Recap on Alfred Moehlmann's Extended Family

This blog has been sharing the story of Alfred William Moehlmann (1894-1974) as he wrote it in his 1961 memoir titled "AS I WAS".  So far we have heard about his early childhood in Indianapolis until the time of his parents divorce in 1907.  Then his mother sent him to the country farm of his maternal grandparents, Peter and Katrina in Linton, Indiana when he was a young teenager.  He completed eight years of school and then at age 16 he went back to Indianapolis to work. That lasted only a short time and he was back in Linton attending high school for one year before he went to work in the coal mines. So we are about to hear about his early adulthood.

Before I start that section, I want to fill you in a little on the Tendick family. Alfred's grandparents were born in Prussia and had 10 children. They arrived at the port of New York on April 3, 1889. Peter was 59 and Kathrina was 50 and traveling with them were daughter Mathilda age 17, daughter Gertrude age 13, son Dieterich age 9, and daughter Sophia age 7.  Three of Peter and Katrina's older children, Margaret, William and Tillman, had immigrated two years earlier while their two oldest children had remained in Germany.

Margaret Tendick married James Blanton in 1895 and had four children before she died of cancer in 1904. Alfred's Uncle William Tendick had learned the blacksmith trade in Germany and had been hit by the head of a hammer that flew off the handle causing a deformity in his back.  William worked in the coal mines in Linton and never married.  Tillman married Emily Holscher in 1892, they had two surviving children and divorced in 1906. He was married two more times but had no other children. Tillman was a successful baker but worked in the coal mines before having a long career with the railroad.  The story of Alfred's mother Mathilda going to Indianapolis to work and getting married has been told in earlier possts. Gertrude was married to John Cerar in 1905. John was born in Austria had immigrated the year before marrying. John and Gertrude never had children. Diedrich was a farmer and coal miner.  He lived most of his life on the Tendick farm and never married. Sophie, the youngest, was the last to marry in 1911. She married George Nolting and they had five children.

Alfred didn't mention much about his Grandfather Tendick in "As I Was"  but later on he wrote this about Peter Tendick:

My Grandparents on my mother's side were Peter and Katrina (Kukes) Tendick. They immigrated to this country in 1888 from Rhineland, Germany.  Grandfather was an average size man and was a sort of craftsman. He made many things out of wood - rakes with wood pegs, ax handles, etc.  He also had the knack of sharpening tools, all on the old fashioned grind stone.  I don't think he was a very good manager and was always in debt.  He wore a beard which covered his entire face.  He smoked a long flexible stemmed pipe that had either a ceramic or meerschaum bowl and would get an occasional replacement from Germany. He served as a sergeant in the Old Prussian Army and I think that old arrogance was one of the traits of his character.  Grandmother was more of a quiet and docile person.  She was very religious.  She knew the Heidelberg Catechism from memory and did a lot of Bible reading.  They lived to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Katrina and Peter Tendick
From the Moehlmann Family Collection

Peter died in 1911 at the age of 79 and is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Linton, IN.

Meanwhile, back in Indianapolis, Alfred's paternal grandfather, Frederick William Moehlmann, also died in 1911. You can read his obituary here. Frederick's wife Ida died the year before of pneumonia at the age of 69.  Fredierick and Ida had nine children and all of them were born and stayed in Indianapolis.

Daughter Anna married William Lichtsinn, an 1885 immigrant form Germany. This family had lived down the street from Alfred and his parents when they lived on Spann Ave. They had nine children. Peter and Ida's daughter Ida died at age ten. Daughter Mary married Henry Cruse in 1891 and had two children. Daughter Mathilda never married and always lived with other siblings. Son Lewis married Emma Koss in 1904 and they had five children. Son Gus married Marie Gehle in 1902 and they had one son. Daughter Catherine died as young child before 1900 as did their youngest child Ernest. 
 

Frederick and Ida Moehlmann
From the Moehlmann Family Collection

Alfred's father had moved back in with his parents after his divorce. By 1910 Frederick Jr.'s brother Gus had died and his widow and son were also living with in the family home.  Frederick Jr. continued to work for the railroad. He did not remarry.

So that brings us up to date on Alfred's extended family.  As you can see, Alfred had many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins in both Indianapolis and Linton. There are many good stories about that extended family, but that is for a much later date.