Kleinhans / Petitjean Family
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Kleinhans Music Hall
Kleinhans in the area are often asked if they're connected to the well-known Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo or the now-defunct Kleinhans Clothing Store. The short answer is no, there's no connection. When asked some Kleinhans' will say anything from "we're distant cousins" to "don't know". The locally famous Kleinhans family (see Edward Kleinhans obit below) came from Michigan, not Royalton, NY.
Other Kleinhans'
The Kleinhans name is in nearly every state with Wisconsin, California, and New York having the most. Internationally, South Africa has the most Kleinhans' by far. Germany and the USA have the second and third most. In New York State alone, there are unrelated Kleinhans families in Buffalo (several different ones), Niagara County, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and NYC. So the name is not rare, but not overly common, at least in America.
Myths
As a side note, save your money, there's no family crest for the Kleinhans family. There's no such thing as a coat of arms for a family. A coat of arms has to be granted to an individual by a country or royalty, or they must be descended from a male ancestor who had one granted in the past. Companies that sell family crests make up a fake one for you. Also, please don't pay for a DNA ancestry test. They are wildly inaccurate at best, and more for entertainment purposes.
Misspelled and Mangled
After numerous searches and documents found back to the 1800s, the Kleinhans name was misspelled many times such as Klenhas, Kleihaus, Rlanhaus, Klenhaus, Kinghans, Klinhang, Kleinhous, Kleinhanse, Kliehann, Klinehans, Klien, and Kleinans. Historians note many immigrants couldn't spell their names because they couldn't read or write.
Kleinhans was misspelled "Klinhang" in the 1860 US Census making census records for the family hard to locate. Frederick's last name was misspelled "Kleinans" in his obituary making it challenging to find on the Fulton History website with a routine search. Even though the Kleinhans surname was often misspelled, the locations, dates, and names of family members made it possible to identify them positively regardless of misspelled names.
Edward Kleinhans' - Obit
Edward Kleinhans' - Obit
Edward Kleinhans - Founder of men's clothing store
Edward Kleinhans was originally from Pontiac, Michigan, Mr. Kleinhans came to Buffalo in 1893 with his brother Horace to start a new business. The two had previously operated clothing stores in Louisville, Kentucky and Chicago, Illinois. When they arrived in Buffalo they opened the H. Kleinhans & Company clothing store at 259 Main Street in what is now known as the Brisbane Building. ... In 1934, Edward Kleinhans died, followed four months later by his wife, Mary Seaton Kleinhans, who had been an accomplished pianist and vocalist. The couple left an estate valued at nearly $12 million to the City of Buffalo for the construction of a “world-class concert hall.” Construction of this new facility, known as Kleinhans Music Hall, was completed in 1940. It has since been home to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Edward Kleinhans and Mary Seaton Kleinhans are buried in section 27 in Forest Lawn.
Brisbane Building
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