The Cousin Detective

How to Find a Cousin (With Only Breadcrumbs and Sheer Stubbornness)

2025-10-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

I’ve got a problem only a genealogist could love: zero living male Maass cousins from Märkisch Friedland to run a Y-DNA test for me. So I did what any rational person with an irrational hobby would do—I went hunting through my tree for orphaned Maass men: the lone branches with a name and a birth who might have families I just haven’t chased yet.

You don’t really find ancestors—you negotiate with them. They toss crumbly bits of clues; you show up with a magnifying glass, date math, and a sense of humor, and eventually the records agree to line up.

What follows is a quick case study in clue-stacking: from a Prussian cradle to a Berlin obituary—and straight to a living cousin you can actually wave at. The point isn’t just names on a chart; it’s reconnecting long-lost family so we can share the really old photos hiding in shoeboxes and, when it matters for the surname line, run that Y-DNA test to lock the paper trail to the genetic one.

The Maass family of Märkisch Friedland

I’ve traced my Maass / Maaß line back to Moshe Favish Maaß (aka Moses Feivel Maass) of Märkisch Friedland (now Mirosławiec, Poland), circa 1730. And, as of 26 Oct 2025, his tree is still sprouting—499 descendants (including me and 267 other people)… and, so far, not a single one still carries the MAASS surname. The universe has jokes.

For a few centuries the Jewish families of Märkisch Friedland did what small-town Jews do best: run shops, keep books, argue lovingly in two languages, and spell Maaß/Maass three different ways before breakfast. Then 1871 happens—Germany becomes “a thing,” civil rights expand, railways knit the map, and Berlin (a few hours southwest) turns into a magnet with streetlights. Translation: bigger markets, universities, factory jobs, newspapers, doctors, and the sweet anonymity of a city where no one asks your great-uncle if he’s related to those Maasses (he is). So they did what smart families do: packed the candlesticks, caught the train, and scattered Berlin-ward—where the records would later taunt me from multiple archives, but also where the cousins—and the photo albums—were waiting.

Receipts: Maass family tree top starting point

Clue 1 — Start with a Birth You Can Point At

Adolph Maaß is born 5 July 1843 in Märkisch Friedland

In the Jewish civil births, up pops Adolph Maaß (aka Adolf Maass), son of Moses Maaß and Johanna Orbach. When I first met him, he was a lonely dangler on my tree—no wife, no kids, no death date, just a name and a birth. Cute, but not helpful.

Why it matters:

Date, place, and parents—the genealogist’s holy trinity. It’s the anchor point that turns a stray leaf into someone you can actually follow.

Pro Tip: Search spelling variations of German names.

ß ↔ ss: Maaß/Maass
Umlauts: ä/ae, ö/oe, ü/ue (Müller/Mueller)
Vowel/cons. swaps: ei/ey/ai (Meier/Meyer/Maier/Mayer)
C/K, F/Ph, Th/T: (Carl/Karl, Philipp/Filipp, Thal/Tal)
Given-name variants: Adolf/Adolph, Karl/Carl, Johann/Johannes
Other toggles: add/remove von/vom/van, middle initials, hyphens, Anglicizations

Receipts: 1843 birth of Adolph MAASS in Märkisch Friedland

Clue 2 — Connect a Death That Talks Back

Death of Adolf Maass, age 77 — On 27 Sep 1920 in Schöneberg, Berlin, a death record is filed for Adolf Maass, age 77—he’d died two days earlier (25 Sep). The entry skips the usual goodies (no parents, no wife—thanks for nothing), but it does drop the line we needed: born in Märkisch Friedland. That’s the jackpot clue—he’s definitely one of my Märkisch Friedland Maass clan.

Pro Tip: Do the date math — The Adolf Maass sitting on my tree was born 5 Jul 1843. He dies 25 Sep 1920. That clocks in at 77 years, 2 months, 20 days—which the certificate politely rounds to 77. Math sings, record agrees. Bingo.

Why it matters:

Age, birthplace, and timeline all snap into place. The death doesn’t just rhyme with the birth—it locks to it. Circle closed; the baby from Märkisch Friedland is the gentleman who died in Berlin.

But wait—what if there were two?
In theory, there could have been two different Adolf Maass born in Märkisch Friedland in 1843. In practice, that’s unicorn-rare here. We have the scanned Jewish birth registers for that town and year, and they show one entry: Adolph Maaß, son of Mose Maaß and Johanna Orbach (see birth certificate). Same name, same place, same exact birth date. Unless a duplicate Adolf materialized off-ledger and never touched a synagogue or civil book, our man is the man.

Receipts: 1920 death of Adolf MAASS in Berlin (born 1843 in Märkisch Friedland)

Clue 3 — Newspapers: Where Families Quietly Shout

30 Sept 1920, Berliner Tageblatt: a family notice announces that Adolf Maaß passed away, “our dear father, father-in-law, and grandfather.”

Why it matters:

“Grandfather” is not just sentimental—it’s a data grenade. At this point, the only known grandchild (Hanna) was born 11/11/1920, weeks after Adolf’s death. Conclusion: there must be another grandchild.

Pro Tip: Treat contradictions as treasure maps. If a “grandfather” dies before a known birth, you’re missing another grandchild. Go find it.

Receipts: 1920 Sep 30 Adolf MAASS death notice in Berliner Tageblatt

Clue 4 — Marriages Are Mini-Censuses

1 Sep 1919, Berlin: The marriage of Toni Maass and Salomon Georg Glücksmann in Berlin. The entry gives us multiple payloads:

Father status & location: Toni’s father Adolf Maass is still living in Berlin (vital pre-death timestamp).
Bride’s birthplace: Königsberg (not just color—this becomes a search beacon).
Witness line twist: Instead of Dad, we see “Dr. Johanna Maass,” age 46. Given Adolf dies a year later, a reasonable inference is illness/absence, with Johanna stepping in.
Name normalization: Confirms the Maass/Maaß spelling range you must search under.
Timeline fit: Places the family in Berlin by 1919, consistent with later deaths (Adolf 1920; Hulda 1914 Berlin already ties the migration arc).

Why it matters:

One document verifies Adolf alive in 1919 (Berlin), hands us Königsberg as Toni’s birthplace, and drops a likely older sister (Dr. Johanna Maass, 46) into the frame—all of which tighten identity, place, and relationships right before Adolf’s 1920 death.

Pro Tip: Read everything on a civil record; you want to extract every crumb, every crumb. Don't miss an important clue.

Receipts: 1919 marriage of Toni MAASS and Salomon Georg GLÜCKSMANN in Berlin

Clue 5 — Königsberg Records Sweep

Once the marriage says “born in Königsberg,” you raid Königsberg registers for the rest of the crew. Immediate hits that cluster around Adolf Maass & Hulda (née Rosenheim):

Johanna Maass — b. 25 Aug 1873, Königsberg → age 46 in 1919 matches the marriage witness “Dr. Johanna Maass”.
Albert Maass — b. 2 Sep 1876, Königsberg; d. 4 Apr 1911, Charlottenburg-Berlin; parents listed as Adolf & Hulda → stitches Königsberg to Berlin and confirms the parents.
Gertrud Maass — b. Jul 1883, d. 12 Jun 1887, Königsberg → another child in the same household timeframe.
Toni Maass — b. 12 Jun 1885, Königsberg → independently matches the marriage birthplace.

Why it matters:

The Königsberg cluster proves this isn’t a lone bride wandering into Berlin; it’s a family migration with consistent parent names, repeated locales, and a witness whose age, name, and birthplace lock in. That cohesion upgrades “plausible” to probable for Johanna-as-sister and cements the Adolf + Hulda household. This creates a sturdy family cluster that marches to Berlin by the 1910s. Once you can move a family unit through space and time, you’re not guessing—you’re reconstructing.

Receipts:

1885 birth of Toni MAASS in Königsberg to Adolf and Hulda
1876 birth of Albert MAASS in Königsberg son of Adolf and Hulda
1887 death of Gertrud MAASS in Königsberg
1873 birth of Johanna MAASS in Königsberg - index card

Clue 6 — Hulda’s Death

(Expanding the “other” side, because we’re completists, and finding two more children!)

18 May 1914, Berlin: Hulda (Rosenheim) Maass dies. Her death record kindly overachieves: it names her parents, Abraham Rosenheim & Lina Cohn, and gives Hulda’s birthplace: Stettin, Prussia.

Why it matters (even if we’re laser-focused on MAASS):

Full mother ID: Confirms the parent set for the Königsberg/Berlin children (Johanna, Albert, Toni, Gertrud, etc.).
Cousin pipeline unlocked: Launches the Rosenheim/Cohn line out of Stettin (Szczecin) → new branches, records, and potential living cousins.
Migration arc corroborated: Stettin → Königsberg → Berlin fits cleanly with the children’s events and later Berlin records.
Address sanity check bonus: Hulda’s 1914 address (Gipsstraße 25/26, Mitte) isn’t the same as Adolf’s 1920 address (Grunewaldstraße 2, Schöneberg). If they had matched, that would’ve been chef’s-kiss confirmation—always look for that. But different addresses here aren’t a red flag; they read like widower-era logistics (health, family support, new lease). Same city, same family, perfectly normal late-life move.

Pro Tip: Note the addresses on civil records for consistency and mapping.

Receipts: 1914 death of Hulda ROSENHEIM Maass in Berlin

Clue 7 — Hulda’s Death Notice

Newspaper echo (aka: the part where I finally check the obvious)

Civil death in hand, I remember: Berlin papers run family notices the next day or so. I peek at the Berliner Tageblatt for 19 May 1914 and—jackpot. One column turns Hulda’s death into a mini family directory: three more children (Gustav, Hedwig and Lisbet), a son-in-law (Ludwig Hackel), and three granddaughters—Nora, Eva, Nina Hackel—in St. Petersburg. First I’ve heard of them. Nice.

Why it matters:

It often names the living: Obits list the actual kin network—siblings, in-laws, addresses—the stuff civil forms often skip.
It’s not just America: Yes, Germany had obituaries. So does almost everywhere. People mourn; printers print; cousins get found

Pro Tip: Search Newspapers for Obituaries to find more family. Duh. But yes, every time.

Receipts: 1914 May 19 Death Notice of Hulda MAASS in Berliner Tageblatt

Clue 8 — The History You Wish You Didn’t Need

Front and center is the 17 May 1939 German Minority Census (Volks-, Berufs- und Betriebszählung): a bureaucratic snapshot that is both genealogical gold and a historical gut-punch.

Blessing: it pins people to exact places with institutional detail.

Curse: it was built to identify Jews for persecution and deportation.

For the Maass family, it reveals that the three Maass sisters from Königsberg were all in/into Hannover—a single-city convergence that sets the stage for what followed.

Toni (Maass) Glücksmann (1885–1941)
Born: 12 Jun 1885, Königsberg (Pr.) · 1939: M.-J.-Heinemann-Stiftung, Brabeckstr. 86, Hannover · 15 Dec 1941: deported Hannover → Riga Ghetto.
Luise Maass (1875–1943) — shows up as Luise/Louise, and likely the “Lisbet” from Hulda’s death notice—Lisbet being the family nickname, Luise/Louise the clerk-approved version.
Born: 17 May 1875, Königsberg (Pr.) · 1939: registered; address trail includes Hochwildpfad 20, Berlin-Zehlendorf, then tied to Hannover · 15 Dec 1941: deported Hannover → Riga; died as a result of Nazi persecution (before 8 May 1945).
Johanna Maass (1873–1940)
Born: 25 Aug 1873, Königsberg (Pr.) · Seen earlier Berlin (Tiergarten), later Hannover · Died: 5 Dec 1940, Hannover—months before the Riga transport.

Why it matters

The 1939 lists function like a grim census: they anchor identities and addresses, proving continuity Königsberg → Berlin → Hannover.
Hannover becomes your research hub: target Judenhaus rosters, transport lists, Arolsen Archives files, restitution claims, and municipal records.
In the tree, these records explain abrupt branch endings (1940–45) while also pointing to survivor pathways—e.g., Hanna, Toni’s daughter, who escaped to England.

Receipts:

1941 deportation of Luise MAASS from Hannover - mappingthelives.com
1941 deportation of Toni MAASS Glücksmann from Hannover - mappingthelives.com
1940 death of Johanna MAASS in Hannover - mappingthelives.com

The Payoff — Great Grandchildren Who Prove the Paper Trail Breathes

Hanna Glücksmann, born in Berlin on 11 Nov 1920—after Adolf’s death—escaped to England, married, and had a son Daniel who is alive today.

Welcome, Daniel—newly connected cousin via the Maass line! (And yes, my name is Daniel too. Is that a clue? Absolutely not. Coincidences happen. Fun ones.)

Eva Hackel also escaped to England and had two children: Evamaria Guillery (1927-2024) and Rainer Walter Guillery (1929-2017), both of which had children of their own — great great grandchildren of our Adolf Maass.

Why it matters:

This is the payoff: from an 1843 Prussian birth to living, breathing descendants.
That “grandfather” in the 30 Sep 1920 obituary wasn’t just sentiment—it was foreshadowing, nudging us to look for grandchildren beyond the one born weeks later.
And as with all good mysteries, found cousins usually means there are more leads still waiting.

Y-DNA note: Since both Daniel and Rainer descend from one of Adolf’s daughters, they don't carry the Maass paternal line for a Y-DNA test. And that’s… not what I was hunting for. Still, there is a living bridge to this branch—and I’m optimistically saving space in the album for whatever they might share someday. The hunt is still on for a living male Maass in the direct paternal line.

The Maass Cast of Characters Just Got Bigger

Adolf Maass (1843-1920) — b. Märkisch Friedland; d. Berlin.
Aka Adolph Maaß, and the gentleman of interest that started all this.
Parents:

Moses Maaß (1814-?) — b. Märkisch Friedland; d. Märkisch Friedland
Johanna Orbach (c1820-?) — b. Märkisch Friedland; d. Märkisch Friedland

Wife:

Hulda Rosenheim (1847-1914) — b. Stettin; d. Berlin

Known Children:

Johanna Maass (1873–1940) — b. Königsberg; d. Hannover
Luise Lisbet Maass (1875–1943) — b. Königsberg; d. Riga Ghetto
Albert Maass (1876–1911) — b. Königsberg; d. Charlottenburg (Berlin)
Hedwig Maass (1878–1973) — b. Königsberg; m. Ludwig Hackel (c1900); d. New York City
Gustav Sigmund Maass (1881–1937) — b. Königsberg; d. Buch (Berlin)
Gertrud Maass (1883–1887) — b. Königsberg; d. Königsberg
Toni Maass (1885–1941) — b. Königsberg; m. Salomon Georg Glücksmann (Berlin, 1919); d. Riga Ghetto

Known Grandchildren:

Nora Hackel (1901-?) — b. Saint Petersburg; d. ?
Eva Hackel (1903-1990) — b. Saint Petersburg; m. Hermann Guillery (Berlin, 1926); d. England
Nina Hackel (1910-1999) — b. Saint Petersburg; d. Copenhagen
Hanna Glücksmann (1920-1999) — b. Charlottenberg; m. Maurice Meyer (London, 1959); d. England

Receipts: Updated family tree for Adolf Maass and his descendants

Closing Thought

Genealogy isn’t built by lightning-bolt revelations—it’s built by inferring facts from clues, then using those inferences to grab a toehold and find more records once you know where to look. Your ancestors absolutely left you a trail—written in 19th-century ink, in three spellings, across four jurisdictions, and then dropped during a regime change. That’s fine. We have coffee, scanners, and a healthy disrespect for dead ends. Keep stacking clue → inference → record → confirmation until the story can only be true.

