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.