JAMES P. KLINE was born on August 25, 1842 in Perry County, Missouri, the child of William Kline and his wife, Mary Venecia Massey. The first census on which James appears was in the 1850 Federal Census of Cape Cinque Hommes Township, Perry County, Missouri. James' father, William Kline, was listed as being born in Pennsylvania, while his mother, Mary Venecia Massey, was from Missouri.

In addition to his parents, James' family included the following:

It is important to note that there are multiple online sources that assign the middle name of Percy to James Peter Kline. It is my belief that this was a mistake made possibly first made by Timothy J. O'Rourke in his book,  Maryland Catholics on the Frontier.  The error has been perpetuated by other online genealogies. However, there are many primary source documents that state that his name was James Peter Kline. It is those documents that we will reference when using James' middle name.

After a search of unindexed baptismal records from the Assumption Catholic Church in Perryville, no records were found to indicate that any of the Kline children were baptized in the Catholic Church. However, the Kline family were listed on the 1846 census for St. Marys of the Barrens parish, indicating that they were Catholic.

In the winter of 1852, both of James' parents died within weeks of each other for reasons unknown. His mother, Mary Venecia, died on November 22, 1852. She was 35 years old. His father, William, died eighteen days later on December 10, 1852 at the age of 33. At the time of his parent's death, James was 10 years old. There were five other siblings also living in the household at that time.

In 1854, Elizabeth Kline accepted guardianship of Ellen Kline, who would have been approximately 10 years old. This was, presumably, the children's grandmother, Elizabeth Laud Kline, wife of deceased Adam Joseph Kline, who was from Pennsylvania and who also lived in Saline Township in Perry County. Probate documents show that on March 17, 1853, Peter Kline (presumably the brother of the deceased) took guardianship of the minors Marcella and James Kline. The documents also state that Peter Kline took Guardianship of the minor, William J. Kline. 

Anecdotal records have been found online suggesting that there were possibly two older siblings, both male, who also died in the winter of 1852. After an extensive search, the appears to be inaccurate. James' parents, William and Mary Venecia, were married in 1837 in Perry County, Missouri. A "William Cline" appears in the 1840 U.S. Federal Census. In this census, only the head of the household was documented by name, with the other members of the family represented by hash marks noting their age and sex. In 1840, there were four people in the William Cline household: one male between the ages of 20 - 30 (presumably William), one female between the ages of 20 - 30 (presumably his wife, Mary Venecia), one male under the age of 5 (presumably Joseph A. Kline) and one female under the age of 5 (presumably Mary E. Kline). There were no other children listed, nor was there any time for the Klines to have had two additional children before the 1840 census.

Catharine Tucker was the eighth child and fourth daughter of Peter Joseph Tucker and Mary Ann Stewart. Catharine was born in Perry County, Missouri, on April 2, 1843, and baptized into the Catholic Church at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church by Father J. B. Escoffier. Her father was most likely born in Illinois and her mother came from Kentucky. In addition to her parents, Catherine's family included the following:

The 1850 Federal Census for Cape Cinque Hommes Township in Perry County, Missouri, recorded that the Peter Joseph Tucker family were farmers with a real estate value of $1200. Of the eight children in the household at that time, the three oldest sons, Edward, Varice, and Felix, were listed as farm laborers. The Tuckers also employed a man named Cyprian Stewart as a farm laborer and had two slaves, one 26 year old female and - presumably - her three month old female child.

The identity of Cyprian Stewart is currently unknown. He was not a sibling of Mary Ann Stewart Tucker and his age in 1850 (25) would indicate that he was not an uncle (brother of her father). Mary Ann's father, Charles Stewart, had several siblings, however, so it is plausible that Cyprian could have been a cousin. In 1851, although working for the Tucker family, he also purchased two pieces of property near Biehle, Missouri. In 1860, he still lived in Perry County, working as a laborer for a different family. Documentation confirms that Cyprian Stewart served as a Corporal in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was attached to the 3rd Missouri State Militia, Cavalry. He died on October 22, 1864, presumably due to either battle or sickness associated with his service. He is buried in the Jefferson City National Cemetery in Jefferson City, Missouri.

