Kleopfer History

On this page I will publish various reports that have been prepared by other family members on Jacob and Maria Schambach Kleopfer (Family #1).  I have attempted to transcribe the items as received.  

The following was prepared by Jacob's granddaughter, Mary Margaret Kleopfer Tevis and her daughter, Betty Goodpaste. Thanks to Nancy Tevis Cook for providing the document to me.

A Brief History of Jacob and Maria Schambach Kloepfer and their Descendants

JACOB and MARIA

Jacob Kloepfer (1824-1896) came to America at the age of 18, from Bavaria, Germany. He came with five of his brothers. He may have gone directly to St. Louis.

Maria Schambach (1828-1922) came to Indiana with Uncle and Aunt Cash. She left Germany with them when she was 14 years old.

Maria and Jacob traveled on the same sailing ship but did not previously know each other. At that time, passengers furnished enough food to last during the long passage. Maria came to Madison and Kent with the Cash family. She later worked in Madison.

They were married in St. Louis, lived there awhile, then moved to Iowa, where they farmed. They spent eight years in California.

During the gold rush, they went west with a caravan of eighteen wagons to California by way of the Oregon Trail*. Jacob and Maria used horses for the trip, while the others drove oxen. They led cows behind the wagons, kept chickens underneath to be eaten along the way. They found that the Platte River had flooded, so they camped along the water until it was safe to ford. Several babies were born on the trip west. One person died and was buried on the trail. Maria said that it wasn’t easy with Sophia, Mary, Elizabeth (Lizzie), and George, and that they were certainly happy to reach California. (Handwritten Note: Incorrect, only George went with them on the trail.)

They lived in or near Sacramento, where he may have worked in the mines, and she ran a boarding house. They did buy ground there. They lived in California about eight years, before planning a move to Indiana. Jacob said it was too immoral a place to raise children.

Maria had said that the trip west was a dreadful hardship and that she would never cross the country by wagon again. This may have been the reason that they came by ship around the Cape of Cod Horn. Cape Horn lies at the southern tip of South America, and is so stormy that sailors have dreaded "rounding the Horn." Maria may have wished for her wagon because they were caught in a rough storm and nearly lost their lives. They traveled the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and bought a farm near Kent soon after they arrived.

They were charter members of the Zoar Church (Then a German Church). There were a number of German families who settled in the area. Some who settled in the Madison area ran stores. Some of the families who stayed and prospered were Cashes, Kupplers, Faths (now spelled with V), Sponsels, and Shummans.

Jacob died on their farm. Maria lived there with son George until she was unable to cook and keep house. She was remembered by her grandchildren as having a fit of temper in the kitchen, occasionally tossing pots and pans around with a few choice German words thrown in for good measure. She mad a delicious coffee cake known as a "kuakua." Maria was said to have had a hot toddy everyday. She was afraid of mice and would jump on a chair if one crossed her path. (This is the same Maria who survived the hardships of a long and dangerous trip by covered wagon!) She spent time with each of their children in the late years of her life. George bought a farm in the area after the family home was sold.

Possible Timetable: Based partially on 1870 Census

1846 Married in St. Louis

1846-1850 Living in St. Louis and Iowa

1851-1859 Living in California (probably departed in June, 1859 when son Jacob was six to eight weeks old)

1859 Living in Indiana

From 1870 Census

Kleopper, Jacob 45 Farmer Baier pfb.*

Mary 42 Keeps house Darmstedt "

George 19 Farm laborer Indiana "

Sophia 17 California "

Mary 14 California "

Lizzie 11 California "

Jacob 10 California "

Phillip 9 Indiana "

Louis 7 Indiana "

William 4 Indiana "

Charlie 1 Indiana "

Republican Township, page 9

Note spelling of Kloepfer, and that George was listed as being born in Indiana.

Also: According to information discovered in a published book, Maria amd Jacob returned to Indiana for a period of time where George was born.

* See page 4. Page 4 was a map of the Oregon Trail.

George: 1850-1921 Bachelor (was slightly crippled) Buried Zoar

Sophrania (Sophia): 1853- Married Bob Eppley
Children: Elizabeth (Ida), Ella, Jake, Joe, Ann

Mary: 1855-1939 Married George Trinkle Buried Zoar
Children: Lewis

Lizzie: 1859- Married Lincoln Clever
No children

Jacob: 1859-1943 Married Mary Alice Robinson Buried Kent
Children: Charles, Twins Byron and Barton, Harry, Stanley, Jacob, Esther, and Margarot

Phillip: 1861- Married Ida Suter* Buried Deputy
Children: Lelah, Ralph

Louis: 1863- Married Emma Sieving Buried Swanville
Children: Arch, George, Agnes, Freida, Howard, Elmer, Margaret (Anna)

William (Will): 1866-1950 Married Ella Suter* Buried Zoar
Children: Herman, Gale, Willard, Lawrence

Charles: 1869- Married Mary Litson Buried Florida
Children: Russell

Margaret: (born after 1870 census) Married Charles Schulte Buried Cincinnati
Children: Helen, Alice, George

* Ida and Ella Suter were sisters

Possible Cash Connection

Aunt Mary Cash: Lived in Kent
Son: Jesse
Erma Jones’ Mother was a Cash
Was Aunt Cash a Schaumbach?

