my ancestry (3 generations back)

my parents:
--------------

Name: John Henry Kliever (formerly John Henry Kliwer)
social security number: 493-32-1962
date of birth: 12/24/1932
place of birth: San Diego, CA
date of death: 11/24/1995 8:30 pm
place of death: New York City
place of burial: cremated, Garden State Crematory, North Bergen, NJ
residence: Kansas, New York
from about 1970 until his death he resided at
30 W. 76 St. Manhattan, NY the back first floor
apartment
married: Janet 1953, divorced 1958
Ann DuBois 1961, divorced 1966
children: Jacob Stein 8/20/1960
John DuBois Kliever 5/7/1966
possibly one other illegitimate child
education: graduated high school 1947
received bachelor of from the University of Chicago 1950
"Great Books" course
graduated from medical school University of Kansas
at Kansas City c. 1956
interned in psychiatry and neurology at Kings Co Hospital in Brooklyn
1956-57
interned at New York University Hospital, Veterans'
Administration Hospital, Belvue Hospital, New York City
profession: psychiatrist
religion: atheist
comments: He was 6'2" tall, had light brown hair and blue eyes.
He suffered frequent bouts of severe depression as well as some degree of alcoholism and drug addiction. He was often hospitalized. To the best of my knowledge this was a result of some sort of child abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother, but was never willing to discuss with anyone. Apparently, she did not approve of his choice of a career or choice of a spouse, and he despised her for that. He also may have been depressed by the fact that his career didn't bring him the happiness he sought. During his last few years he spent part of his time in Berlin and was diagnosed, two years before his death, as terminally ill. During this period he was less unhappy and more relaxed.
He was, however, extremely intelligent and well read. He was very insightful into human nature and very interesting to talk to. He was an eagle scout and a prodigy in school as a young man, but chose to live on disability insurance the last 20 years of his life. He had relationships with numerous women.
In general, I get the impression that he was too weak willed and selfish to live a truly spiritual life, but too intelligent to be satisifed with a material life. Therefore, he was just very unhappy.
sources: death certificate of John H. Kliever, NYC Dept. of
Vital Records
letter from Spence Chapin Adoption Agency to Jacob Stein
oral testimony of John DuBois Kliever, Mia Lancaster


Name: Ann DuBois
date of birth: 12/26/1933
place of birth: Queens, NY
residence: New York
married: John Henry Kliever 1961, divorced 1966
children: Jacob Stein 8/20/1960
John DuBois Kliever 5/7/1966
education: college, art
profession: painter
religion: vague spirituality, Ethical Culture
comments: She is 5'10" tall, with black hair and green eyes.
She turned grey prematurely.
She tends to be gentle and loving on one hand, but very demanding of people on the other. In general, I get the impression that she has been hurt very badly by other people and therefore has chosen to withdraw somewhat from society. She cannot tolerate the company of other adults and really prefers to be alone. Perhaps she cannot trust any adults, after having been abused by her husband and her mother.
sources: letter from Spence Chapin Adoption Agency to Jacob Stein
oral testimony of Ann DuBois, Jacob Stein

