The setting for today’s post has the birthday girl living in this area for just a short time. She and her family moved to a place where a few others found in our German Family Tree migrated. It all begins in New Wells, but soon thereafter ends in Kansas.

Emilie Katharine Kieninger was born on December 13, 1875, so today would be her special 150th birthday. Emilie was the daughter of Joseph and Amalie (Schuppan) Kieninger. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can look at an image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books below.

Emilie is never found in a census in Missouri. The next child in the Kieninger family was born in Clarks Creek, Kansas, which is located in Geary County, Kansas. Geary County was once called Davis County. In the 1880 census, we find the Kieninger’s living in the Jefferson Township of Davis County. I figure that they were living near Junction City, Kansas. Emilie was 4 years old, and her father was a farmer. You can see that Emilie’s younger brother, who was born in 1878, has a birthplace of Kansas.

As near as I can figure, sometime between 1883 and 1886, the Kieninger’s made a move to Topeka, Kansas. Emilie would get married prior to the next census we can view in 1900, so we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Jacob Henry Klein, who was born on December 7, 1867. Jacob was the son of Louis and Sophie Klein. I was unable to determine his mother’s maiden name. Jacob’s older siblings were born in the Alsace-Lorraine region which is found on the border of France and Germany. The last of the Klein’s to be born in Europe was born in 1865. Jacob Klein was born in Buffalo, New York. Then, the next Klein child was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1870. However, I was unable to locate the Klein family in the 1870 census. The first census in which I find Jacob was a Kansas state census taken in 1875. Jacob’s father was a tailor in Topeka. Jacob is the 7 year-old son who was born in New York. Please notice that the older Klein’s were said to be born in France, although Klein is a very common German name.

Jacob’s father died in 1875, so when the 1880 census was taken we find his widowed mother as the head of the household. Jacob was 12 years old at the time.

Jacob Klein married Emilie Kieninger on May 9, 1895, but I found no documentation for it. This couple had two children, both daughters. When the 1900 census was taken, they still had no children. Jacob was a clerk in Topeka.

Next, we find the Klein’s in the 1910 census. Both of their daughters are found in this entry. Jacob is called a salesman for a wholesale grocery business.

In a 1916 Topeka city directory, we discover that Jacob was working for the Frittons Grocery Company

Jacob and Emilie’s daughter, Edna, died in 1919 at the age of 19. I was not able to determine a cause. We find the Klein’s with their remaining daughter in the 1920 census. Jacob was called a clerk in a grocery store.

Jacob and Emilie and their daughter, Cecilia, are found in the 1930 census. Jacob’s job description was a grocery store salesman.

The 1940 census shows the same trio of characters. If I read it correctly, it says Jacob was a meat cutter for the Hefner Grocery.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. No one in the Klein household had an occupation. You can see that the three members of the household were born in 3 different states, New York, Missouri, and Kansas.

Cecilia Klein died in 1954 at the age of 49. That means both of the Klein daughters died before their parents. The two Klein daughters are buried in the Topeka Cemetery.

Jacob Klein died in 1957 at the age of 89; Emilie Klein died in 1961 at the age of 85. These two are buried together in the same cemetery as their daughters.

The word, klein, in German means “small”. I guess you could say that this Klein family was a small one, and because Jacob and Emilie just had daughters, and because each of those daughters did not get married, this family did not have any future generations.

There is another interesting fact that has to do with this Klein family. One of Jacob’s brothers married Agnes Vogel, who was also born and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. That Vogel family also made their way to Topeka. I have already told that story in a post titled, Little Bird in Topeka. Another sister of Jacob married Theodore Pennekamp. Theodore’s father, Rev. F.W. Pennekamp had been the pastor of Immanuel, New Wells from 1878 until 1888 before moving to Kansas. So, the Klein family in Topeka ended up having 3 of their children marry people found in our German Family Tree.