Synnove Kildal
Trudvangveien 29
Oslo 3, Norway
Dear Gary Wm. Cliser,
Thank you for your letter which I shall try to answer, but i am not sure that i am able to solve your problem. However, I can at least add some more information to what you already might know. Let's start with the forefathers:
MARKUS KLEISER and ELIZABETH (years unknown)
JAKOB KLEISER b. 1625 m to Anna (married in Urach 1652)
MATTHAUS KLEISER b. 1655 and Maria from Schollach near Urach
BARTHOLOMAUS KLEISER b. 1696 and Maria Tritschler
JOSEF KLEISER b. 1753 d. 1814 m. Apollonia Langenbacher
AUGUSTINE KLEISER, b. 1778 in Schollach married to Maria. He used to go to Norway bringing clocks for sale. One year he brought our great-grandfather then 16 years old. His name is HEINRICH KLEISER b Jan.12, 1814 and his two brothers GEORG KLEISER b 1811 and HIERONIMUS KLEISER b. 1815. The two later, or at least Georg Kleiser emigrated to the USA. Probably without his wife, who refused to go. But I am sure Georg Kleiser was in Norway (Kongsberg) 1846 because our Heinrich then was godfather to his second son August Joseph Kleiser.
Heinrich married a Norwegian girl and had already started his business in 1836 (my brother is 4th generation wholesale in watches). They had the following children: Marie, Henriette, Karl, Josephine, Gustav Lorentz (my granddad) Johan and Ragna. Karl stayed in USA and has family left there. Johan had a son, Henry Kleiser who lived in Elgin, Illinois (not the one you mentioned)
I am enclosing a copy of a letter to me from my uncle Lorentz Kleiser. you mentioned that you are in the advertising field, any connection with the mentioned George?
Must tell you how I started looking into the family history. I was in Switzerland spring 1969 and on my way home I decided to get off the train in Freiburg, hired a car and drove up to Neustadt where I found a room in a 300 year old hotel. Learned from the hostess that the lady next door was born Kleiser. I got a hearty welcome and he took me in his car to Urach (would have never found it myself). We found the vicar who later sent me a list above. Before returning I bought the book with the local history. As you will see, the name has been spelt in many ways. Your name is spelled phonetically as they pronounce it in Germany. (Back to my Urach visit) I saw the church and took a few photo's. There were lots of Kleiser's in the grave yard. One was MARIA KLEISER born Ketterer 1726 d. 1798 who had be
en married to JOSEPH KLEISER, but which of the many Josephs?Once my brother went to the Black Forest, he met one called KLEISER by accident and I have his genealogical table here. There is one MATHIAS KLEISER, born August 21, 1716 and his son by the same name MATHIAS born Sept. 21, 1768, d. 1828. and his son JOSEF KLEISER b. March 3, 1825 d. 1906. Not at all in accordance with the two you mention.
You will see from the pages I copied that all KLEISER'S are related to JOSPEH von KLEISER who is born in Urach Sept 9, 1760 and died in Konstanz May 5, 1830. I have found more details about him here in the University Library (Briefadel taschenbuch 1908) Joseph was knighted on July 18, 1776 and was given a coat of arms. Titled: HOFRAT JOSEPH KLEISER von KLEISHEIM zu HEILIGENBERG he was married to Josephine von Langen (b. 1771) on May 6, 1796. There is a lot about his family but I did not write it all down. One son - Karl Adolf - was married to a lady with a terribly long name: maria Kreszentia Salome Sabine Romana Werhart von Bernegg.
After I left Urach the next day I drove to Furtwangen to see the famous clock museum. Quite near it was an old house with the sign: Joseph Kleiser - Kuck-Kuck-Uhren. Met him and it turned out that we h
ad the same forefather: JOSEF KLEISER b. 1753. I also drove to Hubertshofen and found the house where our Augustine grew up (my g.g.grandf.). Had lunch in the guest house and on the wall was an old clock marked: JOHAN KLEYSER 66 HIGH STREET BORO LONDON. Also a barometer marked JOHAN KLEYSER as well. He came from Rotenbach which is slightly east of Neustadt. He was the first from the Black forest to set up shop in London. His "shop" was just a stand put up close to the London Bridge. (The bridge which also has been moved to USA- Arizona). Later, back in Oslo, I looked up in a book about old clocks and found J. KLEYSER, wooden clockmaker, 191 High Holborn. There was a Georg Kleyser & Co, wooden clockmakers (1790-94) 3 Little Tower Hill, london and 1810-30 T & J Kleyser, 191 High Holborn. In 1842 there was a JOSEF KLEYSER from Rotenbach who had Kleyser and Burger in Highstreet, london (must have been the one who took over after Johan - same address.
Some confusion about if Kleiser's came from Switzerland or Black Forest, but I believe that in the old days the border's were different from today.
Regards, Synnove
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