52 Ancestors: Great - Hannah Plotzky?

I was lucky enough to have known two of my great grandparents, Edward and Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald.  I was nearly 12 when Mabel died and 14 when Edward died so I do have some clear memories of them.

As I was preparing for this blog prompt, I thought about my other great grandparents whom I never knew and then thought about my ancestors' great grandparents.  I know for sure that my paternal grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer, knew her great grandmother because I have a picture of them together!

L to R: Rebecca Steen (grandmother), Bertha Schwartz (mother), Loraine Gunzendorfer, Hannah Plotzky? (great grandmother)

I'm not 100% sure that Hannah's birth surname was, in fact, Plotzky.  Or for that matter, was her first name at birth really Hannah?  Someone on the Jewish Ancestry in Poland Facebook page suggested that her name might have been Chana and then Americanized to Hannah.

Her death certificate shows that her father was Morris Plotzky of Poland and that her mother was unknown.  The same Facebook member stated that Morris might have been Moshe, Moszko, or Moszek.  And as we know, often times the informant had incorrect information.  So the jury is still out on her surname, first name, and father's name.  I also have the death certificate for two of her children - Rebecca and Samuel.  Rebecca's shows her mother's name is unknown, Samuel's shows his mother's name as Hannah Plotzky.  

What I know about Hannah is that she was born on 20 December, 1828 in "Poland" - but where, exactly, I don't know.

It appears that she came to America via New York in 1851 with her husband, Joseph Steen, and their daughter (my great grandmother), Rebecca and an infant named Dina.  But the records I've found show their surname as Stain so is it the correct family?  Maybe, maybe not.  If this is them, infant Dina must not have survived because there is never another mention of her.  

I found a family enumerated in New York on June 29, 1855, which makes sense since I believe they arrived in New York in 1851 and son Samuel was born in New York on May 4, 1855.  But this family is Joseph Stein, Hanagh Stein, Rebecka Stein, Solomon Stein, Julius Stein, and David Morrison.  Ages don't add up for Joseph and Hannah but I've seen a few references to Samuel as Solomon so this could be them.  Joseph was a barber and had several brothers so that could add up.  I'll chalk this up to "probably".

New York, State Census, 1855

Somewhere between 1855 and 1857, the family must have moved to Santa Cruz as the next child, Meyer, was born in California in 1857.

I'm about 100% sure that this is them in 1860 in Santa Cruz.

1860 United States Census NARA mircofilm publication M653, 1438 rolls, Washington, D.C., National Archives Records

It's hard to see but next door to the family is Louis Schwartz, who would later marry Rebecca and the two of them would become my 2x great grandparents.

Joseph died in 1866 (you can read a bit about me discovering his grave in the #2 top 10 find of 2012 HERE) and Hannah was on her own.  By 1870 she had moved to San Francisco with children Solomon/Samuel, Meyer, Lillie, Julius, and Dena.

1870 United States Federal Census, San Francisco Ward 10, San Francisco, California, Roll: M593

That checks out.  But by 1876, Julius was gone.  

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, Colma, California

1880 found the family at 626 17th Street, Oakland, California.

1880 United States Census, Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: T9_61, Family History Film: 1354061, Page: 183.2000, Enumeration District: 9, Image: 0369

Dena is often referred to as Lennie but I know she was, in fact, Dena, when she died from pericarditis in 1894.  Hannah had endured so much sadness.

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, Colma, California

I've been unable to find Hannah in the 1900 census but I haven't given up trying.  What I've taken away from this blog post is that I have A LOT to learn about Hannah.  I'm thankful for the suggestions I've received on the Jewish Ancestry in Poland Facebook Group page and will be following up on those.

Hannah died on 11 April, 1909 and as you can see above, she is buried with Dena at Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma.

You can see the family here - Julius next to Hannah/Dena, Rosalind (Samuel's daughter) and Meyer (Hannah's son) in front.

