Lilienthal Surname

Christina Margaretha Dorothea Lilienthal was born on February 24, 1834 in Darry, Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany ^1,6. She died on July 4, 1921 in Brainerd, Crow Wing Co., Minnesota ^6,7. She is buried in the Decoria Cemetery, Decoria Twp., Blue Earth Co., Minnesota.

Father: Hans Detlev Lilienthal
Mother: Freiderica Elisabeth Sophia Möller

She was baptized on March 16, 1834 and her godparents were: Catharina Margaretha Dittmann, Christina Dorothea Dohrmann, and Jochen Albrecht Dohrmann ¹. In 1855, she was not enumerated with her family in Darry in the census of that year and it is assumed that she moved elsewhere. She probably moved north to the village/parish of Ries (now Rise, Denmark), where there is evidence of her brother Carl living as early as 1856. There in Ries, she was married to Christian Sorensen Kling on May 13, 1859. Christian was a farmer and a carpenter and the couple continued to live in Ries/Rise and had six children there: Marie Elisabeth, Maren, Fredericke Elisabeth, Christina Margarethe, Hans Detlev, and Ellen Margarethe.

Eventually, Christina and her family decided to move to America. It appears that the reason for their hasty departure was because Christian wanted to escape conscription in to the Prussian Army (which gained control of the area in 1867). On December 30, 1870, Christina’s husband registered to emigrate to America. He probably most likely emigrated in the year 1871 by himself. In 1872, Christina and her five children left their home in Denmark and traveled to Liverpool, England where they boarded the ship "City of New York" which arrived in New York, New York on October 12, 1872. The Kling family reunited in New York and immediately went out west and settled at Webster City, in Hamilton County, Iowa. In Iowa, Christina had two more children: Louis P. and Christian Sorensen. They did not remain there long and in the year 1879, moved to the city of Mankato in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, where her husband was naturalized in October of that year. Besides her seven surviving children, Dora also raised Fred Kling, the illegitimate son of her oldest surviving daughter Mary Kling.

The first several years in America would have been difficult for Christina and her family. It must have been hard for them to learn the English language and adapt to American lifestyles. They eventually conformed to standards and went by more English sounding versions of their names. Christina began going by the name “Dora” (an English diminutive of her middle name Dorothea). They were so poor that in the year 1880 two of their daughters (16-year old Elizabeth and 14-year old Christina) had to be sent from the home to work as servants for other families. In the early 1880’s they had achieved enough success that they moved to a farm in Decoria Township, just south of Mankato, in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Sadly, it was on their farm that her husband Christian died in 1894 at the age of 60. Afterwards, Dora lived with her son Hans and his family at the home of his mother-in-law Sarah Glasgow. This farm was also in Decoria Township. Then in 1900, Dora’s daughter Elizabeth Kling Alexander moved to Brainerd, Crow Wing County, Minnesota and Dora decided to move there with them. Dora lived the rest of her life in Brainerd, Minnesota, where they family lived at 1311 (later 1307) Rosewood Street. Dora died in Brainerd, Minnesota, on July 4, 1921 at the age of 87. Her body was sent back to Mankato, Minnesota and she was buried beside her husband Christian in the Decoria Cemetery, Decoria, Minnesota.