Connecting the Lutters of Newark, New Jersey

A DNA match caused me to revisit the Other Lutters of Newark, New Jersey. This is what I call the people using the surname Lutter or Luther who lived in Newark in the 1800s and early 1900s. They may or may not have been related to my direct immigrant ancestor, Herman Lutter (1860-1924).

Herman arrived in 1881 after most of the Other Lutters had already arrived, bought homes, and created more Lutters. Herman did not associate with them, at least not on paper. 

Shared DNA between Jody's aunt and the descendant of Ernst.
AncestryDNA
One segment. As of this writing, Ancestry offers no chromosome browser.

At AncestryDNA, my paternal aunt showed a 24 centimorgen match to a great grandson of Ernst Lutter (1841-1916).

The question: Is Ernst Lutter related to my Lutter line?

We are looking at autosomal DNA. We know that there is a connection somewhere between one of my aunt's ancestral lines and one of this DNA cousin's lines. We cannot tell at Ancestry if Lutter DNA is the source of this shared segment.

We must turn to paper documentation.

Ernst Lutter left Prussia and arrived in New York in 1867 and settled in Newark, New Jersey. He travelled with his wife, Charlotte Fischer, their baby, Carl, Ernst's mother, Wilhelmine, and Charlotte's sister, Louise. Note that the relationships are not detailed on this record. I am filling them in based on review of other records.

1867 ship passenger record:
Ernst Luther, Charlotte, Wilhelmine, Carl, and Louise Fischer

I have no ship record for Herman. Having this robust record for Ernst is wonderful.

In the 1870 federal census in Newark, Ernst and Charlotte are listed with two more children, Bertha and Florence.

1870 Newark, New Jersey
Household of Ernst Lutter

Where was Wilhelmine, Ernst's mother, in 1870?

She was residing with Charles Luther in Newark. Next to them was the household of Robert Luther.

1870 Newark, New Jersey
Households of Charles Luther and Robert Luther

Note that in these entries for 1870, Ernst's place of birth was Turingen, while Charles and Robert were born in Schwarzburg Rudolstadt. This is why I did not link the three together in the early stages of research.

Charles and Louise married in New York City in 1870. This was after the 1870 census was taken and after the birth of their first child.

This marriage record is full of details. The full names of bride and groom were written. Charles August John Lutter married Louise Wilhelmine Johanne Fischer. He was born in Scheibe, Schwarzburg Rudolstadt, Germany. His parents were Florence Lutter and Wilhelmine Lutz.

Scheibe is where my Herman Lutter was born- but in Türingen, not Schwarzburg Rudolstadt. I think what may have happened was that the Lutters who left Scheibe in the 1860s knew the area as Schwarzburg Rudolstadt. By 1880, when Herman was preparing to leave, Türingen took over control of a broader area, including Scheibe.

Map circa 1870 showing the German areas from which Lutters and Fischers hail.
(The map is written in Italian.)

Charlotte and Louise Fischer were from nearby Meiningen.

Wilhelmina Luther died October 17, 1872 in Newark. The names of her parents and place of burial are not provided on her entry in the death ledger book.

Wilhelmina Luther died October 17, 1872 in Newark.
Deaths New Jersey. Book AU.

After finding this DNA match, I realized that I did not have the death certificate of Ernst Lutter from 1916. This document could provide the names of parents. I had skipped the year 1916 entirely as I collected Lutter death certificates. (I mention this because one other Lutter died in 1916 and requires her own future article.)

Death certificate of Ernst Lutter, died August 14, 1916 in Newark.
His parents are written on this record.

Ernst's parents were Floyd Lutter and Wilhelmine Lutz- according to the death certificate.

Robert Lutter died in 1886. His death certificate did not give names of his parents.

Charles Lutter died in 1920. His parents were listed as Florian Lutter and Amelia.

