Andrew was the only child born to Forest Temple Mathews and Katherine Larue Obrien (nee French), who married on 21 Sep 1920 in Goshen, Indiana. It was a second marriage for Larue. As Katherine Larue French, she had previously married Fred E. Obrien in 1914, with whom she had a son named Lawrence Fletcher, born on 30 Apr 1915.
On Alfred's birth certificate, he is noted as Larue's third child, only two of the children still living, so Larue had had a second child with either Fred Obrien or Forest Mathews.
Alfred's parents divorced in December 1926 and his mother married third-husband Noah Delbert Ackles on 26 Mar 1927 in Lake Co., Indiana. Besides his half-brother Lawrence Obrien, Andrew would be joined by three more half-brothers—twins Ronald and Donald, born on 14 Jan 1928, and Henry on 4 Oct 1931. There were also three step-sisters in the mix—Thelma, Irma and Carmen Ackles, Noah's children with his first wife, Valerie Dodd, and step-siblings Chester and Ethel Dodd from Valerie's first marriage to John Frank Dodd.
Noah and Larue's blended family appeared together on the 1930 Census, living at 374 Sibley St. in Hammond, Lake Co., Indiana. Noah, 48, was still working as a mason contractor. Larue, 33, was keeping house, tending to her son Alfred Matthews, 6, and the twins, Ronald and Donald, 2. Also there was a lodger. The following year, son Henry Earl joined the family on 4 Oct 1931.
The year 1934 brought a horrific loss with the suicide of Andrew's step-sister Irma Bernice McGirr on 6 September due to phenol / carbolic acid poisoning. She was only 27.
The 1940 Census placed the Ackles family at 910 W. Laporte St. in Plymouth, Marshall Co., Indiana. Noah Ackles, 61, was still working as a mason. Larue, 42 was working as a seam sealer in an auto radiator factory, likely McCords. There were still four children at home—Alfred, 16, Ronald and Donald, 12, and Henry, 8. From this point on, Alfred was using Ackles as his surname rather than Mathews.
The attack on Pearl Harbor just before Christmas in 1941, dragged the U.S. into World War II and Noah and Larue's boys were called to action. First to go was Alfred. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Mon 6 Mar 1944 p. 13) "A/c Alfred T. Ackles has been transferred from Keesler field, Biloxi, Miss., to Mississippi State college at Starkville, according to word received here by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, of 1006 South Jackson street. Prior to his induction into the air corps Cadet Ackles was a member of the South Bend Junior Symphony orchestra in which he played as a drummer. He is a member of the school dance band at Mississippi State and also played as a member of the field band while at Keesler field."
Three of Alfred's half-brothers also joined the war effort. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Wed 5 Apr 1944 p. 21) "Private Roland P. Ackles and his brother, Private Donald J. Ackles, have returned to Camp Atterbury, Ind., after visiting their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, 1006 South Jackson street…Another son of Mr. and Mrs. Ackles, Aviation Cadet Alfred T. Ackles is stationed at the Mississippi state college at Starkville and a fourth son, Sergt. Lawrence F. O'Brien, is with a railroad division in India."
With just 13-year-old son Henry still at home, trouble was brewing. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Fri 13 Apr 1945 p. 17) "Divorce Cases Filed. ACKLES—LaRue Ackles, 917 East Fourth street, Mishawaka, against Noah Delbert Ackles; married March 26, 1924, separated March 18, 1945; charges cruelty and asks custody of one child; superior court No. 2."
On 12 Oct 1946, Alfred married Mary Ann Cwiklinski in Porter Co., Indiana. They welcomed son Timothy Roman Matthews Ackles on 11 Jan 1949 in St. Joseph Co., Indiana.
Besides enduring the death of his first wife Valerie Kemp Dodd in 1915, and the divorces from wives Rena Asbury Fitterling, Edna Viall Casselman and Alfred's mother Larue, Noah moved into a trailer, and abandoned his work as a self-employed mason contractor and went to work for Bendix Corporation, a manufacturer of brake systems for cars and trucks. Rough times.
