My last post wrapped up my fill-in-the-gaps project through my maternal 3x great-grandparents. Before I begin on my 4x great-grandparents, I thought I’d take a little break–and give you a little break.
Switching over to my paternal grandmother and her family of origin who lived in Elmhurst, Illinois. Grandma’s parents, Frank and Margarethe (Wendel) Klein, had a lovely farmhouse that is still standing today.
Here it is more recently:
The farmhouse was complete with barn, cow, chickens–even a fish pond and gazebo. I know that once my father (who was very very young) threw a Roman candle in through the upper window of the barn. I can’t remember who told me, but it was either my father or his twin brother Frank. Since I highly doubt my father would tell on himself, I suspect Uncle Frank told me. In the following photos you can probably see the window where the Roman candle went in!
In these photos are my grandmother, Marie, and her mother Margarethe, along with their cow. In one of the photos, my great-grandfather Frank is turned from the camera. That is nothing new. With all the family action shots in existence, there isn’t one clear image of Frank’s face. You would almost think he was hiding from someone or something. Maybe he was. Who knows.
My great-grandmother looks like such a fun person. It’s a shame she died while my father and his siblings were still so young. Here is another photo of Margarethe, my great-grandmother (Grandma’s mom), colorized by my new genealogy research treasure, 2nd cousin Bill Stade.
The Family Kalamazoo 