Suspicious Disappearance, part 2

The disappearance of my great-granduncle Ernest H. Koehneke continues to be a family history mystery. If you’d like a recap of part 1, you can find it here.

Here’s a high-level overview of his known timeline so far:

In the year and a half (ish) since Part 1, I’ve added a second wife, two more years, five-ish locations, and seven-ish companies/professions to this timeline… and somehow I’ve managed to create more questions than answers.

The baby Paul (Alvin’s son) was born 1915… so this is maybe 1917-18?

Ernest and baby Paul (Alvin’s son), circa 1917-18 maybe?

Birth Date & Location

Between the 1900 Census¹, 1910 Census², WW1 Draft Card³, and marriage records⁴, I‘m feeling pretty confident that Ernest was born April 5^th 1898 in Chicago, Illinois.

Follow-up: On 20 April 2021, I mailed a request for Ernest’s birth certificate to the Cook County Clerk… just waiting to hear back from them.

Wives

Anna M. Marshall (m. 9 Sep 1919, div. 24 Mar 1920)

We already know about Ernest‘s first wife, Anna M. Marshall. They were married September 9^th, 1919 in Detroit, Michigan.^4,5,6 Ernest filed for divorce on January 10^th, 1920, and the courts granted the absolute divorce on the grounds of extreme cruelty on March 24^th, 1920.^5,6

Thanks to the fine (and super responsive!) people at Hillsdale County, Michigan, I have a copy of the Bill of Complaint that Ernest filed for divorce, and I have the Transcript of Testimony of the actual court proceedings that took place March 24^th, 1920.⁶

I wanted to get a copy of this to learn a little bit more about Ernest’s life – beyond facts and dates and locations. I didn’t know what “extreme cruelty” meant, and I was curious about the extremely short duration of the marriage.

The short version is that he and Anna should never have gotten married in the first place. Anna “insisted” on working as a waitress (this was 1919, after all), and from the outset she failed to come home until a “very, very late hour.” when confronted about this, Anna told Ernest that it was none of his business, that she “had several other men and especially one with whom she was passionately in love.” She went on to say that she would be a terrible wife, that she was sorry she ever married him, and that she’d kill herself rather than have children with Ernest. It seems she hadn’t even told anyone at the restaurant that she had gotten married…….. though to be fair, given the time, this could have been a strategy to try and keep her job despite being a wife.

Anna ended up leaving Detroit on October 12^th (33 days after getting married!) to attend to her ill mother in Quincy, just over 100 miles west of Detroit. She never returned home to Ernest. After a few days, he went to Quincy and was met by Anna’s brother who told him if he wanted to “save his life” he would just keep away from Anna and that she didn’t want to see him or have anything to do with him. The only interaction Ernest had with Anna after she left was a letter she wrote him, included in the testimony as Exhibit A:

Two others testified as witnesses: George Marshall, Anna’s brother, and John Gerling, Ernest’s uncle (his mom’s brother). Interestingly, Anna didn’t seem to be present or at least didn’t participate in the proceedings on that day.

Anna went on to marry a second time in 1932 to a man named Carl W. Kochendorfer, together they had at least one child, Howard Ross (born 1939). Anna passed away in 1981, and her obituary indicated that she had three grandchildren.

Nettie K. (or C.) Bromberg (or Brunberg) (m. 7 Jun 1924, then…?)

Despite a heartbreaking first attempt with Anna, Ernest decided to marry a second time. My first hints at these nuptials were a handful of newspaper articles and a transcribed index of Winnebago County marriages by groom’s name.⁷ I reached out to the Winnebago & Boone Counties Genealogical Society for some help… and their amazing team came through with a copy of the marriage license and application for license!⁶⁶ The license itself said that a county judge in Winnebago County married Ernest and Nettie in the city of Rockford, Illinois, on June 7^th 1924. The couple must have made it official there, and then had a separate celebration with friends in Wisconsin.

The first of many strange elements to this marriage… according to newspaper articles, the wedding is said to have taken place at De Forest, Wisconsin… but all of the paperwork (and the official ceremony) were in Winnebago County, Illinois (82 miles south of De Forest). From what I’ve found, neither Ernest nor his new bride lived in Winnebago County… or had any association with that area. So why did they choose that county??

Newspaper articles were published in The Capital Times⁴⁰ of Madison Wisconsin, the Steven’s Point Journal⁴¹ of Stevens Point Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin State Journal⁴² of Madison, announcing the marriage of Nettie C. Bromberg to Ernest H. Koehneke.

