52 Ancestors: Earliest

This weeks' blog prompt is Earliest.  At first I was stumped - should I write about the earliest document I have, the earliest ancestor I have documented, or earliest memory I have of one of my ancestors?  Wait - how about the earliest photo I have of my ancestors?  So here we go.....

Paternal side

3x great grandmother, Hannah (Plotzky) Steen, 1828-1909

2x great grandmother, Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz, 1848-1918

2x great grandfather, Louis Schwartz, 1834-1893

2x great grandfather, Ferdinand Gunzendorfer, 1838-1907

2x great grandmother, Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer, 1848-1910

Great Grandmother, Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, 1872-1950

Great grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer, 1869-1944

Great grandfather, Herman Levy, 1856-1918

Great grandmother, Goldie (Benas) Levy, 1864-1926

Grandmother, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, 1896-1982

Grandfather, Sigmund Levy, 1888-1968

Father, Gordon Levy, 1927-2005

Maternal Side

2x great grandmother, Sarah (Miller) Brooks Anderson, 1836-1923

2x great grandmother, Rebecca (Waller) McAboy, 1845-1928

2x great grandfather, Mathew Fitzgerald, 1850-1905

Great grandmother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald, 1883-1966

Great grandfather, Edward Fitzgerald, 1879-1968

Great grandmother, Frances (Brooks) Martin, 1860-1936

Grandmother, Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter, 1903-1987

Grandfather, Earle Martin, 1900-1986

Mother, Geraldine (Martin) Levy, 1928-2013

And last but not least - ME!

I'm missing a few and hope to one day find them but I feel like I have a pretty good collection!

Who would I like to meet?

I noticed yesterday that someone on Facebook had asked the question “if you could meet one of your ancestors, who would it be?”  I wish I’d paid more attention to who posted it so I could give them credit but at the time I just scrolled on by.  But I couldn’t get it out of my head and just kept thinking and thinking about it.  Who would I like to meet?

Of course there are several that I’d like to see (and hug them tight) to have an opportunity to sit and ask questions.  But, I’ve already met them and if I didn’t ask them questions, I have no one to blame but myself.  That makes me cranky but I had to think about those I was never fortunate enough to meet or, really, KNOW. 

I was fortunate to know all of my grandparents and even two of my great grandparents so I couldn’t pick them.  And, of course, I couldn’t pick either of my parents since I knew them until the day they died.  So who would it be?

I wish I’d had an opportunity to meet my paternal great grandparents, Abraham and Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer. 

Bertha (Schwartz) and Abe Gunzendorfer, c. 1944

I know quite a bit about them (thank you, family packrats) and I have a LOT of photos of them.  And since my dad knew both of them, and my mother knew Birdie, I have several first-hand stories about them.  So, neither of them.

Next up would be Bertha’s parents, Rebecca (Steen) and Louis Schwartz.  Now they would be interesting to meet.  I’ve been in contact with a researcher who is writing a book – it is at the publisher now and should be available next month – and Louis, particularly, is noted in the book.  In fact, I’ve even donated a few photos for inclusion, if they find them useful.  I have original photos of the house that Louis built, and both Bertha and my grandmother were born in, and many of their personal effects (thanks again, family packrats).  Sometimes I feel like I’ve already met Louis since I know so much about him.  So, neither of them.

Rebecca (Steen), Joseph, Bertha, and Louis Schwartz, c. 1875

My paternal great grandfather, Herman Levy, has been a brick wall for me so I think it would be interesting to meet him.  He arrived in Fresno in 1874 and was the first man to be made a Mason in Fresno, being part of Lodge No. 247, F. & A.M.  His obituary in 1918 called him a Pioneer Citizen so I’m sure he would have lots to share.  But even though I share my birth name with him and would like nothing more than to know more about his parents, grandparents, and on down the line, I wouldn’t pick him.

Nor would I pick his wife, Goldie Benas.  I’m fairly certain my dad was named after her – she died shortly before he was born and my mom told me that the custom was to name the baby using the first letter of a recently deceased relative (his name was Gordon) – and I know she’d have a lot to tell me.  But no, I wouldn’t pick her.

Goldie (Benas) and Herman Levy, c. 1917

While I’ve always been particularly fascinated with the paternal side of my family (is it normal to be more curious about those who share your birth name?  is it because they were packrats and I know so much about them?), the one person I would love to meet is on my mother’s side.  The man I have grown to know in a way I never thought possible.  Not only that, but I was able to share the details of his life with my mother, his great great granddaughter, before she was gone. 

So who is the ancestor I would love to meet?  My 3x great grandfather, Emery Waller!

I have researched Emery a lot and know that he served in the Civil War –  in the 107th Illinois Infantry as both First Lieutenant and Captain.  He took part in the battle at Winchester on March 23, 1862 that resulted in the defeat of Stonewall Jackson’s forces.  I would like to know more about that!

I know that his first wife, Rebecca Parker, most likely died as a result of my 2x great grandmother’s birth.  My hunch is that the baby, Rebecca Waller, was named in honor of her mother.  I wrote about finding Rebecca Parker HERE.  It would sure help to learn more about Rebecca’s death and Emery’s later marriage to Clarinda.

For those who have followed my blog, several years ago and only because of a slight nudge, I ordered Emery’s pension record to see what I could find.  And while at first it didn’t seem to give me any new information, once the light bulb went off a whole new world was in front of me.  And then I found his unmarked grave in Kansas.  What an emotional journey to get a headstone for him – our story even made the front page of the local paper in McPherson!

But there is still so much I want to know about Emery.  What was life like after the Civil War?  What took him to Kansas?  What were my 2x and 3x great grandmothers like?  And while I know from his pension record that he was about 5’7” and between 135 and 145 pounds, most of all I just want to actually see him.  So meeting him would be a win/win – I could look into his face (and take a picture) and find out so many more details about him and his life.

So that’s who I would like to meet.  What about you?

Emery Waller, McPherson Cemetery

SNGF: Female Ancestors' Age at Death

This week’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (okay, so I’m a day late) from Randy Seaver is to review your pedigree chart and determine the age at death of your female ancestors back at least 5 generations.  You can read about it HERE. 

What’s interesting about this exercise is that I’ve actually given it quite a bit of thought as when my mother died at the age of 84, I thought back to her mother, and her mother, and her mother and I thought they were all about the same age.  It made me realize that I’d really like to go from age 83 to about age 85 and just bypass those ages altogether. 

So an added exercise for me was to identify the ages of those women, in addition to five generations.

My mother, Geraldine (Martin) Levy, died 15 days before her 85th birthday.  So 84 years old.

Her mother, Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter, died at the age of 84.  Uh-oh.

Geraldine (Martin) Levy & Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter

 

Clara’s mother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald, died at the age of 83 years, 5 months.

Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald

 

Mabel’s mother, Rebecca (Waller), died at the age of 83 years, 2 months.

 

Rebecca (Waller) McAboy

See?  I’m turning 83 and then poof – I’m gonna be 85! 

Okay, so back to the original exercise.  Some of my math might not look correct as I took into account the age at their last birthday.

Mother
Geraldine (Martin) Levy – 1928-2013 – 84 years

Grandmothers
Clara Maxine (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter – 1903-1987 – 84 years
Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy – 1896-1982 – 86 years

Great Grandmothers
Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald – 1883-1966 – 83 years
Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin – 1860-1936 – 75 years
Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer – 1872-1950 – 78 years
Goldie (Benas) Levy – 1864-1926 – 62 years

2nd Great Grandmothers
Rebecca (Waller) McAboy – 1845-1928 – 83 years
Julia (Horgan) Fitzgerald – 1849-1886 – 37 years
Sarah (Miller) Brooks Anderson – 1836-1923 – 86 years
Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz – 1848-1918 – 70 years
Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer – 1848-1910 – 62 years
Fredericka (Wilzinski) Benas – 1840-1915 – 75 years
Millicent (Moore) Martin – 1827-1884 – 56 years
Unknown ( ) Levy

3rd Great Grandmothers
Rebecca (Parker) Waller – 1814-1845 – 30 years
Margaret (Finley) Miller – 1812-1884 – 72 years
Monima (Williams) Brooks – 1801-1867 – 66 years
Hannah (Plotzkey) Steen – 1828-1909 – 80 years
Margaret (Callahn) Horgan – Unknown
Sarah (Frankel) Goldstein – 1838-1897 – 59 years
Sarah (Mann) McAboy – 1825-1910 – 85 years
Margaret (Cullen) Fitzgerald – Unknown
Amelia (Jackson) Wilzinski – 1816-1902 – 86 years
Elizabeth (McDaniel) Moore – 1808-1867 – 59 years
Tabitha (Rodgers) Martin – 1800-1860 – 60 years
Unknown x 5

The female ancestor to live the longest was Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson at 31,586 days.  Sarah’s first husband (and my 2nd great grandfather) was killed in the Battle of Fredericksburg and at one point she moved across country from South Carolina to California – what stories she would have had!

A close runner-up was my grandmother whom I’ve written so much about, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy at 31,519 days.  Besides my parents, I probably know more about her than any other ancestor.

The ancestor to live the least amount of time was Rebecca (Parker) Waller, my 3rd great grandmother.  Rebecca died at the age of 30, within days of giving birth to my 2nd great Grandmother, Rebecca (Waller) McAboy.

The average age of the 23 women I know the age for at the time of their death was about 70 years old.

It sure is hard to see how many of these women died at an age younger than I am today.  But I’m not dwelling on that, at least not until I get to be 83 years old!

Who will marry us?

Last week I wrote about my grandmother’s “little diary” which she stopped writing in after she married my grandfather on February 23, 1919.  It started me thinking about what else was happening in the days leading up to their marriage and, fortunately for me, I have the letters that they wrote back and forth from about 1916-1919.  I’ve been slowly transcribing these letters (note to self – get back to that project) so I decided to skip ahead to the last few letters she wrote to see what was she was thinking about.  It seems that one of the important things on her mind in the week preceding their wedding was who would officiate the marriage.  Here are some excerpts from those letters [my comments included].


February 15, 1919 [Saturday] – postmarked 6:00 p.m., Monterey, California

My Dearest Boy [she called him “Boy” quite a bit],

Have nothing of note to tell you today so shall write just a tiny note.  Received your letter last night and shall say a word or two in regard to where we shall stay Sunday night [after the wedding].  Dear, it would be perfectly ridiculous for me to take a trunk with me as I don’t imagine we shall be gone any longer than four days.  I can get what I need into a suit case and you can too.  Then the folks will send the rest of my things direct to Fresno as I wrote you yesterday.  No one bothers with a trunk for a few days if it can be helped.  And as far as needing a bridal suite – we can do without that – just a nice room and bath will give us all the comfort we desire.  I really prefer staying in S.F, because we can get away so much better from that side unless you want to go the valley route.  As far as we know, Mother and I, no doubt, will stay at the Oakland [Hotel Oakland, site of their wedding] when we go up Thursday and it is my preference to have Sunday as I do not care about being too conspicuous in a place like that.  It wouldn’t matter so much if we weren’t going to stay there and also be married in the hotel.  But I’ll leave it to you, after making the suggestions, and you do what you think best.  Hope you have heard from Franklin [prospective wedding officiate] by now and that he can come, otherwise we will have to get busy and get Dr. Myer [sic].

….Bushels of love and some nice kisses to my sweet boy.  Your, Loraine

February 16, 1919 [Sunday] – postmarked 6:00 p.m., Monterey, California

Sig sweetheart

Was sorry to hear last night when I received your letters that Rabbi Franklin would be unable to officiate, but it can’t be helped I guess.  So I immediately sent a special delivery to Dr. Meyer asking his services and that he advise me accordingly by return mail.  It may be that Franklin will be back but not well enough to perform a marriage ceremony.

As far as we know this minute, love, we shall stay at the Oakland from Thursday on, so if you come in that night I’ll be able to see you when you arrive [please no more details, Grandma].  Then the next morning before we do anything else we can attend to the license and get that off our minds.

….Just think, dear, – next Sunday!  Can hardly realize it, can you?  Wish the excitement was all over and we were on our way.  I dread the ceremony, however short it may be – having so many eyes gazing upon us and picking us to pieces, as it were. [I am her granddaughter, that’s for sure, as I have always disliked being the center of attention].  I’ll be so glad when it is “the day after”.

….Much love and many kisses, dearest, and we will see each other before very long, lover boy.  Your own, Loraine

February 18, 1919 [Monday] – postmarked 8:00 a.m., Monterey, California

Sig dearest,

….So my boy is very busy getting things ready for his “wife to be”.  Believe me, dear, we’ll be a happy couple.

The girls gave me a delightful little tea today at the Gift Shop and I dolled up in my “going away” outfit [dang, where’s a picture of THAT?].  It looked quite swell and I hope you’ll like it.

Yes, sweetheart, we expect to stay at the Oakland as far as we know, which I told you in yesterday’s letter.  About the trunk – unless you want to bring it for your things, dear, I can’t think I shall need it as I expect to get a nice suitcase when I get to S.F. and will hold all I need as far as I know as I don’t expect to take too many things along.

Haven’t heard from Rabbi Meyer yet.  Hope he won’t disappoint us or we will be up against it and shall have to scurry around for someone else.