my grandparents:
----------------

Name: Henry John Kliwer
relationship: father of John Henry Kliever
social security number: 487-12-1083
date of birth: 10/10/1895
place of birth: Emporia, Kansas
date of death: 6/13/1964
place of death: 3 miles east of Bonita, Kansas
cause of death: self inflicted gunshot wound to head
place of burial: cremated in Elmwood Crematory,Kansas City, Missouri
residence: Kansas
married: Elsie Newman 6/12/1928 in La Porte, Indiana (50 miles
south east of Chicago), died 2/28/1962
Gertrude about 1963
children: John Henry Kliever 12/24/1932
education: some college (Kansas State U.)
military: private, US Marines Second Division, WWI
He received basic training Paris Island, SC 2/13/1918 until 5/12/1918.
He served 14 months in France 5/23/1918 to 7/25/1919. He was wounded 7/19/1918 near Vierzy, France during the Aisne-Marne offensive. He was wounded in the forehead
and right forefinger by a high explosive [shell?] and received a wound chevron. [A family story tells of doctor who knew him from Kansas finding him in the military hospital in France and saving his eyesight.]
He fought at Chateau-Theirry (Belleau Woods) 6/8/1918 to 7/3/1918, at Aisne-Marne 7/18/1918 to 7/21/1918 and Meuse-Argonne 11/1/1918 to 11/11/1918. From 11/17/1918 to 12/12/1918 he marched to the Rhine and occupied the Coblenz bridgehead.
His military record shows no offenses and a rating of 4.7 (excellent) on a scale of 0 to 5.
He was awarded 3 Bronze Stars.
He was released from active service on 8/15/1919 and remained in the Marine reserves until 2/12/1922.
The battle at Belleau Woods, a one mile square forest about 45 miles east of Paris on the road between Paris and Reims, was the first clear defeat for the German Army on the Western Front in the First World War and it was the first sign that Germany would lose and France would win.
(The war ended on 11/11/1918.) Until then the balance had been more on the side of Germany. Belleau Woods was the closest that the German Army had come to Paris during their spring 1918 offensive. In June, 1918, at Belleau Woods the Germans were driven back by the Second Division of the U.S. Marines who became famous as
the most aggressive fighters on the Western Front. They suffered heavy casualties.
profession: salesman
religion: Lutheran
comments: I believe that he was light colored and tall.
During the Great Depression, 1930 to 1936, I believe that California was somewhat more affluent than the Midwest. Perhaps that's why Kliwer and his wife were living in San Diego when my father was born in 1932. And Blanda Newman, Kliwer's sister in law, apparently remainded there, dying in San Diego 1995.
He was basically a nice quiet person, but suffered an emotional breakdown after first wife died.
[Both he and his son John Henry Kliever seem to have been unable to cope with stress and chose some means of escaping from an unpleasant situation rather than deal with it constructively.]
The fact that he had only one child seems to have been a matter of choice; he and his wife were very intellectual and not family oriented.
sources: oral testimony of Ann DuBois, John Kliever, Jr., James Kliwer
Emporia Kansas newspaper clippings courtesy of Emporia
Historical Society
death certificate of Henry John Kliwer


Name: Elsie Newman
relationship: mother of John Henry Kliever
social security number: 495-42-9128
date of birth: 8:00 am 7/7/1901
place of birth: Wisconsin
date of death: 2/28/1962
place of death: Kansas City, Missouri
place of burial: Elmwood Crematory, Kansas City, Missouri
residence: Wisconsin, Kansas
married: Henry John Kliwer 6/12/1928 in La Porte, Indiana (50 miles
south east of Chicago)
children: John Henry Kliever 12/24/1932
education: college
profession: elementary school teacher
religion: Lutheran
comments: I believe that she was blonde as a child, later
light brown, and tall.
A very ambitious and aggressive woman, she put her husband and son under great pressure to succeed.
She apparently grew up in grinding poverty in extreme northern Wisconsin. She was orphaned age 8 and was the oldest of three sisters.
sources: oral testimony of Ann DuBois, John Kliever, Jr.
Federal Census of Wisconsin, 1910, 1920
death certificate of Elsie Kliwer

