52 Ancestors: At Worship

I don't know too much about how my ancestors worshiped - Dad's family was Jewish, Mom's was Christian - and I don't think any of them were terribly religious.  Because of the mixed faith of our parents, we weren't really raised in a religious fashion, either.  Although Mom 'converted' to Judaism when they married, I know that some of the Christian traditions were still buried deep inside her.  But it was important to Dad that we practice some religion so we were raised as much as possible in the Jewish faith.

So while I don't know much about my ancestors, I do have very vivid memories of our time at Temple Emanu-El in San Jose.

Temple Emanu-El, San Jose, California
google.maps.com

Just a few of my memories:

When my brother was Bar Mitzvahed, I remember quite a discussion about which Jewish male family members would stand up to recite prayers.  Of course, coming from a very small family, that was a difficult task and at some point, my sister and I were called in to action.  Thank goodness that we were able to recite the prayers in English!

One year (7th grade, maybe?) my dad was late signing us up for Religious School so we had to go on Saturday instead of Sunday.  Not many of my friends went to church or Religious School on Saturdays.  Lesson learned, Dad.

I loved the holiday celebrations, especially the Purim carnival.

There were some sad times, too.  After my uncle's death in Atlanta in 2004, my dad just couldn't face not having a memorial for his only sibling.  So as only my dad could do, he made it happen and we had a small memorial at the Temple attended by a few family members and friends.

I wonder if Dad ever thought about the fact that the next time we would all join together at the Temple would be just 15 months later when we came together to say goodbye to Dad.  Not only was it goodbye to him, but it was also September 11 so a difficult day all around.  But we all met in the Temple House after the service and as his only great grandchild would proclaim, "then we had a party".

But the greatest, most meaningful, memory I have of the Temple was our long time Rabbi, Joseph Gitin.  Rabbi Gitin, and his wife, Rosalie, was there for us at almost every important religious event as we were growing up.

My brother's (and ultimately my father's) baby naming event.  I think one was named Herman, one was named Isaac but I can't be sure.  Wonder why little brother didn't make it into the photo?

Back row:  Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, Dad, Sig Levy, Rabbi Gitin
Front:  Gerry (Martin) Levy, Me, Sister

In 1974, Rabbi Gitin was there.  I remember Dad saying he didn't care who married us but he felt like it should be someone who knew us and was meaningful in our lives.  Of course we asked Rabbi Gitin!  And he was kind enough to not just say the prayers in Hebrew, but also in English.

We were so young!

And then eight months later came Bar Mitzvah day.  Although my memory is completely shot of most things, I can remember that day vividly.  I was a few months pregnant with my first child so finding something to wear was a difficult task.  But I can visualize that dress all these years later - just wish I had a photo to share.

The following year Mom and Dad renewed their vows for their 25th anniversary.  I don't remember the story exactly but I know that when Mom and Dad were married in 1950, for some reason at the last minute the Rabbi could not be there so they had to scramble to find a fill-in officiant.  Which explains why Dad wanted us to be married by someone who was important to us.  And when it came time to renew their vows, who else should be there but Rabbi Gitin?

I'm not sure who had the biggest smile that day

In 1982, Dad was the recipient of The Legacy Medal, awarded each year by the San Jose Hospital Foundation to a member of the community for years of professional and public service to the citizens of Santa Clara Valley.  It seemed fitting since Dad had recovered from a heart attack at San Jose Hospital in 1978, and then from a 5 way bypass in 1979.  Of course, Rabbi Gitin was there, along with Rosalie, seated at the head table with us.

Mom, what was so funny?

Five years later, another wedding in the family as my sister was married.  Of course you know who officiated - yep, Rabbi Gitin.  I think one of my very favorite Rabbi stories was the night of the rehearsal dinner.  Mom was so excited to organize the venue for the dinner and since we all loved Chinese food, she made arrangements for the wedding party and family to join together at Fung Lum, a 'famous' restaurant in San Jose.  She always did the ordering when we had Chinese food and this night was no exception.  And remember, Mom was not raised Jewish and none of us were really strict with our dietary restrictions so I'm sure she didn't pay too much attention to any of that.  But when the waiter showed up at our table (of course I was at the same table as Rabbi and Rosalie) and set down Moo Shoo Pork in front of the Rabbi and his wife, there was not only a gasp from the table, but you could just see the color draining from Rosalie's face.  PORK?  She looked in astonishment at the Rabbi as he quietly said "Rosalie, just shut up and eat it".

Rosalie, shut up and eat it!

Dad and Rabbi shared their lives together - not just religiously but also as lifetime Rotarians and friends.  And it was apparent as they shared a special moment together after the bride and groom were named Mr. and Mrs.

