Revision as of 16:34, 20 March 2008

James Kline was the next to youngest brother in a family of eleven children. His parents had migrated from a fairly German community in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, west to Clarion County about eight years before he was born. In Clarion County the family moved a time or two before purchasing a farm in Ashland Township. As it had been in Lehigh County, good farmland in Clarion County may have become scarce. James may have had an independent personality, wanting to get off on his own, exploring the Midwest as it opened up; or he may have had some argument with his family. For whatever reason, he set off for parts west, and in 1867, at age 25, he married Elizabeth Conver whom he met in Illinois. They had a first son Charles William in 1868, but he died before 1870. In 1870 they were farming in Elba, in Knox County, IL, and in June had a son whom they named Levi, but he also died young, as did Samuel born in 1872. By 1880 they had moved further west to Iowa, and were farming in Grant Twp. Taylor county. James and Elizabeth had seven more children, all of whom survived to adulthood. We lose track of the family in 1890 and 1900 but they had pushed west once again, and were living in Milan, Sumner County, Kansas in 1908 when James died at age 63.
The oldest surviving son, John Conver Kline, may have remained in Kansas, where he has descendants to this day. Susan married Frank Holt in Milan, Kansas and lived there until her death in 1955.
Born in 1876, just 11 years after the close of the Civil War, son Newton Oliver Kline married an Iowa woman, Henerietta Martin, in 1907, when he was 30 years old. Henrietta was 27, a widow with an 11 year old daughter Constance Martin. James, Henrietta, and Constance set out together for Oklahoma, where in 1910 they owned a home at 820 Emanuel Rd., Enid, OK. Newton also owned a plumbing shop and worked as a plumber. Their daughter Myrtle was born there in 1913, and June in 1916.
By 1920 they had returned to Kansas, and were living in Wichita with Newton's in-laws, (either a brother or sister of Harriet's), Charles and Glenetta Moore and their 3 year old daughter Charlotte. Newton, drawing on his plumbing experience, was employed as a steam fitter in a lamp plant. Charles Moore was a laborer in the same plant. The step-daughter Constance was also working, as a stenographer for a publisher.
The 1929 fall of the stock market marked the beginning of the Great Depression. This no doubt figured in the circumstances of the Kline family. In 1930 they were living in Phoenix AZ with an Agee family, relationship unknown. They paid $30 a month for a house for 9 people. Constance Martin at age 34 was no longer employed. Newton appears to have been the mechanical handyman at a grocery store. Mr. Agee was a sheep inspector. In addition to their two daughters and older step-daughter, and the Agee family, the Klines had been joined by a 72 year old widow Emma Sabin born in Illinois, possibly the mother of Henrietta. Oddly, Henrietta was also listed as widowed in this census, and had the last name of Garrison, suggesting that perhaps she and Newton separated for a time during which Henrietta may have remarried, become widowed, and returned with her daughter (& mother) to the household of Newton Kline.
The final location of the remaining members of the James Kline family are not known to us.

Direct ancestry segment

 Generation 5           Generation 6          Generation 7
 
                                      +-- Johan Jacob Klein
                                      |   (1766-1833)
                 +-- John Klein ------+
                 |   (1801-<1877)     |
   James Kline --+                    +-- Elizabetha Vogele
   (1845-1908)   |                        (1775-1810)
                 +-- Anna Fenstermacher
                     (1806-????)
 Sources: [8][12][13]

Children

(all children with Elizabeth Conver)

Places of Residence

Photo Gallery

Front: Elizabeth & James Kline, Susie Holt. Back: John, Walter, Monroe, Newton, & Ray Kline and Mae Hebbard

This photo appears to be from "History fo Milan, Kansas 1879-1978" by Leslie "Bud" Yates.^[11]

