Vaclav Klaisner
1872-1952
Our paternal grandfather was Vaclav Klaisner. He was born in the village of Ježovy, Bohemia, about 75 miles southwest of Prague in the modern day Czech Republic, on 20 May 1872, as the 3rd child and 2nd son of Václav Kleisner (the Czech spelling) and Magdalena Koptík. He emigrated to Chicago in 1891 and married Julia Hoffman, also a Bohemian immigrant, on 19 Aug 1896 in Howard County, Iowa. They moved west to Billings, Montana, and had five sons and a daughter between 1897 and 1910. The couple divorced in 1911. Vaclav was committed to Stockton State Hospital in the 1920s and spent the rest of his days there until his death on 19 Aug 1952.
Vaclav Comes to America
Vaclav and his older brother Joseph were the only two of the ten children of Václav Kleisner and Magdalena Koptík to emigrate to the United States. Our grandfather Vaclav came to America on the ship Scandia which sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to Baltimore, Maryland in Aug 1891. The ship's passenger list below, shows him listed (pointed to by the arrow) as "Vacl" Kleisner, age 19, from Ježov (Ježovy), occupation Maurer (mason).
Ancestry.com. Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934, 1890-1900 Direkt Band 075 (1 Aug 1891 - 30 Sep 1891),
image 99 of 412 : accessed 11 Sep 2024.
1896: Vaclav Marries Julia Hoffman
Vaclav Klaisner moved to the Midwest and married Julia Hoffman on 19 Aug 1896 in Cresco, Howard County, Iowa, as shown in the marriage record below along with a transcription.
Ancestry.com. Iowa, U.S. Marriage Records, 1880-1949, 1896 > 383 (Dallas - Ida)
image 307 of 329 : accessed 2 Nov 2025.
License No. 1753, Date Aug 19, 1896, Affidavit by John Hoffman
James Klaisner
Residence: New Oregon Twp [about six miles south of Cresco]
Occupation: Stone Mason
Age: 23, Color: White, Race: X [blank], 1st marriage
Birthplace: Bohemia, Groom’s father’s name: not given, Groom’s mother’s name: Maggie Roptit [Koptík]
Julia Hoffman
Residence: Howard County, Iowa
Bride’s maiden name if a widow: X [blank]
Age: 19, Color: White, Race: X [blank], 1st marriage
Birthplace: Chicago, Bride’s father’s name: Joseph Hoffman, Bride’s mother’s name: Mary Koler [Kolar]
Marriage
Location: Cresco, Howard County, Iowa
Dates: married Aug 19, return Aug 27, registered Sep 9
Witnesses: John Hoffman, Josie Hoffman
Officiant: W. Woodward, J.P.
1900: Vaclav’s Family in Chicago
The 1900 Federal Census shows Vaclav (listed with his Americanized name of James) and his wife Julia along with their two oldest children Glenn and James. Transcribed information is listed below.
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, Illinois > Cook > Chicago Ward 30 > District 923,
image 41 of 58 : accessed 2 Nov 2025.
Enumerated: 13 June 1900, address: 4838 Honore St
James Klaisner - head, b. May 1872, age 28, married 4 years, born Bohemia, parents born Bohemia, immigrated 1891, 9 years in US, alien, occupation day labor, 3 months not employed, can read & write & speak English, rents home
Julia - wife, b. Feb 1877, age 23, married 4 years, born Illinois, parents born Bohemia, can read & write & speak English
Glennie - daughter [son], b. 1897, age 3, born Illinois, parents born Bohemia
James - son, b. 1900, age 1/12, born Illinois, parents born Bohemia
Vaclav Klaisner Becomes a Naturalized U.S. Citizen
1908 Naturalization Declaration and 1913 Oath
On March 24, 1908 in Chicago, Vaclav Klaisner declared his intention to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, as shown in the petition below. Note that he changed the spelling of his surname from Kleisner to Klaisner. The declaration also contains a physical description of him, as well as his arrival date in Baltimore on 29 Aug 1891. The 2nd page of the document (click on the image to see both pages) shows his Oath of Allegiance, indicating he was awarded US citizenship on 15 Sep 1913 in Ballantine, Yellowstone County, Montana.
Ancestry.com. Montana, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1870-1999, Petition and Record, V. 3, No. 148-246, Sep 1912-Nov 1913, image 603 of 637 : accessed 2 Nov 2025.
1913: Certificate of Naturalization
Vaclav’s application was eventually approved and he became a naturalized citizen on 15 Sep 1913, when he and his family were living in Ballentine, Montana. We are fortunate to have the original certificate in the family, shown below.
Family copy.
1919: Land Patent in Montana
Vaclav acquired 40 acres of land near Billings, Montana from the Bureau of Land Management on October 15, 1919.
The land was located to the northeast of Billings, as seen in the following maps. The darkest orange square in the lower left was Vaclav's property.
"Search Documents by Type: Patents,” database with images, General Land Office Records (https://glorecords.blm.gov: accessed 11 September 2024), Vaclav Klaisner (Yellowstone County, Montana), Accession no. 712965, 10/15/1919.
Photographs of Vaclav Klaisner
In the Arizona desert in 1923
About 1925 in California
With his daughter Molly
With Molly and his brother Glenn’s wife Ann
1925-1952: Stockton State Hospital
Vaclav was a resident of the Stockton State Hospital in California from 1925 until his death in 1952. My father signed the admitting papers and said it was a very difficult time.
Ancestry.com, 1950 U.S. Federal Census > California > San Joaquin > O’Neal > 39-59,
image 48 of 126 : accessed 3 Apr 2025.
1921: A Close Call
From this newspaper account, we learn that Vaclav was found wandering in an Arizona desert in 1921.
"Former C. R. Man Chased by Coyotes," Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 29 Apr 1921, p. 15; digital images, NewspaperArchive.com (http://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 13 Dec 2017).
Death in 1952
Gravestone
There is a gravestone for Vaclav in Mountview Cemetery in Billings, Montana, though his remains were buried on the State Hospital grounds in California.
Find-A-Grave, Memorial #125461189 , https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125461189/vaclav-james-klaisner : accessed 10 Dec 2024.
Death Certificate
This is a copy of Václav’s death certificate that our father obtained in 1971.
Family copy