52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - #4 John Sved: 1930-2014

Here is my 4th post for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a challenge posed by Amy Johnson Crow.

Last week, I got one of those phone calls. The kind where you look at the caller ID and know your family has just gotten a little bit smaller.

John as a young child

John Sved was my mother’s second cousin. They spent some time together in their youth, but had gone years with little contact. Then, maybe 10 - 15 years ago they reconnected. John- divorced and living alone in New York City, my Mom – an only child whose parents had passed away years ago, rekindled a relationship that most likely began in 1938 when my mother arrived in the United States.

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks - #3: Ralph Oppenheim

Here is my third post for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a challenge posed by Amy Johnson Crow.

Ralph would be my first cousin - twice removed. Our common ancestors are EmanuelWeiss and Theresia Passauer, my second-great-grandparents.

Ralph Oppenheim was born on 13 Jan 1896 in New York. 

Portion of Ralph's Birth Certificate

When Ralph was born, his parents, Max Oppenheim and the former Rosa Weiss already had one child, a daughter named Irene.

Undated - New York - L-to-R:
Max, Ralph, Rosa, Irene

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.