| |
   |
 click on any
linked name below to view scanned photos
of their lives with
captions, any linked
Biography or Obituary to read those,
any Buried
link
to view their gravestone, and any linked child name to
view that child's
Family Tree branch |
 |
 |
Family
Tree for Mary Therese (Steffens) Keller
|
 |
Nicholas
Steffens
Born 1739
in Ernster, Luxembourg
Died 1-17-1804
in Ernster, Luxembourg |
|
married
1760 |
Antoinette
Hardy
Born 1740
|
|
|
Nicholas was listed in records as a "farmer of a better class"
Nicholas and Antoinette had 1 known child (1 son)
Jean-Baptiste
|
 |
Jean-Baptiste was the only child to Nicholas and Antoinette
|
Biography
|
Jean-Baptiste Steffens
Born 10-8-1761
in Ernster, Luxembourg
Died 11-23-1839
in Heinstert, Luxembourg |
|
married
9-19-1785
Junglinster,
Luxembourg |
Marie Elizabeth Charneaux
Born 6-11-1764
in Bourschied, Luxembourg
Died 6-1-1834
in Hachy, Belgium |
|
|
Jean-Baptiste was a farmer working/managing the Chateau
Chibourg estate lands, married Marie, and later established
his own very successful farm in Bois Rond, Luxembourg.
Jean-Baptiste and Marie had 4 children (3 daughters, 1 son)
Joseph, Charlotte, Marianne, Ambroise
|
|
Joseph
was the first child and only son to Jean-Baptiste and Marie
|
Biography |
Joseph
Hubert Steffens
Born 1-24-1786
in Chibourg, Luxembourg
Died 8-28-1868
in Appleton, WI
Buried in Appleton, WI
at St. Mary
Cemetery |
|
married
5-24-1815
Luxembourg |
Marguerite-Josephine
Mathelin
Born 1-31-1793
in Neufchateau, Luxembourg
Died 8-4-1872
in Appleton, WI
Buried in Appleton, WI
at St. Mary
Cemetery |
Biography
|
|
Joseph was a farmer, forester, and school teacher. He
helped his father on the Bois Rond farm for many years.
He served in the military campaigns of Germany and Poland
under Napolean from 1805-1809, was wounded in the knee in the
battle of Wagram, spent a year in the hospital recovering, and
was honorably discharged with a yearly pension. He was
appointed the position of Forester in Bois Rond, before the
decision to emmigrate to America in 1849. He and
Marguerite settled in Wisconsin and established their own farm
in Freedom. He and Marguerite are responsible for the
Steffens family heritage in America.
Marguerite was a member of the Belgian royal family.
Upon her marriage to Joseph, she was disinherited by her
family (losing her royal status) for marrying below her rank,
and as a result given a yearly pension as compensation.
Joseph and Marguerite had 10 children (5 daughters, 5 sons)
Alexandrine, Leocadie, Edouard, Leopoldine, Joseph, Theophile,
Alfred, Aphasie, Auguste, Leopold
|
|
Joseph
was the fifth child and second son to Joseph and Marguerite
|
Biography
|
Joseph
Jerome Steffens
Born 1825
in Hachy, Belgium
Died 5-4-1886
in Freedom, WI
Buried in Freedom, WI |
|
married
12-27-1858
Little Chute,
WI |
Katharina (Eva Catherine)
Herb
Born 4-19-1836
in Baden, Germany
Died 5-6-1892
in Osborn, WI
Buried in Freedom, WI
|
|
|
Joseph worked various occupations in and around Appleton,
settled into being a farmer, and was an assessor for Black
Creek township naming the township after a creek that runs
though it's northwestern corner
Joseph and Catherine had 5 children (3 daughters, 2 sons)
Albert, Amelia, Alexander, Pauline, Mary
|
|
Albert was the first child and son to Joseph and Catherine
|
Biography |
Albert A
Steffens
Born 5-21-1859
in Freedom, WI
Died 4-1931
in Freedom, WI |
|
married
10-28-1888
Freedom, WI |
Matilda
Johana Huven
Born 4-12-1863
in Freedom, WI
Died 2-27-1953
in Freedom, WI
|
Biography |
|
Albert was a grain farmer, raised stock (hogs, cattle and
horses), and marketed dairy products in Freedom, WI
Albert and Matilda had 7 children (1 daughter, 6 sons)
Joseph, Johannah, Henry, Lawrence, Leo, Fred, Paul
|
|
Lawrence
was the fourth child and third son to Albert and Matilda
|
|
|
married
6-24-1919
Freedom, WI |
|
Lawrence served in the Army during World War I. He was a paper mill worker at Appleton Coated Paper
for 27 years. He retired in 1959 after a large stack of
rolled paper fell on him, he sustained very serious injuries,
taking many years to recover, and was permanently disabled as
a result of that.
Dora was a mother/homemaker, an exceptional baker, and later worked at St. Thomas
More Catholic Church and Monte Alverno Retreat Center with her
daughter Mary as a housekeeper. She made the most
wonderful rolls (in batches of 60 at a time), the smell of
those baking would fill the house, and have us all flocking to
the kitchen.
Lawrence and Dora had 9 children (3 daughters, 6 sons)
Cecelia,
Edward,
Charles,
Marjorie,
Florian,
Mary,
Lawrence,
Eugene,
Kenneth
|
|
Mary
was the sixth child and second daughter to Lawrence and Dora
|
|
|
married
12-12-1955
Appleton, WI
St. Therese |
Donald Joseph Keller
Born 1-24-1931
in Brillion, WI
Died 8-17-1989
in Appleton, WI
Buried in Appleton, WI
at Highland Memorial Park |
Obituary |
|
Mary graduated from Appleton (West) High School in 1951.
She worked for St Thomas More when Don retured from the
military. Mary also worked at Monte Alverno Retreat
Center along with her mother-in-law Dora as
cleaners/housekeeping. She
was involved with NARFE and Club 51 (high school classmates)
prior to her move to Arizona in 2005. Mary and Don both
enjoyed bowling in a couples league, as well as each bowling in a league on
their own. Mary also enjoyed golfing, fishing,
bingo, snowmobiling and spending time with her family.
Don joined the Army on 8-26-1950
at age 19 and got his GED while in the
Armed Forces. He served in the Army for 19 years until
1-31-1969. Mary and the kids traveled with him during
peace time. His Army posts included Korea (Sept
1951-Sept 1952), Germany (Dec 1958-May 1962), Korea (Feb
1965-Mar 1966) and Vietnam (Oct 1967-Oct 1968). Don
worked as a clerk and later an accountant at the Post Office
after retiring from the Army. He was active in the Post
Office Union and served as a Union Steward for a while.
Don also liked playing cards, fishing, bowling, and
snowmobiling with the Tombstone Pickerel Snowmobile Club. Don
and Mary built a cottage together off Rolling Stone Lake
spending many a long weekend together
there.
Mary and Don had 4 children (1 daughter, 3 sons)
Carl,
Kevin, Cathy, Keith |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
