| Notes |
- The Washington County Kleeman's had their roots in Germany. In the early 1800's three brothers, Fred, Christian, and August, came to America and settled southwest of Hoyleton. Eventually August Kleeman and his family moved to Stotts City, near Mt. Vernon, Mo. Fred and Christian moved to North Prairie and farmed land that was adjacent or near by, and became a vital part of that community. They both married Krughoff girls, sisters, who had also come from Germany.
The Kleemans and their family members have always believed in integrity, good citizenship, education, music, religion, and peaceful living. They have appreciated their homes and families, their neighbors, and the country in which they have been permitted to live.
By: Harold R. Dude
From: 1979 Washington County History book
The three brothers came to America in 1852 with the Krughoff family.
A history taken from a book entitled KLEEMAN FAMILY HISTORY by Rev. Norman H. Rahmoeller, 403 E. Main St., warrenton, Missouri 63383 in December of 1973.
Even though we may wish we knew the future and what it holds for us, we are also interested in some of the past and the present. Most of us have some desire to know about our ancestors though we may not have enough interest to dig into the past enough to get the History and Family Tree. This document should have been written some years ago when many of the earlier generations were still alive. Since that ideal time has past, it is necessary to gather this information now, or else it will be much too late ever to do it. This History will not be complete as there will be some information still missing. In the years to come, perhaps it will be possible to add to thsi History. The Family Tree part is not complete because we do not have all the dates and facts of teh past and it changes each week or so with new additions to the Tree and also, unfortunately, changes due to deaths.
It has been work to assemble the following information, but at the same time, it has also been fun and has had its reward in making new acquaintances and learning of new relationships not known before. This really began as a Family Tree of theAugust Kleeman Family. As I was working on the Rahmoeller Family Tree, my mother, Mrs. John Rahmoeller who was Laura Kleeman from home, was busy getting all the information of teh August Kleeman family of which she is a part. I have noted a great deal of overlaping between the Rahmoellers and descendants of August Kleeman.
Just as my mother was busy getting all the information for this August Kleeman Tree, I became aware of a Mr. Albert Kleeman. He actually attended a banquet in the church I serve In Warrenton as an alumnus of a former college here in warrenton. With the name of Rahmoeller, he did not know that I was a Kleeman descendant and I did not know there was a Kleeman present. About a month later, when seeing a list of the names and addresses of those present here for the above mentioned banquet, I began to correspond with him and found that he was a descendant of a brother of August Kleeman - this brother being Friedrich Kleeman. He also informed me that there was a third brother in that family which came to America by the name of Christian Kleeman. Having visited Hoyleton, Illinois several times, I knew that there were many Kleemans buried on the cemetery in Hoyleton which did not fit into the August Kleeman branch.
I soon discovered that many of the August Kleeman branch, which centers in southwest Missouri, would like to know of the Kleemans who remained mainly in the Hoyleton, Illinois area. Thus I took the liberty to ask Mr. Albert Kleeman for whatever help he could give to complete his brance - the Friedrich Kleeman branch - and the third branch of Christian Kleeman. He informed me of the fact that there was a brother to August, Friedrich and Christian who stayed in Germany and had a family. Another descendant of Friedrich Kleeman - mr. Reuben Westerfeld - gave me more information and the name and address of Mr. Karl Kuhlmeier who lives in Germany and a great grandson of Johann Kleemann, the brother who remained in Germany. In writing to him, I received a reply from his daughter, Miss Annette Kuhlmeier. She has given me all the information in this booklet of the Johann Kleemann branch. It has been a great thrill and pleasure for me to make the acquaintance of Miss Annette Kuhlmeier and I have a dream of making a visit to Germany some day and meeting her in person and her family and others of this Johann Kleeman branch.
Even though this began as an August Kleeman Family Tree, it has developed into a Family Tree of Ernst Friedrich August Kleeman and his wife, Anna Katharina Elizabeth Rowekamp. In English, her last name would be written "Roewekamp". When the two dots over teh "o" , called umlaut, is dropped in English, the letter "e" is added.