Nettie was originally from Deerfield, and had been a the primary teacher in the school at De Forest Wisconsin for several years.⁴⁵

According to the articles, this wedding came as a surprise. People had gathered for an announcement party in honor of the couple, and were instead witness to their wedding. Strangely, looking through the list of guests, not a single Koehneke (or Gerling) relative was present. Nettie’s foster parents weren’t listed as attending either, even though they were living just 25 miles southeast in Deerfield.

Adding to the strangeness… Ernest’s mother, Mary Koehneke (neé Gerling) had JUST moved to Edgerton Wisconsin to live with Ernest in October 1922. Ernest was still living in Edgerton when a family reunion took place in honor of Mary’s birthday in June 1923… Mary didn’t pass away until 1940. De Forest, where the wedding was said to have taken place, is roughly 36 miles north of Edgerton. Why were there NO relatives present?

An Extra Bit of Drama

It turns out that Ernest was arrested for speeding the night before his wedding.⁴⁸ He was to appear in court June 7^th, but was absent because of the wedding, and the judge continued his case to the following Tuesday.³⁹ Ernest and Nettie traveled from De Forest to Deerfield to visit with Nettie’s foster parents.⁴³ Tuesday came and went, and Ernest was a no-show again, this time due to being away on honeymoon. The case was again continued to the following Saturday.⁴⁴ Finally Ernest’s day in court came — and he showed up. Ernest pled his case to Judge August C. Hoppmann, explaining his failure to appear because of his wedding and honeymoon, and the judge “decided that the ‘life sentence’ imposed in that case should lessen the punishment, and fined Koehneke $10 and costs.”⁴⁸ Ernest agreed and paid his fines as ordered.^47,48

Companies/Professions

1914-1917

Ernest appears in the 1914, 1915, and 1917 Chicago City Directories. In 1914 he was a “selector” at 7 N. Wabash Av.⁶⁷ In 1915 and 1917, he was a clerk, but no business name or address are included.^62,63

1918

On his WW1 Draft Card in September, 1918, Ernest listed his profession as “Machinist” working for the Michigan Stove Company in Detroit.³

1919

In January of 1919, a semi-monthly insurance publication titled “The Indicator” mentioned Ernest as being associated with a Co-Operative called “Central Business Men’s” and that he was in Detroit.⁸

1920

In the weeks leading up to the finalization of his divorce, Ernest was mentioned in another industry publication. This time it was the “Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record” stating that there was a new Michigan corporation: Industrial Chemical Co., The company would manufacture and sell chemicals and machinery for their manufacture. Ernest was mentioned, with an address of 842 Lake Shore Road in Grosse Pointe Shores (a suburb 15 miles northeast of Detroit), along W.H Jones and Alfred Jensen of Detroit.⁹

1921

There are two news clippings from Wisconsin that mentioned Ernest (or E.H.) Koehneke. In November, The Manitowoc Pilot reported that he decided to move a chemical manufacturing plant from Detroit to Manitowoc.¹⁰ The company was called the Republic Chemical and Manufacturing Company and it manufactured soldering fluxes among other things. This article also said Ernest was “of Chicago.” It’s not clear if this means Ernest was living in Chicago (meaning he had moved back home from Detroit sometime after the divorce) or if it’s simply a mention of Ernest’s hometown.

The annual convention of the Wisconsin Cheesemakers, Buttermakers and Dairymen’s Advancement association took place at the Eagles hall in Wausau, and the Wausau Daily Herald published a round-up of activities that took place. In a segment titled “Cheese Chemistry,” they reported that an E.H. Koehnor of the Republic Chemical and Manufacturing Company spoke about the “intimate relation of chemistry to the making of cheese, and of the value of appliances which have been perfected for use in cheese factories…”¹¹ I’ve seen several spelling variations of “Koehneke” — and admittedly this one is a stretch… but we already know that Ernest was involved with the Republic Chemical and Manufacturing Company. There’s a second man mentioned, also of the same company, named Otto Kielsmeier. His name comes up again in 1922 in connection with Ernest. I think it’s fair to assume that the “E.H. Koehnor” in this article is our Ernest.

1922

A number of industry publications came out in the first half of 1922. American Dyestuff Reporter announced that the Republic Chemical Company “is planning for the installation of machinery in a new local plant. E.H. Koehneke is president.”¹² Manufactured Milk Products Journal is our next instance of Ernest and O.A. Kielsmeier together. Ernest was acknowledged as the president of Republic Chemical Co., and was “highly enthusiastic regarding the prospects for business during 1922. Mr. Kielsmeier is also interested in the business.”¹³

The Republic Chemical Company, including Ernest as president, D. H. Grady as vice president, and O.A. Kielsmeier as treasurer, exhibited at the thirtieth annual convention of the Wisconsin Cheesemakers’ Association. Their booth featured “Re-hoop, their cleaner for press cloths and cheese hoops.”¹⁴

Ernest and Otto, plus Clara Kielsmeier, started the Mammoth Cold Spring Dairy Company in Manitowoc in 1922 — at $25,000 (250 shares par $100).¹⁵ It looks like Republic Chemical Company may have gone public around this time, too, with the same trio at the helm. Republic Chemical was at $75,000 (750 shares par $100).¹⁶ The Manitowoc Pilot announced the incorporation of the “Public Chemical company” — though I believe this was just a typo and they intended to say “Republic.” They also announced the “Cold Springs Dairy Company” which would operate at Spring Valley — and I believe they meant the “Mammoth” Cold Spring Dairy Company.¹⁷

The same (or similar) announcements were made in the Manufactured Milk Products Journal^18/19, Textile World²⁰, Chemical, Color, & Oil Record²¹, North Western Druggist²², Refrigerating World²³, and The American Produce Review.²⁴

1922 – Edgerton

In July, The Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter announced that Mr. E. Koehneke had been in Edgerton on behalf of the Republic Chemical Company. He was looking for a new home for his factory and was meeting with the local Kiwanis to try to pin down possible locations.²⁷ On August 4^th, it was announced that E. H. Koehneke had officially arrived in Edgerton from Manitowoc. It said he was formerly the president of Republic Chemical Co., but that he had resigned so that he could move to Edgerton. He would instead head the India Laboratory, specializing in chemicals for industrial research and for the automotive industry.²⁸

What happened with Republic Chemical? The initial clippings sounded like Ernest was looking for a new location for Republic Chemical… but he ended up resigning instead. One theory (and this is total speculation) is that he wanted to distance himself from the Kielsmeier name. Otto’s brother Rudolph, having previously been removed from the Kielsmeier Company, had to file for bankruptcy as he owed more than $100,000 to various entities.^58/60 The Kielsmeier Company came forward to clarify that Rudolph was removed from the company one year prior, and that the company was in no way connected to Rudolph’s financial woes.⁵⁹ Otto Kielsmeier ended up filing voluntary bankruptcy proceedings in April 1922.⁶¹ It’s not clear why Otto filed… did he have issues of his own? Was it a result of his brother’s very public financial problems? Since this all happened around the same time that Otto, Clara, and Ernest incorporated Republic Chemical and Mammoth Cold Springs, did Ernest see the writing on the wall and run?

In any case, Ernest ended up in Edgerton, and in September 1922, it was announced that his mother, Mary (Gerling) Koehneke would be moving to Edgerton, as well. She would live with Ernest, who was working to build a household and factory chemicals business.²⁹

1923

Nothing was found regarding Ernest’s occupation or company affiliations in 1923.

1924

The marriage license paperwork from Winnebago County listed Ernest’s occupation as “Chemist.”⁶⁶ Ernest and Nettie, the newlyweds, traveled to Deerfield to visit with Nettie’s foster parents. In the society clippings, it noted that Nettie had been the primary teacher in Deerfield, and that Ernest was engaged in the insurance business in Madison.⁴⁵

In December, they traveled to De Forest to spend time at the home of Reverend and Mrs. O.J.H. Preus. This clipping mentions that Ernest and Nettie were from Eau Claire (when did they move there?), and that Ernest planned to enter the insurance business in La Crosse after the first of the year.⁵⁰

Places

Chicago, Illinois

Ernest was born in Chicago and lived there during the 1900 and 1910 Censuses.^1,2 The 1914, 1915 and 1917 Chicago City Directories^67,62,63 list Ernest living at 1709 Sedgwick with his mother and his brother William.

Detroit, Michigan

By September 1918, Ernest had moved from Chicago to Detroit. He listed his address as 19 1/2 Hosmer, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan on his World War 1 Draft Card.³ I couldn’t find a corresponding entry in the 1918 Detroit City Directory. To be fair… you can’t easily search the directories by address. You either have to look up by name, or flip page-by-page hunting for the address you’re looking for. The Detroit directories are easily close to 1,000 pages, so I haven’t done the page-by-page hunt yet. There’s no entry for Koehneke, Ernest (or spelling variations).

