25 April 2011
A rough blog posting.
Unsendable e-mail correspondence from the weekend started to arrive today – to and from the niece of Walter Leubuscher’s wife whom I tried to reach on Friday (see Post No. 1). She did have contact with Walter’s niece Jolante SONNTAG, who had no children and may have been unmarried, lived in Santa Monica, CA, and died probably died quite some time ago (b.ca.1914).
I tried to find information on Jolante (Jola) using Ancestry.com and other sources with no success.
Since her mother must be a LEUBUSCHER, I tried to find her in the California Death Index just using mother’s surname as the search criteria. I still did not find her, but I did get two hits. One was for a Rosalie WACHSMANN (1866-1949) who was born in Peiskretcham in Upper Silesia – she might even be in the tree already, or in a separate tree I might have made to keep record of unconnected LEUBUSCHERs. (She is not in the tree (yet), but her mother Johanna PERL, geb. LEUBUSCHER is.
When I checked for her in New York Passenger Lists, I found her arrival, with husband Otto, in 1940, sailing from Genoa. She listed a son Fritz in Oppeln as her contact back in Germany, and she heading for a Franz WACHSMANN at an address in Hollywood.
A search on Franz WACHSMANN quickly found that he was a successful Hollywood composer, under the name Franz WAXMAN, with Academy Awards, and involvement in lots of major movies.
He was married twice, and had a son from his first marriage. He also had several siblings:
Paul (1895-1982)
Elfriede (Frieda) (1896-1988)
Fritz (1897-1945)
Max (1898-1918)
Dorothea (1902-1903)
Ernst (1904-1966)
Alfred (1905-1906)
and they could have some descendants.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Rabbis WISE - an aside
Two days ago, in part of the day's search that to the creation of this blog, I visited the website of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (www.tbeonline.org). On the home page, there was reference to that evening's event, the "Isaac Mayer Wise Shabbat." The rabbi I e-mailed about my LEUBUSCHER search was delivering the sermon.
Seeing the name of Rabbi WISE reminded me that I had run into his family before.
In April 2010, in the course of LATZ family research, I was surprised to notice that R. Jonah B. WISE (1881-1959) had presided over three LATZ family weddings in Scarsdale, NY in the 1940s. I was surprised that such a prominent New York rabbi had some connection to this LATZ family.
The first of those Scarsdale weddings was between Paula LATZ and Richard FRANK of Portland, Oregon. I assumed the connection was based on the fact that R. Jonah WISE had been rabbi in Portland from 1910 to 1924 when he moved to the Central Synagogue in Manhattan. In the much smaller Jewish community of Portland in the period, it was easy to imagine a connection forming between Rabbi WISE and members of his congregation.
Until today, I did not recall noting the much more likely reason for the presence of the eminent Rabbi WISE at these weddlings. He was married to Helen ROSENFELD of Portland. A quick review of US Census records, showed that Helen was a sister of Ruth ROSENFELD who married Aaron Meier FRANK; they were the parents of the groom of Scarsdale marriage #1. So, the first marriage was of his nephew Richard. And #2 and #3 were to Richard's wife's sisters.
R. Jonah B. WISE was a son of R. Isaac Mayer WISE (1819-1900), one of the founders of Reform Judaism in the US, and a founder of Hebrew Union College. He was present at the 1867 dedication of Temple Beth El, then in Detroit, Michigan.
The family of Paula LATZ is decended from Israel LATZ (b.1825), a family line that is not yet connected to the rest of the LATZ clan originating in Posen.
NewMexiCast Videos
A few years ago, a wonderful family friend interviewed my mother to make a video record of her early life story. She also interviewed me briefly about my genealogy research. She then produced the three videos which are posted on her website (www.newmexicast.com) -- and viewable from the links in the three preceeding blog posts.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
A Namslau Web: FRIEDLAENDER - LAQUER - SILBERSTEIN - LOMNITZ - FRIEDLAENDER
23 April 2011
Today, the focus was FRIEDLAENDERs from Namslau. The birth, marriage and death records in the LDS collection are not microfilms of original records. They are a set of transcriptions made in 1937 from records in the archives in Breslau; presumably, they were prepared by the archivist Bernhard BRILLING.