On April 17, 1860, James married Catherine Tucker, the daughter of Peter Joseph Tucker and Mary Ann Stewart. At the time of their marriage, James was 18 and Mary Ann was 17 years old.. The marriage took place at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Perryville, Perry County, Missouri. The marriage was officiated by Father John. J. Quigey, C. M., and the witnesses were Ludwig (Louis) Stewart and Josephina Bright.

By June of 1860, the Klines had quickly established their household in Saline, Township, Perry County, Missouri, on a property adjacent to James' older brother, Joseph A. Kline and his wife, Susannah Tucker Klein, whom he had married in 1859. Also living with them was a 20 year old female, Mary Kline, who was most likely James and Joseph's sister, Mary E. Kline. William Kline, James' youngest brother, still lived with his grandmother, Elizabeth Laub Kline. At the age of fifteen, James' sister, Ellen, had married Samuel Rankin. Their youngest sister, Marcella (or Marcelline) was recorded as living with Ellen and her husband. James' personal estate at the time was listed as $300.

By 1860, Catharine's parents, Peter Joseph Tucker and Mary Ann Stewart Tucker, had moved to Saline Township (from Cape Cinque Hommes Township) and lived very nearby with their two youngest children, Louis and Henry, still living at home. The Tucker farm had increased in value to $2000 and their personal wealth was listed as $3000. They number of slaves in the household had increased to four and included a 35 year old female, a 13 year old female, a 6 year old male and a 4 year old male.

Together, James and Catherine had four children. 

James P. Kline served during the Civil War as part of the Missouri State Militia. On August 16, 1862, James enrolled in the 64th Regiment, Company B, of the Enrolled Missouri Militia with the rank of Private. James was 19 at the time and his infant son, Felix, was only 7 months old. Company B was commanded by Captain William H. Bennett. James was ordered into service on April 23, 1863 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Released from service in May, 1863, James was again called to service in Perryville and was released in December, 1864. In total, James P. Kline's actual days of service equalled 91. Company B, 64th Regiment, enrolled men mostly from the Perry County and Cape Girardeau area. One of James' fellow soldiers was Henry R. Gibbar (our great grandfather).

Although the vast majority of the 1890 United States Federal Census was destroyed by water damage, the "Special Schedule of Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines and Widows" is still intact.​​​​​ James P. Kline is listed among the surviving Civil War soldiers for Saline Township, Perry County, Missouri. To this date there is, as yet, no evidence found that he applied for a military pension. Nor is there evidence that a military headstone was ordered for him.

In 1863, when he was 24 years old, James' brother, Joseph, also registered for the Civil War draft. His death on February 15, 1865 suggests that he may have died from injuries or illness incurred during the war. However, his name has not yet been found on lists of either regular soldiers or volunteers who died in battle. Joseph's wife, Susannah, remarried to Joseph B. Parres.

Catherine Tucker died on Sunday, June 19, 1870, at 28 years of age. Her youngest son, Joseph Lewis, was approximately nine months old at the time of her death, so she most likely did not die from complications of childbirth. She was blessed for burial by Father P. B. Dunphy, C.M. Father Patrick Dunphy was a Catholic priest from Ireland stationed at the St. Marys of the Barrens in Perryville.

In 1870, all persons living with a household by the official date of July 18th were to be enumerated on the U.S. Federal Census. Although Catherine was deceased by that date, she was still included as a member of the James P. Kline household. The most likely scenario to describe this error was that the census taker visited the Kline household before Catherine died and enumerated the family members and then did not know of her subsequent death.

It is important to note that there are online genealogies that either list Catherine's death date as 'unknown' or in January of 1875. The documentation below, discovered among the unindexed records of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, proves the accuracy of the June 19, 1879 date beyond doubt.

James and Emma Kline's first child, a son named James Henry, was born in 1878. That the couple did not have a child until three years after their marriage was somewhat unusual, suggesting that perhaps there was a miscarriage that occurred between their marriage and the birth of their first child. There has been no documented evidence of this, however.

