Katherine Klein 1768-1820 (100001)

Catherine Summerour Grave Marker

Katherine Klein, also often rendered Catherine Cline, was born about 1769 in (then) Catawba County, NC (now Lincoln County), as the second child of Johan Sabastian "Bostian" Klein Jr. and Margaret Ramsauer [See note below]. She was confirmed in the Lutheran faith on 26 Oct 1783, receiving her first communion from Rev. Arends at Warlich settlement in Lincoln County. 

Katherine's father abandoned his family when she was still a small child, and her parents divorced in 1774, at a time when divorce was nearly unheard of. It must have caused a great deal of hardship for the family. Yet, they persevered with help from extended family.

Katherine married Michael Summerow about 1789 in Lincoln County NC, where they were both born and raised. This date is only an estimate based on the fact that their first child was born after the Federal Census of 1790, and that Michael and Katherine were enumerated together in that census.

They had the following children:

1) John Summerow b. 1790 Lincoln, NC, d. 1857 Iredell, NC; m. Nancy MNU

2) John Henry Summerow b. 1794 Lincoln, NC, d. 5 Nov 1854 Lauderdale, TN; m. Minerva T. Day 9 Sep 1820 Rutherford, TN

3) Michael Summerow b. abt 1795 Lincoln, NC, d. 5 May 1870 Travis, TX; m. Electra MNU MO

4)Jacob Summerow b. 15 Jul 1797 Lincoln, NC, d. 2 Nov 1889 Mitchell, NC; m. Rachel Zelpha Turner 25 Sep 1830 Tyron, Polk, NC

5) Andrew Summerow b. 1800 Lincoln, NC, d. 1831 Iredell, NC; m. Charlotte MNU bef 1822

6) Elizabeth Summerow b. 3 Aug 1801 Lincoln, NC, d. 13 Jul 1861 Lincoln, NC; never married

7) David Summerow b. 16 Sep 1804 Lincoln, NC, d. 23 Jun 1879 Lincoln, NC; m. Susan Rudisill 7 Jun 1828 NC

8) Peter Summerow b. 11 Dec 1808 Lincoln, NC, d. 2 Nov 1841 Lincoln, NC; m. Elmyra R. Ramsauer 16 Mar 1840 Lincoln, NC

9) Sarah "Sally" Summerow b. 12 Jan 1814 Lincoln, NC, d. 22 Oct 1841 Lincoln, NC; never married

The Summerow-Summerour family lived in Lincoln County, North Carolina (shown here in red). They lived near the Catawba River, which forms the eastern border of the county, on Clark's Creek.

Catherine was enumerated in her husband's household for the 1790 and 1810 Federal Census, living in Lincoln County, North Carolina. By the time they were married Michael had already accumulated 286 acres of land on Clark's Creek near the Catawba River in Lincoln County, North Carolina. [See Michael's listing for much more information.]

Catherine died on the 10th of June 1820. According to a survey of Old White Church Cemetery, Catherine was buried next to her husband. The tombstone gives her age as 51 years, which gives us a birth year of about 1769. 

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Survey for Old White Church Cemetery lists:

      Summerour, Henry No Dates

      Summerour, Elizabeth 63 years October 21, 1827

      Summerour, Michael No Dates

      Summerour, Catherine 51 years June 10, 1820

      Summerour, Henry 70 years December 1, 1722

      Summerour, Mary 72 years October 25, 1722

[Old White Church Cemetery - Lincoln County, NC - Cemeteries Submitted to the USGenWeb Project by W.D. Floyd (wdfloyd@rfci.net) Copyright, 1997 W.D. Floyd]

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A note on Katherine's parentage:

Much of the information on the Klein family comes from the book The Cline Families of North Carolina 1750-1860 And Their European Ancestry, 1580-1750, by George B. Cline Jr.. This is the source for Katherine's maiden name, Klein. More research is needed to substantiate this claim. The Cline Family book has much useful information; however, like all books of the kind, there are also many mistakes. As new information has been uncovered, some of what George Cline wrote has been proven incorrect. This is particularly true where he relied largely on the contribution of family memories rather than documentation; and, it would seem, Katherine Cline/Klein has been the locus of much misinformation, including who her father was.   

One researcher has this to say:

"Cicero Cline [in his book: the Klein or Cline Family, published in 1915] identifies a Catherine Cline, who marries Michael Sumner (Sumrow or Summerow), as a daughter of Christopher Cline's son Henry (1.4.2.1). However, the discussion of Henry's children in his section of this chapter shows that he does not have such a daughter Catherine. The only Michael Sumrow found in the Lincoln county 1820 and 1830 census is a widower, born 1750-1760, with five children, born 1795-1810, in his household. It is speculated that the Catherine Cline who marries Michael Sumrow, as recalled in Cicero Cline's account, is really this Catharina Cline, daughter of Boston Cline Jr." [Derick S. Hartshorn III, from his Cline website:  http://www.ncgenweb.us/catawba/Cline/b355.htm]