And then the unthinkable happened and Dad was gone.  All of us kids had moved away from home but we gathered to plan a service for Dad.  I remember thinking that Rabbi Gitin MUST be there.  But, sadly, at the age of 99 and having just lost Rosalie a few months prior, Rabbi Gitin was unable to attend the memorial.  He sent a nice message via the current Rabbi, Dana Magat, so we felt like he was with us that day.  I know he would have moved mountains to get there if he could - the friendship the two shared was very special.

Dad's final resting place
Rabbi Magat on the right

Just five years later and at the age of 104, Rabbi Gitin was at peace.  And he is now at rest with his beloved Rosalie at Home of Peace Cemetery, the Jewish portion of Oak Hill Memorial Park where Mom & Dad rest.  Dad always said he didn't want to be in the Jewish section but rather up on the hill overlooking the valley (the picture above is from his final resting place) but maybe if he'd thought about Rabbi Gitin being buried there one day, he might have felt differently.  I'm glad to know, though, that they aren't that far apart and when I visit Mom & Dad, I can also visit Rabbi and Rosalie.

Apparently Rosalie didn't want people to know how old she was

Thank you for the memories, Rabbi Gitin.  Know that you were a very, very special member of our family.

52 Ancestors: Out of Place

Is Louis Schwartz, my 2x great grandfather, out of place?

There has been something nagging me for quite some time and is now causing me to further explore Louis' final resting place.

Louis Schwartz

I know that Louis, along with his wife Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz (1848-1918) and their sons Marks (1873-1877) and Colman (1884-1920) Schwartz, are buried in Home of Eternity Cemetery in Oakland, California.  While I cannot say with 100% certainty that his remains are actually there, I have stood before the grave so I know there is at least a stone for him there.

Since Louis is buried with his wife and two of his sons, I think he is in exactly the right place.  But I don't know if that was always the case.

Louis died on 23 May, 1893 in Byron Springs, California.  I know that Louis had gone to Byron Springs "in search of health".  He had been "ailing for almost a year, his trouble having been Bright's Disease.'" [Santa Cruz Sentinel, 24 May 1893, Wed., page 3].

Other than the fact that Louis was only 59 years old, not too much seems out of place at this point.  I'm sure his family were devastated as they made arrangements for Louis' final resting place.  Which seems to have been Santa Cruz.  WHAT? 

Santa Cruz Sentinel, Wednesday, 26 May 1893, page 3 

Not just that, but there was a service performed and then a procession to the Jewish Cemetery in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, Saturday, 27 May 1893, page 3

Louis even bequeathed $250 to the Cemetery upon his death.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, Friday, June 2, 1893, page 3

So, you'd think he would be buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery in Santa Cruz, right?

Home of Peace Cemetery, Santa Cruz, California

Was he "out of place" and moved to Home of Eternity when Rebecca died in 1918?  I know that Rebecca was living in Oakland with her brother, Samuel Steen, and his wife, Rachel (Letter) Steen, and MY GRANDMOTHER, Loraine Gunzendorfer, when she passed away on 7 Jan 1918.  So it makes sense that she was buried in Oakland.

As I was researching for this post I found some new information on Ancestry.com - the probate records of Rebecca!  Where did that come from?  I was ever so hopeful that there would be some mention of her burial but, sadly, not to be.

I've written to Temple Sinai, owners/operators of Home of Eternity Cemetery, to see if they might, just might, have some records describing when Louis was interred and who made the arrangements.  With any luck, I'll get some questions answered about whether Louis was out of place in Santa Cruz and later moved to be next to his wife of nearly 30 years, Rebecca.  I always like a good love story.

Top 10 Genealogical Finds of 2012

Photo by Pierce Place

As 2012 comes to a close, I’d like to step back and reflect on what I’ve learned over the last year.  So in my best David Letterman voice, I bring you my second annual top 10 genealogical finds of 2012.
 
Number 10:  I wrote another book!  I published Volume 2 of my blog and I think this one just might become a bestseller. 



The women on the front are four generations of my family – the baby is my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer; her mother is Bertha Schwartz; her mother is Rebecca Steen; her mother is Hannah Plotzky.  And a special shout out to blurb.com for the great service – I downloaded the book on Sunday afternoon and it was printed and waiting in my mailbox on Friday. 
 
Number 9:  A walk through Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, California – a place where so many of my family are interred. 



I especially liked looking through the registers of burials and cremations.  I would have liked to take more photos but I was trying to be discreet while the cemetery employees were looking things up for me.
 


Although I already had seen photos of the graves, there was nothing like walking through the cemetery in person to see all of the graves of my family.   And many family names are engraved into the steps in the area where they are interred.



Number 8:  Identifying photos for ancestors whom I’ve never seen before.  While I’ve found many photographs, it was so exciting to finally be able to put faces to the names I’ve been researching.  I know it seems hard to believe that I didn’t have any photos for my maternal grandfather but I didn’t.  Until this year when my mother remembered she had this.
 

Earle Laurence Martin
Geraldine Martin
1928

I also loved finally seeing a photo of my paternal great grandfather, Herman Levy, who has been a bit of a brick wall for me.  I had this photo but had no idea who he was until I found a copy of his obituary with this photo included.

Herman Levy

Number 7:  Finding my grandmother’s scrapbook.  It isn’t in great shape but I’ve had so much fun going through it and blogging about what I’ve found.  This project will continue on into 2013 but I have already learned so much about my grandmother as a young woman.



Number 6:  I’ve discovered the letters that my paternal grandparents, Loraine Gunzendorfer and Sigmund Levy, wrote back and forth from 1917-1919 while they were courting.  It is amazing to read the details of what they were thinking, doing, and planning.  I’ve been transcribing these and still have a long way to go but maybe someday I’ll be able to put them all into a book in which the letters go back and forth between them in “real time”.  What a treasure that would be!
 
Number 5:  I have been able to sort through old military uniforms and other clothing items and have figured out what I have.  Besides me paternal grandfather’s World War I uniform and hat, I have his military overcoat, boy scout uniform, and tuxedo!  Plus I have my dad’s World War II uniforms.  I can’t believe what great shape they are all in!
 


Number 4:  I was able to do a drive-by of the home my second great grandfather, Louis Schwartz, built in the 1870’s in Santa Cruz.  I’m fairly certain that both my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, and her mother, Bertha Schwartz, were born in this house.  It really hasn’t changed all that much in 140 years!




I really need to write to the owners and learn more about the house.  I’d like to think they’d love to see this photo from the late 1800’s.
 
Number 3: Late in 2011 I posted my maternal second great grandmother’s (Rebecca Waller McAboy) obituary from 1928 and hoped that one day I’d find a photo of her.  Because of that post I connected with a new cousin (our great grandmother’s were sisters, both children of Rebecca) and she found a photo of Rebecca.  What a gift it was to open my e-mail early one morning and find this beautiful face staring at me.

Rebecca Waller McAboy
1920

Number 2:  This discovery came quite by accident and almost had a serendipitous feeling.  The father of Rebecca Steen, my second great grandmother, was Joseph Steen.  I had quite a bit of information on him but I lost him after 1860 – I knew he had died by 1870 but that was as close as I could come.  I’ve been in contact with a researcher who sent me a message in April that she had found the headstone for him with a death date of 1866.  WOW!  We talked in more detail and I asked where he was buried (he lived in Santa Cruz, California in 1860) and she told me a Jewish cemetery in San Jose.  What?  I’m from San Jose and had just been there in March and had visited the cemetery where my dad is.  One thing led to another and it turns out he was buried in the Jewish portion (Home of Peace) at the same cemetery that I had just been to!  And while I was there, I’d gone to Home of Peace to visit our long-time Rabbi who had passed just a year or so earlier.  I was right there and I didn’t even know it.
 
So when I was back in San Jose in July, I left the airport and drove immediately to Home of Peace Cemetery.  And there was my Joseph Steen buried right next to his brother, Harris Steen!


Translation

Moshe Yosef HERE LIES
A noble and a faithful devoted man to God
Died on the eve of Shabat on 15 Av and was buried on 17 Av.
A man of integrity and honesty,
Hard worker and with clean hands and heart.
Never gossip nor lying. From this world you departed but peace with God you found.

In case this might not be serendipitous enough, check out where in the cemetery Joseph and Harris are located.

 

See that arrow that is pointing to Joseph’s grave?  And that is Harris immediately to the right and slightly tilted.  And then notice the walkway in the middle?  THAT IS THE WALKWAY WE WALKED ON WHEN WE WERE THERE IN MARCH!  If I had only paid attention, I might have found them myself!  Which proves that when in a cemetery, you should always pay attention to your surroundings.

And my number 1 genealogical find of 2012:  I GOT STUFF!  If it hadn’t been for the stuff I found in my mom’s storage unit, I wouldn’t have had most of these genealogical finds. 



This is just a small sample of the boxes and boxes of stuff that had been thrown into cardboard boxes in the storage unit for 30 years.  And before that the stuff lived in my grandmother’s basement for all those years before.  While some of it has been damaged, for the most part it is in unbelievably good condition.  My hope is to get as much as I can identified, cataloged, and preserved for future generations.  It will be quite a challenge but I will love every minute of it.  Who knew?

So there you have it – my top 10 genealogical finds of 2012.  I can’t wait to see what 2013 brings!