Help solve this mystery of this unknown little boy in my tree

[Nor'Eastah]

Be aware that "funny business" went on back several generations ago, just as it does today (well OK, maybe a little less).

My GGF had 14 kids; one of the elder sons had an illegitimate child by his own daughter. This child became my GGF's grandchild, and great-grandchild. Unknown to most, she also became his child, as he and his wife adopted her (likely just raised her as their own). It's difficult to figure any of this out unless one had the family story, as I did.

So you might want to look for parents in the appropriate age range, and go from there.

[Tracysherm]

Sadly, after 13-year-old Albert died in 1915, Joseph Kolb and his wife Mary Diegel Kolb had a baby born in 1916 and they evidently named him after Albert. This other Albert Kolb died at age 2 1/2 in the Spanish Flu pandemic.

[Tia 914]

Originally Posted by TracySam

Hi all, I know some of you like to help solve genealogical mysteries for people, so I thought I'd throw this one out there. I found this unknown little boy, Albert Kolb, in my research on one of my family lines. I don't know where he came from or how he is really related to my family.

I first found him in the 1910 census in the home of my 2X great grandparents, Peter and Mary Eva Kolb.
This is in the 1910 US census for Philadelphia PA, and the family lives at 1315 Warnock St.
The household consists of:
Peter Kolb (head) 73
Mary Eva Kolb (wife) 66 (nee Gerloch)
Joseph (son) 37---my great grandfather
Mary (daughter-in-law) 18--Joseph's wife, my great grandmother (nee Diegel)
Mary A (daughter) 33
Albert (grandson) 8

So if the "grandson" notation is correct, then you might think he is the son of Joseph Kolb or Mary A Kolb. He is definitely not the son of Joseph and his 18 year old bride Mary. Mary A Kolb's marital status is unclear, but it says she was married 14 years, and she reported having had 3 children, one of whom is alive. But if Albert were her son, why would he have Kolb as his last name, when it's her maiden name? I also have no record of any children for Mary A. I have her married to a Charles Vogelman later, but why would she be home with her parents at age 33, with her maiden name, listing that she'd had 3 children, one living, and that child isn't even with her? I guess she's a separate mystery...


I know from family documents and online records that Peter and Mary Eva had 4 children:
George Kolb 1870-1919
Joseph Kolb 1873-1919
Mary A. Kolb 1876-?
Plus they had Peter's son Anton Kolb 1864-1880 from a previous marriage in Germany. (He shows up as "Antoine Kolb" in the 1870 census.)

But Mary Eva said in the 1900 census that she had had 4 children, 3 still alive. So the living ones would be George, Joseph, and Mary A, and the deceased one could be a biological child she and Peter may have had that died, or she could have been referring to her dead stepson.

Anyway, I was stuck with the question: who are little Albert's parents?



I could find nothing else on Albert, except, sadly, his Philadelphia death certificate at age 13, on 21 March 1915, when he died from "Ulcerative endocarditis" secondary to "Rheumatic fever of severe type." The death certificate states that his father was "Cornelius Kolb." Now I have no Cornelius in my family records, and I can't find online records on a Cornelius Kolb that connect him to my family. The informant on the death certificate is "Mrs. Kolb" which could be any of the "Mrs. Kolbs" and her address is the same place, 1315 Warnock St. There is nothing listed for Albert's mother.

So now I have a Cornelius Kolb listed as Albert's father, and Albert's documented grandparents are Peter and Mary Eva Kolb. So maybe Peter and Mary Eva had a son named Cornelius, maybe born after the 1880 census and dying before the 1900 census. (Damn that fire that destroyed the 1890 census!) This might explain the fact that Mary Eva said she'd had 4 children and only 3 were alive in 1900. Somehow this little boy ended up living with his grandparents at age 8 in 1910 with a father who was probably dead and a mother who is a ghost.

I'm not at the point where I would bother going anywhere in person and digging up paper documents in Philly. If I had that kind of time right now, I'd focus on the more important brick walls in my tree. But I just wondered if there could be any other digital info out there on this mystery boy that someone might be able to access, or if anyone had any insights as to how I might find out more about him.

My best guess is he was the son of Cornelius and Emma, and for some reason was living with his grandparents.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by TracySam

Sadly, after 13-year-old Albert died in 1915, Joseph Kolb and his wife Mary Diegel Kolb had a baby born in 1916 and they evidently named him after Albert. This other Albert Kolb died at age 2 1/2 in the Spanish Flu pandemic.

Oh, Tracy -- so sorry. Sometimes we find these people and then we lose them quickly, and it's almost like a real death all over again...