Ernest Foth

Ernst emigrated aboard the sailing ship Deutschland, with his family, from Hamburg to New York on October 24, 1864, arriving at Castle Garden Immigration Centre on November 29, 1864. He and his family moved to Buffalo.

On April 27, 1873 Ernst was confirmed as Ernst Foth at Trinity Old Lutheran Church in Buffalo. Eventually, his name was anglicized and appeared as Ernest in most records. Ernest kept the name Foth throughout his life.

United States Army records show that Ernest F. Foth enlisted February 10, 1881 in Buffalo, New York and was assigned to the 13th Infantry, F Company as a private. I have no idea why the middle initial is ‘F’ as none of his baptismal names begin with F. It is just as mysterious as why his brother, Henry, chose the middle name Ernest when that was not one of his baptismal names! 

I have never found any photos of Ernest, but can picture him somewhat from the statistics given on his enlistment record. He was five foot seven and a quarter inches tall, had a ruddy complexion, grey eyes, and dark brown hair. Having seen photos of all of his brothers, I believe he likely had the ‘Forth’ ears as well.

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After enlistment, Ernest was next located in July of 1881 at Fort Wingate , New Mexico as a 'Gain' from the depot. He and nine others were sent to Fort Apache in the Arizona Territory on detailed service from October 20, 1881 to November 23, 1881 as recorded in the army records for Fort Wingate for November of 1881. This would be directly after the battle of Cibecue Creek so likely he was sent as part of reinforcements and saw some action in the wild, wild, west. After the battle of Cibecue Creek, many of the Apache warriors left the reservation to join Geronimo. 

Army records next logged Ernest as deserted on July 3, 1882. In reading about conditions at Fort Wingate at the time Ernest would have been there, it seems it was a dreary and barren location. Perhaps this led to his decision to desert. Ernest was apprehended in Buffalo, New York on February 13, 1884. He was dishonourably discharged March 31, 1884, from Fort Porter and sent to Fort Columbus. Fort Columbus was located on Governor’s Island in New York Harbour, at the junction of the North and East rivers. I don’t know if Ernest served prison time for desertion there or not. This does explain the lack of civil records for him in the period 1881-1886. 

In the period from 1887-1889, Ernest lived at several different addresses around Buffalo and worked as a teamster. He appeared to move around a lot, living at 94 Maple Street, 114 Mulberry Street, 107 Orange Street, and finally for three years at 97 Locust Street.

On the 1900 Federal Census, it was recorded that Ernest and Otilie (sic) Foth had been married for 14 years, indicating the marriage took place about 1886. The census record also logged that Ottilie had been born in Germany in February of 1864 and had emigrated to the United States in 1866. The couple lived at 885 Jefferson Street in Buffalo.

On the 1905 New York State Census, Ernest and Ottilie were listed as living at 277 Cherry Street along with a number of other people - it was most likely a boarding house. Ernest was also listed at that address in the 1902 Buffalo City Directory. A Jaeger family, (George, Barbara and Marion) was also listed as living at 277 Cherry Street. Might they have been cousins of Ernest's mother, Friederica? The 1905 Buffalo City Directory listed Fredericka (sic) Kaiser living at this same address, 277 Cherry Street, but she did not appear on the census at that address and Ernest did not appear in the 1905 directory at that address. On the 1910 Federal Census, Ernest and Ottilie were listed as having had no children.

In the 1909 and 1910 Buffalo City Directories, both Ernest and Frederick Foth were listed at 40 Kilhoffer Street. As this is the same address for Friederica Foth in 1910 and 1911, it proves that Ernest and Frederick Foth and Friederica Kaiser were all in the same family. Ernest and Ottilie appear to have moved to 267 Bissell Ave. before the census was taken in April.

On the 1915 State Census, Ernest was referred to as Ernie and was boarding at 151 Spring Street. He was listed as married but his wife, Ottilie, did not appear on the census with him. She did, however, appear on the census record for the Buffalo State Hospital for the Insane. Ottilie would have entered the hospital sometime after the 1910 census was completed, so her age would have been in the 46-51 year old range. I wonder if her mental illness had anything to do with menopause. I have read that many women were considered mentally unstable when they went through the change of life. Regardless of diagnosis, Ottilie spent at least the next ten years, likely the rest of her life, in that institution.

Ottilie's name has been found in various records under several spelling variants. I have found three records (1915, 1920, 1925) from the Buffalo State Hospital for the Insane listing her as Otelia. I can’t say for certain what her name really was and have not yet found any record indicating her maiden name. Her names have been spelled thus:

1900 Federal Census - Otilie C.

1905 State Census - Ottila

1910 Federal Census – Otilia (transcribed as Atelea)

1915 State Census - Otelia

1920 State Census Otelia

1925 State census - Otelia

1951 Insurance Policy - Otillie C.

An online search of baby names suggests that the original German name is likely Ottilie, a female form of Otto, pronounced OTT eh lee. The fact that so many American records show an 'a' at the end may indicate that she may have pronounced her name OTT eh lee uh.

Ottilie’s death is inferred as after 1925 because that is the last census on which she appeared. On the 1920 census, she was listed as married but husband Ernest was listed as a widower. It is possible he had divorced her while she was in the state hospital. I have been unable to locate a death record.

Widower Ernest Foth boarded at 210 Howard Street according to the 1920 Federal Census. His birthdate is in the correct range and I believe this is the correct person, although he stated that his father was born in England and that he himself was born in New York. The census also indicated he was naturalized which would mean that he was not born in the United States. He did admit that his mother was born in Germany. Because 1920 was just after WW I, it is quite possible Ernest wished to disassociate himself with Germany as much as possible.

Ernest Foth died July 12, 1922 in Buffalo. He died at his home at 387 S. Division Street and was buried July 14, 1922 at Ridge Lawn Cemetery in Cheektowaga, New York. Ernest died of epithelioma of the lip which had metastasized in his neck. His parents were listed as Christ. Foth and Fredericka Yaeger (sic) confirming that this is the correct family for Ernest. The informant on his death record was his widow, Eleanor A. Foth. An Eleanor A. Foth was listed as widow of Ernest Foth living at 269 N. Division Street in the 1923 City Directory. It is interesting to me that Eleanor A. Foth was listed as a widow of Ernest Foth. I have never found a divorce record for Ernest and Otillie, but it is quite possible that Ernest divorced Ottilie due to her mental condition and perhaps she never knew, or the person filling in the census form for her never knew. What seems most likely is that Ernest simply got on with his life. Eleanor A. Foth was listed from 1923 to 1939 as widow of Ernest Foth living at various streets in the same area of Buffalo. On the 1930 Federal Census, she was living with her daughter, Marjorie, and son-in-law, George Chapman.

Eleanor died on September 25, 1947. Her obituary and death notice in the Buffalo Evening News of September 26, 1947, recorded her as Mrs. Eleanor Davison Foth, widow of the late Ernest Foth. Her maiden name was Miller. Interestingly, I noted on a 1937 Social Insurance Application, that it is recorded that the signature on the SSN card was Eleanor M. Davison. Also, the New York Death Index has recorded her as Eleanor A. Davison. It looks like she was using the Davison name legally, so I doubt that she formally married Ernest. I have found no marriage record for them. Eleanor is buried at Ridge Lawn Cemetery in Cheektowaga. Ernest is not listed on her headstone.

On April 17, 1951, The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company took out an advertisement in the Buffalo Courier-Express asking that the people on the published list contact them for money owed to them from abandoned life insurance policies.