Notes

Note N164 Index

Elise was born in Germany and came to the US in 1892 with her older brother Johann and his family, and her sisters Emma and Anna. Confirmation certificate shows she was confirmed April 10, 1892 in the Evangelical (protestant) church in Neu Custrinchen. Certificate was made out on April 15, 1892. They first settled in Wisner, NE where other relatives lived. Sometime in the early 1900's she and Anna moved to California to find work, and it was there she met and married William Morton Cox. They lived in California for a short time and them moved to Bisby, AZ. They also lived in Tombstone for a time but spent the greater part of their lives in Phoenix.

Notes

Note N165 Index

Came to the US in 1892 with her brother Johann and his family and her sisters Elise and Anna. After her marriage, lived in Cuming Co. Nebraska; most of her children were born there except the youngest, Erich, who was born in Kansas. The family moved to Western Kansas in 1901 and lived on a farm 17 and one half miles south of Leoti. In 1934, she and Wilhelm moved to a home in Leoti, leaving Erich and his family to run the farm.

Notes

Note N166 Index

Ernst, and his twin brother Richard were short -- about 5'5" or 5'6", but Ernst was thinner. He was very serious about life, almost to the point of pessimism at times. Although he was a farmer, he loved to tinker with cars and radios. He build all his own radios from phamplets he read, and the product was quite good. He would stay up until the wee hours of the morning just winding a coil or fixing other intricate parts that went into the building of his radios. He came to Kansas in 1901 and homesteaded land in the south part of Wichita county. He lived on the farm in the same area until his death in 1946.

Notes

Note N167 Index

Franz was the only one of the Johann and Wilhelmine Breitkreutz children that remained in Germany. He was of military age at the time the rest of the family came to America so was not allowed to leave. He later married and lived with his wife and children at Zerpenschleuse, Germany. Cause of death -- stroke.

Notes

Note N168 Index

Johann lived in the small village of Nue Cuestrinchen in the Province of Brandenburg which is in the eastern part of Germany. The village was half way between the town of Wrizen and the Oder River. Johann became a carpenter and also a professional soldier in the army of the Kaiser. He was with the German Army that entered Paris in the year 18870-71 and he also served in the war between Prussia and Austria in 1864. He received many certificates and medals of honor for his service during these wars but as a result of the wars, he wasn't well and had to go to different resorts for his health. after his death in 1889, the rest of the family decided to come to America.

Notes

Note N169 Index

Came to America in 1892 with his wife and son Paul. They arrived in NE June 6, 1892, and settled in Wisner. Received his citizenship papers in 1901.

Notes

Note N170 Index

Martha came to America in 1894 with her mother an two younger brothers. They first settled in Nebraska where the other children and relatives lived. In 1901 she and her mother and Ernst and Richard moved to Western Kansas where they each homesteaded a quarter section of land. later Martha and Ernst traded sections andshe sold hers. She went to California to find work -- her sisters Anna and Elise were either already there or the three of them went out together-- this is not known for sure. As far as is known, she worked for a dentist. We never knew much about her life but her nieces and nephews adored going to meet her train when she came out on vacations. She brought candy and clothes. Pictures of her show her dressed in the latest fashions of the day. She lived in Los Angeles all her life and never married. She died in California, was cremated and had the ashes sent back to Western Kansas and placed on her mother's grave.

Notes

Note N171 Index

Richard and his brother Ernst were twins but certainly not identical. Richard was more heavy set and also the more jolly of the two. He liked to tease, and Ernst was much more serious and mechanically minded. The boys were 7 years old when their father died so don't remember much about him. They used to go to the bakery for bread for their mother and one time were given a sweet toll of some kind to take home. On the way home, Ernst convinced his twin that the roll would spoil before they got home so they ate it. Needless to say, their mother was very angry and grabbed one of them to spank (Richard was the one she grabbed first) and Ernst ran away. The two boys and their mother and sister Martha came to America in 1894 and lived in Nebraska until 1901 at which time they came to Western Kansas and homesteaded some land.

Notes from Rene' Breitkreutz, Grandniece. I don't ever remember having a conversation with my Uncle Richard, though I sure I spoke to him on several occassions. I remember the wheat fields in Kansas, and I remember playin with his grandchildren in the yard beside his home. One time my brother and I hooked a sheet to a pole and sailed down the road in a wagon, and when we turned to go back the sky was dark and stormy. Going away from the storm with the wind at our backs, we didn't realize the weather was getting bad. I think we got in trouble....the kind where you get hugged first and scolded second. Uncle Richard was the first person I knew who died, and I was at his funeral.... I remember Mom being concerned that it would frighten my brother and I to see our uncle in the coffin. I did see him though. I don't remember the service or the burial, but I know that we have a photo of it, and I'm going to add that to the materials Aunt Dorothy gave to me, along with a couple of other pictures I have found of Uncle Richard and his wife.