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Maria Klaers: the First Generation
FAMILY OF MARIA KLAERS
Family of Maria Klaers and Michel Freichels
1. Maria Klaers was born on Aug. 9, 1824 in Burg Reuland, Belgium. She
was the daughter of Johann Klaers and Anna Barbara Arens. Her full name
at birth may have been Anna Maria, the name which appears on her Min-
nesota tombstone. Maria married Michel Freichels on Dec. 13, 1853 in
Burg Reuland. Michel was born on Sept. 12, 1831 in Stoubach, Belgium, a
town located just a few miles southeast of Burg Reuland. He was the son
of Johann Freichels and Susanna Fackard. Michel probably died before his
wife and children left for the United States in the spring of 1883.22 Maria
and her four surviving children, along with a dozen other members of her
extended family, arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania aboard the S.S. Zee-
land on May 16, 1883. She made her way to Minnesota, perhaps joining her
brother Joseph at his farm in Independence Township. Other than her
tombstone, no records survive documenting her whereabouts during the
brief six months between her arrival in the United States and her death at
the end of 1883. She died on Dec. 9, 1883 and was buried at SS. Peter and
Paul Cemetery in Loretto, Hennepin County.
Children of Maria Klaers and Michel Freichels:
m i. JOHANN FREICHELS, known as John in the United States,
was born in Burg Reuland, Belgium on Sept. 8, 1854. He
left Burg Reuland for Minnesota in 1883 with his mother
and siblings. Johann, who was unable to hear, never
22 For more information about the 1883 passage, including copies of the ship’s passenger
manifest, see From Germany to Minnesota, second edition, pages 64-67.
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married. The 1900 census shows that the four Freichels
siblings lived on three different farms in Lone Tree, Min-
nesota, about ninety miles west of the Klaers’ farms in
Independence, Minnesota (see page 161). Johann’s un-
married younger sister Margarette shared his home,
presumably taking care of the house and doing the usual
chores of a farm wife. His recently married younger
brother Lorenz lived on another nearby farm with his wife
and first two children. Johann’s youngest sister Maria also
farmed in Lone Tree, where she lived with her husband
Leonard Miller and nine children.
By the time of the 1905 State of Minnesota census,
Johann and Margarette were back near their Klaers rela-
tives in Medina, living on a farm which was also home to
younger brother Lorenz’ in-laws: Lorenz’ widowed father-
in-law, Geert Ameln, and sister-in-law Lena Ameln, who
had arrived in the United States in 1903. Five years later,
Johann was living with the family of his younger brother
Lorenz, who had moved to a farm in Medina.
Johann’s deafness ultimately cost him his life when he
was run over by a train he would never have heard com-
ing. He died in Medina, Minnesota on March 2, 1911 and
was buried at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Loretto on
March 6, 1911.
f ii. MARGARETTE FREICHELS, also known as Gretchen, was
born in Burg Reuland on Nov. 8, 1856. She left Burg Reu-
land for Minnesota in 1883 with her mother and siblings.
She lived with her brothers until at least 1910. Unfortu-
nately, we have been unable to locate any records of her
between the 1910 census and her death more than twenty
years later. She does not appear in the households of her
siblings in either the 1920 or 1930 census listings.
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Margarette died in Medina on Nov. 5, 1932 and was bur-
ied at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Loretto.
+ 2 m iii. LORENZ FREICHELS was born in Burg Reuland on Aug.
22, 1858.
m iv. NICOLAS FREICHELS was born in Burg Reuland on June
7, 1860. He died in Burg Reuland on June 20, 1863.
+ 3 f v. MARIA FREICHELS was born in Burg Reuland on May 5,
1862.
Records of Nicolas Freichels June 7, 1860 birth (left ) and his June 20, 1863 death (right) at
the age of three, as recorded in the civil register of Burg Reuland. The record on the left has been
computer enhanced to reduce the shadows and blurring of this microfilmed record.
T H E D E S C E N D A N T S O F J O S E P H K L A E R S ’ S I B L I N G S
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Record of Maria Klaers Aug. 9, 1824 birth (civil register of Burg Reuland)
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Record of the marriage between Maria Klaers and Michel Freichels on Aug. 9, 1824 (civil regis-
ter of Burg Reuland)
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Record of the birth of Maria’s oldest son, Johann, on Sept. 20, 1854 (civil register of Burg
Reuland)