Philip Kais

Description

Phillip Kais (1820 – 1912), a farmer from Germany who moved to Bonhomme Township, Missouri, held land at what is now Tyson Research Center according to plat maps dated 1878 and 1893 alongside Christian Morschell, who was a prominent businessman at the time. They may have been interested in the land along the Meramec for the purpose of sand and gravel mining, which was Morschell’s area of business.

Bio

Phillip Kais was born on December 30, 1820 in the German Rhineland. It is yet unknown when he came to the United States or how he came to settle in Missouri. In 1858, he married Elisabeth Andrae, who was born in Missouri but whose parents immigrated from Germany. In the 1860 census, Kais is listed as a resident of Bonhomme Township, with Elisabeth and their two-year-old son, Henry. Other household members include another Phillip Kais, aged 69, from Prussia (presumably Phillip’s father), Sophie Andrae, 61 years old and Prussian-born (Elisabeth’s mother), and three laborers and a tenant farmer, all Prussian-born men between the ages of 27 and 40.2 It is presumed that Phillip was successful as a farmer; the large stone farmhouse he built circa 1850 in the area, which came to be incorporated as Sherman and which is now in Castlewood State Park, still stands today.

In the 1870 Census, Kais is listed as living in Bonhomme Township with Elisabeth, a daughter, Julia, aged 8, and two teenaged children, Augusta and Bertram Kais, both born in Pennsylvania. It is presumed that these children were adopted into the family, and that Henry Kais did not survive childhood. The couple would have two more children, Emilie Louise “Lulu” (1873) and Johanna (1874), before Elisabeth’s death in 1876. Elisabeth was buried in the Kaes family plot in Sherman, present-day Castlewood State Park.

Phillip Kais is listed as a widower in the 1880 census; he remarried that same year to another German-born woman, Emilie “Lizzette” Soest Hufschmidt (1847 – 1911), a widow listed as “Mrs. Emilie Hufschmidt of Pacific City” in the marriage register for October 12, 1880. “C. Morschel,” a business partner of Phillip’s, served as a witness to the wedding. Phillip Kais and Christian Morschell co-owned land in what is today the northwest area of Tyson Research Center, according to 1878 and 1893 plat maps. This land bordered a stretch of the Meramec River. Because Morschell was associated with several sand and gravel companies, it is probable that they purchased the land with the intent of utilizing the resources in the area.

The couple had two children: Walter (b. 1886) and Emma (b. 1891). Emilie died in 1911, Phillip in 1912; both are buried in the Kaes family cemetery.6

No records have yet been identified indicating that Kais or his family were enslavers.

Birth Date

December 30, 1820

Sex

Male

Spouse of

Elisabeth Andrae, Emilie “Lizzette” Soest Hufschmidt

Parent of

Henry Kais, Julia Kais, Augusta Kais, Betram Kais, Emilie Louise “Lulu” Kais, Johanna Kais, Walter Kais, Emma Kais

Enslaver

No records of relation to enslavement yet identified.

Dates of Tyson Land Ownership

1878

1893