AN ASSOCIATION OF THE DESCENDANTS OF
PETER CLINE,
PENNSYLVANIA REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIER &
PIONEER OF THE TUG RIVER REGION OF
VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA & KENTUCKY
Cline Family Association
Avon Lake, OH
Please feel free to contact me at jcline@clinefamilyassociation.com if you have any questions about the website. I also encourage you to join the Facebook page, "Cline Family Connections," which is monitored by Harry Dale Cline. Initially started as a meeting place to discuss family genealogy involving the descendants of one of Michael and Barbara Klein's sons, Peter Cline, all Kleins/Klines/Clines descended from Michael and Barbara Klein, or those who have an interest in our Klein family genealogy, are encourage to join the conversation.
July 4, 2019 - Our cousin, Billionaire Chris Cline, died in a helicopter crash this day, July 4, 2019. Chris was a descendent of Peter Cline through his son Michael Cline and grandson, Mose Christian Cline. He was born in Isaban, WV and was a major player in the revival of the coal industry. Dubbed the "New King of Coal," he was listed in Forbes' 400 wealthiest Americans. As summarized by Wikipedia: "Chris Cline (July 5, 1958 – July 4, 2019) was an American billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist. He had been the majority owner of Foresight Reserves LP, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Regarded by Bloomberg as having been the 'New King Coal,' Cline was considered to have been responsible for reviving the Illinois coal industry. His company has more than three billion tons of coal reserves across Illinois and the Northern Appalachian Mountains."
Chris was a major donor to Marshall University, West Virginia University, and other worthy causes thr0ugh the Cline Family Foundation. Sadly, the helicopter crash also claimed the lives of six others, including Chris's daughter, Kameron Cline (22yrs old). Chris is survived by sons Christopher Logan Cline and Alex Tanner Cline, and daughter Candace Cline, a director of the Foundation, who married James Graham Kenan.[May they all find peace in our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
On July 5, 2018, I met with cousins Christine Schultz and Paul Klein at the St. John UCC Church and Cemetery to try and find the gravesite for Johann Michael Klein. I had my wife and three youngest children with me, and met my first cousin Dita Cline at the hotel, as we planned to drive into Kutztown together. I somehow miscalculated the drive time from our Harrisburg hotel so I of course arrived 30-40 minutes late. As we got closer to Kutztown, I was excited to point out to my children the many beautiful barn stars or "hexes," as well as the classic, Pennsylvania Dutch field stone houses and other structures, found along the route to Kutztown.
When I arrived, Christine and Paul were already there, standing next to the church in the cemetery. It was already a very hot and extremely humid morning, and it would become worse throughout the day. Our plan was to find and document Michael's tombstone, and then celebrate our findings at the Kutztown Folk Festival, a festival dedicated to the culture of the Pennsylfaanisch Deitch, located literally a block from the St. John UCC Church.
We decided to meet at the St. John UCC Cemetery based upon the evidence which currently points strongly to Michael Klein's burial there. Michael Klein apparently lived in Kutztown from at least 1790 until his death in 1796. His son Philip, who was named by Michael as the executor of his estate, was elected deacon of St. John UCC in late 1796 and served in this capacity from 1797-1798. Philip also resided in Kutztown from at least 1815 to his death in 1828, and was buried at the St. John UCC Cemetery. I also found an article from the local newspaper, the Kutztown Patriot, from May 20, 1926, showing a "Michael Klein" as one of the burials in that same cemetery. Finally, another, entirely separate record, was submitted to findagrave.com, showing a "Michael Klein" buried at the same cemetery, without dates, indicating a well-worn headstone, but with different information giving a vague indication of the burial location.
In preparation for finding a very well-worn tombstone, I brought several items with me that were supposed make tombstones more legible. However, none of these items were of any assistance to us, as we could not find Michael Klein's headstone anywhere in the cemetery.