I found the Enumeration District for that Hosmer address in the 1920 census, and found a matching entry. John F. Gerling was living at 19 1/2 Hosmer with his wife Verda, and his nephew Charles F. Christ. John is Ernest’s uncle (Mary’s brother). Charles Christ is Ernest’s first cousin (Mary’s sister Catherine’s son). Charles is listed as working as a Machinist in a factory. Ernest, on that draft card, was working as a Machinist at the Michigan Stove Company. I wonder if Charles and Ernest worked together. With this new household info, I looked up John Gerling in the 1918 Detroit City Directory, and he lived at 422 Hurlbut Ave, not 19 1/2 Hosmer. It’s a curious discrepancy. Another fun fact: this is the same John Gerling that testified as a witness in Ernest’s 1920 divorce proceedings.

The 1919 publication of The Indicator⁸ mentioned Ernest as being in Detroit.

When Ernest married Anna Marshall in September 1919 in Detroit, the record stated that he was living in Detroit, as well.⁴ Their divorce was filed and finalized in Hillsdale County, Michigan, which is roughly 110 miles west of Detroit.⁵ During the divorce proceedings in 1920, he stated he had been living in Michigan for over 2 years before filing for divorce (so… at least 1918), and that he still lived in Michigan. It also stated that Anna was from Quincy.⁶

Also in 1920, the Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record,⁹ announcing the incorporation of the Industrial Chemical Company, gave Ernest’s address as 842 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Point Shores. This is a suburb 15-ish miles north east of Detroit. I flipped through the Grosse Point Shores 1920 Census, and didn’t find any mention of Ernest.

Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Ernest moved Republic Chemical and Manufacturing Company from Detroit to Manitowoc in 1921.¹⁰ Several other clippings and industry publications — all relating to the Republic Chemical Company or Mammoth Cold Spring Dairy Company — mention his location as Manitowoc.^{11,12,13,14,15,16,17,20,21,22} Some said that Mammoth Cold Springs Dairy Company would be located at Spring Valley or Eden, Wisconsin, but that the company’s main offices were in Manitowoc.^17,18,23,24 One said the Republic Chemical Company, in Manitowoc, would have offices at Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, with a representative in Detroit.¹⁹

Edgerton, Wisconsin

Ernest visited Revered and Mrs. E.A. Boyd at their home in Edgerton in July 1922.^25,26 He was still living in Manitowoc at this time. He also began scouting factory locations in the area.²⁷

By August 1922, Ernest relocated to Edgerton.²⁸ The following month it was announced that his mother, Mary Koehneke, would be moving from Chicago to Edgerton, and that she’d live with her son.²⁹ In October, Ernest and Mary were moving in to a home previously owned by the Biessman family.³⁰ After a business trip to Chicago in November, it was announced that Ernest and Mary were settled in their new home at 12 Mechanic Street.³¹

My great grandfather (Ernest’s oldest brother), Otto Koehneke visited Ernest and Mary for Thanksgiving that year. He brought his family: wife Melitta, and children Vera and Ken.^32,34

Ernest was involved in his community while living in Edgerton. He was part of the choir at Norwegian Lutheran Church, and performed during a Christmas celebration (he was a tenor).³³ In the article about this celebration, others involved included Rev. E.A. Boyd, who was the pastor of the local church, and Rev. Ove J. Preus, of De Forest. Ernest had visited with Rev. E.A. Boyd previously when planning his move to Edgerton. If you jump back to the “Wives” section above, you’ll also note that Rev. Ove J. Preus was the officiant of wedding #2 to Nettie Bromberg in De Forest.

In March 1923, Ernest sang at an open meeting of the Congregational Men’s club.³⁵ In April, the Young People’s Luther League gave a musical program at the Norwegian Lutheran church — and Ernest was one of the singers.³⁶ A speech was given by the president of the eastern district, Lancelot A. Gordon… who also attended wedding #2. Ernest entertained a group of young people with at his home in May with cards, contests, and dancing.³⁷

The last mention of his time in Edgerton is his attendance at a family reunion in honor of his mother’s birthday in June 1923.³⁸ More about that in the section “Mary’s 1923 Birthday Party/Family Reunion” below.

De Forest/Deerfield, Wisconsin and Winnebago County, Illinois?

Ernest married Nettie Bromberg in De Forest, Wisconsin.^40,41,42 Nettie was a teacher in De Forest, and was originally from Deerfield. None of the articles specified where Ernest was living at the time, though they mostly inferred he was in De Forest. Ernest and Nettie visited her foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ole Anderson, in Deerfield after their wedding.⁴³ Even though the wedding took place in De Forest, it wasn’t filed there. It was filed in Winnebago County, Illinois instead… 82 miles south of De Forest (see Wedding #2 above).

