According to his naturalization records, the second eldest child of Karl Reinhard Friedrich Koehn and Charlotte Louise Wilhelmine Ziebel, Otto Justus Albert Koehn, was born 28 Feb 1890 in the village of Schilde, near Dramburg, in the province of Pomerania, Prussia, (modern-day Drawkso, Poland). The location on a historical map is shown below.

Kiepert, H., Pomerania, Germany and Poland, 1879, in David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, https://www.davidrumsey.com.

Below is the passenger list of the S.S. Kroonland, which embarked from Antwerp, Belgium, on the 23rd of February 1908 and arrived in New York City on the 3rd of March. Line 2 shows the listing for Otto Köhn (the German spelling of Koehn). See the transcription below the images to learn more.

Transcription
Age: 17 years, 11 months
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Bartender
Able to read and write
Nationality: Germany
Last Permanent Residence:
Nearest relative in country of origin: Mother Mrs. Köhn, Ickustrasse (?) 10, Germany
Final Destination: New York, NY

Otto Koehn applied for naturalization in 1915 at the age of 25, when he was in the US military service in the state of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1802-1945, Ancestry.com, image 134-135 of 1576, downloaded 19 Feb 2023.

Transcription

Petitioner: Otto Justus Albert Koehn
Residence: 109 Co. Coast Artillery, Fort Greble
- Fort Greble was located on present day Dutch Island, at the entrance to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
Occupation: Soldier
Birth: 28 Feb 1890, Schilde Kreis, Dramburg, Germany
Emigrated from Antwerp Belgium 23 Feb 1908
Arrived in New York 3 Mar 1908 on the Kroonland
Petitioner is an honorably discharged soldier and makes application for citizenship under Sec. 2166 R.S.
He enlisted in Co. H 8th Reg. Infantry at Port Slocum, NY on 11 Aug 1911, and was discharged July 22, 1914
Not married
Have resided in the US since 3 March 1908, continuously since  7 August 1908, except for absence on duty in Philippines Aug 11, 1911 to July 22, 1914
Honorable discharge certificate of Petitioner was exhibited to me this 8th day of April 1915, Certificate of Arrival 818537 from Department of Labor filed this 8th day of April 1915.
Witnesses: Ollie Burns and Culmar Armstrong, Soldiers, residing at Co. 109 Fort Greble

Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Mon, Nov 15, 1915 · Page 7; in Newspapers.com, downloaded 19 Mar 2023.

1920 Census: the young Koehn family in Middle Village, Queens, New York

1920 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, New York, Queens, Assembly District 2, District 0138,

image 21 of 31, downloaded 19 Feb 2023.

Transcription

• Location: 38 Furman Ave., Middle Village, Borough of Queens, New York

• Household members:

  • Koehn, Otto J A - Head of household, white male, age 29

  • Elizabeth - Wife, white female, age 34

  • George G H - Son, white male, age 2 6/12

  • Amelia Mildred - Daughter, white female, age 1 6/12

• In the adjoining apartment:

  • Schmidt, Andrew - Head of household, white male, age 75 (Elizabeth's sister's father)

  • Dorothea - Daughter, white female, age 43 (Elizabeth's sister)

1920s: Going out to Duck's Restaurant

John Westerhoff (a German sailor) built a restaurant in Eastport, Long Island in 1900 which featured German food. The Koehn family would dine there frequently in the 1920s. It was a family style saloon and the owner was a duck hunter of great reputation. That along with the excellent roast duck gave rise to the name John Duck's Restaurant. The establishment was even featured in a New York Times article in 2008. Unfortunately the building burned down in 1960, but it was rebuilt again in nearby Southampton. It closed for good in 2021.

1942: Military Service in World War II

The contents of Otto Koehn's enlistment record are shown below.

New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95R-4S5Z-2?cc=1368704&wc=4XCB-J9Z%3A1600372354), Roll 1080, vol 2370-2371, 1 Mar 1908 > image 170-171 of 906, retrieved 19 Feb 2023.

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005.

April 19, 1948: Death in Islip, New York

Otto's memorial service announcement is shown below. Otto died at age 58 of alcoholism. He is buried in Lutheran Cemetery (now All Faiths Cemetery) in Middle Village, Queens, New York.

Otto's wife Elizabeth submitted an application for him to receive a military headstone, as shown below, for his service as a sergeant in World War II.

The photograph below is of this headstone, located in the Lutheran Cemetery in Middle Village, New York.