The German Forger: The Story of Berthold Bodenheimer in Australia

2023-02-18T20:39:00.011-08:00

The following expanded details in newspaper style writing are my first attempt at historical fiction based on true events and facts. I just today uncovered a man who was arrested in Australia in 1880 who shares my last name. I haven't figured out exactly how he fits into the family tree yet, but he's certainly the first criminal mug shot photo that I've run into so far. And so I've caught my first criminal, and to mark the occasion, I'm going to enjoy what follows!

FIRST SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH CABLE LAID BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

SYDNEY, 12 November 1876 - Yesterday marked an important milestone in the history of communication between our two great nations. The laying of the first submarine telegraph cable between Australia and New Zealand has been successfully completed after months of hard work and perseverance.

The telegraph cable, measuring a total of 1,861 nautical miles, was laid between Sydney and Auckland, and marks a significant improvement in communication between the two countries. Previously, messages had to be transmitted by ship, which could take weeks.

The project was spearheaded by the Australian and New Zealand Telegraph Company, and involved the laying of cable by the cable ship Hibernia, which left Sydney on July 8th and has been working on the project ever since.

The cable is expected to provide a reliable and fast communication link between the two countries, with messages now able to be transmitted in a matter of hours. It is hoped that this will facilitate trade and commerce between the two countries, as well as improving social and political ties.

The laying of this cable is a testament to the great strides being made in the field of telecommunications, and we can only imagine what future advancements will be made in the years to come.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

Australian Town and Country Journal, 12 Feb 1876

JOHN ELDER ARRIVES, BRINGING NEW HOPE AND GOODS TO AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY, 18 March 1879 - The British passenger ship, John Elder, arrived in Sydney Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, March 18th, 1879, to the cheers of crowds gathered to welcome the ship's passengers and crew. The vessel, commanded by Captain A.J. Cooper, had left Plymouth on January 30th and made several stops on the way, including Gibraltar, Port Said and Diego Garcia, before finally reaching Australia at port Adelaide.

The ship's journey was a testament to the incredible advancements in technology and transportation that are transforming the world at this time, keeping in constant contact and relaying news via telegraph and going via the Orient route through the Suez Canal.

The John Elder carried a wide range of goods and supplies, including textiles, newsprint, and other items. Among the passengers on board was Berthold Bodenheimer, a young German clerk who had traveled to Australia in search of a new life.

Despite the long journey, passengers and crew members alike were in high spirits, eager to start their new lives in this exciting new land. The arrival of the ship marks an important moment in the country's history, as it will help to shape the culture and character of Australia in the years to come.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

1882 story detailing a similar voyage of the John Elder

GERMAN COMMISSIONER ROBBED, THIEF AT LARGE

SYDNEY, 5 February 1880 - A daring robbery has been reported to the police by the German Commissioner, Eugene Kunze, of No. 221 Macquarie Street. The theft occurred on 28th January 1880, when a certain Mr. Berthold Bodenheimer, a recently arrived Jewish-German, allegedly stole a New South Wales Post Office Savings Bank Book and a receipt for £29, as well as three £5 notes, five £1 notes, and £8 in gold from Mr. Kunze.

The suspect, who is believed to have fled to New Zealand, is described as 20 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a medium build, dark complexion, short dark hair, and a small dark mustache. He speaks both German and English and was last seen wearing a gray tweed suit and a gray mushroom hat.

The police have issued a warrant for Bodenheimer's arrest, and the Water Police Bench is seeking the public's help in locating him. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to come forward and assist the authorities in apprehending the culprit.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930

CAUGHT BY TECHNOLOGY, TELEGRAPH TIP-OFF LEADS TO ARREST

AUCKLAND, 4 March 1880 - The alleged perpetrator of a daring robbery in Sydney has been apprehended in Auckland, New Zealand. Mr. Berthold Bodenheimer, a recently arrived Jewish-German who is accused of stealing a Post Office Savings Bank Book and cash worth £29 from German Commissioner Eugene Kunze, was arrested by the local police on 2 March 1880.

Bodenheimer, who had fled Australia aboard the steamship "Arawata" bound for San Francisco, was tracked down by the Auckland police thanks to a telegraph tip-off from their Australian counterparts. The suspect, who speaks both German and English, was taken into custody without incident and is now awaiting extradition to Sydney to face trial for his alleged crimes.

The Auckland police have commended their Australian counterparts for their swift and effective communication in alerting them to the suspect and ensuring that justice is served.

Detective John Boyland, the head of the NSW Police investigation into the robbery, expressed astonishment at the power of modern technology, stating, "It's truly incredible to think that if Bodenheimer had committed this crime just four years ago, he would have successfully evaded capture." Noting that the recently laid telegraph line between New South Wales and New Zealand in 1876 played a key role in apprehending the suspect.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930

BODENHEIMER IN NSW POLICE CUSTODY AFTER FLIGHT FROM JUSTICE

SYDNEY, 9 March 1880 - Berthold Bodenheimer, the suspect in the recent daring robbery, was taken into custody today by New South Wales Police Detective John Boyland. After weeks of investigation, Detective Boyland led a team of police officers to arrest Bodenheimer aboard the SS Hero at Circular Quay. The suspect had been detained in Auckland, New Zealand, on charges of fraud, and was being transferred back to Sydney to face charges of robbery.

Bodenheimer was escorted by the Auckland Police to the ship's dock where Detective Boyland and his team took him into custody. The exchange was brief, and Bodenheimer was taken to Gaol Darlinghurst, where he will be held until his trial on April 5th.

Detective Boyland, who led the investigation into the robbery, expressed satisfaction in capturing the suspect, stating, "The reach of modern technology knows no bounds, and it was the telegraph that led to Bodenheimer's undoing. Thanks to the newly laid submarine cable between New Zealand and Australia, we were able to alert our colleagues in Auckland and apprehend the suspect before he could flee the country. This is a clear example of the power of technology in the fight against crime."

Bodenheimer, who has been described by police as a clever and resourceful criminal, is expected to face a lengthy sentence if found guilty. The trial is set to begin on April 5th, and the people of Sydney will be closely following the proceedings.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922

New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930

FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS AT TRIAL TODAY

SYDNEY 5 April 1880 - The trial of Berthold Bodenheimer, a Jewish-German who was charged with three counts of forgery and one count of larceny, was held today at the Quarter Sessions Court in Sydney. Bodenheimer had pleaded guilty to all charges.

The charges related to the theft of a New South Wales Post Office Savings Bank book and £29 cash from the German Commissioner, Eugene Kunze, in January of this year. Bodenheimer was accused of altering and uttering three cheques with the intent to defraud, as well as stealing the bank book, receipt, and cash items.

During the trial, it was revealed that Bodenheimer had stolen the bank book in order to write forged cheques from it, using a stolen receipt as a guide to copying Mr. Kunze’s signature and handwriting. The police were able to track him down in New Zealand, where he was arrested and extradited back to Australia to stand trial.

Despite his English proficiency, Berthold Bodenheimer had an interpreter, Walter Schlentke, present during his trial to ensure that he fully understood the complexities of the legal proceedings and nuances of the trial.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge noted that Bodenheimer had only pleaded guilty to the charges to avoid a more severe punishment. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment with hard labor for each of the forgery charges and 12 months for the larceny charge, to be served concurrently.

The judge stated that the severity of the sentence was necessary to send a clear message to others who might consider similar actions. He also expressed hope that Bodenheimer would use his time in prison to reflect on his choices and make amends for his wrongdoing.

Bodenheimer was led away in handcuffs following the sentencing and is expected to serve out his sentence at Gaol Darlinghurst.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

New South Wales, Australia, Criminal Court Records, 1830-1945

IMPROVED LIVING CONDITIONS FOR INMATE

SYDNEY, 6 May 1880 - Berthold Bodenheimer, the accused perpetrator of a daring robbery who has been serving time at Gaol Darlinghurst, has been transferred to Gaol Parramatta. Bodenheimer had been held at Darlinghurst since March 9th, going through his trial and sentencing. He had been subjected to hard labour as part of his sentence, which is no longer a part of his confinement after the transfer. The conditions at Parramatta are considered to be better than those at Darlinghurst, and Bodenheimer is expected to receive more lenient treatment from the guards. His legal team is hopeful that his remittance could be expedited under the improved conditions.

The story of Bodenheimer's daring theft and subsequent capture has captured the attention of many in Sydney and beyond. Some have expressed sympathy for the young German clerk, while others have praised the swift actions of the police in bringing him to justice. Regardless of one's opinion on the matter, there is no denying that Bodenheimer's story is one that will be remembered for years to come.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930

FORGER'S RELEASE MARKS NEW BEGINNING

SYDNEY, 6 July 1881 - After serving a sentence of more than a year at Parramatta Gaol, Berthold Bodenheimer was released from custody today. Bodenheimer, a German national, was arrested and charged with forgery and larceny in March 1880. He was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to three years hard labor for each charge of forgery, and 12 months for the charge of larceny. All four sentences were to be carried out concurrently.

Bodenheimer's case drew considerable attention due to the audacious nature of the crimes he committed. He had fraudulently altered and uttered three cheques with the intent to defraud, and had stolen the bank book, receipt, and cash items. He had stolen the bank book in order to write forged cheques from it, using a stolen receipt as a guide to copying Mr. Kunze's signature and handwriting.

Despite his sentence, Bodenheimer has expressed regret for his actions and a desire to start anew. In a statement to the press upon his release, he said, "I have learned from my mistakes and I am grateful for the opportunity to make amends. My time in prison has given me a chance to reflect on my actions and make a plan for my future. I hope to prove myself a worthy man and build a new life for myself. I plan to work hard and save money, so that one day I can return to Germany and start a family. I will do everything in my power to ensure that I never again find myself on the wrong side of the law."

Bodenheimer's release marks the end of a chapter in his life and the beginning of a new one. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to turn his life around and make a fresh start, but he is determined to try. For now, he is just happy to be out of prison and eager to begin the next chapter of his life.

Reminder, this is historical fiction from these facts:

New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930

Francis Wolff, Blue Note Jazz Photographer and Cousin

2022-12-03T10:18:00.007-08:00

Many years ago I tracked down a 2nd cousin of my Father's who is related via the WOLFF family of Berlin and Posen. He had some amazing photos to share, and he asked if we were somehow related to the famous Francis Wolff, one of the original founders of Blue Note records and the photographer who took all those iconic black and white portraits of the New York Jazz age.

Well, I have to admit I had no idea, and at the time I didn't find anything to connect us. So, I dropped it. For the time being.

The Wolff Family

My 2nd great grandfather Emanuel Wolff was in the petroleum business with his brother Gustav in Berlin. They were close. In fact, the two Wolff brothers from Posen married two Wolff sisters from Schroda (not related). They both had four children, and their signatures are witnesses to the marriages as the next generation came of age in Berlin.

Brothers WOLFF married Sisters WOLFF

Because of the double marriage, my great grandmother Marie was a double-cousin of Gustav's children. So, they're special to me (especially with DNA testing), and I was reviewing their tree to see if any descendants are still alive.

Pro Tip: Review your family tree from time to time as new records are bound to pop-up.

Well, good news and bad news. The good news is during the review I found that Gustav had four children: three sons and a daughter. I previously only had evidence of his sons Paul and Georg, who were both murdered in the Holocaust. The newly discovered son, Kurt was never married and died in 1914. And, his daughter Esther died in 1907 at the age of 30.

Sadly, I didn't have any record of any grandchildren in my tree.

Following my new lead on Gustav's daughter, I found that she had been married, and had two children! Esther had married Siegfried KLEMPNER in 1896 and had a daughter Grete in 1897 and a son Hans in 1898. There were indeed grandchildren. As Ether was a 1st cousin of my great grandmother, that makes Grete and Hans 2nd cousins of my grandmother! That was great news for about ten minutes until I found that both had also perished in the Holocaust.

However, there will still a faint glimmer of light. Grete had married in 1920 to Berthold BLUMENTHAL. She could have had children, and in fact the Nazi census of 1939 showed a son Werner Heinz Blumenthal, aged 12 living with his father. It also said he was deported to Auschwitz and murdered in April 1943.

Horrible. And sadly this happens to me all the time. I find relatives that are born between 1885 and 1930 in Germany, and for a short time all is well. There is hope. There is life. That is until I search the Holocaust databases for their names. Just plain horrible.

So, with all the new data I had put into Geni, they have me a MyHeritage hint. There was a Blumenthal family tree on MyHeritage that strongly indicated there was living Blumenthal family in Australia of all places. The match was on Berthold and Grete, and showed another, older son that survived!

Kurt Wolfgang BLUMENTHAL was born in Berlin on 4 May 1921, and was 17 years old on 17 Feb 1939 when he shipped out from England to Hong Kong. His parents had sent him ahead to England, ultimately bound for Australia, with plans to follow with his younger brother. They did not make it. He did. I can't even imagine.

However, it did mean my father's 3rd cousin survived. He was married in Australia in 1951, had three children (my 4th cousins), and lived to the age of 76.

It's All About The Photos

So, that's great. I thought this was a story about Francis Wolff. You know, one of the leading jazz photographers of all time?

Okay, so we're slowly getting to him. I haven't forgotten about him. However, this is exactly how family history research goes. You pull one thread and end up somewhere you didn't expect, so allow me to continue pulling the thread.

For me, much of the joy of researching my family revolves around photographs. Finding 2nd or 3rd cousins with amazing photos, and then sharing our finds together in an ever-growing reunion.

And in this case, when I contacted my "new" Australian cousins they didn't disappoint. Kurt had managed to carry with him at least one photo album, and those photos are priceless. There was a photo of Gustav's wife Minna -- the sister of my 2nd great grandmother Hedwig. They were definitely sisters; the family resemblance was remarkable. I then was able to share back with them a photo of Gustav and Gustav's parents! That's what it is all about. They also had photos of Esther and her husband Siegfried, likely the only way I would have ever found a photo of them. They also had photos of Esther's brother Paul... good old uncle Paul.

