kelm geiser weller dreissen family historyI
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Give me your tired your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these the homeless tempest tost to me
I lift my lamp beside the golden door
A FAMILY HISTORY
KELM 0 GEISER 0 WELLER 0 DRIESSEN
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Dedicated to the children of Mick Doug and Tom in the
hope that this history will enrich their appreciation of the
dreams struggles foibles and triumphs of men and women
who preceded them Perhaps they will encounter themselves
Doug KeIrn
St Paul Minnesota
October 1997
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CONTENTS
In tr od u ctio D 1
Emigrant Background 2
Preparation for the Adventure
4
The Passage to America
5
Arrival in America 7
Our Immigrant Americans
11
Gottfried Kehn 11
John L Geiser 20
Weinand Weller 29
Thomas Driessen 35
Chanhassen 36
Acknowledgements 42
Ancestor Charts Yellow Section
Family Groups Green Section
KelmBrusch A 1 2 4 8
GeiserMiller A 10 20 22 23
WellerlDols A 6 12 24 26
DriessenVan Mulken A 14 28 30
Photo Album White Section
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INTRODUCTION
My serious genealogical research began in 1990 seven years ago My
age dictates that I consolidate the stacks of data gathered even though I
may not completely terminate the project Im grateful for the assistance
Ive received from a substantial number of persons Ill list under
Acknowledgments If my text should indulge in direct and shameless
plagiarism I intend to make specific acknowledgment There is no
copyright on my work and Ill be flattered by anyone s use of it
My primary interest has been to explore my linear descent That plus
lack of time and energy resulted in very limited lateral exploration
cousins etc at each level Hopefully today s relatives will be tempted
to add family group charts of their own with a reference to a relevant
ancestor shown in this book
A snapshot of this history The earliest ancestor identified was born in
1630 They all came from a rather narrow band of western Germany and
Holland The first arrival to America was in 1832 Ultimately they all
settled on Chanhassen farms The joinings of these families has
produced in Ehner Kehn s children a hybrid 5 8 German 3 8 Hollander
Lest my narrative fails to demonstrate it the most important thing Ive
acquired is a profound admiration for the courage of our immigrant
ancestors The second is an observation that until the last couple decades
of lamentable suburbanization the Chanhassen I and even my children
knew in essence differed little from the hamlets from which our
forebearers came An unknown author wrote
And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where
we started and know the placefor the first time
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EMITGRANTBACKGROUND
Whether they emigrated from areas near the North Sea or near Switzerland the
lives and environment of our ancestors were much the same Even our Hollanders
came from a countryside more like Germany and less like Holland of storied dikes
Generally they lived in small villages sometimes walled from which they went
each day to cultivate their few acres of land Despite their size most had their own
church It was not unusual to be able to see the steeple of the church in the next
town It was common for the inhabitants to be of one faith Protestant or Catholic
like Chanhassen until mid 20th century All of our villages were located on
rivers the dominant form of transportation
With possible exceptions noted later our emigrants were peasants small farmers
They were free men although the one from the tiny principality of Wertheim lived
under some feudal impediments Some were sufficiently skilled in one of the trades
to supplement their income in coins or barter with their fellow peasants Those
trades were usually associated with the land such as blacksmith tanner cartwright
etcA degree of poverty afflicted them all Their burden was increased by
imaginative taxes and fees on grazing hunting plowing chimney hearth dyeing
etc which varied greatly from region to region Finally when emigration grew too
fast some rulers determined to extinguish the frivolous itch of emigration by a
high tax on moveable property
Despite horrific infant and child death rates large families limited the chances of
improving one s lot through inheritance Thus young single men were encouraged
to emigrate Even so in many states young men had to first serve in the army or
buy exemption for physical reasons A few left their homelands because of
religious or class prejudice But escape from continued war political repression
religious strife and poverty was often cautiously summed up on their emigration
petitions as a desire to better themselves Given the similar circumstances in
which they found themselves whydid some leave while others remained Perhaps
our ancestors were simply more courageous or adventuresome
Promoting the decision to go to America were the professional agents many of
them scoundrels who promised people mountains of gold and every freedom with
no mention of dangers or hardships The exaggerated promises were typified by the
picture from an advertisement promoting emigration Equal exaggeration
discouraging departure is evident in decrees like the one reprinted below
While many rulers in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth sought to
generally restrict emigration they easily permitted the departure of the destitute
beggars ex convicts and disabled They imposed no tax on them because there
was little to tax
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As one record stated he is so constituted in his physical and moral circumstances
that the state loses nothing in his emigration I hasten to add that I found no
evidence that our emigrants were in this category
As time passed however emigration restrictions eased The most important reason
for the 19th century mass emigration was certainly the steadily deteriorating
economic and social situation of large sections of the population one of the main
causes of which was the immense population growth In 1800 the population of
Germany was about 24 million By 1850 it had increased to over 35 million But
employment possibilities had not kept pace either in agriculture or in the trades
Further the social structure ensured that young and enterprising people in
particular left in increasing numbers A German periodical of that day
characterized those who left as people for whom life in the Fatherland in aging
Europe among the ruins of the Middle Ages among the wreckage of the feudal
system is too unpropitious and too restricted
The end of the Napoleonic wars 1815 released hundreds of thousands of
conscripts into the economy The continental wide conflict had brought American
immigration to a near standstill Now the first great wave began mainly from
southwest Germany and the North Sea lowlands It would continue for a century
PREPARATION FOR THE ADVENTURE
The earliest emigration of our ancestors was in 1832 the latest took place in 1863
Neither their individual circumstances nor the conditions prevailing in their
homelands varied significantly during those decades
The fearful determination to begin a new life in America resulted in many things to
do and little time to do them Governmental approval of emigrations possibly
including conscription clearance and obtaining identification papers birth
baptism marriage Arranging transportation both to the port of embarkation and
across the Atlantic Selling almost all property and paying the taxes and fees
Accumulating cash for travel payments to agents they hoped were honest
Converting funds to gold including enough to eke out a living the first year in
America Buying and making garments and the chest to contain them as well as a
small cask of brandy for the trip And the perhaps fmal farewells to friends and
family It was important to depart as early in the year as possible in the hope of
timely planting of crops on their new land Sometimes there were tragic delays
At the time of emigration our an c estor s ages ranged from 20 63 About half were
single young men the others were accompanied by wives and children While it
must have been easier for the singles to overcome the difficulties and hardships of
emigration it must also have been lonely to endure with no one to share
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THE PASSAGE TO AMERICA
In the renewal of emigration in the post Napoleonic period the main emigration
regions were at first the southern and central Rhein basin Before the start of
Europe s railway age 1840 plus the great rivers and canals were the main arteries
of transport to the Atlantic and North Sea ports Le Havre Rotterdam and
Antwerp were consequently the preferred destinations Only later did Bremen and
subsequently Hamburg compete with those ports partly due to railway access and
the growth of emigration from northern states of Germany An 1847 newspaper
reported the urge to emigrate is now also affecting those regions previously
untouched by it such as Saxony Silesia Brandenburg and even Pomerania
The trip to the sea on river barges could take a couple weeks and were subject to
delays by river port officials who frequently imposed tolls and fees reducing the
emigrant s funds before he reached his port of embarkation Merchants along the
way charged exorbitant prices for food supplies Far worse days were just ahead
When they arrived at their ports the emigrants were met by agents of landlords
shipping lines moneychangers and local merchants The agents were paid a
commission for each customer they brought and the emigrants were charged
inflated prices for poor board and lodging unfair exchange rates impractical
utensils for the voyage and sometimes their own supply of unfit food
Most if not all of our ancestors traveled on sailing ships The first steamship from
Hamburg to America for example sailed in 1850 In 1856 only 5 of the
emigrants landing in New York had arrived from Europe by steamship That
percentage grew rapidly and the last emigrant sailing ship left Hamburg in 1879
The sailing ship L Evelina which brought John Geiser from LeHavre to Baltimore
in 1834 was only 100 feet in length and 24 feet in breadth Larger ships were put
into service in the 1840 1850 period but the average ship was still but a cork in the
often violent north Atlantic
Sailing ships of the first half 19th century frequently had so called first and second
class cabins on the main deck but this was very expensive Normal
accommodation was steerage or tween deck a passenger space built between the
main deck and the cargo hold Some ships had a deck between steerage and th
cargo holds called the orlop deck These became pestiferous holes with little
light and air draft In time port authorities banned their use Even regular steerage
was terribly crowded with men women and children without privacy and too few
privies Ultimately regulations prescribed a minimum height of 5 12 feet for the
tween deck and an area of 6 112 square feet for each passenger Only by building
narrow double bunks was it possible to make half the tween deck free for eating
and recreation
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Commonly no tables or benches were provided Since fires in steerage were far
too dangerous cooking stoves were provided only on the open deck but they were
too few in number One had to fight for a time slot to use them and many
passengers often went without a hot meal The quality of provisions suffered from
the lengthy voyages and the inadequate food preservation methods of that time
Dinner time
in steerage
1882 engraving
Aside from the monotony of the diet the bread soon became moldy the butter
rancid the water almost undrinkable and the vegetables rotten On extended trips
hunger was a problem Because of crowding poor sanitation and little ventilation
illness became epidemic and spread quickly throughout the steerage deck There
was no way to isolate sick passengers and no doctor to treat them During north
Atlantic storms the hatches above steerage had to be closed denying the
passengers what little light and air otherwise existing and many became seasick
Accidents such as fires sinkings and shipwrecks occurred only infrequently the
danger of becoming ill was much greater On the best of voyages the trip was best
characterized as extreme boredom
In the age of the sailing ship the crossing was so exhausting and dangerous that
few people wanted to make it a second time even to visit their old homes and the
relatives they left behind A voyage of six to seven weeks was the norm and
inclement weather or a long period of calm made the trip even longer with
voyages up to 100 days recorded
Despite the foregoing hardships the misery and hopelessness of their current
circumsUincesin the Old World and their dreams of the New World caused
millions of people to undertake the journey to America But their dreams had more
obstacles to overcome
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ARRNAL IN AMERICA
After the horrors of the North Atlantic passage our ancestors hoped that the worst
was behind them but more hardships were just ahead As in the old country they
were beset by runners as soon as they disembarked offering shelter at the
various ports of entry and transportation to places over a thousand miles distant
The runners often representing disreputable providers frequently cheated the
immigrants of their scanty funds resulting in their having to seek jobs at sub
standard wages thus delaying if not forever preventing their progress to lands
awaiting them in America s interior Many weakened by hunger and disease
during the sea voyage would die before reaching their goal Sometimes the
immigrant and his family were abandoned part way to their destination and had to
find other ways to their promised land
After the colonial period New York City became the most important port of entry
and by mid century the state of New York attempted to prevent the worst abuses of
helpless immigrants soon followed at other major ports like Baltimore New
Orleans Philadelphia and Boston
It is difficult to determine the specific routes by which our immigrants came to
Minnesota Before 1860 steamboats played a dominant role and parts of the
journey were by wagon and stagecoach Railroads started to provide parts of the
