo's father, Theodor, was a shoemaker with his own shop located in the business area at #6 Löwenstraße. Gotha was a cosmopolitan city in the 1850s and shared being the Capital of Saxony for 6 months each year, and during this time the royal court of the Duke of Saxony were in residence. The first 2 photos show what Gotha looked like in 1850, and though it has changed a lot since 1850 the Google Earth view shows where Theodor's shop was located. It was likely a house where they lived above the shop.
It is likely that Hugo attended school for up to six years and was considered literate and with a good understanding of arithmetic and reading and writing (in German).
Theodor died in 1866 of Cholera, and in 1867 at the age of 13 Hugo accompanied his mother, his twin Rosa, his older brother Ernst and his older sister Amanda as they sailed from Hamburg to New York City, arriving on June 10, 1867. Their journey continued until they were able to join his brothers Henry, John Henry Lorenz, Carl, and Julius in the untamed wilds of Elzevir Township, Hastings County, Ontario. The family lived in a large commune compound located on both sides of the Skootamatta River where they cleared land for crops and tried to scratch a living from the inhospitable landscape, this compound became known as the German Settlement, and is now a recreational campground. It is highly unlikely that Hugo attended school in Canada at all, most boys did not attend school after the age of 15, and the nearest school was a good long walking distance away. There are 4 typical photos of the swampy, rock outcroppings, scrub brush and tree landscape of Elzevir Township.
Hugo's aspirations were directed toward woodworking rather than farming, and at some point between 1871 and 1876 he found himself in Hamilton, Ontario and employed as a cabinetmaker. We don't know how he met the young German lass Christina Rehder from Paris, Ontario, but they married on December 25th, 1876 in Paris, Ontario. The marriage record is attached, and the original shows that Hugo's name, his parent's names, and his brother William's name are all spelled as Kleinsteiber. This might be the first official Canadian document in Hugo's possession and could be the origin of the changed spelling of his name. There are 2 images of the marriage record, as well as the 1886 studio portrait of the family.
Sadly, Hugo died in 1892 at the age of 38. We have been unable to find a death record and do not know if his death was caused by accident or by a health mishap. Christina may have moved back to Paris and lived with her parents for a time, but she lived until 1941 and died in Hamilton, Ontario. It is interesting to speculate why daughter Christina, who was born one month before Hugo's death, was christened as Christina Hugo Kleinsteiber.
Also attached is the Geni family tree for Hugo showing 4 generations of his family. It seems the rest of the family (in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties) pretty much lost touch with their Kleinsteiber cousins until recent years.
The eldest child was John Theodore Kleinsteiber, he became an engineer and moved to Illinois, where he lived until his death in 1964. One of his children, Grace Elizabeth, married a United Methodist Church minister, Charles E Dumond, and one of their grandchildren, James Dumond, is a member and contributor to the Kleinsteuber FB Group.
William Ernest Kleinsteiber had two children, and two of his grandchildren live in the Barrie, Ontario area, Mary-Jean Kleinsteiber Amon is also a member of the Kleinsteuber FB Group. Another attachment is a picture from about 1910 of “citified” William Ernest visiting the Family Homestead of John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber and his son Julius. Guess which one is William!
There is still a lot we do not know about the rest of Hugo's descendants, and we are hopeful that members of the Dumond and John W Kleinsteiber families will become involved and add more information.
The images below can be enlarged by clicking on them, or the captions can be read by holding the cursor over them:
Hugo's father, Theodor, was a shoemaker with his own shop located in the business area at #6 Löwenstraße. Gotha was a cosmopolitan city in the 1850s and shared being the Capital of Saxony for 6 months each year, and during this time the royal court of the Duke of Saxony were in residence. The first 2 photos show what Gotha looked like in 1850, and though it has changed a lot since 1850 the Google Earth view shows where Theodor's shop was located. It was likely a house where they lived above the shop.
It is likely that Hugo attended school for up to six years and was considered literate and with a good understanding of arithmetic and reading and writing (in German).
Theodor died in 1866 of Cholera, and in 1867 at the age of 13 Hugo accompanied his mother, his twin Rosa, his older brother Ernst and his older sister Amanda as they sailed from Hamburg to New York City, arriving on June 10, 1867. Their journey continued until they were able to join his brothers Henry, John Henry Lorenz, Carl, and Julius in the untamed wilds of Elzevir Township, Hastings County, Ontario. The family lived in a large commune compound located on both sides of the Skootamatta River where they cleared land for crops and tried to scratch a living from the inhospitable landscape, this compound became known as the German Settlement, and is now a recreational campground. It is highly unlikely that Hugo attended school in Canada at all, most boys did not attend school after the age of 15, and the nearest school was a good long walking distance away. There are 4 typical photos of the swampy, rock outcroppings, scrub brush and tree landscape of Elzevir Township.
Hugo's aspirations were directed toward woodworking rather than farming, and at some point between 1871 and 1876 he found himself in Hamilton, Ontario and employed as a cabinetmaker. We don't know how he met the young German lass Christina Rehder from Paris, Ontario, but they married on December 25th, 1876 in Paris, Ontario. The marriage record is attached, and the original shows that Hugo's name, his parent's names, and his brother William's name are all spelled as Kleinsteiber. This might be the first official Canadian document in Hugo's possession and could be the origin of the changed spelling of his name. There are 2 images of the marriage record, as well as the 1886 studio portrait of the family.
Sadly, Hugo died in 1892 at the age of 38. We have been unable to find a death record and do not know if his death was caused by accident or by a health mishap. Christina may have moved back to Paris and lived with her parents for a time, but she lived until 1941 and died in Hamilton, Ontario. It is interesting to speculate why daughter Christina, who was born one month before Hugo's death, was christened as Christina Hugo Kleinsteiber.
Also attached is the Geni family tree for Hugo showing 4 generations of his family. It seems the rest of the family (in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties) pretty much lost touch with their Kleinsteiber cousins until recent years.
The eldest child was John Theodore Kleinsteiber, he became an engineer and moved to Illinois, where he lived until his death in 1964. One of his children, Grace Elizabeth, married a United Methodist Church minister, Charles E Dumond, and one of their grandchildren, James Dumond, is a member and contributor to the Kleinsteuber FB Group.
William Ernest Kleinsteiber had two children, and two of his grandchildren live in the Barrie, Ontario area, Mary-Jean Kleinsteiber Amon is also a member of the Kleinsteuber FB Group. Another attachment is a picture from about 1910 of “citified” William Ernest visiting the Family Homestead of John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber and his son Julius. Guess which one is William!
There is still a lot we do not know about the rest of Hugo's descendants, and we are hopeful that members of the Dumond and John W Kleinsteiber families will become involved and add more information.
The images below can be enlarged by clicking on them, or the captions can be read by holding the cursor over them:
