Retyped on January 15, 2001 by Thomas G Kohn from a many-times-photocopied original. Note: all non-standard spellings have been retained without comment, except for always capitalizing "Tipton." The original is illegible in a few locations, as indicated by brackets around a word. Also note: Subsequent research has called dates into question. For example, the John Reinert family emigrated in 1867, as documented by official records in Germany. Katherine Reinert and her family of five nearly-grown children were part of the group of 18 families that resettled from Caledonia MN to Tipton KS in 1872. Thomas Kohn About Our Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother in the Kohn Family Katherine Blassius and John Reinert came to the United States in 1864 from Igel Germany. Great grandfather was a linen weaver in Germany. They crossed the ocean and everything was fine until the ship hit an iceberg which put a big hole in one end of the ship. They rearranged the luggage and everything they could to the other end of the ship to tilt it enough to keep the water from getting into the hole in the ship, they were about 7/8 or more of the way across when this happened. Great Grandfather had brought a keg of wine along to bring to America, and the sailars found it in the baggage room and started drinking and neglected their work on the ship, that is why the ship hit an iceberg. It took three weeks to come across from Germany to America. Gertrude (Mrs. Steve Schandler later) was 2 [1/2?] years old when they came to America. Great grandmother's main worry was milk and food for baby Gertrude. They landed at Hoboken, New Jersey; they also mentioned the Lea House in New York. Great grandparents at either New Jersey or New York, made arrangements about where they were going from there. They went to Chicago where Great grandmother had two brothers, one was in the tailoring business. Susana, Nick and Pete Reinert stayed at Chicago and found jobs. Susana had pretty clothes made by her Uncle John Blasius. Our great Aunts, Gertrude and Maria (later Mrs. Gillen) went from Chicago to Calidonia [Caledonia], Minnesota until 1872, when they came to Kansas. When they were in Calidonia they saw the red sky when Chicago had the big fire which lasted three days. They lived in a log house in Calidonia. Great grandfather died of cancer on the side of his neck in Calidonia. When great grandmother and all five of the children came to Kansas, they came to Tipton 1867, which was then called Pittsburg. They came to Cawker City by train. They took homestead land about 5 3/4 miles southwest of Tipton, Northwest of the 2 schoolhouses we had (or what they called the Church on Northside), anyhow they homestead what was later the Ted Hake place (not the Theodore Hake farm farther North). John Reinert farm was near to where the Reinerts homesteaded. When they came to Chicago and Calidonia in 1865 people were still in shock about President Lincoln's assination in 1865 and had pictures in their homes of Lincoln like we have of President Kennedy now. The grasshopper invasion hit them while they lived on the Hake place. The grasshoppers were so thick that they hid the sun and they took everything, their crops, gardens and so forth. People covered their gardens with blanks etc to try and save them, but the hoppers ate up everything and laid eggs and people were expecting another invasion the next year when the eggs hatched, but nothing happened they gone. There were lots of prairie fires, famine, sickness and diseases such as typhoid, scarlet fever, etc. Some families lost all of their children. There were Indian scares and the Indians would kill women and children and burn up the house and buildings and the father of the family could do nothing. The Arnoldy stone house in Tipton was the first building and when they had Indian scares, the families would all try to get to the Arnoldy house, the women and children inside and the men with hatchets etc, later men would walk out to see if Indians were coming but no Indians. The stone house which Grandfather Streit homesteaded (later George Streit lived there), was another house the people used to try to get to when the Indian scares were. Later Mary Reinert and Susanna Reinert worked near Cawker. Susanna Reinert married John Kohn, they were married in a little stone house south of Cawker. After Mike and Pete were born they migrated to LaCrosse Wisconsin. There Aunt Kate Gasper, our mother, Uncle Ben wer born. Grandmother was helping in the field and got overheated and had a heat