Philadelphia Latvian Baptist Youth Society
John Alden
John Alden (at times recorded as Aldan, later spelled Aldin) was born in Jan. 14, 1893, in Rīga and arrived in the United States in 1914.
He lived for a while in New York City, where he worked as an elevator man, according to his April 1918 draft registration.1 He also served in the U.S. Army and was stationed briefly at Camp Upton in New York, according to his petition for naturalization.2
John Alden and Ada Schneegas were married on Jan. 2, 1926, by the Rev. Peter Buschmann.3 At the time, the couple lived in Tinicum Township in Delaware County, south of Philadelphia.
By 1930, according to the federal census, John Alden worked as a carpenter and lived on Iroquois Street in Tinicum Township with his wife; son, John; step-daughter, Martha; and step-son, Edward.4 (They were among several Latvian immigrant families that had relocated to Tinicum Township. Others included the Harry and Eva Lagsdon family, the Nikolai and Alma Aldin family, the Fred and Sarah Natrin family, the Ferdinand and Ella Wissing family, the John and Lena Snyder family, and the Bernhard and Emilie Natrin family.)
John Alden (Aldin) died in 1949 and is buried alongside his mother and wife in Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.5
Notes
1. "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-L1J1-NPL?cc=1968530&wc=9F8Z-HZ9%3A928312401%2C929041801 : 15 October 2019), New York > New York City no 129; A-J > image 69 of 3870; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. "New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MD-MLN8?cc=1999177&wc=MDSK-5PD%3A326203101%2C326888801 : 21 September 2019), Suffolk > Special naturalizations 1919 vol 38, no 9251-9500 > image 17 of 305; Citing multiple County Clerk offices of New York.
3. "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6Q8S-184?cc=1589502 : 8 July 2020), > image 1 of 1; county courthouses, Pennsylvania.
4. "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHSN-V4P : accessed 22 June 2023), John Aldan, Tinicum, Delaware, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 138, sheet 20A, line 37, family 422, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2033; FHL microfilm 2,341,767.
5. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69339587/john-aldin: accessed 22 June 2023), memorial page for John Aldin (1893–16 Dec 1949), Find a Grave Memorial ID 69339587, citing Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by T&C Lloyd (contributor 47320243).