However, there was a problem. No photos of Kurt or Georg. That seemed strange to me, so I went back to the tree to see if I could find more information about them. Did I have it wrong. And, no I didn't. I found Kurt's 1914 death certificate, and it's a match. And, since Kurt died young, perhaps there weren't many photos of him in the first place. That left Georg... What's up with him. Well, I found him too. I found his 2 Jan 1906 marriage in Berlin to Doris JOACHIMCZYK. His parents match, and his brother Paul signed page 2 as a witness.

1906 marriage of Georg Wolff in Berlin

On top of that, I also found his 14 Sep 1881 birth certificate in the Berlin archives on Ancestry. And, there was a hint. Ancestry is good like that... Hints!

The hint was in the Berlin, Germany, Births, 1874-1908 collection, and it was for a son named Jacob Franz Wolff, born 5 April 1907 in Berlin.

1907 birth of Jacob Franz Wolff in Berlin

Now what's interesting, is that both the 1906 marriage and the 1907 birth didn't show up the first time I searched around this area many years ago. Germany has a law that birth records over 110 years old are public, so the 1907 births were not released until 2017, and then there was a lag as they were indexed and finally uploaded onto Ancestry.

Pro Tip: As time marches on, collections get updated with newly released information.

Jacob Franz Wolff

Well, that was another great find. Another new 2nd cousin for my grandmother.

However, I wasn't getting my hopes up due to the Nazi-era notes on the birth certificate's margin. Sadly, I've seen these notes before, and they generally are bad news. On 17 August 1938 the Nazis passed a law that all male Jews had to adopt the middle name of "Israel" and all women had to add "Sara", and on 8 May 1939, a clerk in Berlin found Jacob's birth certificate and stamped it to add the name Israel. Now, this was one of the ways the Nazis found all the Jews to be deported. Paperwork. Now, what was nice to see on this one was that on 4 Sept 1950 there is a stamp undoing the illegal (by then) name change. Did he survive? How come I've never heard of him before?

Ancestry gave me a few more hints once I'd added him to the tree, and I found that he had arrived in New York City aboard the SS Albert Ballin on 3 May 1926 and applied for US Citizenship on 20 Oct 1926. Then gone back to Germany, and then back to New York again in 1939.

He was going by his middle name of Franz, which is a common German name convention. And, there were a lot more suggested records with the name Francis Wolff with the same 1907 birth date. Looking closer at the addresses and other details, it was clear that he had moved to New York and changed his name to Francis Wolff.

So, I googled him... Francis Wolff, 1907. And, uh... whoa!

Francis Wolff - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Francis_Wolff
Francis Wolff (April 5, 1907 – March 8, 1971) was a record company executive, photographer and record producer. Wolff's skills, as an executive and a ...

Francis Wolff - MoMA
https://www.moma.org › Artists
American, 1907–1971. ... Works. 1 work online. Reid Miles, Francis Wolff, Blue Note Records. Album cover for Freddie Hubbard, Hub-Tones. 1962. Exhibition.

Francis Wolff - Jazz Images
https://jazzimagesrecords.com › content › 7-francis-wolff
One of the most renowned jazz photographers of all time, Francis Wolff (1907-1971) was essential to the success of the Blue Note record label.

Uh, really?

Francis Wolff and Blue Note Records

Ah, that Francis Wolff! The man who lived life behind the lens and the records. Born in Berlin with a love of culture and the arts, he learned photography at a young age and soon became a pro. Then, he met his soulmate in jazz - Alfred Lion - and they tried their hand at selling jewelry, but the music called and they ended up co-founding the legendary Blue Note Records.

Frank was the shy one in the duo, content to be in the background and let Alfred take the spotlight. But little did everyone know, Frank was a master photographer, capturing iconic moments of jazz history with his trusty Rolleiflex camera. He was the silent partner who made sure the business was running smoothly, but he also brought his camera to every recording session for 28 years.

As the record company grew, Frank's photography became an essential component of the Blue Note look, with his heavily cropped and tinted images gracing the covers of their albums. And in the 1950s, when Rudy Van Gelder opened his custom-built studio, Frank had the space to really showcase his talents. The photographs he took there are now regarded as masterpieces, capturing the candid moments of jazz greats in the intimate setting of Rudy's living room-turned-studio.

In short, Francis Wolff was the photographer who always stayed in the background but left a lasting impact through his lens.

The Updated Family Tree

A family tree of Francis Wolff's close family presented in a straightforward manner.

Resources

There are several resources that you can use to learn more about Blue Note Records:

Books:
- "Blue Note: The Album Cover Art" by Graham Marsh and Glyn Callingham
- "Blue Note Records: The Biography" by Richard Cook and Brian Morton
- "The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff" by Michael Cuscuna
Videos:
- "A Great Day in Harlem" (1994) is a documentary film about the famous photograph of jazz musicians taken in 1958
- "Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes" (2019) is a feature-length documentary about the history of Blue Note Records.
- "Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz" (2008) documentary chronicling the history and influence of the iconic jazz record label, Blue Note Records.
- "It Must Schwing" (2018) explores the swing era of jazz music in the 1930s and 1940s.
Online Articles:
- "Blue Note Records: The Jazz Label That Changed the Game" by David Wetmore, published on the website "All About Jazz"
- "Blue Note: The Most Influential Jazz Label of All Time" by Michael J. West, published on the website "The Jazz Line"
Online courses:
- "Jazz Appreciation: Blue Note Records" on Coursera, taught by Dr. Billy Taylor.

These resources should provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the history, legacy, and impact of Blue Note Records on the jazz world.

Bodenheimer villa Jagowstraße 29-33 in Grunewald

2021-10-22T11:16:00.022-07:00

"As you know, Himmler lived next door to your great grandfather in Berlin, " my father's cousin casually dropped during last week's family Zoom call. Uh, no, no I did not "as you know" that, not at all!

Research Tip: Even when you talk with your oldest relatives on a regular basis, and remind them frequently that you are interested in family history, they will still surprise you with new information after 18 months of weekly Zoom calls.

1920

My great grandfather Siegmund Bodenheimer was a banker for Danatbank and Dresdner Bank in Berlin. Upon the the birth of his third child Helga in 1920 he purchased a large villa at Jagowstrasse 29-33 in the beautiful residential district of Berlin-Grunewald.

Jagowstraße 29-33 in Grunewald

The villa colony of Grunewald was the elegant residence of people from the best of circles. Soirees, tea parties, celebrations, arts and culture were the festivities of the day.

1927

Many family photos feature the large garden and grounds of the villa's estate.

There was at the end of the lot was a garage and behind the garage was a flower garden which... with a gold... a little pond with goldfish. And it was all really very pretty, very peaceful, and it was quite an elegant setting. —Gerda Blau geb Bodenheimer, 1979

Helga with cousin Ruth Maass at goldfish pond, c1927

Cook and chambermaids at Jagowstrasse 29-33, c1928

Tello

Now also in this garden there was something very important. There was a... quite a... a fenced-in area. quite large, for our dog. We had three dogs, one who was chained to a dog house at the garage, because he... It was kind of a punishment, because he had bitten my cousin Hans into his behind, and it was quite a bite that he took, and from that time on he was chained to the garage... to the dog house at the garage.

Now the one in the... I don't know how you call it in English... it was called Zwinge like, like the the bears in Bern.

It was an enclosure and this, in this enclosure was Tello, who was our favorite a big German shepherd, who was very, very good-natured and very devoted. and he spent his day there.

But we used to take walks, most of the time after dinner, my father and my brother, Edgar. and I took a walk with Tello. And at night Tello came into the house, but he was not allowed to run around free, but was chained to a kind of fencing of the upper hall, and was on a big chain. And that was right in front of my door. So it was kind of a cozy feeling. Tello was really watching me.

—Gerda Blau geb Bodenheimer, 1979

1931

About 1931 a family film was taken of the family in the garden. Siegmund's grandson Ron Blau later complied the footage with voiceover by his mother Gerda to produce Our Time in the Garden (1981). This short film features a lot of great footage of the Bodenheimer villa.

Now this villa in the Grunewald was a big house. It had 24 rooms and it had a quite a large garden. I felt like a free... I was as free as never before. I spent a great deal of time in the garden. There was a gym set and I could for hour do gym on this gym set, even by myself. The garden was... I remember when we first moved into this house the garden was so that you could ride a bicycle around the paths of the garden. But later on it was kind of fancied up and there were steps put in and from that time on we could not ride a bicycle anymore. But it was very, very beautiful and we spent a great deal of our time in the garden. —Gerda Blau geb Bodenheimer, 1979

Family on bench from Our Time in the Garden

Siegmund with wife Rosi in the garden, c1931

1933

After 43 years of arduous work, on 20 Sep 1933 Siegmund's work and business career came to an end with his resignation from Dresdner Bank.

Siegmund's only son Edgar left Germany in October 1933 for New York, and Siegmund himself started making preparations to leave the country.

1934

In March 1934, Siegmund shook the dust of Germany from his feet and traveled to a resort in Switzerland with his wife and youngest daughter.

Siegmund did not sell the house at Jagowstrasse, expecting to return to it someday after the Nazi craziness had blown over.

There were still housekeeping staff living there, and Siegmund allowed his wife's cousin Vera Lachmann to run her Jewish Children's School out of the chauffeur's residence on the grounds.

For six years, until the Nazis shut it down in 1939, Vera used the building as a school for Jewish children who had been excluded from the German education system under the April 1933 Law Against the Overcrowding of German Schools.

The same year, Heinrich Himmler moved into Hagenstraße 22, which was the neighboring house on the left to Jagowstrasse 29-33. Many of the wealthy Jewish families of the area were moving out of Germany, and the Nazis made themselves at home in their newly vacated homes.

1936

Siegmund Bodenheimer arrived in New City on 29 Sep 1936 aboard the SS Berengaria.

His wife Rosi returned to Berlin at least twice to dissolve the huge Jagowstrasse household, and managed to get a good deal of the furniture, art, china, crystal, and silver out of the country.

Three of the children who attended Vera Lachmann's school at Jagowstraße were the Frankfurther's. Felix, Beate, and Eva Frankfurther were the step-children of Vera's sister Nina Frankfurther née Lachmann. Beate related a story to a relative that I'm paraphrasing here third-hand.

While attending Vera's school at Jagowstraße, there were often times when a ball would go over the fence into the gardens of the neighboring villas. One of the neighbors just happened to be the Reichsführer of the Nazi SS, Heinrich Himmler, who had the SS guarding at his residence 24 hours a day. It was quite strange to have SS Nazi guards return the ball, ruffle our hair, and kindly tell us Jewish children to not kick the ball so high.

In checking the veracity of this improbable family rumor, I did in fact find that Himmler lived directly next door during that time. So... plausible.

1938

Kristallnacht, 9 November 1938.

1939

By 1939, the situation for Jews in Berlin was intolerable. In April 1939 the Frankfurther children left Berlin for England with their parents following on one of the last flights out of Germany in late August.

Hitler invaded Poland on 1 September 1939; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

Vera Lachmann abandoned her school at Jagowstraße for the United States in November 1939, assisted by friends in both countries. In 1944 Vera established Camp Catawba in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina.

1943

Siegmund Bodenheimer became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen on 30 Nov 1943 in New York City.

1943 naturalization of Siegmund Bodenheimer

1944

During the war, aerial reconnaissance by U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency took place, and on 31 May 1944 this photograph of Siegmund's villa was taken. Siegmund Bodenheimer, now a US Citizen owns property that appears to be untouched by the war and is still standing strong.

From the photograph, you can see the main house is at the bottom left with a vast area of forested gardens. The goldfish pond is in the upper right corner of the estate.

1944 aerial photograph

Also in the photo, you can see Heinrich Himmler's house neighboring on the left occupying the corner lot at Jagowstraße and Hagenstraße.

1945

Sometime between 31 May 1944 and the end of the war, the Bodenheimer villa at Jagowstraße 29-33 was destroyed by the Allied bombing of Berlin. The single largest raid on Berlin took place on 18 March 1945 with over 1,221 Allied bombers in an all-out attack. Although the bombers targeted the city’s rail yard, their customary inaccuracy combined with the intermittent cloud cover meant that more than 3,000 tons of bombs impacted all over the city.

I suspect that this March 1945 is the raid that destroyed the house, and for about two days I thought that Himmler's house was the actual target and the neighboring homes were collateral damage. This is likely not the actual case, as the precision bombing wasn't that precise and cloud cover complicated things. By the end of the war, half of all houses in Berlin were damaged and around a third uninhabitable.

398th bomber group over Germany

1953

Siegmund's son Edgar visited the divided Berlin in 1953, and walked the old familiar streets of his youth. Edgar’s visit to the wrecked Bodenheimer family home on Jagowstrasse produced just this comment: “Only the back wall and back balcony remain of the house, and the rubble lies around messily. The garden is entirely overgrown and wild.”

2021

Here is the current aerial view for comparison. To note, there are now four large houses on the property, with ample gardens in the back of each one. Himmler's old house to the left is gone, and replaced with two villas. The house to the right is the same as it was is 1944, as are the villas at the top of the photo.

2021 aerial photograph

The street name has been changed from Jagowstraße. The current address of the four villas are Richard Strauss-Staße 29, 31A, 31B, and 33 in Berlin-Grunewald.

Claude Heilman, Film Producer and Cousin

2021-05-19T11:25:00.113-07:00

Often times when researching the tree I run across interesting people with interesting stories. At least I think so, and each time I find one I always mean to write it up and post it here. Well, today I ran into one, and before I forget everything I've learned about him, here's the story of how I found him and who he is.

The Lachmann Family of Graudenz

My great great grandmother was born Henriette LACHMANN in Thorn, and I've spent a lot of time researching the Lachmann name. Not only were there a lot of them, but there are available records and finding them isn't as impossible as other lines.

Berlin grave of Naumann Lachmann (1818-1874)

In any case, while researching her greater family a few years ago, I ran into her uncle Naumann LACHMANN and did a deep dive on him. I found his wife, and a child. I did a bunch of research on his wife's side of the family. Found a marriage of his child. And then found I was researching the wrong Naumann Lachmann. Henriette's uncle lived from 1818 to 1874 and died in Berlin without ever getting married. I found his grave. I had a nice little family tree for some random Lachmann.

I learned that places are really important. Uncle Naumann was born in Graudenz, not Neuenburg. Minor details.

So that chopped off branch of the tree just sat there by itself for years. That is, until a few days ago when I was looking at DNA matches and found a match that shared the Lachmann name. I built out a tree and ended up in a completely new city, Lobens, Posen which make a direct Lachmann match unlikely. However, as it often happens, during the time I was digging into this area of the tree and checking each and every match, I did a few searches for Lachmann along with the three cities: Graudenz, Neuenburg, and Lobens.

That's when I ran into the other Naumann LACHMANN again. The wrong one, from the wrong city. However, it turns out his city of Neuenburg is actually the city my Lachmann family was in before they were in Graudenz. Time as marched on, and in the ensuing years, I have gone back a few more generations and ended up in Neuenburg.

