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Adolph Schlatter

Adolph Schlatter is my paternal grandfather.  He was born 11 October 1863 in  Ganterswil, Switzerland, a small town in St. Gallen Canton, Switzerland.  He died in Shaw, Mississippi, 26 November 1930.  He was a baker.

I know almost nothing about him -- he died 14 years before I was born and my father never talked about  him.  My paternal grandmother, Emma Waldner Schlatter, and Adolph were married in September 1910.  They arrived in the US at Ellis Island on 31 October 1910.  Adolph and Emma had three sons:

•  John; born 21 May 1911, died 30 September 1960

• Joseph (my father); born 1 August 1915, died 29 November 2005.

•  Fred; born 26 October 1921, died 3 January 2010.

In late 2009 and early 2010, my brother and I exchanged several email messages about family history matters.  My brother did a bit of Internet research and found a number of records pertaining to our grandfather that filled in a few holes in our information about him.  Still, we know very little about our father's father.  This article provides details, conclusions, and matters for further research regarding our grandfather, John Adolph Schlatter.

The contents of this page are:

Photos of my grandparents, Adolph Schlatter and Emma Waldner Schlatter.

 Adolph's Travels between Switzerland and US

First marriage:  Louise Kleiner, Solomon Barfuss, and Adolph Schlatter

Adolph Schlatter and Louise Kleiner Schlatter in Senatobia, Mississippi

Adolph, Emma, and Sons in Shaw, Mississippi

Alfred Schlatter and Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter, Adolph's Brothers

Adolph's Father, Josef/Joseph Schlatter (my great-grandfather)

Adolph's Family in Switzerland ; information from Swiss Family Registers(opens a new page)

Adolph Schlatter's pocket watch

Dates in Adolph's life

Two photos of Adolph Schlatter.

(Left to right).  Infant Joseph A. Schlatter, Sr. (b. 1 August 1915, d. 29 November 2005); Adolph Schlatter, father; John A. Schlatter (b. 21 May 1911, d. 30 September 1960).  Do not know the date of this photo, but, Joseph -- on the right, born 1 August 1915 -- appears to be around 1 year old -- thus, date of photo probably sometime in 1916. 

Adolph Schlatter and Emma Waldner Schlatter; photo probably dates from 1929-1930.  He suffered a stroke in late 1929-early 1930 and died 26 November 1930.  In this photo he appears to be posed in a chair.  Note the evidence of a stroke:  left arm lying on his lap, appears to be unusable; left side of face is distorted -- arched left eyebrow, left corner of mouth does not match right side.  Notice the photo of Emma -- she has a goiter which is quite visible and a drooped left eye.

The following is what we know about our Grandfather Schlatter -- before you start reading this page, I need to warn you that it gets a bit complicated.

 Adolph's Travels between Switzerland and US

First entry into US; 16 August 1890

• On his citizenship application he states he first entered US on 24 August 1890.  Ellis Island records do not go back that far. 
• In our family records we have the original of what appears to be his steamship ticket showing he departed Havre, France, for New York on 16 August 1890.

Second entry into US; 30 June 1897

• Adolph Schlatter entered the US a second time on 30 June 1897; his name was incorrectly entered on ship’s manifest as Adolph Schetter. Close examination of an image of the handwritten manifest shows that the name is written  "Schlatter;" the appearance of the name as "Schetter" probably is an error that occurred when the handwritten records were transcribed into electronic format.
• I made this discovery when I searched the Ellis Island records using the partial name search capability.  I searched for “Ado Sch” who entered the US between 1890 and 1900.  I found the following entry:

Adolph Schlaetter:  Entered the US 30 June 1897 from Antwerp, vessel Westernland; last place of residence Zurich.

• Adolph Schlatter was 34 years old in 1897, which yields date of birth = 1863.  He is a baker and his destination in the US is Riverhead, Long Island, where he has a brother.  Notation on the ship manifest says “has 1^st paper.”  Manifest also shows him as married; I have no clue as to whom he was married in 1897.
• We know that Adolph Schlatter first entered the US in 1890.  When he entered in 1897 he may have had with him his 1890 entry papers which would explain the notation “has 1^st paper.”
• We know from letters written by his brother Fred and by Fred’s friend that Adolph’s brother Fred lived in Patchogue, Long Island at time of his death in October – November 1905.  If his brother Fred was on Long Island in 1897, Adolph could have gone there to visit his brother.
• Thus – appears that Adolph Schlatter entered the US on 30 June 1897, bound for Riverhead, LI.

