.KLEMP.

Submitted by  Jim Klemp

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                                          **John Klemp**

                                    *The Early Years*

John Klemp was born in Regenwalde, Prussia on 11 June 1842. When John was
nine years old, his family took the long journey from Regenwalde, Prussia
to Hamburg, Germany.  With over 200 other passengers, the Klemps departed
from Hamburg, Germany on a U.S. Mail steamship named “Washington” and
sailed toward a life of freedom, opportunity, and adventure that only
America offered.  The “Washington” was the “first American Atlantic liner
and also one of the ugliest ships ever put afloat” according to H. Parker
in the book “Mail and Passenger Steamships of the Nineteenth Century.”
The Klemp family arrived at the port of New York on 10 June 1852 with his
Father Karl (Charles), mother Ernestine (Maiden name Krueger), sister
Wilhelmina, new born baby brother Herrmann and Grandfather Adam Klemp
probably as a result of the German Revolution that began in 1848.
Brother Herrmann was born during the trip on June 7th.  It must have been
an extremely uncomfortable trip for Ernestine, especially traveling in
the tight noisy quarters of the low class “steerage” section of the ship.
 They along with most of the passengers were categorized as “lower
classes of laborers” on the passenger list.  The trip took about 13 days.

There must have been mixed emotions and feelings of uncertainty, relief,
chaos, fatigue, and homesick as John and his family walked through the
ports of New York.  Unfortunately, the Klemps didn’t see the Statue of
Liberty as they entered the “Land of the Free” since “Lady Liberty”
didn’t arrive until 1886.  Many Germans left their homelands at this time
to avoid wars, military service, and economic hardship, including
unemployment and crop failures.  There were no restrictions on American
immigration at that time.  The Klemp family immediately became American
citizens as soon as they stepped on the shores of the United States.

This long trip across the North Atlantic Sea was probably followed by
additional long journeys from New York to Wisconsin through the Erie
Canal and on through to the Great Lakes to the western ports of Lake
Michigan (Possibly Two Rivers, WI).

According to Wisconsin Genealogist Kathy Lenerz (31 Mar 2002):
 “In the early 1850’s, before the  train lines were very extensive, the
most common route was to take a boat up the Hudson River in New York to
around Albany.  Then travelers switched to a barge that traversed New
York via the Erie Canal to Buffalo.  From Buffalo, they took a steamship
across the Great Lakes to Milwaukee: west through Lake Erie, north
through Lake Huron, then south through Lake Michigan.  The usual stops
were Detroit, Milwaukee, and Chicago.”  The length of the trip was about
2000 miles and took three to four days.

After many weeks and miles of traveling, John's family finally settled in
Reedsville/ Maple Grove, Wisconsin.  In 1856, John was joined by a baby
sister Bertha who was the first American born Klemp child.  Wisconsin was
admitted as a state in 1848 and was largely populated by German
immigrants.  In 1856, when John was only 14 years old, his father passed
away.  Karl was only about 39 years old.  On 8 June 1857, his mother
Ernestine married a Blacksmith named William Zahn in Rockland, Wisconsin.
 John’s grandfather Adam died on 20 May 1861.

                                          *Civil War*

When John was 20 years old, he entered into the Civil War by volunteering
for military service in the town of Springvale (Fond Du Lac).  There were
attractive financial incentives for volunteering for the war at that
time, which could be the main reason that a young man like John
volunteered.  Military records described John as having brown eyes, brown
hair, a dark complexion, and was 5 feet 6 inches in height at the time he
volunteered. He was mustered into the Wisconsin 4th Regiment Company K on
13 March 1863.  Later he was transferred to Company F of the 4th Regiment
of the Wisconsin Cavalry.  During his service he became friends with
Charles McKenzie and Joseph Helmke who would later help him start his own
business.  The travels of the 4th Cavalry included Baton Rouge,
Louisiana; Brookhaven, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and San Antonio,
Texas.  At the expiration of his term of service, John was discharged at
Brownsville, Texas on 18 March 1866.

