They Watch Over Us – Family Photos

Two family pictures have been hanging in our dining room for years.

Rosa Weiss Oppenheim

The first one is a portrait of my great-aunt Rosa Weiss Oppenheim. Rosa was born in Austria in 1868 and died at the very young age of 32, leaving two young children to be raised by their father Max. The sign of a good portrait is that the eyes will follow you. Rosa’s eyes certainly do! Every so often our daughter Caitlin would complain that she was freaking her out as Rosa “stared” at her during meal times!

The Spiegel Family Collage

All the photos in the frame are those of my grandmother Rose’s family – her sister, Claire Theresa, her brother Emile Garrett, and her mother,
Sophie Weiss Spiegel. Her father, Herman Spiegel who died in 1991, is noticeably absent!

Whenever I look at this framed collage (which is pretty much every day!) an image of my grandmother’s apartment flashes through my brain. In 1938, my grandmother, Rose Spiegel Lichtenthal and her daughter, Doris (my mother) arrived in America from Vienna, Austria. They moved to the apartment at 30 Eastchester Road in New Rochelle, New York after spending some time at her Aunt Irene’s house. (Irene is the daughter of Max and Rosa.) My grandfather, Paul joined them after his release from a concentration camp in 1939. My grandmother lived in that apartment until her death in 1972. It is a place that holds many special memories for me. (I must mention here that my other set of grandparents, my father’s parents lived across the hall in the same building!!)

Row 1 - Left to Right

The Spiegel children
Rose, Claire, and Emile
March 25, 1915 - Vienna, Austria

Rose Spiegel and her sister, Claire
Approx. 1908 - Semarang, Java

Rose and Claire
Approx. 1904-1905
Semarang, Java

Emile Spiegel - 1915 - Vienna, Austria
Emile later changed his last name to SPEEGER

Sophie Spiegel (seated) with daughters Claire and Rose
The woman standing in the back may be a family friend (or a servant?)
Java - approx. 1904

Row 2 - Left to Right

I recognize my Aunt Claire (standing behind Emile), Uncle Emile (in chair),
and my grandmother Rose in this undated photo from Java. (Approx. 1908)
But who are the others?

Claire and Rose

Claire and Rose

Emile, Rose, and Claire
Vienna, Austria

Row 3 - Left to Right

Rose Spiegel
Approx. 1905 - Semarang, Java

Claire Spiegel
Approx. 1903 - Semarang, Java

Sophie Weiss Spiegel with her three children - Claire, Emile, and Rose
Approx. 1907-1908  - Semarang, Java

Claire Spiegel
Approx. 1903 - Sematang, Java

Claire Spiegel
Approx. 1908 - Semarang, Java

Why does the collection of photos evoke such a strong image for me? The picture, as framed, hung above my grandfather’s desk in the tiny little hallway of the apartment. Originally, the fabric was a purple/blue satin. The years had ravaged the fabric so I redid the frame using blue cotton. I was careful to put the pictures back in the exact same position. I do worry about whatever may in the fabric leaching into the photographs. I know I shouldn’t hang originals but the frame does not have direct sunlight on it. The oldest picture in the frame is probably 115 years old, so I say, “It lasted this long as it is, so I’m going to take my chances!” Don’t worry, I made high-resolution scans of all the photos!!

The Floorplan

I just couldn’t help myself… here is a “not to scale” floorplan of my grandmother’s apartment. The “Renter’s Bedroom” was originally the room shared by my mother and her grandmother, Sophie Spiegel. After my grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal’s death in 1959, my grandmother took in renters to help her cover the bills.

Floorplan (not to scale) of my grandmother's apartment.

Considering I am writing about “Our Stuff” this year, it might be an interesting project to “place” the items we still possess in their original locations around the apartment. Uh oh! Do I see another book in my future??

This is the 8th post for Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. This year, I am focusing on telling the story of “Our Stuff.”

Unusual Name: “Hochwohlgeboren Frau Spiegel”

I often felt my mother, Doris Lichtenthal Falcone, was prone to exaggeration. She told me her paternal grandfather, Sigmund Lichtenthal, listed Expert on his business card. He did – I found the card. She told me there was a buzzing noise in her walls. There was – the bees actually drilled through the drywall! So, I shouldn’t have been skeptical when Mom described her beloved grandmother, Sophie Weiss Spiegel, as a "high-society" woman.  

52 Ancestors - #28 - Planning a Heritage Travel Trip

Still trying to catch up from our European river cruise! The topic for Week 28 of Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blog challenge was TRAVEL! How perfect is that? Of course, I couldn’t blog about our trip in real time due to poor internet connectivity. I did post every day to my Facebook account (Deborah Samuel Holman) so check there if you’d like to read about each day of our trip. Because many of you do follow me on Facebook, I’m not going to repeat myself here!

If you aren’t aware of why we took this trip, please read my post from June 2:  A Heritage Trip - Amsterdam to Austria.

I thought it might be helpful to share some of what I learned about taking a research trip for this week’s post. While the itinerary for this cruise was pretty well set by our cruise line, Grand Circle Travel, I was able to fit in some time for family research.

52 Ancestors - #22 - A Heritage Trip - Amsterdam to Austria

This week's topic for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is "So Far Away!" It couldn't have come at a better time! In just a few weeks, Scott and I will be joining my sister Jeanne and her partner, Suzi on a very special trip, a river cruise beginning in Amsterdam and ending in Vienna, Austria.