Name: Charles Stephen DuBois
relationship: father of Ann DuBois
social security number: 097-03-2168
date of birth: 2/16/1898
place of birth: Flushing, NY
date of death: 12/1978
place of death: College Point, NY
grave: Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY
lot 5495 section 62 just south of intersection of
Walnut Ave and Lake Ave
residence: Queens, NY
He lived in College Point in 1917 and after the Navy he married and remained there the rest of his life except for several years when he and his parents, wife and siblings lived in Wisconsin during the Great Depression.
married: Josephine Shaw 5/21/1920
children: Stephen DuBois 1921
Frank DuBois 1925
Dorethia ("Dolly") DuBois (Mrs. Jacob) 1930
Ann DuBois 12/26/1933
education: high school
profession: factory worker
military: seaman second class, US Navy, WWI
He entered the Navy on 5/17/1917 and was trained in Newport, RI. [America declared war on Germany 5/6/1917.]
He served as as seaman second class on the USS America from 9/30/1917 until 9/26/1919.
The USS America was actually a German civilian ocean liner, the Amerika, which was built in Belfast, Ireland in 1905. When America declared war on Germany in May, 1917 the Amerika was seized by the US government in Boston, Mass. It was transfered to the Navy, renmamed America, and began military service on 8/6/1917. She transported troops back and forth between America and France during WWI. Each round trip took about a month and she carried about 5,000 soldiers at a time. The USS America's service was uneventful except one time it accidentally hit and sank a British steamer on 7/14/1918 and then the America herself sank at her dock at Hoboken, NJ on 10/15/1918, drowning six sailors. She was raised and repaired and back in service on 2/12/1919. I guess my grandfather was at a naval base in the New York area during that four month period. My grandfather was in the war zone from 11/8/1917 until 10/15/1918. Presumably he washed floors, cooked meals, etc. for the thousands of soldiers who were being transported on his ship. [The war ended on 11/11/1918.] His military skills were poor but his behavior in general was very good. He did not have a drinking problem, however he was slightly nsubordinate a few times. He received an honorable discharge. (Eight months months later he married his 18 year old bride, my grandmother.) On the whole his miltary career was respectable but undistinguished.
religion: Roman Catholic
comments: He was 5'7" tall, had red hair and green eyes.
He was a sweet person with a good sense of humor but drank heavily when younger. He typically would go into a bar and order drinks for all the customers earning him the nickname "good time Charlie". He also enjoyed barroom fights, typically challenging the biggest man there to a fight. His wife, however, disapproved. She collected his paycheck for him before he could spend it in a bar. (At least in the 1940's his favorite bar was called "Baldy's" in College Point, Queens located at 23-02 College Point Boulevard, College Point, NY 11356.) He did not actually study for the priesthood or attend high school, as he sometimes claimed.
sources: Federal Census of NYS 1900
marriage cert. of Charles Stephen DuBois NYC Dept. of Vital Records
oral testimony of Ann DuBois, Stephen DuBois, Frank DuBois

Name: Josephine Shaw
relationship: mother of Ann DuBois
social security number: 079-05-8859
date of birth: 3/19/1902
place of birth: College Point, NY
date of death: 6/1983
place of death: Groton, Connecticut
grave: Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY
lot 5495 section 62 just south of intersection of
Walnut Ave and Lake Ave
residence: Queens, NY
married: Charles Stephen DuBois 5/21/1920
children: Stephen DuBois 1921
Frank DuBois 1925
Dorethia ("Dolly") DuBois (Mrs. Jacob) 1930
Ann DuBois 12/26/1933
education: high school
profession: seamstress
religion: Roman Catholic
comments: She was 5'7" tall, had black hair and blue eyes. I believe
she turned gray prematurely.
She was orphaned at age 3; briefly lived in a Catholic orphanage but then went to live with her older married half sister Mary Henrich (nee Shaw). She was very tough and cold. She didn't like to discuss her ancestry. [It is interesting to note that both of my grandmothers were orphaned at a young age from their mothers and both had hard childhoods, one in Ashland, WI the other in College Point, NY. It is interesting to consider how much their experiences may have damaged their skills as mothers of my parents.]
sources: Federal Census of NYS 1900
birth cert. of Josephine Shaw NYC Dept. of Vital Records
marriage cert. of Charles Stephen DuBois NYC Dept. of Vital Records
oral testimony of Ann DuBois, Ruth Budzick (child of Mary
Henrich)



