New Pictures

I was able to dig up some new pictures of Robert by going through old albums on my last visit to see Aunt Gerda. From the wooden structures it follows that it must have been in Milwaukee. Remember, after the great fire the structures in Chicago had to be of stone & we have seen pictures of Chicago Avenue, which looked quite different to this.

The two images below picture him sitting in his garden and in front of his house sometime between 1910 and 1915.





He seems quite chuffed and keen to show his relatives how well he is doing in America. Strange that did not take pictures after that ... after all, the family legend says he did well for himself.

Setback - Wrong Railroad

Well, research does take the wrong turn sometimes ... I got the following feedback from Craig, the Genealogical Archivist of the C&NW Historical Society: "I could not find him in our "Retired Personnel" file, our "Work Record Cards" of the 1920 - 1940 period, or in the 1936 - 1970 Social Security Applications file we hold. It is most curious that, if Mr. Ludde did work for the C&NW in 1936 and 1937 he would have had to have signed a Social Security Application to remain employed. We do not have that application. He certainly should have been in our "Work Record Card" file if he were an C&NW employee. He may have simply been an "as needed" day laborer for the C&NW. Sorry"

Still, we did get to see those remakable railroad pictures & postcards and got to know a great railroad - just the wrong one! I have since found more historic photos of Chicago and of what it looked like on West Chicago Avenue. Due to the fire of 1871 the buildings had to be made of stone, but the roads were still pretty muddy.

Craig was kind enough to point me to some other options: " Mr. Ludde could have worked for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific - the noted "Milwaukee Road", for the Chicago Great Western Railroad, or the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in those years. There were over a dozen other railroads in Chicago in that time which started with a corporate name "Chicago". Also, there were "traction (electric) roads which were called by such names as the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee".

So - no reason to give up!

First Results

As so often, the most fascinating pieces of information turn up by chance ... When investigating the boundaries of wards 15 & 16 of the 1910 census enumeration districts in Chicago I discovered that W.Chicago Avenue is very close to the"C.&N.W. R.R" (Milwaukee Division). This is the Chicago and North Western Railroad depot. It turns out that this was a pioneering and successful railroad with an enormous network spanning some 7,702.76 Miles in 1910 - I found a map and a detailed historical account of its development, including a bankruptcy in 1936 on account of the great depression. Robert can not have been affected by this if he gave away money two years later and retired. But the most remarkable discovery are the historical photographs and postcards collected by the Chicago & Northwestern Historical Society. Set these on "slideshow" and you are taken back to the world Robert lived in. It is as is he is giving us a guided tour of "his" railroad!!

This is definitely where I will focus next - There are card records of personnel who were able to retire under the railroad sponsored pension plan between 1909 & 1940 as well as seniority records ... and I am rather hoping his name will turn up there.

Another area of activities has been the search for census records. There is an exact match in the 1910 census in Milwaukee. In the draft registration of 1917/18 he appears as Robert Bernhard Ludde, living in Cook. No matches are found in the 1920 census or in the land purchase index of Illinois. A certain Robert Luddie appears in the 1930 census living in Cook, I have no information regarding the 1940 census. No newspaper entries have turned up at the time of his death in 1944.



Finally, I was able to obtain the "Coroner's Certificate of Death" above in record time thanks to some really fast work by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Here is what it tells us:

He was unmarried, still living in Cook on West Chicago Avenue and died of Chronic Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle with similar symptoms to a heart attack. He is described as a retired "old aged person". Apart from his age at the time of death - 67 - and Germany as his land of origin most entries are "unknown". This suggests that neither the coroner nor any friends he may have had searched for an identity document. His burial at "Wunders" cemetery is confirmed, as is the fact that he had lived at this address for some 10 years at the time of his death.

Robert's Fascinating Gift

The mystery of Robert had a lasting impact on us as kids ... because he was a visionary that knew when it was time to leave Germany and because of the above pictures. They show the car my dad bought from the money he was given: a brand new "Opel Kapitän", considered a pretty serious motorcar at its time. Not bad for a 25 year old man on his first mission as a diplomat to Japan! So, it was always on the agenda to find out what happened to him....

The Last 3 Postcards

The final one only contains generic messages that he is well and pleased that they are well. He refers to a chronic bronchitis and mentions he can hear the news on the radio and that all one can do is wait ... By now the postcard is also subject to German censorship and he has added that it is to go airmail via "Azores and Lisbon only" and it is stamped as "Trans Atlantic Route". That was the last sign of life that arrived.


The second one is addressed to one of his nieces, Hilde. Dated Nov. 14th 1939, he is saying that the length of the war is unpredictable and is expressing the hope that America does not get involved. He also expresses satisfaction that his gift to them was put to good use, a reference to the money he gave them. Note the UK censors stamp on the left of the image.


The fist one dates back to Oct. 14th. 1939 - apart from the usual exchange of greetings it refers to the fact that it is better to write postcards during times of war and censorship. Then he says, "do not worry about me, my retirement pension is enough to live on", followed by a reference to either a drink or a cigar. He continues "In an emergency I will go to a small town where, next to the doctor and the Mayor, I am the most important man in the town" Was this in Cook County ? Which small community is he refering to ? I expect his death certificate to tell us more.

Introduction

For many decades, the fate of Robert Bernhard Ludde remained a mystery. The last postcards he sent to his family were kept, but he was never hear of again. As I mentioned in my other blog about Mary Burnard (his mum) , his last visit to Germany 1938 convinced him that he never wished to return.

Rather than explore his fate step by step, in the age of the internet it took one day to clear up the mystery. He was born in 1877, went to live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in around 1908, appears in the 1910 Federal Census, lived in Cook County, Illinois at the time of Draft Registration for WWI, later lived in downtown Chicago during the 20, 30s and early 40s. His last known address was 5, West Chicago Avenue, which still exists today, occupied by Walsh Construction. He died on March 15th, 1944 in Cook County (Cert. No 0008309) and is buried at Wunders cemetery in Chicago. ...

End of Story ? No way, it merely means we must go into much greater detail. The first part of our investigation will trace his arrival in the USA - how did he get there, when did he become a citizen of the USA, where did he live etc. Trust him to pick the "Beer Capital" of the USA as starting point, along with many fellow Germans. The second part will trace his railroad career. If I am right that he worked for Chicago & North Western Railroad between 1920 & 1936, then there must be traces. The accounts say he had a senior position ... so it should be even easier. The third part will compare entries in the Federal Census records between 1910,20,30 and 40 - the last one he would have participated in. The amount of detail recorded was amazing. He must have done well to give away money to his nephews and nieces in 1938 - but what was the story by 1940? The fourth and final part will trace his death. Did he have a family and children? Was he ill, dying at the age of 67 ? Was there an obituary in the newspapers? Did he die poor and if not, what happened to his assets ?

As you can see - there will be plenty to explore once I get around to it. And - at least one more Photo picturing him outside his house in Chicago. However, this might take years, not days to complete. Enjoy!