The Reich and Kison Families

The Reich and Kison Families

                                                                                        9/30/2019

Both sides of my mother Alma Schmidt’s Family were Germans who had settled in Bessarabia after they were invited to come and farm by Catherine the Great, Czarina of Russia in the early 1800’s.

The Kison side of the family settled in Kulm, Bessarabia.

The Reich (Rich) side of the family settled in Elft, or Neu Elft where Reinhold Reich was born on November 16, 1883 to Christian Reich and Maria Elizabeth Hirschkorn.  Christian Reich was born on February 16, 1849 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia.  Christian’s father was Samuel Reich, born on July 25, 1807 in Germany.  Samuel died in 1854 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia.  His mother was Maria Hamann (1798-1845).

Samuel Reich’s father was Gottlieb Reich (born in February 16, 1794 in Tornova, Poland), and his mother was Louisa Gutsch (1806-1843). Gottlieb had a second marriage to Christine Jaess.

Reinhold emigrated to America at the age of 17 from Antwerp, Belgium on the SS Zeeland on October 12, 1901, arriving at Ellis Island, New York on October 22, 1901.  His origin is shown as Eigenheim, Bessarabia.  His final destination was shown on papers as Ritzville, Washington.

Reinhold must have spent some time in Ritzville, but is later shown as a boarder in Spokane, employed with Express Wagon.  His name is shown as Rinard Rich, age 26.  He married Bertha Kison on December 14, 1911 at the age of 28, in the Salem Church in Ralston, Washington.  Ralston was a small farm town south of Ritzville.  The Salem church was eventually destroyed, but the attached cemetery still exists and is being maintained.  One of the members prepared a record of the Salem Church, with membership and events listed.    I have a copy of that record (a booklet).

Reinhold’s brother Johannes came to visit him from Canada while he was in Ritzville.  He showed in the Canadian Border Crossing document at Eastwood, Idaho, that he was going to visit his “bro” Rinard in Ritzville.  Through a contact in Canada with his granddaughter, I found out that Christian Reich was father to both.  Prior to that I didn’t know who his father was.  Reinhold had two brothers, both lived in Canada.

After moving to Spokane, Reinhold worked as a truck driver, and owned a truck which he used in a moving business.  However, the moving business was being dominated by big companies, and they resented his competition in their business.  That may have led to a confrontation that led to his death, listed as a “suicide” in a fall from the bridge over the Spokane River.

He had also dabbled in gold mining, and had bought some mining equipment, and probably mining stock which did not produce income, and caused hardship for the family.

Bertha Kison was born on October 18, 1893 in Ritzville to Friedrich Kison and Rosina Radke.  The Kison Family was one of the founders of Eigenheim, Bessarabia.  They had moved from Kulm in about 1861, the year in which Eigenheim was founded.  Emelia (or Amelia) was born in 1889 and Simon was born in 1890 in Eigenheim.  Emelia was 4 and Simon was 3 when the family emigrated to Ritzville, Washington in 1893.  Bertha was the oldest born in the US in Ritzville in 1893.  Her brother Gustav was born in Ralston, Washington when Bertha was 2 years old.  Then came Maria in 1897, Daniel in 1903, and Alvina in 1903.  Maria died in 1901 at just 4 years of age.  There was an epidemic of cholera in the area about that time, and many died of the disease.  The sad tale is recorded at the Salem Cemetery on the tombstones still existing.

After marrying Reinhold and moving to Spokane, times were difficult and family income inadequate.  For many years Bertha worked in a restaurant, doing scullery work, and later cleaned homes for the wealthy.  After Reinhold died, she was the only breadwinner, and supported the family which included Alma, Rosemarie, and Elmer.  The home that they lived in at E. 1303 12^th Avenue is still existing in Spokane, and was my birthplace, in the front bedroom. The family doctor came to the house in those days.

After seven years as a widow, Bertha married Emanuel Siewert on July 18, 1946 when she was 52 years old.  Emanuel was a widower and had three teenage children.  Bertha took on the job of raising the three teenagers.  The son died in a swimming accident at about 16 years of age.  The two daughters maintained contact with Bertha after Emanuel died on December 4, 1955 at the age of 58.  They had been married for 9 years.  It was interesting to find out that there was a Siewert already in the family tree, so they may have been distant cousins.

Bertha sold the Siewert house a few years after he died, since it was much too big for her to live in alone.  She bought another home in Spokane where we celebrated many Christmas dinners.  Later she sold that house and moved in to a duplex which Ben Schmidt had built in the Spokane Valley.  She had her own half of the duplex adjoining Alma and Ben so they could make sure she was properly looked after.  They typically had their evening meals together, and went to church together in Spokane.

As a side note, the church they attended was originally the German Baptist Church in Spokane on Arthur Street.  Many Germans from Russia were members there.  After the change from the German language to English, her brother Simon preached to those preferring German sermons in the basement of the church.  That church still exists, but is no longer in use since it had a stone foundation which was not considered safe.  The members of the church moved to a new building in Spokane (Terrace Heights Baptist Church) which they had constructed.  Her son Elmer laid the brick for the building.