Matilda and Rachel Kimmel, Livingston County

Matilda Kimmel (1879 - 1967) was sent to Illinois in 1896 where she lived with the J. F. Meyer family in Cabery, IL. She married John H. Brunner in 1897 in Livingston County and at that time identified her parents as Abram Kimmel and Jennie Schausta. In the census, she identified them as Russian immigrants.

Matilda and John had ten children: Evelina, Lillie, Charles, Mary, Harry, James, Fred, Henry, John & Dorothy. John was a farmer and owned his own farm.

Her sister, Rachel, was also sent to Illinois and lived in Pontiac, Livingston County with the Houder family. In her letter to the asylum Rachel recounts the comfortable lifestyle she had in Pontiac. She had had her very first birthday party and enjoyed ice cream, cake and fruits at her birthday. She rode to church in a carriage every Sunday. In 1900 Rachel wrote to Mrs. Houder to advise he that she was getting married to Gust Ark. They appeared in the 1900 census, living on a rented farm near Mona, Ford County.