Madison, Wisconsin

The clippings about Ernest’s run-in with the law (his arrest for speeding) took place in Madison.^39,44,47,48 Additionally, one of the articles following the wedding mentioned that Ernest was engaged in the insurance business in Madison.⁴⁵ The marriage license paperwork from Winnebago County indicated that Ernest was from Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin.⁶⁶

Eau Claire and La Crosse, Wisconsin

At the end of 1924, Ernest and Nettie visited De Forest, visiting one evening with Rev. and Mrs. O.J.H. Preus. They had traveled from Eau Claire, and were planning to make their home in La Crosse in the new year.^51,52

The last newspaper clipping I found was from the La Crosse Tribune. There were heavy rains, and E.H. Koehneke “of this city” reported that the rains washed out a bridge on State Trunk Highway No. 11.⁵² I haven’t found any other mention of Ernest (or Nettie) after this.

Mary’s 1923 Birthday Party/Family Reunion

In Edgerton in June 1923, a family reunion was held in honor of Mary Koehneke’s birthday. I believe this is the last time the 5 Koehneke brothers were all together (at least this is the last reported event). In attendance were:

Otto Koehneke, wife Melitta, children Vera and Ken
Alvin Koehneke, wife Sophie, children Paul and Helen
Paul Koehneke, wife Louise, children Anita, Walter, Robert and Martin
Bill Koehneke, wife Edna, children Edward and John
Ernest Koehneke
Mrs. Laura (Gerling) Radtke
Mr. and Mrs Henry Gerling and son

Family photo, believed to be during the 1923 reunion/birthday celebration

Mary and her sons, believed to be during the 1923 reunion/birthday celebration

I spoke with my 3rd cousin recently, who shared an interesting tidbit. He had interviewed Marion Koehneke (Bill’s son’s son’s wife) in 2003. She said the pictures from that event were probably the last ones of Ernest. She said “Apparently he knew something was up because he made it to the family gathering (for the last time) even though he normally didn’t.”⁶⁵ That phrasing is extremely curious. The reunion took place 2 years before my last discovery of Ernest… what did Marion mean by that statement, and did she have any idea of what happened to Ernest after that? Unfortunately, she’s no longer with us… so I can’t ask. But someone out there knows something.

1940/41 Probate

I lied when I said that 1925 article was the last mention of Ernest. What I should have said is that it was the last mention of Ernest where he was alive, presumably well, and not a missing person. A series of notices were published in The Herald Press of Saint Joseph, Michigan, on April 13th, 20th, and 27th of 1940. Another was published December 7th 1940, and one final notice on January 4th 1941.

Apparently there was money left on deposit with the Indiana & Michigan Electric Co, the Union State Bank, and the State Savings Bank (not clear if all three applied to Ernest or just one or two of them). Each person listed in the notices was a “Disappeared or Missing Person” — who had disappeared and “not been heard from for a continuous period of more than seven (7) years, on the 22nd day of March, A.D. 1940.”^{53,54,55,56,57} — so the last contact was at the latest 1933… a whole 7 years after my last discovery of Ernest.

The timing of the first notices is curious… they published in April 1940, and Mary Koehneke died in May 1940. It could be a huge coincidence… but I’m wondering what it was that initiated these missing person probate proceedings. Was Ernest truly a missing person, or were they just not able to get in touch with him as it had been twenty years since he last lived in Michigan?

Closing Thoughts & Follow-Up

This family history mystery will continue until I find out what happened. I just have so many questions that haven’t been answered yet….

Why did Ernest and Nettie file for marriage in a completely different state?
Why were NO relatives present at their wedding?
Considering his connection with John Gerling in Detroit — are there any Gerling descendants who might have information about Ernest?
Where is Ernest in the 1920 Census? Look again in/near Detroit/Grosse Pointe/Hillsdale County Michigan maybe?
Where are Ernest and Nettie in the 1930 Census? Try flipping through the La Crosse and Eau Claire records maybe?
Where are Ernest and Nettie in the 1940 Census? Try flipping through the La Crosse and Eau Claire records maybe?
Did Ernest (and Nettie) change their names?
Did they leave the country? And if so, where did they go and why?
Look in to Ernest and Nettie’s “FAN” Clubs… their Family/Friends, Associates, and Neighbors
There was one “Hint” for Ernest in my Ancestry family tree… it’s an arrival card for American Airlines flight 98 coming from Mexico D.F. in March 1958 for “Ernest Koehnke” who was born in Chicago, and had a US Address of 2214 N. Dayton Chicago, Illinois. There’s no other identifying information… none of the other passengers look familiar… and that address doesn’t match up with anyone else I know of so far. This might not be our Ernest, but there’s just not enough information to prove/disprove who it is.
Is there some other angle I haven’t considered yet? Maybe other genealogists or genealogical societies have some ideas….

Suspicious Disappearance, part 2

Birth Date & Location