….Am so glad to hear that the boys will be out shortly.  With them coming, though, it means that we’ll have to look for a place to live in.  Shall write a letter tomorrow.  Stacks of love & kisses, dearest boy.  Your, Loraine.

February 18, 1919 [Monday] – postmarked 6:00 p.m., Monterey, California

Sig dear,

I waited for the noon mail to come in today and thought surely there would be some word from Dr. Meyer as to whether he will be able officiate or not, but none came.  It isn’t enough that I have other things to attend to, I have to bother about getting the Rabbi, too [uh-oh, sounds like she’s a little irritated].  And you know we can’t wait until the last minute or we won’t be getting married at all.  By rights you should have attended to this [maybe not just irritated but actually mad] as soon as you knew the date, but it cant’ be helped now as we waited on Franklin.  A few moments ago I wired to your mother and told her to find out if Meyer will be with us, if not to get Nieto [Rabbi Nieto was a very prominent Rabbi in the Bay Area and, in fact, officiated at the marriage of my great grandparents, Bertha Schwartz and Abraham Gunzendorfer in 1892] at once, altho’ I would rather have the former, and to answer me one way or the other.  It is a pretty late date now to be hunting someone to marry us on Sunday.  We’ll be in fine luck if everyone is busy on that day – preparations, etc. and no one to perform the ceremony.  We’ll have to trust to luck, that’s all.  You’ll have to get busy Friday if we haven’t secured any up to that date.  But I hope it will be settled before then.

Two presents came today – one from Mina and Morse [no idea who this might be], the other from the Benas family; Gertie, Hortense, etc. [Sig’s mother’s maiden name was Benas].  Will tell you about them when I see you.

This will be may last letter to you, dear, until we meet in Oakland [it’s almost time!] and I’ll be waiting for you at the Oakland.  Your mother sent a list this morning for more announcements.

I’ll be so glad when all this excitement is over – it is getting to be too much for me [Grandma didn’t seem to have much patience for stuff like this] especially when you are so far away that I have to do the figuring [complaining again].  I do hope we will be able to land some Rabbi [funny, she doesn’t seem too particular now].  That is the worry I have now.

….All for today.  Loads of love and kisses, dearest, and I’ll see you Thursday.  Your, Loraine

3:30  Just received a wire from your mother saying that Meyer will officiate but he didn’t think I wanted an answer.  So that is settled, thank goodness.

THANK GOODNESS!  Can you imagine how my life might have been different if Dr. Meyer hadn’t agreed to officiate?  Would they have found another Rabbi?  I’m glad we don’t have to worry about the answer to that question!

But they did get married – and they were able to keep one of their announcements.  Again, thanks to my Grandmother for hanging on to it for me.



Some photos from about that time period – wonder if they were taken during the wedding celebration or honeymoon?

Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy

Sigmund Levy

Abe, Birdie, Loraine Gunzendorfer

Abe and Birdie Gunzendorfer, Sig Levy

Benjamin Benas – what I know

Last week I wrote about my great grandmother, Goldie Benas, which piqued my curiosity again about her parents.  And as typically happens, I’ve been off in a million different directions so I need to document what I do know about her father, Benjamin Benas.

Benjamin was born in about 1826 in Posen, Germany.  He may have come to the United States aboard the Stephani which arrived in New York from Hamburg on 21 July 1845.  There was a young 19 year old Mechanic on board by the name of Benjamin Benas but I need to confirm if that was my Benjamin.

California Voter’s Registrations show that he was naturalized in San Francisco County on 6 September 1855.  What took him to California? 

In 1860 Benjamin was living in Vallejo with his brother, Solomon, and in 1865 he was living in San Francisco at 13 Kearny.  By 1870 he was back in Vallejo and had settled down with his wife, Fredericka (or Frances) and three children, Isaac, Goldie, and Max.  In 1868, Benjamin was a charter member of the Naval Chapter, No. 35, R.A.M. (from History of Solano County: comprising an account of its geographical position).  And Voter’s Registrations in 1867, 1876, 1880, and 1886 show him in Vallejo so my hunch is he never left.

Except maybe in 1892 when he died.  His certificate of death shows his date of death was 17 April 1892 and his previous residence was Amador County and that his place of death was Falley’s or Talley’s.  Take a look and let me know what you think it says.



Solano County is roughly 80 miles from Amador County – did Benjamin go there to die?  From the death certificate, it looks like he died from an abscess and carcinoma of the intestines – probably not a pleasant way to die.  I hope his family was with him and that he wasn’t away from home and alone.