We have the information in the following pages because of the cooperation of many individuals. Without their help and cooperation, this booklet would not have become a reality. Some individuals have cooperated completely and quickly. Some have been rather slow but have helped us. Then, unfortunately, there were some who did not cooperate at all. I want to express my personal thanks to ALL who have helped to make this booklet possible whose names I may not know. I give special thanks to the chief gatherers of information - my parents (Mr. & Mrs. John Rahmoeller), Miss Hulda Kleeman, Mr. Albert Kleeman, Mr. Reuben Westerfeld and Miss Annette Kuhlmeier.
One of the pleasures for me was to discover the number of ministers in this Tree. A sad note was the discovery that among the victims of the plane crash in 1961 of young ice skaters, were the two daughters of Otto Westerfeld. Also it appears that several died in wars, especially in the Johann Kleemann branch.
The purpose of this document is two-fold. The first purpose is to give as much history of our ancestors as possible and known. The second purpose is to give as much of the vital information, as we have been able to gather, of each descendent and their spouse. This vital inforamtion includes the date of birth, the date of marriage, the person married, the date of death, the place of burial and the children, grandchildren, etc.
The Form of Listing used in this document is the basic "outline" form, simply because it is the easiest form to use when duplication is desired. Thus, by using this method of listing of the information, it is possible to make many copies of this document. I am using a different color of paper for the pages of each major branch. I consider this Family Tree to have four major branches, since only four of the eight children of Ernst Friedrich August Kleemann and Anna Katharina Elizabeth Roewekamp married and had a family. Each of these four children will head the brances of this Tree. The order of listing under each will begin with the Roman Numerals (such as I, II, etc.) for the children of Johann, Friedrich, August and Christian. Following are the Capital Letters (such as A, B, etc.) for their grandchildren; then the Numbers (such as 1, 2, etc.) for the next generation; then the Small Letters (such as a, b, etc.) for the following generation; and finally, the Double Small Letters (such as aa, bb, etc.) for the next generation. The four children who did not marry and thus did not continue their branch, will be covered in the History and Introductory pages.
A word need to be said about the listing of dates. Due to the lack of space on many occasions, dates will be be written out as far as the month is concerned. Thus dates will be given by numbers, which includes the months listed by numbers, such as 3/26/1928. To all of us living in America, this means March 26, 1928 and in this book, the first number in each listing will refer to the month. I mention this because our relatives in Germany normally list the date of the month first and then the month.
As for Future Printings, it is my plan to print this entire document no sooner than 5 years and no longer than 10 years from now. The reason for this is the cost and the many hours it requires to type all the stencils and mimeograph the pages. Furthermore, there would not be that much advantage to a new addition every 2 or 3 years. However, in order to keep this document up to date, I have the desire to print and distribute a supplement to the owners of each of these full booklets. These supplements would be published perhqaps each 2 or 3 years and when kept with this booklet, it would keep this booklet up-to-date. I will need the cooperation of many individuals to publish each supplement.
The cost of printing this booklet, plus the cover, totals around 75 cents, which does not cover any mailing charges and other expenses in getting this all ready. Therefore, copies are avilable through me for $1.00.
I recognize that there may be some differences in the spelling of names due to German names being a bit different than English names. I recognize also that there may be some mistakes in the following pages. I cannot convince myself that a booklet like this can be printed without some errors, even though there is a proof-reading and other pre-cautions used. Some errors of spelling and dates may be due to wrong information received from individuals or church records. Other such errors will originate with me and the final printing. I would appreciate learning of any and all errors, so that this document may be corrected and become as accurate as possible. I apologize in advance for any mistakes or errors.
May you have an enjoyable time in reading the following pages and may we have a feeling of being one large family covering the world as we read.
THE HISTORY OF THE KLEEMANN FAMILY TREE
This story has its beginning in Germany. As we shall see, some of it still remains there whle other descendants come to America and settled in the Hoyleton, Illinois area. One descendant remained in the Illinois area for only 32 years before moving to southwest Missouri in the Stotts City and Mt. Vernon area. Obviously, the descendants of following generations have scattered greatly.
