My paternal grandfather was Peter Muller. Born 1881 died circa 1946. No info available.

Question

Was a carpet/linoleum layer in New Jersey. W have no idea if he used his real name. I did Ancestry DNA but of course that means nothing. My major dead end. My wife's side goes back to 660AD.

Answer 1

Could this be him?

"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4T3-GSV : accessed 4 August 2020), Peter Muller, Union Ward 1, Hudson, New Jersey, United States; citing ED 296, sheet 1A, line 1, family 1, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1049; FHL microfilm 1,821,049

Answer 2

The first thing to do is to start building your tree here on Wikitree, entering the information that you have - you have some dates, you have a place, you probably have a spouse and children.  Then others can help in your search or you may find that there are other family members already here that you can connect to.  

Is this your Peter in the 1920 census?  If so, this tells you what year he immigrated so you can look for immigration documents.  The 1940 census says he was a naturalized citizen; citizenship papers give all sorts of information about birth and parents.

Name: Peter Muller 

Age: 39

Birth Year: abt 1881

Birthplace: Germany

Home in 1920: Union Ward 1, Hudson, New Jersey

Street: Palisade Avenue

House Number: 135

Residence Date: 1920

Race: White

Gender: Male

Immigration Year: 1902

Relation to Head of House: Head

Marital status: Married

Spouse's name: Mary Muller

Father's Birthplace: Germany

Mother's Birthplace: Germany

Native Tongue: German

Able to Speak English: Yes

Occupation: Carpet layer

Industry: Linoleum

Employment Field: Wage or Salary

Home Owned or Rented: Rented

Naturalization Status: Papers Submitted

Able to Read: Yes

Able to Write: Yes

Neighbors: View others on page

Household Members:

Name Age

Peter Muller 39

Mary Muller 41

William Muller 14

Frederick Muller12

Emil Muller 9

Edward Muller 5

Christina Muller3

Francis Muller 0

You can also find him in the 1910, 1930, and 1940 censuses.    Here's a link to the 1920 census on FamilySearch which is a free site.  "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4T3-GSV : accessed 4 August 2020), Peter Muller, Union Ward 1, Hudson, New Jersey, United States; citing ED 296, sheet 1A, line 1, family 1, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1049; FHL microfilm 1,821,04

Comments

Thank you. I knew all this but the mystery is where he came from and who was his family. That's the challenge and why it's currently a dead end. My father was Francis in the census gatherings.

Your help is appreciated.  Tom

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According to his draft registration cards his birthdate was Dec 30, 1880 and he was born in Wurzburg, Germany. Do you have his death certificate?   You might find more information on him by searching for his wife and a marriage record.  You may need to spend the money to obtain copies of his naturalization records.   There are a lot of immigration records on-line to search.  It's possible that his first name on records was not Peter.  It was common in Germany to use a saint's name as the first name and the name the person actually went by as the second.  Might be clues in children's baptism records if you can locate them.

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Thank you. Most helpful. I didn't realize he had a draft card. You have given me more accurate date to research I pretty much have my grandmother's family as well as their children so I have been concentrating on Peter Muller.

Answer 3

Here’s a clue from one of the children’s birth certificates:

Mary’s maiden name was Schilling 

"New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WH5-NPD : 11 February 2018), Fredrick Arthur Miller, 05 Mar 1907; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 13047 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,991,512.

Comments

This might be her prior to her marriage 

“New York State Census, 1905," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKSP-CVZ : 8 May 2020), Mary Schilling in household of Jacob H Schilling, Brooklyn, A.D. 18, E.D. 35, Kings, New York; citing p. 24, line 40, various county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 1,930,276.