The rest of the story

The first part of the story of Adolph Gunzendorfer’s (my great grand uncle) life is here. 

By 1910 Adolph was back in San Francisco and sharing a home at 1627 Sacramento with his wife, Charlotte, her brother, Marshall White, and a lodger, Ralph Knowlton.  And in 1920, he and Charlotte were living at 645 Bush Street as lodgers.  Pages and pages of the census from that enumeration district are filled with lodgers – it could have been apartments or even hotels.

By 1913, Adolph was involved in a very special project – the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco.  I wrote about my grandmother’s visit to the Exposition visit here.  What might Adolph have been up to?

Daily Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon) 24 Feb 1913, Page 5

Yes, Adolph, his brother, Jacob, and Jacob’s son, Mervyn, were granted the right to produce their original and remarkable concession, “The Submarines” at the 1915 World’s Fair.  And what’s really coincidental is that I wrote about Grandma’s visit to The Submarine here.  How fun that she had so many mementos from the exhibit that her two uncles and cousin had a hand in creating.  My favorite memento was the piece of redwood that kept trying to escape from the scrapbook – was Grandma trying to tell me to keep researching?  Why didn’t she leave me more clues?




On February 10, 1922, Charlotte passed away and Adolph was alone.  I remember reading about her being ill in the letters my grandmother wrote to my grandfather in 1918 so, perhaps, it was a lengthy illness that led to her death. 

San Francisco Chronicle Monday, February 13, 1922

Sometime about 1926, Adolph moved to the Hotel Maryland at 490 Geary Street, which is now the Warwick Regis Hotel.  I’ve discovered several of my ancestors living in San Francisco hotels – maybe it was common to live in a hotel back then.

The Warwick Regis Hotel today:


But Adolph not only lived in the hotel, he died in the hotel in 1932.  I can just imagine poor Adolph all alone in that hotel room as he, hopefully, passed peacefully in his sleep.

San Francisco County Records (1824-1997) Coroner’s Register, March 1932 Image 52 of 398, page 423

March 1, 1932 at 11:32 a.m. 

This date at about 11 a.m. the deceased was found dead undressed under the bed covers in his room at 490 Geary by the manager Thos. D. White.  Supposed natural cause.  He was last seen alive this am about 4:15 o’clock before he retired.  He had been complaining of pain in his right arm.  Been dead several hours.

San Francisco County Records (1824-1997) Coroner’s Register, March 1932 Image 53 of 398, page 423

Interesting facts on this page:

Apparent cause of death:  acute dilatation of heart, cardiac hypertrophy, chronic cystitis, chronic prostatitis.

The authorities took no clothes from the hotel and he had $105.00 at the time of his death (about $1200 today).

The ring was taken off his finger.

A check dated March 14, 1932 for $10.00 for miscellaneous cards was cashed.

Look at that – there was an inquest on March 8, 1932 and the jury verdict was that the death was due to natural causes.

And two days after his death, there was a very small obituary in the San Francisco Examiner.

The San Francisco Examiner Thursday, March 3, 1932 Page 19

A very interesting and almost mysterious life was reduced to just two short paragraphs in the local newspaper?  Surely there must be more to the story.  Grandma, where are the clues?

It starts with a photo…..

For anyone who has researched their family, is an amateur or professional genealogist, or anyone with just a basic curiosity of where they came from, often times it starts with a photo.  You know what I mean – you see a photo, figure out who it is, start to research him/her, and 743 hours later, you’ve accumulated more information than you ever dreamed would be out there.  And all the while you know you should be cleaning the toilet, finishing the laundry, or doing something other than sitting in front of your computer looking for things.  But you just can’t stop.

And that’s where I’ve been for the last 24 hours.  My brain is spinning with what if’s, if only I knew, and more questions than I had when I awoke yesterday morning.

The culprit.





Now I’ve seen several personalized post cards in my grandmother’s collection so can only assume this is another one.  I know that Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Gunzendorfer were my great grandparents and they did, in fact, live in Monterey, California in 1905 after spending about 8 years in San Francisco.  I also know that Abe’s brother was Adolph, also known as A.G., and that he was in Los Angeles between about 1901 and 1907.  So it would make sense that he would write a card to his brother, sister-in-law, and their two children, one of whom was my grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer.

What I can’t be sure of is if the man looking silly on the card was, indeed, Adolph Gunzendorfer.  I have only run across one other photo of Adolph when he posed for a family photo in about 1896.

Back row – Abraham, Gustave, Minnie Dauterman ?, Adolph ?, Jacob? Center row – Bertha Schwartz (holding Loraine), Ferdinand, Fannie Goldstein, Inez Steinberger (holding Mervyn) Front row – Irene Gunzendorfer

I’ve made some assumptions on this photo but I’m about 99% sure I’m accurate.  I’m positive that is Abraham on the left, nearly certain next is Gustave, assume it is Gustave’s wife Minnie standing next to him, and then I know the next two are either Adolph and Jacob…..or Jacob and Adolph.  But since Adolph wasn’t married at the time and Jacob was, I can assume the woman sitting in front of whom I think is Jacob is his wife, Inez, holding their young son, Mervyn.  And I know that is Bertha on the left (I’d know her ANYWHERE) holding my grandmother, Ferdinand and Fannie in the center, and then little Irene in the front.  And since my grandmother was born in January, 1896 and Mervyn was born just 3 months later, I can be certain this photo was taken some time in 1896.  And then came the goofy photo from Adolph above which makes me really think Adolph is second from the right in the family photo.

So then what?  Let’s see what I know about Adolph.

He was born in February, 1866 in California.  I don’t know the exact date or city but hope to be able to figure that out.  I have found a marriage record from 23 Mar 1887 showing his marriage to Emma Schoen in Monterey.  I have found NO other reference to Emma so I hope to be able to figure out what happened to her – did she die, did they divorce, or what?  From 1888 to 1896, I know Adolph was in Monterey working in the family business, The White House.  And that’s where things started to get a little more interesting.

By 1901 Adolph was a “manager” in Los Angeles.  And by 1904, the city directory shows that he is a Manager in billiards.  Huh?  Each year thereafter his occupation remains unchanged and finally he is linked to the Casino Billiard Parlor at 344 S. Spring in Los Angeles.  And during that time he decided to send a goofy post card to his brother back home in Monterey.

It must have taken some time to get the Casino Billiard Parlor up and running as the Grand Opening was held on 15 Dec 1903.

Los Angeles Herald Volume XXXI, Number 76 15 Dec 1903

There were lots of other ‘amusements’ in Los Angeles at that time but I can imagine this grand opening was quite an attraction.

In 1904, Adolph was a “backer” in a group of well known gold mines In Kern County operated by E.W. Doss.  $10,000 was a lot of money in 1904!  (Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXXII, Number 56, 26 Nov 1904)

But by 1908 things didn’t seem to be going so well for the parlor.

Los Angeles Herald Volume XXXV, Number 274 City Hall Notes 2 Jul 1908

Now that’s interesting.  And even more interesting that by 1910 Adolph was back in San Francisco with his wife, Charlotte White.  What happened in Los Angeles to cause him to come back to the northern part of the state?  I know that from 1910 until the end of his life in 1932, Adolph was a fixture in San Francisco where it looked like he worked in an international specialty company. 

A few other interesting tidbits about Adolph will show up soon – stay tuned for more of the story!

The Great White Hope

I’m sure that all of us who are old enough to remember films from the 1970’s is familiar with the film The Great White Hope, starring James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander.  This was originally written as a play in 1967 and then adapted for the screen in 1970.  The Great White Hope told a fictional life story of boxing champion Jack Johnson (James Earl Jones).  “Acting as a lens focused on a racist society, The Great White Hope explores how segregation and prejudice created the demand for a ‘great white hope’ who would defeat Johnson and how this, in turn, affected the boxer's life and career” [Wikipedia].  I remember loving the film (I always love a good romance) and watching the relationship between James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander – an African American man and a white woman falling in love was somewhat risqué in 1970.

So what does that have to do with my family history?  Well until recently when I came across a photo, I would have said “not much”.  But there in front of me was an interesting photo with a few clues.



It’s a little hard to see, although I knew that was my grandfather, Sig Levy, on the right.  So, I enlarged it and cropped it a bit.



Hmmm, it still doesn’t tell me much.  I knew my grandfather was active with Raisin Day festivities so this wasn’t too surprising.  I turned the photo over to see if there was anything written on the back and once again, I was disappointed that there was nothing to give me a clue.



Wait!  If I looked real closely, turned the photo just right and held it up to the light, I could see something written on the back.  It looked like my grandfather’s handwriting and since it was written in pencil, it was very hard to read.  So I got out my glasses and was able to make out the words:

“Taken when Jeffries was champion of the world.  At Ben Lomond training for the Johnson fight.”

Interesting to be sure but I still didn’t know much more than I had before that.  And then I did what anyone in 2014 would do – I opened google and typed in “Jeffries Ben Lomond world champion” and a new world was opened up to me – the world of James Jackson Jeffries (1875-1953), the boxing heavyweight champion of the world from 1899-1906!  And then I read that he trained in Rowardennan Redwood Park, which was built in 1895 and was at the southern edge of Ben Lomond.  Jeffries had come out of retirement in 1910 in order to fight John Arthur “Jack” Johnson, the African American man who was crowned Heavyweight champion of the world in 1908.  Throughout his boxing career, Jeffries refused to fight Black boxers so this must have been quite a story.

The Great White Hope was the reference to the boxers whom the white people hoped would finally defeat Johnson and the first person to accept the challenge was Jim Jeffries.  By 1910 Jeffries had been retired for 5 years and had ballooned from his fighting weight of about 220 pounds to a whopping 330 pounds.  He chose Ben Lomond as his training site and for three months beginning in April, 1910, Jim Jeffries trained so that he could be back in shape for the fight to be held in Reno on July 4, 1910.

San Francisco Chronicle June 13, 1910 Page 8

There was much at stake for both Jim Jeffries and Jack Johnson.  Of course, Jack Johnson wanted to defend his crown and Jim Jeffries wanted to be the hero for the white people of the world.  But cash was involved - $65,000 (1.65 million in today’s dollars) was paid to Jack Johnson and $120,000 (3 million today) for Jim Jeffries.  And to the people who wanted to witness the fight in person – the Oakland Tribune reported on June 25 1910 (page 16) that a round trip ticket from Oakland to Reno on Southern Pacific Railroad would set them back $11.15, or about $278.75 in today’s dollars.  But I’m sure the 20,000 people who were in attendance at the ring built just for the occasion didn’t care as they just wanted to be part of history. 

James Jeffries and Jack Johnson July 4, 1910 Reno, Nevada photo by Wikipedia

Jack Johnson won the fight and retained his heavyweight title until 1915 when he lost to Jess Willard, a white boxer.  Johnson died in a car crash near Raleigh, North Carolina on June 10, 1946 after he raced away in anger from a diner that refused to serve him.  He was buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, initially in an unmarked grave.  Jim Jeffries died of a heart attack on March 3, 1953 and is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

I’ll never know if my grandfather met Jim Jeffries or if he even saw him train in Boulder Creek in 1910.  But by being there and taking a photo, and more importantly writing on the back of the photo, I’ve learned a lot about The Great White Hope.  Who knew?

Fun with Sig

Sadly, I don’t have too many memories of my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, as I wasn’t quite 14 years old when he died.  And as I think about that, it occurred to me that he passed away 46 years ago yesterday, August 16, 1968.  I’ll wait while you do the math…….

What I do remember about Grandpa Sig is that he ‘collected’ little trinkets and had a treasure trove of stuff in the little room off the garage for us to look at and if we were really lucky, he’d send us home with something.  I can just imagine how thrilled my parents were with that but I guess as long as Grandpa was able to get rid of some stuff, he was happy.  And as I go through all of the stuff that has been in storage all these years, I can just imagine how much there must have been because, undoubtedly, the trinkets must have ended up in the trash.

I also remember that Grandpa was a fun-loving guy and everyone seemed to love him.  He was involved in everything possible and I know he passed that on to his son because my dad was the same way.  So how fun for me to come across some pictures that reminds me of how active he was and how much fun he seemed to have.

Apparently Grandpa liked to swim because I ran across this picture of him with his friends.  That’s Sig on the right – how’s that for a stylin’ bathing suit?  The guy in the middle sure looks like Johnny Carson to me.



After his death, I was given a couple of Sig’s old tennis racquets and we’ve had them hanging on our wall for about 30 years - I think I need to hang this photo next to the racquets.  Check out the shoes!



Too bad this photo is torn because I’d sure like to see the entire photo and, more importantly, be able to read what someone wrote on the back.  It might have given some clues as to what was going on.  That’s Sig on the left in the front.



I’d sure like to know the story behind these.  Looks like they were dressed up for a play for something.







Here’s Sig with Steel Davis, one of Fresno’s most beloved Police Officers.  Besides those words on the back of the photo, I also learned that Mr. Davis assisted with the Raisin Festival Parades.  I did a quick search on ancestry.com for Steel Davis and can see he was born in 1878 and died in 1935 but I don’t see any children or even any family trees – is no one looking for him?  I’d love to connect with a descendant because this photo of him in his uniform is priceless!  And no, he wasn’t a giant – my grandfather was probably only about 5’ 2” tall.



I just love this photo and have a larger version hanging in my hallway – I can just imagine Sig whistling on his way to work.

Sig Levy - 1940

Grandpa liked the girls!  Here he is with Jack Marvin, test pilot, and Alyse Kaye Moffett, Miss Fresno 1957.

Jack Marvin, Alyse Kaye Moffett, Sig Levy June 6, 1957 – Fresno Realty Board

What’s everyone looking at?  Whatever it was Grandpa wasn’t too interested.



I’d like to know how tall this guy is.



Here’s Sig with the ladies again.  At least Grandma was with him this time.



I love when I find a description and a date on the back of the photo!

April, 1967 Banquet for Shriners At this table are members of the Shrine for 50 years or more In foreground Mr. & Mrs. Sigmund Levy W. Burks on opposite side of table

And this is how I remember Grandma and Grandpa – him in a suit/tie and her in a dress.  And look at us in our little matching outfits! 

Cruising

As I continue to work through the scads (that was my grandmother’s word) of photos I have, I’m reminded of the many times my grandparents, Sig and Loraine Levy, cruised here and there.  I particularly remember their voyages on the S.S. Lurline between San Francisco and Hawaii.  I believe they would travel from Fresno to San Francisco, with a stop in San Jose either before or after their cruise, and from San Francisco would sail to/from Hawaii.  And now I’ve found photos as evidence of their journeys!

Sig and Loraine Levy 8 Aug 1959

I can just imagine sailing in the 50’s and 60’s – what a different time.  My grandfather looks so dapper in his tuxedo!  And thanks, Grandpa, for putting the date on the back of this photo! 

No date on this photo but based on the clothing, I’m guessing it was the same voyage.



Once they arrived in Honolulu, I remember that they always stayed at the Royal Hawaiian, the beautiful pink hotel on Waikiki Beach.  I’m sure back in the day it was about the only game in town – now it’s dwarfed by the other more “hip” hotels. 

Royal Hawaiian Hotel photo by cryptic_star

I have found records showing they sailed on the Lurline from San Francisco to Honolulu in April, 1949, August 1951, and August 1956 but I haven’t found any photos that look to be from these trips.  Yet.

1966 seems to have been a big year for cruising.  In June, they sailed on the SS President Wilson but I don’t know where they went.  The photos I have are in ‘jackets’ that show the name of the ship and Hawaii-Japan-Philippines-Hong Kong so I’m guessing they went to one or all of those countries.  There is a little nugget in my brain saying they visited Japan but I can’t be sure.  No matter where they went, they seemed to have had a good time!

My grandmother loved her mink and took it everywhere with her!  I remember when we cleaned out my parents’ house last year finding the mink in the bedroom closet – I’m sure my parents never knew what to do with it.  I don’t want to think about what happened to it in the estate sale.

Loraine and Sig Levy May, 1966

I wish I knew who these unidentified people are.  If I could find passenger lists for this voyage, I might recognize some names.  But here’s Grandma with her mink!



And some quiet dinners together.






But the quiet dinners didn’t last – looks like there was a costume party aboard the ship.



And guess who won the prize for the most original costume?  Thank you, Grandpa, for writing that on the back of this photo!

June, 1966 On board Pres Wilson Sig won the prize for most original costume THE BEEF EATER

Later that year they were cruising again as they were on board the Lurline on the Hawaii Holiday Cruise December 20, 1966 – December 30, 1966.  This cruise went from San Francisco to Honolulu via Nawiliwili (Kauai), Lahaina, and Hilo.  Look at that – Grandma has on a different mink!



Who are these lovely ladies with them?  I thought they might be the Stubblefield sisters, their next door neighbors for years, but I was able to find a passenger list on line and there was no indication that the Stubblefields were on board.  Oh look at that – if you look in the top right hand corner you can see the top of the ship!  Here’s the ship from the back of the photo ‘jacket’.



While I’ve never been on a cruise, I have heard that eating is one of the main events.  Looks like it was a great opportunity for some photos, too!



I have to laugh that they are sitting in the exact same seats!



I don’t know if this was from the same cruise but I do know it was on board the SS Lurline.  Grandpa always did like the ladies!



I just love looking at these photos and imagining what their voyages were like.  Thanks for sharing them with me, Grandma and Grandpa!

She was crafty?

I’ve written a lot about my maternal grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy, most recently here.  One thing I never thought about was my grandmother being crafty because just by looking at her you’d think she was anything but.



This photo must have been when she was about 80 years old or so.  I remember that she was always, and I mean always, dressed to the nines and everything was just perfect.  As you can see in this photo, everything matched and she always carried a purse (or as she called it, a bag) to match her shoes which matched her dress.  It was always a dress – I don’t remember ever seeing her dressed in anything other than a dress and most, if not all, of her clothes came from her favorite store, Saks Fifth Avenue.  In later years she had trouble with bunions and rather than wear shoes that were comfortable and enabled her to walk easier with her bunions. she would still buy the best shoes and would take some sort of tool and cut a hole in the shoes right where the bunions were to allow more room.  I still laugh at this perfectly dressed woman with holes in her very expensive shoes!

As we were growing up, I really don’t remember Grandma doing much other than playing bridge.  I’m sure she did other things – shopping and lunch come to mind – but to a young girl it seemed to be all about bridge.  It was nice that she lived nearby my maternal grandmother and, I believe, they often played bridge with the same group of women.  But one thing I never thought about was that she might actually like to do something crafty.

Shortly before she passed away in 1982 and just a few months after her 86th birthday, Grandma gave me two needlepoint projects that she’d made so that I could one day pass them on to my daughters.  Oh sure, I loved them and I proudly displayed them in my home but I really never gave them much thought after that.


She was, obviously, so proud of herself for completing this project that she put a note on the back of each.



What I remember my parents telling me is that she hadn’t really done the entire project by herself but for the life of me I can’t remember the specifics.  She either bought the fabric with the figure already stitched and then she stitched the background…..or vice versa.  But whichever it was she did it and wanted to share it with me.

More than 30 years later as we were cleaning out my mother’s house I found this.



This one has no signature or other identifying information on it but I can only assume that she stitched this at the same time she did the others and gave it to my mom and dad.  And as they tended to do, they stuck it away in a drawer or closet never to be seen again.  Until it was time to clean out the house when it just jumped out at me and whispered “take me home”.  So I did.

And there was another needlepoint project that I’d forgotten about that also came home with me – this beautiful purse that I guessed had belonged to Grandma and then was passed down to my mother.



Thankfully, thankfully, several years before Mom passed away I spent a few days with her and for whatever reason, together we went through the cavernous hall linen closet where she stored all of her handbags and some of her jewelry.  And as we took things out to look at them, Mom would give me a description of the object – where she got it or who had given it to her, the significance, etc.  And because I knew my memory was fading, I decided to take some notes and put them with each object as Mom told me about it.  So guess what I found when I opened up this purse?  In my own handwriting it said:

Handmade by Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy, approximately 1960.  Purchased material in Vienna, stitched purse, professional put together into purse.

You know, sometimes I really kick myself for not doing something but this time I actually gave myself a pat on the back and a silent thank you because otherwise this treasure might have ended up in the estate sale.

Who knew my grandmother was crafty?

Benjamin Benas – what I know

Last week I wrote about my great grandmother, Goldie Benas, which piqued my curiosity again about her parents.  And as typically happens, I’ve been off in a million different directions so I need to document what I do know about her father, Benjamin Benas.

Benjamin was born in about 1826 in Posen, Germany.  He may have come to the United States aboard the Stephani which arrived in New York from Hamburg on 21 July 1845.  There was a young 19 year old Mechanic on board by the name of Benjamin Benas but I need to confirm if that was my Benjamin.

California Voter’s Registrations show that he was naturalized in San Francisco County on 6 September 1855.  What took him to California? 

In 1860 Benjamin was living in Vallejo with his brother, Solomon, and in 1865 he was living in San Francisco at 13 Kearny.  By 1870 he was back in Vallejo and had settled down with his wife, Fredericka (or Frances) and three children, Isaac, Goldie, and Max.  In 1868, Benjamin was a charter member of the Naval Chapter, No. 35, R.A.M. (from History of Solano County: comprising an account of its geographical position).  And Voter’s Registrations in 1867, 1876, 1880, and 1886 show him in Vallejo so my hunch is he never left.

Except maybe in 1892 when he died.  His certificate of death shows his date of death was 17 April 1892 and his previous residence was Amador County and that his place of death was Falley’s or Talley’s.  Take a look and let me know what you think it says.



Solano County is roughly 80 miles from Amador County – did Benjamin go there to die?  From the death certificate, it looks like he died from an abscess and carcinoma of the intestines – probably not a pleasant way to die.  I hope his family was with him and that he wasn’t away from home and alone.

Based on the age listed on his death certificate (65 years, 3 months, 23 days) his date of birth would have been 25 December, 1826.

The notice in the newspaper doesn’t tell me much.

San Francisco Chronicle April 19, 1892 Page 10

Benjamin is buried in Hills of Eternity in Colma, California, where his wife Fredericka was later buried with him.

Photo courtesy of Diane Reich

In researching for this blog post, I stumbled across the Solano County Genealogical Society website and found a few things listed that might be of interest – an Index to Property and Owners and Township Lists from 1878 and a Deed Index showing deeds pertaining to Benjamin from 1864 and 1861.  My request and check are in the mail!

What do I need to research in order to learn more about Benjamin:

• Confirm if the Benjamin Benas who arrived in New York in 1845 was my Benjamin Benas.
• Obtain naturalization records from San Francisco County from 6 September 1855.
• Figure out the parents of Benjamin and Solomon Benas – easy, right?
• Learn more about Naval Chapter, No. 35, R.A.M.
• Wait – patiently – for information from the Solano County Genealogical Society. 

And that’s what I know.  For now.