Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthJune 27, 1888
Place of BirthPlattsmouth, Nebrasaka
CountryUnited States
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinElizabeth Brinkman,mother, Havelock Nebrasaka, USA
Trade / CallingMachinist
ReligionCongregationalist
Service Details
Regimental Number199007
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion94th Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentFebruary 25, 1916
Age at Enlistment27
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details

Brinckman, Adolph Fred

Adolph Frederick Brinckman was born on 27 Jun 1888 in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. The 1900 US census finds him living in Lancaster, Nebraska with his father, Ludwig Brinckman, mother, Isabella and sisters Amelia (b. 19 Oct 1886) and Margaret (b. 02 Jan 1895). Adolph’s parents were both from Germany but they married in 1885 in the US.

The 1909 city directory for Havelock, Nebraska shows Adolph and his father working for the Burlington Railroad shops. Adolph was an apprentice. The 1910 US census confirms the family is living in Havelock, but Ludwig’s spouse’s name on this census is Elizabeth. Employment records for the National Pacific Railroad indicate that Adolph worked for them as a machinist in Sherman, Texas and Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1915. By 1916 he was in Kenora, Ontario where, on February 25th he enlisted with the 94th Battalion for overseas service in WW1. He listed his mother, Elizabeth of Havelock, Nebraska, as his next of kin.

Adolph arrived in England aboard the S. S. Olympic with the 94th Battalion on 06 July 1916. He was placed with the 17th reserve battalion until being sent to France on 27 August 1916 with the 16th Battalion. A short time later, on 08 October 1916, Adolph was wounded at Courcelette during the battle of the Somme. Suffering a bomb wound to both feet and his left leg he was returned to England and was hospitalized for 59 days. On 24 February 1917 Adolph went back to France with the 4th Battalion of the Canadian Railway Transport division. He served for almost two years before being returned to England for demobilization in January 1919. Adolph sailed for Canada in March of 1919. His discharge papers (dated 31 March 1919) indicate that his proposed residence was Lincoln, Nebraska. Border crossing papers show he arrived in Noyes, Minnesota in April 1919 on his way to his father, Charles Brinckman in Havelock, Nebraska.

The 1930 US census records Adolph living at 138 1/2 W. Ave. in Los Angeles, California where he was working as a machinist. His father and sister Amelia (who had married Ernest Law in 1910) were residing in Spokane, Washington. Interestingly Adolph completed a US WW2 Draft Registration Card in 1942. At that time he was age 52, still living in Los Angeles, and unemployed. The card noted his gunshot wounds on his left leg.

The California Death Index has a Fred Brinckman (SS# 568102162) listed as passing away on 03 November 1956 in Los Angeles. It has not been confirmed if this is the Adolph Frederick Brinckman who enlisted for WW1 while living in Kenora.

Brinckman-Adolph-Fred-3


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