my great-grandparents:
----------------------

Name: Johann Kliewer (later known John Kliwer)
relationship: father of Henry John Kliwer
date of birth: 5/31/1864
place of birth: Ellerwald, West Prussia
[To the best of my knowledge, according to my study of Prussian maps, Ellerwald was not really a village but rather was an area of fields and farmhouses, about 4.7 miles east to west and 2.3 miles north to south, between the town of Elbing, now Elbag, Poland, and the Nogat River. Ellerwald included several hundred farms each about 500' by 1000'. Since my great-grandfather was the smallest of a half dozen children, perhaps he was forced to leave farming and go into milling, finally emigrating to Kansas, since there was not enough land for him.
The modern highway E77 between Elbag and Jazowa apparently goes right through the middle of Ellerwald, following the path of the village road that was there in the 1800's. It may today be named "Olfzanki" in Jez. Druzno, Poland but I'm not certain.
It was a flat area, irrigated by canals, in the Vistula River delta. It was within the Land-Kreis (county) Elbing. The area was divided up into five "Trift" which seems to mean "meetings", maybe refering to some sort of religious or govermental district.
Elbing was one of the oldest towns in West Prussia and was early settled by Scandinavians, with the graves of Swedish traders there going back to about 650 CE.
Ellerwald was settled by Mennonites about 1556.
In the 18th century there was a small Jewish community in Elbing.]
died: 5/24/1928 5:00 am
place of death: Emporia, KS
place of burial: Maplewood Cemetery, Emporia, KS
[block 18, old cemetery]
residence: West Prussia, Emporia, Kansas
immigration: arrived in America in 1891, first lived in Buffalo 2
years
children: Henry John Kliwer 1895
Arthur Kliwer
Marie Kliwer (Mrs. Buck)
Otto Kliwer (died 12/1902 age 3 years)
Marie Kliwer (died age 9 months 7/18/1903 pm)
profession: miller; manager City Roller Mills
married: Marie Krogoll, Lindsborg, KS, 12/22/1894
religion: originally Mennonite, later Lutheran
comments: He drank a lot of beer and was not very generous
with children; the house he built in Emporia was still
standing recently (820 State St.?).
He is reputed to have had relationships with many women.
He traveled to Europe 6/1926 to 10/1926. I have the impression that he and his future wife Maria Krogoll both came to America through some sort of Prussian immigration organization which was operating in the 1890's bringing young people from the Danzig region to Kansas via Buffalo, NY. I don't know any details about it, though. This may have been typical of Prussian immigrants - to arrive in New York City, then travel on to Buffalo and from there go to the midwest. Johann Kliewer was certainly the most affluent of my great-grandparents, although not wealthly he was well off. And I have impression that even in Europe his family was not poor.
sources: oral testimony of James Kliwer, son of Arthur Kliwer
Emporia city directory
Emporia newspaper obituary
IGI of the LDS Church


Name: Maria Caroline Krogoll
relationship: mother of Henry John Kliwer
date of birth: 5/22/1870
place of birth: Christburg, Germany
[now called Dzierzgon, Poland approximately
62 kil. ese of Gdansk, Poland]
died: 2/4/1920 8:30 pm
place of death: Emporia, KS
place of burial: Maplewood Cemetery, Emporia, KS
[block 18, old cemetery]
residence: West Prussia, Emporia, Kansas
immigration: arrived in America in 1893, first lived in Buffalo 1
year
children: Henry John Kliwer 1895
Arthur Kliwer
Marie Kliwer (Mrs. Buck)
Otto Kliwer (died 12/1902 age 3 years)
Marie Kliwer (died age 9 months 7/18/1903 pm)
married: Johann Kliewer, Lindsborg, KS, 12/22/1894
religion: Lutheran
comments: Perhaps being the 11th of twelve children in a family, she was forced to immigrate as a young woman to America.
sources: Emporia newspaper obituary


Name: Emanuel Newman
relationship: father of Elsie Newman
date of birth: 10/2/1870
place of birth: Skarper farm, Kjerklax village,
Maxmo parish, Finland
[Maxmo is a village about 15 miles north up the coast from the provincial capital Vaasa. Vaasa today is a city of about 55,000 people, 27% Swedish speaking. It seems to be nice, quiet little seaside town, although a bit chilly.]
date of death: after 1920
place of death: Wisconsin (?)
residence: Finland, Wisconsin
between 1905 and 1916 he was a border in the
home of his older brother John (car mechanic)
at 2705 2nd St. Ashland, WI; apparently this is
the place where my grandmother grew up
married: 1/20/1900 to Lise Nylund, Ashland, Wisconsin
children: Elsie Newman 7/7/1901
Blanda Newman 10/14/1904 (married Mr. Born;
died 11/30/1995 in San Diego, CA ss# 324-34-1695;
registered nurse)
Edna Newman 1908 (librarian)
immigration: arrived in US 4/1890 at New York, naturalized
11/24/1905 in Ashland WI
profession: laborer, lumber mill worker, dock worker
religion: Lutheran
comments: He was Swedish speaking.
Certain extreme western and southern parts of Finland are Swedish speaking. Finland belonged to Sweden from 1154 until 1809.
sources: Federal Census of Wisconsin 1900, 1920
marriage certificate Emanuel Newman
naturalization papers of Emanuel Newman (Wisconsin
State Archives)
Maxmo Parish Church records


