This detail from a 1914 map of the German Empire shows the locations of Gnesen (Gniezno) and Braunsfeld (Kalina) in the province of Posen (Poznan), all now in Poland.
By Jared L. Olar
June 2020
Among the German ancestors of my wife's mother is the Easterla family, who emigrated to Missouri from the Kingdom of Prussia in 1860. In Prussia, the Easterla surname was spelled Oesterle, which was a shortened variant of the surname Oesterling (literally, "Easterner"), which is the earliest form of this family's name. The Oesterle/Oesterling family were farmers from the village of Braunsfeld in the province of Posen (Polish Poznan), which was acquired by Prussia in 1793 when the Russian Empire, Austrian Empire, and Prussia conspired together to illegally partition Poland among themselves, wiping Poland completely off the map. After Prussia's annexation of Posen, Germans began to settle among the native Poles. Braunsfeld, located about six miles east of the city of Gnesen (Polish Gniezno), was one of the villages of the Prussian German settlers. At the end of World War I in 1918, Poland regained its independence and Poznan was returned to Poland, at which time Braunsfeld was renamed Kalina. Nazi Germany siezed and held the province of Poznan from 1939 to 1945, during which time Kalina was again called Braunsfeld. After Nazi Germany was defeated, Germany was punished for its hideous atrocities by (among other punishments) the loss of the regions of Silesia, Pomerania, and Posen -- they were given to Poland (partly in compensation for Russia's theft of eastern Poland) and the German populations of Posen, Silesia, and Pomerania were expelled. Since 1945 Braunsfeld has been the Polish village of Kalina.
In 2015 my wife had her autosomal DNA tested by 23andMe, and the test found that 1.7% of her autosomal DNA is of Eastern European origin. Most likely that Eastern European DNA came from the Oesterle family of Braunsfeld, Posen. In addition, her maternal haplogroup was found to be H2a2, a maternal haplogroup that also points to Eastern Europe. Signficantly, my wife's direct female line goes back to Braunsfeld via the Oesterles, Fritzes, and Lehrs.
This detail from a 1914 map of the German Empire shows the locations of Gnesen (Gniezno) and Braunsfeld (Kalina) in the province of Posen (Poznan), all now in Poland.
Several Easterla family historians devoted themselves to researching the genealogy of this family. In particular, Trudy Schenk in 1988 extracted several Oesterle records from microfilms of Lutheran church records of Gnesen, while W. R. O'Halloran of Tacoma, Washington, prepared extensive family group sheets on the Easterlas. Much of what is presented below we owe to the painstaking research and generosity of my wife's late cousin Alma Maye Easterla (1926-2006), to whose memory this webpage is dedicated. May God grant her soul peace. Maye's extensive research is supplemented by my own research.
1. JOHANN OESTERLING, parentage and ancestry unknown, born perhaps circa 1795 probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia. Johann was probably a simple farmer of Braunsfeld, where he is known to have lived as an adult. His wife was ANNA MARIA VOLLK, born perhaps circa 1800 probably in or near Braunsfeld. The surname "Vollk" or "Volk" is probably a patronymic indicating descent from a man named Volk (equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon given name Folca or the French given name Foulques or Fulk). The names of Johann Oesterling and Anna Maria Vollk are attested in the 22 June 1817 baptismal record of their son Johann Georg Oesterling. The surname of this Braunsfeld family also appears frequently with the variant spelling Oesterle, as shown in the 1826 baptismal record of Elisabeth Fritz (for whom Johann was one of the godfathers), the 1848 marriage record of Johann Georg Oesterle, and the baptismal records of Johann Georg's children. The baptismal sponsors of Johann Georg's children include persons named Amalie Oesterle, Gottfried Oesterle, Christiane Oesterle, Carl Oesterle, and Johanna Oesterle. In all likelihood, Amalie, Gottfried, Christiane, and Carl were siblings of Johann Georg Oesterle, while Johanna Oesterle, a married wife, must have been married to a man surnamed Oesterle, probably one of the sons of Johann and Anna Maria Oesterling.