trip in the 1850 s but the nearest terminus by 1858 was LaCrosse on a line
originating in Milwaukee The first rail in Minnesota in 1862 went only from St
Paul to S1 Anthony Falls Minneapolis Very little rail construction occurred
during the Civil War A general description of major immigration trails follows
From New York and Boston up the Hudson River through the Erie Canal
and the Great Lakes to Milwaukee and Chicago
Up the St Lawrence River to Montreal and the Great Lakes
From Philadelphia and Baltimore through the mountains to Pittsburgh to the
Ohio River and up the Mississippi
From New Orleans up the Mississippi River
One writer of the day recommended the New Orleans route as the most direct and
economical especially if encumbered with much luggage or a family Another
suggested avoiding New Orleans because it harbors the worst people in the United
States
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Few of the steamboats arriving in St Paul originated in New Orleans Most New
Orleans boats terminated their journeys at St Louis and passengers transferred to
other boats to destinations in the Upper Mississippi Valley The entire trip took
weeks until about 1844 when faster boats dramatically cut the travel time The 20
years following the first steamboat arrival at Fort Snelling in 1823 did not see rapid
traffic growth In 1844 there was 41 arrivals to St Paul But in 1855 the St Paul
levee greeted 536 boats and in 1858 there were 1 090 arrivals Because sluggish
Lake Pepin froze over for four to five months the navigation season at St Paul
was on average open only from early April to late November Total immigrant
arrivals dropped greatly during the cold months God help those who were unable
to avoid winter arrivals
No tributary of the Mississippi has so twisting a course as the Minnesota River
Except during seasonal high water navigation was a severe challenge The
history of steamboats on this stream is a brief one The first was the Anthony
Wayne in 1850 and the season of 1871 practically ended navigation on that river
as railroad increased their commercial hold on southern Minnesota While
especially important to Carver County the boats traveled on to Mankato and
beyond carrying immigrants settlers supplies and troops during the Civil and
Indian wars Return trips to St Paul carried heavy shipments of wheat and wood
The first couple years the number of steamboats from St Paul to Carver County or
beyond were few By 1853 there were 49 such arrivals in 1856 there were 207 in
1859 302 and the peak year of 1862 saw 413 steamboats arriving from St Paul
It s almost certain that many of our ancestors arrived in Carver County on a side
wheeler landing at Shakopee Chaska or Carver
Important as the railroads were to become for Carver County agriculture and
commerce they had no role in our immigrants journey in the final leg of their
travel in Minnesota In Carver County the first railroad the Minneapolis St
Louis was built to Chaska and Carver in 1871 followed in 1872 by the Milwaukee
Road to Chanhassen and Cologne
The treaties of Traverse de Sioux and Mendota opened nearly all of the Minnesota
territory to exploitation The treaties didn t go into effect until 1853 and the land
survey of what was to become Chanhassen township was not complete until 1855
Such niceties did not restrain white entrepreneurs nor serious settlers from trying
to claim the land as early as the fall of 1851 even before most of the Indians were
moved to reservations on the upper Minnesota River
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Before 1862 under pre emption laws a man might acquire ownership of up to 160
acres by living on it improving it paying 1 25 an acre to a U S land office and
ultimately securing a deed to it Under the Homestead Act of 1862 acquisition was
obtained merely by living upon and improving the land for five years and paying
only a very small land office fee
The early settlers of Carver County were mostly Germans who staked their claims
in Chaska and Chanhassen There were few problems between the whites and the
few Indians who remained The 1862 Dakota uprising in the upper Minnesota
Valley was the last serious conflict in the state between whites and Indians False
rumors of Indian warriors nearing Carver County resulted in great panic Great
grandmother Lottie Miller Geiser told me that her family she was then five years
old fled to Fort Snelling by steamboat
Late arrivals in the fall occasionally resulted in rapidly constructed homes of sod
blocks but generally the settler s first home was a one room log cabin without
windows and with stone fireplaces caulked with mud Floors were of split logs
The primary cooking utensil was a Dutch oven heated over live coals from the
fireplace Furnishings were meager tables of rough hewn boards stools served as
chairs beds were bunks along the walls or pallets on the floor Home
improvements had to wait until the land was tamed Trees had to be cut and
stumps dug out The earth was broken with wooden plows until steel ones could
be purchased Oxen were the favored beast of burden and other comforts were
delayed so that livestock could be bought from steamboat suppliers But the soil
was fertile and the climate conducive so ever increasing amounts of com wheat
fruits and vegetables were soon flowing down river to S1 Paul Fathers mothers
and children worked long hours in the field to produce those crops There was
little time for recreation Much of the social life was the celebration after
neighbors joined in land clearing cabin building log rolling com shucking and
other chores performed in common Medical care was largely folk medicine
Small pox measles typhoid scarlet fever malaria diphtheria dysentery and
cholera wiped out families and devitalized communities Infant mortality was high
and the life span was relatively short Fortunately the great majority of the young
immigrants were accustomed to hard work and quickly adjusted to frontier life
Not all immigrants to Carver County adjusted Some expected to make
immediate fortunes others found the work too hard A few returned to Europe
with stories intended to justify their return and a few wrote home with lesser
complaints seized upon by those seeking to discourage emigration Angry reaction
came in the form of letters from America such as this one partially re printed from
Betty Dol s great family history
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February 18 1864
Dear Father
I have to rebuke you for naively believing those of Echt who returned They have no
notion of what the word America stands for and are totally ignorant of its origin I have
learned that they arrived by steamboat at Chaska where they immediately were welcomed
by strangers as if they were blood friends and where they received lodging and food in
abundance When it was learned that they were without financial resources and thus were
not in a position to purchase a life supporting piece of land every well to do inhabitant
went out of his way to provide those unfortunate people with jobs even offered to give
them sixty acres of land as their own property But out of sheer laziness they refused to
accept this gift they did not have the guts to change woodland into farming fields That is
what all people do and are still doing
They did not evenperform the least bit of labor and they visited no other places in order to
compare whether it was better or worse here than elsewhere they only came to Chaska
stayed put here and ventured no further What do those cowards know about my brother
how can they say whether he does or does not have any pants to wear They have never
known seen or spoken to him If they had exerted themselves to work to build up a small
farm or otherwise in order to have a livelihood which was within their possibilities I
would regret saying the least offensive word about them
Don t you know that Mr FS in Limburg puts his pen in the very same inkpot as that of
the other aristocrats Would that not be in his own interest Don t you think that those
people aristocrats are unhappy about this emigration movement Is it to the advantage or
to the detriment of the rich when the poor or people with few possessions emigrate Yes
or no If one third of all the people from every village would leave for America the sheep
of the rich would no longer continue to be shorn which is precisely what I wholeheartedly
wish for All the rich over there are out of denigrate anybody who came over here they
scan the letters from America for every word that is even in the slightest way negative in
order to expand on it and to spread it with a worse and wider meaning
Why don t you ask Lula from Born who used to go from house to house selling
matchboxes whether she wants to return or little Maas from Buchten both people who
were not given a chance to earn a decent living over there They will answer you
Farewell to Europe never will I see you again This my brother too would say even if
he were as poor as you imagine him to be Although he has met with adversities he did
not have to sell a single bushel of grain from his latest harvest and while three of his cows
perished he has bought two new and beautiful cows therefore he must not have been
entirely without money And do you think that in case he would not have had any pants
left I would not have given my brother another pair of pants
Rest assured that we live happily here and that I wish that you too were here It is true
you best days have gone by but my brother and sister are still in the prime of their lives
they would be better off here than in Europe Here every industrious man has his liberty
and his carefree existence Otherwise I would not invite anybody But whoever will
come because he believes what I have written I will remain responsible for him whether
he has money or not
Keep doing what you have never ceaseci to do stay concerned for my physical and spiritual
well being just as you are doing with regard to your other children and I will never forget
you Act in your old age in accordance with your calling I remain your ever devoted son
Peter Dircks
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OUR IMMIGRANT AMERICANS
Repeating remarks in the introduction this work is greatly concerned with
linear descent so cousins their spouses and children receive little attention at
all generational levels This is somewhat compensated for by the data included in
the Family Group charts In addition in the following sections Ill identify first
cousins as well as members of other related families that were especially close to
the Elmer Kelm children
Except for an occasional deviation each family narrative deals with the first
immigrant couple and their descendants mostly found on Ancestor Chart A Not
surprisingly much more is known about some families than others The photo
album portion also reflects the varying luck I had in borrowing pictures from
various families
Gottfried Keirn
Nothing in my research was more frustrating than my inability to trace the roots
of great grandfather Gottfried and his wife Anna Brusch Brash They were
born in Prussia but extensive searches of Lutheran church records failed to
determine their places of birth and parentage There is sketchy evidence that they
came from eastern Prussia perhaps in the area that shifted back and forth
between Prussia and Poland as the result of several wars Apparently they
married circa 1850 and had four children Family Group A 8 before they
emigrated arriving in the U S 19 MAY 1863 They found their way to Upper
Michigan where Gottfried worked in the copper mines and where Anna had
another son Frederick After a couple years in the mines they probably saved
enough to move to Chanhassen where they bought an 80 acre farm from Michael
Pauly located immediately east of the village in September 1866 Here they
added to the family Mary in 1868 and Henry in 1869 About this time Gottfried
started to refer to himself as Frederick In 1874 he purchased a second farm
140 acres about 1 1 2 miles west of the village and adjoining the Geiser farm
where Rosa Geiser would be born in a few years About 1882 Gottfried s son
Gustav started operating the eastern farm All of the children except Henry
were married by the time that Gottfried died on 02 APR 1894 Mother Anna
lived on with various sons and daughters until her death in 1922 Both were
buried in Pioneer Cemetery a few miles west of the village and on his tombstone
the patriarch s name reverted to Gottfried
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Henry L KeIrn
Perhaps Henry had little liking for farming so he learned telegraphy and
obtained the station agent s job with the Milwaukee Road at Chanhassen in 1893
Then able to support a family Henry looked fondly upon the neighboring farm
girl 17 year old Rosa Geiser Though he was a rather short man Rose found
him handsome and they married 19 JUL 1898 Henry and Rose bought the
general store about 1900 which they operated until 1912 when they sold it to
Albert Pauly According to Albert s son Dutch Henry financed the purchase
by Albert who was a carpenter with the crew laying the second set of rails
though Chanhassen The store was located just south of the tracks on the east
side of Highway 101 Henry was also the postmaster as well as continuing as
station agent until 1913 He became the cashier of the newly formed bank in
1914 Obviously a multi talented man Henry s only blemish was his affiliation
with the Republican party
In 1904 Henry built a home on the southwest comer of block 1 on St Hubert
Street now unfortunately called Frontier Trail It s distinguishing feature is the
wrap around porch on its west and south sides It was erected by John C Geiser
Rose s uncle After Henry s 1916 death Rose continued to live there until her
1918 marriage Elmer and Loretta dwelt there for a couple years and Mickey
was born there in 1919 Rose sold it to Albert Pauly in January 1920 and it
passed through many owners including Tom Kelm from 1954 to 1956 Prior to
this home Henry and Rose lived above their general store where Elmer and
Vernice were born Mickey was about one month old when the family had to
move to the house immediately north They again had to move in late 1922 in
anticipation of the sale of that house by Rose and her husband to Jacob Kurvers
Loretta was about 8 months pregnant and gave birth to Doug 01 NOV 1922 in a
rental house on the western edge of the village where the dinner theater is now