Tragically for all concerned, on 26 Jan 1950, Alfred's step-father Noah "Bert" Ackles purposefully ingested tincture of iodine and died at age 67. Alfred's mother Larue was the informant on his death certificate. After his death, Larue relocated out west, got a job as a registered nurse and eventually married fourth-husband Robert Poinier. She died on April Fools Day, 1 Apr 1973 at age 76.
For his part, Alfred joined the National Guard. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 22 Jul 1951 p. 23) "[with photo] Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue, an officer of company G, discusses the training trip with his wife, Mary Ann. South Bend's two companies will be among 8,500 other Hoosiers training at Grayling, on the wooded shores of Lake Margarethe. Lieut. Ackles is an assistant to the company commander of the South Bend units and will be planning many of the training exercises. Mrs. Ackles takes an active part in national guard work too as a member of the Company G. Guardets, who plan entertainment and social events for the guardsmen."
This will give you an idea of one of the training exercises Alfred planned. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 9 Jun 1951 p. 2) "We pushed off for the attack through a field of tall grass. The enemy was 400 yards ahead. The night was dark and heavy with heat and mosquitoes. We were an army combat patrol. We were supposed to push an entrenched enemy force off a ridge. We were ready. On a sandy road under a cloudy, moonless sky, this 11-man patrol prepared. The men were all South Bend men of G company, Second battalion, 292d regiment of Indiana's 38th national guard division, the 'Cyclone' division, the 'avengers of Bataan.' Most of the men had never seen real combat before. And they didn't Friday night either, but they were close to actual combat conditions. They were engaged in a tactical problem, attacking members of their own company in a sham battle in the rough and wooded terrain south of Ireland road near Locust road right her in St. Joseph county. The youthful attackers, armed with M-1 rifles, listened intently to Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles explain the problem as they darkened their hands and faces with burnt cork and readied their ammo and gear. This was their first night problem and the first of such manuevers for this guard group this season. The problem: To push the enemy off a ridge and dig in and hold…"
Alfred was by all accounts an effective leader. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 29 Aug 1951 p. 22) "G company of the 293d regiment of the Indiana national guard division was awarded the Peter Anderson national guard trophy Tuesday night after inspection by the commanding officer of the 38th guard division in the army, 727 South Eddy street. At the inspection left to right are Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue; …"
Unfortunately, things were not going as smoothly on the home front. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 11 Nov 1951 p. 38) "ACKLES—Mary Anne Ackles, 1016 ½ West Western avenue, vs. Alfred T. Ackles; married Oct. 12, 1946; separated Sept. 12, 1951; charges cruelty; and asks custody of child; circuit court."
Alfred appears to have remarried sometime between 1957 and 1960 and had a child, born circa 1961. (Feel free to help me out here via the "other corrections" edit feature.)
Alfred ended up in Guyana, South America, serving as a Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army where he died on 11 Apr 1969 at age 45. His death was noted as "non-hostile; died of illness/disease."
Alfred would miss son Timothy's wedding on 12 Sep 1985. Timothy and wife Jennifer had a daughter named Guinevere. Sadly, she would never know her grandfather Alfred.
On Alfred's birth certificate, he is noted as Larue's third child, only two of the children still living, so Larue had had a second child with either Fred Obrien or Forest Mathews.
Alfred's parents divorced in December 1926 and his mother married third-husband Noah Delbert Ackles on 26 Mar 1927 in Lake Co., Indiana. Besides his half-brother Lawrence Obrien, Andrew would be joined by three more half-brothers—twins Ronald and Donald, born on 14 Jan 1928, and Henry on 4 Oct 1931. There were also three step-sisters in the mix—Thelma, Irma and Carmen Ackles, Noah's children with his first wife, Valerie Dodd, and step-siblings Chester and Ethel Dodd from Valerie's first marriage to John Frank Dodd.
Noah and Larue's blended family appeared together on the 1930 Census, living at 374 Sibley St. in Hammond, Lake Co., Indiana. Noah, 48, was still working as a mason contractor. Larue, 33, was keeping house, tending to her son Alfred Matthews, 6, and the twins, Ronald and Donald, 2. Also there was a lodger. The following year, son Henry Earl joined the family on 4 Oct 1931.
The year 1934 brought a horrific loss with the suicide of Andrew's step-sister Irma Bernice McGirr on 6 September due to phenol / carbolic acid poisoning. She was only 27.
The 1940 Census placed the Ackles family at 910 W. Laporte St. in Plymouth, Marshall Co., Indiana. Noah Ackles, 61, was still working as a mason. Larue, 42 was working as a seam sealer in an auto radiator factory, likely McCords. There were still four children at home—Alfred, 16, Ronald and Donald, 12, and Henry, 8. From this point on, Alfred was using Ackles as his surname rather than Mathews.
The attack on Pearl Harbor just before Christmas in 1941, dragged the U.S. into World War II and Noah and Larue's boys were called to action. First to go was Alfred. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Mon 6 Mar 1944 p. 13) "A/c Alfred T. Ackles has been transferred from Keesler field, Biloxi, Miss., to Mississippi State college at Starkville, according to word received here by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, of 1006 South Jackson street. Prior to his induction into the air corps Cadet Ackles was a member of the South Bend Junior Symphony orchestra in which he played as a drummer. He is a member of the school dance band at Mississippi State and also played as a member of the field band while at Keesler field."
Three of Alfred's half-brothers also joined the war effort. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Wed 5 Apr 1944 p. 21) "Private Roland P. Ackles and his brother, Private Donald J. Ackles, have returned to Camp Atterbury, Ind., after visiting their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, 1006 South Jackson street…Another son of Mr. and Mrs. Ackles, Aviation Cadet Alfred T. Ackles is stationed at the Mississippi state college at Starkville and a fourth son, Sergt. Lawrence F. O'Brien, is with a railroad division in India."
With just 13-year-old son Henry still at home, trouble was brewing. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Fri 13 Apr 1945 p. 17) "Divorce Cases Filed. ACKLES—LaRue Ackles, 917 East Fourth street, Mishawaka, against Noah Delbert Ackles; married March 26, 1924, separated March 18, 1945; charges cruelty and asks custody of one child; superior court No. 2."
On 12 Oct 1946, Alfred married Mary Ann Cwiklinski in Porter Co., Indiana. They welcomed son Timothy Roman Matthews Ackles on 11 Jan 1949 in St. Joseph Co., Indiana.
Besides enduring the death of his first wife Valerie Kemp Dodd in 1915, and the divorces from wives Rena Asbury Fitterling, Edna Viall Casselman and Alfred's mother Larue, Noah moved into a trailer, and abandoned his work as a self-employed mason contractor and went to work for Bendix Corporation, a manufacturer of brake systems for cars and trucks. Rough times.
Tragically for all concerned, on 26 Jan 1950, Alfred's step-father Noah "Bert" Ackles purposefully ingested tincture of iodine and died at age 67. Alfred's mother Larue was the informant on his death certificate. After his death, Larue relocated out west, got a job as a registered nurse and eventually married fourth-husband Robert Poinier. She died on April Fools Day, 1 Apr 1973 at age 76.
For his part, Alfred joined the National Guard. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 22 Jul 1951 p. 23) "[with photo] Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue, an officer of company G, discusses the training trip with his wife, Mary Ann. South Bend's two companies will be among 8,500 other Hoosiers training at Grayling, on the wooded shores of Lake Margarethe. Lieut. Ackles is an assistant to the company commander of the South Bend units and will be planning many of the training exercises. Mrs. Ackles takes an active part in national guard work too as a member of the Company G. Guardets, who plan entertainment and social events for the guardsmen."
