Conrad Jacob Klein
BIRTH: November 30, 1835, Hessen, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany
DEATH: 12 Jan 1910 (aged 75) in Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minnesota
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Conrad J. Klein was born November 30, 1835, at Hessen, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In May 1848, at the age of twelve, he emigrated with his parents, George and Catherine (Fox) Klein, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He later removed to New Lisbon, Wisconsin, where he worked for a time in the pine forests.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Klein enlisted on September 30, 1861, as a private in Company H, Tenth Wisconsin Infantry. He participated in some of the most significant engagements of the western theater, including the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, and throughout the Atlanta Campaign. In November 1864 he transferred to Company C of the Twenty-First Wisconsin Infantry and later to the Third Wisconsin Infantry, serving until mustered out on July 18, 1865, at Madison, Wisconsin. His military record reflected a long, arduous, and honorable service.
In May 1866 (or shortly thereafter), Mr. Klein came to Mankato. In partnership with James Quinn, he purchased the livery business of D. H. Tyner, operating it for several years. Upon retiring from the livery trade, he became proprietor of the Minnesota House for two years. In 1882 he purchased the Clifton House, which he conducted with notable popularity for decades. Through his management, the Clifton House became one of the best-known hotels in southern Minnesota, and he was widely recognized as Mankato’s pioneer hotel man.
On October 10, 1870, he was united in marriage with Margaret Collins, daughter of Henry B. and Eliza (Montgomery) Collins, early settlers of Mankato who had come from Indiana in 1866. Two children were born of this union: Dr. George H. Klein of Ottawa, Illinois, and Laura E. McIntire.
For thirty years Mr. Klein was prominently identified with the hotel business in Mankato and southern Minnesota. He was known as a genial host and a respected citizen whose establishment was a gathering place for travelers and townspeople alike.
For thirty-two years he suffered intermittently from Bright’s disease, enduring frequent severe illnesses. His final illness came suddenly while he was seated in the office of the Clifton House. After several days of painful spasms, he passed away peacefully at ten minutes before eight o’clock in the morning, the transition from sleep to death scarcely noticeable. His wife and daughter were at his bedside.
Conrad J. Klein’s life spanned immigration, war, frontier enterprise, and long civic residence. As a Union veteran and one of Mankato’s earliest and most prominent hotel proprietors, he was remembered as a popular and well-known figure whose contributions were woven into the commercial and social life of the city.
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