Based on the age listed on his death certificate (65 years, 3 months, 23 days) his date of birth would have been 25 December, 1826.

The notice in the newspaper doesn’t tell me much.

San Francisco Chronicle April 19, 1892 Page 10

Benjamin is buried in Hills of Eternity in Colma, California, where his wife Fredericka was later buried with him.

Photo courtesy of Diane Reich

In researching for this blog post, I stumbled across the Solano County Genealogical Society website and found a few things listed that might be of interest – an Index to Property and Owners and Township Lists from 1878 and a Deed Index showing deeds pertaining to Benjamin from 1864 and 1861.  My request and check are in the mail!

What do I need to research in order to learn more about Benjamin:

• Confirm if the Benjamin Benas who arrived in New York in 1845 was my Benjamin Benas.
• Obtain naturalization records from San Francisco County from 6 September 1855.
• Figure out the parents of Benjamin and Solomon Benas – easy, right?
• Learn more about Naval Chapter, No. 35, R.A.M.
• Wait – patiently – for information from the Solano County Genealogical Society. 

And that’s what I know.  For now.

Goldie Benas

Goldie Benas was my great grandmother – a woman who never had a chance to get to know some of her grandchildren let alone great grandchildren. 

Goldie, the only daughter of Benjamin Benas and Frdericka Wilzinski, was born December 10, 1864 in Vallejo, California.  Goldie had three brothers – Isaac (1863-1951), Max (1867-1928), and Morris (1872-1929).  I don’t know much about Goldie’s early years, other than that she lived with her family in Vallejo until she married Herman Levy in San Francisco in September, 1883.  The Fresno Republican from September 22, 1883 (page 2) states that the marriage occurred on September 18, 1883 by Rev. Dr. Vidivar and the Oakland Tribune from September 18, 1883 (page 4) states the marriage occurred on September 15, 1883.  I do know that by December 23, 1884 the family was almost certainly living in Fresno when their first child, Herbert Levy, was born.  The next two children, Leon and Sigmund (my grandfather), were born in Vallejo – family interviews said that Goldie went back to Vallejo in the summer of 1886 and 1888 to have her sons in order to escape the hot summers in Fresno.  I’m sure she stayed with her parents as they were still living in Vallejo at the time.  The story of “too hot in Fresno” makes sense as the Fresno Republican reported on June 21, 1884, page 3, that Goldie was spending the summer in San Francisco with Miss Sopha Sachs.  Who was Sopha and why did she accompany Goldie to San Francisco?  Maybe a nurse or housekeeper?

I don’t have many pictures of Goldie but I’ve been able to come up with a few. 

Levy Family Home, built 1887 846 or 946 K Street (later Van Ness Avenue), Fresno

When I enlarged the photo to be able to see the people better, I can see Goldie, Herman, Leon, Herb and Sig standing in front of the house.  I love the bicycles and Sig’s dress!



Youngest son Benjamin (1892-1965) showed a picture of the family in his autobiography.

Back row:  Leon, Sig, Ben, Herb Levy Front row:  Goldie Benas Levy and Herman Levy

In 1918, Herman passed away and Goldie was on her own.  In 1910 the family lived at the house shown above – Ben stated in his autobiography that K Street later became Van Ness Avenue.  In 1920, Goldie was living with Leon and Ben at 1509 Van Ness Avenue.

Here’s Goldie with her four grandchildren who were living in about 1922-1923.

Left to right:  Herb Levy Jr. (son of Herb), Hermina Levy (daughter of Benjamin), Goldie Benas Levy, Barbara Levy (daughter of Herb), Robert Levy (son of Sig), c. 1922-1923

And Goldie by herself. 

Goldie Benas Levy February 22, 1922 Taken at 647 N. Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, California Based on 1920 census, home of Herb Levy and family

Goldie died January 19, 1926 at Stanford Hospital in San Francisco County from Chronic Myocarditis.  She was just 61 years old and was never able to meet her two additional grandchildren, my father, Gordon Levy, and Benjamin’s youngest daughter, Gilda Levy.  Interesting to note that my mother told me that based on Jewish custom, children were often named with the first letter of their first name matching that of a deceased loved one.  My father and Gilda were both born in 1927, just a year after Goldie’s death, and while I know that Gordon was named with a "G" in Goldie's honor, I would guess Gilda was, as well.



