52 Ancestors: Beginnings

The beginning of a new year and such a fitting prompt.  BEGINNINGS

I often think about how and why this genealogy journey started more than 10 years ago.  My mother, who is not descended from the Gunzendorfers, made the statement that there were no more Gunzendorfers in the United States.  And when I began my blog just shy of 10 years ago, my first post talked more specifically about my beginnings.  You can read it HERE.  

The short story is that my mother may just have been right as I still haven't found any living Gunzendorfers in the United States.  My grandmother married and changed her name, thus having no Gunzendorfer descendants, and her brother married but never had children.  So check them off the list.  

There were four Gunzendorfer brothers, one of which was my grandmother's father, Abraham Gunzendorfer.  And of his three brothers (Gustave, Adolph and Jacob), only one, Jacob, had children.  Unfortunately, Jacob's only son never had children and the girls married, thus changing their last name.  So check them off the list.

I have found a group of Gunzendorfers in New York and I am almost certain that they are related to my clan.  The patriarch of that group was Adolph, father of Bernard (b. 1829) who had a son, Adolph, in 1867.  My Abraham's father was Ferdinand, (b. 1838) who also had a son named Adolph in 1866.  I suspect that NY Adolph and my Ferdinand were brothers and this year I hope to confirm that.

NY Adolph had a daughter named Lenore who was born in 1896.  My grandmother, Loraine, was also born in 1896.  And as she wrote letters to my grandfather in 1918 during their engagement, a paragraph stood out to me:

Quite a coincident [sic], sweetheart.  Dad has a cousin in N.Y. who has a daughter my age and whose name is similar to mine, Lenore.  They were at Del Monte nine years ago when I met her.  We later corresponded for some time but the last few years lost track of each other.  Yesterday we received a letter telling of her engagement.  Funny, isn’t it?  Now I’ll have to write to her to inform her of mine.

If Lenore's father, Adolph, and Loraine's father, Abraham, were cousins then their fathers were brothers, right?  Which makes NY Bernard (father of Adolph and Ludwig) and my Ferdinand (father of Gustave, Adolph, Abraham, and Jacob), brothers.  Not definitive proof but as close as I've come so far.

Coincidentally, there was a Ferdinand Gunzendorfer hanging out in California who was born in 1864 and died in Stockton in 1946.  However, his tombstone shows he was born in 1874 and died in 1956.  But either way, about the right time frame that he could have been, and probably was, a NY Gunzendorfer descendant.  Did NY Adolph name a son Ferdinand while his brother, my Ferdinand, named a son Adolph?

This goes to show that I still have a lot of work to do on my beginnings.  I will focus some time again on this branch of my tree and see if I can find things I've missed and confirm (or not) some of these facts.  

In other beginnings news, I learned of a fun tidbit recently.  Jacob Gunzendorfer's great granddaughter and I connected several years ago - you can read about it HERE - and recently have spent some time sharing information.  My cousin, J, has been reading a journal that her mother wrote and shared this with me.

In one section her mother wrote about how her parents Irene (Lolly) and Albert (Bump) met.  Irene was the daughter of Jacob Gunzendorfer and was my grandmother's first cousin.  I remember Grandma talking about her cousin, Irene, but I'm not sure if I ever met her.  Anyway, J's mother wrote:

Lolly and Bump met in 1915 at the fair at the Palace of Fine Arts.  Lolly and her cousin, Loraine, and girlfriends, sisters Dorothy and Hortence, were browsing a display of portable housing shown by a handsome young redhead.  "Red" eyed Lolly and it was "love at first sight".

So now we know how Irene met her husband - and my grandmother was there to witness it!

I've not been very motivated to research lately so maybe this is my new beginning and I can get started up again.  

52 Ancestors: Brick Wall

We all have them, right?  You know, brick wall ancestors who don't want to be found.  I have more than a few but the ancestor who haunts me the most is my paternal great grandfather, Herman Levy.  I've connected with some Levy cousins and I'm hoping we can figure it out but for now, he's a mystery.  It could be that he was known as Herman Levi before coming to America but for now, he's staying hidden.

I have so many brick wall ancestors who are staring me in the face but I have no idea who they are or even if they are MY ancestors.  Why, why, why did my grandmother not label these beautiful photos?  Even one might have led to a new discovery but no, nothing.  So I scan them and file them in my "unidentified" folder.

What makes it even more challenging is that my great grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer, was a photographer so I can't even be sure that these people were anything more than a subject for Abe.  And while I believe those who are related to me are either Gunzendorfer, Schwartz, or Steen ancestors because they were in the same box as some identified by those names, it's a crap shoot.

So here I'll post some of these unidentified characters in the hope that maybe, just maybe, someone can help me out.

I love seeing photos of children - there is so much promise in their eyes and I can just imagine the lives they had ahead of them.  But who are they?

I think these two might be Gunzendorfer boys since the photographer was J.B. Johnson in Gilroy, California.  The four boys were Gustave (b. 1864), Adolph (b. 1866), Abraham (b. 1869) and Jacob (b. 1871) and the family lived in Gilroy in 1870.  Clearly taken on the same day but who are they?

