Clara Laura SANITER
 |  |
| Family of Charles W. and Ida E. (Willenbockel) Saniter Circa early 1920's Back row -- (L-R) Arthur Charles Saniter, Clara Laura Saniter, Edwin Henry Saniter. Middle row -- Leonard Emil Theodore Saniter, Leona Martha Saniter, Elsie Hermina Elizabeth Saniter, Arnold Albert Franz Saniter. Front row -- Edna Selma Amanda Saniter, Charles W. Saniter, Ida Emma (Willenbockel) Saniter, Frances Irene Saniter. Photograph taken by "Meyers - Watertown Wis." | Clara Laura (Saniter) Borth |
- BIRTH: 24 Oct 1892; Watertown, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin, USA
- DEATH: 10 Feb 1957; Watertown, Wisconsin, USA
- BURIAL: Lutheran Cemetery; Watertown, Wisconsin, USA
Father: Charles W. SANITER
Mother: Ida Emma WILLENBOCKEL
Family 1: William Frederick BORTH
- MARRIAGE: 2 Jun 1914, Watertown, Wisconsin, USA
- CHILDREN:
_____________________
_William Karl SANITER ___|
| |_____________________
_Charles Fred William SANITER _|
| | _____________________
| |_Louisa Erna? EIFERT ____|
| |_____________________
|
|--Clara Laura SANITER
|
| _Johan WILLENBOCKEL _
| _Friedrich WILLENBOCKEL _|
| | |_____________________
|_Ida Emma WILLENBOCKEL ________|
| _____________________
|_Julianna WILDE _________|
|_____________________
Notes
Updated December 27, 2022. Compiled by Howder (www.howderfamily.com) from the following source(s):(1) Wisconsin Births, 1820-1907 via Ancestry.com.
- Lists "Klara" L. SANITER as born October 24, 1892 in Jefferson Co., Wisconsin
(2) 1900 United States Census for Wisconsin, Jefferson Co., Watertown, 3rd Ward: Supervisor's District 1; Enumeration District 156; Sheet 6B; June 8, 1900.
Claire SANITER is the daughter of Charles and Ida SANITER. She was born October 1892 in Wisconsin and is 7 years old. She is attending school.
(3) 1910 United States Census for Wisconsin, Dodge Co., Emmet Twp.: Supervisor's District 5; Enumeration District 12; Sheet 8B; May 13, 1910.
Clara SANITER is the daughter of Charley and Ida SANITER. She is 17 years old and born in Wisconsin.
(4) 1920 United States Census for Wisconsin, Dodge Co., Emmet Twp.: Supervisor's District 2; Enumeration District 39; Sheet 3B; January 16, 1920.
Clara [SANITER] BORTH is married to William F. BORTH, head of household. Children listed in the household are Robert W. and Selma SANITER. Clara's sister, Elsie [SANITER] WEIHERT and family live on the adjacent farm.
- Age: 27 years old - Birthplace: Wisconsin, with her father from Germany (native tongue German) and her mother from Wisconsin
(5) 1930 United States Census Wisconsin, Dodge Co., Emmet Town. (part of): Enumeration District 14-17; Sheet 5A-5B; (undated) 1930.
Clara [SANITER] BORTH is married to William F. BORTH, head of household. The children listed in the household are: Robert, Selma, Esther, Norma, and Meta. Clara's sister, Elsie [SANITER] WEITERT and family live on the adjacent farm.
- Age: 38 years old at time of census; 22 when first married - Birthplace: Wisconsin. Her father was from Germany and her mother from Wisconsin
(6) 1940 United States Census for Wisconsin, Dodge Co., Emmet Twp.: Supervisor's District 2; Enumeration District 14-23; Sheet 3B; April 9, 1940.
Clara [SANITER] BORTH is head of household. Children in the household are Selma, Esther, Norma, and Meta BORTH. A hired hand, Harold SCHIMMEL also resides in the household. Clara furnished information to the census taker for this household.
- Address: R1 Watertown, Wis.
