Revision as of 19:35, 6 September 2006

Winnifred May Kline and James Elgie Beals

The Kline/Klein family is of German heritage. It is believed that the family originated in Essenheim, in the Palatinate southwest of Mainz, leaving on the ship “Phoenix” on 20 Oct. 1744. The family settled into a German community that included many other Klein families, in an area of Northampton County, Pennsylvania. This area later became Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County.

The great-grandparents of Winnifred Kline moved west to Clarion County in 1837, settling in Ashland Township. The family had for generations spoken German and attended churches, mostly Lutheran, where German was the language of the records and the gravestones. The spoken language of the community became a mixture of German and English. The last immigrant of the famiy, Winnie’s maternal grandparents Anna Catherine Kuhnemuth and Johannes Frederick, arrived in 1852, and they also settled in Clarion County. They brought a new infusion of German culture and reliance on the German language. The Klein name spelling was changed to Kline in the mid-eighteen hundreds. In the era of the World Wars, some families changed it further to Cline.

(click here to read the full biography of Winnifred May Kline)

Immediate family in my direct ancestry

 Generation 2         Generation 3            Generation 4
 
                  +-- James Elgie Beals
                  |   (1889-1982)
 Ella May Beals --+                         +-- John Abram Kline
 (1917- )         |                         |   (1857-1915)
                  +-- Winnifred May Kline --+
                      (1888-1966)           |
                                            +-- Elizabeth Anna Frederick
                                                (1865-1921)

Sources: ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Children

(all children with James Elgie Beals)

Places of Residence

Photo Gallery

A portrait of the John Abram Kline family

A portrait of Winnifred May Kline

A portrait of Beulah Gladys Kline and Winnifred May Kline

Birthday party for James Francis Beals

Mary Fillgrove, Frederick Edwin Kline, and Winnifred May Kline

A portrait of Winnifred May Kline and James Elgie Beals

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	1900 United States Federal Census, Richland Township, Venango County, PA, Ennumeration District 162, Page 9, lines 22-27 lists John Kline, 43, married to Ella Kline, 35. They live with four children: daughter Annie Kline, 14; daughter Winnie Kline, 12; daughter Gladys Kline, 9; and son Frederick Kline, 2. John and Ella Kline are listed as having been married for 15 years. Ella Kline has given birth to four children, all of whom are still living. Everyone was born in PA along with John Kline's parents. Ella Kline's parents were born in Germany. John Kline is listed as a farmer. Everyone can read, write, and speak English. Annie Kline, Winnie Kline, and Gladys Kline attended school within the census year. This census is dated 20 Jun 1900.
2	1910 United States Federal Census, Richland Township, Venango County, PA, Ennumeration District 141, Page 9, lines 43-48 lists John A. Kline, 53, married to Ella Kline, 45. They live with four children: daughter Winni Kline, 22; daughter Gladys Kline, 19; son Frederick Kline, 12; and daughter Mary Kline, 6. John and Ella Kline are listed as having been married for 25 years. Ella Kline has given birth to five children, all of whom are still living. Everyone and their parents were born in PA. John A. Kline is listed as a farmer and Frederick Kline is listed as a laborer, both of whom work on the family farm. Everyone can read, write, and speak English. Frederick Kline and Mary Kline attended school within the census year. This census is dated 30 Apr 1910 - 2 May 1910.
3	1920 United States Federal Census, Richland Township, Venango County, PA, Ennumeration District 139, Supervisor's District 17, Page 7, lines 16-19 lists Elgie Beals, 30, married to Winnie Beals, 31, and their two children: son Loy Beals, 8, and daughter Ella Beals, 2 years and 4 months. Elgie Beals is listed as being born in PA and able to read, write, and speak English. His occupation is listed as "Farmer General Farm." This census is dated 13 Feb 1920.
4	1930 United States Federal Census, Richland Township, Venango County, PA, Ennumeration District 61-40, Supervisor's District 2, Page 6, lines 9-14 lists James E. Beals, 40, married to Winnifred M. Beals, 42, and their four children: son James L. Beals, 18; daughter Ella M. Beals, 12; daughter Bertha I. Beals, 7; and son Robert E. Beals, 3 years and (illegible) months. The family is listed as living on a farm. At the time of their marriage, James E. Beals was 21 and Winnifred M. Beals was 22. James L. Beals, Ella M. Beals, and Bertha I. Beals attended school within the census year. Everyone but Robert E. Beals can read and write, everyone can speak English. Everyone and their parents were born in PA. James E. Beals' occupation is listed as "Farmer." This census page is dated April 15th, 1930.
5	Obituary from the Oil City Derrick, for Winnifred May Beals, who died on 4 May 1966 at the Franklin Hospital, Clarion County, PA. Her husband was Elgie Beals and they lived in Emlenton. She was born on 10 Mar 1888, at Emlenton RD 1, to parents John Kline and Ella Frederick Kline. She was married to Elgie Beals on 12 Oct 1910. She was survived by all four children; Ella Wilson, Loy Beals, Bertha Chambers, and Robert Beals. She was also survived by her brother, Frederick Kline, and her sister, Mary Fillgrove. Her other sisters, Anna Sheffer and Gladys Sheffer, preceeded her in death. She will be buried in the Old Zion Church Cemetery.
6	Obituary for J. Elgie Beals. Indicates that he died at the age of 92, having been born on 24 Apr 1889 in Richland Township, Venango County, PA. He died at the home of his daughter, Bertha Chambers, in Kossuth, PA, where he had been living for some time. His parents were James F. Beals and Olive Bower Beals. He married Winnifred Kline on 12 Oct 1910. Winnifred Kline died on May 4, 1966. At the time of his death, he had two surviving daughters, Ella Wilson and Bertha Chambers, and one son, Robert Beals. His other son, Loy Beals, died in 1978. J. Elgie Beals will be buried at the Old Zion church.
7	Gravestone at Zion Union Cemetery, Richland Township, Venango County, PA. Reads: "BEALS J. Elgie (1889-1982) Winnifred M. (1888-1966)"
8	Marriage Certificate indicating that James E. Beals and Winifred M. Kline were married on 12 Oct 1910 at the home of the bride in Venango County, PA.
9	Marriage document certifying that James E. Beals and Winifred M. Kline, both of Emlenton, PA, were married on 12 Oct 1910.
10	Wedding Annoucement for Ella May Beals and John Thomas Wilson	private
11	Obituary for Robert Elgie Beals
12	Birth Certificate for Ella May Beals	private
13	School Certificate for Winnifred May Kline
14	Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams, granddaughter of Winnifred May Kline.	N/A

Conjecture

There is some confusion as to the spelling of Winnifred May Kline's first name. Several reputable sources list it as "Winnifred" while others list it as "Winifred." No definitive source seems to be available, and it is possible that the "actual" spelling of her name was never really constant. For the purposes of this family tree, I am using the spelling used most frequently in the source documents, "Winnifred."

Research Wishlist

• Determine the date of sale of the John Abram Kline farm to James Elgie Beals.