MILITARY HISTORY IN PAULDING COUNTY

By: Mark Holtsberry

Earnest Henry Stahlhut was born March 5, 1892, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, the son of William Frederick Stahlhut, who was born in Germany on May 20, 1866. The name of his birth mother has not been found. William later married Amelia Emily Krause on January 16, 1896, in Allen County, Indiana. Amelia was born in Germany in August of 1853.

By 1900, Earnest, along with his brother, two sisters, three stepbrothers, and one stepsister, were living on Cochren Street in the 8th Ward of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Earnest was attending school, and his father William was working as a teamster.

By 1910, while living in St. Joseph Township, Allen County, Indiana, Earnest was working as a hired farmhand for Charles B. Tonkel.

On June 5, 1917, Earnest registered for the World War I draft. He traveled to the 30th Precinct in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He was described as tall with a slender build, blue eyes, and auburn hair. At the time, he was working for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Ft. Wayne as a blacksmith helper.

Earnest enlisted in the Navy in Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 15, 1917. He served as a Seaman Fireman, Second Class, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.

He later became ill and was listed as a patient aboard ship. On March 3, 1918, he was transferred to the Naval Hospital in Norfolk. Earnest was suffering from malignant diphtheria, nose hemorrhage, and hemorrhaging of the stomach and intestines.

On March 4, 1918, at 4:10 p.m., Earnest passed away at the Naval Hospital. His father, William, who was living in Antwerp, Ohio, at the time, was notified.

Earnest was brought to Lindenwood Cemetery in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where he was buried with full military honors.

His father, William, passed away on August 9, 1936, and was buried beside Earnest in Lindenwood Cemetery.

…Until Next Time!