Grover Cleveland Ketterman was the son of Nancy Louisa Walker and Jonathan "Jack" Ketterman. His siblings include: Minnie, Harold,Guy, Chloe, Romney, and Derward. His half siblings include: Vera, Verna, Lois, John R, Esther, Paul, Marcus, and Woodrow Wilson Ketterman.
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From "The Fifteen Children of John W. Ketterman"
by Romney J. Ketterman and Barbara Ketterman Pendleton. 2008
Used with permission form Barbara Ketterman Pendleton.
"Grover Cleveland Ketterman was born October 24, 1886 in Pittsburg, KS, the fifth of John W. and Nancy Ketterman's children. His name stemmed from the great admiration his father had for the then-sitting president.
Grover was only six years old when his mother Nancy died in November 1892. Almost immediately after the funeral he and his sister Chloe were sent to live with his mother's sister, Malissa Preston, and her family. 'Aunt Lissie" lived on a farm near Elm in Allen County, KS with her husband Lyman, and a newborn baby.
Unfortunately the Preston family was destined for even more tragedy than the Kettermans. Their baby had been one of a set of twins; the other child, Joseph, had just died when Grover and Chloe moved into the household. Within two years, in August 1894, two-year old Harley also died. A third son, Wayne, arrived in 1896, and fortunately he was healthy.
But in 1899, Lyman Preston became seriously ill. The doctor thought he had all the symptoms of rabies, and asked if he had come in contact with any wild animals lately. No, he remembered, but the neighbors had a new puppy that had bitten him a few days earlier. The Prestons checked with the neighbor, who informed them that the puppy had indeed died a short time ago. Lyman Preston died soon afterward.
It appears that at that time Chloe went back to her father but Grover stayed on to help with the farm work. The 1900 census shows 14-year old Grover still living at the Preston farm with his maternal grandfather, George Stingley Walker, his widowed aunt; and his three-year-old cousin. Soon afterward, however, Malissa felt she could not bear to stay on the place, and she traded farms with her brother Willis. It's likely that Grover was on his own at this point.
It's unclear what Grover was doing in his late teens or early twenties. He is not listed in the 1910 census. He is apparently married at about age 24, although who he married remains a mystery. There is a record of a Grover Ketterman marrying a Miss Flemming in WV in 1911, although it is not certain whether this was our Grover or another Grover Ketterman who was about the same age. If it was our Grover, it is unknown how or why he was in that part of West Virginia.
:Note: (A wife for Grove was found. Her name was May, but we don't know her last name. We do know that it isn't Miss Flemming of WV. We don't know May's date of birth only her year and we only know that they were married about 1911 and May died of Tuberculosis in 1921 at the age of 28 and they had been living with Grover's brother Guy in California. They don't, however, appear in the 1920 census.)
Our first verified glimpse of Grover as an adult is his application to join the army during World War I. As of June 3, 1917 he was a waiter in Los Angeles, CA, married, but apparently separated. He was listed as tall, and dark, with gray eyes. He was also apparently still carrying some animosity toward his father and his second family, as he cynically wrote "Father's wife" as someone to whom he provides financial support.
Grover joined the Army on April 18, 1918. He was 31 years old-very old for a soldier in wartime. His photograph is recorded in the Honor Roll as one of Pittsburg's boys in the armed services. He was a warranted sergeant but little is known of where he actually served or what actions he saw. He may have stayed after the end of WWI-perhaps stationed overseas-as his name is not listed in the 1920 census.
Family stories describe Grover as a jokester and a prankster, someone who spent money as quickly as he earned it. He had a diamond ring he was especially proud of, his brother Guy said they were in the pawn shop as often as they were out of it. Possibly because they both spent their adult lives in California, Guy and Grover were believed to be especially close. Unlike Guy, however, Grover did not keep in close contact with his other brothers and sisters. Many of them believed that he had died during World War I; perhaps this was a misconception he himself encouraged.
Because about this time Grover apparently contracted syphilis, a terrible disease which unchecked causes the afflicted person to go insane. (Many people have speculated that Adolf Hitler contracted syphilis during WWI, and by the end of WWII he was completely delusional.) At the time of the 1930 census Grover was a patient in the Norwalk (CA) Hospital for the Insane.
About 1933 Grover was transferred to the Agnew Hospital in the Santa Clara area. At the time, the Agnew Hospital was one of the best in the nation for treating of the mentally ill patients, although Grover was indigent and probably could not pay a dime for his care, Grover lived at the Agnew facility until his death from "syphilitic meningoencephalitis" on December 23, 1943.
