52 Ancestors - #9 - Hortense Kesner Samuel - My Nana

My paternal grandmother, Hortense Kesner was the first daughter of Harry George Kesner and Estelle Byk. She was born in New York on February 22, 1907. Her sister, Constance, was born in 1911. 

The date on the back of this photo says " Feb. 22, 1907" which was Hortense's birthdate.
It's tough to date this but I would say she's anywhere from 5- 10 months old here.

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 - #7 - Fannie Woolf Samuel

My second great-grandmother, on my father's side, Francis (Fannie) Woolf was born on January 14, 1862 in New York to Barnett Woolf and the former Kate Cohen. Both her parents came to the United States from England.

In 1870, Fannie was living in Brooklyn with her parents and 6 siblings.

1870 US Cenus

52 Ancestors: #6 -In recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day and to honor the memory of my maternal grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal.

In May of 1938, my family changed forever. I realize that we were blessed that no one in my mother’s immediate family was murdered. We fared so much better than millions of others. I get that. While ours is not a story of horrifying proportions, it still is worthy of being told. It should never have happened. It should never be forgotten.

Paul - probably early 1901

My grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal, was born on December 1, 1900 to hard-working people. His father, Sigmund Lichtenthal was a hat-maker who had come from Tarnopol, Poland to Vienna, Austria. His mother, the former Rosa Berger was from Budapest, Hungary. His younger sister Valerie was born in 1902.

The family business, Lital grew to include 5 men’s hat stores, 3 shoe stores, and a small men’s hat factory.

  

Paul trained as a hat-maker himself and worked in the family business. On August 12, 1930 he married Rose Spiegel. His parents weren't fond of Rose and her family, feeling they were “elitists” and not of the working class. On March 5, 1932, Paul and Rose had their only child, a daughter (my mother) Doris.

 

Undated - Paul is standing in the doorway to the right

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.

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