stroke. Great Grandmother Reinert and Mary Reinert went to Wisconsin by train, as they got there a neighbor and priest met them (they were leaving the house) and the priest asked who is coming and they said mother and sister, then the priest sait that is good (dassess goot) our grandmother recognized them yet before she died. Grandfather sold everything and they all moved to Tipton. Our mother was five years old when she lost her mother. Uncle Ben was two years old, it was 1887 when they came to Tipton. They moved into a house south of Tipton where Great grandmother and Mary Reinert lived. Later when Pat and Mike were big enough their father homesteaded the land where Pete Kohn later farmed. Mary Reinert did washings and worked for people. She also did the priests washings. Our mother and Aunt Kate had to work hard helping with the ironings and always the dishes and cleaning etc. Grandfather Kohn bought a barrel of apples along the train or had it shipped down but the apple spoiled ! by the time the got to Tipton. Pete was 12 years old when Great Grandmother Reinert died in February 8, 1891, there was a bad blizzard, Pete went to get a priest and great grandmother said she was going to die or go with the storm. Our mother said she felt so sick so many mornings when she walked to school and after she got to school. Somebody told Grandpa Kohn he should get married again so the children would have a mother but Grandpa said, I am never going to give my children a stepmother. We think our mother and Aunt Kate were about 12 and 14 when Grandpa took them along to the homestead home. (Uncle Ben too) Grandpa had been baking the bread cooking and keeping house through those years and he taught our mother and Aunt Kate how to bake. There were other Kohn families living at La Crosse Wis. our mother used to write to the Kohn sisters, her cousins in La Crosse (not Nun). Anna Kohn Moore a cousin of our mothers, her mother died and left 5 children, the father had a hard time taking care of his children, they sorta had to shift for themselves. Anna Moore came to Mary Reinerts to be taken care of and thats how our mother knew her so well. She stayed with Mary Reinert until after she (Mary) married Michael Gillen and the Gillen's had 3 children and Anna helped take care of them but then Annie's sister came and got her and also lived with her until she was on her own and married later. Steve Chandler married Gertrude Reinert and lived in the Ted Hake stone house. OUR GREAT GRANDPARENTS WERE: Katherina Blasius born March 20, 1824, in Igel Germany and John Reinert born in Igel Germany. Their children were: Nicholis Reinert born Jan 8, 1851 in Igel Germany died May 13, 1933 at Tipton Kansas. Peter Reinert born May 17, 1853 in Igel Germany died May 28, 1934 at Seguin, Kansas. Susanna Reinert born Jan 9, 1848 in Igel Germany died 1887 at La Crosse Wisconsin. Mary Reinert born Jan 8, 1860 in Igel Germany, died July 26, 1939 at Seguin, Kansas. Gertrude Reinert born Dec. 9, 1864 in Igel Germany, died Sept. 17, 1913 at Tipton Kansas. Susana Reinert and John Kohn were married, they are our Grandparents. John Kohn was born Jan. 9, 1839 in Waselich Germany, died March 1, 1919 at Tipton Kansas. THEIR CHILDREN WERE: Mike and Pete Kohn born at Tipton Kansas they moved to La Crosse Wisconsin where Katherine, Anna and Bernard Kohn were born. Our parents were Frank Streit and Anna Kohn. They were married in St Boniface Catholic Church in Tipton Kansas, Oct. 25, 1904 by Father Walliser. THEIR CHILDREN WERE: Susana born- July 18, 1905 Henry Francis - Sept 2, 1906 John Peter - April 27, 1908 Marie Agnes - Dec 20, 1909 Joseph Nickolis - March 10, 1911 Leona Bernadetta - June 20, 1913 Francis Michael - Jan 11, 1916 Loretta Elizabeth - May 18, 1919 Charles Conrad - Jan 4, 1922 Marie Agnes - April 29, 1923 Evelyn Catherine - Oct 24, 1925 This is 1974- there are 8 of us children living and 3 children died, they are: Marie Agnes - died Dec 26, 1909 Charles Conrad - died Sept 16, 1922 Joseph Nicholis - died Sept 6, 1935 Marie Agnes lived 6 days Charles Conrad died at 8 Months of age Joseph Nicholis died at 24 years of age OUR PARENTS WERE BORN: Father, Jan 6, 1881 - Frank Streit, Tipton, died Feb 11 1951 Mother, Nov 4, 1882 - Anna Kohn, La Crosse, Wisconsin, died Dec. 5, 1956 CHILDREN MARRIED: Susanna to John Junk Nov 23, 1927 Henry to Marie Nusse Oct 10, 1928 John to Alice Corbett Nov 24, 1938 Francis to Lola Wiese Feb 3, 1957 Loretta to Leo Wagner Aug 21, 1940 Marie to Harold Bispham June 27, 1948 Evelyn to John Viselli May 16, 1948