Born
October 24, 1862
Baden, Germany

Died
February 12, 1924
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

Parents
Phillipp Jacob Knittel
Catherine Fried

Siblings
Julia Knittel
Catherina Knittel
Susanna Catherine Knittel
Anton Knittel
Alexander M. J. Knittel

Spouse
Magdalena Stern
Married 1884 probably in New York, New York

Children
Susan Marie Knittel
John Knittel
Margaretta Knittel
George Michael Knittel
Julia Knittel
Anna Knittel

Life Story

Ludwig Casper Knittel was born October 24, 1862 to Philipp Jacob Knittel and Catharina Fried in Mannheim, Germany. In 1869 at the age of seven he immigrated to New York with his mother and three sisters to join their father who has arrived a year or two earlier. Once in New York, he went by the name Louis, sometimes using Jacob as a middle name. He was the second oldest of the four surviving children born to his parents. He had two sisters, Juliana almost two years older, and Susan, two and a half years younger, and a brother, Alexander who was almost 10 years younger. A sister, Catherine and a brother, Anton, both died young.

Louis completed his schooling through eighth grade and went to work, most likely in a brass foundry where he worked when the 1880 Census was taken. His occupation until he died was listed in census and city directories as polisher, brass finisher, chandelier maker and brass worker.

In 1884 he married Magdalena (Lena) Stern who was born in New York to German immigrants. He and Lena lived with Louis' mother at 134 Third Street in Manhattan for at least the first year of their marriage. Louis and Lena had six children. In October 1885 their first child Susan Marie was born, and in April 1887 a second child, Margarethe, was born. By 1888 he, Lena and their two young daughters had moved into an apartment on Rivington Street in Manhattan and then to an apartment on Pitt Street one year later. Their third child, George Michael, was born in December 1888, and their fourth, Julia, was born August of 1890. In 1892 before their fifth child was born, he moved his family from Manhattan to Brooklyn. In January 1893 Anna was born, and in October 1895, their last child John was born. Louis and his family lived in at least five different locations in Brooklyn including addresses on Jefferson, Evergreen, Hamburg, Palmeto and Grove Streets.

Only three of Louis and Lena's six children married, and only two of them had a child. Louis' oldest child, Susan, got married at age 17 in June 1903 and had a daughter also named Susan in October 1904. His daughter Julia married in March 1910 and had one daughter, Charlotte, who was born in 1911. His daughter Anna married in April 1918 and had no children. Both sons were listed as single at the time of their deaths. No marriage or death records could be found for their other daughter, Margarethe, so it is not known whether she married or died at an early age.

At least three of Louis and Lena's children died tragically before either Louis or Lena. Louis' oldest daughter Susan died of appendicitis at the age of 22 in July 1908. She had been hospitalized at The German Hospital (later known as Wykoff) for three days with peritonitis that resulted from the burst appendix and died when her only daughter, Susan, was four. Susan's husband, Jacob Mohr, died two years later in July 1910, leaving Louis's granddaughter Susan an orphan. In June 1919 Louis and Lena's daughter Anna died just over a year after she married; her cause of death is not yet known. Three years later in May 1922 his son George died at the age of 33 of a gunshot wound to his back that damaged his intestines and kidneys, resulting in peritonitis. His death appears to have been a homicide, and it is likely he died in the line of duty since his occupation listed on the death certificate was "Special Officer." It is not known whether Louis' daughter Margarethe also died young; the last record found of her was the 1915 census when she was 28 and living at home.

Louis died February 12, 1924 at the age of 61. He is buried alongside his son George in Maple Grove Cemetery in Queens (grave #3, Prospect section, lot 389A). His wife is buried in grave #4.

Seeking Information

Confirmation as to exactly what he looked like. The pictures we think may be Louis are just guesses.

Facts

Photo Gallery

We think the picture above is of Louis, but do not have confirmation.

Updated 12/5/14