Karl Arnheiter of Queens

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What Little We Know of Karl Arnheiter (*1866)

Karl was first married to Susanna Hammerstein. The couple had at least five children in Germany, perhaps more. While no record has been located, Karl emigrated to Amerika before 1909 for in that year he was living in New York City. Susanna was living in Worms. They were probably divorced by this time. In 1909 Karl's oldest son Anton emigrated to Amerika. He identified his father Karl as the Contact Person for arrival in New York with an address of 163 East 65th Street. We know from the 1910 Census, however, that this address in Manhattan was the home of Karl's brother Anton (*1868). In the Census Karl (*1866) is not living there. Whether Karl was living with Anton and his family in 1909 is not known.

Then on 19 May 1915 in Manhattan Karl re-married. His second wife was Anna Kruger, nee Challer (*04.03.1863 Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany, +10.09.1917 Brooklyn). The marriage record identified Karl as born in Affsheir, Hesse and divorced while Anna was widowed. It is more likely Karl was born in Offstein, Worms. Anna was three years older than Karl. It is unclear whether Anna was born Anna Challer, as stated in her testament, or Anna Shaller per her death record.

Karl was enumerated in the 1915 New York State Census as living in Queens. We also have the transcription of Anna. From this we can see they were married at the time, i.e. Anna was Anna Arnheiter. The house number for both was 1919 and both were on page 29 of the Census. But it is only because of the 1915 Census that we title the chapter "Karl Arnheiter of Queens". Otherwise we really don't know in which of the New York City Burroughs he lived at various times.

The union was short-lived, however. In January 1916 Anna updated her Will. She gave all of her possessions to her niece. As she said in her testament "Fourth:- I have purposely omitted DEVISING or BEQUEATHING anything to my husband, KARL ARNHEITER, for the reason that during the short time we have been married he has not treated me as a husband should and refused to support me.". Anna passed away twenty months later on 10 September 1917. She was to be buried in a Lutheran cemetery.

Also it appears that in 1917 Karl became a naturalized citizen of the United States. But perhaps this was simply the Notice of Intention to become Naturalized.

We do not have information about Karl after 1917 and do not know when and where he passed away. Ultimately all five of Karl and Susanna's children emigrated, although none of them with him or even with each other. And we have no record of any of the five living with Karl upon arriving in New York. Several of them lived with their Uncle Anton who preceded their father in emigrating.

Images of parts of Census pages are provided as Links as we tell the story. In most cases the entire Census page is available at the very bottom of this page under Live Links.

Descendants of Karl Arnheiter (*1866)

Children: (5)

5.1.....Elizabeth "Else" Arnheiter (*1892)

Else emigrated in 1910, arriving in New York at Ellis Island on 12 April. She came on the Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm along with her Uncle Anton (*1868). She is listed on line 24 of the ship's register, he on line 29. Soon after arrival she is enumerated in the 1910 United States Census living with her Uncle Anton, his wife and daughter as well as her (Else's) brother Anton (*1893) who had immigrated the prior year. She was employed as a dressmaker.

Then four years later Else and Fred "Fritz" Tenscherz (*1883 Bavaria, +27.07.1935 Pulaski, Arkansas) were married in Manhattan. The date of the ceremony was 12 April 1914. Fritz was the son of Max and Frederica Sturm Tenscherz. He was ten years older than Else and single.

By 1920 they had moved to Arkansas and were living in Little Rock. They had been married six years and had no children. There was a young woman living in the home with them. Fred had emigrated in 1909 and was naturalized in 1915. He was a secretary in a packing company, undoubtedly meat packing. Else did not work.

In 1930 they owned their home, valued at $3,500, at 1807 West 10th Street in Little Rock. Fred was an accountant for a wholesale meat company. Else did not work.

Fred passed away five years later at the age of 52 and was buried in the Oakland Cemetery in Pulaski. We are not aware of any children. Nor are we aware of Else's life after Fred's passing.