Grover was buried Christmas Eve 1945 in a pauper's grave at the Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery (Now the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery). There was no service and no marker, and the exact spot of his grave has been lost.
See also Grover Cleveland Ketterman
Sixty-two years later, Grover's nephew, Romney J. Ketterman, succeeded in getting a VA marker for Grover. It now stands in the Mount Olive cemetery in Pittsburg, KS next to the grave of his mother."
____________________________________________________________
"We knew that Grover was in a California insane asylum in 1930, but we didn't know anything else about him. We got his death certificate and found out he died of SYPHILIS and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Well, my dad had paperwork to prove Grover had been a WW I veteran-- and not only that, his father Jack had purchased three plots in Pittsburgh Mt. Olive cemetery about 1900, only one of which was used. So my dad was able to get a VA marker for Grover and have it placed next to Nannie's grave. The stone was placed at the end of October and we have been out there to see it. It looks great."
Barbara Pendleton
____________________________________________________________
From "The Fifteen Children of John W. Ketterman"
by Romney J. Ketterman and Barbara Ketterman Pendleton. 2008
Used with permission form Barbara Ketterman Pendleton.
"Grover Cleveland Ketterman was born October 24, 1886 in Pittsburg, KS, the fifth of John W. and Nancy Ketterman's children. His name stemmed from the great admiration his father had for the then-sitting president.
Grover was only six years old when his mother Nancy died in November 1892. Almost immediately after the funeral he and his sister Chloe were sent to live with his mother's sister, Malissa Preston, and her family. 'Aunt Lissie" lived on a farm near Elm in Allen County, KS with her husband Lyman, and a newborn baby.
Unfortunately the Preston family was destined for even more tragedy than the Kettermans. Their baby had been one of a set of twins; the other child, Joseph, had just died when Grover and Chloe moved into the household. Within two years, in August 1894, two-year old Harley also died. A third son, Wayne, arrived in 1896, and fortunately he was healthy.
But in 1899, Lyman Preston became seriously ill. The doctor thought he had all the symptoms of rabies, and asked if he had come in contact with any wild animals lately. No, he remembered, but the neighbors had a new puppy that had bitten him a few days earlier. The Prestons checked with the neighbor, who informed them that the puppy had indeed died a short time ago. Lyman Preston died soon afterward.
It appears that at that time Chloe went back to her father but Grover stayed on to help with the farm work. The 1900 census shows 14-year old Grover still living at the Preston farm with his maternal grandfather, George Stingley Walker, his widowed aunt; and his three-year-old cousin. Soon afterward, however, Malissa felt she could not bear to stay on the place, and she traded farms with her brother Willis. It's likely that Grover was on his own at this point.
It's unclear what Grover was doing in his late teens or early twenties. He is not listed in the 1910 census. He is apparently married at about age 24, although who he married remains a mystery. There is a record of a Grover Ketterman marrying a Miss Flemming in WV in 1911, although it is not certain whether this was our Grover or another Grover Ketterman who was about the same age. If it was our Grover, it is unknown how or why he was in that part of West Virginia.
:Note: (A wife for Grove was found. Her name was May, but we don't know her last name. We do know that it isn't Miss Flemming of WV. We don't know May's date of birth only her year and we only know that they were married about 1911 and May died of Tuberculosis in 1921 at the age of 28 and they had been living with Grover's brother Guy in California. They don't, however, appear in the 1920 census.)
Our first verified glimpse of Grover as an adult is his application to join the army during World War I. As of June 3, 1917 he was a waiter in Los Angeles, CA, married, but apparently separated. He was listed as tall, and dark, with gray eyes. He was also apparently still carrying some animosity toward his father and his second family, as he cynically wrote "Father's wife" as someone to whom he provides financial support.
Grover joined the Army on April 18, 1918. He was 31 years old-very old for a soldier in wartime. His photograph is recorded in the Honor Roll as one of Pittsburg's boys in the armed services. He was a warranted sergeant but little is known of where he actually served or what actions he saw. He may have stayed after the end of WWI-perhaps stationed overseas-as his name is not listed in the 1920 census.
Family stories describe Grover as a jokester and a prankster, someone who spent money as quickly as he earned it. He had a diamond ring he was especially proud of, his brother Guy said they were in the pawn shop as often as they were out of it. Possibly because they both spent their adult lives in California, Guy and Grover were believed to be especially close. Unlike Guy, however, Grover did not keep in close contact with his other brothers and sisters. Many of them believed that he had died during World War I; perhaps this was a misconception he himself encouraged.
