My 3rd great uncle, Charles Noffke, married Louisa Rutkofski. This event must have occurred back in the “old country.” Just where the old country was has not yet been determined. All I know is that the Noffkes (and the Waldecks) were some sort of “German.” They might have been from Pomerania, but maybe not. The Waldecks-Noffkes had regular family reunions for years, decades actually, and yet their origins are more murky than my other branches. It would make sense if these people came from an area that is now Poland because I do have Polish DNA, but also it might fit Louisa’s maiden name (which can be German or Polish, according to trusty Google).
Anyway, I am writing about the disturbing story of Louisa’s death. Charles, who was born in 1843, passed away on 26 May 1897 in Caledonia, Michigan, where the family had settled. Louisa, born 24 April 1845, never married again and passed away on 6 July 1920. So she lived alone, presumably, for many of those 23 years. The couple had two children, a son Herman, born 1871 and a daughter, Clara, born 1875. Herman was married in 1900 and Clara may have married soon after.
I had never heard of Louisa until I began to do family history research, particularly on Ancestry.com. That’s when the Noffkes began to populate my family tree. She threatened to remain an enigma because I had little information and, after all, she is not such a very close relative.
But when I plugged the name Noffke into the newspaper database on Genealogy Bank, I was startled to learn the circumstances of Louisa’s death.
Clothing torn from her body? Some articles of clothing missing? Trampled weeds along the lakeshore? Scratches and bruises on the body?
DEATH FROM INDIGESTION?
It sure sounds as if she was murdered.
Clearly this shows that an investigation was opened into her death.
THEN SILENCE. Nothing else appears in the newspaper except information about probate of her estate.
What do you think happened to her?
For a link to a beautiful image of the lake go here.
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Adding Louisa’s death certificate, thanks to Su Leslie’s comment. Notice that the cause of death is even stranger: that she died by drowning in the lake while ill with acute indigestion. HUH? And notice that there is no DOB, although they seem to know her age in days. There are no parents listed, although her only son gave the information. I can’t tell who signed the certificate because of the spot on the paper.
One more thing. Her daughter Clara died eight years later, at age 53, in bed–dead from the gas from a coal stove.
When I saw the death by indigestion, it sounded familiar, and sure enough I had a relative who died from heart failure induced by acute indigestion. My brother (the dr) said that he’d never heard of such a thing. Maybe it was just some archaic term for unknown cause of death. Or perhaps when they did an autopsy, they found undigested food in her stomach.
But I agree—it sounds like the poor woman was murdered. Hard to believe there is no follow-up. I hate when that happens. And it seems to happen all the time. Have you tried newspapers.com or Chronicling America? Since this was before 1923, both databases should have papers from that year.
I do think indigestion was used a lot for heart attack, etc. But the other circumstances here are so strange. Thanks for the site tips!
Just checked newspapers.com, but I don’t see anything there. Sorry…
Thanks for checking, Amy!
I added more to the post.
Just took a look. Perhaps this is what our mothers meant when they warned us against swimming after eating.
Is it possible she died from drowning and the clothes fell off while she was in the water and the bruises were from being tossed around in the water?
Lol. Sure, Amy. Her clothes fell off! 😉
It could happen! 🙂
OMG What a story. I have several like this in my family tree…..just left hanging! I hope someone solves the mystery.
Mary, it is amazing how many mysteries have been solved (eventually) since I started this blog. I hope this will be one of them!
That does sound so suspicious! I have an aunt who drown in the Susquehana River in PA…and to me reading in this day and age, it sounded much like murder. Why would a fully dressed women in overcoat and rubber winter boots throw herself into a practically frozen river in February? She had a large contusion on her forehead as well. No purse, no jewelry…sounded to me like a robbery perhaps gone wrong and they dumped her but the police decided it was suicide by drowning. No follow up, nothing. Just the original clipping of them finding her body with no indication why this perfectly normal 50 year old teacher would drown herself. So strange the things we see now as suspicious, they didn’t back then. Have you contacted that county’s genealogical society? Often they have news clippings that you can’t find online. Worth sending an email maybe just to see.
