Thursday, November 28, 2013

Alexander Sved - November 26

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the US!! My apologies for the delayed post. 

Alexander Sved was born on 26 Nov 1891 in Gyoma, Bekes, Hungary. He was the second of four children born to Frank Sved and Regina Newman, both also born in Hungary. I have yet to find his immigration information, but according to census information, he may have emigrated to the United States in 1905 along with his parents, sisters Rita and Ella and his brother, Henry.


Saturday, November 16, 2013

George Ralph Kesner

Geo. Ralph Kesner

George Ralph Kesner was born on November 16, 1856. He was my 2nd great-grandfather on my father's side.

Information gathered by my father indicated that George was born in Leeds, England. I could find no proof of that. Nor could I find any emigration or naturalization information that might confirm he was an immigrant. I searched for years, to no avail, for his parents’ names hoping that might determine his birthplace.

Finally, two weeks ago, I stumbled upon a newspaper article about George’s business dealings. The article was quite lengthy and detailed complaints about George Ralph Kesner’s insurance adjustment business. I will write more about that story and how it helped me break through a "brick wall" in a future post.

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Winchester Tradition

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. Since I don't post about living people, I thought of another way to honor his special day (especially since I didn't buy him a present yet!) 

In my husband's family there has been a tradition for several generations when naming a child to give them the middle name of WINCHESTER. Where did this start you may ask? 


Read on to find out more

No one in the family had the last name of Winchester -
but it makes a nice illustration for the post, doesn't it?

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Peter Klauss Schuster

Peter Klauss Schuster was born on 11 Nov 1929 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He was the only child of Felix Schuster and the former Claire Theresa Spiegel.

Peter was my first cousin, once removed. He was like a brother to my mom, who was an only child like Peter. Peter and his parents lived in Prague but I always got the feeling that they spent a good deal of time in Vienna, visiting their relatives.


Peter - April 12, 1932
Peter (right) and his cousin, Doris (Left)
Approx. 1935
























Sunday, November 3, 2013

Paul (Nebenzahl) Nevins

Paul Nebenzahl was my Grand-uncle, having married my maternal grandfather's sister, Valerie Lichtenthal

Tante Vally and Unlce Paul - as I remember them - 1960s

Paul Nebenzahl was born on October 31, 1894 in Kraków, Poland. His parents were Solomon Nebenzahl and Cacilie Jakobsohn. 

 All I really know about him is what I have learned from photos I found and and the one "family secret" told to me by my mom. See my post about his wife, Vally for that! I learned more about Paul's family while researching my last post  "Whose Ashes Are On My Shoe?".