Steen family, Hills of Eternity, Colma, California

Hannah was my 3x great grandmother and my grandmother's GREAT grandmother.  I hope to learn more about her.

52 Ancestors: Bachelor Uncle – Hyman Steen

This weeks’ blog prompt is Bachelor Uncle.  When I saw the prompt, Hyman Steen immediately came to mind.  Hyman (or Hymie, as my grandmother called him) was the first cousin, once removed, of my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer.  Hymie was the son of Jacob Steen – Jacob’s brother, Joseph, was the maternal grandfather of my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz.

Hyman Steen was born 8 Jan 1877 in Santa Cruz.  He was one of seven children born to Jacob Steen and Pauline “Lena” Jacobson.  The children were Jennie, Bella, Estella, Hyman, Harry, Julius, and Myrtle.  (Jacob was previously married and had a child, Amelia, prior to marrying Lena).

In 1880, the family (minus Julius, who had not yet arrived) was living on Lincoln Street in Santa Cruz.  In 1990 it was just Hyman and Jacob living in District 86, San Lorenzo – Lena was listed as a “widow” in Oakland with children Jennie, Stella, and Julius.  Since Jacob didn’t die until 1909, I’m not sure why she would have stated she was a widow.

1910 found Hyman on Baldwin Avenue in Felton with his “companion” George Ley.  I know that George and Hyman were business partners but it seems that usually people are listed as “boarders” when they are not related.  A new mystery to solve.

In 1918, Hyman registered for World War I.  He lived at 768 54th Street in Oakland and listed his mother, Lena Steen, as his nearest relative.

In 1919, Hyman Steen and George Ley founded what would later be known as Santa Cruz Lumber.  The offices were located in Santa Cruz with a mill in Bonny Doon and later moved near Pescadoro Creek in San Lorenzo Valley.

In 1920, Hyman was living at 768 54th Street in Oakland with his sister Bella, her husband Morris Benas, and their son, Lionel Benas.  It was Bella and Morris whom I believe may have ‘introduced’ my grandparents as not only was Bella Hyman’s sister, but Morris was the brother of my great grandmother, Goldie Benas Levy (mother of Sig Levy).

In the letters that I’m transcribing between my grandparents from 1916-1919, my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, writes about the many times she and “Hymie” went rowing on the lake [I believe on Lake Merritt as this was within blocks of where Loraine lived with her great uncle, Samuel Steen, and his wife, Rachel].  Although Loraine and Sig seemed a bit secretive about their relationship since the two families were intertwined, I think Hymie could have been one person she was honest with.  Since he was 20 years her senior, I like to think he was protecting her as she stated she didn’t want to go rowing without him.

On 23 Feb 1924, Hyman died from double pneumonia at the age of 47.  He never married.

Santa Cruz Evening News
23 February 1924
page 1

The next day the Santa Cruz Evening News reported that his body was being taken to San Francisco for internment.

Santa Cruz Evening News
24 February 1924
page 1

Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.Original data - San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985. Microfilm publication, 1129 rolls. 

Other than the notice above, I have not found anything referencing Hyman living in Cleveland, although I know others in the Steen/Stein family lived there.

Enlargement of notice above

Hyman is buried in Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, along with his parents Jacob and Lena, and sister Estella and her husband, Leon Boas.  I wonder if my grandmother was at the service.

And with just 28 words, Hyman Steen left all of his $50,000 estate to his mother, Lena.  The executors were his brother, Harry, and his former partner, George Ley. 

Santa Cruz Evening News
13 March 1924
page 1

Thanks for being a cousin and good friend to my grandmother, Hyman Steen.

52 Ancestors: Cemetery

While I haven’t spent a lot of time in cemeteries, I do love visiting and find it to be such a quiet and reflective place.  Each grave stone tells a story and I like to think about the circumstances that brought each person there.  Was there a lengthy illness?  Were they involved in an accident?  What loved ones did they leave behind?

Of course one very special cemetery is Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose, the cemetery my parents are interred in.  I have so many memories as a child/young adult driving by this beautiful place and listening to my dad exclaim “people are just dying to get in there” or “they tell me business is really dead in there”.  Of course he’d laugh and no one in the car would even begin to think that someday the joke wouldn’t be at all funny as we made arrangements to lay him to rest, to be joined 8 years later by Mom.  I also wrote a bit about finding my 3x great grandfather in the same cemetery HERE. 

This post wouldn’t be complete without memorializing Mom & Dad one more time – of course it wouldn’t have been complete without Dad having his favorite Stanford hat with him!





One of my most treasured visits to a cemetery was in 2012 when I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to wander through Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma, California.  Colma has quite an interesting history which you can read about HERE.  In a nutshell, San Francisco cemeteries were “evicted” in 1912 and the little town of Colma became the City of the Silent when the living became drastically outnumbered by the dead.  In fact, in 2006 there were 1.5 million souls interred within the area and the 2010 census found only 1792 living residents.  Thus was born the slogan “It’s Great to be Alive in Colma”.

There are 16 cemeteries in Colma, including a pet cemetery.  And while I’ve only scratched the surface, since my husband and I both have strong ties to the area, between us we have many, many ancestors within this small town.

I remember driving up to Hills of Eternity with great anticipation of what I’d find.  Since I haven’t spent a lot of time searching in cemeteries, I wasn’t really sure where to even start.





We decided to start at the office.  Seems obvious now but it actually took me a minute to figure that out.  The woman was only too happy to help and was I ever surprised when she pulled this out from behind the desk.



Of course my memory is fading now (darn this getting old sucks) but I remember the thrill of seeing the beautifully written entries (why didn’t I take a picture of that?) and as I scanned, seeing many of my “peeps”.  At one point the woman walked away for a minute to look for something and I remember thinking how easy it would have been to grab the books and run!

The most important visit of the day (and one in which I can remember almost every detail) was coming upon this.



There were my peeps! 



In the front on the left is Ferdinand Gunzendorfer, my 2x great grandfather.  And next to him is Fannie Goldstein Gunzendorfer, my 2x great grandmother.

And the small stone to the right of the large Gunzendorfer stone is my grandmother’s brother, Wilton Louis Gunzendorfer.





After wandering around to see many other ancestors, we stopped at the grave of one of the famous residents, Wyatt Earp.  It’s strange to think that my ancestors are sharing a final resting place with a famous person.



And finally we moved on to Portals of Eternity Mausoleum on the grounds of Hills of Eternity where my great grandparents, Abraham and Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, are interred.  It fascinates me as to why so many of my Jewish ancestors were cremated and I was especially disappointed to find that Birdie and Abe were interred so high that it was almost difficult to see their final resting place.  I wish I knew the story behind the scratch – it’s not like someone could have vandalized it.






I’ve been fortunate that when I visit a cemetery, there are typically more than one family member interred there.  And several times I’ve unexpectedly found a surprise ancestor or two.  It sure does pay to look around to see who else you can find.

I’m looking forward to many more cemetery visits in the future but the one that I am most anxious to see is McPherson Cemetery in Kansas, the final resting place of my elusive 3x great grandfather, Emery Waller.  I won’t repeat the story of finding Emery in an unmarked grave and then the honor of having his grave marked but you can read about it HERE.  And just because I love seeing the photo, here it is again.



For all those ancestors I haven’t located yet, I’ll be looking for you!

More on Uncle Wilt

Last week I wrote about the early life of my grandmother’s only sibling, Wilton Gunzendorfer.  You can read about it HERE. 

There was so much about Uncle Wilt that I never knew, most importantly his musical abilities and that he worked in the radio business.  In fact, thinking about my time with him I’m not sure I ever thought about what he did as I’m fairly certain he was retired before I really had a chance to know him.  But he was an interesting guy and I want to continue to learn more about him.

After he and Natalie Traube were married, they traveled to Montery to meet “the folks” – how odd that they had not met their daughter-in-law before they were married or even that they attended the wedding.  And before you start thinking it was a shotgun wedding, they never had any children.

Santa Cruz Sentinel 26 Jan 1940

Wilt and Natalie were listed in the 1940 census (April) in Santa Rosa at 320 Doyle Park Dr.  Looking at the property on google maps, it looks to be multi-family with several different units side by side.  And what looks to be a parking garage across the street.

By 1944, I can see from the City Directory that Wilt and Natalie were living at 1900 Beach Street in San Francisco.  And in 1948, they were living at 1990 Beach Street – did they really move down the street or was one of them a typo?  And about 3 miles away was Wilt’s mother, Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, who was living at 490 Geary Street, which is now the Warwick Hotel.  After her husband, Abe, died in 1944, it seems that she spent the last few years of her life living in hotels.

By 1946, Wilt had been appointed the manager of KROW Radio in Oakland, who also had a studio in San Francisco.  I’m not sure which studio Wilt was at but it makes sense that he would have been in San Francisco since he was living there.

Santa Cruz Sentinel 18 Jan 1946

This is an interesting piece of ephemera I found giving me some more information into Wilt’s life – a publication by KROW Radio.





Who are these men who serve to live and live to serve?
First let’s talk about Wilt Gunzendorfer.
Wilt, who is advertising director of KROW, has had 15 years in radio selling, merchandising and management.  Graduating from the University of California in 1922, he played eleven years in vaudeville with his musical attraction, “Jazz With A College Education” . . . . from show business he entered radio in 1930 as talent and production and sales supervisor of KFRC, San Francisco . . . . .then to Hollywood for two years in charge of the Don Lee Artist Bureau.
In 1937 he took over the management of KSRO, Santa Rosa, and after a six years’ successful record he was appointed manager of KSFO, San Francisco.
In August, 1945, Mr. Phil Lasky, General Manager of KROW, Oakland, appointed him Director of Advertising.
His 23 years in the field of entertainment, management and selling has won him the position as one of the best radio advertising counselors in Northern California.
If you don’t already know him …..
This Smiling countenance belongs to Wilt Gunzendorfer.

Nice piece summarizing his career path in radio.  I’m so glad I found this in my grandmother’s things.

Maybe some of my childhood friends can remind me – didn’t we listen to KFRC as teenagers?

My memories of Wilt and Natalie in the 1960’s was somewhere in Southern California.  From my grandmother’s address book, I can see that at one time they lived at 459 S. Doheny in Beverly Hills.  I also have a recollection that they lived “around the corner” from Jack Benny but from what I can find, they actually lived about 3 miles from his home at 1002 N. Roxbury in Beverly Hills.  My most vivid memory of this home was their parakeet that used to sit by the shiny salt and pepper shakers and talk to himself – funny what a kid remembers even if I can’t confirm if this is even accurate.

In about the 1970-1975 time frame, Wilt and Natalie were living at 1421 Reeves St. in Los Angeles.  And again my packrat grandmother has helped me out as her address book shows the Doheny address crossed out and replaced with the Reeves St. Address.

We must have spent some time with Wilt and Natalie during that time period as we posed for a family photo.  From the looks of it, I'd say this was in the mid 1960's.



And here is Wilt playing his clarinet – looks to be the same day.



I love seeing photos of two siblings together – I can just imagine the memories they shared.  And it’s especially satisfying to see them grow old together while maintaining a warm relationship.

Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, Wilton and Natalie (Traube) Gunzendorfer c. 1980

And then, for some reason, they moved to Hastings St. in Belmont which is, I believe, where they lived until Wilt’s death on 19 May 1989, just 4 days before his 90th birthday.

It’s always so humbling to wander through a cemetery, particularly when so many of my ancestors are interred there.  Which is exactly how I felt walking through Hills of Eternity in Colma, California paying my respects to many of my Gunzendorfer clan.

Wilt is interred in the Gunzendorfer plot along with his grandparents, Ferdinand and Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer.  That’s Wilt to the right of the large Gunzendorfer stone.




