Family Info and great history
As mentioned on the History Pre-1900 page, history and the Kleiboeker family have some amazing intersections.
After 1900, there is a great story about one of Johann Kleiboeker's descendants, Elda, who leaves Southwest Missouri in the 1930's for the fast growing urban metropolis of Kansas City and becomes a maid and house servant for one of the wealthiest families in Kansas City. The story of John Wagner and William Volker, two German Americans who make a lot of money and give a lot away, needs to be shared.
Then there is the stories of WWII and the loss of Hubie, a brother of Elda. In March of 1945, Hubie is fighting the Nazis on the French - German border, he dies just as the Allied troops are entering Germany, as he is the first descendant of Johann Kleiboeker to visit Germany. His story and his letters home are here.
There are stories of the Kleiboekers in America sending care packages to the Rusch's after WWII. We have many of the letters written by the German relatives who clearly are struggling with poverty, insufficient food, and an economy that is driven more by trading cigarettes than using worthless money. The relatives that ended up in the Russian zone, which became East Germany have even more difficult times including getting the Kleiboekers to send money to get a relative out of "Russian Prison" in Eastern Germany.
Stay tuned for more history as I add to this website.