Third entry into US; 31 October 1910

• Adolf Schlatter and Emma Waldner entered the US at Ellis Island on 31 October 1910.
•  Their names appear on a ship manifest found on the Ellis Island website.

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First marriage:  Louise Kleiner, Solomon Barfuss, and Adolph Schlatter

In late 2006, after my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she and I went through all the family history "stuff" she had in folders, notebooks, and boxes.  Included in this "stuff" was a small memorandum book that my Grandfather Schlatter used as a diary for several years.  Here is an article that describes this memo book and has a transcript of his entries in the book.

Entries in this memo book/diary make it clear that Adolph was married to a woman named Louise Kleiner and they had a child named Louise.  In early 2010, my brother located two documents:

•  A marriage license for Adolph Schlatter and Louise Kliener, issued in Shelby County (Memphis), TN.

HOWEVER -- it's not that simple.  Here's the as much of the story as I have pieced together.

Louise Kleiner and Solomon Barfuss

When I found references in  Adolph's diary to Louise, and when I realized that he was married to Louise, I searched the Ellis Island immigration records for Louise Kleiner.  I found her -- and I found a lot more -- this is what I found.

• First, I found a ship manifest showing Louise Kleiner  entered US 22 November 1900.  Age 23 (Date of birth:  1900 – 23 = 1877).  She is listed in the entry document as:  Female, single; able to read and write
• Other information about Louise is:  Hometown:  Geraldsweil, Switzerland.   ( In Adolph's notebook, Louise's hometown is Geroldswil. )   On the ship manifest, her occupation is listed as Barmaid and her final destination is listed as Memphis.

Now -- here's where it starts to get interesting.  On the ship's manifest where I found Louise Kleiner, I also found another name -- listed directly below Louise Kleiner’s name is:  Salomon/Solomon Barfuss, age 43, US citizen, saloon keeper from Memphis.   At this point I thought that perhaps Solomon Barfuss was in the business of importing young Swiss women to provide wives for lonely young Swiss men in the US.  It turned out to be much more complicated than that.

While searching around the Internet for information about Solomon Barfuss and Louise Kleiner, I found this page -- it's a listing of marriages in New York City.  Louise Kleiner and Solomon Barfuss arrived in the US on 22 November 1900.  In the NYC marriage listings, I find that Solomon Barfuss and Louisa Kleiner were married on 24 November 1900 !!  So -- if my grandfather married Louise Kleiner, and if this Louise (Louisa) Kleiner is the same person, what happened to the marriage between Louise Kleiner and Solomon Barfuss???

My brother found the answer in the Shelby County (Memphis), TN, circuit court records:  Louise Kleiner Barfuss divorced Solomon Barfuss in September 1905.

Here are copies of the court documents:

26 September 1905, Luise Barfuss sued for divorce from Solomon Barfuss.

The handwritten portion of this court record tells quite a tale. " That defendant's (Solomon Barfuss is the defendant.) conduct toward and treatment of petitioner (Louise) has been of such a cruel & inhuman character as renders it unsafe and improper for her to cohabit with him and be under his dominion and control. "   The court record, then, states that Solomon was abusing Louise and she sued for divorce.  The divorce decree was final on 11 October 1905.

Louise Kleiner and Adolph Schlatter

The marriage license for Adolph Schlatter and Louise Kleiner was issued on 7 March 1906 -- six months after Louise's divorce from Solomon Barfuss was final.

The following is a chronology based on the documents listed above and on entries in Adolph's diary:

This chronology raises an important question:  Did Adolph divorce Louise before marrying Emma?  And the answer is, well, maybe not.

My brother found in the Shelby County, TN, court records a record of Adolph and Louise's divorce.

Now -- recall the chronology:  Adolph and Louise returned to Switzerland in August or September 1908.  Adolph and Emma married in September 1910 and came to the US in October 1910. 

According to the court records, Adolph filed for divorce from Louise on 23 March 1911 -- several  months after he and Emma were married.

And here's the best part -- read Adolph's statement in support of his divorce suit.

When I compare Adolph's statements in this divorce suit to what I know and can demonstrate are the facts, it appears that my old granddaddy was not exactly giving the facts to the court. 

