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.

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?

August Ahlendorf

August Ahlendorf has been my brick wall for many years. But, I recently found him and his family in New York.

 

I found August and Martha Ahlendorf in the 1900 census under the name of Ellendorf. They lived at 60 Lake Avenue in Middletown, Orange Co., New York. August was born in November 1857 in Germany and both his parents were born in Germany. He immigrated in 1894 and had been living in the U.S. for six years. He was a naturalized citizen. He was a mason but had been out of work for four months. He could speak English and read and write. He had been married for 6 years and was 13 years older than his wife Martha. They had two children, Charles, age 3 and Martha, age 1, both born in New York. So they could have married overseas or in New York, I have not found a marriage record yet.

In the 1905 New York State Census I find an August Allendorf in Manhattan, New York County, New York. He is listed as a lodger in a hotel and works as a bricklayer. However, he lists his age as 38 and in the U.S. for 15 years. 

Could this be the same August Ahlendorf? Maybe. He was listed as out of work in the 1900 census and may have left the family to find work. But, if this is the same August he shaved off some years of his age and added years to the length he had been in the U.S., which is not unusual.

I then find him in the 1906 and 1907 Pennsylvania, Lackawanna Co., Scranton Directory listed with his son Charles living at 815 Cherry Street. (Only males were listed in the directory.)

After that he seemed to disappear. 

I found his wife and family in the 1910  census, Lackawanna Co., Scranton, Pennsylvania, Living at 613 Locust St. Scranton, Pennsylvania.

1.) Martha H. Ahlendorf, age 36, married 14 years, 5 children, 4 living, can read & write, washer women at home, Immigrated in 1895, born in Germany, both parents born in Germany
2.) Martha Ahlendorf,  age 11    born in New York (born 1898)
3.) Emma Ahlendorf,   age 8     born in Pennsylvania (born 1901)
4.) Elsie Ahlendorf,     age 5     born in Pennsylvania (born 1904)
5.) Allelheit Ahlendorf,  age 3     born in Pennsylvania (born 1906)

Charles had died in 1907. Charles death certificate shows his father's name as Albert Ahlendorf from Germany.  Records at Forest Hill Cemetery show the gravesite was purchased by August Ahlendorf.

Martha is still listed as married in the 1910 census, but in the 1920 and 1930 census she is listed as a widow.

His daughter Martha Fisk stated in her Application for Marriage License on 26 Dec 1917 that her father resided in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. and his occupation was a mason. In 1925 Elsie's marriage certificate shows her father as Dead. 

From talking to descendants about 11 years ago, I found that the oral history states August worked and died in Wilkes-Barre. 

I had no idea what happened to August Ahlendorf...until recently. I have now made some interesting discoveries that I will share with you next post. 

Part 2 August Ahlendorf