Thus, the known and probable children of Johann and Anna Maria were:
2. JOHANN GEORGE OESTERLE, born 17 June 1817 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
-- AMALIE OESTERLE, probable daughter, born probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
-- GOTTFRIED OESTERLE, probable son, born probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
-- CHRISTIANE OESTERLE, probable daughter, born probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
-- CARL OESTERLE, probable son, born probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
2. JOHANN GEORG OESTERLE ("John Easterla"), son of Johann and Anna Maria (Vollk) Oesterling, born 17 June 1817 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 1 Dec. 1878 in Napoleon, Lafayette, Missouri, buried in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri. Johann's baptismal record from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Gnesen shows that he was baptised on 22 June 1817 as "Johann George Oesterling," son of Johann Oesterling and Anna Maria Vollk, and that his baptismal sponsors were Michael Hornberger, mayor of Braunsfeld, Michael Fritz, farmer, and Katharina Oesterling. Although the family name is given as "Oesterling" in this record, in later records the surname appears as "Oesterle," an abbreviated form of "Oesterling." Johann's birth in Braunsfeld near Gnesen, Prussia (modern Gniezno, Poland) is attested on the 31 May 1866 baptismal certificate of his youngest child Gustaph, which says Gustaph's father "Johann Esterle" and mother "Elisabetha geb. Fritz" were both born in "Braunsfeld, Kreis Gnesen, Preussen." The information from this baptismal certificate enabled Easterla family genealogists to locate the families of Johann and his wife Elisabeth and most of their children in the old Lutheran church records of Gnesen.
On 22 Oct. 1848 at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, Johann married WILBURA ELISABETHA FREDERIKA FRITZ, born 9 Nov. 1826 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 8 April 1896 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, buried in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri, daughter of Michael and Maria Katharina (Lehr) Fritz. Their marriage record from the Lutheran church of Gnesen says (in English translation), "On 22 October 1848 were married the bachelor Johann Oesterle of Braunsfeld, a son of the farmer Johann Oesterle, with virgin Elisabeth Fritz of Braunsfeld, daughter of the deceased farmer Michael Fritz, in the church. Ages: Groom 28, Bride 22." Elisabeth was a goddaughter of her father-in-law Johann Oesterling. Johann and Elisabeth are known to have had 10 children, including four daughters, four sons, and two other children of indeterminate sex who died at or soon after birth. Their seven eldest children were born in Braunsfeld, and their births and baptisms were recorded in the Lutheran church records of Gnesen.
This copy of the 22 Oct. 1848 marriage record of Johann Oesterle and Elisabetha Fritz, from the old Lutheran church records of Gnesen in Prussia (now Gniezno in Poland), was kindly supplied by the late Maye Easterla.
Sadly, the firstborn child of Johann and Elisabeth died at or soon after birth on 16 Oct. 1849 and was never baptised. Their second child, Amalie Juliane, was born 7 Sept. 1850 and was baptised 15 Sept. 1850, with her sponsors being Amalie Oesterle, maiden, Gottfried Oesterle, young man, and Jacob Fritz, farmer. The third child of Johann and Elisabeth also died unbaptised at or soon after birth on 9 Feb. 1852. Their fourth child was a son, Gottfried, born 4 Jan. 1853 and baptised 9 Jan. 1853 -- his sponsors were Gottfried Oesterle, bachelor, Christiane Oesterle, single girl, Rosine Ferger, single girl, and Jacob Fritz, farmer. Johann and Elisabeth had another son, Herrmann Wilhelm, on 2 June 1855, and had him baptised 7 June 1855 with sponsors Rosine Ferger, maiden, Georg Fritz, farmer, and Wilhelmine Lauchstadt, married wife. Next, Johann and Elisabeth had a daughter named Ottilie on 4 Sept. 1857, and had her baptised 13 Sept. 1857, with sponsors Friedrich Hornberger, farmer, Carl Oesterle, bachelor, and Johanna Oesterle, a wife. The seventh child of Johann and Elisabeth Oesterle was another daughter, Johanna Rosina, born 21 Feb. 1860 and baptised 26 Feb. 1860, with sponsors Friedrich Hornberger, farmer, Carl Oesterle, bachelor, and Johanna Oesterle, a wife. It is noteworthy that very often the baptismal sponsors of the children of Johann Georg Oesterle were other members of the Oesterle family -- most probably siblings, or in a couple of instances a sister-in-law, of Johann.