•  First, he states that . . . he is a resident of shelby county Tennessee (sic), that he has so resided in said state for more than two years prior to filing of the bill herein . . .   NOT TRUE.  This action was filed in March 1911.  Adolph and Emma arrived in the US in October 1910 -- only five months before he filed for divorce from Louise -- he was not telling the truth when he claimed to have been living in Tennessee for the previous two years.
•  Then, he states that Louise -- the defendant -- willingly deserted him without reasonable cause . . . Well -- not exactly.  We don't know if Louise deserted Adolph, if he deserted her, or what happened between the time they married, lived in Mississippi, returned to Switzerland, and he returned to the US with Emma.  He knew exactly where she was -- in Switzerland where he had left her a few months before.  In the court documents are copies of newspaper advertisements that were placed asking for Louise to contact the court.  Adolph knew Louise was Switzerland, and, knew that he married Emma before divorcing Louise.

Regardless, Adolph withdrew the divorce suit and it was dismissed on 2 June 1911, some three months after it was filed.

Why would Adolph withdraw the divorce suit?  Here are a couple of theories:

•  The Court discovered that he was not truthful when he stated that he had lived in Shelby County, TN, for two years before filing the divorce and he was told to drop the suit; or,
•  He received word from Switzerland that Louise had divorced him in Switzerland, thus, he did not need to continue the action in Shelby County, TN; or,
•  He decided to drop the whole thing.
•  Who knows??

As noted above, my grandfather Adolph Schlatter's first wife -- at least we think she was his first wife -- was Louise Kleiner, whom he married in March 1906.  They had a daughter.  They operated a bakery shop in Senatobia, MS, for a few years, returning to Switzerland probably in August -- September 1908.  Adolph returned to the US in October 1910 with my grandmother, Emma Waldner, and divorced Louise somewhere along the line.

One final intriguing matter.  Adolph entered the US three times, the second entry was 30 July 1897.  On the ship's manifest, found on the Ellis Island website, the entry beside Adolph's name indicates he is married. I have reviewed the manifest and do not find a woman who could be his wife.  This matter requires more research.

Adolph Schlatter and Louise Kleiner Schlatter in Senatobia, Mississippi

According to notes in Adolph's diary, he and Louise operated a bakery in Senatobia, Mississippi, in the early 1900's.  Many of the entries in his diary indicate that he made frequent trips to Memphis to purchase supplies.  I have not been able to determine the exact dates that they lived in Senatobia, however, I was able to find some information.

On a few pages of Adolph's diary is a stamp made by a rubber stamp that reads:

Adolph Schlatter
City Bakery
Candies, Fruits and Cigars
Senatobia, Miss

My cousin David Schlatter contacted the library and historical society in Senatobia and he put me in touch with a lady there.  She looked through the microfilm copies of their local newspaper and found several advertisements for a bakery in or around Senatobia, Mississippi, in the early 1900's. 

The ads in the Senatobia - Tate County, MS, newspaper -- the Democrat -- don't do a lot to clear up the picture of when Adolph was in Senatobia operating a bakery.

There are three sets of ads for a bakery in Senatobia.  According to the rubber stamp in Adolph's diary, his bakery is City Bakery.  The ads from the Democrat are for the Tate County Bakery.  This is what I know about the ads -- maybe you can help me sort it out.

Baker's Business ad from Senatobia Democrat newspaper.

The following ad shows OTTO SCHLATTER as the proprietor of the Tate County Bakery. This ad was in the newspaper on 16 September, 28 October, and 11 November 1904.

The following ad shows ADOLPH SCHLATTER as the proprietor of the Tate County Bakery -- date of ad is unknown.

Where, then, does all this leave us?

•  The newspaper ads titled "Baker's Business" indicate that Adolph Schlatter was operating the Tate County Bakery in/around Senatobia, MS, at least between October 1902 and March 1903.
•  Ads in September, October, and November 1904 list Otto Schlatter as the proprietor of the Tate County Bakery.
•  A notice in the newspaper dated 23 August 1905 refer to "Adolph Schlatter, our popular baker . . . "
•  Handwritten notes in Adolph's diary state:

Adolph, Emma, and Sons in Shaw, Mississippi

We know that Adolph Schlatter and Emma Waldner settled in Shaw, Bolivar County, Mississippi, after their arrival in the US on 31 October 1910.  We don't have a lot of details; the following is details of what we do know.

The bakery in Shaw

We know where the Schlatter bakery was.  In fact, the old building is still standing in downtown Shaw, MS.  I was born in Centreville, MS, in 1944; my brother, John, was born there in 1950.  In 1951, our father's business transferred us to Knoxville, TN, where my parents lived until their deaths in 2005 and 2007.  We would return to Mississippi in the summer to visit family in Centreville (Wilkinson County) and Shaw.  I recall many visits to Shaw, though I do not specifically remember visiting the old bakery shop.