We have another sibling who links to this group as evidenced by her own documents. Johanetta died in 1904. Her parents were listed as Florenz and Wilhelmina Ludder. On her second marriage record in 1898 to Ludwig Lichtenfels (1826-1904), her parents were Florenz Lutter and Wilhelmine Lutz.

Plus, my aunt shares DNA with a descendant of Johanetta.

Ernst and Charles were buried in Fairmount Cemetery in Newark. Robert and Johanetta were buried in Woodland Cemetery in Newark.

Family Tree
Children of Florenz Lutter and Wilhelmine Lutz
born 1830s and 1840s in Scheibe, Schwarzburg Rudolstadt.
(Created at Canva.com)

There is another Lutter in Newark during this time period: Emilie Lutter, born about 1839. In 1866 in Newark she married Franz Jaeger. Is she another child of Florenz Lutter and Wilhelmine Lutz? She died in 1892 and was buried in Woodland Cemetery. No parents were listed on her death certificate.

My uncle shares DNA with a descendant of Emilie. 

In 1873 Franz Jäger was a godparent at the baptism of Emma Franziska Anna Lutter at First German Presbyterian Church in Newark. Emma was a daughter of Ernst Lutter and Charlotte Fischer. She died in 1884 and was buried in Woodland Cemetery.

Baptism of Emma Lutter, 1873 in Newark.
Frank Jäger was a godparent.
Collection at Ancestry

So how do these Lutters connect to mine? Not sure. My great great grandfather, Herman Lutter, had an uncle named Johann Georg Florentin Lutter, born September 25, 1799. Maybe he was "Florenz," husband of Wilhelmine Lutz and father of Johanetta, Ernst, Robert, and Charles; and perhaps Emilie.

Current map showing location of Scheibe (now Neuhaus am Rennweg) in Germany

In an upcoming article I will discuss the other Lutter death from 1916.

Pending Orders

 Below is the list of records not available online that were ordered and not yet fulfilled.

The last published list was March 11, 2025.

Death certificate of John Daniel Mason, 1932

Requested from State of Connecticut. Forms VS-39DST mailed March 26, 2025.

$20 money order.

Adoption Record, 1936

Requested of the Essex County, New Jersey Surrogate's Court mailed March 11, 2025.

$15 and $20 checks. (In-person request on February 25, 2025 was refused.)

Checks not cleared as of March 29, 2025.

Marriage record of Sarah Koppel and Kopel Mendlinger, 1943

Requested of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services mailed March 7, 2025.

$18 check. (No, this record is not included in the digitized collection of Kings County marriages 1943.)

Check not cleared as of March 29, 2025.

Death certificate of James Cummings, 1912

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.

$22 check. (Died in Catskill, Greene County, New York March 11, 1912.) Check cleared July 30, 2024.

Death certificate of Jane Cummings, 1899

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.

$22 check. (Died in Catskill, Greene County, New York July 7, 1899.) Check cleared July 30, 2024.

Death certificate of John Grant, 1882

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.

$22 check. (Died in Catskill, Greene County, New York December 27, 1882.) Check cleared July 30, 2024.

Probate records of Jonas Long, 1837, and William Owens, 1853

Requested of the Richmond County, New York Surrogate's Court. Email dated June 25, 2023.

No fee at this time.

Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz, 1925

Requested from City of Bridgeport and State of Connecticut. Forms VS-39DST mailed April 6, 2023. (Same form number on both town and state forms.)

$20 each via money orders.

Update: April 20, 2024 received document from State of Connecticut. Still waiting for the copy from the City of Bridgeport.

Update: March 26, 2025 mailed again to the City of Bridgeport with another money order for $20. Form specific to City (no number) found here.

Death certificate of Edward Sheeby [Edmond Sheehy], 1893

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed March 1, 2022.

$22 check cleared April 2, 2022.

Originally requested in 2015.

Town of Amenia provided an obscure ledger entry in 2023.

Katherine ODonnell and Her Family

Seven years ago I asked for additional information on Kathryn ODonnell (1858-1939). She was a sister of my great great grandfather, Patrick Francis ODonnell (1856-1931).