The Lachmann Family of Neuenburg

With my updated tree, and the two Naumann LACHMANN's now linked to the same city, the obvious situation is that they are first cousins, named after a common grandfather or great grandfather. And, as I looked at the newly improved family tree, there was an obvious place for Naumann LACHMANN (1824-1894) to sit: right next to a supposedly only child, Mortiz LACHMANN of Neuenburg. One quick note, only children in the 1800s are very rare, and if you see one on your tree you should assume there are siblings.

With the "other" Naumann LACHMANN now situated into my tree as Henriette's father's first cousin (my 1st cousin 5x removed) I obviously started to complete the research I had abandoned on his descendants.

I reattached his wife and "only" child Jenni (Henriette's 2nd cousin), and quickly found that he had two granddaughters, Bertha and Therese from the 1894 marriage of Jenni LACHMANN and Nathan HIRSCH.

While Jenni and Nathan were murdered in the Holocaust, thankfully both Bertha and Therese survived. And while I couldn't find any children for Therese, I did find that Bertha HIRSCH had married Martin HEILMANN and had a child with him. Martin had two sons from a previous marriage, so his third son, Klaus HEILMANN born in Köln in 1927 is my only DNA-related cousin. Klaus is my grandfather Edgar's 4th cousin. It is almost a 100% chance that my grandfather had no idea that Klaus existed, but Klaus is interesting enough for me to write about him!

And before I do, here's the relevant part of the family tree for those of you who didn't understand a word of what I just wrote. Hopefully it more clearly illustrates the path from Naumann LACHMANN to his great grandsons -- one of which is the subject of this very post.

Family tree for Jenni Hirsch, geb Lachmann

Meet Claude Heilman (born Klaus Heilmann)

Claude Heilman in 1960 (Klaus Heilmann)

Klaus Heilmann was born in Köln, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on 27 June 1927 to Martin Heilmann and Bertha Heilmann née Hirsch (my great grandmother Rosi's 3rd cousin).

Young Klaus escaped to London with his parents during WWII, and quickly got interested in the film industry. He spent some time at an early age working with the J. Arthur Rank organization in England before moving out to California.

Klaus Heilmann, now using the name Claude Heilman, arrived in New York on 25 Apr 1947 aboard the Queen Elizabeth, and quickly made his way to Hollywood, California to pursue his movie dreams.

Less than a year after his arrival, Klaus Heilmann (aka Claude), aged 20, declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen on 19 January 1948 in Los Angeles. His address at the time was 6050 6th Avenue, Los Angeles, California and his occupation was listed as Film Publicity.

Claude got his first job in the Los Angeles film industry in 1948 as a doorman at Fox West Coast Theatres, most likely Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which was run by Fox at the time.

In the ensuing years he rose to assistant manager at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, before trying his hand as a film producer.

U.S. Citzenship

On 27 May 1954, Claude Heilman petitioned for U.S. citzenship via naturalization. He gave his address as 4711 W 18th St, Los Angeles, California. Light complexion, 6 feet 3 inches in height, weighing 165 pounds, with brown hair and eyes. His two witnesses standing up for him were Charles L. King III of 1845 Franklin Canyon Drive, Beverely Hills, and Hyatt H. Daab of 1239 N. Sweetzer Ave, Hollywood. The petition was filed and granted on 11 June 1954, with certificate 7214645 issued.

The Hollywood Adventures of Claude Heilman

I love timelines. What follows is exactly that, a timeline of all the Hollywood film projects that Claude had a hand in producing or pursuing. Only one of them seems to have been actually made, but it is clear that he was actively involved in many projects over the years. Many of them struck my fancy as I was compiling the list, and I actually think at least two of them should be made today!

The Furnace Within (1954)

Variety's July 7, 1954 issue reported that Claude was teaming up with his friend:

EXHIBITOR AND ACTOR TO PRODUCE FILMS
Hollywood, July 6.
Production program of three pictures is set by Heilman-King Productions, a new company formed by Claude Heilman, formerly with Fox West Coast, and Charles L. King 3d, former actor. Heilman will produce and King will direct the films.
First of the trio will be “The Furnace Within.” to be filmed next month on the Mojave Desert. Second will be “Forever and Ever,” to be shot in Japan. Third, still untitled, will be made in; Oregon.

While it doesn't look like any of those films were ever made, it's clear that at the tender age of 27 he was all in on being a film producer. His friend Charles L. King III, aged 35 at the time, was the son of the actor, Charles Lafayette King Jr., with Hollywood connections via his father, aunt, and grandfather -- he later became a movie sound technician working on The Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Wagon Train, and many other TV series. Tragically on 29 June 1990, Charles L. King died at age 69 when he was shot and killed by an intruder in his Hollywood apartment just before midnight.

Forever and Ever (1955)

Mentioned in the article above, this was supposed to be a film shot in Japan as the second in a series by Heilman-King. Never happened.

The Earth Is Mine (1959)

Three years later, as the age of 30 Claude formed Vintage Productions to film the novelization of Alice Tisdale Hobart's novel on the California wine industry during prohibition, The Cup and the Sword. The film was named This Earth Is Mine and stars Rock Hudson, Jean Simmons and Claude Rains. It was filmed during 1958 at winery locations around California, and was a big picture.

One of the most interesting things about The Earth is Mine is that it was financed by California Wine Growers, and was shot on location at many vineyards around the state.

Variety magazine covered the filming in their October 1, 1958 issue,

Little Intimate Junkets To The Grape
Universal’s ‘Winelift’ Operating Under Military Logistics As Staffers Dedicate Their Stamina
Napa, Cal., Sept. 30 — Universal is using a new publicity gimmick on its biggest-budget production, the $3,500,000 "This Earth Is Mine.”
Henry King is shooting on location in the Napa Valley—wine capital of the U.S.—for six weeks and studio has devised system of “individualized junkets” to get full coverage for the picture.
Instead of bringing 40 to 50 newsmen and magazine reps from New York and Los Angeles en masse, Universal is bringing them in by twos and threes all through six-week location period.
This has resulted in a headache for the location publicity man, Fred Banker, and his assistant, Mike Baiimohl, not to mention the Frisco exploitation man, Mike Vogel, and Jack Diamond and Harry Niemeyer in Los Angeles and Phil Gerard in New York.
But Universal staff, convinced that barrage of publicity is necessary from the time shooting started early this month until release next July, figures small, continuous junkets will pay off.
Logistics of junkets involve:
(1) Sending actor Alberto Morin, dressed as a sommelier, to five dozen writers in Los Angeles and New York to pour an iced glass of champagne and to deliver junket invitation personally;
(2) Follow-up phone calls to each writer to set a definite date;
(3) Delivery of four bottles of still wine, with round-trip air tickets to Frisco attached;
(4) Picking up writers in publicity limousine at Frisco Airport and chauffeuring them north to Casa Lu-Al Motel, 50 miles north of Frisco and a mile outside Napa;
(5) Putting writers up at motel—80% taken over by Universal—and then taking them another 25 miles into vineyards where Henry King is shooting; I
(6) Arranging valley winery ; tour—premium wineries, Charles i Krug, Inglenook, Beaulieu, Schramsberg and Louis Martini are all working with studio;
(7) Shipping writers back to Frisco and home bases after two or three-day stay.
Whole thing is called "Operation Winelift” and Banker says it isn’t unusual to put a pair of writers on a 9 a.m. plane bound for New York and walk a few yards to pick up another pair of writers in on the 9:05 a.m. plane from Los Angeles.
Each tour gets full-dress treatment—last weekend, for instance, U’s eastern publicity manager, Gerard, escorted Ed Miller of Seventeen, Florence Sommer of Redbook and Mark Nichols of Coronet in from New York,
U feeling is that this picture, scripted by Casey Robinson and coproduced by Robinson and Claude Heilman, marks a definite turning point in company policy. Idea is that only a dozen films a year, half of them big budget and other half somehow unusual, will be produced henceforth instead of three dozen programmers.
But, says Banker, “we can’t afford to shoot a picture and then forget about it until it’s in release ... we have to have a consistent, long-range campaign and that’s what we’re getting here.”
Total publicity budget for these six weeks may run as high as $75,- 000, and that’s just a starter— film is on a 12-week shooting schedule with last half to be done at studio.
Among those who’ve already had individualized junkets are: Norman Siegal, Photoplay; Dave Zeitlin, Life; Stan Gordon, Look; Tom Wood, N.Y. Herald Tribune; Erskine Johnson, NEA; Betty Voigt, Newsweek; Dean Gauchey, legman for Harrison Carroll; Paine Knickerbocker, repping N. Y. Times; Louis Wolf, Chicago Tribune.
Booked, for current or future junkets are: Neil Rau, repping Louella Parsons; Nelson Hughes, repping-Hed- da Hopper; Rick DuBrow, UPI; Larry Barbier and Don Ornitz, Globe Photos; Lize Wilson, American Weekly; Pat Campbell, Motion Picture; Peer Oppenheimer, Family Weekly;. Lowell Redelings and Len Boyd, Hollywood Citizen- News; Harold Heffernan, NANA; Nat Dallinger, King Features; Simon Bourgin, Newsweek; Ruth Waterbury, Cosmopolitan; Herb Stein, Triangle Publications; Sara Salzer, Seventeen; A. M. Colegrove Scripps-Howard; Hal Boyle, AP.
U has grabbed considerable space in Frisco and other Northern California dailies, figures on bringing in as many of what it calls "key people” as possible in preparation for months-long campaign. Picture, which centers on a Napa Valley wine-making family and is based on Alice Tisdale Hobart’s novel. The Cup and the Sword,” also has fervent co-operation of California Wine Institute and Wine Advisory Board.

A quick summary of the film itself from Wikipedia:

Elizabeth (Jean Simmons), an English cousin of the Rambeau family, arrives in California in 1931 for a casual visit with her aunt and uncle, only to find her future pre-determined with a pre-arranged marriage to Andre Swann, a young cousin of another branch of the family. Another cousin, John Rambeau (Rock Hudson), disagrees with those plans, informs Elizabeth that she's being married off to consolidate the family's wine holdings, hints at other dark secrets of the Rambeau family, and casually romances her. Elizabeth is conflicted over the entire series of events.
The patriarch of the family, Phillipe (Claude Rains), wanting to keep the winemaking heritage of his family pure, refuses to deal with bootleggers eager for a ready-made supply of alcohol. John, however, is not so righteous, and arranges deals with Chicago gangsters for the valley's wine supply. Violence, gunplay, and wildfires ensue. Elizabeth is caught in the middle, between Andre, the gentle man she is to marry (but who wants to be a priest) and John, the passionate man ready to make a deal with the devil to survive. And John may already have started a family of his own, fathering an illegitimate child with a vineyard worker—and the woman's husband is not one to go along with the whole sordid mess. Months, and years, of lies, blackmail and conflict follow, ending with the romantic union of John and Elizabeth, and their commitment to the Rambeau winemaking heritage.

The real deal. In fact, the film was Universal's biggest budgeted production at the time with a budget of $3 to $3.5 million. Claude was a wunderkind Hollywood film producer at age 30.

Islandia (1959)

Working from the amazing success of The Earth is Mine, Claude quickly started making plans for more movies. On Tuesday, May 19, 1959 Claude Heilman and Casey Robinson held a press luncheon at the Brown Derby in Los Angeles where they announced their high hopes to put Islandia before the cameras in August on location in Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, Scotland, and the Italian Alps.

The May-August 1959 issue of Motion Pictures Exhibitor reported,

New Production Team Schedules 'Islandia"
HOLLYWOOD — Casey Robinson and Claude Heilman, whose “This Earth Is Mine,’ a current Universal release, is the result of their work as a producing team, announced last week that they have formed a further partnership.
After a careful and thorough canvas of important literary properties, they have found one which, in the eyes of the top literary critics and millions of readers, remains unsurpassed for its unique and monumental nature. This epic work is the celebrated Utopian novel, “Islandia,” written by Austin Tappan Wright, first published in 1942, and recently republished by Rinehart and Company, due to heavy interest.
Robinson is now engaged in adapting and updating the Shangri-La story to fit the present day requirements. He will do the screenplay as well as co-produce the film. Robert Bless will do the screen adaptation.
Heilman, 31, is the youngest member of the team. He comes to motion picture production field with a solid background as production associate in Europe, publicity and exploitation with the J. Arthur Rank Organization. Recently, he has been in theatre management for Fox West Coast Theatres. They plan to bring “Islandia” to the screen in 70mm screen process in Technicolor, with shooting to take place in Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, the North Italian Dalmatian Alps, and the North Scottish coast and marsh islands.
When the cameras turn late in August, there will be at the helm of “Islandia” one of the industry’s most distinguished directors who is now being negotiated for. A cast including three high lustre marquee names is also being sought.

As often happens in Hollywood, the classic story that is retold over drinks thousands of times as the years pass, this film also never got made. They were so close, and yet somehow the deal fell through. A lot of deals fall through. It happens. In fact, it looks like Islandia, which sounds like a cross between Lord of the Rings and Lost Horizon (of Shangri-La fame) has still never been filmed. The November 2, 2016 issue of The New Yorker features a nice article by Charles Finch about The Forgotten Novel That Inspired Homesickness for an Imaginary Land.

William The Conqueror (1960)

On December 2, 1959, Motion Picture Exhibitor reported that Claude Heilman was talking to the press about his big plans for a big-budget production of William the Conqueror.
LONDON Observations by Jack MacGregor
ONE TIME MANAGER at Graumann’s Chinese, Hollywood, 30-year-old Claude Heilman called the press to hear his grandiose plans to film “William the Conqueror” in Super Technirama-70 on a $7,000,000 budget around Europe. He told forcefully of his hopes to get Brando to star; his hopes to get Olivier to direct; his hopes to get British backing; his hopes to start shooting the Battle of Hastings (England) scenes in Yugoslavia late next spring. Described on the blurb as “the natural successor to the late Mike Todd”—he must be the sixth contender—this young promoter who reflectively wonders how it was possible for Shakespeare to have passed over this exciting hour in European history, though New York bound, is wisely not contemplating an American press conference until he has some names signed. (This is not to be confused with a similarly titled Cinerama project).

In the January 4, 1960 issue of Boxoffice magazine, there was feature on the ambitious plans of 32 year old Claude Heilman to produce William the Conqueror in Super Technirama 70mm for showing on 90x40 foot curved screens. To be directed by Sir Laurence Olivier, with a screenplay by Christopher Fry, starring Marlon Brandon and Maria Schell, this exciting film was never made. A competing Cinerama film, which may or may not have merged with this project was also never made.

Photo of Claude Heilman in Boxoffice, January 4, 1960

Yes, certainly a lot of press in January about people being "all but signed up" and yet...

By April 1960, it looks like Brando had fallen through and discussions were underway with Charlton Heston and actress Alix Talton to start shooting in May in Morocco and Yugoslavia.

And none of that ever happened. The deal fell apart and the movie was never made.

