I learned August Ahlendorf's parents names today

I was excited today when I got home and had a letter from the Pennsylvania Historic & Museum Commission. I had forgotten what I had written for, but knew it must be something good.

I ripped it open and it was the death certificate for my husband's Great Grandfather, August Ahlendorf and I learned new information.

I have his obiturary and knew he died of a heart attack at the City Hospital in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

Here is his obituary:

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 committed 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.

Yes, he was quite an interesting character.


The death certificate confirmed that he was born in Germany and was a Stone Mason. The 1910 Census told me he was born in November 1857 and the death certificate showed he was born November 30 but no year is listed. It says he was 62 which would put his birth year as 1861, but I have many other documents which he lists different ages so I believe he was older than 62 at his death.

Two big pieces of new information were his parents names and where he was buried.

His fathers name was Jacob Ahlendorf born in Germany and Sarah Schwidt born in Germany.
He was buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery. I looked up the cemetery and his name is not listed but he probably does not have a tombstone.

This was very exciting for me to learn another generations names. Now I just need to figure out where in Germany.

I am still searching for August's Naturalization papers which I am hoping will give me lots of new information and where in Germany he was from.

Till then I am happy with this latest discovery.

Here is the death certificate for August Ahlendorf.

The French Knife in WWI

While visiting my Dad, he showed me a knife he inherited. He said the story told to him was that it came from Grace Simpson's side of the family and that someone from WWI got it in France.

Which made me decide to start working on the Simpsons again so I could put a name with the knife.

I knew Grace's parents were William Henry Simpson and Mary Jane Hill. Her father died in 1914 so he would not have been in WWI.

She had two older brothers, Charles Henry and William Edward.

I don't have much information on Charles Henry so I need to do more research on him. He would have been 32 years old in 1914, so he was the right age to go to war.

I do have William Edward's WWI draft card but it is dated September 12, 1918, so since the war ended on November 11, 1918 I don't think he served.

It may or may not have been a Simpson who owned the knife. It could have been a cousin of Grace's.

So I will work backwards and then move forward with other lines to see if any of her cousins were in WWI.

I may never find out who the knife really belonged to, but I hope to collect family names that served in WWI who may have owned the knife.