Alvin Henry Schlegel

1892 - 1940  (47 years)

• Name	Alvin Henry Schlegel
  Born	10 Jun 1892	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Interesting	crime, story, murder
  Sports	1908	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Baseball "Alerts" twin city Champions
  Misfortune	1940	Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	killed family due to mental illness
  Name	A. H. Schlegel
  Occupation	Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Treasurer of Preston Furniture
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-351917
  Died	4 Feb 1940	Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Buried	Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Person ID	I351917	Generations
  Last Modified	28 Jan 2025

  
  

  Father	John Schlegel,   b. 13 Mar 1862, Bamberg, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Feb 1941, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 78 years)
  Mother	Louisa Moser,   b. 10 Feb 1863, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 2 Nov 1906, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 43 years)
  Married	25 Jan 1887	Heidelberg, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3, 4]
  Family ID	F3832	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Marie Isabelle Revitzer,   b. 23 May 1895, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 4 Feb 1940, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 44 years)
  Married	17 Apr 1915	Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada   [5]
  Children	1. Marguerite Louise Schlegel,   b. 23 Feb 1916, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 4 Feb 1940, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 23 years)   2. John Alvin "Jack" Schlegel,   b. 1928,   d. 4 Feb 1940, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 12 years)
  Last Modified	29 Jan 2025
  Family ID	F251915	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Sportsman Kills Wife, 2 Children and Self PRESTON. ONT A family of four was wiped out when, police reported Sunday night, Alvin Schlegel. middle-aged sportsman, shot and killed his wife, his son and his daughter and then committed suicide. Officers believe Schlegel, former president of the Ontario Hockey association, first killed his 12-year-old son in an upstairs room, then shot his wife, who was resting downstairs. A daughter, Mrs. Bruce McCullough and her husband were met at the door as they returned from church and the woman was felled with a fatal shot while McCullough fled in terror to police headquarters Officers found Schlegel dead in the front hallway. Police Chief Gordon Bogle said a 45 caliber revolver was Dr Ward Woolner said Schlegel. Interested In many sports activities besides hockey, had been undergoing treatment for a mental condition. February 5, 1940 The Bismarck Tribune from Bismarck, North Dakota Page 3 ____________________ Alvin Schlegel of Preston, former Ontario Hockey Association president, shot his wife, 12 year-old son, and his married daughter, Mrs. Bruce McCullough of Kitchener, a bride of three months, and then turned the gun on himself, at his home on Sunday evening. Mr. Schlegel was in the Imperial Bank at New Liskeard as a young man, when F.H. Hewson, now Newmarket manager," was manager there. Mr. Hewson recalls Schlegel as the greatest early amateur exponent of the poke check, great hockey player and a real good fellow. Newmarket Era 8 Feb 1940 _____________________ Preston Man Shoots Wife, Daughter, Son, Himself Former O.H.A. President Is Central Figure in Tragedy Alvin Schlegel Reloaded Revolver After Slaying Two Bruce McCullough, Son-in-Law, Runs in Terror to Police PRESTON, Ont., Feb. 4. (CP) Alvin Schlegel, middle-aged former president of the Ontario Hockey Association, shot and killed his wife, daughter and son tonight, police reported, and then committed suicide in their home. According to police reconstruction of the tragedy, Schlegel shot his wife with a revolver as she "lay on a chesterfield in a downstairs room." Then, apparently; he went upstairs and killed his 12-year-old son, Jack. It was believed that the first shot did not kill the boy, for he had staggered from bed. A second shot, through the head, apparently killed him. Shot Daughter at Door. As his daughter, Mrs. Bruce McCullough, returned from church with her husband, Schlegel turned the gun on her at the front doorway. McCullough, running in terror to police headquarters, brought officers who found Schlegel dead in the front hallway of the home. Police Chief Gordon Bogle of Preston found a .45 caliber revolver beside Schlegel's body. His daughter was shot through the breast and so was Mrs. Schlegel, while the son was shot through the head and chest. The McCulloughs had motored to Preston from their Kitchener home to have dinner with the Schlegels and afterward, had gone to the Lutheran church for evening service. The meal was without incident McCullough said, although Schlegel, who had been undergoing medical treatment for a mental condition, appeared quiet. When the McCulloughs went out. Schlegel drove to the office of the Canadian Office and School Furniture Company, of which he was secretary-treasurer, and returned almost immediately. According to neighbors, Schlegel parked his car in front of the house, rather than in the garage as usual, when he returned from the office. He left his bulldog in the car and went into the house smoking a cigar. Reloaded Weapon. Schlegel was believed to have re-loaded the gun after killing his wife and son, for one live shell remained in it after at least five had been fired. He was believed to have run downstairs from killing the boy when he heard his daughter and son-in-law returning. Opening the door, he fired pointblank into his daughter's breast as she entered the hallway. McCullough leaped the verandah railing and ran to the police station a block away. McCullough, who married Schlegel's daughter only last summer, said that Mrs. Schlegel's mother, Mrs. Lillian Revitzer, who lived with the family, was out of the house at the time of the shooting. No Inquest Needed. Dr. Ward Woollner, chief coroner for Waterloo County, said no inquest and no post-mortem examination would be held. He attributed the tragedy to Schlegel's mental condition. The Schlegels were prominent socially in the life of this Western Ontario town, and Schlegel was interested in many sports activities besides hockey. : He served as O.H. A. president in 1936-37 and 1937-38. Schlegel came to Preston about 25 years ago from Kitchener to take a position with the Imperial Bank of Canada. Soon afterward he became secretary of the Canadian Office and School Furniture Company and later took similar positions with the Preston Furniture Company and Canadian Sandpapers, Limited, all with offices in Preston. Always prominent in sports, he played in his youth with Preston's famous Riversides of the Ontario "Big Six" senior series. He organized the Preston Boys' Amateur Hockey Association, which now has 200 players, and was honorary president of the Ontario Bantam and Midget Hockey Associations. Schlegel was active in the Preston Rotary Club and was a Mason. Tears on O.H.A. Executive. Alvin Schlegel was described by fellow sportsmen as "the last person in the world you would expect to hear such, a thing about". Schlegel was a member of the association executive for nearly 15 years, W. A. Hewitt secretary-treasurer of the Ontario Hockey Association, said. He was president in 1936-37 and 1937-38 and at the time of his death was a member of the O.H.A. sub-committee and chairman of the advisory board. Mr. Hewitt recalled that a spirit of depression seemed to appear in Mr. Schlegel's outlook coincident with the outbreak of war last Fall. He declined to speak, at an O.HA. golden Jubilee dinner last November but spoke briefly at a Canadian Amateur Hockey Association dinner a month ago. At the regular O.H.A. meeting last week he appeared cheerful. Sunday, February 4, 1940. Murder-suicide, Preston Ontario : MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1940. THE OTTAWA JOURNAL