I don't know - the top could be Gustave and the bottom could be Adolph but for all I know, they don't even belong to me.

And until today I thought this gentleman might be my 2x great grandfather, Louis Schwartz, but now I've noticed that it was also taken by J.B. Johnson in Gilroy - and to my knowledge, Louis never lived in Gilroy.  So maybe it was the father of the two boys.  And maybe, just maybe, it was their father, Ferdinand Gunzendorfer.

It sort of looks like Ferdinand as an older man but maybe it's just because I want it to be him that I think that.

Ferdinand Gunzendorfer

And then there's this cutie.  Since the photographer was in Santa Cruz and my Steen and Schwartz ancestors lived there, it could be one of them.  Joseph Schwartz?  Milton Schwartz?  Colman Schwartz?  All brothers of my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz.  They were born in 1867, 1878, and 1884 so maybe?

And what about this family?  Who are they?

Taken in San Francisco - that's no help since just about every one of my ancestors lived or worked in San Francisco at some point in their life.  

And these dapper young men could be Milton Harry Schwartz, younger brother of my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz.  He was born in 1878 and lived in Santa Cruz, Berkeley, and San Francisco so it could be him.  Or not.

Could this also be the same boy?  It's the same Santa Cruz photographer.

I have a photo that I know is him - same guy?

Milton Harry Schwartz

Since it's the same photography studio I vote yes.  But I could be wrong.

And how about this lady?  Who is she?

Or this lady?  Oh boy, she looks stern!

And another stern lady in San Francisco.  Who are you?

I could go on and on and on.  I know so many people would just love to have the photos I have inherited but geez, it boggles my mind to not know who these people are.  Please, will one of you come forward and tell me who you are?

52 Ancestors: Challenge

This week’s blog prompt was, well, um……a challenge.

I have lots of challenges with brick wall ancestors, folks who either just showed up or left never to be heard from again, and documenting my ancestry to Ashbel Waller, my Revolutionary War patriot, so that I can join Daughters of the American Revolution.  But today I put all those challenges aside so that I could focus on the unidentified photos I have that were taken by my Great Grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer.

I don’t really know for sure if Abe was a “true” professional photographer but I do know that he at least dabbled in it and I have many, many photos to prove it.  I have a box of photos with this on the back.

While it is very cool to have these photos, it really makes it a challenge because I can’t be sure if the people or places are important to my family or just a photo that Abe took and hung on to.

This is, apparently, one of his first photos because he did me a favor and wrote on the back.  Why, why, WHY didn’t people identify the subject by labeling it.  Yes, I know that probably 80% of my photos are blank on the back – I guess I figured I’d never forget which kid is which but as the years go by, I find myself questioning my memory.

Thanks, Abe.  And not only did you tell me that it was your first photograph, I’m extremely happy to have confirmation that you were the Gunzendorfer son who dabbled in photography.

What is the significance of this?  Just an interesting ship or was someone important to you on this ship?

There are many photos of parades and presidential visits – I shared the story of Abe photographing President McKinley’s visit to Monterey in 1901 HERE.  And here’s a parade which I’m guessing is down Alvarado Street, one of the major streets in Monterey at the time.  I can’t be sure but I believe The White House, the Gunzendorfer family mercantile, might be the building just to the left of the Del Monte Drug store.

Speaking of Del Monte, Abe has a few photos of the Hotel Del Monte.  This hotel was established in 1880 and was one of the finest luxury hotels in the country.  During World War II the hotel closed and was leased to the Navy.  It first served as a school for enlisted men and later became the Naval Postgraduate School of the United States Navy.  It is now known as Hermann Hall and functions as administrative offices and hotel for the school.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Del_Monte

Wonder what and where this is?

Could this be the street in Monterey Abe and Bertha lived on?  Or just a beautiful street somewhere in America?

Who are these people?  And did they really just drink all that?

Or these nice young women – who are you?

Or this – should I know this young man?

Wait, wait, wait just a minute.  Could this be Milton Harry Schwartz, Birdie Schwartz Gunzendorfer’s brother?

Milton Harry Schwartz, 28 February 1894

And then as I looked further in the box, I found this.  And on the back it said “M.H. Schwartz, photographer”.  So Milton was a photographer, too?  And this is the same guy, right?  Oh geez, things just got more challenging.

Finally, Abe gave me a clue – check out this photo from 1898.  I’ve seen that dog before and now I know these gents are Jacob W. Gunzendorfer, Abe’s younger brother, and Abe. 

While I love having all of these photos, I wish I didn’t have the challenge of identifying all of the people and places.

52 Ancestors: Closest to Your Birthday

This week’s blog prompt is Closest to Your Birthday.  Oh boy, this is going to be fun!