The original hope was to find an entry for the 1846 marriage of Heinrich FRIEDLAENDER and Philippine LAQUER to see if it would identify Heinrich's parents. On the last page of marriage entries, it was there -- his parents were Saul Nathan FRIEDLAENDER and Caroline SILBERSTEIN. As it turned out, an entry for their marriage was also in the same file. They married in 1822. Saul was a son of Nathan FRIEDLAENDER; Caroline (b.ca.1803) was a daughter of Heinrich SILBERSTEIN.
There are recurrent connections among SILBERSTEINs and the LAQUER family. (1) Here, Philippine LAQUER's mother-in-law turns out to be Caroline (bat Heinrich) SILBERSTEIN. (2) Philippine's father Loeser Joseph LAQUER was a son of Pauline SILBERSTEIN (ca.1764-1832). (3) Philippine's uncle Jakob Joseph LAQUER married Nanni ROSENBARTH, a daughter of Nachme SILBERSTEIN (1765-1833). Nachme was my g-g-g-g-g aunt, a daughter of Chajim SILBERSTEIN of Brieg. Hence, the interest in trying to determine whether Pauline was a sister of Nachme. And now, the additional question: whether there is a connection between the SILBERSTEINs in Brieg and Heinrich SILBERSTEIN of Städtel, 30 km away.
No answer, yet.
Going back to Caroline SILBERSTEIN's father, it turns out this same Heinrich SILBERSTEIN of Städtel was probably also the father of Handel (Hulda) SILBERSTEIN whose second marriage in 1836 was to Isaac LOMNITZ. Isaac was a son of Joachim LOMNITZ of Woitschachow (Kr. Rosenberg); presumably, this is the same person as Joachim Benjamin LOMNITZ, who was living in Bodschanowitz (Kr. Rosenberg) in 1812 -- a further assumption being that Woitschachow and Bodschanowitz are just different spellings of the same town (or crossroads).
This family has been on my agenda for the last few months, since running across this notice posted in the January 7, 1944 issue of the Aufbau German refugees' newspaper:
When I found that notice, I enjoyed the fact that Alfred knew something of his family history and used his new US citizenship to memorialize his gg gf's 1812 Prussian citizenship (though I note that Joachim Benjamin LOMNITZ was not living in Breslau back in 1812). Contact with Alfred's son and a nephew has unfortunately not yet filled in the missing generations between Franz LOMNITZ and Joachim Benjamin LOMNITZ.
The LOMNITZ family is also part of an ongoing search to help a man in Israel whose gg gm was Pauline (Blümel) LOMNITZ (b.ca.1825), daughter of "Johann" LOMNITZ (perhaps actually Joachim LOMNITZ).
Pauline was married to a FRIEDLAENDER, so the circle is complete; or more aptly, the spiral continues to turn.
Today, the focus was FRIEDLAENDERs from Namslau. The birth, marriage and death records in the LDS collection are not microfilms of original records. They are a set of transcriptions made in 1937 from records in the archives in Breslau; presumably, they were prepared by the archivist Bernhard BRILLING.
The original hope was to find an entry for the 1846 marriage of Heinrich FRIEDLAENDER and Philippine LAQUER to see if it would identify Heinrich's parents. On the last page of marriage entries, it was there -- his parents were Saul Nathan FRIEDLAENDER and Caroline SILBERSTEIN. As it turned out, an entry for their marriage was also in the same file. They married in 1822. Saul was a son of Nathan FRIEDLAENDER; Caroline (b.ca.1803) was a daughter of Heinrich SILBERSTEIN.
There are recurrent connections among SILBERSTEINs and the LAQUER family. (1) Here, Philippine LAQUER's mother-in-law turns out to be Caroline (bat Heinrich) SILBERSTEIN. (2) Philippine's father Loeser Joseph LAQUER was a son of Pauline SILBERSTEIN (ca.1764-1832). (3) Philippine's uncle Jakob Joseph LAQUER married Nanni ROSENBARTH, a daughter of Nachme SILBERSTEIN (1765-1833). Nachme was my g-g-g-g-g aunt, a daughter of Chajim SILBERSTEIN of Brieg. Hence, the interest in trying to determine whether Pauline was a sister of Nachme. And now, the additional question: whether there is a connection between the SILBERSTEINs in Brieg and Heinrich SILBERSTEIN of Städtel, 30 km away.
