Koeller/Kellers in IN, ND, IA, WA, CA
My great grandfatherCarl August Koeller/Keller and his wife Elizabeth Bertha (Ratunda) Keller and his brother Julius Keller came to the US from Germany in 1871. My grandmother, an infant, was with them, also.
Carl August Kellerb 17 Jul 1836 in (I think) Loechgau, Germany.
Julius Keller b about 1850 in I assume the same place.
Elizabeth Bertha Ratunda (father’s name John Ratunda) Keller b 1848, also I assume in Loechgau, Germany
Lena Elizabeth Keller b 17 Nov 1870, was an infant about 1 yr old when they left Germany.
They must have settled for several years in Indiana, though the census information does not indicate where. They show 3 children born in Indiana and 1 in North Dakota. They are not “counted” until 1895 on an Iowa census.
John G Keller b 30 Aug 1878 in Indiana d Sep 1969 in Woodbury, IA m about 1900 Anna S. Staddie (b 9 Jul or 6 Apr 1879 in Germany d 17 Feb 1963 in Los Angeles, CA) they had 4 boys and 3 girls between 1901 and 1918. (They seem to have moved to Los Angeles, CA for awhile. She died in CA and he had a CA ss# when he died 6 years after her in Iowa).All 7 children were born in the Woodbury, IA area.I assume one or more of their children moved to LA, CA and the parents followed.I hope to know for sure with the 1940 census. Then he moved back to Iowa after Anna died. At least, that’s how I read it.
Anna L Keller b 6 Apr 1879 in Indiana m about 1806 Otto Maxey, had 3 daughters, Bertha, Clara and Edna in Iowa before moving to Texas after the 1930 census. It looks like Otto died in 1936 in Texas. It looks like Anna died in 1973 in Tacoma, WA
Emma Keller b 9 Jul 1882 in Indiana never married eventually moved to Washington (it looks like after her mother died, maybe followed her sister?) and died in Bellingham, Whatcom, WA in Feb 1968.
Frank Joseph Keller b about 1885 in North Dakota (I doubted this until I saw my grandmother’s formal portrait had a logo for the photographer and the town, Jamestown, NorthDakota. She would have been 15 yrs old) d 25 Jul 1951 in Yakima, WA. He m about 1908 Sadie Mahin in Iowa. Both of their daughters were born in Iowa, 1909 and 1912. I don’t know where Sadie died.
The oldest sibling, Lena Elizabeth Keller married my grandfather Howard Wells Brainerd. I have them pretty well situated. They “lost the farm” and moved to California after the 1930 census.If I ever knew the group of Keller’s who lived in Los Angeles, CA, I was too young to remember. Both my grandparents died before I was born. Lena died in 1945 and Howard died in 1937.
I have a tree on Ancestry.com and hope to hear from a Keller relative someday, but in the meantime, I’ll post here and hope someone reads this and contacts me.