Johann Christian Friedrich Martin Klafehn (1853 - 1936)

Born 15 Apr 1853 in Schlackendorf, Gnoien, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Confederation

Ancestors

Husband of Friederike Johanna Christine (Reamer) Klafehn — married 15 Dec 1873 (to 14 Jun 1879) in Rochester, Monroe, New York, United States

Husband of Caroline Wilhelmine Christiana (Schwartz) Klafehn — married 31 Dec 1879 (to 17 Jun 1936) in Hamlin, Monroe, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 17 Jun 1936 at age 83 in Hamlin, Monroe, New York, United States

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Biography

John Klafehn has German Roots.

Early Life

Johann Christian Friedrich Martin "John Martin" Klafehn was born on 14 April 1853 to Joachim Klafehn and Hanna Rath in the former hamlet of Schlackendorf near Jördenstorf, and was baptized at the Lutheran church in Jördenstorf on May 1st.^[1][2] He had seven siblings, and his father was a "Taglöhner" (day laborer) who worked on various families' estates in the area. At some point between 1866 and 1867, the family had moved to the tiny hamlet of Alt Pannekow, according to the 1867 Mecklenburg-Schwerin census.^[3] However, both 14-year-old Johann and his oldest brother Friedrich/Fred (listed as "Fritz" in this census) were not living at home at the time the census was conducted. Fred shows up in the census living on another family's estate where he was working, while John has not been found in the census. His exact whereabouts at this time are thus uncertain, although it is assumed that he must have been living and working on a different estate, which for his age was unusual but not unheard of at the time.

Immigration

John does not show up in any passenger lists from when he supposedly immigrated to the United States. At one point, he apparently stated that he "stowed away" to America in the Fall of 1870, this decision stemming from a desire to avoid being drafted in the freshly sparked Franco-Prussian War. The fact that he does not appear in any passenger lists supports the theory and his own statements that he had immigrated to the USA illegally in fear of getting drafted. His naturalization petition specifically states that he immigrated around 15 November 1870.^[4]

Upon arrival, he settled in Rochester, Monroe, New York, which is where he lived until sometime during the year of 1871, when he decided to move to the western town of Sweden, as "Brockport" is listed as his hometown in Rochester's Zion Lutheran Church records at the time of his 1873 marriage.^[1]

Life in the USA

John married Friedrike Johanna Christine Reamer of Glasow on 15 December 1873 in Rochester, NY and had initially moved to farmland owned by Alvin Kenyon on Monroe-Orleans County Line Road in the hamlet of Morton, ending up on the west side of Redman Road in Hamlin.^[5][1] The couple had four children together, the last dying two months after she was born and also seemingly causing the death of her mother, who died two days after her birth.

He became an American citizen on 9 October 1876.^[4][6]

John married Caroline Wilhelmine Christiana Schwartz of Moltzahn, Borrentin, Pomerania on 31 December 1879 in Hamlin and moved shortly thereafter to East Hamlin on Walker Lake Ontario Road. They lived the rest of their lives together here and had fourteen children.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Death

John died on 17 June 1936 in Hamlin at the age of 83 and was buried four days later next to his second wife at Lakeside Cemetery in Hamlin.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Klafehn Family Reunion 100th Anniversary Book. 2008.
2. ↑ "Deutschland, ausgewählte evangelische Kirchenbücher 1500-1971," database, FamilySearch, Johann Christian Friedrich Martin Clafehn, 1 May 1853; images digitized and records extracted by Ancestry; citing Baptism, Jördenstorf, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Deutschland, Jördenstorf, German Lutheran Collection, various parishes, Germany.
3. ↑ "Deutschland, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Volkszählung, 1867", database with images, FamilySearch, Jochen Klefehn, 1867.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} John Klefehn in Naturalization petitions, ca. 1823-1906, Petitions, no. 16380-16723, FamilySearch, New York County Court (Monroe County). images 983-985.
5. ↑ 1875 New York State Census, Ancestry.com, showed up in tree of Stephen C Sanders.
6. ↑ John Klefehn in "Naturalization petitions, ca. 1823-1906," Card index, Gom-Kni 1823-1906, New York County Court (Monroe County). FamilySearch, image 4951.
7. ↑ 1880 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, showed up in tree of Stephen C Sanders.
8. ↑ "New York State Census, 1892," database with images, FamilySearch, John Klafehn, 1892; citing Hamlin, E.D. 01, county offices, New York; FHL microfilm 833,785.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch, John Klafehn, Hamlin, Monroe, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 15, sheet 5A, family 89, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 988; FHL microfilm 1,375,001.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch, John M Klafehn Sr., Hamlin, Monroe, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 217, sheet 10A, line 37, family 216, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1447; FHL microfilm 2,341,182.
11. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #41673420