  
  

• Sources

  [S57] Vit - ON - Birth Registration. Name:Alvin Henry Schlegel Date of Birth:10 Jun 1892 Gender:Male Birth Place:Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Father's name:John Schlegel Mother's name:Louisa Mosser [S239] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - Preston CC#6335 Cemetery Internet Link . [Monument] Schlegel/ [4 Flat Markers] Son/ John A./ 1928 ?1940/ Louise/ Beloved Wife Of G. B. Mccullough/ 1917 ?1940./ Mother/ Marie I. Revitzer/ 1895 ?1940./ Father/ Alvin E./ 1892 ?1940 [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Louise Moser Born: Wellesley Tip Age: 24 Father: Michael Moser Mother: Maria Husselman Born: abt 1863 Spouse: John Schlegel Age: 25 born: Bamberg Ont Father: John Schlegel Mother: Elizabeth Gremm married 25 Jan 1887 [S1592] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1891, Section 2 Page 8. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Name:Marie Revitzer Age:19 Birth Date:abt 1896 Birth Place:Preston Marriage Date:17 Apr 1915 Marriage County or District:York Father:John Revitzer Mother:Cecelia Bleiler Spouse:A H Schlegel Spouse's Age:22 Spouse Birth Date:abt 1893 Spouse Birth Place:Berlin, Ontario Spouse Father:John Schlegel Spouse Mother:Louise Moser

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 10 Jun 1892 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Sports - Baseball "Alerts" twin city Champions - 1908 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 17 Apr 1915 - Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada Misfortune - killed family due to mental illness - 1940 - Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Treasurer of Preston Furniture - - Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 4 Feb 1940 - Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth