52 Ancestors: Family Photo

I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones who had packrat ancestors – who doesn’t love to see photos, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks so that we can learn more about those who came before us?  While I love all of them, I especially love photos.  Not just to see their faces but to see their clothes, houses, cars and everything else to help me get a real sense for what their lives were like.

Without a doubt, my favorite find was this photo of four generations of women in my family.

Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz, Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer,
Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer, Hannah (Plotzky) Steen

I remember seeing this photo for the first time and hoping, just HOPING, that someone had written on the back of the photo to confirm who I thought I was looking at.  And sure enough, there it was!

I’m pretty sure this isn’t my grandmother’s (baby Loraine) handwriting so I suspect it was “Mama’s”, Birdie (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer.  I’m guessing this writing was added in 1943, which would have been when my grandmother was 47 (cute that someone did the math on the back of the photo) and Birdie would have been 71 years old.  And the writing that says The Four Generations, Santa Cruz, Aug-1896 looks to be that of Birdie’s husband, Abraham Gunzendorfer.  Maybe he wrote that when the photo was first taken and then Birdie came back and identified the people 47 years later.  Whomever did what – THANK YOU!

Another favorite is this photo of the Gunzendorfer Family which was taken not too much later – maybe early 1897?

Back:  Abraham Gunzendorfer, Gustave Gunzendorfer, Minnie (Dauterman) Gunzendorfer,
Adolph Gunzendorfer, Jacob Gunzendorfer
Seated:  Birdie (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer holding Loraine, Ferdinand Gunzendorfer,
Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer, Inez (Steinberger) Gunzendorfer holding Mervyn Gunzendorfer
Front:  Irene Gunzendorfer

And a new favorite is this one I’ve seen before but finally dug it out of the box and scanned it.  These are the “Levy Cousins” in 1964 – me, brother, sister, and two paternal cousins.  Since my mother had no full siblings and we never knew her half siblings, these are my only first cousins.  The older one has passed away so now there are only four Levy Cousins.  My brother must have really liked watches – notice he has one on each wrist! 

Levy Cousins
Debi, Brother, Sister, Cousin V, Cousin M
August, 1964

I could post a photo every day for a year and still not run out - heck, probably every day for 10 years!

52 Ancestors: Love

It’s been a long two weeks of snow and every technical difficulty imaginable (phone, internet, and cell outages) which makes me late but I am finally taking an opportunity to get in a blog post before the technical world goes haywire again.

This week’s blog prompt, in honor of Valentine’s Day, was Love.  I feel like I’ve seen some old Valentine’s Day cards but as I looked for them, I found a few other things that brought a smile to my face – handmade cards from a young girl (me!) to my grandmother, Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter.  And as a bonus, I found a sweet photo of me with my grandmother.  Being the second child, most of my photos have big sister in them – not that I don’t love seeing the two of us together but once in awhile it’s fun to have just me.  Sorry, sis!

Debi Levy and Clara (Fitzgerald) Hunter
approximately 1957

The first handmade card I made was hard to read since it was in crayon.  But still fun to see the words I sent to my grandmother.  Because it is printed rather than cursive, I’m guessing I was about 7 or so when I sent this.

Dear Grandmother,
Sweet Grandmother.  I love you so true.  I'm sure
there's no other Dear Grandmother
Like you

And then I graduated to cursive writing, which I remember learning in 3rd grade which would have made me 8 or 9.  But this cursive looks pretty good so maybe 10 years old or so?  Being that I was born in the 50’s when Debbie Reynolds was popular, Debbie was a VERY common name for the girls my age.  In fact, in about 7th grade or so many of us changed the spelling of our name so that at least people could determine which Debbie/Debi/Debby/Debbi people were writing about.

As you might remember, my grandmother and her husband, Shell Hunter, owned a chicken ranch and we LOVED to visit them and help out with the eggs.  I wonder if I had dropped an egg when we visited which prompted me to send this card.  I loved how Grandma told me “its alright”.

