Eliza Catherine Kline

Eliza Catherine Kline

THE CHILDREN OF 

JOHN WESLEY KLINE

&

DORA TENA MYERS KLINE

Daniel F. -  (1872 - 1948)

Caroline Elizabeth - (1874 - 1955)

Mary Jane - (1876 - 1955)

Christ William - (1878 - 1928)

Mariah Margaret - (1880 - 1899)

Barnhart Albert - (1881 - 1927)

Minnie Ellen - (1883 - 1967)

Eliza Catherine - (1886 - 1967)

Emma Favority - (1888 - 1889)

John Wesley Jr. - (1890 - 1936)

Eliza Catherine Kline, sometimes called "Lizzie," was the youngest daughter who lived into adulthood.  She lived on the homestead her entire life, never marrying.  Born April 3, 1886, she was a faithful member of the Fairview Methodist Church in Good Hope Township, Hocking County.

When Daniel, her oldest brother was divorced and moved from Indiana back to the Hocking Hills homestead, it was Eliza who cared for him.  Daniel became ill, probably sometime in the early 1940s, and he always told Eliza that she would be compensated for her nursing and attention, but it didn't work out that way after Carl inherited Daniel's estate.

The Athens Sunday Messenger, September 11, 1949, p. 2 -

"SUIT SEEKS $11,180 SUM FROM ESTATE

LOGAN - Suit for $11,180 has been filed in Hocking County common pleas court by Eliza Kline against Carl G. Kline as executor of the estate of Daniel F. Kline, deceased.

The petition states that Eliza cared for the late Mr. Kline for the last five years of his life and that she furnished his meals and did his laundry during which time he became increasingly more helpless.

Continuing, the petition states that the plaintiff made request for allowance of her claim to the executor who rejected it on July 14.  The petition declares that plaintiff cared for Mr. Kline at his request and in reliance upon his promise that should would be compensated by him in his will, provisions of which declare that the person or persons caring for him and providing for him during his last illness be reasonably compensated out of his estate, if not paid during his lifetime, the petition states.

Declaring that she performed such services and was not compensated, she asks a judgment of $11,180 plus interest from Dec. 21, 1948."  The case was apparently settled out of court and Eliza was awarded about $3,000.

The newspapers of the day noted that many family members visited her and supported her after Daniel's death.  They picked her up for revival services, repaired her summer kitchen, and cultivated her garden.  She spent her time housecleaning, papering and gardening, and invited family to dinner quite often.

In 1957 - 1958, she was often found on the newspaper's sick list and it came to the point where she could not walk without help.  Finally, in 1965, she was hospitalized .  Her family had the Christmas gathering that year at the homestead without her.  Her niece, Ethel Goss, arranged it.  

On June 11, 1967, she succumbed to her weakness and died at her niece, Ethel's, home.  Her obituary appeared in the Logan paper -

"Eliza C. Kline

Miss Eliza Catherine Kline, 81, died Sunday at the residence of Ralph Goss, Rockbridge, Route 2, where she had made her home with relatives.  She was born in Hocking County, a daughter of Wesley and Dora Myers Kline.  She was a member of West Pleasant EUB Church.  She is survived by nieces and nephews.  Her parents, four brothers and five sisters preceded her in death.

Services will be Wednesday, 10 a.m. at the Leonard Funeral Home with the Rev. I.N Burnworth of Bremen, officiating  Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery."