Gordon Kuether 1909-1987

Gordon Kuether would be my 2nd cousin 2x removed.  His grandfather, Carl Kuether was the brother of my great-great grandmother, Louise Kuether (Kuter), who married Henry Groppel, the father of my great-grandmother, Martha Groppel Nichols.

So, doing my online Ancestry.com research, I found Gordon.  In 1910, he was 10 years old and was living with his parents Charles and Marie at 100 Maria Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota.  This is near the address where Louise and Henry Groppel lived in 1800.  Also living on that same street in 1800 was Carl Kuether, Gordon's grandfather.

In 1925, Gordon Kuether, along with two others was arrested for an attempted armed robbery.  The victim turned the tables and the robbery was unsuccessful.





In June 1928, at age 18, Gordon enlisted in the Marines.  He was at a Marine Corps base in San Diego, California until October 1928, when he was discharged for "inaptitude for service".

In the 1930 census, Gordon is an inmate at the Minnesota State Reformatory in St Cloud, Minnesota and is a woodworker in a door factory.

In 1942, Gordon sailed from Argentia, Newfoundland to the United States on the SS Santa Maria.  The passenger list indicates that his home address was 810 Sherbourne Avenue in St Paul, Minnesota.  He is noted to be serving at the Air Force Base in Newfoundland.

In April 1944, he signed on as a member of the crew on a Panamanian ship, Alderbaran, sailing from New York to the "High Seas".

In June 1994, the Alderbaran returned to New York, from Cuba.  Gordon is listed on the manifest as a Junior Engineer in the crew.  He was noted to have a tattoo on his right arm.

In November 1945, Gordon was on the US ship, SS Frederick Victory, traveling from Le Havre, France to New York, USA.  In this passenger list, his home address is again 810 Sherburne Street in St Paul, Minnesota.  He is also listed as a married man.

I have found no other records for Gordon, until his death on December 3, 1987 in St. Paul.

I would love to know the rest of Gordon's story.  How did he end up in the reformatory?  Did he re-enlist in the service during World War II?  Who did he marry?  Did he have any children?  What did he do between 1945 and 1987?  Perhaps I will be able to find more if and when we ever get to do a genealogy field trip to Minnesota.