A few months after the birth of their seventh child, Johann and Elisabeth decided to leave Prussia and emigrate to the United States, boarding a sail-rigged ship of the Robert M. Sloman shipping line named the S.S. Washington on 15 Sept. 1860 bound for New Orleans, and departing from Hamburg with Capt. H. Platz in command of the vessel. The Washington arrived in New Orleans on 26 Nov. 1860 with 143 passengers aboard, of whom 117 were over the age of 8, 21 were between the ages of 1 and 8, and five were not yet a year old. The Hamburg ship passenger list says Johann and his family were all born in and residents of Braunsfeld, and lists them as "Oesterle Johann," 44, farmer, wife "Elisabeth," 35, "Amalie," 9 1/2, "Gottfried," 8, "Herrmann," 5, "Ottilie," 3, and "Johanna," 9 months. The New Orleans ship manifest states that Missouri was the destination of a great many of the passengers, including the Oesterle family, who are listed on the manifest as "J. Olsterle," 44, labourer, "Elis.," 34, wife, and children "Amal.," 10, "Gottfr.," 7, "Herm.," 5, "Ottilia," 3, and "Hanoken," 6 months. After their arrival in Missouri, Johann and his family settled in the area of Lexington in Lafayette County. It is thought that the Oesterles and other German families in their company came over to America as a part of the "German Turner organization."
Shown is a detail from page 471 of the Hamburg ship passenger list of the S.S. Washington, which sailed from Hamburg for New Orleans on 15 Sept. 1860. In this detail, the family of Johann Oesterle and his family are listed.
Johann brought his family to America while the U.S. was gripped by the turmoil that led to the fracturing of the nation into two separate countries, resulting in the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. The History of Lafayette County, Missouri (1881), page 336, mentions that several companies of Union soldiers were raised in Lexington, including one that was at first commanded by Gustave Pirner and later by Captain Henry Emde, and whose members were largely from "the German Turner organization" in Lexington. Johann Oesterle was among the men who enlisted as a private for three years of service in that company -- Company E of the 14th Regiment of the Missouri Home Guards. The records of the State of Missouri Adjutant General's Office say that "John Osterle" enlisted in Company E on 6 July 1861 at Lexington and was mustered in the same day. The 14th Regiment was one of those serving under Col. James A. Mulligan, and saw action during the Battle of Lexington (also known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales) on 18-19 Sept. 1861. Pro-Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price of the Missouri State Guard, commanding a force of about 25,000 troops and 13 cannons, began a siege of Lexington on 13 Sept. 1861. Mulligan defended Lexington with only 2,780 troops and six brass cannons. By 20 Sept. 1861, the Home Guards in Lexington were out of ammunition and provisions -- for two days their only source of water had been the night dews that the soldiers wrung out of their blankets into dishes in the morning. Apparently impressed by the Home Guards' resolve, Price released the privates of the regiments on parole. John Oesterle's Civil War record says that he was "taken prisoner at battle of Lexington September 19, 1861" and that he was "afterwards released on Oath." He was mustered out of the Home Guards at St. Louis on 19 Oct. 1861, after which he returned to the Lexington area for the remainder of the war. (His wife Elisabeth later applied for a Civil War widow's pension on 27 March 1890 -- Application No. 418032.)
Shown are two different official copies of the Civil War service record of Johann Oesterle, called "John Osterle" in one of the service records. John was a private in an infantry regiment of the Missouri Home Guards, fighting on the Union side at the Battle of Lexington on 18-19 Sept. 1861 and being taken prisoner on 20 Sept. 1861.
After the war, John purchased a 40-acre farm in south of Napoleon in Section 36 of Lafayette County, Missouri, from Carl Bernard "Charles" Rabe and his wife Sophia Rabe on 15 Oct. 1866 -- the mortgage deed was signed by Charles and Sophia Rabe on 18 Oct. 1866, notarised by James H. Beatty, notary public, on 18 Oct. 1866, and then recorded the following day. In the deed, John's name is spelled "John Oesterle." The legal description of the Oesterle farm is given in the mortgage deed as "The South West quarter of the South East quarter of Section No. Thirty Six (36) Township Fifty (50) Range Twenty nine (29) containing Forty acres." In selling the land, the Rabes reserved the right to use the waters of a spring on that land, and also carried back a $500 lien on the property that was released on 9 Sept. 1867. The Rabes and Oesterles were not only neighbors in their new home in Missouri, but the Rabes were listed just ahead of the Oesterles in the 1860 Hamburg ship passenger list, and the cemetery plots of the Rabes and Oesterles are close together in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Missouri.
The Easterla farm south of Napoleon, Missouri, is shown in this detail of an 1896 plat map of Lafayette County. By the time this map was published, both John Easterla and his widow Elisabeth had died. The farm was sold at auction to Joe Laseuer in 1897.