                                         *Career and Family*

John returned home to Wisconsin and about a year later married a woman
named Emilie (Amelia)  Huess on 19 April 1867 in Reedsville.  Emilie was
born in 1848 in Plathe, Prussia, which is located west of Regenwalde
where John had been born. Influenced by his stepfather William during his
teenage years and through his experience in the Wisconsin Cavalry as a
young man, John started his trade as a blacksmith.  John and Emilie's
first child Charles was born on 14 March 1869 in Oconto, Wisconsin.
According to the 1870 Federal Census records, neither John nor Emilie
could read or write.   John's Civil War buddies Charles McKenzie and
Joseph Helmke, who had lived in Gillett since 1862, helped open the door
for John to become the first blacksmith in Gillett in 1878. He sharpened
plow shares, shod horses, and did general repair work.

  Gillett was and still is a small town that consists mostly of  farm
families.  According to the book “America-Land I Love”:

“Farm families worked hard to make a living, and each family member did
his share of the chores.  Farm life, though busy, was seasoned with fun
and laughter and offered many rewards, including abundant food, safe
surroundings, close family ties, and the satisfaction of a job well done.
 At the close of the day, families often read stories and sang together;
many families finished the day with Bible reading and prayer.  Sometimes,
several families got together for corn husking, quilting party, barn
raising, or church social (picnic or games).  Hunting and fishing were
also popular pastimes and helped provide food for the family table.”

“The farm provided a number of places for children to romp and play after
their chores were finished.  When weather permitted, they might play
hide-and-seek in the barn.  Between work and play, farm children never
ran out of things to do.  In spring and fall, younger children attended
the little red schoolhouse while most of the older brothers and sisters
worked on the farm.  In winter, older children also attended school.
Farm children often walked several miles to get to school.”

 Between 1870 and 1881, John and Emilie gave birth to at least seven more
children (William, Carl, Erdman, Frank, Louisa, Otto, and Wilhelmina)
while living in Oconto and Gillett. Many of their children were
documented as being baptized at the Immanuel Lutheran Church located at
Hwy H in Gillett. According to the 1880 Federal Census records,  John and
Emilie could both read and write.  This was probably influenced by their
children going to school.  There was a little red school house located on
the corner of North Elm and West Main Street in Gillett that most if not
all of John and Emilie’s children went to school during the 1870’s and
1880’s.  It was the site of many gatherings, attended by everyone in the
community. In the Spring of 1882, the school was closed for three months
due to a great epidemic of disease that had no remedy.  Many of the
school children died due to this illness.  It is unknown whether any of
the Klemp children died though.  In 1880, the Klemp’s neighbors were
businessman William John and wagon maker Herman Kusbaub.

Although she appeared to be in "robust" health at age 35,  Emilie Klemp
died in John’s arms on 2 May 1883 due to heart failure according to the
Oconto County Reporter newspaper. Later in 1883,  John married a woman
named Augusta (Maiden name "Trebes").

According to the book “History of Gillett, Oconto County, WI 1856-1976”:
“Between 1884 when Gillett was platted, and 1900 when it was
incorporated, there was a rapid growth with many new businesses and
industries being started.  This was partly because a railroad line now
connected Gillett and Oconto.  Stores, saloons, a cheese factory, a
butcher shop, a brickyard, and a barbershop were started.  The Gillett
Times, a weekly newspaper was started … L.B Stuelke established the first
drugstore . . .built …the first hardware store . . .  L.J. Newald started
the first bank .  The Village of Gillett was incorporated in 1900 with a
population of about 400.”

As Gillett grew during this time period, the Klemp family also had a
growth spurt.  Between 1885 and 1901 John and Augusta gave birth to at
least six children (Gustav, Annie, Louis, Ida, Marie, August ) in which
most of them were documented as being baptized at the St. John’s
Evangelical Lutheran Church located at 101 Main Street in Gillett.   In
1884, a larger schoolhouse was built on South Elm Street.  The “little
red schoolhouse” was moved near the new school and became a woodshed.

During this time of blessing, hardships also continued to come also.  In
February 1886, a German man named Nieman had one finger cut off and two
more badly damaged while working at the mill of (Calvin?)Gale and John
Klemp according to the Oconto County Reporter.  On 14 July 1891, the
Klemp's barn was destroyed by fire along with the loss of three pigs and
a light wagon.  There was no “big bad wolf” sited at the scene though.
There was also no chartered fire department at the time.  The loss was a
heavy one, since the building was not insured.  The biggest loss though
was probably the impact of the fire on his son Gustav, one of two boys
who started the fire while playing with matches. The traumatic experience
led his son Gustav to choose to live at an institution for almost all of
the remaining years of his life.

The Klemp family experienced several other significant events through the
1890’s. John applied for a pension on 5 July 1892 for his service during
the Civil War.  There was a Civil War Veteran’s reunion in 1895.  John's
oldest daughter Louise married Louis Hanstedt at the Lutheran Church
(Rev. J.G. Oepke) in Gillett in 1893 and his oldest son Charles married
Margaret Schalidon in Bismarck, North Dakota on 23 November 1896.

At age 58, John was unable to work for 10 months in the year 1900
according to the Census records due to an unknown reason. At this time,
Matt Wagner was now the town blacksmith.  In 1900, the Klemp’s neighbors
were Railroad man Jack Saubert and Miller Saw owner William F. Krueger.
John Klemp’s son Frank married Minnie Seidel on 20 June 1900 and his
daughter Wilhelmina married Ed Krueger in 1900 in Wisconsin.  Then, while
giving birth to their 6th child August on 12 February 1901, John's wife
Augusta passed away. Unable to care for the children, John Klemp had to
give up the youngest children (Louis-10, Ida-6, Marie-3, and August-baby)
 to family members or for adoption. August lived with John's sister
Bertha in Cameron, Wisconsin and died  two months later due to
bronchitis.  Louis went to live with the Bray family in Antigo while
sister Ida was adopted by John and Sophia Klaehn in Seymour, and other
sister Marie was adopted by another family.

On 24 June 1900, John’s stepfather William Zahn died due to unknown
causes at the age of 66.  This followed the death of John’s half-brother
William Zahn, Junior who died at the age of 34 on 14 January 1900.  They
both were buried at the Friedens U.C.C. Cemetery located in the Maple
Grove Township (Manitowoc County), Wisconsin.
John is shown as living in Newald, Forest County, Wisconsin according to
the Census in 1905.  At this time the population of Gillett had increased
to 500.  Why he moved to Newald is unknown.  There must have been either
work and/or affordable housing available for him.  There were several
other Civil War Veterans living in the Forest County area at that time.

On 21 August 1909,  John’s mother Ernestine Zahn at the age of  87 passed
away in Cameron, Wisconsin due to bronchitis and contributed by “senile
debility” according to Dr. T.R. Hawkins.  Ernestine had endured the
hardship of losing both husbands and most of her children at relatively
young ages during her long life.  Ernestine was buried at the Pine Grove
Cemetery located in Cameron on 24 August 1909.  John Klemp’s
brother-in-law, John Boortz, was listed as the informant on the death
certificate.  John Klemp was living at the Old Soldier’s Home in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin according to the 1910 Federal Census.

John's son Louis married Leola Monroe in the “stone house” in Antigo,
Wisconsin on 25 December 1913.  Louis’ best man in the wedding was
neighbor Bert Wright.  The stone house still stands today in it’s
original location.  Leola gave birth to ten boys between 1914 and 1932.

Many years later John was reunited with his three children that had been
sent out for adoption: Louis, Ida ( Ploeger ), and Marie ( Mucha ).  His
son Louis was credited with finding his two sisters.  Klemp descendents
claim that sometime prior to 1913, Louis walked 70 miles from Antigo to
Seymour to find his sister Ida .

On  6 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany due to the
sinking of unarmed American ships including the Lusitania and the
possibility of the enlisting of Mexico and Japan into the Central
Powers(Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria)
that was outlined in a telegram sent from the German Foreign Secretary
Arthur Zimmerman.  John Klemp must have felt safe to be living in the
United States at the time but sadness for any German family members that
had been left behind.  John’s son Louis and grandson Walter Klemp were
both registered for service in World War I.  On 11 November 1918
Armistice Day was declared and the war was over.

In the early 1920's, John visited with his children while living at the
Old Soldiers Home in Milwaukee.  At the age of 84,  John Klemp died at
the Old Soldiers home on 13 February 1927.  John had purchased a
gravesite years earlier at the Wanderer’s Rest Cemetery located in
Gillett, but was buried at the Wood National Cemetery with a Civil War
marker in Milwaukee on 16 February 1927.

Although I  never met any of my ancestors, the stories that they left
behind through their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
make me feel as if I was hugging them right now.  I’m also very thankful
that they made that fateful journey from a country under seize to
America, the land of the free.

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  Thank you,
               Jim Klemp

If anyone has any additional stories, pictures, or information about the Klemp family, please
contact me by E-Mail as mentioned above. Or Click HERE

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