MOTHER OF LEVY BROTHERS IS DEAD

Pioneer Fresno Citizen, Active in Community Affairs, Dies, Aged 61

Mrs. Goldie Levy, 61, mother of Herbert, Leon, Sigmund and Benjamin Levy of this city and a resident of Fresno for the last forty-three years, during which she had taken a prominent part in social club and civic affairs, died late yesterday at Stanford University Hospital in San Francisco.  She was the widow of the late Herman Levy.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 P.M. tomorrow in the Stephens and Bean Chapel, followed by cremation.

The service will be conducted by Fresno Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star and Rabbi Alexander Segel.  The pallbearers will be S.B. Goodman, William Glass, S.L. Platt, Maurice Rorphuro, F. L. Simons and Curtis Ballard.

Mrs. Levy was born at Vallejo, December 10th, 1864.  Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Benas, were pioneers of the state.  She came to Fresno soon after her marriage and lived for twenty five years in the 800 block of Van Ness Avenue.

For several years of late, Mrs. Levy had made her home at 1509 North Van Ness Avenue with her son, Leon Levy.  She belonged to the Order of Eastern Star and the Parlor Lecture Club, taking an active interest in both organizations.  Besides her four sons, she leaves three brothers, Isaac and Max Menas [sic] of San Francisco, and Morris Benas of Oakland, and four grandchildren who live in Fresno.

I wish I knew which paper this obituary was printed in but I have just the clipped article above and haven’t yet located the source.

Goldie is interred with Herman at Chapel of the Light Columbarium in Fresno, California.

Step by Step

Don’t you just love it when you stumble across something that is not only cool but also chips away at your research?  That’s just what happened to me today!

Since I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about I decided to go into my treasure chest of “stuff” and see what caught my eye.  And this is what I found.



Standing on the right is my great grandmother, Bertha “Birdie” Schwartz.  I’d seen this photo a number of times but because it is fairly large, I’d put it into a larger box with some old newspapers and various other things and didn’t get back to it.

So I drug it out and showed it to my husband who promptly noticed the scrolls that each young person was holding and we wondered if it was some sort of graduation or something.  That could be since there were two older people (teachers?) sitting with the young people.  And that’s when he noticed Birdie’s left wrist and a bracelet she was sporting.  “Is that your bracelet?” he asked.  Oh my, I think he could be right!

One of my earliest blog posts was about Birdie where I showed a picture of the bracelet she was given at her high school graduation.  You can read it here but here is the bracelet again.



Not a great photo and the bracelet is safely housed in the safe deposit box so I couldn’t take another one but compare it to this close up of Birdie’s wrist.



Yep, that’s it!  This must be a photo of Birdie’s high school graduation!

On the back of the photo was this.

Property of Loraine Levy To be given her after my demise

Loraine Levy was Birdie’s oldest child, only daughter and my paternal grandmother.  I’m glad to know the picture ended up with not just Loraine but her granddaughter many, many years later. 

Since Birdie grew up in Santa Cruz, California and the Santa Cruz Sentinel is included in the newspapers.com collection, I decided to peruse the site in the 1890 time period to see if I could find out anything about the graduation.  And look what I found!

Santa Cruz Sentinel Saturday, 7 June, 1890 Page 3

There it is – Bertha graduated from Santa Cruz High School on Friday, 6 June, 1890!  Now if that’s not enough, it gives the list of graduates – 8 girls and 1 boy.  Take a look at the photo – 8 girls and 1 boy!  So this is the 1890 graduating class from Santa Cruz High School! 

But that’s not all - one of the graduates was Bella Steen who just so happens to have been the first cousin of Birdie’s mother, Rebecca Steen Schwartz.  Rebecca’s father, Joseph, was the brother of Bella’s father, Jacob.

I had also noted in the photo that the young lady sitting on the left looked familiar and I knew I’d seen her somewhere before.  Which got me thinking – could the familiar looking girl be Bella Steen?

A quick look at some of my photos and I found this.



Could this unidentified woman be the same as the graduate who looked familiar to me?


I think they might be one and the same!  Maybe my Steen cousin can confirm for me but I think it’s the same person. 

I need to research Bella more thoroughly.  I do know that she married Morris Benas who just happened to be a brother of Goldie Benas.  That name probably doesn’t mean much to too many people but one of Goldie’s sons was Sigmund Levy, my paternal grandfather who married Bertha’s daughter, Loraine.  I would be willing to bet that Bella and Morris were the connection to introducing my grandparents!

Just when you hit a slump a little nugget appears – so now I’m going to follow the headline of the newspaper and take it step by step.