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.
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.
