Lawrence Colin Klingensmith

1915 - 1961  (45 years)

• Name	Lawrence Colin Klingensmith
  	— Brakeman [1] Father: George Klingensmith (1893–1954) Mother: Stella Gallagher (1892–1972) [2, 3]
  Nickname	Klinks
  Birth	24 Sep 1915	Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.   [2, 3, 4]
  	Certificate of Birth for Colin Lewis Klingensmith
  Draft Reg	24 Sep 1915 (0 years)	Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.   [4]
  He registered for the draft giving his age as 25; his address as 2435 Maple Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and his employer as the Allis Chalmers Company.
  	World War II Draft Registration Card of Lawrence Colin Klingensmith
  History	6 Apr 1917 (1 years)	US Enters World War I
  Census	1920 (4 years)	Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.   [5]
  In the 1920 US Census, he was recorded as age 4, living at 2704½ Charles Street, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with his parents.
  History	24 Oct 1929 (14 years)	Black Thursday, Great Depression Begins
  Census	1930 (14 years)	Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.   [6]
  In the 1930 US Census, he was recorded as age 14, living at 605 Chautauqua Avenue, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with his parents.
  Census	1940 (24 years)	Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.   [7]
  In the 1940 US Census, he was recorded as age 23, living at 381 Pershing Avenue, Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He worked as a loader.
  History	7 Dec 1941 (26 years)	Attack on Pearl Harbor
  Military	25 Jul 1942 (26 years)  [8]
  He enlisted in the US Army on 25 July 1942.
  Census	1950 (34 years)	Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.   [1]
  In the 1950 US Census, he was recorded as age 34, living at 242 Kennedy Avenue, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was a brakeman on a railroad.
  Death	30 Jan 1961	Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.   [2, 9, 10]
  Age: 45
  Agency: Allegheny General Hospital
  Cause: undetermined natural causes
  	Coroner's Certificate of Death for Lawrence C. Klingensmith
  Obituary	1 Feb 1961 (45 years)  [10]
  KLINGENSMITH — Suddenly, on Monday. Jan. 30. 1961. at 6:30 p. m., Lawrence C. Sr., beloved husband of Mary Sahr of 2618½ Norwood Ave., Northside: father of Mary Ellen, Lawrence C., Jr., and Thomas Klingensmith; son of Stella Gallagher and the late George Klingensmith: brother of Regis and William Klingensmith. Friends received at the FRANK W. SIMONS FUNERAL HOME, 2025 Perrysville Ave. Funeral Friday morning at 9:30. High mass of requiem in the Annunciation Church at 10 o'clock. Published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1 February 1961, page 17
  Burial	3 Feb 1961	Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery,  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania   [2, 9]
  	Grave Marker of Lawrence C. and Mary M. Klingensmith Plot: Section G Lot 114 Space 6
  Person ID, Branch	I26251
  Last Modified	30 Jan 2026

  
  

• Notes

  Birth: On his birth certificate he is called Colin Lewis Klingensmith. He used Lawrence Colin throughout his life however. [3]

  
  

Spouse / Partner	Mary Margaret Sahr,   b. 1 Aug 1918, Millvale, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. d. 17 Oct 2000, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (Age 82 years)
Marriage	1 Dec 1939  [11]
Age at Marriage	He : 24 years and 3 months - She : 21 years and 4 months.
Children	1940  [11]
1. Lawrence Klingensmith 2. Mary Ellen Klingensmith 3. Thomas Klingensmith
Family ID	F9767	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
Last Modified	28 Jan 2026




• Pedigree

  ← Click to display 1Lawrence Colin Klingensmith(1915 – 1961) 2 3

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 24 Sep 1915 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Draft Reg - 24 Sep 1915 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Census - 1920 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Census - 1930 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Census - 1940 - Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Census - 1950 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Death - 30 Jan 1961 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Burial - 3 Feb 1961 - Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources 🟢 Primary Evidence 🟡 Secondary Evidence 🟠 Tertiary Evidence 🔴 Unreliable Evidence

  🟢 [S2303] Bureau of the Census, 1950 U.S. Federal Census, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 20212), National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 4401; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 77-903 . 🟢 [S121] Pennsylvania’s Department of Health, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1973, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014), Coroner's Certificate of Death for Lawrence C. Klingensmith . 🟢 [S2292] Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1906-1917, (Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015), Certificate of Birth for Colin Lewis Klingensmith . 🟢 [S1587] Ancestry.com, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, (Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Draft Registration Card of Lawrence Colin Klingensmith . 🟢 [S26] Bureau of the Census, 1920 U.S. Federal Census, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), Year: 1920; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 26, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1526; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 729 . 🟢 [S20] Bureau of the Census, 1930 U.S. Federal Census, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Year: 1930; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0437; FHL microfilm: 2341720 . 🟢 [S21] Bureau of the Census, 1940 U.S. Federal Census, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Year: 1940; Census Place: Leechburg, Armstrong, Pennsylvania; Roll: T627_3423; Page: 20B; Enumeration District: 3-42 . 🟡 [S316] National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005) . 🟡 [S14] Ancestry.com, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current® http://findagrave.com, (Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Memorial ID 153431137 Lawrence C Klingensmith . 🟢 [S2649] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Obituary of Lawrence C. Klingensmith, (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1 February 1961, page 17) . 🟡 [S117] Feightner, Margaret Ann, Scully-Sahr Genealogy, (Virginia: manuscript, 1990) .