Author: Keith Millard, in collaboration with Shana Greatrix
Joseph's Childhood:
Joseph was born on January 2, 3, or 10 in either 1897 or 1898 depending on the record one looks at; his birth registration shows January 10, 1898, the 1901 Census shows January 2, 1897, and his 1915 military Attestation shows January 3, 1897.
In 1891 his mother and her husband Oran (or Aron) Greatrix were living next door to the German Settlement, located 4 kilometres to the east of the remnants of the village of Bridgewater (which had been mostly destroyed by fire in 1889). Joseph may have been born in this house, and in 1898 it may have still been a log house, the following pictures are typical of the area at that time. In the 1860s and 1870s in Elzevir Township many log homes were still the first construction, later on many had been rebuilt or improved.
We note that the family environment Oran grew up in was likely a fundamentalist Christian home based on Old Testament principles, and we know Oran himself was devoutly religious. This may have been difficult to adjust to, as we believe the Kleinsteubers next door, and after being raised as Lutherans in Germany, were much more easy going.
We are quite certain the Oran and Amanda marriage had been suffering irreconcilable differences before Joseph's birth, and at this point in time more than 100 years later the reasons really do not matter, and Joseph definitely shared many of the same genes and DNA as the other Kleinsteuber and Greatrix cousins.
In any event, after Joseph's birth, he and his mother Amanda Kleinsteuber Greatrix (link to Amanda's Story) and his older sister Nettie left the family home and lived with his grandfather in the German Settlement, which was basically right across the road.
In the 1901 Census, Joseph then 3 years old, was living with his grandfather (John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber), his uncles Julius and John David, his aunt Mary, and his mother Amanda and his sister Nettie in the German Settlement (# 16 in the German Settlement map), we think in the original log house. His maternal brothers and his stepbrother and stepsister lived just outside the German Settlement property.
The landscape and scenery around the German Settlement was spectacular by today's standards, but poor farmland by agricultural standards (then or now). It was a commune environment with all the family members working together to scratch out a living, and at that, most of the men worked at timbering or in the sulphur mines at Sulphide in the winter to make ends meet. It was a wonderful environment for a child to grow and play in, though they would have been given lots of chores to do starting at an early age (feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, and so on).
Joseph would have walked to the Pine Ridge School at the corner of the Flinton Road and Robinson Road (# 20 on the German Settlement map) about 1 kilometre away, where his older siblings that lived with Oran also went. It must have been very difficult for him and we have some reason to believe he may have been bullied due to his unusual family situation.
In 1909 Amanda's brother Julius married Edith Almira Way, and Joseph, his sister Nettie, and his mother Amanda are all seen in the wedding photo. John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber had by then purchased a property on Concession IX Lot 2, a property later known by his descendants as the Kleinsteuber Homestead. Julius (Amanda's brother) built a new home on the same property, Joseph's sister Nettie married David Jackson in 1910, and in 1911 Joseph and his mother Amanda are seen to be living with his Uncle Julius in their new house.
The bottom line here, for a growing child, Joseph was bounced from home to home from the time he was born until he became an adult, with a different father figure in each home. Family stories tell us his mother Amanda was often deeply depressed and functioned as a housekeeper for her father, her brothers, and so on.
It was a tragic beginning for Joseph. He was to serve in both World Wars and sire children with two wives on two continents. However, Joseph's sister Nettie apparently often functioned as a mother figure for Joseph until she married and moved away and she still remained his main contact with the family. Joe stood out as a different character from the rest of the family both on the Greatrix and Kleinsteuber sides because of his life circumstances, but remains a unique individual with his children and his legacy in this life with an incredible life story worthy of a novel or movie. If only he had told his own story for the rest of us to understand, it would have been very insightful into much of the suffering of the 20th century.
Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for the caption:
Joseph's Childhood:
Joseph was born on January 2, 3, or 10 in either 1897 or 1898 depending on the record one looks at; his birth registration shows January 10, 1898, the 1901 Census shows January 2, 1897, and his 1915 military Attestation shows January 3, 1897.
In 1891 his mother and her husband Oran (or Aron) Greatrix were living next door to the German Settlement, located 4 kilometres to the east of the remnants of the village of Bridgewater (which had been mostly destroyed by fire in 1889). Joseph may have been born in this house, and in 1898 it may have still been a log house, the following pictures are typical of the area at that time. In the 1860s and 1870s in Elzevir Township many log homes were still the first construction, later on many had been rebuilt or improved.
We note that the family environment Oran grew up in was likely a fundamentalist Christian home based on Old Testament principles, and we know Oran himself was devoutly religious. This may have been difficult to adjust to, as we believe the Kleinsteubers next door, and after being raised as Lutherans in Germany, were much more easy going.
We are quite certain the Oran and Amanda marriage had been suffering irreconcilable differences before Joseph's birth, and at this point in time more than 100 years later the reasons really do not matter, and Joseph definitely shared many of the same genes and DNA as the other Kleinsteuber and Greatrix cousins.
In any event, after Joseph's birth, he and his mother Amanda Kleinsteuber Greatrix (link to Amanda's Story) and his older sister Nettie left the family home and lived with his grandfather in the German Settlement, which was basically right across the road.
