Joseph Klaisner
1870-?
Joseph’s Story
There is a fascinating family story / mystery about our paternal grandfather Vaclav's older brother Joseph, who also emigrated to America. When Laurel visited my cousin Joseph Beran in Jezovy in 2014, he told her the following...
”Joseph's younger brother Petr Kleisner had fought in a battle in northern Russia during World War I. After the battle, he was unable to go directly back home, but instead traveled across the Bering Strait, into Canada and then to the United States where he visited my grandfather Vaclav in Chicago. During his visit Petr and Vaclav went to the grave of their brother Joseph. Petr then boarded a ship on the east coast of the United States and returned home.”
We have yet to verify this story with records or any of our relatives
Joseph’s Family
The genealogical chart below shows how Joseph fits into the family tree. He was the second oldest child of Vaclav Kleisner and Magdalena Koptik and their first son, two years older than my grandfather Vaclav.
Joseph was born in Ježovy in 1870 and emigrated to the United States in the 1880s, settling in Chicago, Illinois. We know he married Eleanora Pletka in 1895 and that they had a son Joseph in 1896, who tragically died in 1899. We do not have any record of Joseph and Eleanora after that.
1870 Baptism
The local parish register indicates that Josef was born on 6 October 1870 in Ježovy to Václav Kleisner and Magdalena Koptík.
Records for Josef Kleisner in Bohemia
We have found the following baptismal and passenger records for Josef Kleisner in Bohemia
Portafontium. http://www.portafontium.eu/iipimage/30070326/vreskovice-18, Roman Catholic Register Vřeskovice 18 (1829-1904), image 73 of 275 : downloaded 9 Dec 2016.
1886 Hamburg Passenger List
On an outgoing passenger list from Hamburg, Germany, Josef was listed as age 16 from Ježovy traveling to New York on the Rugia, occupation of baker.
Ancestry.com. Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 > 1880-1889 > Direkt Band 057 (1 Jul 1886 - 31 Dez 1886) > image 303 of 434 : downloaded 4 Nov 2024.
Records for Joseph Klaisner in Chicago
We have found the following records for Joseph in Chicago, Illinois. His Czech name of Josef Kleisner had been “Americanized” to Joseph Klaisner.
1893-95 City Directories
The first traces of Joseph Klaisner in Chicago are listings for residences for him as a young man in his 20s in three Chicago City Directories from 1893 to 1895. The addresses were less than a mile from each other and were in close proximity to the Saints Cyril & Methodius Parish that Joseph most likely attended. A map of these directory listings is shown below.
1895 Marriage
Josef was married Eleanora “Seliska” (Eliska) Pletka on 6 Oct 1895 by Father Tomas J. Bobal of the Saints Cyril & Methodius Parish in Chicago. Images of the parish register (written in Latin) and the marriage license are below.
FamilySearch. Illinois, Chicago, Catholic Church Records, 1833-1925 > Ss Cyril & Methodius Parish (Chicago: Hermitage) > Marriages 1892-1907 > image 19 of 114: downloaded 4 Oct 2024.
FamilySearch. Illinois, Chicago, Catholic Church Records, 1833-1925 > Ss Cyril & Methodius Parish (Chicago: Hermitage) > Baptisms 1891-1997 > image 183 of 219: downloaded 4 Oct 2024.
Courtesy of Dolores Benes Duy, who obtained it from Wilmette Family History Center (LDS) on 11 Jul 2017.
1896-99 Joseph Klaisner Jr.
On 12 Jul 1896, Joseph and Eleanora had a son named Joseph, who was baptized by Father Bobal two weeks later. Tragically, Joseph Jr. died less than three years later. Of note is the address on the death certificate of 4852 Cook St in Ward 30. This is the same address as James and Anna Pletka, who are Eleanora’s parents, in the 1900 Federal Census. Does this mean that Joseph Jr. was orphaned, or that he simply died at his grandparents’ residence?
The death certificate notes that Joseph Jr. was buried on 3 Jul 1899 in the “Old” Bohemian Cemetery, which is today known as St. Adalbert’s Cemetery in Niles. Dolores Duy suggested that he was buried in a “term” or “pauper” grave, and thus there is no stone to mark him.
Baptism on 26 Jul 1896
Death on 2 Jul 1899
Courtesy of Dolores Benes Duy, who obtained it from Wilmette Family History Center (LDS) on 11 Jul 2017.
What Happened to Joseph and Eleanora Klaisner?
We still have yet to discover any trace of Joseph Klaisner or his wife Eleanora in records from 1900 or after. Two theories are:
Joseph's surname is grossly misspelled in the 1900 census in Chicago.
Joseph and his wife died sometime before their child died, leaving young Jozef to be raised by Eleonora’s parents.
In either case, there should be death and/or burial records for them that have yet to be found. And what of Joseph Beran’s story? The mysteries remain!