- Home: Owner, valued at $1,000, it is a farm
- Age: 47, widowed
- Highest Grade of School Completed: Elementary School - 7th Grade
- Birthplace: Wisconsin
- Residence on April 1, 1935: Same House
- At Work: No, Home Housework
- Occupation: Farmer; Farm
- Occupation Code: 000-VV-4 (Farmers; Agriculture)
- Number of Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
- Salary: $0
- Income Other Than Salary: Yes
(7) William F. Jannke III and Ken Riedl, Co-Editors, Watertown History Annual 1, November 2006. Watertown Historical Society, Watertown, Wisconsin. "The Borth Quintet: A Tale of Radio's Pioneers, 1930s - 1940s." Pages 107-114.
"With these musical strains the popular radio act, the BORTH Quintet, opened their weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts. From 1934 to the late 1940s they were heard throughout the state of Wisconsin over WIBU radio in Poynette. The quintet was comprised of Robert, Esther, Selma, Norma and Meta and together they played instruments (Robert played the violin, Meta the Spanish guitar, and all played the harmonica) and sang golden songs of days gone by. Even now after more than 50 years has passed since they were last heard, the very mention of the BORTH Quintet brings a smile to the faces of those who remember eagerly finishing their chores so that they could all gather around the radio at 3:00 to listen to the sisters sing."
"The BORTHs lived on a farm located about three and a half miles north of Watertown, in the Town of Emmet. Their parents, William and Clara (SANITER) BORTH, were hard working farmers of Germanic ancestry. German was spoken around the family home until the children were old enough to attend the Stone School, located a short walk south of the farm. From then on, English was the only language spoken in the family. They never sang any songs in German while they performed."
"In 1931 William BORTH, the head of the house, died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving the family to struggle in the throes of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Mrs. BORTH was a determined woman and she bravely maintained the farm and raised her children, one of whom, Selma, was born with Cerebral Palsy."
"The family struggled on and then in the mid 1930s Mrs. BORTH was approached by radio pioneer William C. FORREST, owner of radio station WIBU, to act as a sales representative for Watertown. Her job was to sell ad space on the radio, and for each ad she sold she got a commission. This is how she was able to maintain farm machinery, buy groceries, etc."
"Beginning in 1934 the Watertown Daily Times began to carry notices of the newly formed BORTH Quintet appearing at 4H events and picnics... By 1934 they had made their first appearance on WIBU and the rest, as they say, is history... Their mother, Clara, served as their agent and for approximately seventeen years the quintet would travel the 48 miles to Poynette to broadcast each week."
"On the trunk of their car Mrs. BORTH had a large sign painted to advertise her daughters' radio program. As they traveled, and the BORTHs were great ones for visiting all parts of the United States and Canada, the ad on the car's trunk spread the fame of the sisters radio show... The broadcasts continued without fail, with the possible exception of December, 1945 when the radio tower was felled by a severe ice storm."
"By 1940 Robert BORTH left the group. Always a loner, his sisters recalled he wasn't particularly interested in being a part of the act. As his sister Meta remarked, with a wry smile 'Poor Bob, amongst four women. No wonder he felt slighted.'... Robert later served in the army during WW II and was employed at Aunt Nellie's and Kraft Foods. He kept a hand in the music business by playing in several area polka bands. Robert BORTH passed away in 1991."
"The next to leave the act was Esther, who married Norman SUHR in 1944. After her marriage she retired from performing to raise children and help her husbank run the family farm, which they bought from her mother in 1949. Esther (BORTH) SUHR passed away in 1986."
(8) Kittell, Hazel (Saniter), compiler, "The Elsie Saniter Family Journal," (Kewaunee, WI: self-published manuscript, June 19, 1997), p. 144, 199, 201.
- Born at 623 Milford St., Watertown, Wisconsin
- Died at St. Mary's Hospital, Watertown, Wisconsin
- Buried at Lutheran Cemetery, Watertown, Wisconsin
(9) Schlintz, Victoria L. J., "Family, A Genealogical Collection," (Oakland, CA: self-published manuscript, 1979), Schlintz chapter, Willenbockel-Saniter-Weihert descendant chart.