Name: Lise Nylund
relationship: mother of Elsie Newman
date of birth: 12/13/1872
place of birth: Finland (possibly near Vassa)
date of death: 8/15/1909
place of death: Ashland, Wisconsin
place of burial: Mt. Hope Cemetery, Ashland, WI
residence: Finland, Wisconsin
married: 1/20/1900 to Emanuel Newman, Ashland, Wisconsin
children: Elsie Newman 7/7/1901
Blanda Newman 10/14/1904 (married Mr. Born;
died 11/30/1995 in San Diego, CA ss# 324-34-1695;
register nurse)
Edna Newman 1908 (librarian)
profession: housewife
religion: Lutheran
comments: She was Swedish speaking.
sources: marriage certificate of Emanuel Newman Ashland Co. WI
death certificate of Lise Newman Ashland Co. WI


Name: Frank W. DuBois
relationship: father of Charles Stephen DuBois
date of birth: 3/1868
place of birth: New York City
date of death: 3/20/1928 12:30 pm
place of death: Sheboygen, Wisconsin
grave: South Side Catholic Cemetery, Sheboygen Wisconsin
residence: Queens (282 1/2 Lawrence St. Flushing 1897)
married: Catherine Anne McConnell 1891/1892 (probably in Flushing)
children: Mary DuBois 1893
Francis DuBois (Mrs. Gottfried Oertel) 1895
Charles and Eugene DuBois 1898
Herbert DuBois 1900
Helen DuBois (Mrs. Al Schoen, Mrs. William
Drossell) > 1900
profession: machinist
religion: Protestant Episcopal; later Catholic
comments: Frank's mother died when Frank was a small child and he was raised by his DuBois grandparents in Flushing. Frank was disowned by his family when he married Catherine McConnell and converted to Catholicism. Frank and his wife and children lived in Sheboygen, WI during the 1920's and he died there. The family moved there after his daughter Helen married Al Schoen, a Sheboygen man. They lived there until the late 1920's when Schoen had a mental breakdown and he and his wife separated.
sources: Federal Census of NYS 1880, 1900, 1920
death certificate of Frank W. DuBois Wisconsin Dept. of
Health
obituary of Frank W. DuBois Sheboygen, WI



Name: Catherine Anne McConnell
relationship: mother of Charles Stephen DuBois
date of birth: 11/1861
place of birth: Flushing, Queens
date of death: 7/16/1935
place of death: 12-42 150 St. Whitestone, NY
grave: Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY
lot 5495 section 62 just south of intersection of
Walnut Ave and Lake Ave
residence: Queens
married: Frank DuBois 1891/1892
children: Mary DuBois 1893
Francis DuBois (Mrs. Gottfried Oertel) 1895
Charles and Eugene DuBois 1898
Herbert DuBois 1900
Helen DuBois (Mrs. Al Schoen, Mrs. William
Drossell) > 1900
profession: housewife
religion: Roman Catholic
comments: She was a very nice lady.
sources: Federal Census of NYS 1900, 1920
baptismal record, St. Michael's Church, Flushing, NY
death certificate of Katherine H. DuBois NYC archives
oral testimony of Elsie DuBois