Such wonderful memories of a very loving grandmother.  And it just makes me smile and feel her love to know that she held on to these cards for the rest of her life.

52 Ancestors: Surprise

I’ve had a lot of surprises as I’ve researched my family – unmarked graves, spouses I never knew about, the strong connection I have to the Jewish pioneers in Santa Cruz and Fresno, and other tidbits along the way.  But one surprise I can’t stop thinking about is the possible connection I have to Grace Barnet, my great grandmother’s (Birdie Schwartz Gunzendorfer’s) friend during her early years, and maybe beyond.

Grace Barnet

I first learned of Grace when I read the names of the graduating class of Santa Cruz High School in 1890.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 7 June 1900, page 3

There’s my great grandmother, her cousin Bella Steen, and Grace Barnet.









And then I found a photo of this graduating class but I could only identify Birdie, Bella, and Henry Wanzer, since he was the only boy in the class.

1890 Graduating Class, Santa Cruz High School

I’ve since determined that Grace Barnet was standing immediately to Birdie’s right - Birdie on the far right and Grace just next to her.  So now I’m able to identify four out of the nine graduates. 

I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching Grace and have found some interesting facts.

In 1860 the Jewish community numbered only 15 Jews (total population of 950) in Santa Cruz.  So not too surprising to “know” most of the names.  Joseph and Hannah (Plotzky) Steen were there with my 2x great grandmother, Rebecca.  Next door was Rebecca’s future husband, Louis Schwartz.  And next door to Louis was Samuel Barnet, his wife Rose, and son Zacharias.  Of course Birdie and Grace weren’t born yet but these families must have been friends at least as early as 1860.  The only other Jewish family at the time were the three Brownstone brothers, Isaac, David, and Jacob.

Grace was also a bridesmaid in Birdie’s marriage to Abraham Gunzendorfer 9 September 1894.  So four years after graduation, the girls remained close.  I love learning about the friends of my ancestors so over the years I’ve done a bit of research about Grace to see what else I could find.  I looked at an Ancestry tree and decided I’d contact the individual who put the tree together to see if he/she could help me when to my SURPRISE I found that individual, P.S., on my list of DNA matches!  What?  Were Grace and Birdie not only friends but actually related? 

I have connected with the owner of the tree and I’m no farther along than I was before.  He is related through his great-grandfather, Jacob, whose sister was married to Grace’s brother, Emanuel.  But try as I might, I just can’t seem to connect the dots.  I have found some interesting clues – somewhere in Jacob’s line is E. Fleischer.  Okay, not so amazing except that Grace’s sister was married to Marks Fleisher.  Coincidence?  Or how about the fact that the surnames on this DNA match’s include Frankel – my great grandmother on my Gunzendorfer side was the daughter of Sarah (Frankel) Goldstein.  Another coincidence?

I’ve also connected with another descendant.  Actually, the Barnet connection goes through his deceased wife who was the granddaughter of Rachel (Barnet) and Marks Fleisher.  But that connection has sort of petered out and I need to get back in touch with him and/or his children (cousins?). 

And that’s as far as I’ve gotten.  Except to learn some facts about Grace’s death on 19 July 1937, just 3 days after the death of her brother, Herman Barnet.  Did Birdie know?  Did she attend either of the funerals?  WERE THEY RELATED???

Santa Cruz Evening News
20 July 1937, page 2

Santa Cruz Sentinel
24 July 1937, page 3

Grace is buried in the Barnet Family Plot at Home of Peace Cemetery in Santa Cruz.

Photos courtesy of Tombstone Finder, Find A Grave

So many surprises yet to find - hope I can make it happen!

52 Ancestors: I’d Like to Meet

I’m a little behind with 52 Ancestors but I can’t let this prompt go by as I’ve often thought about all of the ancestors I’d like to meet.  One that sticks in mind isn’t even a ‘blood’ ancestor but only by marriage.