Kathryn was born in Killybegs, County Donegal, Ireland. By her first husband, Charles Mason, she had two children, Margaret and John. She then remarried to Patrick Kennedy. She died in California in 1939. I had been able to track Margaret's moves, marriage, and child.

Finally fuller stories for Kathryn's son, John Mason, and her second husband, Patrick Kennedy, have come to light!

Spoiler alert: I have not found additional information on Charles Mason, the first husband. His first and only appearance is in the 1885 state census in New Jersey. 

New Jersey State Census, 1885. Bayonne, Hudson County.
Charles Mason, Irish male, age 20-60.
Kate Mason, Irish female, age 20-60.

In the 1900 census, Kathryn was in Brooklyn with her two children but no husband. A missing husband and widowhood either meant that he died or left the family.

1900 United States Federal Census
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Katie Mason and her two children, Margarite and John. She worked as a nurse.

Since writing the original article in 2018, indexes of deaths have come online for the State of New Jersey and Kings County, New York. I have not found a good match for Charles Mason. Indexes for deaths in the State of Connecticut do not start until 1897. If Charles died after Kathryn appeared as a widow in the 1900 census, this record could be anywhere.

Using the newspapers now available for searching online, I set out to discover when Kathryn acquired her second husband.

Newspaper article in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
November 27, 1914.
Widow of Patrick Kennedy to inherit his estate.

Patrick Kennedy was born about 1841 in Ireland. He married Ellen Callahan and they had one son, John, born around 1872. Patrick worked as a police officer in New York City. By 1900 he was retired and worked on his land in Connecticut as a farmer.

In 1911, Ellen died. In 1912, John shot his father, Patrick. John was unable to see or hear because of typhoid fever, an infection suffered when he was a child. Yet somehow he was able to purposely carry out this action.

Newspaper article. John Kennedy held in jail after shooting his father,
Patrick Kennedy, in Stratford, Connecticut. 1914.

Patrick was not expected to live. Enter Kathryn. She nursed him from the brink of death.

John Kennedy was sent to the Connecticut State Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, Middlesex County. He died there in 1930.

Patrick and Kathryn married in April of 1914. Patrick Kennedy died on November 22, 1914. Kathryn inherited one-third of his estate.

In 1920, Kathryn was still in Connecticut. She was living in Bridgeport with her son, John Mason. By 1930 she was living in California with her daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and James Joyce.

What became of John Daniel Mason, the son of Kathryn ODonnell and Charles Mason?

Searching newspapers led to the answers- probably. (The last death certificate I ordered from the State of Connecticut took one year to fulfill. Two years and counting for fulfillment by the City of Bridgeport.) John D Mason was buried in Saint Michael's Cemetery in Stratford - the same cemetery as Patrick Kennedy. He died July 31, 1932, age 43 years. "World War . . . Co. C. 319th Inf." is carved on the stone.

An obituary appeared in a few newspapers in Connecticut and Brooklyn. A mother and sister were mentioned but not by name.

Newspaper article 1932
Johnny Mason, dancer, died in alley in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Johnny Mason danced with Lew Dockstader (1856-1924) and George Primrose (1852-1919). Is this the same John Daniel Mason? Throughout his records he listed his occupation as a laborer.

Library of Congress
Primrose & Dockstader's Great American Minstrels

I also found advertisements for a boxer or fighter by the same name.

Ad in newspaper about a boxing fight.
Johnny Mason versus Eddie Mack.
October 30, 1922 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

I was hoping to find pictures of John Mason. He performed with some well-known personalities. Perhaps he was an unnamed background actor in the vaudeville acts.

I will order the death certificate to see if the names of the parents are Kathryn ODonnell and Charles Mason. This could take a year for Connecticut to do.

So that is the story of Kathryn ODonnell's son, John Mason, and her second husband, Patrick Kennedy. Still missing is what became of her first husband, Charles Mason.