Because about this time Grover apparently contracted syphilis, a terrible disease which unchecked causes the afflicted person to go insane. (Many people have speculated that Adolf Hitler contracted syphilis during WWI, and by the end of WWII he was completely delusional.) At the time of the 1930 census Grover was a patient in the Norwalk (CA) Hospital for the Insane.
About 1933 Grover was transferred to the Agnew Hospital in the Santa Clara area. At the time, the Agnew Hospital was one of the best in the nation for treating of the mentally ill patients, although Grover was indigent and probably could not pay a dime for his care, Grover lived at the Agnew facility until his death from "syphilitic meningoencephalitis" on December 23, 1943.
Grover was buried Christmas Eve 1945 in a pauper's grave at the Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery (Now the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery). There was no service and no marker, and the exact spot of his grave has been lost.
See also Grover Cleveland Ketterman
Sixty-two years later, Grover's nephew, Romney J. Ketterman, succeeded in getting a VA marker for Grover. It now stands in the Mount Olive cemetery in Pittsburg, KS next to the grave of his mother."
____________________________________________________________
"We knew that Grover was in a California insane asylum in 1930, but we didn't know anything else about him. We got his death certificate and found out he died of SYPHILIS and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Well, my dad had paperwork to prove Grover had been a WW I veteran-- and not only that, his father Jack had purchased three plots in Pittsburgh Mt. Olive cemetery about 1900, only one of which was used. So my dad was able to get a VA marker for Grover and have it placed next to Nannie's grave. The stone was placed at the end of October and we have been out there to see it. It looks great."
Barbara Pendleton
Grover Cleveland Ketterman was the son of Nancy Louisa Walker and Jonathan "Jack" Ketterman. His siblings include: Minnie, Harold,Guy, Chloe, Romney, and Derward. His half siblings include: Vera, Verna, Lois, John R, Esther, Paul, Marcus, and Woodrow Wilson Ketterman.
____________________________________________________________
From "The Fifteen Children of John W. Ketterman"
by Romney J. Ketterman and Barbara Ketterman Pendleton. 2008
Used with permission form Barbara Ketterman Pendleton.
"Grover Cleveland Ketterman was born October 24, 1886 in Pittsburg, KS, the fifth of John W. and Nancy Ketterman's children. His name stemmed from the great admiration his father had for the then-sitting president.
Grover was only six years old when his mother Nancy died in November 1892. Almost immediately after the funeral he and his sister Chloe were sent to live with his mother's sister, Malissa Preston, and her family. 'Aunt Lissie" lived on a farm near Elm in Allen County, KS with her husband Lyman, and a newborn baby.
Unfortunately the Preston family was destined for even more tragedy than the Kettermans. Their baby had been one of a set of twins; the other child, Joseph, had just died when Grover and Chloe moved into the household. Within two years, in August 1894, two-year old Harley also died. A third son, Wayne, arrived in 1896, and fortunately he was healthy.
But in 1899, Lyman Preston became seriously ill. The doctor thought he had all the symptoms of rabies, and asked if he had come in contact with any wild animals lately. No, he remembered, but the neighbors had a new puppy that had bitten him a few days earlier. The Prestons checked with the neighbor, who informed them that the puppy had indeed died a short time ago. Lyman Preston died soon afterward.
It appears that at that time Chloe went back to her father but Grover stayed on to help with the farm work. The 1900 census shows 14-year old Grover still living at the Preston farm with his maternal grandfather, George Stingley Walker, his widowed aunt; and his three-year-old cousin. Soon afterward, however, Malissa felt she could not bear to stay on the place, and she traded farms with her brother Willis. It's likely that Grover was on his own at this point.
It's unclear what Grover was doing in his late teens or early twenties. He is not listed in the 1910 census. He is apparently married at about age 24, although who he married remains a mystery. There is a record of a Grover Ketterman marrying a Miss Flemming in WV in 1911, although it is not certain whether this was our Grover or another Grover Ketterman who was about the same age. If it was our Grover, it is unknown how or why he was in that part of West Virginia.
:Note: (A wife for Grove was found. Her name was May, but we don't know her last name. We do know that it isn't Miss Flemming of WV. We don't know May's date of birth only her year and we only know that they were married about 1911 and May died of Tuberculosis in 1921 at the age of 28 and they had been living with Grover's brother Guy in California. They don't, however, appear in the 1920 census.)