My grandfather Adolph Schlatter died in 1930.  Emma's brother, Louis Waldner, was a chef at a hotel in Washington, DC.  After Adolph's death, Louis came to Shaw to help run the bakery.  At some point, the family opened a grocery store, or, converted the bakery to a grocery store.  They also operated a movie theater, though I do not know where the theater was located.

Schlatter family bakery in Shaw, MS.

This photo was taken in October 2007.  My parents -- Joseph A. Schlatter, Sr. (d. 29 November 2005), and Annie Lee Richardson Schlatter (d. 18 March 2007) -- were cremated.  On 20 October 2007 we had a memorial service and interred their remains in the Schlatter plot in the Shaw, MS, city cemetery where Adolph, Emma, and their oldest son, John, are buried.  We then took several photos around the old downtown area of the village of Shaw.  The individual in the photo is my brother John F. Schlatter; he is standing in front of the old bakery shop where Adolph, Emma, and their three sons lived and where the Schlatter family operated a bakery and small grocery store from around 1910 until the late 1940's.  The bakery shop is the single-story part of the building -- with three large windows now covered with plywood.  The two-story building to the right was a grocery and "dry goods" store operated by a Chinese family named Lee.

Ethel Wright Mohamed and "Mr. Slatter's bakery

The item quoted below is an interesting story.  I discovered it while doing Internet searches for Shaw, bakery, and other relevant terms. 

Adolph's Brothers:  Fred (Frederick ?) Schlatter, and, Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter

We know that Adolph had two brothers who came to the US, although information about both is sketchy.

Here's an article about Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter.

And here's an article about Alfred Schlatter.

Solomon Barfuss

Finally, we need to close one loose end -- Solomon Barfuss, Louise's first husband.  Solomon is not a member of our family but his story is one of those human interest tales that pop up when you're doing genealogic research.  According to Shelby County, TN, records, Solomon committed suicide.

According to this death certificate:

•  At the time of his death, Solomon Barfuss lived at 814 Court St., Memphis, TN.  He was 73 years old and was born in Switzerland, the son of Andrew Barfuss and Lucille Riedberger.
•  The letter "W" is entered in the block for SINGLE, MARRIED, WIDOWED, OR DIVORCED.  Perhaps Solomon re-married after his divorce from Louise Kleiner and his second wife died.
•  The cause of death is stated as:  "  This man committed suicide by shooting himself in left temple causing death instantly.  This occurred in his room where he was living.  Cause despondency. "

While searching Ellis Island immigration records, I determined that Solomon Barfuss entered the US in 1899 by himself.  He must have returned to Switzerland because he entered the US again one year later -- 1900 -- with Louise Kleiner.  He is listed as having been born in Switzerland but as a US citizen.  His name, Barfuss, is German for "barefoot."

Adolph's Father, Josef/Joseph Schlatter

UPDATE:  14 March 2010.

We know my grandfather Adolph Schlatter's father was named Josef/Joseph Schlatter.

•  Entry by Adolph on his application for US citizenship, dated March 1923.
•  Entry on Adolph's death certificate.
•  Entries on apprentice contract for Alfred Schlatter, Adolph's brother.

In 1897, when Adolph entered the US at Ellis Island, there is an entry on the ship manifest stating that Adolph is going to Riverhead, NY, to visit his father and brother.

My brother John searched the Ellis Island records and discovered the following information:

Joseph Schlatter; age 66; a shoemaker; from Switzerland; bound for Riverhead, LI

Now, we know that Alfred Schlatter -- Joseph's youngest son -- came to the US in April 1890.  He died in November 1905.  In a letter written to Adolph Schlatter informing him of his brother's death, Alfred's landlady stated that Alfred had some "things" in Riverhead.

From this information, I have concluded:

•  Alfred Schlatter, youngest son of Joseph Schlatter, came to the US in 1890 and lived and worked at various places on Long Island until his death in 1905.
•  At some point and for some unknown time, Alfred lived in Riverhead, LI, NY.
•  In 1896, Joseph Schlatter arrived in the US and went to Riverhead, LI, NY, where his son Alfred was living.
•  In 1897, Adolph Schlatter arrived in the US and went to Riverhead, LI, NY, where his father Joseph and brother Alfred were living.

If Joseph Schlatter was 66 when he arrived in the US in 1896, he would have been born in 1830.  His sons were born in 1863 (Adolph), 1866 (Heinrich), and 1873 (Alfred).  Thus, Joseph was 33 when his first son was born and was 43 when his third son was born.  Of course, Joseph may have had other sons and daughters -- that's a matter for further research.

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