And nothing quite hits a nerve as seeing the Gunzendorfer name on the step as you approach Fannie and Ferdinand.



What an honor to know my ancestors were so highly thought of that someone would have created this beautiful area for them.  I’m so happy I was able to see their final resting place in person.

Fannie Goldstein Gunzendorfer

I don’t know a lot about my 2nd great grandmother, Fannie Goldstein Gunzendorfer, but my interest in all things Gunzendorfer has been piqued this week due to connecting with not one but TWO Gunzendorfer cousins.  I wrote last week about my first connection here and through her, I’ve connected with her first cousin – both are descendants of Jacob Gunzendorfer, younger brother of my great grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer.  Their grandmother, Irene Gunzendorfer Sherwin, was my grandmother’s (Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy) first cousin.  I remember hearing about Irene and her daughters (and even met the daughters) but I never paid too much attention to how they were related.  But that’s changed now!

Our direct ancestors are Fannie Goldstein and Ferdinand Gunzendorfer, our 2nd great grandparents.  One of my first blog posts was about Ferdinand (here) so now it’s time to add Fannie to the mix.

I’ve seen quite a few birth dates and places for Fannie but I’m going to go with 6 March 1848 in Poland since that’s what it shows on her death certificate and grave.  I’ve also seen 1846 and 1847 and Prussia and Germany.  According to the Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1893), Fannie was united in marriage with Ferdinand Gunzendorfer in 1863, which means she was somewhere between 15 and 17 years old.  And then there’s a big gap of Fannie on her own – just census records and City Directories showing her with Ferdinand.  Which isn’t really nothing since she was with her husband and children but it doesn’t really tell me much about her. 

While sharing photos with my new-found cousins, I came across this.



Look closely –that’s Fannie and Ferdinand in the buggy!  Fannie is driving and Ferdinand is sitting in the back seat - could he be giving her a driving lesson?  I love thinking about them out for a Sunday “drive” and wonder where they might have gone.



Uh-oh, Fannie had a bit of a checkered past.  What would have made her dump the contents of a slop jar (ewwww) on Miss Johnson’s trunk?  It would be interesting to know THAT story!

Santa Cruz Sentinel 30 May 1897, page 3

A few months later, Fannie’s mother, Sarah Frankel Goldstein, died.  It is this obituary from the San Francisco Call that helped me determine that Sarah’s maiden name was Frankel.  I also find it interesting that the Goldstein’s had daughters by the names of Fannie and Francis – I can imagine that got confusing.

San Francisco Call 27 December 1897

By 1907, Fannie was on her own after Ferdinand’s sudden death on 20 October 1907 in Monterey.  Fannie left Monterey for San Francisco, maybe because it was too painful for her to stay in Monterey and several of her sons were in San Francisco.  It looks like she bought property on Clay Street from Mr. and Mrs. Warren G. Bailey.

San Francisco Call 23 June 1908, First Edition

And by 1910, she was listed in the City Directory at 3126 Clay Street.  I haven’t been able to find her (or the house) in the 1910 census enumerated on 15 April 1910 – the census page lists 3124 Clay Street and then skips to 3126.  Was the house empty so no one stopped?  Where was Fannie?

A few months later, 22 July 1910, Fannie Goldstein Gunzendorfer died at Mt. Zion Hospital from an Incarcerated Hernia with a contributory cause of death of Peritonitis.  I’m sure today a patient with that type of diagnosis would be rushed into surgery but I’m guessing that option wasn’t available in 1910.  What’s interesting to note, and this if for my new-found cousin, is that in that time period Mt. Zion Hospital was strictly a Jewish hospital.  The hospital had been formed in 1887 by 43 members of the San Francisco Jewish Community and remained a Jewish hospital for nearly 100 years.  Which makes me believe that Fannie was a practicing Jew at the time of her death, although I don’t know if she was Jewish by birth or marriage.

Fannie is interred in the Gunzendorfer plot at Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, California.

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.