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	1860 United States Federal Census, PA Clarion Co. Ashalnd Twp. pg.5, ln 11-22. Date of Census 5 July 1860. John Kline, 59 M Farmer, real estate value $1000, personal estate value $200; Ann Kline, 53F; Henry 33M; Rebecca 31F; Jacob 29M; Maria 27F; Catherine 25F; Susanna 23 F; James 18 M; Elizabeth 14F; Sarah 12 F; William 10 M. All born in PA. Henry, Jacob, & Maria are enumerated at the home of his parents, although they are already married. It appears that the census taker may simply have listed all the children of John & Anna Kline, whether they lived at home or not. Rebecca Kline's identity is uncertain; born about 1829. She is thought perhaps to be a visiting distant cousin, the daughter of David Kline, and a descendant of Philip Wendel Klein of Lehigh County.
2	1870 United States Federal Census, Elba, Knox Co, IL, page 1. Census dated 13 Aug 1870. lines 1-3: James Kline, 25, farmer, personal prop $655, b. PA, can not read or write; Eliza, 33, keeping house, b. PA; Levi W., 2 months, at home, b. IL.
3	1880 United States Federal Census, District 215, Grant Twp, Taylor Co, Iowa, Page 14. Census dated 1 July 1880. Lines 6-10: Jas. Kline, 35, farmer; Elizabeth, 34, keeping house; John, 7, at school; Newton, 3, at home; unnamed daughter, 3 months, b. Feb 1880. James & Elizabeth(and their parents) all b. PA; children b. Iowa.
4	1900 United States Federal Census, District 325, Dixon Twp, Sumner Co, KA, page 16. Census dated 21 June 1900. Lines 16-23: James T. Kline, head, 55, b. Feb 1845, mar. 31 years, b. PA, parents b. PA, farmer, owns farm, no mortgage; Elizabeth, wife, 54, b. May, 1846, mar. 31 years, 7 children born, all living, b. PA, parents b. PA; Newton, son, 23, b. Dec, 1876, b. IA, farm laborer; Susan A., dau., 20, b. JAn, 1880, b. IA; in school; James M., son, 17, b. July 1882 in IA, in school; Charles C., son, 15, b. Jan 1885 in IA; in school; Orie R., son, 11, b. Aug 1888 in IA, in school; May M., dau., 8, b. July 1891 in IA, in school. All can read, write and speak English.
5	1910 United States Federal Census, District 8, Ward 2, Enid, Garfield Co., OK, page 25. Census dated 25-26 April 1910. Lines 28-30: Newton O. Kline, head, 33, his 1st marriage, length of marriage 3 years, b. IA, parents b. PA, plumber, in shop, owns home, no mortgage. Harriett L., wife, age 30, her 2nd marriage, length of marriage 3 years, one child born, 1 living; Harriet was b. IL, father b. OH, mother b. IL. Constance Martin, step-dau., 14, b. KS, father b. MO, mother IL, in school. All can read, write, speak English. The family resides at 820 Emanuel Rd. in Enid, OK. We surmise that Newton O. Kline married (a widow?) Harriet L. Martin, who had one daughter, Constance Martin. Constance would have been age 11 at the time of their marriage in 1907.
6	1920 United States Federal Census, District 144, Ward 4, Wichita, Sedgwick Co, KS, page 18 and 19. Census dated 10 Jan 1920. Lines 97-100 (page 18) and 1-4 (page 19): Newton Kline, head, 43, b. Iowa( father b. CT, mother PA), steam fitter, lamp mfg, owns home, no mortgage. Hariet, wife, age 43, b. Illinois (father b.OH, mother b. IL). Constance, age 23,daughter, b. Kansas (father b. IA, mother b. IL), stenographer with a publisher. Myrtle, age 6, daughter, b. Okla. June,age 3 years 6 months,dau., b. Okla. Charles Moore, brother-in-law,age 35, laborer, b. Kansas( father b. OH, mother b. IL), laborer for lamp mfg. Glenetta Moore, sister-in-law, age33, b. Iowa (parents b. US). Charlotte Moore, niece, age 3 years 5 months, b. Okla. (father IA, mother KS). Family resides at 1142 North Main Street. All adults can read and write English.
7	1930 United States Federal Census, District 28, Phoenix, Maricopa Co, AZ, page 13. Census dated 7 Apr 1930. Lines 34-44: Newton Kline, head, 54, 1st mar. at age 30, marital status (illegible), b. IA, (father PA, mother CT), mechanic, grocery store, rents home, $30 monthly rent, owns radio. Harriette Garrison, housekeeper,age 54, widow, 1st marriage was at age 19, b. IL (father b. OH, mother b. IL), occupation housekeeper, private family. Emma Sabin, lodger, age72, widow, 1st married at age 17, b. IL,( parents b. NY). Constance Martin, lodger, age 34, b. KS ( parents b. MO). Meryl Kline, lodger,age 17, b. OK (father IA, mother IL). June Kline, lodger, age 13, b. OK (father b. IA, mother b. IL), attended school. Lydia Agee, lodger, age 35, 1st mar. at age 22, b. AZ (father b. PA, mother b. AZ). Oscar Agee, lodger,age 32, b. KS (father b. KS, mother b.AZ). Bessie Agee, lodger,age 10, b. AZ (father b. KS, mother b.AZ), attended school. Margaret Agee, lodger, age7, b. AZ(father b. KS, mother b. AZ),attended school. James Agee, lodger, age 4, b. AZ (father b. KS, mother b. AZ). All adults can read and write. Residence is 917 Second Street. Note: This appears to be mostly family although it is unclear what the relationship is(if any) of the Agees to the Klines. The widow Emma Sabin is possibly Harriette's mother. The census taker may have miss-entered the relationship between Newton and Harriette, and miss-entered Harriet's status as widow See source notes.
8	Descendants of Martin Klein research manuscript by Cammy Whitehill Shreffler. Her sources include interviews with elderly family members, and shared sources with other Klein descendants. Cammy Shreffler descends through the line of William O. Kline, younger brother of James Kline.
9	Research of Norman & Sherry Kline, of Wellington KS. Norman Kline descends through the line of John Conver Kline, first surviving son of James Kline & Elizabeth Conver. Contributions include Descendancy chart of the John Conver Kline family, and ancestry back to our common ancestors John Klein & Anna Fenstermacher. Oituary clipping for Walter Kline. James Kline family portrait, from "History of Milan, Kansas 1879-1978" by Leslie "Bud" Yates. Personal communication, that John Conver Kline was the first of James' children to live to adulthood; another child didn't marry.
10	Obituary of Walter Kline, Newspaper source & date unknown. Walter C. Kline of Milan, Kansas, funeral held at Church of Christ, burial in Milan cemetery. He died in a local hospital after a short illners. He was born Jan. 6, 1885 in Clearfield, Iowa, and was a retired farmer. He lived in Milan since 1895. Survivors include sister Mrs. Mae Hebberd of Milan; brother N. O. Kline of National City, CA; nieces & nephews. Clipping supplied by Norman & Sherry Kline
11	"History of Milan, Kansas 1879-1978", by Leslie "Bud" Yates. Photo of James Kline & Elizabeth Conver Kline family, provided to us by Norman & Sherry Kline, appears to be from this portfolio or publication. This portrait names subjects as Front row: Elizabeth & James Kline, Susie Holt. Back: John, Walter, Monroe, Newton, Ray (Kline) and Mae Hebbard. We have not been able at present to review this source.
12	Research Manuscript of Ella May Beals (Wilson) researched 1975-1985, including personal knowledge and interviews of her siblings Robert Beals and Bertha Beals (Chambers), and of her aunt Mary P. Kline (Fillgrove).
13	Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams, granddaughter of Winnifred May Kline.