5.2.....Anton Arnheiter (*21.01.1893 Worms, Germany, +after 1942)

In 1909 Anton, age 16, emigrated to Amerika aboard the SS Grosser Kurfürst, arriving at Ellis Island on 3 February. Anton identified his father Karl as the Contact Person for arrival in New York and his mother as the Contact Person for departure in Bremen. The original paperwork gives an address for Karl of 163 East 65th Street. Another section of Anton's immigration register appears to say his trade is a "bookbinder"

"Anton had a ticket to travel that he had paid for himself. It was his first trip to America. He had $2.50 when he arrived. He claimed his father was already in America and lived at 163 East 65th Street. At age 16 Anton stood 5'6" tall and had brown eyes and brown hair." [1]

Anton (*1893) is one of the few Arnheiters who is easy to find in the Census records. "In 1910 Anton was living with his Uncle Anton, age 42, and Aunt Maria along with his cousin Johanna, 13, and his sister Elizabeth (*1892). They all lived at the same 163 East 65th, Manhattan. Anton spoke no English, only German. He was employed by the Omnibus Hotel. Elizabeth is also listed as only speaking German. Interestingly the head of household is listed as his Uncle Anton. His father Karl is not listed in the Census." [2]

From the 1920 Census we see that Anton has moved to Jackson, Wayne County, Indiana and married Ruth Hiser (*19,05.1887 Indiana, +15.03.1967 Wayne IN). Anton and Ruth are living on the farm of her parents, Abraham and Otilia Hiser. It appears Ruth was both born and died in Indiana. Also in 1920 Ruth and Anton are enumerated with a 9 year old son named Melkim per the Census. From a later Census his name appears to be Malcom. The Census record indicated Malcom was born in Pennsylvania. Also that Anton was a laborer in an "auto factory". Malcom was the son of another man. Ruth and Anton married several years later.

Anton was reported to have been naturalized in 1919. Ruth was five years older than Anton.

From left: Ruth, Marcella, Anton and Malcom, circa late 1920s Click Map to enlarge

But by 1930 Anton is enumerated as "single", age 37 and living in Evanston, just north of Chicago IL. He is a janitor in an apartment building. His rent is $10 per month. He emigrated in 1909.

One might think at this point that we are showing the records for different men with the name Anton Arnheiter. But we are not. Other than his uncle Anton who was in New York, there just were not other Anton Arnheiters around the country. In fact there were very few Arnheiters with any given name. But especially who were born in 1893 in Germany and immigrated in 1909.

Finally in 1940 Anton was still living in Cook County, Illinois. He is now shown as divorced and born in Germany in 1893. He is living in Proviso Township a little to the west of Evanston and working as an attendant in a hospital. In 1939 he worked 52 weeks and earned $1260.

In 1942 Anton was required to register for the Draft. He gives his address as 3221 Seminary Avenue, Chicago. And his employer as the Veteran's Administration. The hospital where he was working was the VA hospital. He also gives his "next of kin" as his sister Elsie at 901 Scott Street in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is interesting that he gives her maiden name, not her married name. We know nothing about Anton after 1942.

After her divorce from Anton, Ruth married on 1 May 1928 William M. Sprong (*Indiana, +before 1940). They appear in the 1930 U.S. Census with her daughter Ruth Marcella, age 10. They were living in Pipe Creek, Madison County IN. In the 1940 U.S. Census Ruth is a widow and living with her brother Park. Strangely, she is enumerated as Ruth Arnheiter!

Ruth passed away in 1967 at the age of eighty, also as Ruth Arnheiter. Perhaps she did not take the name Sprong when she married in 1928.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Malcom Hiser (Arnheiter) (*1911 Pennsylvania)

Malcom was born either to an earlier husband of Ruth Hiser's or out of wedlock. In his sister Ruth's obituary from 2015 it gives his name as Malcom Hiser, suggesting he was born out of wedlock. His listing in the 1920 U.S. Census as "Melkim Arnheiter" was undoubtedly wrong on both his given and family names.

