Pappert Family - Alexander Martin Jacob Knittel

Alexander Martin Jacob Knittel

Also known as
Al Knittel
Alexander M. J. Knittel

Born
March 31,1872
Manhattan, New York, New York

Died
October 19, 1930
Bronx, New York

Parents
Phillip Jacob Knittel
Catherine Fried

Siblings
Julia Knittel
Ludwig Knittel
Catherina Knittel
Susanna Catherine Knittel
Anton Knittel

Spouse
Sarah Josephine Irene "Dollie" Boyle
Married October 12, 1891 in Manhattan, New York

Children
Louis Lyle Knittel
Grace Anna Knittel
Ruth Frances Knittel

Life Story

Alexander Martin Jacob Knittel, the sixth and last child of Catharina Fried and Philipp Jacob Knittel, was born on March 31, 1872 in Manhattan. He had three older surviving siblings: Julia, Louis and Susanna. An older brother, Anton, died as a baby two years before he was born, and an older sister Catherine, also died before he was born.

Alex and his future wife Sarah (Dollie) Boyle were attendants in his sister Susan's wedding in 1890. Eleven months later he and Dollie married, when he was 19 and she only 18. Their first child, a son named Louis Lyle, was born two years later in September 1893. According to the 1894 city directory, Alex and his wife were living at 884 6th Street in lower Manhattan, and his occupation was "brass worker."

In 1895, Alex changed careers when he entered the police force, rising to the rank of lieutenant before retiring in October 1921. His badge was awarded to him by Theodore Roosevelt who served as Police Commissioner before becoming President of the United States. Alex and his family moved to 311 E. 19th Street in Manhattan (what's now called East Village) sometime in 1895 or 1896. In the fall of 1897 their second child, Grace Anna, was born, but she only lived until the following July.

Sometime between 1901 and 1904 Alex and his family followed the exodus of German Americans from lower Manhattan to the upper east side (Yorkville) and points beyond. Improved transportation and newer housing with more open space were in part the draw. A tragedy in the Summer of 1904 at Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church, which served a predominantly German American congregation, also contributed to the exodus of German immigrants. A boat chartered by the church for its annual summer cruise and picnic caught fire, and over 1,000 women and children from its parish perished. While Alex and his family were not parishioners of St. Luke's (they belonged to Church of the Nativity Episcopal Church in Brooklyn), this tragedy could have been another reason that his family left Manhattan for the Bronx.

By 1905 Alex and his family were living in an apartment on east 139th Street in the Bronx, and by December 1911 a third child, Ruth Frances, was born. They lived in two more locations in the Bronx until Alex's retirement from the police force in 1921. In 1922, Alex and his family moved to 383 E 199th Street in the Bronx and started a new career as a funeral director. His son, Lyle, joined him in the business, and he and his bride, Florence, moved in to their home. Lyle and Florence's son, and Alex and Dollie's only grandson, Donald, was born in January of 1925 but died at age 3 1/2 in September 1928.

Alex served as a funeral director until his death at age 58 on October 19, 1930. His exact cause of death is not known, but Alex was both a smoker and overweight, which may have been contributing factors. He is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, north of his home in the Bronx.

Alex and his son Lyle were both 33rd degree masters in the masonic league, according to his granddaughter, Dorothy Chace Bouley. His masonic apron and star were donated to the NYC Police Museum, and his commendation certificate that was signed by Roosevelt is also on display.