Chef Oscar Moeckel from Buffalo, N.Y.

This photo came to me from Germany, labelled "Onkel Oscar Möckel im Jahr 1886" (Uncle Oscar Möckel in the year 1886), but the photo was taken in Buffalo, New York. What was Uncle Oscar up to in America?

I checked the Census lists first and indeed I found one 47-year-old Oscar F. Moeckel in the 1900 Census of Buffalo, Erie, N.Y., born in March 1853 in Germany. He had immigrated to the US in 1882, and according to the same Census, by 1900 he had been married for 14 years. Oscar was a cook and a confectioner by profession.

Oscar was listed in the City Directory of Buffalo between 1886 and 1903 as a cook. In 1898, Oscar Franz Moeckel applied for a passport, and the application is a true genealogy gem! It reveals his exact birth date and place: March 23, 1853 in Auerbach, Germany. He had been naturalised in October 1887. He had travelled to the US on board the Warren Line SS Victoria from Liverpool on July 2nd, 1882. The application describes him as 5’6” (about 170 cm), with a round face and a high forehead, brown eyes and black hair. Sounds like our guy.

The passport application gives us one more important piece of information – Oscar asked for the passport to be delivered to the Kaltenbach Hotel in Niagara Falls, N.Y., that I assume was his employer.

And that would fit too. The Kaltenbach Hotel was opened by a fellow-expat from Germany, Mr. Andreas Kaltenbach in 1878. The hotel was famous for its excellent service, beautiful views and fine cuisine. Perhaps Oscar's cooking reminded Mr. Kaltenbach of the delicious meals he had enjoyed in Germany before leaving his homeland in 1848. I found this short description of the hotel and some photos on the Internet:

Source: Mediastorehouse.com

Perhaps the job was too stressful, or the climate too cold in Niagara Falls, but by 1909 Oscar had moved to St. Louis in Missouri. He can be found in the local city directories, working as a cook.

As I was trying to figure out the chronology of Oscar's life, I made another discovery. Seems that Oscar lived in London in 1881, just before he embarked on his journey to the United States. I find one Oscar Mackel, born in 1853, lodging in Marlebone, London. And guess what - his profession: confectioner!

I don’t know how long he stayed in London, or how he got there in the first place. I have found nothing about his birth or family in Germany. By the time he decided to take the life-changing journey to the New World, he was 29. He must have had his training in Germany or in London. He was unmarried at the time, so no family of his own to uproot.

I find no clues about his wife in any records. According to his passport application, he must have married in 1886, the same year this photo was taken. He was naturalised in 1887. In 1900, he was listed as married, the same in 1920 when he was lodging in St. Louis - his status was listed as married but with no wife lodging with him. In the 1940 Census, he was listed as widowed, lodging in the house of another widowed older gentleman. But I find no marriage record for Oscar anywhere. I wonder about the circumstances of his marriage and if Oscar was only married on paper, but of course it’s none of my business.

Oscar died on September 10, 1947, at the age of 94 in St. Louis and his remains were cremated at the Hillcrest Abbey Crematory and Mausoleum. I’m not sure if he ever had a proper funeral. His FindaGrave page says that “These are unclaimed cremains in storage at Valhalla Cemetery. Please contact Valhalla if interested in claiming them”. How sad is that! I wonder why the local German community did not see to that. According to newspaper mentions, Oscar was active in the local German community life until the late 1930s. He would have at least deserved a headstone...

Eventhough I can’t give Oscar a proper final resting place, I hope that his soul will find peace as I piece together his story and share it with you. I’d love to think he would appreciate that. I will add his photo to FindaGrave. Hopefully one day a relative can give him a proper send-off and claim this photo.