No answer, yet.
Going back to Caroline SILBERSTEIN's father, it turns out this same Heinrich SILBERSTEIN of Städtel was probably also the father of Handel (Hulda) SILBERSTEIN whose second marriage in 1836 was to Isaac LOMNITZ. Isaac was a son of Joachim LOMNITZ of Woitschachow (Kr. Rosenberg); presumably, this is the same person as Joachim Benjamin LOMNITZ, who was living in Bodschanowitz (Kr. Rosenberg) in 1812 -- a further assumption being that Woitschachow and Bodschanowitz are just different spellings of the same town (or crossroads).
This family has been on my agenda for the last few months, since running across this notice posted in the January 7, 1944 issue of the Aufbau German refugees' newspaper:
When I found that notice, I enjoyed the fact that Alfred knew something of his family history and used his new US citizenship to memorialize his gg gf's 1812 Prussian citizenship (though I note that Joachim Benjamin LOMNITZ was not living in Breslau back in 1812). Contact with Alfred's son and a nephew has unfortunately not yet filled in the missing generations between Franz LOMNITZ and Joachim Benjamin LOMNITZ.
The LOMNITZ family is also part of an ongoing search to help a man in Israel whose gg gm was Pauline (Blümel) LOMNITZ (b.ca.1825), daughter of "Johann" LOMNITZ (perhaps actually Joachim LOMNITZ).
Pauline was married to a FRIEDLAENDER, so the circle is complete; or more aptly, the spiral continues to turn.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Families to Follow
To help internet searches lead people here, a list of family surnames:
FALK, FREUND, RAPHAELSOHN, BACH, KALISCHER, IMMERWAHR, JACOBSOHN, PERL, NAUMBURG, ZUELZ (ZÜLZ), CARO, LANDAU, COHN, SILBERSTEIN, FRIEDENSTEIN, MUNK POSENER, LATZ, FRIEDLAENDER (FRIEDLÄNDER), FEIGE, LEUBUSCHER, STENZEL, MATHISSON, WIEDER, JAFFE
And other surnames of interest (an ever-growing list):
MILCH, GRAETZER (GRÄTZER), HABER, SACHS, ECKERSDORFF (ECKERSDORF), GALLINEK, GABRIEL, CLERC, WEIGERT, EHRLICH, CONSTAEDTER (CONSTÄDTER), GOTTHEINER (GOTTHEIMER), GOTHEIN, JOACHIMSSOHN (JOACHIMSOHN), RAWITSCH, MITTWOCH, PERLE, SALZ, STEINITZ, GURADZE, SCHLESINGER, MAMROTH, HENSCHEL, TYKOCINER, KROCH, TREITEL, AUERBACH, OPET, MARCUS, SKOLNY, RITTER, FELDSCHAREK, BIELSCHOWSKY, BAREINSCHEK, FRAENKEL (FRÄNKEL), THEOMIM (THEONIM), LUNGE, FISCHOFF, GOLDSCHMIDT, WRESCHNER, EGER, SCHIFF, HEPPNER (HEPNER), LOMNITZ, WENDRINER (to be continued)...