Name: Richard Shaw (formerly Richard Bushell)
relationship: father of Josephine Shaw
date of birth: 8/21/1857
place of birth: Congleton, England
date of death: about 1950
place of death: New York (?)
immigration: arrived in US 1866 via Switzerland together with
parents; he had become a Swiss citizen
became a US citizen 10/18/1880 in Passaic Co., NJ
residence: England, Switzerland, New Jersey, Queens
married: first wife died about 1884 (she was Swiss born and
German speaking)
Catherine Bluxome 6/7/1886 Hoboken, NJ died 9/29/1905
Lucy Cochran 10/12/1929
children: Mary Shaw (Mrs. Nicolas Henrich) 1884
a few other children who died in infancy
Richard Shaw Jr. 1/1889 (died 6/23/1911)
Catherine Shaw (Mrs. Joseph Timmann, died childless)
9/1891
Francis Shaw 11/1893 (died 3/5/1913)
Josephine Shaw 3/19/1902
three other children who died in infancy
profession: silk weaver
religion: Anglican
comments: It should be noted that Congleton was one of the major centers of silk weaving in England in 1850. Most likely Richard Shaw's father was involved in silk weaving and Richard learned from him.
He may have been illegitimate, his parents only marrying shortly after his birth.
He may have been a silk workers' union organizer.
He became an alcoholic, but later recovered through the Salvation Army.
His children lived in dire poverty. His daughter Mary had to collect fragments of coal from the street to heat their home in the winter.
He fathered a child at age 80 according to a newspaper report. He is reputed to have had relationships with many women.
He was very tall, skinny and British.
[My theory about Richard Shaw, based on the few facts I've been able to gather, is as follows:
His parents were average factory workers in Victorian England. His father was from Congleton and his mother perhaps from nearby Birmingham. They were both Anglicans. Perhaps they met in the silk weaving mills of Congleton. They were in their early twenties and his mother became pregnant and bore Richard out of wedlock -a terrible scandal by the standard of that time. Soon afterwards, Richard Shaw's parents went to Switzerland, perhaps to escape the criticism of their peers, and married there. After a few years in Switzerland, they emigrated to New Jersey, perhaps to work in the silk industry in northern New Jersey. Richard was intelligent and attractive, but stigmatized and abused as being a "bastard". He went into silk weaving but deteriorated into alcoholism, poverty and ultimately homelessness. His first two wives and nearly all of his many children died at a young age. Eventually, however, he recovered.]
sources: Federal Census of NYS 1900
birth cert. of Josephine Shaw NYC Archives
marriage certificate of Richard Shaw NJ Dept. of Vital
Records
citizenship papers of Richard Shaw
oral testimony of Ann DuBois, Mrs. Stephen DuBois, Ruth
Budzick
Muriel Standring family Bible



Name: Catherine Bluxome
relationship: mother of Josephine Shaw
date of birth: 5/21/1866
place of birth: Jersey City, New Jersey
date of death: 9/29/1905
buried: Flower Hill Cemetery, North Bergen, NJ
block T row 2 grave 43 (no tombstone)
residence: Jersey City, Hoboken, Queens
From 6/1866 until 1877, her parents owned the property 596 Bergen Ave, Jersey City, NJ. Her father is listed as living there from 1872 until 1874. I would assume that she grew up at this address. The house currently at that site was built in 1898. At the time of her marriage, she, her sister, mother and husband lived at 45 Willow Terrace, Hoboken, NJ. Willow Terrace is a pair of alleys in the block between Clinton, Willow, 6 and 7 streets in Hoboken, NJ. The alleys are lined by very narrow, two story homes which are still there. In 1886, they were new.
married: Richard Shaw 6/7/1886 Hoboken, NJ
Church of the Holy Innocents, Protestant Episcopal,
corner 6 st and Willow (the building is still there,
but is not used today; it was a church for working
class people)
children: Richard Shaw Jr. 1/1889 (died 6/23/1911)
Catherine Shaw (Mrs. Joseph Timmann, died childless)
9/1891
Francis Shaw 11/1893 (died 3/5/1913)
Josephine Shaw 3/19/1902
three other children who died in infancy
profession: housewife
religion: Anglican
comments: She was mean to stepdaughter Mary, who apparently left home by age 16.
Some of my relatives have an impression that she was Jewish. Oddly, I cannot find any evidence whatsoever to support this and on the contrary her background seems to be purely Christian. It's my guess that her mother had Jewish neighbors and friends in Harlem, NY in the 1890's, and possibly even converted to Judaism.
sources: Federal Census of NYS 1900
birth cert. of Josephine Shaw NYC Archives
marriage certificate of Richard Shaw NJ Dept. of Vital
Records
oral testimony of Ann DuBois, Ruth Budzick

For my earlier family history, click here.