Compiled by Teresa
Martin Klaiber 2023
Marguretta
“Dutch Granny” Maurer Klaiber and great grand daughter Sophia Francis Crum
*1892-1894.
I so admire women with strength and independence. We often think social graces of our ancestors left women obscure, meekly working behind the scene of home life, but I don’t believe Marguretta was one of them. I mentioned her bravery in a blog post in September 2014. Her family calls her “Dutch Granny,” which is, Kentucky brogue, for Deutch (the word for the German language).
Marguretta was born 20 December 1798 in Wurttemburg, Germany, the daughter of Johann Andreas Muarer and wife Anna Christina Glunz Maurer. The Maurer’s, and the Klaiber’s were residents of Tuttlingen. When Marguretta was eleven she was confirmed in the church in Tuttlingen where she would later be married.
Marguretta married Matthias Klaiber 28 June
1828 in the “Evangelische Kirche Hausen ob Verna,” Tuttlingen.
At this writing I know of five children born to Marguretta and Matthias. Their first child, named Matthias was born 2
April 1830 in Tuttlingen and only lived until 1 July 1830. Our ancestor, John Andrew Klaiber, was born
the following year 20 October 1831.Two daughters by the name of Anna did not
live to adulthood. Her last daughter,
also named Anna was born 17 July 1839, when Marguretta was forty-one years old.
Matthias Klaiber died 19 August 1845, when
Marguretta was forty-six. John Andrew
was fourteen and Anna Christina Klaiber only six. As John Andrew reached his majority we assume
he apprenticed for his trade as bootmaker.
Nine years later John Andrew Klaiber travelled to Le Havre, France where
he boarded the Brother Jonathan[i]
for America.
Daughter, Anna Christina Klaiber married 17
May 1863 Johann Martin Haller in the Evangelical Church in Hausen ob Verena. While we have some ephemera,
this branch of the family has no letters written to or from Germany after John
Andrew came to America. But it is safe
to assume that they were in contact. At
the age of seventy-two Marguretta Maurer Klaiber travelled from Hausen ob
Verena to Hamburg to set sail on 29 June 1870 for America.
She boarded the ship Silesia under Captain Trautman, part of the Hampburg- American
Packet line. She put foot on dry land in
New York 13 July 1870. (The Silesia
was built in 1869 and travelled the route from Hamburg to Le Havre and on to
New York. In 1875 she was refitted with
an engine and began sailing from Hamburg to the West Indies, as well as
bringing passengers to the U.S. She is said to have run aground near the island
of Lobos near Uruguay in December 1899 and was scrapped.)
On her trip aboard the Silesia, Marguretta carried a bundle of clothing in white linen
sheets. Once she settled in John Andrew
Klaiber’s home, in Boyd County, Kentucky, she busied herself cutting and sewing
white suits and dresses for relatives.
Marguretta lived until she was ninety-seven
years old. She died 14 September 1896
and is buried in Klaiber Cemetery.
[i]
Interesting sidebar. The Brother
Jonathan arrived in NY in June 1954. In
Dec. 1854 the Brother Jonathan was smashed against the rocks of Ireland. The Charleston Daily Courier 20 Dec 1854
has Capt. Joseph Tucker’s letter
concerning the loss.