In the 1880 census, the first in which we find James and Emma together, they lived on a farm in Saline Township, Perry County, Missouri. James, 37, was a farmer and it was noted on the census that he "could not write." Emma, 31, was listed as "keeping house." In the household were James' children, Felix (18), Mary Ambrosia (15), and Joseph Lewis (10) from his previous marriage to Catherine Tucker. Both Felix and Joseph were listed as "working on farm" and Mary Ambrosia was "at house." Also listed on the 1880 census was James and Emma's son, James Henry (1). James Henry Kline was mentioned in a newspaper article in 1911, so we know that he lived at least until that time. He is not listed as one of James P. Klines' children on James' obituary in 1916 so we can assume that he died sometime with those years.

Due to the unfortunate destruction of much of the Federal Census for 1890, there is no documentation for the family in that year. However, we know from other records that they had several more children between 1880 and 1890. A son, Francis William Kline, was born in October of 1882. In January of 1890, he died of diphteria after a sickness of 10 days. Another son, Vincent Rosetta Kline, was born in June of 1885 but there has been no other documentation found to determine any of the other details of his life or when he died. Margaret Emeline Kline was born in March of 1887. She married James Milton Hagen and died at the age of 79 in 1966. Finally, a male child was born on June 5 1899. He was not given a name on the birth register and died 5 days later on June 10, 1889. The cause of death was just listed as "see report" with no other indication as to cause of death. He was unnamed at the time of his death.

In 1900, the Kline family still lived in a house they rented on the farm in Saline Township in Perry County, Missouri. James, now 57, was listed as a farmer. His parents were both listed as coming from Pennsylvania, which is contrary to previous census reports that list his mother as having come from Missouri. In addition, on the 1900 census, James was listed as being able to both read and write. Emma (51) was keeping house. Their daughter, Margaret (13) was listed as attending school. Also in the houshold were James' nephew and niece from his previous marriage, Gilbert (13) and Louise (10) Tucker, both also listed as attending school. The Klines employed one farm worker, Augustine Vessels (26) and one servant, Barbara O. Lindley (24).

The following photograph was posted online by Patricia Bishop Obrist, a genealogist who has done extensive research in Missouri families that include several of our family lines and whose grandmother was Louise Tucker, the niece of James P. Kline who was living with them in 1900. She stated on notes about the photo that she did not see James P. Kline in the picture.

The last census in which James P. Kline was documented was in 1910. At the age of 67, James was still living on the farm with his wife and his daughter, Margaret (23). His brother-in-law, John Moranville, had been widowed and was living with the Kline family. James' occupation was listed as "general farm." Once again, there was confusion regarding the birthplace of James' parents. In this census, his father was listed as "German" and his mother's birthplace was listed as Missouri once again.

Newspaper accounts during his life describe James Kline as a "staunch Democrat" and "a jovial old gentleman."

James P. Kline died on March 11, 1916, at the age of 73. His wife, Emma, survived him. The cause of death was listed as Lobar Pneumonia. His occupation at the time of his death was "Retired Farmer."  At the time of death, James P. Kline was survived by his 2nd wife, Matilda Emma Drury Kline, one daughter, Margaret Kline Hagan, and two sons, Felix Kline and Joseph Kline. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Perryville, Perry County, Missouri.

It is interesting to note the obituaries from both Perryville papers, The Perry County Sun and the Perry County Republican are fraught with errors. The Perry County Sun included a headline for "James H. Kline," which presumably was an error on the part of the reporter as James H. was the son of James P. Kline. Also note that the reporter for the Perry County Republican recorded an incorrect death date (March 12, 1916) for James P. Kline. In addition, the number and names of surviving children are inconsistent both with the facts and with each other.

The informant on James Peter Kline's Death Certificate was his son, Felix Kline. Information on death certificates is often fraught with inaccuracies due to the incorrect memories or inaccurate knowledge of the informant. In this case, Felix listed the father of James Kline as David Kline. This information is inaccurate, as James' father was William Kline. William Kline died when James was only ten years old, so it is not surprising that Felix had incorrect knowledge of the identity of his grandfather.

Matilda Emma Kline died on February 12, 1918 at the age of 69, just two years after her husband. The cause of death was lobar pneumonia. Mass was held for her at the Lithium Catholic Church and she was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Perry County, Missouri. Once again, the newspaper articles were inaccurate with one reporting the wrong death date and the other stating that she had had "but one child." The informant on her death certificate was, once again, Felix Kline.