The name "Kleemann" or now mostly spelled as "Kleeman", has an interesting meaning. Individual surnames or last names originated many many years ago for the purpose of more specific identification. One name was not enough. There were too many persons with such names as Friedrich (Fred), heinrich (Henry), Johann (John) to distinguish between them. Therefore a last name or second name was given. The 4 primary sources for the last names seems to have been - occupation, location, father's name and personal characteristicsx. For example, a John who was a local house builder might receive the name of John Carpenter. Other such names would be Cook, Miller and Taylor for persons who were food preparers, grain grinders and susit makers, respectively. A location type of name might be John Overhill for the John who lived over the hill or John Brook for the John living near a stream. Many last names are based on the father's name such as Johnson for John's son, Williamson for William's son, and so forth. Finally, there were last names originating from personal characteristics such as a little person may have the surname of Small, Short, Little, etc. and a tall man maight be Longfellow, Long, etc.
A study of the name "Kleemann" suggest that it is of the occupational type. Since the people with this name are apparently of German origin, we check in the the German language and discover that the German word "Klee" means "clover" and of course, the word "mann" means "man". The literal translation of "Kleemann" then is "clover man" or "man of clover". One source of information suggests that this name originally came into being as meaning "one who raised clover".
Some names are pronounced in many different ways. This name has perhaps only 2 different pronunciations. The one would be the German pronunciation which would sound liek "clay-man". The other would be the English pronunciation which has the first syllable of "Klee" rhyming with "glee".
The Germany story centers around the area of Huellhorst (spelled Hollhorst with an umlaut in German), in the province of Westphalia. Huellhorst is located in the northwestern part of German and is located in "west" or "free" Germany, as distinguished from "east" Germany behind the "iron curtain". Apparently, Ernst Friedrich August Kleemann and Anna Katharina Elisabeth Roewekamp were married in Huellhorst with their children baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Huellhorst.
This story begins with Ernst Friedrich August Kleemann whom we will refer to hereafter as "Ernst Kleemann". He was the son of Johann Heinrich Kleemann and Anne Marie Louise Weitkemp. Ernst was born on Feb. 8, 1789 at Stift Quernheim which is only a few miles southwest of Huellhorst. He died on August 2, 1850 at the age of 69. He was married to Anna Katharina Elizabeth Roewekamp on May 17, 1818 in Huellhorst. She was born on March 27, 1794 and died on Nov. 30, 1851 at the age of 57. They were buried in Germany. They built a hosue in which to live in the year 1828, which incidentally is still standing today according to relatives in Germany. It would be asumed that their last 3 children were born in this house.
Our story continues with the 8 children born to Ernst and Ann (Roewekamp) Kleemann. They had 3 sons, then 2 daughters and concluding with 3 more sons for the total of 8. Their first child was a son - Johann Heinrich Gottlieb Kleemann (note similarity to name of Ernst's father). He was born at Huellhorst, Germany on Feb. 25, 1819, and died on Feb. 5, 1879, just a few days short of his 60th birthday. He married Anna Marie Sophie Grosse-Eickmeier on September 8, 1852. She was born in Germany on March 12, 1833 and died on June 16, 1862 at the age of 29. Both were buried in Germany. He did not come to America. They had 4 children - 3 sons and 1 daughter.
After the death of his first wife Anna Marie, Johann married Catharine Marie Luise Breitenkamp on June 17, 1864, She was born in Germany on January 9, 1839. The date of her death is not known. She and Johann had 3 sons.
the second child of Ernst & Anna Kleemann was a son Karl Friedrich Kleemann, who went by the name of "Friedrich" or "Fred". He was born on Nov. 22, 1820. He came to America along with 2 brothers - August adn Christian - in 1852. It seems that these brothers came to America with teh Fred Krughoff family. Fred Kleemann would have been either 31 or 32 years of age when he came to America, depending on the month of arrival. Since his birthdate is Nov. 22nd, we may assume he was only 31 at the time fo arrival. Either as the result of this close contact with the Krughoff family or perhaps as an explanation of making this trip with this family, Fred married one of the Krughoff daughters. He was untied in marriage to Louise Krughoff in Hoyleton, Illinois on April 15, 1853 - on her 22nd birthday. She was born on April 15, 1831 in Rothenuffeln, Germany, which is also in the province of Westphalia and not far from Huellhorst. She died on Oct. 10, 1817 at the age of 86 years and was buried at theZion Evangelical Church Cemetery in Hoyleton, Illinois. Fred died on Jan. 11, 1889 at the age of 68 and was also buried on the Zion Cemetery in Hoyleton. They had 10 children - 6 sons and 4 daughters.