located Two years later the family occupied a rental home across the street until
1930 when Elmer built a new home at the east end of the village
Henry was reared in the Lutheran faith of his parents but converted to the
Roman Catholic church apparently at the time of his marriage in St Hubert s
church After a long illness with a brain tumor he died 10 AUG 1916 and was
buried in St Hubert s cemetery
Obituaries are valuable research aids although they sometimes contain incorrect
data Henry s obituary is included in part as an example of the flowery
language often employed at that time
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IOBITUARY Of THE Ban was organi ed n the SPring o lOry o a man wnom Wjl knew for many i
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1914 he becune Its first cashIer ane years and whom we esteemed so 11igh
continued in that position until laid y We lmew him intimatelY for l an7LATEHLKELMIlowbyUlnessearlylastJuneHewasyearsbutthefinerinstinctsofhis
I I a faithful capable worker a booster rare personality became more firmly
I FORMER STATION AGENT MERCH fer his home commuuity and always imbedded in our mind in later years
ANT AND LATE BANKER IS
commanded the respect and the COnti I When he act2d as Clur reporter and bu
dence or those who came In contact slness manager at Cbanhassen It IU lI
CALLED AT EARLY AGE I with 11 lo or years he was promt l been our good fortune to do bullines3
nent m VIllage atfallS and was council with a splendid lot of mEn in our ea
IThelateHenryLKelmwhoseearmanmanytermsHewasmarried18inthenewspapfrbusinessbutwelIon
ly anti untimelY demise was noted in I years ago o a dau hter of our honored estly and trankly admit that a more
The Herald last week was a Chanhaa and long time resIden Mr and Mrs honest conscientious ernest and failu
I sen product and a son in whose ca j Fred Geiser and the unI n has been a tul man than Henry 1 Kelm nC er
reel we all took a deep pride He was very happy one Two children e to toiled in this vale at tears He WIS
I a selfmade man Born in this townshiP bless them He IS survived by his de the soul at honestygentleman l l
November 5 1870 he worked on the voted wife Elmer age 16 and Vernice waysa credit to his tamily to hii
laid home farm and attended the rural age 15 also by his aged mother tvo community and to his state Sad in
scbcol ot his district He was of a per brothesFred and Gust Kelm and deed it is that he was called in the
I severtggoahead nature and at an four sisters Minnie Tena TUlie and prime at lite He was too good a
ImC11earlyagespentmuchofhistimeaboutMaryallmarnedOurheartfeltandtogosoyoungButtheMastellad
the local depot and soon became a pro profound sympathy is extended them decreed that his time had come md
ticient operator His school work was in cr eat f ieion the Master doeth all things for thp
limited but undaunted he worked to The tuneral took place Sunday afer best Our loss is his gain tor he has I
educate himself and learned rapidly noon August 13th and was velj large gone trom earth to a home where no I
lAtter followtng the art of telegraphy ly attended The services took place sorrow or suffering ever enters Yet i
he waappointed station agent for the at two o clock p m the Rev Father when we who lmew him so well loved
C M St Paw Railroad at this place A lexander conducting the services in him tor his real worth think ot lis I
and continued the work for 13 years St Hubert s Catholic church ReqUiem passing it seems that a void has been i
Intermittently he also conducted the high mass for the soul of the departed created that not even time can
local general merchandise business la took place the folloWing morning In I fill Always cheerful pleasant genial
tel disposing of the property to the terment WSR in the Catholic cemetclj fair and high minded he lived a good
I present merchant A M Pauly For The editor at The Herald desires to
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Ufe He has ea111ed the reward offered
II years he also held the position of pas t say a few la words regard mg the life I by the King of the Universe to those
master and made good at whatever he of the deoeaaed and in our humbleyewho are faithtuL He is gone tromam
I undertook When the Chanhassen State sincere Way pay tribute to the memoangst us gone to a better home We
I mourn the death of noble friend
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Henry and Rose had two children Elmer F Kelm b 03 MAR 1900 and
Vernice b 12 SEP 1901 Throughout their lives Elmer and Vernice remained
very close Vernice was not yet 15 when her father died and she was 16 when
her mother married John Boegeman So Elmer considered himself to be his
sister s protector her substitute father In any case Rose was a matchmaking
yenta and did not relish the prospect of mothering four children with the
probability of more since she was only 37 years old Her new husband was a
widower with two children John Jr and Luella Therefore 1918 saw a flurry
of marriages Rose John in April Elmer Loretta in May Vernice
Florian in October Jinks and Luella were around 10 years and they too left
the nest as soon as their feathers allowed
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Vernice KeIrn married Florian Heutmaker who operated a farm on the east
edge of the village of Victoria He was 24 and she was 17 when they wed 29 Oct
1918 They had four children
Vivalore b 21 MAR 1920 married Tony Kalkes 1940
Diana b 07 FEB 1926 Married Karl Gramith 1946
Herschel b 08 OCT 1932 d 1983 married Phyllis Eiden 1957
Linus b 26 JUL 1934 married Addie Hirschkorn 1956
I Elmer had Vernice appointed postmaster at Victoria in the early 40 s Florian
died in 1977 and Vernice on 27 JUN 1989
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I In the meantime as she had anticipated Rose gave birth to a son and daughter by
her husband John Boegeman
I LaMont b 14 JUL 1921 married Rita Davitt 1943
Juane b 11 SEP 1922 d 1989 married Jerome Wampach 1944
I Elmer F Keirn
I Elmer was a gregarious person and assertive perhaps because he was only 16
when his father died and totally on his own when his mother remarried
I In 1914 he enrolled at St Thomas Seminary as it was then known studying
there for two years He commuted daily on the Milwaukee Road to the Merriam
Park station in St Paul not far from the campus and a few blocks from the
Iglehart Avenue home his son Doug would occupy about 45 years laterI
I A little of his youthful rashness may be learned from an article in a 1915 edition
of the Valley Herald
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I fhe Chanhas1 Sfdte BanB was vi I big 38 calibre revolver The regular I town that evening in an auomobile
i sited by profassi burglars Sunday night lamp had been taken off the I iii kllth ifa etlieIrgera way as
eve ing between the hours of 9 and jsocket on the side wall and placed on riglH after the S110tS had been fired
10 0 clock and luckily were prevented the floor back of the eounter but EI and the people had begun to gatherl
from doing damage and making awayimer failed to notice this when he en and even before but few of them had
with the contents of the vault and tered the building At the command got to the bank the purr of a starting
safe by the unexpected and timely ar ito throw up his hands the young fel motor was heard and the rapid pull
rival of the son of the cashier Elmer low raised one hand and with the oth ing away of an automobile Some are
Kelm Elmer had gone to the bank af a1 made a quick grab for his father s of the opinion and facts seem to bear
ter nine o clock to get some stamps rifle which stood against the counter them out that the machine had arriv
and use the phone With a party of and dodging along the counter ran for ed about nine o clock and was parked
young people he had plafined going to the front door The burglar pulled his on the side of the roadway just around
Chaska to attend the entertainment gun the bullet striking the counter the corner from the bank At any rate
but was unavoidably delayed and had wall When Elmer had reached the the attempt to rob the bank or blow
intended to call up some of the parties sidewalk he turned and believing that the safe was frustrated and even had
who were to accompany him and also il he saw the burglar in the building in the vault door been blown away the
get some stamps placed in a desk the dark rear end fired at him Ulru effort would have been futile as the
drawer in the bank When at the cor the window and then gave the alarm burglar proof safe was in the vault
ner opposite tl e church he noticed a to the neighbors who were gathering containing the bank s funds and this
man leaning agalnst th elephone pole from all directions having heard the would have had to be blown and by
vho seemed to move aTter him as he shots fired It was during this excite that time the entire community could
passed However there had been quite ment that the yeggman made his es have been on the scene and Mr Bur
a number of bums about town the last cape leaving his cap and a can of glar would have been nabbed Robb
few days and Elmer paid o particu soup and some other paraphernalia ilg banks now days is a different pro
lar attention to the party Enteringdstanding on the floor It is thought position than it was 25 years or so
the bank he walked to the rear and that he got away without injury It ago
was about to walk back of the counter is now thought that there were two in
Where the telephone stood when he the party and that they had come to
was confronted by a burglar and a
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Elmer was not an especially mechanical person although his interests would seem
to deny that In 1918 there were perhaps a half dozen automobiles in the village
but Elmer had one of them see photos In the 30 s he set up an amateur radio
station W0JDO The name Ham fit him well In 1936 he started to film
8 mm home movies In 1939 he purchased a machine to cut records some of
which have been transferred to tape cassettes
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He was a sharp card player especially loving a German game Skat and entered
tournaments As a young man he played the tuba in the Chanhassen Booster
Band and acted in plays produced by the St Hubert s Drama Club
Within a year of Henry s death Elmer was hired as the cashier sole employee
of the Chanhassen State Bank ill 1919 the Minneapolis owners of that bank and a
dozen others were convicted of investment fraud and all the banks were closed
Local owners quickly obtained a charter for the State Bank of Chanhassen and
hired Elmer to operate it It must have been a traumatic experience but one that
prepared him for the bank holiday President Roosevelt declared in 1933
Elmer hurried home from the inauguration ceremonies in Washington to direct
efforts to save the bank in Chanhassen and the Carver County State Bank in
Chaska the owner of which was also the major stockholder of the Chanhassen
bank No depositor lost a dime Eventually Elmer bought controlling interest in
the bank retaining ownership until it sale in 1951
Elmer and Loretta Weller were both 18 when they married 29 MAY 1918 She
was a very pretty girl but shy sometimes moody sentimental and very loving
of her mother Her children remember the family driving to Chaska to visit
Annie at least once a week Mickey and Doug would be greeted by grandpa
Lambert to receive some coins to buy tickets to the silent movies at the Rex
Theater where Mickey had to read the sub titles to Doug Grandpa then felt
free to play Schafskopf at a nearby saloon After a brief visit with his mother
in law Elmer went to the same saloon to organize a game of Skat
Both wives frequently grew inpatient for their husbands return If it was a
Saturday night a band concert in the park entertained the kids after the movie
The trip back home was usually the same Doug in front with Elmer Loretta
Mickey and after 1930 baby Tom in back Though Loretta had a far better
voice Elmer s was louder and he would lead the singing there were no car
radios The children still remember some of the songs When You and I Were
Young Maggie The Prisoner s Song If You Knew Suzie The favorite was
rn take you home again Kathleen
Across the ocean wild and wide
To whence your heart has ever been
Since first you were my bonny bride
The roses all have left your cheek
rve watched them fade away and die
Your voice is sad when e er you speak
And tears bedim your loving eyes
CIwrus Oh I will take you back Kathleen
To where your heart will feel no pain
And when the fields are fresh and green
rn take you to your home again
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This 1875 song remained popular for over 50 years It s reproduced here not
only because of the family memories it inspires but because the singer promises
his homesick wife that he ll take her back to the old Country Our g g g
grandmother Ernestina Matthei is reported to have died of homesickness in
New York City in 1850 Probably that malady was not rare as we find that
after his wife s death in 1870 g g grandfather Jan Lambert Dols returned to
Holland where he died in 1897
The first and last home owned by Elmer and Loretta was constructed in 1930 by
Lambert Weller at the east end of the village It stands there still 1997
apparently in excellent condition For the first time they had such conveniences
as indoor plumbing electricity telephone and central heating facilities that
were lacking in most of the village s homes in 1930 Tom was born in this home
and it remained the family home until Loretta s death
Given their parentage Mickey Doug and Tom s interest in politics is no
surprise It s in the genes Henry KeIrn Lambert Weller and Fred Geiser all
held local elective office as did others in earlier generations However Elmer of
course was the dominant influence He was Democratic county chairman in 1928
when Mick and Doug claim to have distributed fliers for Al Smith Smith
carried the village 70 to 0 He became district chairman in 1934 when he
managed Elmer Ryan s successful campaign for U S Congress
In 1940 he was elected Democratic State Chairman and in 1944 he became the
first state chairman of the DFL Party whose difficult merger he had negotiated
not without damage to his health He led the Minnesota delegation to three
national conventions and had personal meetings with Presidents Roosevelt and
Truman fu a speech following his presidential nomination Humphrey said If it