Source notes

• James Kline is tracked through the census, in 1860 with his parents in PA, and in 1870 & 1880 with his wife, in IL and IA. The 1890 census is unavailable. James & Elizabeth cannot be found by us in the 1900 census, nor their children (searching in IL, IA, KS, OK, PA). James died in 1908.
• We follow their son Newton O. Kline through the 1910, 1920, 1930 census, in OK, KS, AZ. Newton was probably caught in the dust bowl depression, and was possibly joining the migration toward California when he arrived in Arizona. His wife Harriet b. IL, (married first about (1896?) to Unknown Martin & with daughter Constance Martin; Harriet lists father b. OH, mother b. IL in both 1910 & 1920. By 1930 however, Newton is living in Arizona with Harriet Garrison, whose data all match that of Harriet Martin Kline, including age, age at first marriage, places of parents' birth, etc.. Harriet Garrison, marked as a widow, lists occupation as housekeeper for private family. We speculate that possibly the census taker miss-marked Harriet as a widow; her entry is followed by another widow, Emma Sabin age 72 & b. IL (Harriet's mother?). Harriet's daughter Constance Martin is still living with them, as are Meryl & June Kline, apparently children of Harriet and Newton Kline. A family of Agees is listed as "boarders", as are most of the others in the household including the Kline children. The Agees may therefore be family also, the mother perhaps a sister of Newton, or the mother or father perhaps a sibling of Harriet.
  What is fascinating is that Harriet is marked as a widow & is not marked as wife of Newton. One scenario would be that they divorced, she remarried, was widowed, and returned to Newton to manage this household of expanded family, no doubt struggling to survive the depression. On the other hand, it may simply be a case of a lazy census taker who gave up on delineating the confusing family relationships and marked all as boarders.

• Grandchildren:^[8]
  The children of Susan Kline & Frank Holt were:
  1) Olin Holt
  2) Mildred Holt, married Gilbert Carrico
  3) Bessie Elizabeth Holt
  4) Lola Holt
  5) Charlena Holtv6)Virgil Holt
  7)Susan Holt
  The children of Mae Violet Kline and Unknown Heffard, were:
  1) Wilma Heffard
  2) Nola Heffard.
• Geographic locations: Sumner County KS shares a border with Grant Co., OK ; Garfield Co. OK lies immediately south of Grant Co., OK. Milan, Kansas (37°15′25″N, 97°40′29″W) sits approximately at the crossroads of U.S. Rt.160 & state Rt.49. Driving south on Rt. 49, (which changes to U. S. Rt.81 at the OK border), one finds Enid, OK (36°24′2″N, 97°52′51″W ) located about 45 miles south of Milan,KS, at the intersection of U.S. Rt. 81 and U.S. Rt. 412.
  Interstate I- 35 intersects these three counties, north to south, and lies east of and parallel to the U.S. routes 49 (KS) and 81 (OK).
  In the year 2000, Enid, Garfield Co., OK had a population of about 47 thousand. Milan,Sumner Co., KS on the other hand, had a population in year 2000 of 137 persons. This information is from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) and from Mapquest(http://www.mapquest.com/). See also Rand McNally Road Atlas, or similar roadmaps.

Conjecture

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