Desamor (c1962)

Desamor is described as a story of the Mexican land revolution where peasants rose up against the landed elites during the 1910 revolution calling for "Mexico for the Mexicans" land reforms. Very little else is known about this project, and it certainly looks like another Heilman project that was in the works that never made it to the big screen. Desamor is Spanish for "heartbreak". works that never made it to the big screen. Desamor is Spanish for "heartbreak".

The Odyssey of Justice Lee (1963-1966)
In August 1963, Claude Heilman, now working for United Film Associates International, Goldwyn studios in Hollywood, flew over the region around Taos, New Mexico scouting locations for an as yet unnamed Western set in an 1860's that was to star Spencer Tracy.

The Taos News, Thursday 29 August 1963

Movie May Be Filmed Here

The Taos area is being considered—again—for a movie location.
Taos C of C Manager W. B. McCollum has had correspondence and telephone talks with Claude Heilman, location chief for United Film Associates International, Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood.
Heilman recently flew over the region as the first steop in location scouting for the picture (the name of it is a secret yet.) Prime interest in connection with an information request was about Taos and Carson National Forest, Philmont Scout ranch, CS Ranch, Red River, Eagle Nest and the flatland between Palo Fletchado Pass, Cimarron and Springer.
The Film story, dated in the 1860's, is set in a lush valley of northern New Mexico, with mountain ranges in the background and extensive ranch country including cattle and horses. The C of C furnished the studio with a listing of area, ownership and description of major ranches in the area.

Starting date for the production, a western in Technicolor, is anticipated for November, with a shooting schedule of nine weeks on location, the C of C was advised.

By November, more details were forthcoming, and the dates had been pushed.

The Taos News, Thursday, 14 November 1963

Now It's March For Film

Looks like it'll be March before that movie company starts filming here. That's the word from Claude Heilman of United Film Associates International, Goldwyn Studios.
Said he in a letter to Taos C of C Manager W. B. McColum:
"As you recall, our screenplay was specifically written with approval and agreement of Mr. Spencer Tracy, for the lead role. Mr. Tracy had chosen this property as his major schedule and of course our own plans called for a target date of October production. Within days after Mr. Tracy went into the hospital here in Santa Monica, we were forced into a rescheduling of our other players including Steve McQueen who has since started a production for Columbia in Texas."
"It is the prime object of every motion picture company to film its exterior locations during the very best weather condition and our own screenplay calls for both summer and winter conditions, so her we were with a later and later date of starting and a rescheduled cast, including Mr. Frederick March in the Tracy role. The screenplay now rewritten to form the new cast, is complete and weather conditions and studio financing agreements depending, we should start in the late March of this coming year.
"Present plans call for the locations to be filmed in the area of Taos, the Red River valley and with the gratefully appreciated cooperation of the CS Ranch in the Cimarron valley."

Now here is where a little speculation comes into play. In 1966 The Odyssey of Justice Lee is mentioned in an article, touted as a Western screenplay by Earl Feldon (could be Earl Felton) that had Tony Curtis all lined up for filming in the Hollywood area. My guess is that this is the same film as the unnamed 1963 film, with any thoughts of New Mexico abandoned to accommodate Tony Curtis' desire to stay close to home. I could be wrong.

The Daily Colonist, 29 March 1966
Curtis Sets Western

HOLLYWOOD (NANA)—It comes to everyone and It has come to Tony Cards. His next picture will be a western. It's The Odyssey of Justice Lee. Tony has four pictures on tap, and the western appeals to him because It can be made near Hollywood, or even In it. A tree's a tree. His reason for wanting to stay in Hollywood at this time. Is the impending visit from the stork for his young wife. Their second child is due In mid-July, almost to tbs day when their daughter, Alexa n dr a, seas bom two years ago. Naturally with three daughters—two with previous wife, JbjmI Leigh, Tony would like a son this time. Curtis is currently winding Up his picture with Vlraa Lial sod George C. Scott at Warners in Not With My Wife, You Don't! For Narmaa Panama. Eleanor Parker, on the same lot, was rehearsing her nude bedroom scene for An American Dream. Eleanor Parker in the nude? Isn't this something nude for her. Sorry. It's the imminence of my trip, to London.

Sound General Quarters (?)

This film appears in Claude's listing in the International TV & Video Almanac and nowhere else. Perhaps the name was changed and it still never came out? A mystery. Likely about Pearl Harbor or some other major military battle the US Navy was involved in.

The Adventures of Gulliver (?)

Another mystery entry in the International TV & Video Almanac that remains ellusive. There is a 1968 television cartoon series of The Adventures of Gulliver by Hanna-Barbera. And while 1968 is in the right timeframe, I can find no evidence of Heilman's involvement.
The Italian Goes Home (1966)

The University of Minnesota has a screenplay by William Attaway and Claude Heilman called, The Italian goes home : original screenplay treatment from a novel in progress 1966.

There is no evidence that either the novel or the movie came to fruition. It is listed as a United Film Associates International presentation, with an address for Claude Heilman at 27 East 79th street, New York 10021, NY.

Could the New York address mean that Claude has left Hollywood by 1966?

IMDB

The IMDB entry for Claude Heilman has exactly one entry in it, but there is an entry in the 2001 edition of International Television & Video Almanac that lists more for him, including the fact that he was the CEO of GEM Communications and Islandia Enterprises.

Claude Heilman in the International TV & Video Almanac 2001

This matches with a reference that he was with Global Entertainment Management (GEM) in the UK (which looks to supply smart TV solutions for hotels). Perhaps his IMDB entry is not complete as it certainly looks like he continued in the entertainment industry in some manner his entire life.

Cousin Bait

In any case, if you are reading this and some of these names attract your attention, feel free to click on the links to Geni to see more about how you might be related!

Naumann LACHMANN of Neuenburg (1824-1894)
Jenni LACHMANN Hirsch of Graudenz (1866-1942)
Nathan HIRSCH of Elbing (1864-1942)
Berta HIRSCH Heilmann of Berlin (1895-?)
Therese HIRSCH Zweig of Berlin (1898-?)
Martin HEILMANN of Rożdżałów (1878-1947)
Richard HEILMANN of Köln (1910-1962)
Kurt HEILMANN of Köln (1913-?)
Claude HEILMAN of Köln (1927-?)

Top 10 Ways to Break Down Your Genealogy Brick Wall

2021-05-14T11:02:00.007-07:00

The Internet loves Top 10 lists, and the number one topic in genealogy is how to break down your brick walls. So, the challenge is obvious to me. And, I've certainly learned a lot of creative ways to find that impossible mystery relative that seems to have spawned from the ether. This page is my attempt to capture the best tips I've learned that hard way over the years, and to have them all in one place to remind myself of the things to try!

Create a Timeline: Building up a timeline for a person is Cousin Detective 101. A timeline gives you a context to double-check the progression of facts and evidence, which if incorrect and non-sensical can perhaps point out why you are a facing a brick wall that isn't the right brick wall.
Go Sideways: You may never find the parents of a particular person due to an absence of available records, but you may be able to find the parents of their siblings. Go sideways.

One awesome trick is to search immigration records for your brick wall listed as the contact person. Those that list them might be cousins or siblings!

Ask Your Oldest Relatives: I know this seems obvious, but ask your older relatives about stuff as you run into issues. While they may be completely useless at telling you important family history proactively, often they can be extremely helpful if asked a specific question.
Write Letters: This is old school. Find the current town government that your relatives came from and write a letter with as many details as you can. Use DeepL or Google Translate to write the letter in their language.
Create a Map: Finding the exact right town is super important. Creating a map of all the known relative's places of birth, marriages, and deaths can help you see cluster patterns and give you a hint that you are not looking in the right place. I outlined some of the trick I used to find the right town in my post, The Case of the Springfield Dilemma.
Use All the Sites: For some reason, I always seem to forget to search FamilySearch. I'm sure there are those of you who forget to search MyHeritage. Or Ancestry... Often we get stuck in routines, and fail to do the same search in all the places.

Go to a Family History Center: There are many many records that have been digitized from the vast microfilm holdings that are only viewable at a Family History Center in person. Many are not indexed, but if you are paging through the right set of records you will strike gold.
Ask Facebook: Taking the time to write up the exact question you are looking to solve is amazingly helpful. Just the act of writing it up and explaining it to a stranger can help you discover flaws in your logic and trigger thoughts of where to look. Then, post it to Facebook in one of the many genealogy groups and you might even get an answer!
Read Newspapers: Again, this is likely just my problem, but I always seem to forget about newspapers.com and I'm always pleasantly surprised at the vast wealth of information that can be found there. Yes, there are many other newspaper sites, but that's the one I'm already paying for every month!
Collaborate: Researching by yourself certainly has its benefits. Nobody questions your crazy assumptions and wild guesses. However, to build a real tree with verified and peer-reviewed evidence requires collaboration. It has enormous benefits that vastly out-weigh the downsides of having to make corrections to your tree once proved wrong. Geni.com is the largest collaborative site out there, and as has been said, "if you aren't doing genealogy on Geni you are just wasting your time."

Since I'm really writing this list for myself, this is a reminder to my future self that each and every one of these items should be linked to a much longer post that details the entire backstory of how I learned that particular lesson the hard way and any smaller exacting detailed instructions that are necessary to really take full advantage of the tip.

And one last thing. DNA testing is certainly an important method to break down brick walls in the genealogy world. You just don't know for such which walls will tumble, so test as many different cousins, siblings, and parents as you have available in your tree.

The Missing Photo of Hedwig's Grandchildren

2021-01-30T21:49:00.011-08:00

Did you know Denyse Magnhild Neustadt of Wembley?

I'm going to cut right to the punchline here. I'm looking for a photo, and the person who best might know where it is died in Middlesex, England in 1990. I'm posting this in hopes of finding someone who might know what happened to the old family photos from the Neustadt family. Emanuel Neustadt died in Brent, Greater London in 1966, and his widow, Denyse Magnhild Neustadt is the one who died in 1990. If anyone has any thoughts on how to track down the precious photos they must have left behind. I'm afraid that they might not have had any children, so it's likely that they just vanished? Help!

Here's the story. My great great grandmother Hedwig Wolff geb Wolff had four children. All four of those children got married and had children of their own, and I have pictures of Hedwig with the grandchildren from three of those marriages. I am missing the fourth set of grandchildren, and I'm sure there must be one out there somewhere. I am posting the three I have to spark someone's memory of a similar photo they've seen somewhere...

Hedwig Wolff with WOLFF grandchildren, circa 1909

Hedwig Wolff with MAYER grandchildren, circa 1912

Hedwig Wolff with LEVY grandchildren, circa 1914

Eva Meyer, Photographer

All three of the known photos were taken by the same photographer, Eva Meyer in Berlin. Perhaps there is a way to find all her photos in an archive somewhere?

Eva Meyer - photographer's signature on front

Eva Meyer - Hauptstrasse 83, Berlin-Friedenau

The missing photo: Hedwig with her NEUSTADT grandchildren

Which brings us to the missing photo. There should be a photo around these exact same dates (1910-1915) with her NEUSTADT grandchildren, Emanuel and Ruth.

Hedwig's daughter Elwina Wolff married Georg Neustadt on 19 Apr 1906 in Berlin. They are the parents of the missing grandchildren.

Georg and Elwina, cicra 1905 in Berlin

Georg and Elwina had two children, Emanuel Neustadt (14 Feb 1907) and Ruth Neustadt (30 Aug 1909), both born in Berlin. Those two, Emanuel and Ruth should be in the missing photo -- one that looks very very similar to the three others posted above.

https://archive.org/details/pinkusfamilycoll14pink/page/n1258/mode/1up

Where is the missing photo?

Ruth married Ernst Kaufmann and had two sons, Thomas and Stefan. Sadly, all four of them were lost in the Holocaust and I do not have any photos of them.

Emanuel escaped to London, and likely married Denyse Magnhild there. In double-checking this post, I found that her maiden name was Mealy-Bourgeois and that she was born in France. I do not know of any children from either marriage, so when Denyse passed away in 1990 I have no idea what happened to all those precious family photos.

Last known address: 30 Kings Court, Wembley

Oxford probate, page 6148

Denyse Magnhild Neustadt passed away on 24 Dec 1990. At the time she was living at 30 Kings Court, Kings Drive, Wembley, Middesex. What happened to the Neustadt family photos?

My 4th Great Uncle and the California Gold Rush

2020-06-27T14:40:00.015-07:00

I have lived in California most of my life. I understand from living here that there was some sort of gold rush here in 1849 that was a big deal. I couldn't escape learning about it as the California school system is very proud of this era -- apparently it lead to California becoming a state or something? Gold was found at Sutter's Mill on 24 Jan 1848 and California became a state on 9 Sept 1850. Fun fact with suspicious timing. "Oh, you have gold now? Well, come on in...!"

In any case, the California Gold Rush was completely hypothetical and historic to me as zero of my ancestors were anywhere near California in 1849. I just don't have a personal connection to the gold rush. Period. End of story.

Until yesterday.

The GOLDSCHMIDT Family of Thorn, West Prussia

A long time ago I found my 4th great grandfather on the 1845 surname adoption list of West Prussia, which listed my 3rd great grandmother Mathilde and her siblings in the town of Thorn (the birthplace of Copernicus, no relation... yet...).

1845 Surname Adoption for Julius GOLDSCHMIDT in Thorn, West Prussia

This was what was on the tree... Julius Goldschmidt, his wife Bertha, and all those children: Ida, Jakob, Mathilde, Adolph, Leopold, Lanny, Laura, Nathalie, Ida, Manna, Heda. No dates, not marriages, nothing... just names. Not even sure what gender "Manna" is...

I have filled in Mathilde's tree over the years, you know, the one I care about. Mathilde GOLDSCHMIDT married Isaac LACHMANN and was the mother of my 2nd great grandmother Henriette Maass geb LACHMANN. And for some reason just left all her brothers and sisters hanging out there all by themselves. For years. Well, certainly some of them must have been married and had children right? Children who would be Henriette's first cousins and all that...

And that's been my task for about the last week... filling out the Goldschmidt tree. I even was able to better understand my direct line, proving that Julius' wife Bertha was the younger sister of my 4th great grandmother Johanna LÖBENHEIM.

Top level of GOLDSCHMIDT family tree

And I've made great progress, adding a ton of information to the tree. Which brings me to my Gold Rush discovery.

I was researching Mathilde's sister, Laura GOLDSCHMIDT and found her death certificate in 1914 Berlin, with a surname of LÖWINSOHN. I confirmed it was her based on her nephew Felix GOLDSCHMIDT signing the death certificate, and oh yeah, her parents and birthplace match the tree perfectly -- so there's that.

1914 death of Laura Loewinsohn geb GOLDSCHMIDT in Berlin

However, if you can read old German script then it is clear that her husband is not listed. Obviously. Why make this easy on me. So, I searched for anyone with the last name of Loewinsohn married to anyone named Laura Goldschmidt, and I got a hit. A very weird hit. Not German or Prussia records... nope. California Early Pioneer records from Sacramento. Uh... what?