hadn t been for a small town banker from Chanhassen I would never have had a
chance More details are related in the lengthy obituary on the next page
Though Loretta accompanied her husband to some conventions and quasi social
functions of the party the rough and tumble nature of politics was foreign to her
She was deeply involved in church activities and was a member of St Hubert s
choir throughout her life When the convent provided no organist Loretta took
over but nervously practiced the music of the Mass at home much of the
preceding Saturday The nuns and the pastor could call on her for any duty
and they did After Elmer s death in 1957 Loretta lived until 1974 thus
providing all of her grandchildren the good fortune of knowing her
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I G bleSeat
Hf JlIJEPIN
CDUNry
REVIEW
7 11 7
THE MORTAL REMAINS OF of Internal Revenue for the Min I and return the state tro a two It was at about the time he
fEimer KeIrn were laid to rest nesota office the choicest Minne party system of politics brought the two liberal parties
t Tuesday morning in the little sota p 1 u m on the presidential
of Minnesota together that the
cemetery at Chanhassent he platter A YOUNG FELLOW NAMED state chairman s health beg a n
ilittle cemetery of the tiny town II SO all of Elmer s kidding about Hubert H Humphrey Jr who to fail His condition worsened
l that Elmer put on the map Chanhassen with his pals on the had been teachi g olitical sci steadily beginning in 1953 From
There was the solemn requiem airwaves and with his political ence on the UnlverSlty campus then on he was in and out of
mass for the repose of his soul friends across the country was ha s ood for mayor of Minnea the hospitals and confined to his
at St Hubert s Catholic church I born of a deep affection for polis In 1943 An unknown and home most of the time He en
lcelebrat 2 by the Rev Fr Phil and everlasting loyalty to hi with neither funds nor campaign tered St Mary s hospital in June
I
Weller of the Catholic Univer home town f workers he was defeated But and died there at 4 15 pm Sat
5ity at Washington D C a broth he made the conservatives and urday
et of Mrs KeIrn IN 1928 CHANHASSEN CAST the Republicans of Minneapolis Senator Humphrey was Teach
Deacon was Monsignor Vel every vote i had for AI Smith sit up and take notice A d he ed at his summer home near Wa
non Peters of Ouian Iowa a
the fellow WIth the Brown Derby at once Impressed ChallIIlan verly on Saturday with news of
I dear friend of the deceas d from the sidewalks of New York KeIrn The state chairman saw in his friend s death He had visit J
The Monsignor and Elmer first who wanted to be President Our Humphrey at first glance an him at St Mary s immediate y
met on the ham radio cir good friend had been in politics l a aZing potential Besides that after r turning from his Midcle
I cuit The Kelm family s pastor up to her and for yearsby e lov d the fellow Humphrey at East trIP a fcw weeks ago Tile
the Rev Fr Herbert Diethelm that tIme e was then Carver flrs SIght He enlIsted HU Ph
1
Senator told the Tribune rep t
served as sub deacon County chal1man of the Demo reys help In tb task of brIng er who wrote Mr KeIrns dca a
His loved ones neighbors and cratic party and n enthusiasticing off a erger of the tvlO Ii to17 hat Elmer ad been the
dear friends filled the church to
b o ter of Al Sm th Every last beral partIes prInCIpal archItect of the DFL
overflowing for the last rites elIgIble v 0 tel In Chanhassen The blo by blow story f party He a ded frankly that his
Then as Elmer rode his friends
went to the polls that day and that po tlc 1 feat ould fill eceased frIend bad gIVen him
walked the few steps from the early To a man and a woman several columns SuffICe to say I valuable counsel and ncoll
church to the cemetery in the they voted for AI that patIence tolerance a sen a ement hen he was gettmg hIS
loop
Elmer phoned the St Paul of humor and dogged persis own polItIcal show on the road
Bureau of the Associated Press tence by Elmer Kelm aided back in 1945
i
For sever l y ars past Elmer Judging from the Chanhassen and encourag d by the young
was a ham radIO man He was re ult it looked like a land comer named Humphrey paid IN 1955 NEARLY 250 OF THE
kno n o undreds of t at Jolly slide for Smith he told the off The marriage was per old Chief s friends neighbors
J rm I attftny
Mmne
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ta AP folksll Th AP bulletmed forl1Ad following the two state admIrers and supporters swooped
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com f Ies the Chanhassen result over its conventions in the spring of down on little Chanhassen one
a the y e w e sn ur four trunk circuits to the four 1944 It was the hottest po evening tl tell their old friend
0 e mornmg ya ya mg ae corners of the USA The bull Iitlcal news In Minnesota pro how much they loved him Sen
and forth on a Wide varIety of tin was boxed and carried on bably since the election of at r HumphTey made a speclar
i t pICS many of these hamste s the first pages of scores of John A Johnson In 1904 trIp out from Washington to be
lik d lto edle fe y 0 t e e election extras across the land Humphrey was at the side of there The crowd included many
an oca Ion 0 IS mInu we Both Al Smith and Chanhas Chairman KeIrn throughout the n mes that ha made history in
home town Where was It if any sen were buried and forgotten residential cam ai n of 1944 MI n s ota polItIcs TJ 5l nator
e
b esw e
h re anybody long before midnight th t night ith that one o t f the w y
qUIte p operIy talkedabout his
y It was as IS well establIshed a Messers Kelm nd Humphrey be idear f Iend and mentor When
What s that you ve never Ibreeze for Herbert Hoover But gan moving the guns into posi
he fmlshed most of the hard
hear of Chanhas senl May I IChanhassen made a bit of history tion for Humphrey s second try shelled veterans of the polltkal
ask my good frrend wh ere Ifor itself and exulted during a for the mayor s job in Minnea
wars present could be seen
you have been all your hfe Ifew brief moments of national polis Humphrey was elected reaChIng for thell handkerchiefs
Don t you Iver read the newl I publicity on that eventful eve handllIand reelected in i947 It was a great night in th e life of
papen Don t you know that Ining
Chanhassen s Mr Big
hanhass n is the IY town Come 1940 the Carver County
Then In 1948 e swept Joe Ball He was grand guy In the
In AmerICa With a cemetery chairman the Mister Big of ut of the Umted States Senate years when he was calling the
in the loop Chanhassen as he came to be In a campaIgn the like of whi h politlial shots one of the things
The cemetery In the Chanhas called by his Minnesota political
Mmnesota had never witnessed In they used to say about him
I sen loop is the cemetery in the cronieshad made his way up
all he hISt Ory was that his word was as good
churchyard of 8t Hubert s Cath the ladder to the chairmanship
As mentIoned earlIer Eliner as his bond He loved peopl
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olIc church of the Democratic state entral KeIrn was named Coll ctor of
v
and loved to be doing nice
Elmer for years on end served committee He led the Minnesota nternalRevenue for Mmneso a t things fOI them He was alit
as the self appointed unsalaried idelegation to the Demo conven
In 1946 He eryed in that poct tie hard on himself It was
and unsung one man Chanhassen Hon that year
He came home to IWlth hI h dlstInCtIon The St something of a physical task
Chamber of Commerre He was I manage the third term cam
Paul offIce was use as a labor for one of his size bounding
1
a great kidder He loved to guff IIPaign
for Franklin Roosevelt in atory for the testlOg Of ew up and down the s tate IInd
hiS pals of the a r waves who Minnesota and was happy be et ods and technIques durmg back and forth from Washing
as neve seen hIS town about iyond words when FDR carried hIS Incumbency Vhe Congress ton on the go night and day
I Its bUIlt In advantages ItS fu iMinnesota for the third time placed the admInIstratIOn of the In the heyday of his career
i ure possibilities He was born There had been three p liti large I tprnal Revenue o fices But he did one wonderfully
In Chanhassen and he lIved there I cal parties in Minnesota for
unde CIVIl serVIce the polItically nice thing for himself very ear
57 years He loved everr inch years the Democratic Republi appOInted C llectors were reo ly in is career At 18 he toole
of It and every one of Its 200 can and Farmer Labor parties
lIe ed b DI ectors from the unto himself his wife Loretta d
and some souls In the last 15 The Farmer Labor governor EI
CIvil serVIce lIsts so 18 From that day to the end
years of hIS actIve HIe when It mer Benson had been deteated ColI c or Kelm however ln she was the hel ful wife and
wot ld ave been f1l more con by Harold Stassen in 1938 Ex r cogtJon 0 hiS long and mother selfeffacing selfless
Cment to lIve say In St Paul cept for the fact that FDR had slngular service to the party I
and lInd rstanding the sort yoU
It never occurred to him for a carried the state in 1940 th was named Col lector of Cus read about in the books With
moment to leave Chanhassen fortunes of both Democrat and 1
to s for the port of Minnea l out her Elmer always said he
His fther died in 1916 and he Farmer Laborites were at low POliS There he served ntil neve would have reached fir t
went mto the bank then at age ebb Chairman KeIrn tackled a
1953 hen resld nt Elsen I base To her and the three ch l
16 Before long he was managing job that few believed could be
hower n keeping WIth the rule dren and to all the grandchil
the bank After 30 years he sold iaccomplished He determined to I
of ohtlCs that appo tlons the dren go the sIf1cere sympathy of
Ihis banking stock This was in put the Democratic and Farmer sP lls amongst the VIctors liP all of Mr BIg s host of fllends
j 1946 when President Harry 5 1 Labor parties together as one
pornted a Republican to sue lIm
1 Truman appointed him Collector i
ceed hIm 17
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Mickey was Elmer and Loretta s first born She attended St Hubert s grade
school and Guardian Angel s high school Her first grade teacher and Doug s
was Sr Bernadette the same nun who taught Elmer The family was proud of
her selection at age 11 to lead the May Day celebration at St Hubert s The
opening words of her song are remembered still Dear Mary we crown thee
with roses today Queen of the rosary queen of the May She joined her mother
in the choir in her teens Though relatively few girls went on to college in those
days her scholastic record would have warranted it However 1936 was the
depth of the depression and family finances made it impracticable and she went
to work in the bank for her father releasing him to spend increasing time in
politics In 1942 Mickey married Bill Hullsick who worked for Honeywell the
manufacturer of a tactically important bomb sight The following year Bill went
to the Pacific Theater with the Army Air Corps supervising installation and
improvements of the bomb sight frequently going along on missions including
one that was ditched in the sea Obviously the crew was rescued Mickey and
her daughter lived with her parents during those years After the war Bill s
career with various electronic companies took the family from Minneapolis to
Detroit Chicago Cedar Rapids New York City and Thousand Oaks California
They retired in Palm Desert but are considering moving back to the midwest
Their children include MaryBeth 1943 Richard 1948 Susan 1950 1975
Gretchen 1952 and Thomas 1954 An otherwise successful marriage has
been plagued by tragic illnesses of three children Susan Rickey and Tommy
The second born was Doug In his pre school years he frequently explored the
mysterious convent where the cook nun Sr Firmina taught him the Latin
Mass prayers He attended St Hubert s and Guardian Angel s schools Though
he entertained a romantic notion of going to the U S Naval Academy he was
sent to St John s University in 1940 That was interrupted by naval service
1943 1946 and assignment as radar officer on a destroyer in the Pacific with
several major engagements He returned to St John s for a celebratory year
and entered graduate school at the University of Minnesota Liberal politics was
more interesting and he joined a small nucleus in 1947 that seized control of the
Young DFL The DFL parent body had fallen into the hands of the popular
front after Elmer s 1945 retirement as state chairman Doug spent the next year
as a full time field organizer in the campaign which gained control of the party
and elected Hubert Humphrey to the U S Senate After nearly two years as
census director for the U S Bureau of the Census in Mankato and St Paul Dqug
married Dottie Berg of Edgar Wisconsin in late 1950 He worked as a systems
analyst at an ordnance depot in boring Sidney Nebraska the OPS in St Paul and
Gamble Skogmo in Minneapolis From 1954 to 1971 he directed electronic data
processing at MSI insurance in St Paul After doing the campaign scheduling for
Wendy Anderson s election as governor Doug was appointed to head the
Metropolitan Transit Commission for seven enjoyable and tumultuous years
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In 1978 he became the Secretarial Representative of USDOT in Chicago and
President Carter appointed him Chairman of the Federal Regional Council until
1981 Following those three years of weekend commuting he joined Tom s
North State Advisers His overdue retirement is imminent Doug and Dottie s
children Jeff 1951 Greg 1953 Bill 1954 PattyJo 1955 Robert 1958
1960 Brian 1961 The tragic event for this family was Bobby s death from
leukemia but the rest of the family is happy and well
Tom was the last addition to the family after an eight year hiatus He too
attended St Hubert s and Guardian Angel s schools and then entered St John s
University Although Mary Lano had been at Guardian Angel s with Tom she
had gone unnoticed and Tom didn t start courting her until she attended nearby
St Benedict s College With the advent of the Korean War in 1950 he joined the
U S Air Force While stationed in Texas with the help of an amateur radio
operator Tom proposed to Mary and they wed in Chaska in the summer of 1951
They traveled to Texas and found orders transferring him to Anchorage Alaska
to which he reported a few weeks later In 1953 he left service and sold