And places of interest (another ever-growing list):
Breslau, Brieg, Zuelz (Zülz), Kreuzburg, Tarnowitz, Myslowitz, Kieferstaedtel (Kieferstädtel), Staedtel (Städtel), Neisse (Neiße), Namslau, Oppeln, Beuthen, Gleiwitz, Krappitz, Cosel (Kosel), Kattowitz, Lissa, Schmiegel, Posen, Rawitsch, Kempen, Inowroclaw (Hohensalza), Mieschkow, Fraustadt, Wreschen, Thorn, Kalisch, Fordon, Allenstein, Liebstadt, Schubin, Marienwerder, Kojetin (Mähren / Moravia), Berlin
FALK, FREUND, RAPHAELSOHN, BACH, KALISCHER, IMMERWAHR, JACOBSOHN, PERL, NAUMBURG, ZUELZ (ZÜLZ), CARO, LANDAU, COHN, SILBERSTEIN, FRIEDENSTEIN, MUNK POSENER, LATZ, FRIEDLAENDER (FRIEDLÄNDER), FEIGE, LEUBUSCHER, STENZEL, MATHISSON, WIEDER, JAFFE
And other surnames of interest (an ever-growing list):
MILCH, GRAETZER (GRÄTZER), HABER, SACHS, ECKERSDORFF (ECKERSDORF), GALLINEK, GABRIEL, CLERC, WEIGERT, EHRLICH, CONSTAEDTER (CONSTÄDTER), GOTTHEINER (GOTTHEIMER), GOTHEIN, JOACHIMSSOHN (JOACHIMSOHN), RAWITSCH, MITTWOCH, PERLE, SALZ, STEINITZ, GURADZE, SCHLESINGER, MAMROTH, HENSCHEL, TYKOCINER, KROCH, TREITEL, AUERBACH, OPET, MARCUS, SKOLNY, RITTER, FELDSCHAREK, BIELSCHOWSKY, BAREINSCHEK, FRAENKEL (FRÄNKEL), THEOMIM (THEONIM), LUNGE, FISCHOFF, GOLDSCHMIDT, WRESCHNER, EGER, SCHIFF, HEPPNER (HEPNER), LOMNITZ, WENDRINER (to be continued)...
And places of interest (another ever-growing list):
Breslau, Brieg, Zuelz (Zülz), Kreuzburg, Tarnowitz, Myslowitz, Kieferstaedtel (Kieferstädtel), Staedtel (Städtel), Neisse (Neiße), Namslau, Oppeln, Beuthen, Gleiwitz, Krappitz, Cosel (Kosel), Kattowitz, Lissa, Schmiegel, Posen, Rawitsch, Kempen, Inowroclaw (Hohensalza), Mieschkow, Fraustadt, Wreschen, Thorn, Kalisch, Fordon, Allenstein, Liebstadt, Schubin, Marienwerder, Kojetin (Mähren / Moravia), Berlin
A Brief History of Genealogy (Time included)
This is the first posting on the new "History of Genealogy" blog. One of the goals is to keep a running account of new discoveries -- discoveries which are as likely to be new interconnections between the Jewish families (or families of Jewish ancestry) of Breslau, towns in Silesia (e.g. Brieg, Namslau, Staedtel, Zuelz, Kreuzburg, Cosel, Kieferstaedtel, Myslowitz, Tarnowitz, Beuthen, Oppeln, Krappitz), and towns in Posen (e.g., Posen, Lissa, Rawitsch, Kempen, Inowroclaw), as discoveries of new ancestors or distant cousins. Eventually as these families migrated to Berlin, other cities in Germany, other countries in Europe and finally other countries around the world, the scope of the project becomes global, and the history becomes a history of now, as well as a history of then.
This research has been going on for 35 years; well, my part has been going for 35 years, but my research is built on the work of earlier generations. But for now, the stories will start from the newest discoveries.
22 April 2011
I do not recall how today's path got started... LEUBUSCHERs were the main focus. Looking at Passenger Lists, I started to follow the trail of Walter LEUBUSCHER who managed to emigrate from Germany to the US in 1937 with his wife Trude (geb. STEIN). Trude's sister and her husband, Ilse and Fritz SCHILD, made their way out of Nazi Germany in 1938. In 1940, Walter's niece Jolante SONNTAG (b.1914, Berlin) was able to get to the US -- and initially joined her uncle in Minnesota.
This particular trail eventually led to Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (because the 2009 TBE bulletin included a Jahrzeit listing for Walter LEUBUSCHER), and to the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble (because one of the Board Members is a niece of Walter's wife). E-mails have been sent. The wheels are in motion...
Looking at the Berliner Adressbücher (http://adressbuch.zlb.de/) for the years around the birth of Walter LEUBUSCHER, it seems that his father must be either "F." or "H." LEUBUSCHER, who may be the Fritz and Hermann LEUBUSCHER, respectively, who are listed in other years' directories. That additional clue would still not lead to a clear link to the extended LEUBUSCHER family tree.