Jacob H. LOEWINSOHN, California Gold 49er

Jacob Herman Loewinsohn pioneer record in California

How does that work? I also found that the card has been filled out by a daughter, Anna who died in San Francisco, California in 1957. Well, I dug into Anna and found her immigration records where she was born in Danzig and a ship manifest of her traveling from Berlin, Germany in May 1914 to California. That all makes sense, as her mother died in Berlin in March 1914, so just after that, she left and went to California!

So, here's what happened.

Jakob Hermann LÖWINSOHN was born in Prussia sometime around 1826 to Heymann Löwinsohn and his wife Henriette OSCHER. His place of birth might be Danzig or otherwise nearby Posen province; his sister Minna was born in Danzig about 1825. In any case, around 1850 at the age of 25 Jakob high-tailed it to the get-rich-quick gold fields of California. While in California he did a bit of gold mining and then turned to selling cigars in San Francisco. He was known as Jacob Herman Loewinsohn while in California -- the slightly anglicized version of his name.

Jacob's Activities in California

Upon his return to Prussia with his newly won fortune, he married my 4th great aunt, Laura GOLDSCHMIDT in Danzig in November 1861. In Danzig, they had three children, Hermann, Anna, and Margot. Sadly Margot died at age 12 in 1885, and Jakob died a few years later at the age of 65 in Aug 1891.

Anna Loewinsohn moved to Berlin with her mother after that to join other family that was already there. Laura died in 1914, and Anna made her way to California shortly after her death -- probably to see for herself all the great stuff that her father had her stories about her entire life. Hermann Loewinsohn, the last of the Loewinsohn 1st cousins of my 2nd great grandmother Henrietta ended up in Manila, Philippines, where he married and had at least 8 children -- all 2nd cousins of my great grandmother Rosi. And, yes, Hermann has a ton of grandchildren in the Philippines who are all 3rd cousins of my grandfather Edgar. Yes, yet another place that I need to visit now! The Philippines. In fact, one of Jacob's descendants wrote a book about it called, Three Continents by Ana Mari S Calero. Make up that guest room cousins!

And finally I found a photo of Jacob Herman Loewinsohn, my newly confirmed 4th great uncle!

Jakob Hermann LÖWINSOHN (1826-1891)

And I'll leave you with just this one last little tidbit:

How on earth am I going to find a copy of Jacob's manuscript, "Reminiscences"? I would really love to learn about California history now that I'm directly connected to it! And, what better way to learn than to read my 4th great uncle's gold rush reminiscences. Any thoughts on how to find a copy?

Update: I have located a copy of his manuscript thanks to the amazing librarians at the California State History Library. The original 1861 manuscript of Reminiszenzen aus Californien is 62 pages and is in German. It was published in Posen and covers the years 1850-1861, and is Dedicated to Fräulein Laura Goldschmidt -- who would become his wife in 1862. Thankfully, there is also a 35-page English translation of Reminiscences of California located in the same collection!

Well Who Are They Then? (MyCanvas follow-up)

2020-05-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

First things first, if you haven't done so already, now is your chance to read Who Are All These People? -- a post that I wrote in 2016 as a guest blogger for MyCanvas.

In that post, I start off with what I thought was a photograph of my great great grandfather Benno Bodenheimer that turned out not to be him. This photo might be the most annoying photo I've every run into, and I've spent way way way too much time on it.

In this post, I'll explain how I figured out who was actually in the photo, and I'll tease a little of the punchline right now. The way I discovered who the people were was likely the single most aggravating moment in all of my family research efforts.

The Photo

A cousin of mine first sent me this photo on 20 Oct 2009, and we know for certain that the man on the left is my great Grandfather's brother, Ludwig Bodenheimer. Seated in front of him is his wife, Else Bodenheimer geb Hahn. There are a lot of photos of her parents, so it was initially assumed that the mystery couple on the left were his parents -- which they weren't (if you've been following along).

Ludwig and Else Bodenheimer (left) with mystery couple (right)

So, if the mystery couple aren't Ludwig's parents, and they aren't Else's parents... Well, who are they then? I'd have to dig deeper.

How I Figured Out Why They Were, Step-by-agonizing-Step

I stole this list of steps from my earlier MyCanvas post, and updated it for this specific case:

Date the Photo: I left this step off my original list as it seemed too obvious: it is just that critical. You need at least a range so that you can rule out people who died before the photo was taken. I estimate this photo to be 1915 based on other photos of Ludwig and Else who were married in 1911. It could be 5 years in either direction.
Estimate People's Ages: This is also a new step, where you estimate the ages of everyone in the photo, thus have a birth-year range when you look at the tree in the next step. Based on the estimated date of the photo, you can often rule people out as being too old or too young to be the person in the photo. Ludwig was born in 1876, and the mystery man in the photo looks older than him, but not that much older than him, so maybe born about 1860?
Family Tree: Since the mystery couple is likely related to either Ludwig or Else, I made sure that I had a complete tree for both sides of the family. Done. Check. And when looking at the tree I first looked at uncles and aunts on both sides -- one generation up based on my estimates on ages and dates.
Build a Bigger Tree: And, yes, I then added more people to make it even bigger. The people on the tree are the possible matches. Rule out those who couldn't be in the photo. Rule in those that would be about the right age and don't have reference photos.
Ask Your Relatives: This is were I got off-course in the first place and was corrected. One person said it was Ludwig's parents, and the other helped prove it wasn't. Nobody could help with who they really were.
Couple Up: This sort of applies in this case. I assume the other couple is a married couple. They might not be, but that's my assumption.
Find More Photos: I found a photo of Ludwig's aunt and uncle, Hermine and Salomon Bodenheimer to do a comparison. There are indeed similarities! Both women have wavy hair, both men have sharp noses. The problem is with Salomon's beard. The mystery man doesn't have one. Here's a strange fact for you: once most men reach the age of 40 they have the same facial hair for the rest of their lives.

Hermine (geb Weiss) and Salomon Bodenheimer

Mystery couple close-up for comparisons

So, I sat with that one as a possible connection for a few months. Salomon Bodenheimer was born in 1855, which is just about right on my estimated date I did earlier. But it just didn't seem to be right, especially with the facial hair issue. So, I made one last effort. I did one more thing.

The Annoying Solution

Ah, yes... there is another step. If all else fails there is the forgotten step. The first step in fact.

Turn the photo over, and take a look at the back. Is there anything written on the back?

I didn't actually have the back, all I had was the one scanned image that I'd been sent by my cousin in 2014. So, I wrote him an email asking if it had anything on the back.

Yep, here's what he sent back! These is IN FACT a ton of writing on the back.

The postcard is addressed to Herrn N. Hahn at Königstraße 41/42 in Berlin, which is Neumann Hahn's home address -- the father of Else Bodenheimer geb Hahn.

So, I enlarged and rotated the text, and then had the old German handwriting transcribed.

Herzliche Grüße aus angenehmer Gesellschaft Z
Liebes Papachen: Wie du siehst habe ich mir eine neue Regenkluft geleistet nur sie dir zu zeigen habe ich mich sogar photographieren lassen. herzlichen Gruß Else
Wir gefallen mir dir liebe Onkelxxx ? Liebste Grüße Alex und Johane Hirsch

It starts with, Warm greetings from pleasant company... Signed with a "Z" at the end.

Then Else writes, Dear Daddykin: As you can see I got myself a new raincoat. I have even let them photograph me just to show you. Happy greetings, Else And yes, Else is wearing what looks like a raincoat as she sits on the bench.

Then, at the end, someone else added, [something] we favor me you love uncle xxxx? Dearest Greetings Alex and Johane Hirsch

Alexander and Johanna Hirsch

And there we have it. The mystery couple must be Alex and Johane Hirsch of Hamburg, who are in fact on the tree! Alexander Hirsch and his wife are in-laws of Neumann Hahn's very own sister Rebekka Hirsch geb Hahn who lived in Hamburg. And, better yet, Alexander was born in 1861 -- I was only about a year off in my estimate! Not at all who I expected them to be, and certainly people I did not have any photos of before this!

The other part that fits is that Rebekka had a son whose name started with a "Z"... so Else also saw her cousin Zvi Hirsch on the same day.

The cousin who sent me the photo (who is on the Hahn side, which should have been another clue) also sent me a rescanned image of the original at higher quality.

Ludwig and Else Bodenheimer with Alex and Johane Hirsch, circa 1915

So in conclusion, here's my updated method on how to....

How To Identify People in Old Photos (2020 Update)

I'm going to repost a revised list of steps I've talked about before, with updates for this example.

Look at the Back: Always scan the back of your photos, and ask for the backs of any photos that people send you. Even if they appear blank, there can be really great information such as a small imprint of the paper manufacturer -- and yes, there are sites you can use to date photo paper.
Date the Photo: Getting an estimated date is just plain critical. You need at least a range so that you can rule out people who died before the photo was taken.
Estimate People's Ages: Estimate the ages of everyone in the photo, in order to have a birth-year range when you look at the tree in the next step. Based on the estimated date of the photo, you can often rule people out as being too old or too young to be the person in the photo.
Family Tree: Build or gather a full family tree for the general families suspected to be in the photo. These are your possible candidates to rule in or out!
Build a Bigger Tree: And, yes, as you get a toehold with one person, immediately build out their complete tree up and down and all around. Confirming one person is a big win.
Ask Your Relatives: Yes, sadly you have to talk to people and ask. The older generation often knows exactly who they people in the photos are -- it's your job to get more suspects from their memories.
Couple Up: Many times, married couples are standing next to each other in group photos. Likewise children are with siblings or hanging on their mother. This rule is not set in stone, and yet can often help narrow things down.
Find More Photos: Getting more photos for your list of suspects can help rule in and out people. Also, you may luck out and find another photograph from the same day and place, and that one has writing on the back identifying the people and places.

My Cousin who was First to Fly the Atlantic the Hard Way

2020-05-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

As everyone knows, Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean non-stop, flying from Long Island, New York on 20 May 1927 and landing in Paris, France on 21 May 1927.

What's less known, is that flying West to East follows the prevailing winds, and thus easier that attempting to fly it the other way, from Europe to the United States against the wind.

The Distinguished Flying Cross

Baron Günther von Hünefeld had the idea of being the first to do it the hard way, and in 1927 he bought a pair of Junkers W 33 aircraft, naming them the SS Bremen and the SS Europa. He was instrumental in this achievement, being the one to conceive, finance, and plan the grand adventure. His one problem was that he didn't have a pilot's license, and therefore needed some help.

First to Fly the Atlantic the Hard Way

On 12 April 1928, Hünefeld along with Hermann Köhl and James Fitzmaurice took off from Baldonnel, Ireland in the SS Bremen airship and landed at Greenly Island, Labrador, Canada. They had originally planned to fly to New York, but in any case they were the first to fly across the Atlantic from Europe and on May 2, 1928, Hünefeld and his two companions were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by President Calvin Coolidge as authorized by the U.S. Congress.

The SS Bremen, Hünefeld's Junkers W 33 aircraft, after landing on the ice Labrador

The Three Musketeers of the Air

In late1928, their book "The Three Musketeers of the Air", the story of the three Bremen flyers, was published in English by Putnam. It was as-told-by story of their conquest of the Atlantic from East to West by Captain Hermann Koehl, Major James C. Fitzmaurice, and Baron Guenther von Huenefeld.

Additionally, a complete flight log of their transAtlantic flight is detailed on Wikipedia.

From the dustjacket:

Of what stuff are heroes made? What is the grim will, the superb daring that can send men on ventures where death is their only escort, and death their probable host? "The Three Musketeers of the Air," written by the three flyers who have been stamped by that phrase, tells you.

For here are, first, the individual autobiographies of the three heroes. To the reader, Baron von Huenefeld emerges as a man of artistic and literary tastes, a poet, a gallant figure who faces danger with a monocle . . .who has never let ill health deter him from action because "we have only one life to live."

But Major Fitzmaurice has been bred to soldiering. At the age of sixteen he ran off to join the army. He belonged to the cavalry in the 17th Lancers, known to England as the "Death or Glory" boys. A flyer in the Irish Free State Aviation Corps, his is the terse account of one to whom perils are all in the day's work.

And Captain Koehl? The most reticent, the most silent, the most inscrutable of the three men . . .he, too, tells his story. His reserve, one finds, has been the quiet of the man whose mind is centered on every tremor of the plane's motor. He was pilot of "The Bremen." It was to Captain Koehl that Major Fitzmaurice would signal the direction of the winds by blowing out over his palm to indicate favorable winds; by motioning back towards his face with his hand to indicate adverse winds.

A strangely exciting book, this record of "The Three Musketeers." Three totally different temperaments knitted together by a common cause - "All for one and one for all" - in a Junkers plane that flew its lonely way over a trail peopled by the ghosts of lost flyers.

In the following section of the book, together the three men write the story of this great effort, the first Transatlantic flight from East to West. Here are their thoughts, their feelings, their sensations, their actual experiences during their hazardous hours in the air between Baldonnel Airdrome and Greenely Island.

Next comes an account of the good will tour undertaken by these men in the United States . . .the fine faith and spirit in which they made the tour, and their appreciation of the fervor with which they were welcomed.

Video History of The Flight of the Bremen

Great 15 minute video tracing the story of the Bremen. If the embedded video doesn't work, the link is https://youtu.be/QSL3retrJAY

The Jewish Hero

On 26 April 1928, Das Berliner Tageblatt declared that the newly crowned national hero had a Jewish mother. The announcement was made to counteract some anti-Semitic propaganda that had being trying to use the flight as a triumph of the pure Aryan race. Their hero was half-Jewish, so shut up and quit this nonsense!

Jewish Daily Bulletin, Friday, 27 April 1928

Genealogy

And this is where I join the story, as the Marcus LACHMANN listed as his grandfather is on my family tree! And, I mean right on my family tree. Marcus is the brother of my 3rd great grandfather, Isaac LACHMANN.

Baron Hünefeld's mother was Elsbeth Hünefeld geb LACHMANN, my 2nd great grandmother Henriette MAASS geb LACHMANN's first cousin. And so, the Baron is my great grandmother Rosa BODENHEIMER geb MAASS' second cousin. I've met a bunch of my 2nd cousins, so it's quite likely that she knew him and had heard of him. In fact, they both lived in Berlin, so they likely met.

Rosa was born in Berlin in 1886, so she was just a few years old than Günther who was born in 1892.

The other important clue in that short blurb is that he is related to Hans Lachmann-Mosse, who is indeed also a second cousin of both Rosa and Günther.

Cousins via The LACHMANN family of Graudenz

Baron Günther von Hünefeld in 1928

Death of Baron Günther von Hünefeld

After his successful crossing of the Atlantic, Baron von Hünefeld decided to try an aound-the-world attempt. Hünefeld and Karl Gunnar took off from Berlin on 18 September 1928. They met up with another pilot, Friedrich Karl von Koenig-Warthausen in Iran and went on to arrive in Tokyo on October 20th. At Tokyo, the attempt was abandoned due to Hünefeld's failing heath, and he returned to Berlin where he died in February 1929 of stomach cancer.

