Name/Title
Kneip family: John Peter (JP) Jr. & Margaret (Beitz) Kneip, 1916-1932 farmers in Ervin Township, Traill County, NDEntry/Object ID
2023.329.1Description
This family folder contains a number of documents describing the lives of the John Peter (JP) Kneip Jr. and Margaret 'Maggie' Beitz (wedding photo, left), who farmed in Ervin Township, Traill County (1927 map, below), from 1916 to 1932, when the farm was lost in the depression. Although JP and Maggie Kneip left Traill County and eventually moved to the Ada, MN, area, many of their descendants remained in Traill County.
The first document below is pages 6, 7 and 8 from a 78-page family history document titled "Kneip_Genealogy.pdf". These pages were compiled and written by Karen (Fleischer) Ackerman. The second document below is pages 16, 17 and 18 from "Kneip_Genealogy.pdf. These pages were written by JP Kneip Jr's daughter, Agnes Kneip and compiled by Karen (Fleischer) Ackerman. All these pages were scanned by Karen's granddaughter Jackie (Ausk) Baumgartner who kindly contributed them to the TCHS. The "Kneip_Genealogy.pdf" document is available for viewing on a PC from a USB flash-drive kept in this family history folder located on a shelf in the Resource Room at the TCHS Plummer House Museum in Hillsboro, ND.
John Peter Kneip Jr. was born on 1 May 1877 in Zilzhausen, Germany, the fifth child born to John Peter Kneip Sr and Marguarite Gerhard (see Kneip_Genealogy.pdf, page 6, below). In 1902, John Peter or JP Kneip came to America to join a sister Anna and a brother Nicholas, who had come earlier and settled near Bridgewater in Adair County, Iowa. In Bridgewater, JP Kneip met local girl Margaret Elizabeth or Maggie Beitz and they married on 7 January 1907 in Bridgewater. Maggie was born on 19 November 1883 in Bridgewater, IA, the eighth child of ten born to Adam and Julia (Burg) Beitz.
JP and Maggie Kneip farmed and raised livestock in the Adair County, IA, area until 1916 when JP purchased 320 acres in Ervin Township in Traill County, ND, as shown in the 1927 map (below); he moved his family there in March 1917.
JP Jr. and Maggie (Beitz) Kneip had 12 children with the first six born in Iowa and the last six in North Dakota (see Beitz_Genealogy.pdf, pages 30 & 31, and a Family Register page, below). JP and Maggie Kneip's 12 children included Margaret J. (b. 13 Nov. 1907; m. Carl Olson on 15 Feb. 1928 in Hillsboro, ND; d. 23 Sep. 1994), Agnes Mary (b. 2 Feb. 1909; m. George V. Ackerman Jr. 16 Nov. 1932 in Ada, MN; d. 29 Apr. 1988), Cecelia Ann (b. 11 Nov. 1910; m. Fred J. Adams 19 Jun. 1929; d. 3 Feb. 2015), Gertrude (b. 23 Sep 1912; m. Harold Cirks 1 Jul. 1941; d. 25 May 2007), Ilene K. (b. 1 Feb. 1914; m. Otto Walter Braunschweig 8 Jul. 1941 in Ada, MN; d. 29 Apr. 1984), Joseph P. (b. 22 Dec. 1916; m. Francis Hoenck 29 Jun. 1948; d. 16 Jul 2018), Leonard A. (b. 8 Feb. 1918; m. Ione M. Raymond 15 Feb. 1958 in Crookston, MN; d. 5 Jan 2006, Twin Valley, MN); Mary (b. 29 May 1920; m. Albert Braunschweig 19 Apr. 1941 in Ada, MN; d. ?), Veronica (b. 9 Feb. 1922, twin to Monica; m. Francis Brommenschenkel 9 Dec. 1942 in Ada, MN; d. ?), Monica (b. 9 Feb. 1922, twin to Veronica; m. Aloyisus P. Kappes 18 Sep. 1946 in Ada, MN; d. 25 Sep. 2014, Salem, OR); John A. (b. 16 Jul. 1923; m. Marie T. Kaizer 28 Oct. 1947; d. ?), and Rosina M. (b. 1 Jun. 1927; m. Alan L. LIndback 13 Jul. 1948; d. 5 Sep. 2017 Edina, MN).
JP Jr. and Maggie Kneip are shown in a family photograph with their 12 children (below).
JP and Maggie Kneip's daughter Agnes (Kneip) Ackerman contributed the following information: "John [Sr.] and his family lived ten miles from the Mosel River in the state of Rhineland, 75 miles due west of Frankfurt, Germany. Marguarite [wife] died (probably in childbirth) at the age of 49. She administered to the sick. John [Sr.] was a tailor in Germany. The oldest daughter, Katherine, a dress maker, took over household duties until her marriage in 1886. Then Anna Rosina, 12 years old, kept house for her father and brothers. When Anna was 19 years old, she and her brother Nicholas decided to come to America to an uncle, Peter Kneip, who lived near Bridgewater, Iowa in the year of 1893. He met them in Creston in October of 1893 and found them jobs—they found work as hired man and hired girl in the Bridgewater area. Later, John Peter, the youngest was to come to America—leaving their father, a brother, and a sister behind in Germany. Children of John Peter Kneip: Jacob - cabinet maker, Katherine - dressmaker; married and had children. Nicholas - wagon maker; came to America, Anna - married and had children; came to America, and John Peter [Jr.]- farmer; came to America"
In 1952, John Peter Jr. and Maggie (Beitz) Kneip celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary (photo, below).
Margaret Elizabeth 'Maggie' (Beitz) Kneip lived to the age of 85, passing away on 13 September 1969 [obit, Hillsboro Banner, 25 Sep. 1969]. After funeral services held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ada, Maggie was interred at the Ada Cemetery [grave-marker photo, below].
John Peter (JP) Kneip Jr. lived to the grand age of 94, passing away on 29 July 1971 at a hospital in Minneapolis, MN [obit, Hillsboro Banner, 5 August 1971]. After funeral services at St. Joseph Church in Ada, JP was interred next to Maggie at the Ada Cemetery [grave-marker photo, below].
![Hillsboro Banner, 25 September 1969: Obituary, Margaret (Beitz) Kneip [Mrs. John Peter Kneip Jr.] of Ada, MN](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/1937/8648fe70-bd1c-11f0-baf0-8faadc1e9476-v3rVamn.lg@2x.jpg)
