Ernest and Clara Matthias
Ernest Carl Heinrich Ludwig Hermann Matthias, son of Heinrich Christian and Engel Maria Caroline (Knief) Matthias, was born January 7, 1902, in Maxfield, Iowa. Ernest had 6 bothers: Henry, Emil, Albert, William, Ernest, Arthur, and 2 sisters: Emma and Malinda.
[From her obituary] Clara Charlotte Matthias was born July 5, 1903, in Maxfield Township, Bremer. Iowa, to Bertha Leistikow and John Lewis Buhr. She was raised in a large farm and had many chores. She was responsible for such things as bringing in the cows to be milked, doing much house work, etc. Clara attended school until she was twelve years old through the 8th grade in a one room country school. That was as high as the grades went at that time. Clara met her husband, Ernest Matthias at the age of sixteen. They were married on the November 25, 1925, at Readlyn, Iowa. Ernest and Clara had one child, a boy, named Jerome Ernest, who died the same day he was born. Clara joined the church on July 5, 1958, and was sealed to her husband Ernest at the Salt Lake Temple.
During World War II, Clara worked at the Chamberlain Bomb Factory in Waterloo for three years and at the Waterloo Laundry about one year.
Clara made genealogy her life's work. She loved working on family trees. She was a charter member of the Genealogical Society at the East Mond State Genealogy Library. She taught genealogy about twenty seven years while working in the Genealogy Library. She worked her own family tree. Along with the help of Fern Russos and Verda Thometz, Clara made records of all the cemeteries in Snohomish County as well as some of the other counties. They would take a lunch and go for the day to a cemetery to copy all the information from the grave markers. Clara then drew diagrams of the cemeteries with the names where they were buried. She has also made and kept records of all the obituaries in Snohomish County dating as far back as 1953. Clara has also kept records of the state of Iowa where she was born. Many times the Everett Herald newspaper and Olympia sent people to Clara for help in locating or tracing back to find locations of their family members or to locate a cemetery. Clara's genealogy work drew much attention and was on display many times. The last four years of her life were in the Marysville Care Center where she continued to work on pasting obituaries in books she put together until she died. Clara will be greatly missed by her many friends. Funeral services were held. Friday. November 21, 1997, at Marysville Latter Day Saints Stake Center.
Ernest preceded her in death on October 17, 1987. Clara was survived by two sisters. Mrs. William Charlotte Struck of Sumner, Iowa, and Mrs. Walter Aldora Huck of Waverly, Iowa; two nephews LaVern Matthias of Readlyn. Iowa. and Willis J. Huck of Waverly, Iowa; one niece Mrs. Doris Price of Missouri.