On the subject of as yet unconnected LEUBUSCHERs, there is the US family of Louis Mortimer LEUBUSCHER and his descendants. Louis Mortimer LEUBUSCHER was supposedly born in Breslau in 1828 (29 Mar). However, his alleged parents (William L. and Catherine) do not appear in the available Breslau Jewish community materials. Interestingly, there was a Breslau birth of a boy whose name appeared to be Louis Merheimer (?) LEUBUSCHER in 1832 (29 Jan). His parents were August LEUBUSCHER and Amalie (geb. SCHÜCK). Are they the same person? Did he change his middle name when he got to the US?
Looking for clues, I ran across an entry for Louis Mortimer's son Frederick Cyrus LEUBUSCHER (ca.1860-1940) in a new resource: Das deutsche Element der Stadt New York (1913 New York) (available for viewing or download from Google Books (books.google.com)). There was no new information about Frederick Cyrus, but a search for entries with reference to Breslau led to a new possibility for further (unrelated) connections among Breslau Jewish families.
The entry for T. Leon LASCOFF, a New York pharmacist (Apotheker), mentioned that his wife was Clara (geb. JOACHIMSON) of Breslau. Death notices and an obituary of family members in the New York Times led to information that Clara's parents were Fritz Joachimsohn and Bertha (geb. RIEGNER). There are quite a few JOACHIMSSOHNs / JOACHIMSOHNs in the tree, but only one RIEGNER (Hulda, not Bertha). A search in the catalogue of the Leo Baeck Institute (www.lbi.org) uncovered a RIEGNER family history provided by Kurt Julio RIEGNER (downloadable from the LBI catalogue) which had just enough detail to learn where Bertha RIEGNER fit into that family, but not enough to get more clues about the JOACHIMSSOHN family line (and also nothing about Hulda).
A check of a transcription of births from the Breslau Jewish community from 1847 to 1872 led to one interesting entry -- the 1864 birth of Artur Steffan Friedrich JOACHIMSSOHN to Jacob Fritz and Bertha. The new information that Clara's father was named Jacob Fritz (not just Fritz) may be helpful, but there are a few Jacob's in the tree who could be this person...
But going back to the RIEGNER family history, it contained a story that is worth retelling here. Kurt Julio RIEGNER had a first cousin named Gerhart RIEGNER, who was Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress from its creation in 1936 to 1983. In 1983, shortly after Gerhart left that position, Kurt met his cousin Gerhart in Vevey. On a walk along Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), Kurt asked his cousin how he came to get that job, and Gerhart told him.
Gerhart was apparently the right-hand man of Nahum GOLDMANN and, as a result, was a prime candidate for the position. However, some on the committee were concerned about his youth, his being a German Jew, and his unfamiliarity with Yiddish. One of the participants vouched for the young Gerhart saying he came from a very honorable family. That support seemed to turn the tide and he got the job.
Nahum GOLDMANN shared that background with Gerhart. Years later, Gerhart had a chance to ask the man who had spoken up for him how he came to have his strong feelings about the RIEGNER family's honor and integrity. The man first asked to confirm that Gerhart's grandfather was the Moritz RIEGNER who had a flour company in Berlin. He then told the story that a loyal cashier at the company one day stole a significant amount of money and disappeared. Moritz went to the wife of the man and told her he did not hold her responsible and said he would continue to give her her husband's salary even though he had absconded with money and was no longer working at the company. He did that. And when her gifted young son started his studies, Moritz paid for that as well. When Gerhart asked how the man knew all this, the man said, "It is simple. The gifted young man was me."
Let's see what tomorrow may bring. Shabbat shalom.
This research has been going on for 35 years; well, my part has been going for 35 years, but my research is built on the work of earlier generations. But for now, the stories will start from the newest discoveries.
22 April 2011
I do not recall how today's path got started... LEUBUSCHERs were the main focus. Looking at Passenger Lists, I started to follow the trail of Walter LEUBUSCHER who managed to emigrate from Germany to the US in 1937 with his wife Trude (geb. STEIN). Trude's sister and her husband, Ilse and Fritz SCHILD, made their way out of Nazi Germany in 1938. In 1940, Walter's niece Jolante SONNTAG (b.1914, Berlin) was able to get to the US -- and initially joined her uncle in Minnesota.