insurance for a few years while living first in Chaska and then Chanhassen In
1956 he began selling modular refrigeration panels for a Montgomery
manufacturer In a few years he bought the company and built it into a successful
business under the name of Polar Panels While living in Montgomery he also
organized a new bank to compete with the very conservative existing one The
lure of politics was strong however In 1956 he and a small group supported
Estes Kefauver for president and won the Minnesota delegation to the
Democratic National Convention He became Congressional District Chairman of
the DFL a confidant of Humphrey and a substantial power in state party affairs
In 1970 Wendy Anderson asked him to direct his first gubernatorial campaign
Governor Anderson then appointed Tom to be his Chief of Staff ill that position
he received both brickbats and accolades When he left that office in December
1976 29 state commissioners signed a plaque which reads The best and
brightest political boss in the history of Minnesota firm but fair ambitious but
loyal tough but reasonable state government will never be the same without
you Against Tom s advice Anderson resigned in order to receive appointment
from his successor to a U S Senate vacancy Tom accompanied him to
Washington for a time but Anderson was defeated in 1978 ill 1979 Torno
established North State Advisers which became the premier legislative lobbying
firm in Minnesota Tragedy stalked this KeIrn family too Mary was afflicted
with a malignant brain tumor and died in September 1992 at the home they built
in 1972 at Chaska after leaving Montgomery They had four daughters Lisa
1952 Christine 1953 Michele 1955 and Margaret 1962 Tom now lives
in Chanhassen near the homes of his children
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John L Geiser
Several of John s progenitors have been traced back as far as 1635 See
Ancestor Chart No 5 His father Gabriel first married Victoria Miller
Victoria had two children who died in infancy Then the records note
She was close to giving birth when she was viciously murdered during the
night of 22 MAY 1808 when she was on the country road near old mill
bench Gabriel then 36 married 18 year old Katharina Roth in 1809
Three children died in infancy but two survived Marzollin 1811 and
John 1812 Marzollin emigrated but when or where is not known
Katharina died in 1814 and Gabriel died in 1829 leaving 17 year old John
alone in Dunnigen Rottweil Wuerttemberg
Perhaps because he had no close family ties and perhaps to avoid
conscription John decided to go to America Traveling alone he went
down the Kinzig River to Strasbourg through the canals and rivers of
France past Paris to the port of Le Havre He purchased passage on
L Evelina a ship of only 100 feet in length and 24 feet in breadth After
nearly eight weeks at sea the ship arrived in Baltimore 18 JUN 1834 He
observed his 22nd birthday among strangers in steerage in mid Atlantic
Baltimore was a major port of entry for north European immigrants a
bustling city of about 80 000 As a footloose young bachelor it s likely
that John spent several months enjoying the city s delights while deciding
on his next move Near the end of 1834 John and his meager baggage
traveled by stage coach through the Cumberland Gap to the Monongahela
River Arriving in the small city of Pittsburg he transferred to an Ohio
River steamboat which took him into Ohio followed by a cross country
trek of some 20 miles to Salem What drew him there is a mystery
probably he heard of the emerging German community at that village In
1835 he met 18 year old Maria M Weimer and married her 10 JAN 1836
The best available land had been acquired by earlier settlers so John and his
new father in law Sam Weimer moved on to Indiana arriving at Avilla in
April 1836 John helped Sam clear his land and in 1838 bought 50 acres
from him in Allen Township In subsequent years John acquired additional
adjoining acreage
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1
When John and Maria wed in Salem there was no Catholic community so
the ceremony was perlormed by a Lutheran minister On 19 APR 1838
the couple drove their buggy some 20 miles to Fort Wayne to be married
by a Catholic priest This likely did not please Maria s father a devout
Lutheran During the 1840 s visits by a horseback priest occurred 2 or 3
times a year and Mass was held in John s log house In 1853 eight families
organized a parish and built a frame church on land donated by Geiser
According to John s obituary he and Maria had an incredible 14 children
but only eight survivors Family Group A 20 have been identified All
were born in Avilla In may 1864 in the midst of the Civil War the
family left Avilla It s not known how many possessions they moved but
at least part of the trip would have been by horse and wagon and took
many weeks They settled on a 155 acre farm less than a mile west of St
Hubert s Church in Chanhassen Tom KeIrn s condo in 1997 is on this
land John was 52 when he started this farm as well as a blacksmith shop
Both the home and shop were on the trail which is now Highway 5 about
175 yards west of the Excelsior road The south property line was the
shore of Lake Susan As a result of the 1853 treaty most Indians were
driven away when Harrison Morse obtained the land from the U S in
1856 It was foreclosed in 1858 by Dan Watson who sold it to M Fenney
in 1862 Geiser bought it for 2600 on 23 JUN 1864
Maria died in 1888 John died in 1902 at age 90 Before relating the
story of great grandfather Fred a few notes about his siblings will clarify
some relationships of which we have had only the most vague memories
The oldest of John and Maria s children Mary married Leonard Dosch in
Avilla in 1857 They left with the Geiser family and bought the land
directly across the road from her parents They had 8 children Contact
has been made with two of her great grandchildren Sister Michelle via
Mary s son William at St Scholastica Monastery Duluth Abbot Leander
via Mary s son Frank at the Abbey of the Holy Trinity in Utah They
therefore are third cousins of Mick Doug and Tom
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John C Geiser was the noted builder of over 30 Catholic churches in
south central Minnesota including St Hubert in Chanhassen Some of the
nearby churches include those at Chaska Shakopee Waconia Jordan and
Bell Plaine He married Kate Riley in 1870 whose family gave the name
of the lake south of the village His son Frank grew a family in Chaska
and Shakopee Daughter Anna Mrs John Mason was the mother of
Harry Frank Ray Other daughters Margaret Mrs M F Donahue
Agnes Mrs William Donahue Mary Mrs William Moran Catherine
Mrs Joseph Timmers Lena Mrs R E Cotton
Anna married Francis O Reilly brother of Kate Riley When Anna
died her son 4 year old Benjamin Sidney O Reilly was raised by her
brother John C Geiser Some of Sidney s relatives currently live in
Waconia
Marshall aka Marcellus drifted away to help build railroads around
Minnesota Some Census records show him in Duluth and Brainerd he
married Augusta a Swedish immigrant in 1879 and returned for his
father s funeral in 1902 He had a daughter Euphemia and a son George
but nothing more is known of him
Magdalena Lena married Henry Schroeder in 1880 They had a son
Fred b 1893 Lena Died in 1915 Henry in 1970 They share the Fred
Geiser tombstone the back side of course on which Schroeder is
embossed
None of Sam Geiser s descendants have been found but he is included in
this section because of the wonderful story reprinted from the 1882
Pioneer Press After his discharge from the Union Army Sam and Sara
Elizabeth had 8 children three of whom died in December 1876 and are
buried at St Hubert s and a son died at birth in Murdock Survivors were
Ida Clara Rosa May and Emily Emily Fredricks already in the process
of separating from her husband married Sam 27 APR 1882 as soon as the
divorce was final Her ex husband was the one who left town Emily died
in 1901 Sam moved to Sandstone where he married a young woman
named Maude see photo album Incidentally charges against Sam in
the St James Affair were dismissed for lack of a complainant He died
in Florida in 1926
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MINT PAUL AND JINNEAPOLIS PIONEER RES FEB 13 t882 i
I II I
A RURAL E10PEME T
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I A Scene B 2tnnlDt Near Jfurdoek StAUoD and
End1D hi lwle
a polll
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UupIeuant Exp ripDces ot amuel J GIBer and
lIra John w rr derlokf at the St
Jame Ye8te ay toming
I On Saturuay eTening BerJtt John Weet at
tbe l1iuDea p6l s portce or ce receiTed it le
gram rom Mr John W Fredericka I tarmer
r6lidiDg near MjnrdQok eu tfon on the
Breckenridge diTiaioo ot the MacHo
ba raihuy bu now ab8en rom
boma stating that hi ire had
prou bly eloptd with ODe Samoel iJ GiBer aD
utlJer fls rmer ro ddinin the 114IDO iciuity The
lIergeant was rurllier ireqUellred to apprebend
the guilty couple It they ahouldcome withlD
bill bailiwick and pow eU tbe tiU8 WLI di
cbalged wiH appear hereafter
HISTORY OF TIn Cl SJ
According to Lhtj Il tllotcWlelJ tot Mr Fredericka
Gkari He died abOut A month ago
leaving a roun child iD charge
ot tb father 11 Froderioks wishing to ao
as a Dei hbor II110uld lpder 8ticbu1rcumntao
coe invited Qit4ar lIolldi bis littr oue to make
tl1emtJelV81l at bume in bis Fredencka houtle
whertl the ohild could reoeive proper care alld
b comfortaLly JruTitledl tor until other ar
rangements coul be made Tbe kindly oll s
Wll prowptly aocepted by Oiser flU the Wir8
le s hUlSuand aDd motberleltll babe
Qecllmo mf mbors of tbe Fl elericks honse
lwld IIond Wltl1 more than ordirlary PJ ivlltj e8t
all illdwattfG by Sl1blOoq 11nt dov8lopmeota 1 11
rreJcricke allegelt thlL Giller began systematlc
ally to II lieul te the affeorions of Mrs Freder
JCJ H8 tJ l Oon as he oUtaiubd Ii foothold in tbe
family aud thetool1Hh woman appoars to
hava beeu a too wil1n viotim The
lJUHband thouth sUl pectihg that hill
Jom6Htlo riutd were belU tre pa8sod pre
rcrrod more couviucirig eThience ot gnilt than
he h d 9t obtlloint u I uujthe 810 o oratilM
ot tho la w to tho sumary Justice at shotgun
Tho bad eol1oII e prolrot sed lVltbnut any sed
Ollll uutbf ak unOdf tlie coot or IlIat country
farm bouse until aturday mOrbtng whell
Mrl Fredericks intormed bttr trieuda tbat abe
WlM going Ml nelj poli8 tt the Dext
train lIlU as no objeotion WUI
rnitsou She packed a few or her
p r8ouall tftlcts ami efar wd lo f a short limo
II ftcrward Frtldericks llIurmillod that eha bad
not truelod at alone but in company with
the gractlrul anu fasoinating Olae r ud briet
iuvetltiglltiori establisleu the accuracy ot hie
theory A friend tor frded tt43 telegram to
l llfllt WOt4t RlI d things boaaln to work at
thit until Jt tho llllo
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A SHOCKING DIllCOYEn
Tho l cvoral lll ult w iu VHll tctl on Satu rdllY
eVl nlltg JUt 110 warm trll i wut foulIel
until tlltl 8 rJ Cll1t viailOd tho Be JlI mOll botol
Y ere ho ouud t o namu J JOHopha 8 nJ
WIfe Clontllrt reglstoreu on t111 bool of the
hO1 o Bcitl SlItit ODd that tho right pair 1illJ
l l U ltulll1clul at last tlJo oftjc r pot tpOlied
hid U10tiL formHlable Il ttll CI nntilll lator hour
At 4 o clock u6terullY mtlltllllg lJo clI lleu at
the room to wl1ich Jotwphs an l wiro
had ueou 3 igned accomplltlled
by tWQ p trolm u and equilJpad
for tho trying uuty wIth a dark lantarll Tuoy
ook ll llovo1 lli t1nd soparate look over tho tl lI n
som fil st discovering two beud in the pl 1 t
meut and thou t11at aue ot thue conta ined t vo
uucou8cioui
SLEEPERS Fno MURDOCK
The rays of the ull rk lu ut6rn wero turned 1
directly upon the two boadtl nes tl d lovingly
t lgether on tho pillows wh n the
woman awoke with a tart and bounded
WHU St1rprI8IUg a ilIty inLo tho unoocupied
bcd but too latd to V1evelJ t th grand CII1 15
trophe
Gider WlS pln ccu uncler arre8t aud taken to
the police station but MrFrederICks was Der
mitted to remain attlte hotel unti tbe arrlvlI l
at the husband froro Murelock Sue is a IImalli
aDd slender woman With palo tace and auburn
hair aud applroutly tbe sonior
of bel par unonr Sho dill not
seem groa tly ovorccnaby tlJ disgra ceful po
sitiou in whioh t1btl had Jeen plAced by uer
own Tolnntll ry ct or the bla udisbmcuts of
Glder and the probllbility thit her hueblLnd
would apply tor divorce i 1 cposequeuoe or
her dcgraotug 8scapade WAd eVideutly regard
ed Willi more aatillfllctiou thau sorrow Tbe
seuuctivo Giaer ill about thirty five years ags
aKe WIth bushy iJa ir and wlJi k rs of 8 lluuy
color and as a whlJle ae cml a little proud of
hie granu ac iu tibe domclltlc riog runuinK
aw8 Y and deba uohip tlie wife otlJis hospitaWa
n igh or desertiug lJis hellJlells blld aud It lS Y
lUg it practicarry iti the Cllore of the man be b8d
irrepa nJly injured
A 8LOBDERntG SC E
Ye tcrdoYlltft lllOt L1 JUrIFlluerickA Tis teu
Git r a the locknpaul1 comfvrled
his 18 erated eelinis with I5I1CIt
ebullitIoDs of rampd rit a1Tection
tlJa t Offioer tKicrlllt n IJU 8 rIO EF t PtE S
reporl r both tongh anu accutS Lutlltu tu 11ll 1
rowing IIceneB could not posfliLJIY rOtuin
tlulir blu heli 1ud tca rs a nd retIred to an
dj1Cellt IIhed to give vellt tq thoir dil1turuuu
e ltllgl and emdtious It wall an t milltlutiv
sloppy ecene hICh bowever Will iot ar
rant IS thore exteudt d or lpecitlc lieecril tiou
AI the bUllban l yuot be able to reach Miu
neapolid in tiillO to aplH ar as a WiIUCit is
pOHlSiule that bOn l llt Wl t C ll ouly uter cum
phsfllt agamlSttltom tilt OCcilpyin apartmcU1ll
for imprOptH purpo5ol ll otI liB Pllllll1hll ule
mluer tue cit orilllll lIes nn tbat tue clI lple
Will tbus btl eUlIlJlllfl to lI Vjulll nlloro HUIlUUH
1
cousequOUC18undertho opOr Il t10111S of tho gon
erallaw
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Maria Magdalena Weimer
The woman who became the wife of John L Geiser was born to J
Samuel Weimer and Magdalena Buttel Ancestor Chart 6 Sam was
born in the northernmost tip of Baden Germany in 1793 at the village of
Sonderrieth in the county of Wertheim Over hundreds of years many
generations of Weimers lived in that small county as vassals of the Counts
of the House of Lowenstein They were oppressively taxed and few could
be described as anything other than destitute Wertheim was
overwhelmingly Lutheran and did not easily permit Catholics to enter and
narrow limits were set on the number of Jews Perhaps because of its