PJ, that’s a good idea! Your story does also sound like murder, IMO. Not sure why the reluctance to see things this way. Incompetence. Maybe laziness. Maybe bribes.
I added the death certificate–even stranger.
Very odd. No mention of a coroner or doctor involved, no mention of autopsy, so maybe someone with a bad medical dictionary made the indigestion claim. Reads like a cover up but of what?
Maybe she dropped dead somewhere she shouldn’t have been and was taken to the lake.
Who paid for the funeral? If she was poor, she might have died in the wrong parish so was dumped elsewhere. I don’t know how things worked in the states, but in England it was not unknown for someone to be moved to another parish where they would have to pay for the funeral. Injuries may have been post-mortem, i.e. the process of being moved.
Might be less suspicious than it appears. Just bungling local authorities.
Barb, I thought it might have been a heart attack and called indigestion if it weren’t for the crime scene. On the other hand, could there have been something else wrong with her? Not sure how to research that last idea. Incompetency is the most likely scenario–and murder.
I added the death certificate. The cause of death is even more odd.
Truly creepy. Died of “indigestion”? Even today, and in many places, a coroner in does not have to be an M.D. From Wikipedia: “Coroners can be elected or appointed. Some are also sheriffs or funeral home directors. But many coroners aren’t doctors. There are also medical examiners, who usually are medical doctors but may not be forensic pathologists trained in death investigation.”
Not having MD medical examiners really gives one pause. I wonder what the true rate of murder was in “the old days.” Indigestion often meant a heart attack, I believe. But that doesn’t explain the crime scene!
I posted the death certificate. Check out the cause of death.
How sad. It does seem as though her death wasn’t accidental. Perhaps “further investigation” didn’t reveal anything new. It’s also possible that whatever was discovered wasn’t considered “newsworthy” any more. Newspapers are a great resource, but are only a record of what editors consider to be worth sharing with readers at a particular time. Even a murder will fade from attention if a “bigger story” comes along. Have you seen a death certificate? I ask because I have a relative who died in suspicious circumstances in Scotland. Her original death certificate contains a note that there would be a subsequent amended certificate issued, based on the inquiry that was to be held into her death. The original certificate was issued so that she could be buried. As it happens, the inquiry didn’t reveal anything new, and her death also seems like a mystery that will never be solved.
NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT! Haha, yes, the death certificate says she died by drowning in the lake! while she was sick with acute indigestion. I find that even “funnier”! I need to add that to the post. Interesting about the subsequent amended certificate. This certificate seems original and written up within a day, but not filed for a full month. And I don’t think it was a doctor examining her. It’s very shabby. It says her DOB is unknown, but then gives her age in days. And no parents’ names!
I added the death certificate. Go check it out! Thanks, Su.
Thanks for that Luanne. It really does just add to the mystery! I have found death certificates of various ancestors where the parents’ names are missing or incorrect (even when the deceased’s kids have been the informant). I suppose if the grandparents were dead or absent from children’s lives they may not have been talked about — or maybe children didn’t know their grandparents actual names. That’s not as strange as it sounds; I asked my hubby once what his grandparents names were and he said (hand on heart true) “um, Nana and Pop?”
The age / date of birth thing is really odd. I can’t get my head around that. Unless it was a case of either giving the age OR DOB. Or perhaps a DOB could only be recorded on the basis of evidence (birth cert??) I’m reaching here, obviously!
The delay in filing the certificate may have been because they were waiting for the investigation into her death to be completed. That could be the equivalent of the Scottish system of issuing an amendment to the record.
If her death was murder, I guess one question is: who benefited from her death. Do you know what her will says?
Oh man, that Nana and Pop story made me laugh so hard. Hahaha. I can’t imagine as I was always fascinated by my grandparents’ names, but maybe that is a little family historian in the making ;). Yes, there is a newspaper article that says that her will left everything to her two children, Herman and Clara.I haven’t found much yet for Clara’s family, but Herman’s family was plentiful and I’ve met (online) a couple of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Isn’t he funny. The really good thing about the “nana and pop” incident is that we spent a morning on the couch with my laptop and traced a whole bunch of people in his family tree (including Nana — Merle, and Pop — Wallace). I wouldn’t say he’s hooked on genealogy now, but he’s certainly much more sympathetic to my obsession.
It doesn’t sound like Clara’s Will provides any clues, and the fact the newspaper reported the Will, but no outcome of further investigation does suggest that if there was an actual investigation, it didn’t discover anything important. A sad story indeed.
Sounds pretty suspicious to me! I wonder what other records you could look for? If they investigated there would be police records but is there a way to get those? I’ve never looked into that. If someone was charged with a crime you would think it would be in the paper and then you could get the court records. Hmmmm. Very mysterious!
I’m going to add something to the post.
Well then I’m headed back over in a minute to see what it is. 😉
I tried to click on the death certificate and it wouldn’t open. It looks like there is a funeral home listed. I wonder if they have any records that might add to the picture?
It doesn’t say, but according to FindAGrave, she is buried at Lakeside Cemetery. Kind of a creepy name considering the circumstances of her death.
Yes! Kind of creepy indeed.
Fascinating story. From what I have read, it seems there was not much investigation done in those days. One, they didn’t have the skills (or today’s technology) and maybe people were just more accepting of what authorities reported. Nevertheless, very fascinating and disturbing.
So disturbing! It’s a story that could inspire a horror story!
Good grief. I accept your idea that death by indigestion could indicate a heart attack. But clothes torn from the body and bruises and scratches? Now, that’s just not right…..
I find it hard to explain those anyway but as foul play!
Thank you so much for visiting and commenting on my blog today! I’ve spent the last hour reading through your excellent site and have added it to my feedly. I have Michigan ancestors as well and years ago had a site called the Peaslee Puzzle tracing Peaslees in Michigan (not that I’ve ever been there…). Your coroner JB Hilliker is probably peripherally connected to my Peaslee line (sorry…). That is quite a mystery and a tragedy! But these are stories that make genealogy so much more than a collection of names. Sounds like violence of some sort- and a sad story.
Hi, I’m a nurse, and certainly not an expert on post mortems etc., however I can’t see how any Medical? person can ascertain from a body that had been immersed in water for however long, that the person died from indigestion. In fact, I am pretty sure there is no way of proving a person died of indigestion, nor indeed that indigestion itself is a cause of death. But I might be wrong!!! Good luck with this one. It’s interesting to see other’s take of this story. I am in Australia, not sure how many of these strange type of deaths we had in the past, (or in the present) but I know I have certainly read quite a bit of history where deaths have been very strange with no obvious reason. I guess partly it is just because of their lack of understanding, and also perhaps back then, how long bodies may have been lying out in the open and in all types of weather. Fascinating stuff. Cheers Vicki in South Australia.
What a puzzle. Fact is al;ways stranger than fiction. The poor woman. I would take a bet that many researchers would have a “Louisa type” unexplainable death in their family trees, Do love your posts.
Starting to wonder about dementia, but hard to believe she would be living alone.
There’s a TED talk on emergency medicine and women. https://www.ted.com/talks/alyson_mcgregor_why_medicine_often_has_dangerous_side_effects_for_women
It seems men and women often present with very different symptoms, especially for the likes of heart attacks – we are taught the paint starts as a tingling in the arms, but for women it is often a vague abdominal pain, so more akin to indigestion. Still doesn’t explain whey she was in the lake though.
It’s certainly an interesting story. On the introduction where you said your family has German names but you think it might be from what is now Poland because of DNA evidence; I lived in Germany for some time and you know it’s pretty complicated-like much of middle Europe. So most of the eastern side, including Berlin, was Slavic/polish up to the middle ages and then settled by german speaking peoples, that leaves a strong inheritance there. The writer Gunther Grass as I recall, wrote about the slavic nature of Brandenburg/Berlin
I vote “suspicious circumstances”.
[…] My great-grandmother’s brother was Charles Noffke (who married Louisa Rutkowski). If you recall, this was the woman whose death was public and unexplained. I wrote about her death in How to Explain This Death. […]