Top 10 Genealogical Finds of 2018

Photo by Pierce Place

It’s been a quiet year here at Who Knew? central, but I’ve managed to tuck away a few discoveries.  I participated in the 52 Ancestors Challenge, which sure helped by providing blog prompts and I’m looking forward to participating again in 2019.  Also, putting this post together reminds me of so many things I’ve started and need to get back to.

As 2018 winds down, I’d like to step back and reflect on what I’ve learned over the past year.  So in my best David Letterman voice, I bring you my annual Top 10 genealogical finds of 2018.  You can read my previous years’ discoveries here. 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012.5 2012 2011

Number 10:  In 2014, I wrote about the home in Santa Cruz that was built for my 2x great grandfather, Louis Schwartz.  Based on the timing of some of the facts I’ve learned, I’m fairly certain that not only was my great grandmother, Birdie Schwartz, born in that house but also my grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer.  So a pretty special house to me.

Imagine my surprise when I received a message via newspapers.com this year from a historian in Santa Cruz who noticed I’d clipped quite a few clippings about Louis Schwartz and the family.  Turns out she had an acquaintance who was hoping to buy the home, which they did, and she was going to research the history and started with me.  We’ve had some e-mails back and forth and this post has reminded me to get back to corresponding with her to see what she’s found.

If you’re interested in seeing the listing (and the inside of the house), you can view it here SCHWARTZ HOUSE LISTING.  One of  my photos of the family in front of the home is even in the listing!

That’s Birdie on the left and Louis Schwartz standing behind the fence on the right.

Number 9:  Last year’s #1 genealogical find was the publishing of a book I had the honor of contributing to and which referenced many of my ‘peeps’ in Santa Cruz.


How exciting to know that George is now working on a walking tour and history of the Jewish Cemetery in Santa Cruz, Home of Peace.  I’m anxious to see the finished product and, hopefully, find some of my ancestors interred there.


Number 8:  The blog prompts this year encouraged me to write about ancestors I hadn’t spent much time with.  One of those ancestors was Colman Schwartz, the youngest brother (and sibling) of my great grandmother, Birdie Schwartz.  As part of that research, I even learned what a monologist was as Colman practiced the art.  How sad that he died at just 36 years old.


Number 7:  Another blog prompt had me researching my grandmother’s cousin, Mervyn Gunzendorfer.  I knew that Mervyn and my grandmother’s brother, Wilton, were the last of the Gunzendorfer line and it was nice to learn a little more about Mervyn.


Number 6:  I don’t know a lot about my maternal grandfather, Earle Martin, as he and my grandmother divorced when my mother was about 10 and he really wasn’t a part of her (or our) life after that.  He is still a bit of a mystery to me so as part of the Father’s Day prompt, I did some research and found some new information.  I also briefly connected again with Earle’s youngest child.  I’d sure love to learn more about Earle and that part of the family.


Number 5:  Since my mother was an only child (other than half siblings whom we never knew) and my dad had only one brother, the ‘maiden aunt’ prompt looked to be difficult for me.  However, it was then that I remembered the Stubblefield sisters who lived next door to my grandparents for many years.  Since neither of them ever married or had children, it was a nice to remember them.  Maybe, just maybe, there is a descendant of some sort who has been looking for them.

I think this is Ethel and Gertrude with my grandmother (on the right)

Number 4:  The ‘Going to the chapel’ prompt was the perfect opportunity for me to research my maternal grandmother, Clara Fitzgerald, and her marriage to the man I knew as Grandpa, Sheldon Hunter.  They owned a chicken ranch as we were growing up and I have such wonderful memories of spending time at the ranch.  Not just chickens but so many warm Fresno afternoons listening to Grandma’s beloved San Francisco Giants.

The last photo I have of the two of them – my wedding day March 9, 1974

Number 3:  When the ‘Cause of Death’ prompt appeared, I ventured outside of my own family and did some research on my husband’s 2x great grandmother, Julia O’Reilly Gorham Post.  Was she murdered?  Or did she accidentally fall on that darned hatchet?  Who knew?


Number 2:  I’ll take any opportunity to write about my 3x great grandfather, Emery Waller.  For those of you who have followed along for most of my ‘blogging life’, you’ll remember he was the ancestor I found in an unmarked grave and was able to mark the grave so he will never be forgotten.  You can read about my quest HERE. 
When thinking about the ‘Conflict’ prompt, my first thought was a conflict between family members.  While I have a few of those, I took the opportunity to write about Emery’s military service during the Civil War.  Out came the pension record again and I was able to learn even more about this man.


Number 1:   This could be my Number 1 genealogical find every year – COUSINS! 

In early December I learned that my 2nd cousin had recently passed away.  His grandfather, Herb Levy, was my grandfather’s oldest brother.  While I had not connected with this cousin over the course of my journey, I had connected with his brother, Bob, so I sent him an e-mail expressing my condolences.  It turns out that Bob shared some family information with his two nieces and, thus, we have now connected and will be sharing (I hope) information.  Welcome to the family, my two new 2nd cousins, 1x removed!

And then right before Christmas, I took a peek at my DNA results and noticed a new match from my Gunzendorfer line.  Since this family is so small, I’m always excited at the possibility of meeting a new Gunzendorfer relative – AND I DID!  Her great grandmother, Sarah (Goldstein) Eisner, was the sister of my great grandmother, Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer.  And while 3rd cousin, 1x removed might seem a bit distant, to prove that the world is very, very small we found quite a few similarities.  We grew up about 1 mile from each other, graduated from the same high school just a few years apart, and attended the same Temple.  How did we not know about each other, even thought our fathers did?  Welcome to my family, C!

It’s always fun to look at the top visited blog posts for the year.  While some made both lists, there were a few that didn’t.  Here’s my top five blog posts for 2018:

#1  Wanted: Herman Levy (not just for the year but ALL TIME)
#2  52 Ancestors: Cause of Death
#3  52 Ancestors: Youngest
#4  52 Ancestors: Thankful
#5  52 Ancestors: Heirloom

And that’s what I’ve been up to in 2018 – thanks for following along with me!

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