The following was written By Ben Kleinschmidt for the Blunt Centennial Book in 1983. Ben died in February of 2002.
Written by Ben Kleinschmidt - 1983
My grandfather, August Kleinschmidt, (son of Nicholas Kleinschmidt) was a member of Company (G), 24th Regiment of Illinois Infantry Volunteers in 1861 and was discharged at Chattanooga, Tenn. in 1864. I have his discharge papers.
He and his family of six boys and one girl came to Blunt, S.D. in 1883 and settled on a plot of land two miles east and one-half mile south of Blunt. They raised cattle and horses. There were no fences in those days, and I have heard my dad, Frank Kleinschmidt, tell about riding fifty miles from home to round up cattle in the fall of the year. Everyone on the roundup would bring their neighbor's cattle to one location to be sorted. I guess this was the good old days. One day my granddad and some of my uncles were working on land now owned by the Mercer families, and he started to get a horse that was on a picket rope to ride home. The horse broke loose, so he had to walk. He died on the way home and was found the next morning by Ed Carey, Arlo Mercer's grandfather. This was July 12.1890. He is buried in the Blunt cemetery.
The Kleinschmidt family moved to another place a half mile south to a tree claim, 160 acres granted to the heirs of Augustus Kleinschmidt in November, 1891, and signed by Benjamin Harrison, the President of the United States. I have the original document.
This place later became my Grandmother's and remained hers until she lost it some years later. My parents, Frank and Lillie Kleinschmidt, lived there until 1922, and this is where I was born in 1910. My folks bought land and put up buildings a half mile northeast of there and lived there until about 1950, when they moved to Blunt and lived in Grandmother's house.
Above paragraph - last line - amended by Chet Kleinschmidt 5-10-2002
Frank and Lillie moved to Blunt in 1945. Chet rented this farm from 1945 until
his dad died in 1959, at which time Chet bought out his brother's share and
owned the farm until he sold it in 1963 and moved to Pierre, SD.
Uncle William and Uncle Edward Kleinschmidt went to Washington state and spent their remaining years there.
Aunt Matilda Kleinschmidt married Ed Smith and lived south of Holabird, S.D. for many years, later moving to Highmore, S.D.
Uncle Henry Kleinschmidt lived in the south part of Blunt, where Cliff Small is presently, and later moved south of the schoolhouse and became school janitor for many years.
Uncle John Kleinschmidt lived in the north part of Blunt and later went to Onida, S.D. and operated a blacksmith shop for many years.
Uncle Ernest Kleinschmidt went to Volga, S.D. and followed the carpenter trade there until his death.
All of these people married and had families, some of which are living today.