This will give you an idea of one of the training exercises Alfred planned. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 9 Jun 1951 p. 2) "We pushed off for the attack through a field of tall grass. The enemy was 400 yards ahead. The night was dark and heavy with heat and mosquitoes. We were an army combat patrol. We were supposed to push an entrenched enemy force off a ridge. We were ready. On a sandy road under a cloudy, moonless sky, this 11-man patrol prepared. The men were all South Bend men of G company, Second battalion, 292d regiment of Indiana's 38th national guard division, the 'Cyclone' division, the 'avengers of Bataan.' Most of the men had never seen real combat before. And they didn't Friday night either, but they were close to actual combat conditions. They were engaged in a tactical problem, attacking members of their own company in a sham battle in the rough and wooded terrain south of Ireland road near Locust road right her in St. Joseph county. The youthful attackers, armed with M-1 rifles, listened intently to Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles explain the problem as they darkened their hands and faces with burnt cork and readied their ammo and gear. This was their first night problem and the first of such manuevers for this guard group this season. The problem: To push the enemy off a ridge and dig in and hold…"
Alfred was by all accounts an effective leader. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 29 Aug 1951 p. 22) "G company of the 293d regiment of the Indiana national guard division was awarded the Peter Anderson national guard trophy Tuesday night after inspection by the commanding officer of the 38th guard division in the army, 727 South Eddy street. At the inspection left to right are Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue; …"
Unfortunately, things were not going as smoothly on the home front. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 11 Nov 1951 p. 38) "ACKLES—Mary Anne Ackles, 1016 ½ West Western avenue, vs. Alfred T. Ackles; married Oct. 12, 1946; separated Sept. 12, 1951; charges cruelty; and asks custody of child; circuit court."
Alfred appears to have remarried sometime between 1957 and 1960 and had a child, born circa 1961. (Feel free to help me out here via the "other corrections" edit feature.)
Alfred ended up in Guyana, South America, serving as a Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army where he died on 11 Apr 1969 at age 45. His death was noted as "non-hostile; died of illness/disease."
Alfred would miss son Timothy's wedding on 12 Sep 1985. Timothy and wife Jennifer had a daughter named Guinevere. Sadly, she would never know her grandfather Alfred.
Andrew was the only child born to Forest Temple Mathews and Katherine Larue Obrien (nee French), who married on 21 Sep 1920 in Goshen, Indiana. It was a second marriage for Larue. As Katherine Larue French, she had previously married Fred E. Obrien in 1914, with whom she had a son named Lawrence Fletcher, born on 30 Apr 1915.
On Alfred's birth certificate, he is noted as Larue's third child, only two of the children still living, so Larue had had a second child with either Fred Obrien or Forest Mathews.
Alfred's parents divorced in December 1926 and his mother married third-husband Noah Delbert Ackles on 26 Mar 1927 in Lake Co., Indiana. Besides his half-brother Lawrence Obrien, Andrew would be joined by three more half-brothers—twins Ronald and Donald, born on 14 Jan 1928, and Henry on 4 Oct 1931. There were also three step-sisters in the mix—Thelma, Irma and Carmen Ackles, Noah's children with his first wife, Valerie Dodd, and step-siblings Chester and Ethel Dodd from Valerie's first marriage to John Frank Dodd.
Noah and Larue's blended family appeared together on the 1930 Census, living at 374 Sibley St. in Hammond, Lake Co., Indiana. Noah, 48, was still working as a mason contractor. Larue, 33, was keeping house, tending to her son Alfred Matthews, 6, and the twins, Ronald and Donald, 2. Also there was a lodger. The following year, son Henry Earl joined the family on 4 Oct 1931.
The year 1934 brought a horrific loss with the suicide of Andrew's step-sister Irma Bernice McGirr on 6 September due to phenol / carbolic acid poisoning. She was only 27.
The 1940 Census placed the Ackles family at 910 W. Laporte St. in Plymouth, Marshall Co., Indiana. Noah Ackles, 61, was still working as a mason. Larue, 42 was working as a seam sealer in an auto radiator factory, likely McCords. There were still four children at home—Alfred, 16, Ronald and Donald, 12, and Henry, 8. From this point on, Alfred was using Ackles as his surname rather than Mathews.
The attack on Pearl Harbor just before Christmas in 1941, dragged the U.S. into World War II and Noah and Larue's boys were called to action. First to go was Alfred. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Mon 6 Mar 1944 p. 13) "A/c Alfred T. Ackles has been transferred from Keesler field, Biloxi, Miss., to Mississippi State college at Starkville, according to word received here by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, of 1006 South Jackson street. Prior to his induction into the air corps Cadet Ackles was a member of the South Bend Junior Symphony orchestra in which he played as a drummer. He is a member of the school dance band at Mississippi State and also played as a member of the field band while at Keesler field."
Three of Alfred's half-brothers also joined the war effort. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Wed 5 Apr 1944 p. 21) "Private Roland P. Ackles and his brother, Private Donald J. Ackles, have returned to Camp Atterbury, Ind., after visiting their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, 1006 South Jackson street…Another son of Mr. and Mrs. Ackles, Aviation Cadet Alfred T. Ackles is stationed at the Mississippi state college at Starkville and a fourth son, Sergt. Lawrence F. O'Brien, is with a railroad division in India."
With just 13-year-old son Henry still at home, trouble was brewing. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Fri 13 Apr 1945 p. 17) "Divorce Cases Filed. ACKLES—LaRue Ackles, 917 East Fourth street, Mishawaka, against Noah Delbert Ackles; married March 26, 1924, separated March 18, 1945; charges cruelty and asks custody of one child; superior court No. 2."
On 12 Oct 1946, Alfred married Mary Ann Cwiklinski in Porter Co., Indiana. They welcomed son Timothy Roman Matthews Ackles on 11 Jan 1949 in St. Joseph Co., Indiana.
Besides enduring the death of his first wife Valerie Kemp Dodd in 1915, and the divorces from wives Rena Asbury Fitterling, Edna Viall Casselman and Alfred's mother Larue, Noah moved into a trailer, and abandoned his work as a self-employed mason contractor and went to work for Bendix Corporation, a manufacturer of brake systems for cars and trucks. Rough times.
Tragically for all concerned, on 26 Jan 1950, Alfred's step-father Noah "Bert" Ackles purposefully ingested tincture of iodine and died at age 67. Alfred's mother Larue was the informant on his death certificate. After his death, Larue relocated out west, got a job as a registered nurse and eventually married fourth-husband Robert Poinier. She died on April Fools Day, 1 Apr 1973 at age 76.
For his part, Alfred joined the National Guard. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 22 Jul 1951 p. 23) "[with photo] Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue, an officer of company G, discusses the training trip with his wife, Mary Ann. South Bend's two companies will be among 8,500 other Hoosiers training at Grayling, on the wooded shores of Lake Margarethe. Lieut. Ackles is an assistant to the company commander of the South Bend units and will be planning many of the training exercises. Mrs. Ackles takes an active part in national guard work too as a member of the Company G. Guardets, who plan entertainment and social events for the guardsmen."
This will give you an idea of one of the training exercises Alfred planned. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 9 Jun 1951 p. 2) "We pushed off for the attack through a field of tall grass. The enemy was 400 yards ahead. The night was dark and heavy with heat and mosquitoes. We were an army combat patrol. We were supposed to push an entrenched enemy force off a ridge. We were ready. On a sandy road under a cloudy, moonless sky, this 11-man patrol prepared. The men were all South Bend men of G company, Second battalion, 292d regiment of Indiana's 38th national guard division, the 'Cyclone' division, the 'avengers of Bataan.' Most of the men had never seen real combat before. And they didn't Friday night either, but they were close to actual combat conditions. They were engaged in a tactical problem, attacking members of their own company in a sham battle in the rough and wooded terrain south of Ireland road near Locust road right her in St. Joseph county. The youthful attackers, armed with M-1 rifles, listened intently to Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles explain the problem as they darkened their hands and faces with burnt cork and readied their ammo and gear. This was their first night problem and the first of such manuevers for this guard group this season. The problem: To push the enemy off a ridge and dig in and hold…"
Alfred was by all accounts an effective leader. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 29 Aug 1951 p. 22) "G company of the 293d regiment of the Indiana national guard division was awarded the Peter Anderson national guard trophy Tuesday night after inspection by the commanding officer of the 38th guard division in the army, 727 South Eddy street. At the inspection left to right are Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue; …"
Unfortunately, things were not going as smoothly on the home front. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 11 Nov 1951 p. 38) "ACKLES—Mary Anne Ackles, 1016 ½ West Western avenue, vs. Alfred T. Ackles; married Oct. 12, 1946; separated Sept. 12, 1951; charges cruelty; and asks custody of child; circuit court."
Alfred appears to have remarried sometime between 1957 and 1960 and had a child, born circa 1961. (Feel free to help me out here via the "other corrections" edit feature.)
Alfred ended up in Guyana, South America, serving as a Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army where he died on 11 Apr 1969 at age 45. His death was noted as "non-hostile; died of illness/disease."
Alfred would miss son Timothy's wedding on 12 Sep 1985. Timothy and wife Jennifer had a daughter named Guinevere. Sadly, she would never know her grandfather Alfred.
On Alfred's birth certificate, he is noted as Larue's third child, only two of the children still living, so Larue had had a second child with either Fred Obrien or Forest Mathews.
Alfred's parents divorced in December 1926 and his mother married third-husband Noah Delbert Ackles on 26 Mar 1927 in Lake Co., Indiana. Besides his half-brother Lawrence Obrien, Andrew would be joined by three more half-brothers—twins Ronald and Donald, born on 14 Jan 1928, and Henry on 4 Oct 1931. There were also three step-sisters in the mix—Thelma, Irma and Carmen Ackles, Noah's children with his first wife, Valerie Dodd, and step-siblings Chester and Ethel Dodd from Valerie's first marriage to John Frank Dodd.
Noah and Larue's blended family appeared together on the 1930 Census, living at 374 Sibley St. in Hammond, Lake Co., Indiana. Noah, 48, was still working as a mason contractor. Larue, 33, was keeping house, tending to her son Alfred Matthews, 6, and the twins, Ronald and Donald, 2. Also there was a lodger. The following year, son Henry Earl joined the family on 4 Oct 1931.
The year 1934 brought a horrific loss with the suicide of Andrew's step-sister Irma Bernice McGirr on 6 September due to phenol / carbolic acid poisoning. She was only 27.
The 1940 Census placed the Ackles family at 910 W. Laporte St. in Plymouth, Marshall Co., Indiana. Noah Ackles, 61, was still working as a mason. Larue, 42 was working as a seam sealer in an auto radiator factory, likely McCords. There were still four children at home—Alfred, 16, Ronald and Donald, 12, and Henry, 8. From this point on, Alfred was using Ackles as his surname rather than Mathews.
The attack on Pearl Harbor just before Christmas in 1941, dragged the U.S. into World War II and Noah and Larue's boys were called to action. First to go was Alfred. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Mon 6 Mar 1944 p. 13) "A/c Alfred T. Ackles has been transferred from Keesler field, Biloxi, Miss., to Mississippi State college at Starkville, according to word received here by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, of 1006 South Jackson street. Prior to his induction into the air corps Cadet Ackles was a member of the South Bend Junior Symphony orchestra in which he played as a drummer. He is a member of the school dance band at Mississippi State and also played as a member of the field band while at Keesler field."
Three of Alfred's half-brothers also joined the war effort. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Wed 5 Apr 1944 p. 21) "Private Roland P. Ackles and his brother, Private Donald J. Ackles, have returned to Camp Atterbury, Ind., after visiting their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Ackles, 1006 South Jackson street…Another son of Mr. and Mrs. Ackles, Aviation Cadet Alfred T. Ackles is stationed at the Mississippi state college at Starkville and a fourth son, Sergt. Lawrence F. O'Brien, is with a railroad division in India."
