Uttie Jake

Uttie Jake. That is what my great uncle Fred used to call him. Why he always used that term, I have no idea. Jake was his brother - Jacob Kuch.

Jake was the black sheep of the family. He served in France during World War I. When he came back, he was a changed man. Perhaps he suffered from battle fatigue. As he got older, he became fonder and fonder of the grape. By the mid 1930s, he had gotten to the point where you would never know what state he would be in. When sober, he could be a joy. Otherwise, watch out.

This behavior directly impacted the family. Both of Jake's sisters (Lisette and Katherine) became lifetime members of the W.C.T.U. Fred did his best to financially support both his Mother (Catherine N Kuch) and Jake, but did his best to limit contact with his brother.

The family heard little from Jake in the 1950s (his name was almost taboo). In the 1960s he was admitted to a VA hospital. He died in that hospital and is buried in the family plot in Mt Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY.

I've had a tough time tracking this man. The VA records show that he had a common law wife. The family knows nothing about her. I have to start looking at other local records (City Directories, court records etc) to learn more about him. The soon to be released 1940 Federal Census will be interesting.