Phillip Cash: Father of Kate Cash
Kate married David Thompson
Children: Bean, Ethel, Charlie, Bill

Phillip Cash: Father of S. Peter & S. Rastus
Had grandson also named Phillip Cash.

This article also included a three page biography on Jacob L. Kloepfer (1859-1943) and Mary Alice Robinson Kloepfer (1861-1951)

A 16 page booklet was prepared by the great grandson of Jacob and Maria, Jacob Kloepfer and his daughter Natlie. It included pictures of Jacob and Maria on the front page.

Jacob and Maria came to America from Germany. Jacob from Bavaria, arrived in America in 1842 and Maria, from Darmstadt, arrived in 1840. They were married in St. Louis in 1846. They then moved from St. Louis to Iowa. Their next move, probably in 1852, was from Iowa to California by wagon train. George, their son, was one year old at this time.

In 1852 Jacob and Maria with their son, George, settled near Sacramento, California. It is believed that Jacob worked in the gold mines while his wife, Maria, operated a boarding house for other gold miners. It is also believed that the boarding house operation soon proved to be a profitable venture in addition to whatever the prospecting for gold provided.

Jacob and Maria lived in California for eight years and four more children were born during this time. In 1860, for some reason, they decided to leave California. It is believed by some that Maria did not approve of the "life style" or the quality of life of those people involved in the "Gold Rush".

They left California by boat sailing around the tip of South America and probably arrived at New Orleans. They then most likely came up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and settled in Republican Township, Jefferson County, Indiana.

One fact is certain. Jacob Kleopfer paid cash, ($1,700), in 1860 for a 160-acre farm near Kent. Their personal property was valued at $400 at this time.

During the Civil War, Jacob served one year in the Union Army. On the following two pages are copies of his Civil War discharge and a list of names (including Jacob’s) of his Union Army regiment.

In addition, the booklet included obituaries for Jacob and Maria and their children, along with short biographical sketches some of which are included at this site.

The following notes were transcribed from a hand-written note made by Mary Margaret Kloepfer Tevis (1969?) and provided by her daughter, Nancy Tevis Cook. An attached note from Nancy stated: "The originals are precious to me in mother’s hand writing. She was always so interested in the history. She always told us that Jacob came over from Germany with 5 brothers and that he named his sons for his brothers.

Kloepfer or Kleopfer

Grandfather Jacob Kleopfer 6/1824 in Germany died 2/23/1896

Grandmother Mary Schamback born Germany 1928 died 1922

Children:

Sophrania (Sofa) married Bob Epply

George never married

Elizabeth (Lizzie) married Lincoln Clever

Mary married George Trinkle

Jacob L. married Mary Alice Robinson

Lewis married Emma Sieving

Phillip married Ida Suter

Charles married Mary Litson

William married Ella Suter

Margaret married Chas Schulte

Parents went to California, around Sacramento during the gold rush. Made the trip in a covered wagon over the Oregon Trail – never worked in the gold mines, had a rooming house must have made a lot of money. They came to Indiana when Dad (Jacob) was six weeks old, came around Cape Horn and up the Mississippi and Ohio River, bought a farm near Kent raised their family and resided there until both died (1969 Hubert Kuppler lives there). Granddad thought California was to immoral a place to raise a family.

Maria Schambach married Jacob Kloepfer

Children:

Sofa m B. Epply 6 chil. ? b 1848

George unmarried 1850-1921

Lizzie m Lincoln Clever no ch 1853- ?

Mary m Geo. Trinkle 2 children 1855-1939

Jacob m Mary Robinson 8 children 1959-

Lewis m Emma Sieving

Phillip m Ida Sutter 2 ch.

Wm m Ella Sutter 4 ch. 1866-1950

Charlie m Mary Litson 1 ch.

Margaret m Chas Schulte 3 ch.

They came from Baveria Germany, probably on different ships, he landed in St. Louis, she (we think) came to Madison or Kent with or lived with Aunt Cash, later worked in Madison, not sure how and when she went to St. Louis by they were married there and later went to Iowa, lived there a while before going to California, they joined a caravan arriving in Sacramento where he worked and she had a boarding house, he may have worked in the Gold mines, later he decided it wasn’t any place to raise children so when Jacob was six weeks old they sailed back East by ship via Cape Horn, came up the Mississippi to the Ohio, probably… (this all that I have)

The following was also from Nancy Tevis Cook: "I found a piece of paper after Mother had died - in her hand writing for sure."  

Jake K. (dad)
born Calif. during Gold Rush  - Grass Valley, Calif.
b 4-22-1859
d 1943

Mary Alice Robinson
9-24-1861
Versailles