Our first verified glimpse of Grover as an adult is his application to join the army during World War I. As of June 3, 1917 he was a waiter in Los Angeles, CA, married, but apparently separated. He was listed as tall, and dark, with gray eyes. He was also apparently still carrying some animosity toward his father and his second family, as he cynically wrote "Father's wife" as someone to whom he provides financial support.
Grover joined the Army on April 18, 1918. He was 31 years old-very old for a soldier in wartime. His photograph is recorded in the Honor Roll as one of Pittsburg's boys in the armed services. He was a warranted sergeant but little is known of where he actually served or what actions he saw. He may have stayed after the end of WWI-perhaps stationed overseas-as his name is not listed in the 1920 census.
Family stories describe Grover as a jokester and a prankster, someone who spent money as quickly as he earned it. He had a diamond ring he was especially proud of, his brother Guy said they were in the pawn shop as often as they were out of it. Possibly because they both spent their adult lives in California, Guy and Grover were believed to be especially close. Unlike Guy, however, Grover did not keep in close contact with his other brothers and sisters. Many of them believed that he had died during World War I; perhaps this was a misconception he himself encouraged.
Because about this time Grover apparently contracted syphilis, a terrible disease which unchecked causes the afflicted person to go insane. (Many people have speculated that Adolf Hitler contracted syphilis during WWI, and by the end of WWII he was completely delusional.) At the time of the 1930 census Grover was a patient in the Norwalk (CA) Hospital for the Insane.
About 1933 Grover was transferred to the Agnew Hospital in the Santa Clara area. At the time, the Agnew Hospital was one of the best in the nation for treating of the mentally ill patients, although Grover was indigent and probably could not pay a dime for his care, Grover lived at the Agnew facility until his death from "syphilitic meningoencephalitis" on December 23, 1943.
Grover was buried Christmas Eve 1945 in a pauper's grave at the Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery (Now the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery). There was no service and no marker, and the exact spot of his grave has been lost.
See also Grover Cleveland Ketterman
Sixty-two years later, Grover's nephew, Romney J. Ketterman, succeeded in getting a VA marker for Grover. It now stands in the Mount Olive cemetery in Pittsburg, KS next to the grave of his mother."
____________________________________________________________
"We knew that Grover was in a California insane asylum in 1930, but we didn't know anything else about him. We got his death certificate and found out he died of SYPHILIS and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Well, my dad had paperwork to prove Grover had been a WW I veteran-- and not only that, his father Jack had purchased three plots in Pittsburgh Mt. Olive cemetery about 1900, only one of which was used. So my dad was able to get a VA marker for Grover and have it placed next to Nannie's grave. The stone was placed at the end of October and we have been out there to see it. It looks great."
Barbara Pendleton
____________________________________________________________
From "The Fifteen Children of John W. Ketterman"
by Romney J. Ketterman and Barbara Ketterman Pendleton. 2008
Used with permission form Barbara Ketterman Pendleton.
"Grover Cleveland Ketterman was born October 24, 1886 in Pittsburg, KS, the fifth of John W. and Nancy Ketterman's children. His name stemmed from the great admiration his father had for the then-sitting president.
Grover was only six years old when his mother Nancy died in November 1892. Almost immediately after the funeral he and his sister Chloe were sent to live with his mother's sister, Malissa Preston, and her family. 'Aunt Lissie" lived on a farm near Elm in Allen County, KS with her husband Lyman, and a newborn baby.
Unfortunately the Preston family was destined for even more tragedy than the Kettermans. Their baby had been one of a set of twins; the other child, Joseph, had just died when Grover and Chloe moved into the household. Within two years, in August 1894, two-year old Harley also died. A third son, Wayne, arrived in 1896, and fortunately he was healthy.
But in 1899, Lyman Preston became seriously ill. The doctor thought he had all the symptoms of rabies, and asked if he had come in contact with any wild animals lately. No, he remembered, but the neighbors had a new puppy that had bitten him a few days earlier. The Prestons checked with the neighbor, who informed them that the puppy had indeed died a short time ago. Lyman Preston died soon afterward.
It appears that at that time Chloe went back to her father but Grover stayed on to help with the farm work. The 1900 census shows 14-year old Grover still living at the Preston farm with his maternal grandfather, George Stingley Walker, his widowed aunt; and his three-year-old cousin. Soon afterward, however, Malissa felt she could not bear to stay on the place, and she traded farms with her brother Willis. It's likely that Grover was on his own at this point.