He is buried in the Landeseigener Friedhof Berlin-Steglitz cemetery.

The SS Bermen Today

The original restored "Bremen" today is owned by the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit and is currently under display at Bremen Airport in Germany.

von Hünefeld's Junkers W33, Bremen, at Bremenhalle airport in Bremen, Germany

More Information

SciHi Blog: The First Non-Stop Westbound Flight over the North Atlantic
CollectAir's page of Aviation Books
Untapped New York: The Bremen, The First Airplane to Fly Across the Atlantic from East to West
Wikipedia in English (short): Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld
Wikipedia in German (much longer): Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld
Geni: the complete genealogy of Baron Günther von Hünefeld

The Bodenheimers of Graaf Florisstraat 104-A

2020-03-05T13:20:00.001-08:00

The Saga of the Dutch Postcards, Part 2

I've explained how I received a trove of lost photographs and postcards from The Good Neighbor in Rotterdam. So, the next step is the big reveal. The Photos!

At first glance at the treasure I had obtained, I was slightly disappointed. The two albums contain very very few family photos. Like a single page, double-sided of photos. All the rest of the albums are postcards from relatives to the Bodenheimers from various places. On the positive side, the photographs are each absolutely priceless, and because there wasn't a huge amount, I was able to really look at each one for a great deal of time and do deep analysis. Here are both pages, with a grand total of five photos of people.

Bodenheimer Family

Lugano, San Fruttuoso, Pallanza, and Rosa at Locarno

There only one thing written on the first page, and that's this at the top.

Waibstadt Mai 1928

What's interesting about that is Berthold was born in Waibstadt on 16 May 1885, so this very well could have been taken on his 43rd birthday.

Photo 1: The Bodenheimer Family in Waibstadt, May 1928
So, here's the first photo I really really looked at. I have scanned it at super high-resolution, cropped it a bit to focus on the people, and colorized it using the new MyHeritage Photo Colorizer tool.

Berthold Bodenheimer with family in Waibstadt, 1928

Well, now what. Since this is the first photo I've ever seen of the family, how do I figure out who is in the photo and who is who?

I'll just lead with my conclusions and then explain myself later.

Front row: Ruth Ellen FRANK, daughter of Bertha and Hermann (1921-1936), Jeannine BODENHEIMER, daughter of Rosa and Berthold (1922-1942), and Madeleine Marianne BODENHEIMER, daughter of Rosa and Berthold (1924-1943).

Back row: Julia BODENHEIMER, daughter of Berthold and his first wife Maria (1912-1942), Bertha FRANK geb BODENHEIMER, sister of Berthold, wife of Hermann (1883-1970), Berthold BODENHEIMER, brother of Bertha, Husband of Rosa (1885-1943), Rosa Paula BODENHEIMER geb BAER, wife of Berthold (1888-1943), and Hermann FRANK, husband of Bertha (1887-1937).

How to Identify People in Photos

Step 1: Write down all your facts and assumptions. First, this was taken in Waibstadt in May 1928. It must have Berthold Bodenheimer in it, and his family. There looks to be two families here, likely a brother or sister of Berthold or his wife and their kid or kids?

Step 2: Have a full and complete family tree. This is critical, as in May 1928 Berthold was married to his second wife, Rosa Paula Baer and had three girls: Julia Bodenheimer, born to his first wife Maria KORBULY in 1912, Jeannine, born in 1922, and Madeleine "Mady" born in 1924. His fourth daughter wasn't born until December 1928, and his first born son, Walter died as an infant in 1910. This means that most likely Julia is the young lady hiding at the back left, at age 14. That fits. Two of the other three younger girls must be Jeannine and Mady. The third little girl must be a cousin.

To figure out who the other family might be, I looked at the tree on both Berthold and Rosa's side looking for a family with a daughter born about 1923 -- about the same age as Jeannine and Mady. This lead me to only one family that would match, Berthold's sister Bertha BODENHEIMER had married Hermann FRANK and they had a daughter, Ruth Ellen FRANK who was born in 1921.

Step 3: Compare Ages. In trying to see which woman is Rosa and which one is Bertha, take a look and see if you can tell which person is older. Then look at the tree and if there is a clear age difference, that will be another clue. I already did this with the children, and Rosa was born in 1888, and aged 40 -- she was also two months pregnant, but that wouldn't show yet. Bertha was born in 1883, so she was five years older at 45. Of the two men, Hermann FRANK was about two years younger than Berthold. Hermann hadn't had his 41st birthday yet, and Berthold had just turned 43.

Step 4: Compare Places. The photo was taken in Waibstadt, Germany, the ancestral home of my entire branch of the Bodenheimer family. The Frank family lived in Mannheim at the time. In looking at a map, I can see that Mannheim is only about 50 km away from Waibstadt. That would absolutely work without a doubt. This confirms that it is indeed likely that the other family in the photo is the Frank family.

Map: Mannheim in relation to Waibstadt

Step 5: Look at the composition for family groupings. In this case, I sort of took a guess that Berthold and Rosa were paired up in the middle, with Berthold's sister Bertha next to him on the left. It sort of looks like the three children hanging onto and around the lady on the left could be their mother, but I suppose a favorite aunt would work too. Not very conclusive. I also looked at the clothing, thinking that the two younger Bodenheimer girls might be the ones dressed the same and .standing next to each other.

Step 6: Look for other photos of the same people or any other known reference photos for anyone in the photo. Luckily, this wasn't the only photo I had. I have the other photos to look at, and see if there is a way to connect the dots.

I found a reference to Madeleine Marianne Bodenheimer in the book, "Cold Feet" by Bill Minco, and wrote to Jeroen van der Beek who maintains an incredible resource on the Jews of Graaf Florisstraat. He sent me this photo that I was able to use as reference photo for Mady.

Madeleine Marianne Bodenheimer (1924-1943)

Mady, aged 4 eating a banana in Waibstadt

Let's compare her to her much younger possible self, the youngest girl in photo 1. It might be. In neither picture is she smiling. Same stern stare. Can't rule it out. Even eating a banana she's so serious.

Photo 2: The Bodenheimer Girls with the Children of Waibstadt
The next photo presents way more of a challenge. It's a bunch of children, and I have not figured out who they all are. This photo also could have been taken on the same day as photo 3, which I note below can be linked to photo 1.

1928 School Chums

The girl in the left foreground is one of the Bodenheimer girls, a smiling Mady. And Julia is clearly the one holding the little lamb. This one still needs work! Lots of unknown faces. Could that be Jeannine in the middle back with the dotted flower dress? It could. My branch of the Bodenheimers left Waibstadt years before 1928, and I've searched my tree for any branches who could be still in Waibstadt in the 1920s and came up empty. By that time, all seemed to have moved to Mannheim, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Berlin, or elsewhere.

Photo 3: Rosa in a Flower Field with her Daughters
The next photo could be a clue. This appears to be a mother with her three children.

Mother and three children in flowers, 1928

This grouping leads me to believe that this is Rosa with her step-daughter Julia Bodenheimer, and her two daughters. The youngest, Mady (Madeleine Marianne Bodenheimer), in front of her, and Jeannine on the right, in front of Julia. This help solidify the working theories on the first photo, giving backup data to four of the people in that one. Rosa appears to be wearing the same thing as photo 1, and the girls are taken off their sweaters? That's possible, as the average high temperature in the Waibstadt on 16 May is 66 F at 4:30pm, ranging from 60-72 F, with the record high being almost 80 F.

Photo 4: Cousins Jeannine Bodenheimer and Ruth Ellen Frank
This picture is clearly taken on the same day as photo #1. The two girls are wearing the same clothes they wore in that first photo. So, taken in Waibstadt in May of 1928, likely on Berthold's birthday of May 16. And thus, all four photos on the page labeled Waibstadt May 1928 are indeed all taken on the same day.

Cousins Jeannine Bodenheimer and Ruth Ellen Frank in Waibstadt, May 1928

These look like two girls the same age, and as such they should be cousins Jeannine BODENHEIMER, born 13 Jan 1922 and Ruth Ellen FRANK, born 21 Apr 1921 -- about 9 months apart. Which is which? Well, the girl on the left is shorter and is wearing something similar to the youngest girl in the first photo, so perhaps she is Jeannine? Also, the hair in photo 3 better matches the middle girl in that photo. And, in photo 3 the two youngest children and standing next to each other and wearing similar clothes to each other. I conclude that it's Jeannine on the left and Ruth Ellen on the right.

Sadly, both of these girls died way too young. Jeannine died in Rotterdam at age 20 on 26 Aug 1942., and her family posted a newspaper report of her death. It reads, "After a short, severe illness, died our dearly beloved, deeply regretted daughter and sister Jeannine, at the youthful age of 20 years. Berthold Bodenheimer, Paula Bodenheimer-Baer, Julia, Madeleine, and Eliane."

1942 death of Jeannine Bodenheimer

Ruth died at the age of 15 in Frankfurt, Germany on 28 Oct 1936. Ruth is buried in Mannheim with her brother and mother.

Grave of Ruth Ellen Frank in Mannheim

Photo 5: Rosa Paula Bodenheimer geb Baer, in Locarno 1927
This photo is the only photo on the back of the single page that has a person in it. It was labeled "Locarno 1927", and thus really must be Berthold's wife at the time. This helps with the other photos, as it builds a reference photo for two of the other photos with the same woman in them.

Rosa Paula Bodenheimer geb Baer, Loaerino 1927

Locarno is a town in Switzerland. What you can't see in this photo is the lake and the mountains behind. It's all washed out. The church steeple is from the Madonna del Sasso Church above Locarno city, with the Locarno lake in the background.

Madonna del Sasso Church above Locarno lake in Switzerland

The Italian Trip of 1927
All four of the photos on the second page are from a trip that I mapped out from the city names. I'll show the same photo again for reference.

Lugano, San Fruttuoso, Pallanza, and Rosa at Locarno

The towns are Lugano (top left), San Fruttuoso (top right), Pallanza (bottom left), and Locarno (bottom right). Here's a map connecting all those places in Italy and Switzerland:

Map of 1927 trip

I could spend hours looking at photos for those places and connecting and comparing them with the 1927 photos. For example, the little harbor at Pallanza doesn't look quite the same anymore. It's been expanded, and the semi-circle greeting area appears to have been removed. The water color at the small bay at San Fruttuoso is utterly amazing. I could go on and on. In any case, it looks like a great trip!

But wait, there's more!

In February 2020, three more photos showed up. In the process of cleaning up and organizing his house, P.J. in the Netherlands found a few amazing treasures, bringing the grand total of family photos up to eight.

Photo 6: Julia Bodenheimer between Grandmother and Mother, May 1916
This is the first and only photo I've seen of either Maria Hermina BODENHEIMER geb KORBULY (1891-1917). She was Berthold's first wife, and died just a year after this photo. Also, likewise this is the only known photo of her mother, Eugenia KORBULY geb WINKELHOFER (1848-1918) who died two years after this photo. This postcard was sent 25 May 1916, so the photo was taken at least a few weeks before that. Julia celebrated her fourth birthday on 26 May 1916.

Eugenia Winkelhofer Korbuly, Julia Bodenhiemer, and Maria Korbuly Bodenheimer, 1916

The back of the card has some great details that translate as:

Mr. Gojardus Dersjant, 25 May 1916 [postmark]
Nijmegen, Jorisstraat 68
Dear Go!
For your postcard, for Julia’s birthday, mine and hers best thanks, what was she glad with it. We had yet a lot of fun on this day, a pity you were not there too! Your sweet mother, Gijs and Guus [Go's brothers] have been here, and have sweet little Julia a mechanical duck (of them) given! Your Pluto [Go's pet dog] was also born 26 May glad because he became 2 years old too! Many greetings from us all your dearest
Mrs M.B. Bodenheimer, Korbuly
PS: Driver B.B.[Berthold Bodenheimer] _ Et. Tel.[ephone] Dir. No 12 in east [?] via Emmerich

Photo 7: Julia Bodenheimer with Father and Step-Mother on the Beach at Scheveningen
This newly discovered postcard is equally important, as it solidifies the reference photo for Berthold Bodenheimer and his second wife, Rosa. This one is dated 25 March 1921, so it's of a newly formed family. Berthold and Rosa got married in Rotterdam on 17 Feb 1921, so just a month earlier. Before their marriage, Julia, who is aged 8 in this photo was not able to live with her father. After the marriage, the family was reunited again under one roof.

Rosa Baer Bodenheimer, Julia Bodenheimer, and Berthold Bodenheimer, 1921

The back has a short note, "Memory from a trip to Scheveningen on Good Friday 25 March 1921."
They are on the beach, probably somewhere near the original pier built in 1901.

Photo 8: Cousins at Wedding of Berthold and Rosa, 17 Feb 1921 in Rotterdam
Well, this one. Wow, what an amazing photo! By the time this photo arrived on my desk, I'd done a lot more work on Rosa's side of the tree. To be honest, before I started looking at the actual to/from information that I'll cover in part 3, I had her parents and an unmarried sister sitting on the tree. Well, her sister was indeed married, and had two little girls and an infant in 1921. Julia is clearly Julia, confirmed by the last two photos. It's likely the tallest girl with the bow in her hair is Margot SCHWARTZ (1912-1996), with her younger sister Suzi SCHWARTZ (1915-2005) standing right in the middle. But, who are the two boys?

Werner Frank, Margot Schwartz, Suzi Schwartz, Julia Bodenheimer, and Ludwig Frank, 1921

This gets back to finding reference photos for people. I mentioned earlier that I had started with only a single photo for this entire branch of the family, and that was of Julia's cousin, Ludwig FRANK (1914-1945), well in 1921 he'd be 7. Perhaps the boy on the left? Let's compare that with the known photo of Ludwig from later in life.

Comparing known photo of Ludwig FRANK to possible younger self

What do you think? It's certainly a possibility. The deciding factor would be to prove that the other boy, on the left was Ludwig's younger brother, Werner FRANK (1915-1998). When I last looked for photos of Werner and any possible family I can up empty. Well, it's now 2020 and the official Israel State Archives have put of 32 million scans online for free. Searching there, the first result is his entire immigration record with him and his wife, including photos! Better yet, using Facebook it's possible that he has three living children that I never knew about (yes, letters are on their way already).

Comparing known photo of Werner FRANK to possible younger self

Yes it could be right. But when on earth would cousins from two different sides of the family get together in Rotterdam in 1921? The FRANKs are from Mannheim and the SCHWARTZ family is from Strasbourg. Oh yeah, the wedding! Of course. This photo must have been taken at the wedding of Rosa and Berthold on 17 Feb 1921.