Four years later, John and his family were enumerated in the U.S. Census on 25 Aug. 1870 in Clay Township, Lafayette County, Missouri, as follows: "John Easterly," 54, farmer, real estate value $1,200, personal estate value $650, "Elisabeth Easterly," 43, keeping house, "Mollie Easterly," 20, "Goodfred Easterly," 18, "Herman Easterly," 15, "Tildie Easterly," 13, "Hannah Easterly," 10, "Charles Easterly," 8, "Emily Easterly," 6, and "Gust Easterly," 5, all children in the household "at home." The spelling of the surname as "Easterly" is a literal translation of "Oesterle" -- a few years later, the family settled on the Americanised spelling of their surname as "Easterla" (though even with that spelling the name is usually pronounced "Easterly"). The 1870 census record says John and his wife Elisabeth and the five eldest children were born in "Poland" (an error for "Posen," which then was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia, just one year before the unification of the Germany in the Prussian-dominated German Empire), while Charles, Emma, and Gust were born in Missouri.
Five years later, several German Lutheran families of Clay Township, Lafayette County, organised a Lutheran congregation on 4 Sept. 1875. This church was known as St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church, and the Rev. Friederick Drewel was the church's first pastor. Much later, the church abandoned Lutheranism and joined the United Church of Christ denomination, so the church is now known as St. Paul United Church of Christ. A published history of St. Paul United Church of Christ provides the following brief account of the founding of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church:
"An official constitution was adopted on September 4, 1875 which marks the birthday of our church. The forefathers were: Michael Bettien, Christian Borchers, George Borchers, Herman Dingwerth, Ernest Doelling, Fred Doelling, Herman Larberg, John Osterlie, W. Ruetter, Ernest Sellmeyer, Fred Sellmeyer, W. Suhre, William Westerhold, and Henry Woestermeyer. The first church board included Herman Larberg, William Westerhold, and Henry Woestermeyer. . . . these faithful people organized the congregation in the Ish Rural Public School about two miles south of Napoleon."
John Oesterle and his family were recorded as church members in 1875 in the old German-language "Familien-Register" of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church (in a family entry that was later updated). The family register, which mentions the family's year of immigration from Prussia, lists the family members as "Johann Oesterlie" (1816-1878) and his wife "Elisabet geboren F. Fritz" (1826- ), with children Amalie, Gottfried, Herrmann, Ottilie, Johanna Rosine Sellmeyer (1860-1889), Karl, Emma, and Gustaph. From the fact that the register refers to the deaths of John and his daughter Johanna and to Johanna's marriage, but does not refer to the death of John's wife Elisabeth, we can see that the original 1875 entry was last updated between 1889 and 1896.
John was only a member of the new church for three years, for he died 1 Dec. 1878 at his home in rural Napoleon and was buried in Arnold Cemetery, about a mile or two away in rural Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri. A short pillar or obelisk marks the site where he and his wife Elisabeth are buried.
The children of John and Elisabeth Easterla were:
-- (NN) OESTERLE, born and died 16 Oct. 1849 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
-- AMALIE JULIANE OESTERLE ("Mollie"), born 7 Sept. 1850 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 10 Sept. 1923 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, married Harlon Andrew Luellen.
-- (NN) OESTERLE, born and died 9 Feb. 1852 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
-- GOTTFRIED OESTERLE ("Goodfred"), born 4 Jan. 1853 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 4 Jan. 1920 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, married Charzena Dorothea Oeschlager.
-- HERRMANN WILHELM OESTERLE ("Herman"), born 2 June 1855 in in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 5 April 1920 in Grand River, Lake County, Ohio, never married.
-- OTTILIE OESTERLE ("Odelia"), born 4 Sept. 1857 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 11 May 1923 in Painesville, Lake County, Ohio, married Edwin William "Edward" Harrison.
-- JOHANNA ROSINA OESTERLE, born 21 Feb. 1860 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 9 Aug. 1889 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, married Ernst Rudolph Sellmeyer.
-- CARL OESTERLE ("Charles"), born 6 April 1862 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, died 22 May 1929 in Archie, Cass County, Missouri, married Emma May Knapp.
3. EMMA OESTERLE ("Emma Easterla"), born 15 March 1865 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.
-- GUSTAPH OESTERLE ("Gus Easterla"), born 14 April 1866 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, died 9 Aug. 1947 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, married Nancy Shelby Blair.
