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Note: The 1860 Dubois County, Indiana Census lists "Benard Cleasner", age 17, farming, born in Indiana, 3 years of school. The 1880 Dubois County Census lists Bernhart Kluesner age 36, farmer, born in Indiana. Two children were born to Bernard and Clara that died shortly after birth. In 1885, Bernard moved his family from Celestine, Indiana to St. Joseph, Tennessee. He was meticulously clean. His beard was always snow white. He was an avid reader and a prayerful person, who would say the rosary as he walked to church on Sunday. He had a picture of the Holy Family hanging in their living room and would often stand in front of this picture and weep and pray for help. Bernard had a hard life. When he bought his home in Tennessee, He was given the impression from one of the Beumer family that the farm in Tennessee was a very good one. After he sold his home and moved to Tennessee he discovered his dream farm was rocky and very poor and they could hardly make a living. there was a spring in back of the house that ran over rocks. He hued out a basin for them to wash their hands outside. It still remains at the old homesite. Bernard moved his family to St. Joseph on a train. the Beumer family went by covered wagon. They made their own corn meal by hammering corn on a stump. Some of the children had to eat on boxes - no tables. Children crawled on a ladder and slept upstairs. The mother had a spinning wheel and the family raised sheep. She took the wool and combed it and spun it into yarn. After spinning it she knitted shirts and stockings for the children. They never bought stockings. When their son moved to Missouri, he sold the spinning wheel for $50.00. It was regretted later because the Beumers had brought it from Germany. Bernard had a sense of humor - he never complained. He loved to sing. He did not like his step mother, largely because he was so full of life when he was a lad. He has a mean temper and would almost go out of his mind when he was angry. His wife would make the children run and hide when she knew he was angry, for fear he would hurt or kill one of them. After he was calmed down, he would hate it so badly and would pray very hard. His children thought Bernard died of a broken heart because he could not give his family a good living. His farm was a very poor one and they worked very hard to survive.
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