The first thing I did was print a calendar report to see which of my ancestors was born closest to my birthday, December 14.  No one.  There was one death and one anniversary but no one born on my birthday.  So I checked the day before and the day after.  My first cousin once removed, Stanley Fitzgerald, Jr., was born on that day in 1937 but since I don’t know much about him and believe he is still living, I decided that wasn’t a good person to write about.  Then I checked the day after, December 15, and found a favorite family represented with Mervyn Gunzendorfer, my grandmother’s first cousin.  Mervyn was the only son of Jacob Gunzendorfer who was the younger brother of my great-grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer.  Score – I’ll write about Mervyn!

I started putting things together, happy that I had some photos to share, when it hit me – Mervyn wasn’t BORN on December 15 he DIED on December 15.  So back I went to my calendar only to find that the only ancestors (or descendants) I have born in December are either a very collateral ancestor or someone still living.  It was then that I said to myself – hey, this is MY blog and I can do whatever I want so if I want to write about Mervyn, that’s what I’ll do.

Mervyn Gunzendorfer was born to Edith Inez (Steinberger) and Jacob Gunzendorfer on 4 Apr 1896 in San Francisco.  Jacob was the youngest of the four Gunzendorfer brothers and was my grandmother’s uncle.

I first found Mervyn in a Gunzendorfer family photo from 1896.  That’s little Mervyn sitting on his mother’s lap on the right (Jacob is behind them and big sister Irene is sitting on the ground) and my grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer, sitting on her mother’s lap on the left with Abraham standing behind them. 

The Gunzendorfer Family

Standing:  Abraham, Gustave George, Minnie (Dautermann), Adolph, Jacob

Seated:  Bertha (Schwartz) w/ Loraine, Ferdinand, Fannie, Inez (Steinberger) w/Mervyn

Front:  Irene

Loraine was born 26 Jan 1896 so these two cousins were just a few months apart.  Within a few years Loraine would become a big sister to Wilton, and Mervyn would become a big brother to Helen.

This picture looks to be just a few months later.  Mr. Cutie Patootie Mervyn.



And here’s Jacob with his two oldest children, Mervyn on the left and Irene on the right.  Look at Mervyn’s beautiful curls. 



The 1900 census shows the family enumerated as Yungendorfer – that’s a new one – and living at 1636 Buchanan in San Francisco.  By 1910 the family had moved to 3367 Washington Street in San Francisco where Jacob lived until shortly before his death.  With them were two servants plus the 3 year old son of one of the servants.

In 1910, The Technical World Magazine, Volume 13, wrote about a Clever Little Inventor.



Yep, I know that Mervyn, along with his father and uncle Adolph, built a submarine for the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915.  You can read about that HERE. 

I found Mervyn in 1914 attending San Francisco Polytechnical College, a high school in San Francisco.  The high school yearbook, The Cogswell, shows he served as a government representative and that he had earlier (Nov. 1913) participated in the 120 pound class 440 yard dash, where it looks like his time was 58 seconds.  My dad was also a sprinter (100 and 200 yard dash) – must have run in the family.  That’s Mervyn sitting, second from right.



On 4 Jun 1917, Mervyn registered for WWI.  Still at 3367 Washington Street.



This photo had been floating around in my unknown box but thanks to Irene’s grandchildren whom I connected with a few years ago (read about it HERE), I was able to identify it as Mervyn.  He sure looked handsome in his uniform!



By 1920, Irene had moved out, as she married in 1915, and the family was still on Washington Street.  I found Mervyn listed at UC Berkeley in 1921 where he served as the Fall Semester President for the Architecture Association.

In 1930, Helen had also moved out but Mervyn was still with Jacob and Inez on Washington Street, along with a maid.  He was listed as an Architect, Industry Buildings.

I’ve found many references to Mervyn in the City Directories.  In the early 1920’s he just shows a residence on Washington, and then some business listings as an Architect first at 60 Sansome, R100 and then at 405 Montgomery Room 1108.  Residence is always the same – 3367 Washington Street – except for 1937 where he’s listed at 3368 Washington Street (must have been a typo).  By the 1930’s he’d moved from Room 1108 on Montgomery to Room 820.

Somewhere along the line things changed for Mervyn and he joined his father’s business, Typewritorium.  He is shown as Office Secretary in 1937.  But later he was back to working as an Architect.

In 1940, Mervyn was still on Washington Street with his parents.  It showed he had a job, was a Merchant, worked 20 hours per week, and had an income of $900 for the 12 months ending 31 Dec 1939.  Maybe he split his time between architecture and typewriters?

My cousins shared this photo of Mervyn in 1957.  He seemed like a fun guy – I wish I’d known him.



When Mervyn died 15 Dec 1959, his address is shown as 170 Vasques Street, San Francisco, where he lived with Jacob (Inez died in 1957).

Mervyn never married or had any children.  The only other male Gunzendorfer, my grandmother’s brother Wilton, also had no children.  So Mervyn and Wilton were the end of the line where Gunzendorfers are concerned.

Mervyn is buried alongside his parents (Unit 5, Catacombs, Tier 3, Crypts 33, 34, 35) at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma.



And now that I’ve finished this post, I realized I missed Mervyn’s little sister, Helen, who was born 9 Dec 1902.  So SHE would have been closest to my birthday.  Shoot