It's unclear what Grover was doing in his late teens or early twenties. He is not listed in the 1910 census. He is apparently married at about age 24, although who he married remains a mystery. There is a record of a Grover Ketterman marrying a Miss Flemming in WV in 1911, although it is not certain whether this was our Grover or another Grover Ketterman who was about the same age. If it was our Grover, it is unknown how or why he was in that part of West Virginia.
:Note: (A wife for Grove was found. Her name was May, but we don't know her last name. We do know that it isn't Miss Flemming of WV. We don't know May's date of birth only her year and we only know that they were married about 1911 and May died of Tuberculosis in 1921 at the age of 28 and they had been living with Grover's brother Guy in California. They don't, however, appear in the 1920 census.)
Our first verified glimpse of Grover as an adult is his application to join the army during World War I. As of June 3, 1917 he was a waiter in Los Angeles, CA, married, but apparently separated. He was listed as tall, and dark, with gray eyes. He was also apparently still carrying some animosity toward his father and his second family, as he cynically wrote "Father's wife" as someone to whom he provides financial support.
Grover joined the Army on April 18, 1918. He was 31 years old-very old for a soldier in wartime. His photograph is recorded in the Honor Roll as one of Pittsburg's boys in the armed services. He was a warranted sergeant but little is known of where he actually served or what actions he saw. He may have stayed after the end of WWI-perhaps stationed overseas-as his name is not listed in the 1920 census.
Family stories describe Grover as a jokester and a prankster, someone who spent money as quickly as he earned it. He had a diamond ring he was especially proud of, his brother Guy said they were in the pawn shop as often as they were out of it. Possibly because they both spent their adult lives in California, Guy and Grover were believed to be especially close. Unlike Guy, however, Grover did not keep in close contact with his other brothers and sisters. Many of them believed that he had died during World War I; perhaps this was a misconception he himself encouraged.
Because about this time Grover apparently contracted syphilis, a terrible disease which unchecked causes the afflicted person to go insane. (Many people have speculated that Adolf Hitler contracted syphilis during WWI, and by the end of WWII he was completely delusional.) At the time of the 1930 census Grover was a patient in the Norwalk (CA) Hospital for the Insane.
About 1933 Grover was transferred to the Agnew Hospital in the Santa Clara area. At the time, the Agnew Hospital was one of the best in the nation for treating of the mentally ill patients, although Grover was indigent and probably could not pay a dime for his care, Grover lived at the Agnew facility until his death from "syphilitic meningoencephalitis" on December 23, 1943.
Grover was buried Christmas Eve 1945 in a pauper's grave at the Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery (Now the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery). There was no service and no marker, and the exact spot of his grave has been lost.
See also Grover Cleveland Ketterman
Sixty-two years later, Grover's nephew, Romney J. Ketterman, succeeded in getting a VA marker for Grover. It now stands in the Mount Olive cemetery in Pittsburg, KS next to the grave of his mother."
____________________________________________________________
"We knew that Grover was in a California insane asylum in 1930, but we didn't know anything else about him. We got his death certificate and found out he died of SYPHILIS and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Well, my dad had paperwork to prove Grover had been a WW I veteran-- and not only that, his father Jack had purchased three plots in Pittsburgh Mt. Olive cemetery about 1900, only one of which was used. So my dad was able to get a VA marker for Grover and have it placed next to Nannie's grave. The stone was placed at the end of October and we have been out there to see it. It looks great."
Barbara Pendleton
Family Members
Parents
Siblings
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Minnie Maud Ketterman Sale Blevins
1879–1950
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Harold Lee Ketterman
1881–1881
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Urban Guy Ketterman
1882–1964
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Chloe "Ethel Tillie" Ketterman Hull
1885–1929
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Romney Carlyle Ketterman
1888–1970
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Derward Lamount "Peaches" Ketterman
1890–1949
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Ethel "Tillie" Ketterman Hull
1885–1929
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Mary Vera Ketterman
1895–1896
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Verna Bryona Ketterman LaBenne
1897–1980
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Lois Vavine Ketterman
1898–1899
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John Robert Ketterman
1900–1935
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Esther Leona Ketterman
1904–1962
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Paul Ketterman
1909–1977
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Marcus Salem Ketterman
1912–1937
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Woodrow Wilson Ketterman
1913–1965
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