2.2.....Ruth "Marcella" Arnheiter (*17.04.1920 Hiser's Station, Wayne IN, +11.06.2015 East Germantown IN)

Ruth Marcella was married to Paul M. Carter (*3.10.1912 Fayette County IN, +9.05.1998) on 17 December 1938 in Fayette County. Paul was the son of Charles P. and Minnie Smith Carter. Paul was a farmer in Fayette County like his father. At the time of their marriage Paul was twenty-six and Marcella eighteen years old. In her marriage application Marcella gave her full name as Marcella Arnheiter (no Ruth Marcella) and stated that her father was deceased. He was not as seen by his 1940 Census record and Draft Registration in 1942.

Marcella appears in the 1930 Census as a ten year old. She is the stepdaughter of her mother's second husband William Sprong.

In 1940 Marcella is enumerated as the wife of Paul Carter, a 27 year old "farmer helper" in Waterloo Township, Fayette County IN. Her obituary talks of her attending Cambridge City Central School, was a member of the Union County Historical Society, served on the school board and did other volunteer work including at Reid Hospital. She was a well known painter and musician along with her husband Paul. Another page gives her mother, spouse and son Phillip.

On Marcella's grave marker her name is given as "R. Marcella". Her given name was Ruth Marcella but she went by just Marcella.

Paul and Marcella were buried together in the East Germantown Lutheran Cemetery in Wayne County. At the time of her death in 2015 there were seven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Phillip M. Carter (*16.03.1944, +24.07.1994)

Phil and Sharon Sue (*4.03.1945) married on 28 July 1962. Phil passed away in 1994 and is buried in the East Germantown Lutheran Cemetery.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Tina Carter

2.2.....Dawn Carter

2.2.....Carol L. Carter (*18.10.1945)

Carol and Bruce C. Burch (*23.11.1944) married. They lived in Rushville, Indiana in the 1990's and the early 2000's as well and probably still do. Carol went through much of her life with her name spelled "Carrol". As an adult she discovered that on her birth certificate it was spelled "Carol", which she preferred.

Carol and Marcella click to enlarge	Carol, Marcella, and Bruce click to enlarge

Children: (5)

5.1.....Michael Burch (*10.1964)

Michael and Kelly married.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Alexander Burch

2.2.....Zachaary Burch

5.2.....Mark Burch (*1966)

Mark married twice. His first wife was Kelly Nutty. Following their divorce, Mark and Julie Freeman married.

Children: (3)

From his marriage with Kelly Nutty:

3.1.....Joshua Burch (*1990)

Joshua is iin the U.S. Army, stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. His wife is Jessica.

3.2.....Jacob Burch (*1991)

Jacob and Emily Espich are married.

From his marriage with Julie Freeman:

3.3.....Noah Burch (*2001)

5.3.....Rebekah J. Burch (*1967)

Rebekah and Ross A. Keasling (*20,03,1970 Liberty IN) married on 21 May 1994. They have two daughters.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Hayleigh Keasling

2.2.....Harleigh Keasling

5.4.....Rachael Ann Burch (*09.1972)

Rachael married David Miller.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Jessica Miller

2.2.....Kaitlen MIller

5.5.....Sarah Lynn Burch (*1975)

Children: (1)

1.1.....Daye Burch

5.3.....Karl Arnheiter (*1.09.1894 Worms, +20.09.1975 Detroit MI)

The immigration of Karl raises several questions. First he was processed through Ellis Island (New York City) on 18 July 1911. He had departed Antwerp on the ship Kroonland. He was 17 years old. His father was the contact name for arrival and his mother for departure from Europe. He had recorded other information in the immigration register. Everything appears ordinary so far.