geographic location Wertheim was drawn into war after war and few
young men escaped army service Sam returned from service in the
Napoleonic wars with a partial disability and married at age 23 A process
called manumission allowed a vassal to pay a fee for release for
emigration Sam petitioned for such release in April 1832 and with his
wife son Peter and daughters Maria Margretha sailed down the rivers
Main and Rhine to Rotterdam A sailing ship brought them to Baltimore in
September 1832 It s likely that Sam s family quickly traveled north 45 50
miles to one of the early Pennsylvania Dutch communities in York or
Lancaster counties However there was little opportunity or funds to
obtain land in those long established communities Late in 1833 he moved
on to Ohio having heard of a growing community of German settlers in
Salem But here too while he subsisted for two years by his trade
carpentry his desire to be a landowner dictated a further move to the west
It appears that his wife Magdalena died at this time and he was already 43
years old when the family including his new son in law John Geiser
pushed on to Avilla Indiana where in April 1836 he was able to buy 160
acres from the federal government at 1 25 per acre adjoining the village
to the north Sam could not read English so after clearing the land and
building a cabin and barn he found that it was not his property Another
piece of land was pointed out to him and he build another cabin and began
clearing it Once again he was notified that he was on the wrong farm
His hard labor lost he faced poverty and despair before at last he found his
own land In the next few years he found his large farm too much to
cultivate alone so he sold parts of it to his son Peter and his sons in law
Frank Borck and John Geiser He had at least two more wives Anna
Maria Hess who died in 1870 and Margaret Flagler who he married about
3 months later when he was 77 Weimer died 20 AUO 1873 less than a
month after changing his will by which he gave each of his children 5 00
John Geiser then in Minnesota wrote to the executor rejecting his wife s
inheritance
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Fred Anthony Geiser
When Fred s father bought the farm in 1864 he was 52 years old and part
of the land was not yet cleared so the older children pitched in Fred was
only eight and did not contribute much hard labor Since there are no
mortgage loans recorded John must have paid cash obtained from the sale
of his Avilla assets and the farm was profitable from the start Fred s
father and older brothers soon became involved in local politics The
minutes of an 1866 town meeting show John as Chairman Board of
Supervisors and Sam as Town Clerk At age 22 Fred found Charlotte
Miller in Eden Prairie and they married at St Hubert 06 AUG 1878
They quickly had their first child Jack followed over the next 20 years by
Rosa Bill Walter and Clarence Fred bought a substantial tract from his
father in 1883 and other small pieces were sold to the railroad the school
district and Arnold Schutrop leaving 80 acres in John s name When
mother Maria died in 1888 all of the children were married and gone
except Fred who with Lottie stayed on the farm to care for John until
his death in 1902 However in 1900 Fred sold the livestock and started
renting the land to others while he started a butter and egg delivery
business to residents along the south shores of Minnetonka That year this
interesting item appeared in the Valley Herald We are informed that
Fred Geiser is inventing the electric light in his house We wish him
success Apparently word had not reached Chanhassen that Thomas
Edison had accomplished this feat 21 years earlier Perhaps the reporter
meant to say installing rather than inventing
Upon his father s 1902 death Fred inherited the remaining 80 acres
perhaps as a reward for taking care of John The entire farm was sold to
Tony Schmieg in 1916 for 15 000 Fred bought G W Cordell s house
across the street from St Hubert s cemetery and 75 yards south of the
church corner Like everything else in the way of the automobile the
house was replaced 70 years later by a parking lot The family including
Walter and Clarence moved into their home in February 1903 Lottie
tended a flock of chickens and churned butter while Fred continued his
delivery business On the road to Excelsior Hwy 17 a short distance
from existing Hwy 5 were two steep but modest hills One day Fred lost
control of his spirited horse overturned his wagon and sent tubs of butter
rolling down the hill Though most did not know why a half century later
these hills were still called the butter hills They are gone now in
keeping with the dictum of developers and road builders to level every
hill and fill every valley Remarkably a 1908 photo of his wagon shows
the number of his telephone probably the only one in town In 1915 the
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horse and wagon gave way to Fred s first truck an International Fred was
an insistent collector of the offerings at Sunday Mass It did no good to
shake one s head while showing a five dollar bill he simply dug change out
of his coat pockets In later years in good weather his great grandchildren
found him seated on the front lawn and after a few long tales he would
invariably point across the street with the admonition to take pride that
waiting for him was the biggest goddam tombstone in the cemetery It
still is
All of Fred and Lottie s children were born on the farm but most had
departed before the move into the village
Jack went to work with the Milwaukee Road about 1899 and lived with
his sister on the second floor of Henry Kelm s store for a time He
married Sadie Nee in 1903 It s uncertain when he ended up in the station
agent s job in White Rock South Dakota where he died in 1940 They had
two children LeRoy and Myrl Nothing more is known of possible
descendants
Rose s story is related in connection with Henry KeIrn whom she
married in 1898 and with whom she produced Elmer and Vernice
Rose died in 1963 and was buried in Guardian Angel s cemetery at Chaska
with her second husband John Boegeman
Bill left the farm when he was 19 and clerked in the Kelm General Store
for a short time before following his older brother into railroading About
1906 he became station agent at Wilmot South Dakota where he spent the
rest of his life At age 36 he married Mabel who died a couple of years
later in 1920 The next year Bill married Leila Nancarrow Their only
son Robert was born in Wilmot 18 SEP 1923 Bob married Betty
Nelson of Webster SD in 1947 They have two children Bill Geiser
b 1951 of Medford WI and Becky Darbey b 1954 of San Diego CA
Bob and Betty retired in Arlington Heights IL after a career with
AT T
Walter was 11 years old when the family moved into the village About
1912 he also went to work for the Milwaukee Road becoming a station
agent at Fairmount ND There he married Ella who gave him three
children Floyd Dale and Rose Marie After his first wife died Walter
married Elvira who produced a ouple more children Nothing is known
of any descendants of either group of children Walter was known for his
easy acquisitions of trivial assets such as trespassing chickens stray tools
or shined fish
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Clarence was a late arrival 1899 and spent most of his boyhood
playtime with his nephew Elmer Kelm who was younger by only a year
He enlisted in the U S Navy in 1917 and served on the battleship USS New
York His life was marked as a loveable opponent of prohibition An
excellent mechanic he operated a garage adjacent to his parents home on
land Fred had bought in 1908 from John Mason Clarence lived on the
second floor of the garage He didn t marry Isabel Peters until he was
about 59 and there were no children He was a great story teller a Rube
Goldberg sort of inventor and a favorite of his great grandnephews Jeff
Greg Bill KeIrn
Frederick C Miller I
Charlotte Lottie Miller s father and subsequent Fred s are given
roman numeral labels though the labels were not used during their lives
Upon immigration his surname Milller or Mueller was anglicized
Fred I was born in 1825 in Bavaria Nothing more of his background is
known It appears that he arrived alone in New York City 25 MAR 1850
on the sailing ship St Denis from LeHavre Soon thereafter he went to
Chicago where he met and married Dorothea Charlotte Matthei She
was one of three children born to Christian Ernest Matthei and Ernestina
Antoinetta Koch in Leer Hanover Prussia and baptized in the Lutheran
church of that town Christian was a leather manufactory a tanner
In 1848 Dorothea Charlotte married Jurjan Julius Hagins a tanner from
the nearby town of Aurich Early 1849 Hagins and his brother in law
Adolph Matthei left on an investigative trip to America During this time
a daughter Wichardine Adolphine Hagins was born 05 AUG 1849 She is
later referred to as Fienchen or Fanny A few months later Adolph
returned and urged his father s family to go with him to America which
they did early 1850 No mention is made of Hagins thereafter other than
speculation as to his death divorce or desertion The family remained in
New York City long enough for mother Matthei to die of homesickness
After burying Ernestina the family moved to Chicago where Christian and
Adolph resumed their tannery trade Fred Miller I and Dorothea Charlotte
married 01 JUL 1851 and had children Nettie 1852 and John 1854
before moving to Chanhassen with Christian their two children and 6 year
old Fanny Hagins Adolph stayed in Chicago but sister Julia moved to
Oregon with her husband Martin Viesko That was an arduous six month
trek across plains deserts and mountains on the Oregon Trail Fred s
extended family probably traveled on the new railroad from Chicago to
Rock Island and thence to S1 Paul by steamboat He squatted on an 80 acre
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tract in Chanhassen in 1855 see map and received title from U S in
1860 In 1856 both Christian and Fanny died black small pox and were
buried in hand made boxes in unmarked graves on the farm The rest of
the Miller children were born in the Chanhassen farm house Lottie
1857 Fred II 1859 Fienchen another Fanny 1860 Louise 1862 Carl
1864 About six months later Carl died and also was buried on the farm
in this case in a small manufactured casket his father carried home from
Shakopee under one arm with a keg of whiskey under the other In May
1867 Fred I sold this farm to Michael Schuller and moved his young family
about 5 miles east to Eden Prairie to a 140 acre farm on the southwest
shore of Lake Mitchell Here Fred died in 1874 See Family Group A 22
Frederick F Miller II stayed on the farm until he built the Miller
General Store just south of the railroad tracks in 1881 Apparently his
mother moved into the attached house and helped run the store Dorothea
Charlotte s delightful answer to the 1900 census question occupation was
capitalist She remained the matriarch of the Miller clan until her death
in 1910 John had joined Fred II in operating the store and in adding feed
grain and creamery operations John s children were Alvin 1894 LeRoy
1900 Marie 1904 The children of Fred II were Arthur 1890 Fred III
1893 Harold 1897 Norman 1901
Fred II is not well remembered since he died in 1929 but his wife who
continued to operate the store was affectionately known to everyone as
Aunt Kate She died in 1950 and the store burned in 1963 Fred ill and
his wife Ann Hirscher had 3 children who were close to the Elmer Kelm
children Aldine Fred IV Fritz and Gerald Jim
Miller Brothers General Store West of County Road
4 and south of the railroad tracks
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Weinand Weller
Petrus Weller 1765 1814 and Katharine Mohrs 1763 1852 had four
children one of which was Weinand b 1792 Weinand and his siblings
were born in Rubenach now a section of Koblenz on the northwest side of
the Mosel River He married Anna Katharina Hoefer from neighboring
Metternich in 1825 Confirmed by various German records were the
following children John 1827 Appolonia 1829 Michael 1831 Peter
1833 Martin 1835 Martin died at age 9 and John emigrated in 1853
Three years after his mother s death Weinand along with his wife and
three remaining children received permission 30 JUL 1855 to emigrate
The Royal Prussian Government documents stated that Michael and Peter
were physically unfit for military service and that the family wished to
join their son who had emigrated two years earlier
The Weller family s roots in Rubenach have been traced for eight
generations before Weinand to early in the 1600 s On historical tidbit is
too charming to ignore Weinand s great grandmother Gertrude then age
19 appeared at the church to have her child baptized The Latin record
reads On the 27th of August 1725 an illegitimate son of Gertrude
Weller was baptized called Johannes Theodoris When she was questioned
about the father in the meeting which was held on the first Sunday of
August she answered that the father was rumored to be a certain son of an
illegibly named family but she responded that she herself did not know
and that she had made publicly known that she did not know Having
abruptly interrupted Weinand s story we return to it without apology
In early September 1855 Weinand s family embarked at LeHavre on the
sailing ship Johannesberg arriving at New Orleans 12 NOV 1855 New
Orleans was a wild city of about 150 000 and immigrants did not long
tarry there so it is assumed that Weinand quickly obtained passage on a
steamboat up the Mississippi to St Louis at least Navigation was closed
19 NOV 1855 because Lake Pepin was iced over so it s possible that they
got as far as LaCrosse by steamboat Whether they wintered there or went
overland to St Paul is unknown but their arrival at son John s home in
Wright County was no later than the spring of 1856 At this point there
no longer is any record of daughter Appolonia
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No doubt the family stayed with John for part of 1856 but since he was not
yet married his home was probably barely adequate and his farm could
not support the extended family Weinand was nearly 64 and anxious to
get his other sons settled so they moved south about 25 miles to Eden
Prairie where the special census of 1857 found them The 1860 census
located them on an Excelsior farm Both of these farms must have been