With just 13-year-old son Henry still at home, trouble was brewing. (From: The South Bend Tribune – Fri 13 Apr 1945 p. 17) "Divorce Cases Filed. ACKLES—LaRue Ackles, 917 East Fourth street, Mishawaka, against Noah Delbert Ackles; married March 26, 1924, separated March 18, 1945; charges cruelty and asks custody of one child; superior court No. 2."
On 12 Oct 1946, Alfred married Mary Ann Cwiklinski in Porter Co., Indiana. They welcomed son Timothy Roman Matthews Ackles on 11 Jan 1949 in St. Joseph Co., Indiana.
Besides enduring the death of his first wife Valerie Kemp Dodd in 1915, and the divorces from wives Rena Asbury Fitterling, Edna Viall Casselman and Alfred's mother Larue, Noah moved into a trailer, and abandoned his work as a self-employed mason contractor and went to work for Bendix Corporation, a manufacturer of brake systems for cars and trucks. Rough times.
Tragically for all concerned, on 26 Jan 1950, Alfred's step-father Noah "Bert" Ackles purposefully ingested tincture of iodine and died at age 67. Alfred's mother Larue was the informant on his death certificate. After his death, Larue relocated out west, got a job as a registered nurse and eventually married fourth-husband Robert Poinier. She died on April Fools Day, 1 Apr 1973 at age 76.
For his part, Alfred joined the National Guard. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 22 Jul 1951 p. 23) "[with photo] Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue, an officer of company G, discusses the training trip with his wife, Mary Ann. South Bend's two companies will be among 8,500 other Hoosiers training at Grayling, on the wooded shores of Lake Margarethe. Lieut. Ackles is an assistant to the company commander of the South Bend units and will be planning many of the training exercises. Mrs. Ackles takes an active part in national guard work too as a member of the Company G. Guardets, who plan entertainment and social events for the guardsmen."
This will give you an idea of one of the training exercises Alfred planned. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 9 Jun 1951 p. 2) "We pushed off for the attack through a field of tall grass. The enemy was 400 yards ahead. The night was dark and heavy with heat and mosquitoes. We were an army combat patrol. We were supposed to push an entrenched enemy force off a ridge. We were ready. On a sandy road under a cloudy, moonless sky, this 11-man patrol prepared. The men were all South Bend men of G company, Second battalion, 292d regiment of Indiana's 38th national guard division, the 'Cyclone' division, the 'avengers of Bataan.' Most of the men had never seen real combat before. And they didn't Friday night either, but they were close to actual combat conditions. They were engaged in a tactical problem, attacking members of their own company in a sham battle in the rough and wooded terrain south of Ireland road near Locust road right her in St. Joseph county. The youthful attackers, armed with M-1 rifles, listened intently to Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles explain the problem as they darkened their hands and faces with burnt cork and readied their ammo and gear. This was their first night problem and the first of such manuevers for this guard group this season. The problem: To push the enemy off a ridge and dig in and hold…"
Alfred was by all accounts an effective leader. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 29 Aug 1951 p. 22) "G company of the 293d regiment of the Indiana national guard division was awarded the Peter Anderson national guard trophy Tuesday night after inspection by the commanding officer of the 38th guard division in the army, 727 South Eddy street. At the inspection left to right are Second Lieut. Alfred T. Ackles, 630 Diamond avenue; …"
Unfortunately, things were not going as smoothly on the home front. (From: The South Bend Tribune – 11 Nov 1951 p. 38) "ACKLES—Mary Anne Ackles, 1016 ½ West Western avenue, vs. Alfred T. Ackles; married Oct. 12, 1946; separated Sept. 12, 1951; charges cruelty; and asks custody of child; circuit court."
Alfred appears to have remarried sometime between 1957 and 1960 and had a child, born circa 1961. (Feel free to help me out here via the "other corrections" edit feature.)
Alfred ended up in Guyana, South America, serving as a Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army where he died on 11 Apr 1969 at age 45. His death was noted as "non-hostile; died of illness/disease."
Alfred would miss son Timothy's wedding on 12 Sep 1985. Timothy and wife Jennifer had a daughter named Guinevere. Sadly, she would never know her grandfather Alfred.
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