Paul suggested that we speak with a young man of high school age, who was doing some yard work in the cemetery. It turns out that his mother was also employed by the church, and was currently working in the office. She was very, very helpful, and pulled out the known records of the cemetery burials. She even walked about the tombstones with us in an attempt to locate Michael Klein's gravesite. However, Michael Klein's burial was not in their records, which I believe were compiled around 1991 or so. She also called over to neighboring Hope Cemetery, but with no luck.
Disappointed, and with hungry and bored children taking refuge in the air-conditioned church, we finally decided to head over to the Folk Festival. For those who have not been, the Folk Festival is a very well organized and very entertaining festival with great food, local beers and wine, and exhibits and crafts of all kinds for sale, all with a focus on the Pennsylvania Dutch culture and people. A highlight for me was the barn star paintings by local artisans Patrick Donmoyer, Hunter Yoder, Eric Claypoole and others. Professor Donmoyer also graciously signed my copy of his book, Hex Signs: Myth and Meaning in Pennsyvania Dutch Barn Stars. I also had the opportunity to attend a brief lecture by Professor William Donner about education in the early Pennsylvania German community. He was also gracious to sign my copy of his book, Serious Nonsense: Groundhog Lodges, Versammlinge, and Pennsylvania German Heritage.
I did not have a lot of opportunity to spend time with cousins Christine Schultz and Paul Klein at the Folk Festival, with children and others in my party going in different directions. However, it was great to meet them in person and to make that important family connection, a connection which was lost for nearly 230 years!!!
In closing, I would encourage all decendents of Michael and Barbara Klein to visit the Kutztown Folk Festival. This visit is particularly important for those who have been removed, sometimes for many generations, from our shared Pennsylfaanish Deitch roots. Prost!!!
April 12, 2018 - The identities of Peter Klein's mother and father have been discovered!! Peter's father was Johann Michael Klein (Abt 1720 - 1796) and his mother was Maria Barbara Ruhl (1724 - 2/19/1768). Michael and Barbara Klein were married around 1748, probably in Germany, and resided in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania from at least 1760 to 1789. According to Michael's Will, he and Barbara had ten children, with our Peter as the fifth oldest of eight sons. Barbara died in 1768 at the age of 43. Michael remarried to Caderina Sohns in 1781. In 1790, Michael and Caderina Klein moved from Reading to Maxatawny Township, Berks County (approximately 20 miles northeast of Reading), where Michael died on April 5, 1796.
Many thanks to our cousins, Christine Schultz and Paul Klein, both of Pennsylvania, for their invaluable assistance in helping us to finally determine the identities of Peter's parents. Christine Schultz is the preeminent family historian for Michael and Barbara Klein and their descendants and is a direct descendant of Michael and Barbara Klein's son, Philip Klein (1755-1828). Paul Klein is a direct male descendant of Philip Klein and graciously donated his DNA to confirm a Y-chromosome match through FamilyTreeDNA with your website host, Jerry Cline, a direct male descendant of our Peter Klein. More information on Michael and Barbara Klein can be found on their subpage of this website. For more information on Michael and Barbara Klein and their descendants, please also visit Christine Schultz's website at http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/c/h/Chris-Schultz/index.html
More updates to come...
This website was launched in May, 2009 and is updated as time permits. Please view our Blog Updates page for more recent updates.
The preeminent source book on Peter Cline and his descendants is Clines and Allied Families of the Tug River Region, 1998 Gateway Press, by Cecil Cline in collaboration with Harry Dale Cline. You can read a digital version of this book online by clicking on the link below (UPDATED 2/25/2013 AS THE PRIOR LINK WAS BROKEN):
Copy and paste into your address bar. Once you reach the search bar, type in "Cline" and Cecil's book can be found if you scroll down.
The most recent edition of Cecil's book is titled, Peter Cline, Revolutionary Soldier but is out of print.
Christopher Logan Cline, Alex Tanner Cline, Kameron Cline, and Candace Cline.[5][18]
Cline Family Association
Avon Lake, OH