3. EMMA EASTERLA, daughter of Johann Georg and Wilbura Elisabeth Frederika (Fritz) Oesterle, born 15 March 1865 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, died 11 Oct. 1895 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, buried 12 Oct. 1895 in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri. Emma was first enumerated in the U.S. Census as "Emily Easterly" on 25 Aug. 1870 in Clay Township, Lafayette County, Missouri, along with her parents and siblings, as follows: "John Easterly," 54, farmer, real estate value $1,200, personal estate value $650, "Elisabeth Easterly," 43, keeping house, "Mollie Easterly," 20, "Goodfred Easterly," 18, "Herman Easterly," 15, "Tildie Easterly," 13, "Hannah Easterly," 10, "Charles Easterly," 8, "Emily Easterly," 6, and "Gust Easterly," 5, all children in the household "at home." This census record says Emma's parents and the five eldest children were born in Poland, while Charles, Emma, and Gust were born in Missouri.
Emma next appears on record with her parents and siblings in 1875 in the old "Familien-Register" of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church in Napoleon, Missouri (in a family entry that was later updated). The family register lists the members of Emma's family as "Johann Oesterlie" (1816-1878) and his wife "Elisabet geboren F. Fritz" (1826- ), with children Amalie, Gottfried, Herrmann, Ottilie, Johanna Rosine Sellmeyer (1860-1889), Karl, Emma, and Gustaph.
Five years later, Emma was enumerated in the 1880 U.S. Census as "Emma Easterly" on 13 June 1880 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, when she was living in the household of her brother-in-law Harlon A. Luellen, husband of Emma's eldest sister Mollie. This census record lists the members of the household as "Harlan Luellen," 30, driver of a delivery wagon, his wife "Mary Luellen," 27, keeping house, son "Claude Luellen," 2, daughter "Blanche Luellen," 6 months, and sister-in-law "Emma Easterly," 15.
The baptismal register of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church in Napoleon shows that in 1887 Emma had twins named Dorothea ("Dora") and Robert Lee, born 1 June 1887 in Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri, and then in 1892 Emma had a daughter named Anna Christine, born 18 April 1892 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri. These three children were baptised at St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church -- Dorothea and Robert were baptised together on 10 Aug. 1890, and Anna was baptised on 10 April 1894. The baptismal records of Dorothea, Robert, and Anna identify only their mother, "Emma Oesterlie," showing that the identity of their father(s) was unknown. That is, Dorothea, Robert, and Anna were conceived and born out of wedlock -- and we cannot as yet determine the identity of their father or fathers.
On 16 May 1894 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, Emma married HENRY EDWARD KLEMME ("Heinrich Eduard Klemme"), parentage and ancestry unknown, born perhaps circa 1860 possibly in Missouri, died Nov. 1897 in Lafayette County, Missouri.
Shown is the 1894 marriage license of Henry Edward Klemme and Emma Easterla.
We are very fortunate that a letter written by Emma's husband Henry on 20 May 1894 has survived. Henry wrote the letter to his friend Herman Easterla to let him know that he had married Herman's younger sister Emma. Henry's letter is truly fascinating, for his comments indicate that several others -- including apparently other members of Emma's own family -- did not approve of Henry or hold a very high opinion of him. The letter reads as follows:
"Napoleon May 20th 1894
"Dear friend Herman
"I take my pen in hand to drop you a few lines. I am well and hope the same for you. I am a married man now, I have married your sister Emma last weak May 16th 1894.
"I read my wife letter, and was not very good news. It did not suit me a particle. I did not expect sitch letter as that from out there. My dear friend Herman, I reccen you know Henry Klemme. You know about what kind of a man i am. I think it and rite from them folks out there to write sitch a letter they ot to be ashame of themself.
"I think myself, i am as good a man as ever walk the street, I recen i know my business, let ever body thend to his own business and not stick there nose in every thing.
"Dear friend Herman you are wellcome in my house anny time you want to come. I hope the rest of the others folks stay far enough away from me I dont want nothing to due wit them.
"If they can not write anny better letter then they wrote last time they dont need to write anny more.
"My best regard to Herman,
"Mr. Henry Klemme.
"Napoleon, Lafayette Co., Mo.
"Write ass soon as possible."