In the 1901 Census, Joseph then 3 years old, was living with his grandfather (John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber), his uncles Julius and John David, his aunt Mary, and his mother Amanda and his sister Nettie in the German Settlement (# 16 in the German Settlement map), we think in the original log house. His maternal brothers and his stepbrother and stepsister lived just outside the German Settlement property.
The landscape and scenery around the German Settlement was spectacular by today's standards, but poor farmland by agricultural standards (then or now). It was a commune environment with all the family members working together to scratch out a living, and at that, most of the men worked at timbering or in the sulphur mines at Sulphide in the winter to make ends meet. It was a wonderful environment for a child to grow and play in, though they would have been given lots of chores to do starting at an early age (feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, and so on).
Joseph would have walked to the Pine Ridge School at the corner of the Flinton Road and Robinson Road (# 20 on the German Settlement map) about 1 kilometre away, where his older siblings that lived with Oran also went. It must have been very difficult for him and we have some reason to believe he may have been bullied due to his unusual family situation.
In 1909 Amanda's brother Julius married Edith Almira Way, and Joseph, his sister Nettie, and his mother Amanda are all seen in the wedding photo. John Henry Lorenz Kleinsteuber had by then purchased a property on Concession IX Lot 2, a property later known by his descendants as the Kleinsteuber Homestead. Julius (Amanda's brother) built a new home on the same property, Joseph's sister Nettie married David Jackson in 1910, and in 1911 Joseph and his mother Amanda are seen to be living with his Uncle Julius in their new house.
The bottom line here, for a growing child, Joseph was bounced from home to home from the time he was born until he became an adult, with a different father figure in each home. Family stories tell us his mother Amanda was often deeply depressed and functioned as a housekeeper for her father, her brothers, and so on.
It was a tragic beginning for Joseph. He was to serve in both World Wars and sire children with two wives on two continents. However, Joseph's sister Nettie apparently often functioned as a mother figure for Joseph until she married and moved away and she still remained his main contact with the family. Joe stood out as a different character from the rest of the family both on the Greatrix and Kleinsteuber sides because of his life circumstances, but remains a unique individual with his children and his legacy in this life with an incredible life story worthy of a novel or movie. If only he had told his own story for the rest of us to understand, it would have been very insightful into much of the suffering of the 20th century.
Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for the caption:
Joseph Greatrix' Young Adulthood:
In 1915 Joseph, aged 17, was apparently living in the village of Tweed, Ontario (11 kilometres south of the German Settlement) and working as a labourer. He signed up for the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force on December 31st, and showed his birth date as 1897 so he would appear to be 18.
Joseph became a Staff Sergeant during the course of his service in World War I, though we don't know if he served "in the trenches" or not.
In the spring of 1918 Joseph married Mary E Brown in London at Hanover Square. The timing is an indication that Joseph may have been stationed in England. In the early months of 1919 Marjorie Emmaline Greatrix was born, and Joseph was returned to Canada in February 1919 (either just before or just after Marjorie's birth). In August of 1919 Marjorie traveled to Canada as well (presumably with Mary Brown Greatrix) as a military dependent.
In 1921 the Canadian Census showed Joseph, Mary, and Marjorie living in the Parkdale District of Toronto.
Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for the caption:
In 1915 Joseph, aged 17, was apparently living in the village of Tweed, Ontario (11 kilometres south of the German Settlement) and working as a labourer. He signed up for the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force on December 31st, and showed his birth date as 1897 so he would appear to be 18.
Joseph became a Staff Sergeant during the course of his service in World War I, though we don't know if he served "in the trenches" or not.
In the spring of 1918 Joseph married Mary E Brown in London at Hanover Square. The timing is an indication that Joseph may have been stationed in England. In the early months of 1919 Marjorie Emmaline Greatrix was born, and Joseph was returned to Canada in February 1919 (either just before or just after Marjorie's birth). In August of 1919 Marjorie traveled to Canada as well (presumably with Mary Brown Greatrix) as a military dependent.
In 1921 the Canadian Census showed Joseph, Mary, and Marjorie living in the Parkdale District of Toronto.
Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for the caption:
Joseph Greatrix: The Rest of his Life:
As per a note from Shana Greatrix, the remainder of Joseph's life is a mystery to the rest of the family.
Does Joseph deserve sympathy or does he deserve condemnation for the rest of his life story? We suggest it is some of both, and there is no doubt the rest of his life was interconnected and influenced by his early life.
Forty five years after his death our challenge is to tell the story honestly but with some understanding and with compassion for everyone involved.
We have been told that Joseph became a travelling musician, going from town to town, and playing his beloved Dobro guitar wherever someone would pay him to do so. A photo of him with that guitar, believed to be in the 1930s, is in the gallery below.
The last photo in the gallery below is circa 1950s and shows Amanda, Joseph, his daughter Marjorie and her two children. Location and exact date are unknown, and the photo was badly damaged.
We believe Joseph died in Toronto in 1970 at the age of 72.
Click on photos to enlarge or cursor over for the caption: