52 Ancestors: Steps - Hills of Eternity

When I saw the blog prompt Steps, I immediately thought of a very special step at Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma, California.

Yes, that step shows the name Gunzendorfer, which was the family name of my paternal grandmother.  There are several Gunzendorfers buried at Hills of Eternity.  The family plot shows a few.

Ferdinand and Fannie, seen in the foreground, were my second great grandparents.  They spent the later years of their lives in Monterey - I'm not sure what took them to the San Francisco area for burial.  To the right of the Gunzendorfer monument is their grandson (my grandmother's brother), Wilton, who was placed there after his death in 1989.

From the Hills of Eternity website:

Judaism views death as a natural part of life.  Hills of Eternity Memorial Park honors the two basic principles that are part of this natural life cycle:  k'vod ha-mayat - the dignified and respectful treatment of the dead - and k'vod he-chai - the honored treatment of the mourners.

Congregation Sherith Israel established its first cemetery in accordance with these principles when it was founded in 1850.  The cemetery was located in Pacific Heights on Vallejo Street, between Gough and Franklin [San Francisco].  In 1860, Sherith Israel dedicated its second cemetery in the area that is now Dolores Park.  Twenty nine years later, Sherith Israel's cemetery moved again to its current location in Colma.

I'm relieved to learn that the Gunzendorfers are interred in their original burial location.

Also from the website:

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park consists of twenty acres of graciously landscaped gardens at the foot of the San Bruno Mountains.  The grounds and mausoleums are respectfully maintained under endowed care.  Fresh flower placements and grave ornamentation plantings add to the dignified beauty and serenity of the park.

Also at Hills of Eternity is the Portals of Eternity mausoleum and chapel, which was built in 1934, and was designed by Samuel Human and Abraham Appleton.

Photo by jcemsf.org

It is the Portals of Eternity Mausoleum where my great grandparents, Abraham and Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, are interred.

It's hard to see but that's them in the center with the arrow pointing to their name.  I did not add that in the picture - the arrow is actually scratched etched into the plate.  Why would that have been done?  They are very high up so really no way for vandals to have been able to accomplish that.  A mystery, for sure.

Also interred at Hills of Eternity are some of the Steen family - Bertha's mother was a Steen and while she is not there, these are some of her relatives.

Interred here are:  Dena Steen (1866-1894), Hannah (Plotzky) Steen (1828-1909), Hyman Steen (1887-1924), Jacob Steen (1831-1909), Julius Steen (1862-1876), Lena (Jacobson) Steen (1848-1927), Meyer Steen (1861-1926), Rosalind Steen (1885-1902).  

I was so fortunate to have been able to spend time in this cemetery in 2012 and, hopefully, will be back again one day.

52 Ancestors: Earliest

This weeks' blog prompt is Earliest.  At first I was stumped - should I write about the earliest document I have, the earliest ancestor I have documented, or earliest memory I have of one of my ancestors?  Wait - how about the earliest photo I have of my ancestors?  So here we go.....

Paternal side

3x great grandmother, Hannah (Plotzky) Steen, 1828-1909

2x great grandmother, Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz, 1848-1918

2x great grandfather, Louis Schwartz, 1834-1893

2x great grandfather, Ferdinand Gunzendorfer, 1838-1907

2x great grandmother, Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer, 1848-1910

Great Grandmother, Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, 1872-1950

Great grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer, 1869-1944

Great grandfather, Herman Levy, 1856-1918

Great grandmother, Goldie (Benas) Levy, 1864-1926

Grandmother, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, 1896-1982

Grandfather, Sigmund Levy, 1888-1968

Father, Gordon Levy, 1927-2005

Maternal Side

2x great grandmother, Sarah (Miller) Brooks Anderson, 1836-1923

2x great grandmother, Rebecca (Waller) McAboy, 1845-1928

2x great grandfather, Mathew Fitzgerald, 1850-1905

Great grandmother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald, 1883-1966

Great grandfather, Edward Fitzgerald, 1879-1968

Great grandmother, Frances (Brooks) Martin, 1860-1936

Grandmother, Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter, 1903-1987

Grandfather, Earle Martin, 1900-1986

Mother, Geraldine (Martin) Levy, 1928-2013

And last but not least - ME!

I'm missing a few and hope to one day find them but I feel like I have a pretty good collection!

52 Ancestors: Winter

photo by Norbert Reimer

This weeks’ blog post is Winter.  I may not be the most creative blogger around, but I just might be the luckiest as the wife of my 4th great-uncle was Amelia Winters.  How convenient is that?

Amelia Winters was born in June, 1848.  The early documents I’ve found about her show that she was born in Germany.  She married my 4th great-uncle, Abraham Aaron (Steen) Stein in October, 1865.  More on that later.

I first found Abraham in 1860 in Watsonville, California with his brothers, Jacob and Harris Steen.  All were listed as barbers and were living in a hotel.  Their older brother was my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Steen.  It seems that the brothers immigrated to America and early on were all known by the name of Steen.

In 1880, Abraham and Amelia were enumerated in Watsonville with the name Stern.  But it’s hard to tell from the writing if it was Stern, Stein, or Steen.  What do you think?

With Abraham and Amelia were their children Joseph (14), Harry (12), Robert (6), Mary (3), and Lilly (1).

Year: 1880; Census Place: Watsonville, Santa Cruz, California; Roll: 82; Page: 516A; Enumeration District: 091

Of course we don’t have the 1890 census but in 1900, Abraham and Amelia were now Stein and living at 746 W. Market in Lima, Ohio.  Amelia could read, write, and speak English.  Living in the household were Robert, Mollie, Lillie, Isaac, Jenny, and Irene.  Amelia stated she had 14 children, 9 of whom were still living.  I looked to see if the house is still standing and it appears that it is now a medical center.

A change of address (2127 E. 90th Street, Cleveland) but still Stein in 1910.  The children living in the home were Harriet, Mollie, Lillian, Jennie, and Irene.  Where did all the boys go?  And now Amelia stated she had 9 children, 8 of whom were still living.  The address is now part of the Cleveland Clinic.

1920 found Amelia and Abraham at 260 Lancashire Road in Cleveland.  Maybe trying to Americanize themselves, after years of stating that Amelia was born in Germany and Abraham in Poland, they now stated that Abraham was born in New York and Amelia in New Jersey.  Living with them were Mollie and Lillie and now widowed daughter, Jenny Zucker, and her daughter, Alice Zucker.  The address is now a parking lot.

Abraham died in 1923 so in 1930 Amelia was a widow living at 1291 East Boulevard, Cleveland.  Now she stated that she was born in Ohio and both parents were born in Germany.  Also in the home were Mollie and Lillie (these two never married) and divorced daughter Irene Deutch and her son, Albert.  All three daughters stated that both of their parents were born in Ohio.  What gives?  The address looks to be a parking lot now.

Back to the marriage of Amelia and Abraham.  I found many references to their marriage – most being on 29 Oct 1865.  Yet while some of the records listed the marriage of Abraham and Amelia Winters, there were a few references to Abraham and Amelia Neiter.  Was this just due to the hard-to-read handwriting of the clerk?

Ohio County Marriage Records, 1774-1993

I think it IS Winters but at least a few people thought it was Neiter.

I wish there was some explanation for why this part of the family changed their name (or at least the spelling) from Steen to Stein.  The only siblings who seemed to keep the name Steen through their lives were Joseph, Jacob, and Harris who all spent their lives in California.  Those who found their way to Ohio all seemed to go by Stein.

Amelia died on 8 May 1932 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery alongside Abraham.

Top 10 Genealogical Finds of 2017

Photo by Pierce Place

As 2017 comes to a close, 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 seventh (and a half) annual Top 10 genealogical finds of 2017.  You can read my previous years’ discoveries here.  2016  2015  2014  2013  2012  2012.5  2011

It seems like it’s been a pretty quiet year for me.  I’ve focused on documenting things and less time on actual research and this list validates that.  So my takeaway from this is to get back to researching!

Number 10:  This is a late development and brings me back to my takeaway of researching more since this genealogical find is going to require A LOT of that.  Was my mother’s step father, and the only “Grandpa” I knew on her side, married TWICE before he married my grandmother?  I’d known about Harriet Pease, who I thought was the mother of Robert Melvin Hunter, my mother’s step brother who was killed at Pearl Harbor.  But when I found reference to Lyda Viola Souza, who died in 1920 from tuberculosis at the age of 24, as the “beloved wife of Sheldon A. Hunter”, I knew I needed to add this to my list.  If Lyda died in 1920 and Robert was born in 1918, was she his mother?



Number 9:  Was I finally able to put a name to a previously unnamed face?  Could this handsome man be Earle Norton, an early beau of my grandmother’s?



Number 8:  I was able to put photos all in one place and learned that my ancestors liked cars – who knew?  MACHINES AND ROADSTERS AND CARS



Number 7:  I learned a lot about my grandmother’s only sibling, Wilton Louis Gunzendorfer.  I have so many memories of Uncle Wilt but as I’m sure isn’t that different from most kids, it never connected that he was my grandmother’s brother.  Grandmothers had brothers?  And what fun to learn that Wilt wrote a song!  Read about him HERE and HERE.

 Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy and Wilt Gunzendorfer, c. 1980

Number 6:  I knew my family loved to scrapbook (I don’t have that gene) but I really had no idea of the extent of it until I finally opened up the box of scrapbooks and found this.



Number 5:  As part two of the scrapbooks, I discovered a scrapbook outlining the Levy Family Motoring Trip of 1940.  What fun to read about the trip my dad, his brother, and his parents took from California to Washington and back again.

Number 4:  The total eclipse on August 21 this year was all anyone could talk about for weeks (or probably even years) before hand – special glasses were flying off the shelves and people were traveling hundreds of miles to get the best view.  It occurred to me that the previous total eclipse that spanned the country was nearly 100 years before in 1918.  WAIT!  My grandparents were writing letters back and forth during that time and I wondered if they might have “talked” about it with each other – turns out they had!  Eclipse Fever

Number 3:   My Top 10 Genealogical Find of 2015 was having my grandfather’s home movies from 1936-1942 converted to DVD and how wonderful it was to see my ancestors at play.  But I knew there were more as my dad was an avid photographer and besides still photos he liked to take movies.  So we (my siblings and I) took those films and had them converted to DVD – thanks to my brother for spearheading the project.  When they arrived, my husband and I sat down to watch a movie of my life.  What made it particularly fun was that we had music from the time period (1952-1980) playing in the background.  I gotta say – it was an episode from This is Your Life! 



Number 2:  Right as I was celebrating my 6th blogiversary, I connected with a woman in Atlanta who had found my Uncle Rob’s hat!  It turns out my cousin, Rob’s daughter, had given the hat to the Goodwill by mistake and a kind soul bought the hat and found ME so that I was able to get it back in the right hands! 



Number 1:  My number 1 genealogical find of 2017 turned out to be a Christmas gift, as well.  One of the first people I connected with when I started this journey nearly 10 years ago was Victoria, a woman who was contributing and editing a book about the Jews of Santa Cruz.  We shared information and she ‘introduced’ me to the author, George Fogelson.  While I didn’t have much new information to share with George, I did share some photos that he seemed interested in and thought he might use in the book.  As part of the research, I was able to learn where my 3x great grandfather was buried (in the same cemetery as my parents!) and other tidbits that I’ve tucked away.

So how excited was I when I went to the post office on Christmas Eve and found this with MY PEEPS MENTIONED AND MY PHOTOS INCLUDED!



There is so much information about my ancestors but a couple of facts I found particularly interesting.

• In 1860, the population of Santa Cruz was 950 of which 15 were Jewish.  And on that list were my 3x great grandparents, Hannah (Plotzky) and Joseph Steen, and my 2x great grandparents, Rebecca (Steen) and Louis Schwartz.
• Rebecca’s sister, Lillie/Lily, was the first documented Jewish child born in Santa Cruz.
• The Eulogy for Louis Schwartz, delivered by Rabbi Marcus Friedlander of Temple Sinai, was delivered on May 27, 1893 and it is included in the book!

George even signed the book with a personalized message.



So that’s what I’ve been up to in 2017.  24 hours ago I wasn’t sure I could even come up with 10 significant genealogical finds but here I am with 10 plus a few others in reserve.  I’m looking forward to more research in 2018 and hope I can break down a few brick walls to add to my list next year.

Who knew?

SNGF: Female Ancestors' Age at Death

This week’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (okay, so I’m a day late) from Randy Seaver is to review your pedigree chart and determine the age at death of your female ancestors back at least 5 generations.  You can read about it HERE. 

What’s interesting about this exercise is that I’ve actually given it quite a bit of thought as when my mother died at the age of 84, I thought back to her mother, and her mother, and her mother and I thought they were all about the same age.  It made me realize that I’d really like to go from age 83 to about age 85 and just bypass those ages altogether. 

So an added exercise for me was to identify the ages of those women, in addition to five generations.

My mother, Geraldine (Martin) Levy, died 15 days before her 85th birthday.  So 84 years old.

Her mother, Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter, died at the age of 84.  Uh-oh.

Geraldine (Martin) Levy & Clara (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter

 

Clara’s mother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald, died at the age of 83 years, 5 months.

Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald

 

Mabel’s mother, Rebecca (Waller), died at the age of 83 years, 2 months.

 

Rebecca (Waller) McAboy

See?  I’m turning 83 and then poof – I’m gonna be 85! 

Okay, so back to the original exercise.  Some of my math might not look correct as I took into account the age at their last birthday.

Mother
Geraldine (Martin) Levy – 1928-2013 – 84 years

Grandmothers
Clara Maxine (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter – 1903-1987 – 84 years
Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy – 1896-1982 – 86 years

Great Grandmothers
Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald – 1883-1966 – 83 years
Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin – 1860-1936 – 75 years
Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer – 1872-1950 – 78 years
Goldie (Benas) Levy – 1864-1926 – 62 years

2nd Great Grandmothers
Rebecca (Waller) McAboy – 1845-1928 – 83 years
Julia (Horgan) Fitzgerald – 1849-1886 – 37 years
Sarah (Miller) Brooks Anderson – 1836-1923 – 86 years
Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz – 1848-1918 – 70 years
Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer – 1848-1910 – 62 years
Fredericka (Wilzinski) Benas – 1840-1915 – 75 years
Millicent (Moore) Martin – 1827-1884 – 56 years
Unknown ( ) Levy

3rd Great Grandmothers
Rebecca (Parker) Waller – 1814-1845 – 30 years
Margaret (Finley) Miller – 1812-1884 – 72 years
Monima (Williams) Brooks – 1801-1867 – 66 years
Hannah (Plotzkey) Steen – 1828-1909 – 80 years
Margaret (Callahn) Horgan – Unknown
Sarah (Frankel) Goldstein – 1838-1897 – 59 years
Sarah (Mann) McAboy – 1825-1910 – 85 years
Margaret (Cullen) Fitzgerald – Unknown
Amelia (Jackson) Wilzinski – 1816-1902 – 86 years
Elizabeth (McDaniel) Moore – 1808-1867 – 59 years
Tabitha (Rodgers) Martin – 1800-1860 – 60 years
Unknown x 5

The female ancestor to live the longest was Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson at 31,586 days.  Sarah’s first husband (and my 2nd great grandfather) was killed in the Battle of Fredericksburg and at one point she moved across country from South Carolina to California – what stories she would have had!

A close runner-up was my grandmother whom I’ve written so much about, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy at 31,519 days.  Besides my parents, I probably know more about her than any other ancestor.

The ancestor to live the least amount of time was Rebecca (Parker) Waller, my 3rd great grandmother.  Rebecca died at the age of 30, within days of giving birth to my 2nd great Grandmother, Rebecca (Waller) McAboy.

The average age of the 23 women I know the age for at the time of their death was about 70 years old.

It sure is hard to see how many of these women died at an age younger than I am today.  But I’m not dwelling on that, at least not until I get to be 83 years old!

Generations

I just love photos of generations in my family – what a gift to have these so many years later.  I remember hating it when Dad would pose us for a photo but boy am I happy now that he did!  Here’s some fun photos that I came across in Dad’s slides, I just wish these were in better shape.

Here we are with our Grandmas.

Clara Fitzgerald Hunter (holding Doug Levy), Carolyn Levy, Debi Levy, Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy c. 1962

And with our Grandpas.

Sigmund Levy (holding Doug), Carolyn Levy, Debi Levy, Shelton Hunter c. 1962

Not many people are fortunate enough to have photos with a great grandparent – here we are with two of them!

Edward Fitzgerald, Debi Levy, Doug Levy, Carolyn Levy, Mabel McAboy Fitzgerald c. 1962

Not too many generations but this one cracks me up!  I’ve talked before about how small my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, was but this is quite a visual.  My mom was only about 5’5” and for the record, she is not standing on a step.  Grandma and Grandpa sure loved going to Las Vegas!

Gordon Levy, Geraldine Martin Levy, Sig Levy, Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy

The most special photos in any collection are those with four generations or if you’re really lucky, five generations.  Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky but I do have a few of four generations that I treasure.  I haven't run across one yet with both daughters but I'm on the lookout!

Clara Fitzgerald Martin Hunter, Debi Levy Austen (holding Erinn), Geraldine Martin Levy, Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy, Natalie Trabue Gunzendorfer (Loraine’s sister-in-law) 1975

Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy, Geraldine Martin Levy (holding Erinn), Debi Levy Austen 1975

Back:  Clara Fitzgerald Martin Hunter, Geraldine Martin Levy, Mabel McAboy Fitzgerald Front:  Carolyn Levy, Debi Levy c. 1960

I even have some from farther back in time.  I’m not sure who all of these people are but I can identify the generations.  Since my mother and her father were never close following my grandparents’ divorce, I have very few photos of him so this is pretty special.

Second from left – Earle Martin (my grandfather) Second from right – Clara Fitzgerald Martin (my grandmother) Seated – Francis Brooks Martin (Earle’s mother) Girl on right – Geraldine Martin (my mother) c. 1929

And another one of this group from a different day.  Wait – since my mother is holding a baby doll could this be considered four generations?

Clara Fitzgerald Martin, Francis Brooks Martin, Geraldine Martin, Earle Martin c. 1931

The Gunzendorfer and Levy families also took photos.

Abraham Gunzendorfer, Bertha Schwartz Gunzendorfer (my great grandparents) Gordon Levy (front), Sig Levy, Robert Levy (Dad’s brother) c. 1935

And this photo, without a doubt, is my very favorite photo.  So happy we were able to rescue it from the storage unit.

Rebecca Steen Schwartz (my 2x great grandmother), Bertha Schwartz Gunzendorfer (my great grandmother) holding Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer (my maternal grandmother),  and Hannah Plotzky Steen (my 3x great grandmother) 1896

I could just look at these photos forever!