This particular trail eventually led to Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (because the 2009 TBE bulletin included a Jahrzeit listing for Walter LEUBUSCHER), and to the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble (because one of the Board Members is a niece of Walter's wife). E-mails have been sent. The wheels are in motion...
Looking at the Berliner Adressbücher (http://adressbuch.zlb.de/) for the years around the birth of Walter LEUBUSCHER, it seems that his father must be either "F." or "H." LEUBUSCHER, who may be the Fritz and Hermann LEUBUSCHER, respectively, who are listed in other years' directories. That additional clue would still not lead to a clear link to the extended LEUBUSCHER family tree.
On the subject of as yet unconnected LEUBUSCHERs, there is the US family of Louis Mortimer LEUBUSCHER and his descendants. Louis Mortimer LEUBUSCHER was supposedly born in Breslau in 1828 (29 Mar). However, his alleged parents (William L. and Catherine) do not appear in the available Breslau Jewish community materials. Interestingly, there was a Breslau birth of a boy whose name appeared to be Louis Merheimer (?) LEUBUSCHER in 1832 (29 Jan). His parents were August LEUBUSCHER and Amalie (geb. SCHÜCK). Are they the same person? Did he change his middle name when he got to the US?
Looking for clues, I ran across an entry for Louis Mortimer's son Frederick Cyrus LEUBUSCHER (ca.1860-1940) in a new resource: Das deutsche Element der Stadt New York (1913 New York) (available for viewing or download from Google Books (books.google.com)). There was no new information about Frederick Cyrus, but a search for entries with reference to Breslau led to a new possibility for further (unrelated) connections among Breslau Jewish families.
The entry for T. Leon LASCOFF, a New York pharmacist (Apotheker), mentioned that his wife was Clara (geb. JOACHIMSON) of Breslau. Death notices and an obituary of family members in the New York Times led to information that Clara's parents were Fritz Joachimsohn and Bertha (geb. RIEGNER). There are quite a few JOACHIMSSOHNs / JOACHIMSOHNs in the tree, but only one RIEGNER (Hulda, not Bertha). A search in the catalogue of the Leo Baeck Institute (www.lbi.org) uncovered a RIEGNER family history provided by Kurt Julio RIEGNER (downloadable from the LBI catalogue) which had just enough detail to learn where Bertha RIEGNER fit into that family, but not enough to get more clues about the JOACHIMSSOHN family line (and also nothing about Hulda).
A check of a transcription of births from the Breslau Jewish community from 1847 to 1872 led to one interesting entry -- the 1864 birth of Artur Steffan Friedrich JOACHIMSSOHN to Jacob Fritz and Bertha. The new information that Clara's father was named Jacob Fritz (not just Fritz) may be helpful, but there are a few Jacob's in the tree who could be this person...
But going back to the RIEGNER family history, it contained a story that is worth retelling here. Kurt Julio RIEGNER had a first cousin named Gerhart RIEGNER, who was Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress from its creation in 1936 to 1983. In 1983, shortly after Gerhart left that position, Kurt met his cousin Gerhart in Vevey. On a walk along Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), Kurt asked his cousin how he came to get that job, and Gerhart told him.
Gerhart was apparently the right-hand man of Nahum GOLDMANN and, as a result, was a prime candidate for the position. However, some on the committee were concerned about his youth, his being a German Jew, and his unfamiliarity with Yiddish. One of the participants vouched for the young Gerhart saying he came from a very honorable family. That support seemed to turn the tide and he got the job.
Nahum GOLDMANN shared that background with Gerhart. Years later, Gerhart had a chance to ask the man who had spoken up for him how he came to have his strong feelings about the RIEGNER family's honor and integrity. The man first asked to confirm that Gerhart's grandfather was the Moritz RIEGNER who had a flour company in Berlin. He then told the story that a loyal cashier at the company one day stole a significant amount of money and disappeared. Moritz went to the wife of the man and told her he did not hold her responsible and said he would continue to give her her husband's salary even though he had absconded with money and was no longer working at the company. He did that. And when her gifted young son started his studies, Moritz paid for that as well. When Gerhart asked how the man knew all this, the man said, "It is simple. The gifted young man was me."
Let's see what tomorrow may bring. Shabbat shalom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)