Henry and his wife Emma are known to have had a daughter named Caroline Fredericka ("Carrie") on 15 May 1895, about one year after their marriage. Caroline is the only one of Emma's children to be born in wedlock. Now, for Christians, especially in those days when the United States was culturally Protestant Christian, to engage in sexual relations out of wedlock, and to bear children out of wedlock, are serious sins and matters of great shame -- and Emma had two out-of-wedlock pregnancies resulting in three illegitimate children. This likely helps to explain the strong disapproval that Henry and Emma evidently received from Emma's family, as indicated in Henry's letter. Were some of Emma's family members worried that marrying Henry might be just one more of Emma's bad decisions? Or was Henry the father of all four of Emma's children, both illegitimate and legitimate? On the other hand, in an 19 June 1998 letter to me, Maye Easterla wrote, "A letter (old) mentions that before Emma married Henry, there was an engagement of Emma to a Mr. Charles Rabe, who was a close neighbor to the Easterla (OESTERLE) family. Facts are uncertain of those childrens' parentage. Only Caroline was born after Emma and Henry Klemme were married."
Could Charles Rabe have been the father of Dorothea, Robert, and Anna, or at least the father of either Dorothea and Robert or of Anna? Unfortunately it is unlikely that we will ever be able to obtain answers to those questions. A 23andMe autosomal DNA comparison of a granddaughter of Robert Lee Klemmer with my wife, a great-granddaughter of Robert's (half?)-sister Caroline Fredericka Klemme Kruel, has shed no light on this question -- the comparison found that the two women shared no autosomal DNA at all, their only matching DNA being a short segment on their X chromosomes. That does not mean that the two women are not really both descendants of Emma Easterla Klemme, only that each woman inherited completely separate, unmatching segments of Emma's autosomal DNA. The lack of any matching DNA segments between the two women could mean, however, that Robert and Caroline were indeed half-siblings, sharing only one parent (Emma) and having different fathers, for that would mean that only 25% of the autosomal DNA of the children of Robert and Caroline could have come from their grandmother Emma, and then their children in turn could only have gotten 12.5% of their DNA from Emma, and in the generation after that only about 6% of their autosomal DNA could come from Emma. DNA matches are quite likely in the second and third cousins range of kinship even when the cousins descend from half-siblings, but the likelihood that any two "half" third cousins would share DNA is rather low. If more of Emma's descendants had their autosomal DNA tested, it is probable that some genetic matches would be discovered -- matches that might help to resolve the question of the paternity of Emma's three eldest children.
Because the paternity of Emma's three older children is shrouded in mystery, various family traditions have arisen among Emma's descendants regarding who the mystery father or fathers was. As we have noted above, in the 1920 U.S. Census Robert said that his father was born in Missouri, but in the 1930 U.S. Census Robert told the census-taker that his father had been born in Ireland. These contradictory statements suggest that Robert was only guessing where his father had come from, or perhaps was seeking to hide the story of his origins. Yet another tradition maintains that the father of Emma's children was either an American Indian or at least was of Native American descent (which in those days was seen as the same thing). One of the sources of this tradition was Caroline, youngest daughter of Emma, who on several occasions repeated the story to her granddaughter Carolyn (my mother-in-law) that her father Henry Klemme was an American Indian. This story of Native American ancestry has also been handed down among the descendants of Caroline's older brother Robert. That Henry was an Indian (maybe adopted by a German family named Klemme?), or at least part Indian, is said to be part of the reason Henry met with disapproval from his wife's family.
What are we to make of this story? There is no hard evidence available that could verify it. In all available records that mention the race of Emma's children, they are always identified as "white" or "Caucausian," not "Indian." On the other hand, Robert had an unusually dark complexion, as can be seen in old family photos and as noted on his World War II draft card. Could that be due to a Native American ancestor, or was he merely a Caucasian who had a dark complexion? There is, of course, the added complication that Robert and Caroline may not have had the same father, which means that perhaps Robert's father did have Native American ancestry whereas Henry Klemme, Caroline's father, did not. It could well be that Caroline assumed that she and her older siblings all had the same father, and she may never have known that she was the only one of them to be born in wedlock. This is, again, a question that cannot be answered, nor has DNA testing been any help: the abovementioned genetic comparison found no Native American DNA in the sample of Robert's granddaughter, while the only possible Native American DNA in the sample of Caroline's great-granddaughter is known to have come from her father rather than her mother Carolyn (granddaughter of Caroline). This does not mean that neither Robert nor Caroline were of Native American descent -- only that if they were, no trace of that hypothetical Native American DNA was inherited by those two descendants. It could be that Robert's or Caroline's father had only a smaller percentage of Native American DNA, none of which has been handed down to their descendants. Robert's granddaughter and Caroline's great-granddaughter both have a significant amount of German DNA, though -- and possibly even some traces of Ashkenazi Jewish DNA, which may be of interest because there are some German Jewish "Klemme" families. Could Henry Klemme have had Jewish ancestry rather than Native American ancestry? Henry Klemme's contemporaries would have seen that as almost as objectionable as Native American ancestry.
Leaving aside all of these unresolved mysteries, we may now resume the story of Emma Easterla Klemme's life. Whether or not Henry Klemme was the biological father of Emma's three oldest children, he did take on the role of their father when he married Emma, and all of Emma's children were then given Henry's surname. Sadly, Henry's and Emma's time together would prove to be very short -- Emma fell sick of what appears to have been malaria or meningitis on Friday, 5 Oct. 1895, and died the following Thursday night, 11 Oct. 1895 (although her burial record mistakenly says she died 10 Oct. 1895, and a false tradition that I encountered in an Ancestry.com family tree said Emma died in a horse and buggy accident). Emma was buried in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Missouri. Three days after Emma's death, her mother Elisabeth Easterla wrote a letter to her son Herman Easterla informing her family of Emma's death. In the letter, Elisabeth refers to Emma's children who now had no mother and would have to be cared for by their father Henry (spelling and grammatical errors are shown as in the original letter, but some punctuation has been added for clarity):
"October 14th 1895
"Dear Son,
"I take pen in hand to inform you & Tilda and family of the sad news that Emma is dead verry Suden. She Took Sick on friday and died the following Thursday night Oct 11th. She had melariel fever and conjestion of the Brains. I would have Telegraphed you But you couldent have got hear in time to See her. The rest of us are verry Well at presant. Im hoping these few lines may find you all the same.
"I have got a girl hired to do the work as i aint able to do the work my Self.
"I dont know yet what henry intends to do with the children. Will know more about it when I write again. other news of importance is scarce. the weather is awful dry hear. We havent had a good rain hear for nearly two months . . . ."
Shown here are the death records of Emma Easterla Klemme and her mother Elisabeth Fritz Easterla, from pages 170-171 of the death register of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church in Napoleon, Missouri.
About two weeks after Emma's death, her youngest child Carrie was baptised on 26 Oct. 1895 at St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church in Napoleon, Missouri. Carrie's baptismal record names her parents as "Heinrich Eduard Klemme" and "Emma geboren Oesterlie."
It appears that Carrie and her older siblings were cared for by Carrie's father Henry until a year before his death, which occurred in November of 1897. In 1896, Emma's son Robert went to live with her younger brother Gus Easterla, but presumably Robert's siblings remained with Henry Klemme for a while longer. Carrie's maternal grandmother Elisabeth Easterla died intestate on 8 April 1896 in Lafayette County, Missouri. Because Elisabeth had died without a will, her son Goodfried Easterla was appointed administrator of her estate on 20 April 1896. Henry Klemme signed his name as one of the five witnesses on the letters of administration of Elisabeth's estate, and the same document names the four children of the late Emma Easterla -- "Dora Klemme, Robert Klemme, Annie Klemme, and Carrie Klemme" -- among the 13 surviving heirs of Elisabeth Easterla, Emma's mother. The probate court ruled that because the Easterla farm south of Napoleon, Missouri, could not be divided among so many heirs, the farm would have to be sold at public auction and the proceeds of the sale divided among the heirs. In a Lafayette County probate court document dated 3 Aug. 1897, "Dora Klemer Robert Klemer Ana Klemer and Carrie Klemer Minors" are listed among the heirs to the Easterla farm -- the same document states that the farm was sold at auction and conveyed to Joe O. Lesueur for $800, which was to be divided among the heirs.
The last known time that Henry Klemme appears on the public record -- although not by name -- is 15 Feb. 1898, when Henry's brother-in-law Gus Easterla was appointed legal guardian of Emma's son Robert Klemmer, then 10 years 8 months old. The guardianship papers state that Robert was a "minor having no parents living; that the father was the surviving parent, and died on or about the ____ day of November, 1897, and was a resident of the County of Lafayette aforesaid at the time of his death; that said minor is now and has been during the last two years under the charge of Gus Easterla . . ." This is the only information that we have on when and where Henry Klemme died. We do not know Henry's cause of death, nor, as Maye Easterla said, do we know where Henry Klemme was buried. It is probable, though not provable, that he was buried with his wife Emma in Arnold Cemetery in Wellington, Missouri (where cemetery records state Emma was buried), but there is no grave marker there for either Emma or Henry.