occupied on a rental or share crop basis About 1861 they began working
a farm in Chanhassen but they didn t acquire ownership until 14 OCT
1864 when Michael and Peter each bought 40 acres of adjoining land from
John Wey for 125 Weinand was then 72 years of age He and his wife
Anna Katharina lived with Michael until they died in 1871 and 1872
respectively and were buried in St Hubert s cemetery
John Weller s story was learned from the extensive research of Carol
Boedekker Genet of Seymour MO Carol is the daughter of Louise
Weller Lillefloren the daughter of John Weller Jr the son of John Weller
Sr the son of Weinand The 1860 census records show John living on
land in Buffalo Township west of Pelican Lake in Wright County Iand he
apparently preempted before the Homestead Act In 1860 John Weller Sr
married Maria Molleter a Luxembourg emigrant They had seven boys
and a girl The first five were born in Wright County and baptized at St
Michaels the next three were born after the family moved to the Red
River Valley Carol reports that five of the sons never married and were a
wild bunch of unkempt drunkards Only John Jr b 1862 Mary Weller
Leeb 1869 and Albert 1881 produced stable families John Weller Sr
and Maria moved their family to Hendrum Township Norman Co MN in
1871 They died in 1904 and 1919 and were buried in Quincy Cemetery
Hendrum John Jr had five daughters and of Albert s six offspring only
Jennings had children so there are very few of John Sr s descendants who
bear the Weller name
Michael Weller the second son of Weinand was 24 years old when his
father s family migrated in 1855 He married Theresia Kohler an
Austrian emigrant from White Bear Lake MN bringing her into the
extended family household in 1861 three years before he obtained title to
his 40 acre plat The south end of his and brother Peter s properties is
marked by today s Chanhassen water tower Theresia bore ten children
Peter 1863 Catherine 1865 Mary 1867 Anna 1869 Elizabeth
1872 John 1874 twin Margaret 1874 John 1875 Josephine 1879
Joseph 1881 The first John died in infancy and Catherine died when 17
Michael was a troubled man by 1882 struggling to support this large
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family with only one son old enough to help operate the farm And that
son had left to work and live on a neighbor Dennis Peter s farm On
21 JUL 1882 Michael walked to nearby Long Lake aka Lotus and
drowned himself How Theresia managed to carry on is not known but
she did until her death 10 MAR 1902 Probate divided the assets equally
among the children It appears that sons Peter and Joseph worked the farm
for some years before it was sold to John Kerber about 1912 Only three
of Michaels children are known to have married Peter Mary Lubbe
Elizabeth Miller No information on their descendants is available
Peter Weller was 21 when the family emigrated from Rubenach He
remained within the Weller household during its many moves until he
acquired his own 40 acres in Chanhassen in 1864 He was nearly 35 years
of age when he married Mary Elizabeth Dots a 17 years old girl from
a farm near Cologne They had ten children on their Chanhassen farm see
Family Group A 12 One died in infancy and one never married All but
John spent their lives in the immediate area and produced 40
grandchildren for Peter and Lizzie Most of their children had long life
spans John lived to 105 and five others ranged in age from 80 to 97 when
they died
Other than Grandpa Lambert Weller the only one of Peter s children I can
remember is Anna Weller Welter and her younger children Edna Rosckes
Mildred Pauly Aldine Wartman Bernard Alfreda Anderson all of whom
are alive today For some reason I also know few of the next generation
Notable exceptions are Bertha McMahon daughter of Michael and mother
of Dorothy Kalinowski Helen Pauly Adams daughter of Appolonia Sister
Hubert daughter of Hubert
Mary Elizabeth Dols Lizzie was the fifth of the eight children of
John Jan Lambert Dols and Anna Catherine Vandereyken both from the
province of Limburg Holland See Family Group A 26 All of the
children were born in Limburg and all but Hubert delayed for a year for
military service and Beatrix died at birth left for America with their
parents in 1862 on the sailing ship Chace from Antwerp to New York
City Within days of their arrival in May of that year John bought a 160
acre farm east of Cologne in Carver county When his wife died in 1870 at
age 56 all but his two youngest sons were married and John returned to
Holland where he married his brother s widow He died in Ophoven
Limburg in 1897 His daughter Lizzie had married Peter Weller in
1868 and died on the Chanhassen farm in 1903
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Peter Weller retired from his farm about 1906 when he was 73 and lived
with one of his children near Cologne for some years It s likely his
youngest sons ran the farm When Peter died in 1913 at the Chanhassen
home of his daughter Appolonia Pauly the farm was sold to Al Kerber
w
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Peter s farm about 1912 Michael s in the background
Lambert J Weller
Lambert was the first child of Peter and Lizzie born in 1869 In view of
the family s size prudence dictated that he seek a different occupation so in
1894 he learned the carpentry trade in Chaska with his uncle John A Dols
whose business Peter had helped to finance From his uncle he also learned
the furniture business and undertaking in which his wife later would also
participate Lambert married Anna Mary Driessen in 1897 and they had
five children See Family group A 6 Where they lived the first five
years of this marriage is uncertain perhaps with Uncle John In 1902
Lambert bought the building at 103 West 2nd St enlarged it to the rear
and added a two bedroom second floor apartment above the furniture store
and mortuary He thus became a competitor of his uncle about five doors
down the street His building contracts included a wonderful variety the
1902 enclosure and gallows by the old courthouse for a murderer the 1906
brick and carpentry work for the two story First National Bank the
building of stills for moonshiners out in the woods residences including
the one Elmer and Loretta Kelm built in Chanhassen In the meantime
Annie operated the furniture store and assisted her husband as a licensed
funeral director For his undertaking business Lambert used a horse
drawn hearse see photo album until he bought a motorized gray hearse
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in the 1920 s He found time for local politics too In 1921 he was elected
to the city council continued as alderman most of his life and served as
Council President Though Farmer Laborites were typically Scandinavian
Lutherans Lambert loosely affiliated with that quasi socialist movement
This despite as author John Haynes records it contained a strain of
evangelical Protestantism that viewed Catholicism with disquiet and that
made Catholics uneasy in their turn Moreover he certainly rejected the
temperance stance of the F L Party The Chaska Chanhassen Germans
Hollanders were avid supporters of the repeal of prohibition After a
four month struggle with heart disease Lambert died in 1938 Annie
continued the business on an ever reducing scale until 1963 She died in
1967 and was buried with her husband in Guardian Angels cemetery
Following are synopses of their children s lives
Loretta Catherine WeIler the first child of Lambert Annie was born
at Chaska in 1900 She attended Guardian Angel s grade school As an
adult she was thought of as shy but the newspaper report of the 1915
commencement entertainment says that she played several supporting roles
in a drama entitled Das Bettelprinzesschen Since the GA High School
was not yet established she attended the local public high school for some
years She married Elmer F Kelm in the spring of 1918 The wedding
took place at St Mark s Church in St Paul and the reception was at Uncle
Joe Driessen s home nearby See invitation in photo album The vague
reason for the locale was the discouraging of large public gatherings
during the great flu epidemic that year Loretta bore three children see
Family Group A 2 She died in 1974 and was buried with Elmer in St
Hubert s cemetery
Hildegarde R Weller was born in 1902 She attended Guardian Angel s
and Chaska Public High Schools On 27 JUN 1923 she married Joseph
Doolin of Carver where they resided with her in laws This obviously
unhappy marriage was dissolved in 1931 with custody of the daughter
given to Hildegarde and custody of the son to Joe Claire was born in
1924 and married Robert MacGillivray in 1948 James was born in 1925
and married Elinore Nierson in 1947 Hildegarde died of a brain tumor in
1933 Joe died in 1954
Rev Philip Weller baptized Thomas was born in 1906 and attended
Guardian Angels and Chaska Public Schools In 1924 he entered St John s
University at Collegeville subsequently studying at St Paul Seminary and
St Mary s Seminary in Baltimore where he was ordained in 1933 for the
Diocese of LaCrosse He served at a half dozen parishes in Wisconsin with
frequent leaves of absence to either study or teach at the Liturgical
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Academy at Maria Laach Germany Notre Dame Catholic University St
Vincent College Loyala and Yale One suspects that the apparent ease with
which he obtained leaves may indicate that his bishop found him difficult
to manage He died in 1995 at St Therese Home in New Hope MN
Jerome M Weller was born in 1908 He attended Guardian Angel s and
Chaska Public Schools after which he studied chemistry at St John s and
Marquette Universities graduating in 1930 during the depression He
worked for A O Smith in Milwaukee the federal government in
Washington D C Brown Bigelow in St Paul and Honeywell in
Minneapolis before retiring in Minneapolis In 1936 Jerry married
Crescentia Eich of Little Falls who taught school at Chaska He and Cris
adopted three children Michael b 1940 Stephen b 1945 m Nancy
Kalin 1971 Catherine b 1947 m James Schuler 1969 Cris died in
1987 Jerry in 1989
Victor M Weller was born in 1914 and attended the grade school and
the new high school at Guardian Angels Incidentally that high school
closed in 1973 after instructing most of the grandchildren of Lambert and
Annie Vic graduated from the school of mortuary science at the
University of Minnesota As a licensed mortician and funeral director he
joined Lambert and Annie in the family business but also worked as a
postal clerk Vic became the Chaska Postmaster in 1940 In late 1942 he
joined the Army Air Corps and served as a sergeant at bases in Florida
California and Illinois Vic had been dating Elizabeth Davis of St Peter a
teacher at Chaska Betty joined him at the Air Corps Base in
Lawrenceville illinois where they married in 1944 After discharge in
1946 Vic returned to his position as Postmaster They had three children
Ann Hutchings b 1947 John b 1949 m Martha Ann Turbett 1991
Peter b 1951 Vic and Betty are retired in Chaska
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Thomas Driessen
Thomas was the father of Anna Driessen Weller He was born in 1837
in Obbicht Limburg Holland where he was baptized in the Roman
Catholic faith see Family Group A 28 for parentage and siblings The
province of Limburg was the only section of Holland heavily populated by
Catholics Essentially Germanic in culture and language Holland was
influenced over many decades by occupying rulers of Austria France and
Spain Occasionally a foreparent s name indicates a possible infusion of
French or Spanish blood Even in the 19th mid century when restrictive
religious laws were being relaxed the Calvinists promoted riots directed at
Catholics In any case when Thomas emigrated his stated reason was the
desire for religious freedom He appears to be the only member of his
immediate family to come to America but large numbers of his area of
Limburg did so especially to Carver County Thomas went to Antwerp
in April 1863 and purchased a steerage ticket to New York City and thence
to St Paul and to Chaska arriving in early summer of 1863 His
whereabouts for the next two years is unknown but he probably worked
for other Hollander farmers in the vicinity On 25 NOV 1865 he married
Catherine Van Mulken from Born Limburg Kate s mother Maria
widowed by Anton Van Mulken had married Casper Janssen and
immigrated to a farm in Laketown township in 1862 See Family Group
A 30 Tom and Kate wed in S1 Victoria s church In 1866 Thomas
bought a small farm of 25 acres in Chanhassen very near the village of
Chaska Peter Weller s recent research reports Thomas nicknamed
Timka had a lively sense of humor and a healthy thirst for beer He also
thought of himself as a ladies man His free spirit sometimes took him
beyond proper decorum in the eyes of his relatives they looked on some of
his habits with disapproval
Tom and Kate had nine children two of which died in infancy Family
Group A 14 records that the Driessen children generally had long life
spans three of them attaining 95 years and others 81 and 86 Few of
Tom s grandchildren are living today 1997 Victor Weller and Betty
Finell Joe Driessen s daughter both age 83
Thomas retired from the farm in 1901 when he and Kate moved to Chaska
Tom gradually became blind and depended on his grandchildren to guide
him to his friends at his favorite saloon Kate died in 1915 and Tom in
1916 Our Annie Weller was the last of their children to survive
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CHANHASSEN2CI
lto
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Township 116 North
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Sec 12 Peter Michael Weller farms Weinand s 80 acres 1857
Sec 13 Frederick Gottfried KeIrn farm 80 acres 1866
Sec 14 Add I Frederick KeIrn farm 140 acres 1874
Sec 14 John L Geiser farm blacksmith shop 115 acres 1864
Sec 27 Frederick Miller s first farm 80 acres 1855
Sec 33 Thomas Driessen farm 25 acres 1866
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CHANHASSEN
@
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5T ALOYS
5T CLAIR l
7 I
51
I s IZ I
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J 1 J J S I s
ST MARYS ST
17 a IIIIIX
0
2111
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rHU6ERTUS
GtRMAN
CATH CHURCH
c4oJ
10
1 5 Elmer Kelm residences
in chronological order
Village Hall
Village Park
Fred Geiser Home
Henry Kelm General Store