In the spring of 1938, my mother traveled with her mother and grandmother from Vienna to Holland. If you know anything at all about world history, the reason for their trip is obvious. As Hitler marched into Vienna, things got quite dicey for the Jews. My great-grandfather's hat factory, Lital, and several shops had already been "purchased" by the Nazis and things were looking quite grim. My mother's paternal great-grandparents were of the opinion that things were going to be okay. Her mother's mother, Sophie Spiegel did not agree. Sophie's best friend lived in Holland and Sophie herself had Dutch citizenship, as did my grandmother, Rose Lichtenthal. My mother was 6 years-old. They decided to leave. My grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal,  stayed behind because of the business, an unfortunate decision which resulted in his being imprisoned in Dachau and Buchenwald for nearly two years.

My mother's family had been in Vienna for several generations, having come from Romania and Poland. Our family history is rich with references to the city. So, it was amazing when my sister broached the idea of taking a trip which is basically the reverse of the one our mother took so many years ago.

Wordless Wednesday - My Great-Grandfather's shop - Then and Now

The SPIEGEL building - The original store opened around 1895 in Semarang, Indonesia - Before renovation - 2011
http://smgpras.blogspot.com/2011/04/winkel-maatschapphij-h-spiegel-remaing.html

SPIEGEL building now houses the SPIEGEL Bar and Bistro -after renovation - 2017.
https://gapuradigital.withgoogle.com/workshops/semarang

YouTube Video: Renovations 2015

YouTube Video: SPIEGEL Bar and Bistro Opening

52 Ancestors #8 / Genealogy Do-Over Week 2: Interview with Omi

One of the first tasks in the Genealogy Do-Over was to interview family members. Sadly, we have almost no one left in my parents' generation to interview. My mother, Doris Lichtenthal Falcone passed away on Dec. 2, 2011. Today she would have been 83 years old.

I spent some time regretting the fact that I didn't embark on my genealogical journey earlier, then remembered a project my daughter Caitlin did while she was in school. Caitlin interviewed her grandmother, her "Omi", about her 1938 journey to America and videotaped the interview to share with the class. Thanks to my son-in-law, Andy, who hooked the VCR up to the new flat screen TV, I was able to view the video last week.  I can’t think of better topic to write about on this day.

Caitlin interviewing her grandmother.

While I am going to share the facts of my mother’s 1938 immigration experience, this post is not about facts. It’s about life. The things that happen to us. The things we can’t control. The manner in which we handle those things makes our life what is – for good, for bad, for the better.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #3 - Sophie Weiss Spiegel - A Strong Woman

Sophie as a young girl

Sophie Weiss was my maternal great-grandmother. Although she was quite wealthy at points in her life, I knew things had not always been easy thanks to stories my mother had shared with me. I also have many unanswered questions about Sophie’s life.

52 Ancestors - #16 - Memento Monday - Sophie's Shoes

My great-grandmother,
Sophie Weiss Spiegel

My great-grandmother's slippers

As I am a bit crunched for time this week, I thought I would post a "quickie" about the importance of mementos in our family history.

I am quite lucky to be from a family of quasi-hoarders. Thanks Mom!! Not everyone recognizes the importance of keeping their grandmother's slippers. Or the letters from their high school sweater. Or their father's urologist report from 1938. (Okay, I'm pretty sure my mother had no idea that was in her father's papers....)

52 Ancestors- #8: Josef Spiegel - Another brick wall!

Josef Spiegel was born on February 2, 1803 in what was then Galacia. His generation is as far back as I have gotten on my mother's maternal line. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–#5 Claire Theresia Spiegel

Here is my 5th post for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a challenge posed by Amy Johnson Crow.

I love this undated picture!

I don’t know a lot about my Aunt Claire. I remember her as glamorous and funny. Her accent was thicker than her sister’s (my grandmother) and she always appeared so fashionable to me – so maybe that’s where the “glamorous” image came from. I also remember her freckles - I figured that's where my extremely freckled face came from!

She once told me a funny story about walking around in town (Vienna, Austria) and ‘slipping in the violets.” It took me some time to realize “violets” was a euphemism for “horse doo-doo”!! Tante Claire was too ‘genteel” to use the everyday term, I guess!!

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.

My Omi - Rosa "Rose" Spiegel Lichtenthal

Warning!! This will be a longer post than usual. Rose was my grandmother!! I have a lot to share.

Rose Spiegel was my maternal grandmother. Born in Semarang, Java on October 19, 1903, she was the second daughter of Herman Spiegel and Sophie Weiss. Her sister, Claire Theresa had been born on January 3, 1901. Her brother, Emil Gerrit, would be born on July 7, 1905.

Rose Spiegel - Semerang, Java - approx. 1904

Importance of Blogs in Genealogy - A Mystery Solved!

A Mystery Solved!

A few years ago, my siblings and I were going through a pile of pictures belonging to our grandmother, Rose Spiegel Lichtenthal. Included in the group was a picture of four women, two of whom were obviously our grandmother and her mother, Sophie Spiegel. But who were the other women? We didn't have a clue.

Thanks to a recently-forged connection with Luctor Herwig, the mystery is solved!!