The third child of Ernst & Anna Kleemann was their third son and named after the father - Ernst Friedrich August Kleemann. He was born on July 16, 1823. He died on May 11, 1849 at the age of 25 years and was buried in Germany. He never married.
The fourth child of Ernst & Anna Kleemann was their first daughter - Margrethe Elise Charlotte Kleemann. She was born on Dec. 15, 1825 and died on July 22, 1830 at the age of 4 years with burial in Germany.
The fifth child of Ernst & Anna Kleemann was their 2nd daughter - Anne Marie Sophia Charlotte Kleemann. She was born on June 7, 1828 and died at the age of 16 years on Nov. 13, 1844. Burial was in Germany.
The sixth child of Ernst & Anna Kleemann was their fourth son - Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Kleemann. He was born on Nov. 25, 1830 and died on April 24, 1859 at the age of 28 years with burial in Germany. He never married.
The seventh child of Ernst & Anna Kleemann was their fifth son - Johann Friedrich August Kleemann, who went by the name of "August". He was born on Nov. 8, 1833. He joined his older brother Fred and his younger brother Christian in coming to America in 1852 with the Krughoff family. Inasmuch as his birthday is in November, we may assume that August was only 18 years of age when coming to America, nearing his 19th birthday. He first married Anna Marie Hoffman on Dec. 9, 1862. She was born on April 27, 1842 and died in the year 1867 at the age of 25 and was buried in the Old Zion Evangelical church Cemetery near Hoyleton, Illinois. She and August had 2 children - a son and a daughter.
August then married Louise Kleine on June 23, 1870 in the Zion Evangelical Church in Hoyleton, Illinois. She was born on September 30, 1851 in Bergkirchen, Westphalia, Germany. She survived August and later married Herman Kramme. She died on March 15, 1934 at the age of 82 years and was buried beside August who had preceded her in death. She and August had 4 children - 3 sons and 1 daughter. August died on Feb. 5, 1888 at the age of 54 years. He was buried on the Zion Evangelical Church Cemetery near Mt. Vernon, Mo.
Whereas the three brothers who came to America settled at Hoyleton, Illinois, August and his family moved to southwest Missouri in the year 1884. they followed other families who made the move from Illinois to southwest Missouri.
The eighth and final child for Ernst & Anna Kleemann was their sixth son - Christian Friedrich Keleemann who went by the first name of Christian. He was born on Oct. 22, 1837. He came to America, as indicated already, with his brothers FRed and August in 1852 along with the Krughoff family at the age of perhaps 14, depending on whether the trip was made before his 15th birthday in 1852. He later married Marie Krughoff, one of the daughters of this Krughfof family. The date of marriage is uncertain. She was born in Germany, perhaps at Rothenuffeln on November 15, 1949. She died in the year 1900 at the age of 50 with burial in Zion evangelical Church Cemetery in Hoyleton, Illinois. She and Christian had 7 children - 3 sons and 4 daughters. Christian had proceded his wife in death on Feb. 17, 1887 at the age of 49 and was buried also in the Zion Evangelical church Cemetery in Hoyleton, Illinois.
At this moment, the only remaining living descendent of Christian is his grandson Edwin Kleeman.
It may be of interest to note that the three brothers who came to America in 1852 all died in consecutive years with Christian in 1887, August in 1888 and Fred in 1889.
This is only a brief history of facts and dates. It will have meaning only to those who are descendants of Ernst & Anna Kleemann.
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1789 - 1858 (69 years)