Two years later on 23 September 1913 he came through Ellis Island again. Apparently he had returned to Germany for some reason. This time he arrived on the SS Finland. Comparing the entry in the register for the 1913 arrival, it is clearly the same person. But perhaps he signed the register and then did not sail on the SS Finland. Rather he sailed on the Vaderland two weeks later? The Finland sailed in September. But notice in the register there is a line drawn through his name. Perhaps this indicates he did not sail on the Finland and the record of him at Ellis Island on 23 September was bogus. Two weeks later, on 6 October 1913, he again processes through Ellis Island. Still 19 years old. Departure and arrival contact people are still the same, Karl the father for arrival and Susanna (transcribed as Lusaime) for departure. This time he is arriving on the ship Vaderland from Antwerp. Both registers from 1913 seem to say "dentist". As a nineteen year old? Well, perhaps, but how or why did he immigrate through Ellis Island two times in two weeks from different ships? Interesting!

Our next information is from 1930 when he was recorded in the Census. He was a single male, boarding in Detroit, Michigan. His employment was as a waiter in a hotel. Fast forward another twelve years when Carl registered for the Draft. We now find his date of birth and the name of the hotel where he was working at the time, the Cadillac in Detroit. We assume he was still single, not giving the name of a spouse who would know his whereabouts. Later from his burial information we learn that he did serve in the U.S. Army during World War II and was a Private First Class.

Carl passed away on 20 September 1975 in Detroit at the age of eighty-one. His body was then moved to Pulaski County, Kentucky where he was buried in the Mill Springs National Cemetery for veterans.

5.4.....Mathilde Arnheiter (*30.11.1898 Germany, +April 1970 Little Rock, Arkansas)

Mathilde, the fourth child of Karl and Susanna Hammerstein Arnheiter, was also the fourth to emigrate. She did so aboard the Sierra Ventana, departing Bremen and arriving at Ellis Island (New York City) on 26 November 1923. She was 24 years old and single. She gave as her contact person upon arrival as Anni Pfaller, an Aunt. In the register of arrivals the information was now typed, making it much easier to read. The address of her mother in Worms was Gewerbschulstraße 18. This address had been hand written in for her siblings who had immigrated through Ellis Island previously but it was difficult to make it out with certainty.

Mathilde is enumerated in the Census years of 1930 and 1940. From these records we see that she did not marry. In the first Census she was working as a waitress, apparently just for lunch. She boarded at 354 22nd Street in Manhattan. In 1940 Mathilde was a waitress at a bakery-restaurant. Living with her at 325 88th Street in 1940 was a cousin, Eugene Jandich. Eugene was a waiter in a hotel. It is assumed that he was a cousin on her father's side and therefore not a Schömbs.

In her later years Mathilde apparently moved to Little Rock, Arkansas to be near her sister Else. It was here Mathilde passed away in 1970 at the age of 72.

5.5.....Hans "John" Arnheiter (*15.06.1900 Worms, +07.06.1983 Nassau Cty, New York)

John was the youngest and the last of the children of Karl and Susanna Hammerstein Arnheiter to emigrate to Amerika. His ship, the Columbus, arrived at Ellis Island (New York City) on 24 August 1924. Like his sister Mathilde, he gave his Aunt A. Pfaller as his contact in New York. He was listed as a "mechanic" in 1924 and an "electrician" in 1932.

In 1932 we notice that John is married. HIs wife "Anna" (*23.01.1897 Schweitzigen, Baden Germany, +11.1982 Nassau County NY) is accompanying him on his return from Bremen. She appears to be from the town of Schwetzingen, about eight kilometers to the west of Heidelberg.

There is an immigration record from 1954 of a Hans Arnheiter arriving in New York. But there is not enough information in the record to confirm that it is this Hans.

Anna died on 12.11.1982. John passed away seven months later. They are buried in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, Nassau County NY. We have not located any Census records for John and Anna and are aware of no children.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Carl H. Arnheiter (*1938)

Carl and Patricia K. married. They live in Westbury, Nassau County NY (on Long Island).

Children: (2)

2.1.....Carl J. Arnheiter (*1972)

Carl J. lives in Evansville, Indiana. We have no further information at this time.

2.2.....Mathew John Arnheiter (*1974)

We have a record that Mathew lived in Overland Park, Kansas and perhaps still does.

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