Related Records

1. a letter from Grace Cloes Kurtz - An excerpt from a letter from Grace Cloes Kurtz, probably written in 1948 when Grace Church was celebrating its 60th Anniversary. Grace talks about her father traveling west to California to join the gold rush as well as of the Camp Meeting era in Lake Buff.

   a letter from Grace Cloes Kurtz

   Record Type: Archive

   
2. A letter written by Grace Cloes Kurtz - Xerox copy of a letter written by Grace Cloes Kurtz, daughter of Ben Cloes, to her sister Carrie Cloes giving some family history. August 30, 1958. Grace mentions the fire that destroyed their home on East Prospect Avenue and of Mrs. Rosenthal who rescued their organ from the fire. Grace Cloes Stedman Kurtz

   A letter written by Grace Cloes Kurtz

   Record Type: Archive

   
3. A letter written by John Cloes to his family - A typed copy of a translation of the only letter written by John Cloes to his family after his departure to California seeking gold; some history of original letter included the letter of September 25, 1850. A Xerox copy of the original letter written in German is available. The original letter is on display at the Lake Bluff History Museum.

   Letter written by John Cloes

   Record Type: Archive

   
4. Early Home of John Cloes - First permanent home in Lake Bluff. John Cloes settled here 1836 on a government grant of 640 acres. Shown are Benjamin J. Cloes, his son Augustus Cloes, Lizzie Cloes Hole, Grace Cloes Stedman, Mrs. John Cloes with unidentified child, and Carrie Cloes Barrows. Also slide # 18 This house was on the site of the original log cabin, built by John and Catherine Cloes in 1836.

   Early Home of John Cloes

   Record Type: Photo

   
5. Elmer notes on the Cloes family - Several scraps of paper containing notes written by Elmer Vliet about the Cloes family - births and deaths and other events.

   Elmer notes on the Cloes family

   Record Type: Archive

   
6. Grace Cloes Letter - A Xerox copy of a handwritten letter to Elmer Vliet from Grace Cloes Stedman Kurtz, daughter of Ben and Ida George Cloes. In the letter Grace lists family members and birth and death dates, and family marriages. She thanks Vliet for a copy of the letter written in German by her grandfather John Cloes from California, where he went to make is fortune in the California Gold Rush. Of note concerning the above letter: John Cloes mentions the word "Grandfather" in his letter from California, and Grace is unable to identify whose grandfather this would have been.

   Grace Cloes Letter Pg. 1

   Record Type: Archive

   
7. Letter written by Ida Cloes to her daughter Grace - A Xerox of a handwritten and a typed version of a letter written by Ida Cloes, wife of Ben Cloes living in California at their Benida Ranch, to her daughter Grace Cloes in Lake Bluff describing Ida's experiences witnessing the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Her Child Gus Cloes and his wife Nellie Costa Cloes are also mentioned.

   Letter written by Ida Cloes to her daughter Grace

   Record Type: Archive

   
8. Temperance - A retyped Xerox poem Temperance, by Grace Cloes written when she was nine years old. An obituary for Grace Cloes from Ancestry.com. Grace was born July 31, 1876, and is the daughter of Ben and Ida Cloes. She first married Horace Stedman in 1902 and Frank Kurtz in 1947.

   Temperance

   Record Type: Archive