It is not entirely clear what became of Carrie and her older siblings after the death of Henry Klemme in Nov. 1897, though it is evident that before long the four children were separated. It is known that on 15 Feb. 1898, Carrie's uncle Gus Easterla was appointed legal guardian of Carrie's brother Robert Klemme, then 10 years 8 months old. (Curiously, however, Robert is not listed in Gus Easterla's household in the 1900 U.S. Census, and in fact Robert cannot be found in the 1900 census at all, though Robert and his wife Fannie are found in Clay, Lafayette County, Missouri, at the time of the 1910 census.) Carrie's older sister Annie was taken in by their Aunt Odelia (Easterla) Harrison -- the Harrisons moved to Painesville, Ohio, by the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, in which Anna is listed as "Anna Clemay," age 8, niece of Edward and Odelia Harrison. By the time of the 1910 census, Anna had been adopted by Edward and Odelia, and is listed in the census as their adopted daughter "Anna Harrison," age 18. The following year Anna married William Ezra Cobb Jr. As for Robert's twin sister Dora, it is unknown who may have taken her in, nor can we say anything about what became of Dora apart from a family tradition that she died in childbirth and may possibly have had other children who lived in Missouri. As for Emma's little daughter Carrie, at some point she was taken in and adopted by a childless couple named George and Minnie Kruel. Neither Carrie nor the Kruels have been found in the 1900 U.S. Census, but the 26 April 1910 census returns for Clay Township, Lafayette County, Missouri, lists George Kruel, 53, farmer, with his wife Minnie Kruel, 51, and their adopted daughter "Carrie Kruel," 14.
Eventually Carrie's siblings Robert and Annie did manage to get back in touch with each other, as is shown by a three-page letter that Carrie's brother Robert wrote to their sister Annie in the latter half of 1915. The first page of the letter is lost, but on pages two and three Robert asks Annie about their sister Carrie and their inheritance:
"Sis when did you hear from Carrie last, It has Been Sometime Sience we heard. Sis did Carrie ever get her money from the man she stayed with? Annie when you write to us tell me how much money you got when our mother died. I never have got any, People tell me that Uncle Gus got mine and was to pay it Back when I Became of age. But I never have seen any thing of It. I was 28 years old June the 1st Born in 1887. How are you and Wm getting along & the Baby? Well sister Dear It is almost time for the mail so I will close & write more the next time, and soon by By X.X.X.
"Robt Klemmer, Love to all.
"Wellington, MO.
"R #.1"
From the fact that Robert does not mention his twin sister Dora, we may possibly conclude that Dora was dead by then (unless she was mentioned on the missing first page.) Although Robert refers to money that should have come to him and his sisters, in fact it does not appear that their mother Emma left them any money. Rather, they were heirs to their maternal grandmother Elisabeth, and ought to have received a portion of the $800 obtained from the abovementioned 1897 sale of the Easterla farm. If Robert never received his inheritance from his guardian Uncle Gus Easterla, then it could be that none of his sisters ever received their portions of the inheritance either.
The four children of Emma Easterla Klemme were:
-- DOROTHEA KLEMME ("Dora"), born 1 June 1887 in Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri.
-- ROBERT LEE KLEMMER ("Bud"), born 1 June 1887 in Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri, died of cancer 27 June 1946 in Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri, married Fannie Louvella Wilson.
-- ANNA CHRISTINE KLEMME HARRISON ("Annie"), born 18 April 1892 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, died 11 May 1958 in Lake County, Ohio, married William Ezra Cobb Jr.
-- CAROLINE FREDERICKA KLEMME KRUEL ("Carrie"), born 15 May 1895 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri.
Easterla Genealogy Resources:
The Reed Family Tree of Albuquerque, N.M., with Dirk Wobben Janssen descendants and Johnson and Oltman family photos. Find-A-Grave memorial: Caroline Fredericka Klemmer Kruel Johnson (1895-1972), with links of mother, husband, children, and parents. Meyer's Gazette: Braunsfeld, entry on the village of Braunsfeld in Posen, Gnesen, Prussia, today Poznan, Gniezno, Poland.