R R Depot
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CHANHASSEN
A history of our families is not complete without some understanding of the
community they established and lived in for several generations Native
Americans hunted and fished there for thousands of years but the first entry of
the white man in Chanhassen township was in 1852 by a sooner Joseph
V ogel a German who settled on land on the Minnesota River bluffs a few miles
south of the village yet to be After Indian treaties became official in 1853
German and Hollander immigrants quickly moved into the area along with a
colony of Yankees in the Lake Minnewashta vicinity According to the
territorial census of 1857 more than half of the early settlers in the township
were born in Germany In the eastern half where the inhabitants gravitated
toward the nascent village 95 were German and Hollander almost all
Catholic and it remained so for nearly 100 years The organization of the
township took place in 1858 taking the name Chanhassen although the hamlet
was referred to as St Hubertus for over three decades more
There was a deep cultural religious and political divide between the Yankee
Protestant Republicans and the GermanlHollander Catholic Democrats The
former used adjectives like ignorant lawless and scum in reference to the
latter The discord was accentuated by the immigrant s lack of enthusiasm for
the Civil War since many had fled the continent in part to avoid conscription
in never ending European wars In addition the foreigners drank beer and
brandy and often worked on Sundays However before 1870 political power
had shifted to the growing number of foreign immigrants
Original founders of the parish of St Hubert in 1865 included John L Geiser
and Peter Weller An 18x24 log cabin church was built followed by a larger
frame building in 1872 and the red brick church in 1887 adjacent to the
cemetery Jeff Kelm was baptized there as were his father and grandfather
It s no surprise that village life was dominated by the church its rites and
customs In addition to the major religious feasts a first communion was a
community event and the celebration of Corpus Christi was a joyous affair
with ringing bells choirs strewn flowers and banners with a procession
through the village to three small chapels decorated by competing groups of
ladies Non religious affairs such as card parties plays and ice cream socials
were offered by various church societies The church sponsored annual Harvest
Festival or Chicken Dinner persists to this day with its beer garden and
games of chance There was no public school St Hubert s built a school and
convent in 1881 The floor plan of the two story yellow brick building was in
the form of a cross It was designed and built by John C Geiser In its first
seven decades three classrooms served no more than 80 pupils The outhouses
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were regularly scrubbed by the schoolgirls The boys helped the nuns by
periodically cleaning the chicken coop and mowing the grass The children also
swept the classroom floors and fed wood to the pot bellied stoves The
unchanging nature of the community is demonstrated by the fact that EImer
KeIm and two of his children had the same first grade teacher Sr Bernadette
The school building was tom down on the day of Loretta KeIm s funeral in
1974 She would not have cared to see this occur
Some claim the village was organized in 1896 to isolate itself from an
aggressive temperance movement in the township The first and for many
decades the only public building was the 1898 Village Hall The city fathers
weren t big spenders in the 30 s when the kids played in the never locked hall
and jail the village s flag told them there were only 46 states and the wall map
showed Oklahoma as Indian Territory The small tower on the Village Hall
held a fire bell which Doug KeIrn then age 6 had never heard On a dare he
rang it during High Mass across the street Unfortunately his father was among
those who charged out of the church The adjoining small park had a bandstand
for the Chanhassen Booster Band that played in the early part of the century
In its early days the village had several saloons to slake the thirst of the
villagers as well as transient Italian railroad workers Prohibition was not
allowed to radically change their life style Most houses had crocks of home
brew the woods had moonshine stills and a saloon masqueraded as a
confectionery store which also featured a pool table and a barber shop
One of the more charming sights each day during the 20 s and 30 s was the
passing of the cows Ole Kerber s barn at the west end of the village was
separated from his pasture at the north side His dairy herd therefore traversed
main street on its way to and from milking Nobody bothered to clean up the
cows droppings Each family daily sent someone to buy the unpasteurized milk
from the two farms located within the village
Each spring one could watch the butchering of dozens of turtles behind
Meuwissen s Bar in preparation of a grand stew or wander to the nearby
garage to eat smoked carp Within a mile are six lakes with mostly pan fish
Fred and Lottie s great grandson was frequently drafted to row the boats they
rented from farmers for a long day s outing
Throughout much of its history German was the primary language of
Chanhassen Even as late as 1930 one or two children arrived at St Hubert s
school fluent in German but with limited English skills
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At the turn of the century Chanhassen was but a small hamlet around the
church A visitor atthat time wrote his impressions of the village
Chanhassen is a German settlement and German is almost the
only language heard among the villagers and the farmer folk from
the surrounding country who drive in for mass on a Sunday
morning and linger for a bit of neighborly gossip before hitching
their sturdy teams to wagons buggies and carryalls and driving
home again You cannot walk through Chanhassen without
catching a suggestion of its Bavarian atmosphere It is unfortu
nately rather too closely connected with American civilization by
the main line of the Milwaukee Road but the tracks run through
a sort of shallow gully and when no trains disturb the quietude
the pedestrian and even the motorist may imagine himself in
some friendly settlement in the Schwarzwald or the foot hills of
the Alps
Advances in technology had little influence on Chanhassen The Milwaukee
Road railway caused a small spurt in growth when it was built through the
village in 1882 but it mostly confirmed the location of the village The first
telephone came about 1905 but most homes in the 20 s had none Electric
lighting arrived in 1923 but was limited for some years to business and street
lighting Although Marconi s radio message was sent in 1901 commercial
broadcasting began only in the 20 s and when Chanhassen s unanimous vote for
Al Smith hit the air waves in 1928 there were few radios to hear it in the
village Elmer KeIrn s new house in 1929 had the first indoor bathroom in
town The 1908 Model T Tin Lizzie brought motoring to the public but in
1915 there were less than 20 autos in the entire township The Chaska Weekly
Herald provided local news in a Chanhassen column which reported who had
visited whom church functions and obituaries Following are a few more
interesting items from 1915 editions
Gushu Off for W iltmar
John Gushue Guenser was taken
to the inebriate asylum at Willmar on
1VfondlY evening by Will Gatz son of
Sheriff Gus Gatz H will now enjoy
the good things and the bad things
of the state s famous jag farm and we
hope it does him good While harm
less and foolish to a marked degree
Gooshue was without personal pride
whatever and has been so ever since
we first knew him He was not of an
industrious disposition and somehow
managed to keep going without indul
girig in what is commonly known as
labor
A sneak thief entered the William
Nelson residence on Wednesday night
unobserved and got away with Mr Nelson s
trousers which had been placed as usual
in the second floor bedroom where Mr and
Mrs Nelson slept
NOTICE
This is to certify that Theodore
Welter is an habitual drunkard and
any person or persons selling or giv
ing or causing him to secure any in
toxicating liquors will be prosecuted
to the full extent of the law
N E PAULY
President of the Village Council
Fred A Geiserfo und a large sheep
skin driving mitt on the Chan1assen
Victoria road near the John A KeIzer
place in this township The qwner
can have same by calling on Mr Gei
ser or he may bring the mate to Mr
Geiser who says he has not use for
one mitt as he still has two hands
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From time to time the village had an unarmed part time constable mostly to
escort the saloons overindulgers to the jail overnight with simple release the
next morning There were no attorneys disputes were resolved without
outside intervention There was no resident doctor home remedies and
midwives usually sufficed There was no accountant no realtor and not even a
barber or a banker until 1915 In some respects the first 100 years after Joseph
Vogels 1852 land entry were unbelievably simple That is not to say that those
years were easy the land was conquered while wars droughts epidemics and
depressions were endured
A measurement of the static nature of the village may be viewed from its
population statistics
1900 175
1910 164
1920 129
1930 128
1940 132
1950 182
Following wwn the pent up demand for housing caused the sale of
surrounding farms for housing developments the loss of the church woods
and the shores of nearby lakes divided into home lots Someone thought it
would be nice to put a couple curves in St Hubert s street and give it a new
name The village Hall was moved 30 feet resting at a cockeyed angle closing
off the street on which it had faced for 90 years The old church was almost
lost before someone moved to place it on the historic register The village was
by passed with a new highway The old business section has been razed and
shopping centers and fast foodjoints line the new highway New developments
are in the typical suburban style two or three garages with a home attached to
the back The last 20 years since the new immigrants took control from the
old have been especially disastrous in the eyes of those with an idyllic notion
of their hometown Some S O B has said that you can t stop progress so the
Chanhassen I loved will live on only in vivid memory
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Rear view of Village Hall
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Mickey KeIrn Hullsiek Margaret O Reilly
Tom KeIrn Fritz Miller
Dottie Kehn Ernie Shuldheiss
Peter Weller Dorothy Kalinowski
Victor Weller Betty Finell
Betty Dols Archives of Germany Holland
Robert Geiser Carver County Recorder
Muriel Cords Swift Conty Recorder
Carol Boedekker Genet Chanhassen Historical Society
Beverly Shank Carver County Historical Society
Mildred Weimer Minnesota Historical Society
Martha Bushong
Edna Rosckes
Mormon Family History Center
u S Minnesota Census
Diane Gramith
Mystic S aport Museum
Minneapolis St Paul Libraries
Sr Michelle Dosch OSB
LaMont Boegeman Weekly Valley Herald
Dutch Pauly
Harold Kerber
Beth Hanson
Lynn Malek
Sonja Nashimoto Mary Lewis
A particular word of thanks to Peter Betty Carol whose family
histories were of special value to Bob Muriel for their generous
loan of old photos and to Beverly for our extended correspondence
42
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Regarding the Photo Album
Some branches of the family are better represented than others in
the Photo Album This resulted from luck or greater
cooperation by those who loaned the originals rather than bias
on the part of the editor
You may find a few minor discrepancies between dates noted on
photos and those found elsewhere in the book The latter are
more accurate as the album was prepared before other research
was completed
The appearance of some of our ancestors might be cause of some
chagrin but no doubt it was the fault of the photographer
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P I U I hy I h I l1ill N t II l j
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Fannie Miller LaPlante 1860 1893
X K v J J J jllIjV1VEAPOLL
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fV1iHer BrothersGenera Storelest Road
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Mickey Kelrn 23 Mickey GARS Graduation 36 Bill Hullsiek Mickey 42
Lynn Hemsey Juane Boegeman Pat Heath Danice Dailey Mickey Fr Phil W
Bill Tom Gilbert Bob Hullsiek Claire Doolin Diana Heutrnaker Doug Kelrn
Mickey Bill Air Corps 44
Hullsiek Children 58
Tom Gretchen Sue Rick Mary Beth
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Hullsiek Family 63 Mary Beth s Wedding
Mary Beth Gradation 60
Gretchen Graduation 70
Rick Graduation 66
Thomas Graduation 72
Five Generations 66 Mary Beth
Loretta Mickey Anna W Mama
Susan Graduation 68
Bill Mickey 71
Boca Raton convention
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ulan tJ
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Oscar Edna Berg Dottie Doug
Loretta Elmer KeIrn
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Doug Dottie Kelrn children 1963 Bobby KeIrn 1960 20 mos
Sam 1965 1978
Bill Kelrn 18 yrs 72
Jeff KeIrn 18 yrs 69
Patty Jo KeIrn 18 yrs 73
Gre KeIrn 18 yrs 71
Brian Kelrn 18 yrs 79
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Mickey Tom Doug 92
Dottie Doug 95
199 2 Kelm Family Reunion at Burlington Apartment
Greg I Laura Mary Sarah KU Ann HO Keith KU Michele HE Rick HU 1
Lisa KU David HO Chris HO Dottie Tom Hank HE Patty Jo
Aaron KU Bob HA garet HA Jeff Mickey HU Bill HU Doug 0
Brian Torrey Erika HE Lindsay Brigit HE Harry
Eve KURobert HA Ibm HE Steven Dylan Bill Barb
HA Hanlon HE Helgeni HO HorazdovskYi
HU Hullsieki KU Kupcho All others Kelm
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Tom KeIrn 1933
Anna Lambert Weller
Tom KeIrn 40
Tom Mary Lano Norb Berg Echo Cummings
50 St John s Coliseum Ballroom
Tom Mary Wedding 51
Tom GARS Graduation 48
Tom Do So Air Force 51
Tom Mary 55
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Lisa KeIrn 66
Michele KeIrn 69
Christine Kelm 67
Margaret KeIrn 72
Mary and daughters 75
Tom Mary 74
Caesar s Palace
1972 Humphrey Tom
in amused disbelief
Tom Wendy HFIH 75
11
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