Adolph Louis Luetgert, born on December 27, 1845, was originally named Adolph Ludwig Lütgert. He was born in a town called Gütersloh, located in the province of Westphalia, which is now a part of Germany.[4]
His parents, Christian Heinrich Lütgert and Margreta Sophia Severin, had sixteen children; twelve other sons and two daughters. Adolph was the forth born in the family, and he also had a twin named Heinrich Friedrich "Fritz" Luetgert, who died before Adolph around 1894 or 1895. While Adolph was growing up, his father dealt with animal hides and tallow wool as well a dabbling into real estate.
Adolph's schooling lasted from about the age of seven until the age of fourteen and after those seven years of schooling, Adolph became an apprentice for Ferdinand Knabel who taught him about the tanning business. During the time of the apprenticeship, Adolph continued to live in Westphalia however as an apprentice he lived with his boss instead of his family. After working for Knabel for two and a half years, Luetgert began to travel around Germany, working wherever he could. At the age of nineteen, Luetgert traveled to London, England where he stayed for about six months but left because he was unable to find a job other than scrubbing restaurant floors.[5]
Life in America[edit]
Adolph Luetgert came to New York in around 1865 or 1866 when he was about twenty years old. Like many others, he had heard that thousands of his countrymen were going to America with very little money. With about thirty dollars to his name, Luetgert boarded a ship bound for the United States.
Luetgert arrived in New York and after a short time there he went to Quincy, Illinois to meet up with some friends of his brother who were living there. He stayed in Quincy for about four months before moving to Chicago in search of a job at a tannery. He found a job at Union Hide and Leather Company. He did not have a steady job or constant pay at the tannery, so he began to also take on random jobs such as moving houses. From 1867 to 1868, Luetgert got a job at another tannery called Engle, Crossley & Co. He then worked at another tannery called Craig, Clark & Company, but later returned to work at the Engle Brother's Tannery until 1872.
Luetgert then started his own business with the four thousand dollars he had saved. Initially, he went into the liquor business before starting his sausage company in 1879.
He married his first wife, Caroline Roepke, sometime between 1870 and 1872. She died on November 17, 1877. He married his second wife Louise Bicknese, two months after Caroline's death, on January 18, 1878. Luetgert had six children—two with Caroline and four with Louise. Only three of his children survived past the age of 2.[5]
Murder and police investigation[edit]
