August Ahlendorf Part II

Part 1 of August Ahlendorf

Did August Ahlendorf Die?
Because August Ahlendorf did not show up in the 1910 census with his family and later census' showed his wife as widowed and using her maiden name, I figured August had died.

But then I found an August Ahlendorf in the 1910 Luzern Co., Pa. census listed as August Allendorf age 45 born in Germany and a stonemason. The married column is marked with both a M for married and a bold S for single. He is listed as a boarder with Agusta Miller/Millir as the owner aged 61.

Then I found an Aug Ahlendorf age 68 in the 1920 Luzerne Co., Pa. census married to Agusta Ahlendorf age 71. I have no way of knowing if this is my August Ahlendorf from either census yet. I will be ordering divorce records (If he did divorce Martha), marriage records, and death records. But, if it is then it seems he was living in a different county trying to find work as a stonemason. He then married his landlady and added years to his age again.

Newspaper Articles
What's interesting about this August Ahlendorf in Luzern County is the newspaper articles I have found about him.
In 1916 in the Wilkes-Barre Times there is an article titled, "What's Good Enough For Her Is Good Enough For Me" August Ahlendorf, tells story of his conversion-now follow's wife's example.
The article is a testimony from August about him getting a bottle of Tanlac for his sick wife and it helped he so much that he now takes it for himself even though he is not ill. It then tells where to buy Tanlac. I would guess this was a paid testimonial. The ad ran again a week later in 1917.

In 1918 he was indited for Aggravated Assault and Battery against George W. Freeman. Then in 1919 he was tried for Aggravated Assault and Battery and Shooting, against Otto Haus. He did not deny the shooting but said he did it in self defense. I do not know the outcome of these trials. I need to find out how to get court records from Luzern County.

August Ahlendorf's Obituary
The most interesting article comes from a newspaper in Luzern Co., Pa.
Sunday-Independent, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Sunday, March 11, 1923

Taken from Jail Dies in Hospital within Six Hours
West Side Man Twice Held For Mistreating Wife Is the Victim

Stricken while a prisoner in the Luzerne Co. jail, August Ahlendorf, 62 years old, of Slocum Street, Swoyerville, died last night in City Hospital. He had been removed to the hospital six hours prior to his death. Heart trouble was given as the cause by physicians.
Ahlendorf was commited to jail on March 3 because of domestic troubles. He had previously appeared in court but when told to properly treat his aged wife, it is said he added further abuse upon his return home. His advanced age had induced the court to be lenient but the repeated offense led to a capias being issued for his arrest the next day.
Since being in jail, Ahlendorf complained of being ill. He was visited on Friday by Rev. Edward Schwenk. Heart trouble developed yesterday morning and at noon he was take to the hospital. His death occurred at 6 o'clock.
He is survived by his wife, 73 years of age. The couple had been married since 1910.

By this I know he married his landlady in 1910 and need to write for a marriage record.

It seems August had a few run-ins with the law and was not always a nice person. I wonder what kind of person he was towards his first wife Martha? If he was not, then was she happy that he left? Did they ever get divorced? Questions I will never know the answers to.

According to a descendant of August's he was told by his mother: "August was tall, blond, and heavyset. He was a stonemason and helped build the Hotel Casey in Scranton, Pa. He worked for a man named H.P. Spoul, and Spoul could only remember one time when August ever became angry."


I wonder if this is true?