George and Otto Kleager

George Jacob Kleager, was the 6th child of Joseph and Lesetta Kleager, born in 1894.

Next came my grandfather Frank August Kleager, born in 1896.

The youngest and 8th child was Otto Joseph Kleager, born in 1898.

George and Otto were the two bothers that ended up staying in the Franklin County, Missouri area.

George married Lena Bertha Ruwwe and Otto married Matilda "Tillie" Theresa Ruwwe.  Lena and Tillie were first cousins.

Otto Kleager as a teenager. 

George Kleager.

                Written on side by Sophie Drewel Kleager: "Your Uncle George Kleager, 2 1/2 years younger than your dad".

Edward Louis Kleager

Edward Kleager was my grandfather's, Frank Kleager's older brother by about 6 years, born in 1888.  He married Jenny Phillips in 1909.  They moved to Nebraska about in about 1919.

Edward and Jenny Kleager, September 1962, with their children.

 Standing: Lawrence, Ruth, Dorothy, Fred, Jenny and Edward

Kneeling: George, Irma, Esther.

Edward Kleager with unknown baby.  I sure see a "Kleager" look there, at least the Kleagers I am familiar with!!

Kleager boys moving from Missouri to Nebraska

I have always been fascinated with the question of why did my grandparents, Frank and Sophie Kleager move from Missouri to Nebraska right after they got married in 1917.

When I have asked my father, Clyde Kleager, he says something to the effect that "Missouri was rocky and hard to farm".  He said his father, Frank, had gone to Nebraska to husk corn and had seen it.

When I recently received some newspaper clippings from the historical society in Washington, Missouri, they perhaps gave some insight into some of Joseph and Lesetta Kleager's sons moving to Nebraska.

Joseph and Lesetta Kleager had 5 sons: Joseph, Edward, George, Frank and Otto.  These old newspapers had "gossip" columns, and these are pretty interesting with regard to maybe the thoughts of the sons on moving to (perceived) "greener pastures":

1915 - “Tribune” Leslie Route 2

“Frank Kleager returned Friday from Walten, Neb., where he had been husking corn.  He says Nebraska is a progressive state.”  Two years before moving, Frank is already eyeing Nebraska.

March 1916 - “Journal”

“Ed L. Kleager of Elmont R.F.D came in Thursday and had us print sale bills announcing a sale of his personal property, the sale will be Tuesday March 28.  Mr. Kleager will leave in a short time for Nebraska.”  Ed is preparing to move to Nebraska.


1917  Frank marries Eleanor "Sophie" Drewel, and they move with her parents, Louis and Minnie Drewel, to Havelock, Nebraska.

Aug 21, 1919 

“George and Otto Kleager will start for Nebraska and Colorado next Monday to find new homes.  A very good rain came last week but an awful wind came with it.  It knocked fences out of place, broke trees down and blew peaches off.”  Frank has moved to Nebraska, now George and Otto are thinking of moving.

1919 - Elmont

“George and Otto Kleager, who went to Nebraska to rent a farm, have returned.  They say all the farms were already disposed of.”  Opps, all the good farms are gone!  George eventually got his own farm in Franklin County, and Otto farmed his father's homestead in Missouri for many years.  

Oct 1919 - “News”

“No mail Monday on account of high water.  Edward Kleager went to Nebraska about a week ago and his wife has a sale Tuesday of this week and will go there.  L. E. Strothcamp started to Nebraska last Friday to shuck corn for a while.  A few have gone to Iowa for the same purpose.”  Ed is finally going to move, 3 years after first declaring he was leaving.  L. E. Strothcamp was related to the Kleagers by marriage.

Nov 1919 -  “News”

“Mrs. Jennie Kleager and children left Tuesday for Roak, Nebr., to join her husband, Edward Kleager, who left a few weeks ago to get everything ready for their home this coming year.”  

Oct 1921 “News” Boone

“Last Monday Joe Kleager went to Nebraska to visit with Edward and Frank Kleager and to see the country.”  Now the oldest brother, Joseph, is going to visit Ed and Frank.

March 1922 - “Journal”

“We printed sale posters this week for J.W. Kleager of near Boone.  He expects to quit farming in Missouri and try Nebraska, he having worked in Nebraska several years some few years ago.  For further notice about his sale see posters.”  Now, 5 years after Frank moved, and at age 44, Joe is going to move.


Of Joseph and Lesetta Kleager's five sons, three moved to Nebraska and died there, and two stayed in the Franklin County, MIssouri area.

Joseph and Lesetta Kleager's Farmhouse

From Otto Kleager's grandson Ron:

"A little info about the house: Otto Kleager and his wife Tillie lived in this house for many years.  My mother and uncle were also born in this house (LaRue and Gervis Kleager).  I spent a lot of time as a young child visiting my grandparents at this house.  It had a tin roof and was heated by two wood fired stoves.  One was a cook stove in the kitchen, the other was a wood stove in the family room.  There were two bedrooms upstairs, each with a feather bed, and one bedroom downstairs.  There is a cellar under the house with two entrances, one from the kitchen and one from outside.  There is also a cistern located behind the house fed by gutters from the roof.  The cistern had a hand crank used to raise water."

He also sent me some other pictures.  Describing that it was heated by two wood stoves may explain this picture of (the back) of the house with an enormous woodpile.  In the top picture is what looks to me like the same dog in the family picture background.  Don't know who the people on or in front of the woodpile are, but that had to take A LOT of work to stockpile that much wood!

"Stitched" Picture

   My nephew, Tyler Kleager, "stitched" the two images of the picture together.  I think he did a pretty good job!  Thank you Tyler.  He is going to work on it more in "photoshop", and I hope to get the two halves of the picture together to take to a photo restorer, but in the meantime:

    Taken about 1897, based on the fact the the child in the high chair was born April 1896.   Ages are estimated from 1897.
    (Father)  Joseph Kleager 47,  Edward Kleager 9,  George Kleager 3,  Joseph William Kleager 19,  (Mother) Lesetta Mincemeyer Kleager 38,  Frank August Kleager 1,  (Uncle) Ed Mincemeyer 30,  Anna Caroline Kleager 16,  Josephine Caroline Kleager  13.

Six of Joseph and Lesetta's eight children are in this picture.  A baby, Dora C. Kleager (born between Josephine and Edward) died in 1887 at age 2, and the youngest, Otto Joseph Kleager was not born until 1898.

The Other Half of the Picture - Joseph and Lusetta Kleager Family

I put the "left" half of this picture in the blog, from my Grandmother Sophie "Eleanor" Kleager Wiese.  I wrote that I would love to see the other half.  My mother wrote to Larue, who is Otto Kleager's daughter.  Larue gave this half of the picture to her son, Ron, who scanned it and e-mailed it to me!  

I love genealogy!

                                                     Taken probably about 1897-1898.

The baby (in the other half of the picture) IS Frank, my grandfather.  My grandmother has written on this part of the picture also, and wrote "Frank your dad" with a line up to the baby in the highchair.

Next is "Uncle Ed Mincemeyer" (about age 32) - Lesetta's brother.  Then Anna Kleager (about 17) and Josephine Kleager (about 14).

Now, if I only knew how to "stitch" the two images into one image!

Frank August Kleager's Son's Pedigree Chart

This is the pedigree chart with my father as #1.  Fathers go "up" on the chart, mothers go "down.