For those who have followed my blog for awhile, you probably remember that one of my favorite ancestors is Emery Waller, my maternal 3x great grandfather.  I won’t bore you with all of the details (again!) of his life, finding him in an unmarked grave, ultimately having his grave marked, and being interviewed for the local newspaper about my journey.  It was quite a ride.

Emery’s first wife was Rebecca Parker, whom I wrote about HERE.  Rebecca and Emery married in 1833 and had four daughters – Mary Ann (b. 1833), Caroline (b. 1838), Sarah (b. 1842), and my 2x great grandmother, Rebecca Moriah (b. 1845).  It is very likely that Mom Rebecca died after giving birth to her 4th daughter, Rebecca.

Which left Emery alone raising four daughters and just five months later, on 23 July 1845 in Warren County, Ohio, Emery married Clarinda.  And it’s Clarinda whom I’d like to meet as I have so many questions I’d like to ask her and to thank her for caring for my 2x great grandmother as if she were her own.

Clarinda was born 1 November 1822 in Ohio.  Of course, I’m struggling to find the source of that as I kept very poor records in the beginning (it’s still not my strong suit).  Try as I might, I have been unable to find anything about her parents or even confirmation as to what her last name was.  When Clarinda and Emery married, her last name was Meeker but I’m wondering if that was a married name.  I have found records for a Clarinda Wilson marriage to Jonas Meeker on 31 January, 1839 and then Jonas dying later that year.  Which would have put Clarinda “on the market” in 1845.  But I can’t be sure if Clarinda Wilson is “my” Clarinda.

In 1850, Clarinda and Emery were living in Clinton, Illinois with Sarah, Rebecca, and their two daughters Elizabeth and Hannah who were just 3 and 2 years old.  Mary Ann and Caroline were living nearby with Emery’s parents, Solomon/Salmon and Amelia, and Amelia’s mother, Elizabeth Steel.

By 1860, Clarinda and Emery had moved to Santa Ana, Illinois and there is no sign of Sarah.  In the household are Rebecca, Elizabeth, Nancy/Hannah, and two more children, George and Minnie.

1870 found the family in Farmer City, Illinois but the only two children at home were George and Minnie.  And in 1880, George was on his own and Minnie was with Emery and Clarinda, along with her husband James Jones and daughter Leafy Jones.

What would I say to Clarinda? 

First and foremost – where were you before you married Emery in 1845?  Who were your parents?  That would help me put together many of the puzzle pieces.

How did you and Emery meet?  Were you neighbors?  Did you know his first wife, and my 3x great grandmother, Rebecca?  What was she like?

What was it like to marry a man and instantly become a mother to four little girls?  And then to give birth to five more children, with four of those living into adulthood, before your husband left to fight in the Civil War?  How did you cope all those months alone?  And then your husband returned from the war suffering from disabilities the rest of his life? 

I did learn that you moved with Emery to Kansas after 1880.  Why did you move?

And then found that on or about 27 November 1885, Emery went to reside in Ness City for a year while you stayed behind in Newton for treatment.  Why did Emery leave? 

McPherson Freeman, 27 Nov 1885, Fri, page 3

But then, just three days later, on 30 November, 1885 you succumbed to ‘something like cancer’ after telling your husband that you were improving.  Had the two of you had an argument which caused him to leave?  Did you know the end was near and were trying to spare him the pain of watching you die?

McPherson Freeman, 4 Dec 1885, Fri, page 3

You, my step 3rd great grandmother, were an important part of my life even though we were not ‘blood’ (as my family likes to say).  It’s proof that you don’t have to be blood to be a mother.

Clarinda is buried in McPherson Cemetery, McPherson Kansas next to Emery who died 5 years later.

Clarinda
wife of E.L. Waller
November 30, 1885
Aged
62 years

The pains of death are past
Labor and sorrow cease
And life's long warfare closed at last
Her soul rests in peace