The Updated Family Tree

Berthold Bodenheimer family tree, updated 2020

The Saga of the Dutch Postcards
Part 1: The Good Neighbor in Rotterdam
Part 2: Meet the Bodenheimers of Graaf Florisstraat 104
Part 3: The Postcards
Part 4: Family Updates, Family Found!

The Good Neighbor in Rotterdam

2020-03-04T09:48:00.003-08:00

The Saga of the Dutch Postcards, Part 1

One night in late September 2017, two old friends were sitting around a table in Rotterdam drinking Jenever and Amstel ( I assume), and telling stories. One of the two gentlemen, who I'll call F.C., turned to his dear friend and mentioned that he just had the most amazing luck reuniting an old photo with a family. He'd had this old photo for many years, and he just recently had done an internet search on whatever version of Google that the Netherlands uses, and the name had just popped up. He'd returned the photo to a rightful owner, and it really made him feel good.

And as most conversations go, the other kind soul, P.J. said something like, "well, that's an interesting story.... let me build on that and tell you a tale that will pull at your heartstrings and call upon your recent experience... "

He continued, "Many years ago, during WWII, my father lived in Rotterdam. He had some Jewish neighbors at Graaf Florisstraat 104-A, and as things turned from bad to worse, he was asked by them to keep an old family photo album safe for them until things settled down. It was 1941, and they were arrested by the Nazis shortly after the album was secured. Nobody from the family ever returned from the camps. The whole family was lost in the holocaust, and while my father tried to find other relatives, sadly he never found any during his lifetime."

Graaf Florisstraat 104 today

P.J. went on to say that he had inherited this very photo album from his father, and had promised him that he would someday return it to the family.

"Well, that's fascinating, so let me see what I can do with my newly found mad Internet skills," said F.C., or more likely something similar to that in Dutch that comes across much more sincere and caring than anything I can come up with.

And so, the very next day, F.C. did an internet search on one of the names from the photo album. He typed in the father of the family's name, the man who had left the album with P.J.'s father over 75 years ago.

Well, low and behold, the top search results were numerous pages from Find-a-Grave and Geni.com created by someone named The Cousin Detective. It seems this Cousin chap had spent a lot of time and effort making sure that these lost family members were memorialized widely and never to be forgotten.

This of course is where I pick up the story. At about 5:30 one morning I get a strange Facebook call from someone in the Netherlands. I don't know too many people there, and I didn't actually know that Facebook did phone calls! A message was left, and I think it's badly translated from the original Dutch:

Are you family of berthold bodenheimer? (16-5-1885) The father of a frind has Get them in1941 to keep them save for the family ww2. We are looking for a long time to Give them back to related family.
Today we Find out that probely you are related family. Please contact us
We have fotobooks and postcards of his family

Uh, yes. Actually. I do happen to know Berthold Bodenheimer (1885-1943). He's my great grandfather Siegmund's second cousin who was lost in the Holocaust. His father, Isaak, was also lost, and he was my great great grandfather Benno's first cousin. I've done a ton of research on this family, as they not only happen to have the same last name that I have, but they also have many of the same first names: Isaak for one.

Here's the deal with Isaak Bodenheimer and his family. When I first started to do genealogy many years ago, I actually thought that this particular Isaak Bodenheimer from Waibstadt was my third great grandfather. My own grandfather had visited the cemetery in Waibstadt, Germany and had taken a photo of his grave, maybe thinking that it was his own great grandfather -- I kind of doubt it now, as he certainly would have known if his own great grandfather had been lost in the holocaust. In any case, it sent me down the wrong path. And as years of research finally confirmed, it wasn't his great grandfather, it was his second cousin once removed. This Isaak was the nephew of "our" Isaak (my fourth great grandfather).

Waibstadt grave of Isaak Bodenheimer (1854-1941)

However, by the time I'd figured out this was the wrong grave, I'd done a whole family tree of that branch of the Bodenheimers and more. And way more... I'd tracked down and traced pretty much anyone and everyone connected with Isaak Bodenheimer (1854-1941). To be honest, I would have done that eventually anyway, but it is a little strange that I started with them. I then had to split it all up correctly when I finally found birth and death certificates in Waibstadt. The tree on Geni is very solid now on the Isaak Bodenheimers of Waibstadt!

Isaak Bodenheimer (1813-1893) - My 3rd great grandfather; father of Benno
Isaak Bodenheimer (1854-1941) - My 1st cousin 4x removed; father of Berthold
Isaak Bodenheimer (1799-1881) - My 1st cousin, 5x removed; 3rd great grandfather of Rabbi Hans S. Bodenheimer
Isaak Bodenheimer (1870-1870) - My 2nd cousin, 3x removed; son of Aaron

I'd also found zero living relatives of Berthold and Isaak, as of yet. I'd only found one lone descendant who'd survived the holocaust, Bertha Frank née Bodenheimer (1883-1970), who was Berthold's sister. All three of Bertha's children and her two grandchild have no trace after WWII. I'm now fairly certain that it was Bertha who put up the very nice memorial in Waibstadt for her father.

So back to the story. I do in fact know Berthold Bodenheimer. And my Bodenheimer's appear to be his closest living relatives that I know of. His children are the third cousins of my grandfather, and his lone grandchild (also lost in the holocaust) was my father's fourth cousin.

As much as I know about that entire lost Bodenheimer branch, I only have one single photo of one of Bertha's sons: Ludwig Frank. No other photos for anyone else. No photos exist. And if they did, they surely didn't survive the holocaust. They will never be found. I did my best at documenting their memories with photos of gravestones and scans of documents.

Hold on, what was that last part of F.C.'s message?

"We have fotobooks and postcards of his family!" Seriously?! And you've been holding onto them for 75 years. Keeping the safe, and looking for some family to return them to? This is unbelievable!

"Yes yes," I replied calmly. "I certainly know Berthold Bodenheimer."

The Albums Arrive

And, on November 8, 2017, these two precious photo albums appeared at my front door.

The Bodenheimer Family Photo Albums from Graaf Florisstraat

The photo albums survived when many of the family didn't. The photos are incredibly important in bringing them back into the present. Now that they are here again with us, they will never be forgotten. May the memory of the righteous be a blessing. זכר צדיק לברכה

Continue on to part 2 to view the first and only photos of Berthold Bodenheimer and his family.

The Saga of the Dutch Postcards
Part 1: The Good Neighbor in Rotterdam
Part 2: Meet the Bodenheimers of Graaf Florisstraat 104
Part 3: The Postcards
Part 4: Family Updates, Family Found!

Did I say Reichenbach? I meant Güttmannsdorf in Kreis Reichenbach!

2019-08-14T13:25:00.001-07:00

I have been searching for the birth record of my great grandfather Paul ZIMMER for years. The obvious first step was to try and find his birthplace. All my Zimmer family notes and information say that Paul was a Catholic from Reichenbach, and as I over-explained in my post "The Springfield Dilemma" that's not very helpful. There are many many Reichenbach's, but I thought I had finally narrowed it down to the one near Breslau in Silesia.

Well, I've spent the last couple of years looking for any and all Zimmer family records in the Reichenbach (now called Dzierżoniów just to further confuse everyone) films and I've found really not much. Nothing helpful, so nothing. Wrong Reichenbach? Not Reichenbach (Eulengebirge)?Where was he born? How can this be so difficult?! I mean, he was born. I wouldn't be here if he hadn't been born, and I'm definitely here.

So, a few days ago I went way way sideways. I've had an old photo of Paul Zimmer's parent's graves, and I finally made an executive decision that his mother's maiden name that you can barely read is PETAU. The old gothic script and small image size doesn't help either. Thanks for that...

Graves of Pauline Zimmer geb Petau and Eduard Zimmer in Germany

One of the reasons I decided that her surname was PETAU was that there were people with the Petau surname in the general area. Some of my other guesses came up empty.

Research Tip: Search on the surname to see if there is even such a surname. Limiting your search to a region will give you more confidence if you find a likely suspect.

So, I searched sideways for possible siblings for my 2nd great-grandmother Pauline Zimmer geb Petau born within ten years of her birth year of 1836. And, I actually came up with a couple of options for possible brothers: August Franz Carl Petau, born 1834 and Karl Wilhelm Johann Petau, born 1840. And what was fantastic was they both died in Berlin -- meaning their death records are online and clearly read that they were both born (geborene zu) in Güttmannsdorf in Kreis Reichenbach, Silesia, Prussia. Hey Kreis Reichenbach, and that's actually the SAME Reichenbach I thought it was. It's just not the city of Reichenbach, rather a small village nearby in the county (Kreis) of Reichenbach. Oh, that's an interesting clue. I could be close and not close enough yet.

Snippet from the Berlin death of August Franz Carl Petau in 1884 with birthplace, wife, and parents listed

For those of you who can't read this oh so obvious handwriting, it says at the bottom that he was the son of (sohn bes) Franz PETAU and his wife (ehefrau) Anna Maria, born (gebornen) WELZ of Güttmannsdorf. Possible 3rd great grandparents of mine! That's brand new information that could be a huge break-through!

Research Tip: Go sideways, and try to find possible siblings for your dead-ends. You might find their records, which will open some doors for you.

Now, I did NOT know for sure that these Petau's are related to me, but I started a tree for them and built out a nice family tree with their parents, wives, and children. Perhaps a huge waste of time, but it would actually be a timesaver if they are related after-all. I might just have found Pauline's parents and brothers, who knows!

You methodical genealogists might know the exact next step. My route was to do a bunch of Googling for Güttmannsdorf to see what that was all about. Güttmannsdorf is also sometimes spelled Güttmannsdorf, Gueüttmannsdorf, and Guttmannsdorf to make matters interesting. After playing around for a few hours, I finally got around to searching for Güttmannsdorf records at FamilySearch.org and low and behold there are a few. They have been digitized, and are available for free at any Family History Library.

Research Tip: If you run into a new family home town, the first thing you should check is to see if the Family History Library has any records for that area.

Today I went to a nearby FHL and took a look at the records for Güttmannsdorf and what do you think I found? Yes, I found the death record for Anna Maria Petau geb Welz, and guess who filled it out and signed it? Yes, her daughter, Pauline Zimmer geb Petau of Girlachsdorf, Reichenbach.

1879 death of Anna Maria Petau geb Welz in Güttmannsdorf

So many cool things on this document!

Proof that Paul Zimmer's maternal grandparents are indeed Franz PETAU and Anna Maria WELZ -- my 3rd great grandparents!
A new city to research: the birthplace of Anna Maria Welz is listed as Stoschendorf, which is now Stoszów in Poland.
Perhaps a 4th great grandparent as it seems to list Anna Maria's mother as Marie? Something to look into...
And a beautiful signature of my 2nd great grandmother Pauline Zimmer geb Petau (the line over the 'm' means to double it, so it really is Zimmer, trust me).

So yes, new 3rd great grandparents and 3rd great uncles and wait a second... there's more... a clue to the possible elusive birthplace of my great grandfather.

5. Girlachsdorf! Girlachsdorf in Reichenbach! Pauline was living in nearby Girlachsdorf in 1879 when her mother died. That's a huge clue. Girlachsdorf could be where Paul Zimmer was born, right?

Well, based on that great clue of Girlachsdorf, I found the Catholic records for his birth year of 1863 in that town and went through them. And guess what. I did not find him! What on earth is happening here?!

Well, time to go sideways yet again. I know that Paul had a few siblings, and I actually have not found birth records for any of them. I haven't found any German documentation on any of them except for one single sister. His sister Anna was married in Breslau, and for some inexplicable reason, that record was indexed and available. I pulled up the original file, and looked at it again with fresh eyes.

Snippet from the 1883 marriage of Anna Zimmer and Robert Kirchner in Breslau

Right there in Anna Zimmer's 1883 marriage record, in the normal impossible to read German script, it says that she was born 30 May 1858 in Güttmannsdorf bei Reichenbach. Güttmannsdorf! You have got to be kidding me! She was the Catholic daughter of (tochter des) of the Gutshofbesitzer (Farm/Estate/Manor Owner) Eduard Zimmer residing in Girlachsdorf and his deceased wife Pauline Petau. So, that all matches up perfectly.

And Güttmannsdorf yet again. Paul was born in 1863, just 5 years later. Likely in the same place, right?

The Final Clue (and I had it the whole time)

And finally to top it all off, I found this photo in my collection that I've had in my possession for at least ten years, maybe more. It purportedly was of the old family farm back in the old country.

Note on back of photo of German farm land and village

Here's what the back of that photo says:

(House with the flat roof) Last home which was in the family for well over 100 years. Klein Getmansdorf, Township Reichenberg, Dist. Breslaugh, Province Silesia.

And, jackpot! Boom!

Research Tip: There is a genealogical law that states the elusive clue to the thing you've been trying to figure out for years has been on an old piece of paper in your own attic the entire time.

And what is so wonderful about it is that it's ALL spelled wrong. All of it. But it also exactly matches the real name I'd just found of Klein Güttmannsdorf, Landkries Reichenbach, Breslau, Schlesien. We have a winner (and the name of the village has been changed to Dobrocin just to continue the complications).

Research Tip: Don't expect anything to be spelled correctly. It is most often spelled like it sounds, so the sounds that you say out loud are correct, but the spelling is not. This is true for most surnames and towns. It's annoying but true, so don't forget to say things out loud and try spelling variations.

Maps are your Friend

Here's a map I just created with the three new cities in relation to each other and Reichenbach: Stoschendorf (Stoszów), Güttmannsdorf (Dobrocin), Girlachsdorf (Gilów), and of course Reichenbach (Dzierżoniów) in Eulengebirge (in the Owl Mountains)

Research Tip: Put all the towns you know about on a map and see if they are in the same place. See how close together they are. The closer the better.

Map of the actual ZIMMER family hometowns in the Reichenbach area

The map shows a lot of farmland and little villages scattered throughout. Weird that they ended up in Iowa which is totally different. I mean completely the same. Well expect for the nearby mountains. How cool.

Hello Klein Güttmannsdorf, Landkreis Reichenbach!

And so finally, for your viewing enjoyment, here's a video tour of Güttmannsdorf aka Dobrocin while I go back to the Family History Library and continue my search. This time finally in the right place! With Girlachsdorf as a backup search location due to the fact that they somehow ended up there.

Are You Related To George Bodenheimer?

2019-06-19T00:47:00.000-07:00

George Bodenheimer of ESPN

For the first 30 some odd years of my life I was one of few Bodenheimers I'd ever heard of. Then for no reason whatsoever, someone named George Bodenheimer started to climb the corporate ladder, gaining news stories and fame in a spectacular fashion. Good for him, and woe to me with all the questions, "are you related to the famous George Bodenheimer?" they'd ask., "you know, the lifetime Emmy Award-winning owner, chairman, president, CEO, and/or benevolent god king of ESPN, Disney, and ABC?"

Well, I didn't know! I had no idea. With all that hyperbole it certainly would be nice to know.

It turns out there are Bodenheimer families all over the place. Who knew. There are groupings in Waibstadt, Mannheim, Malsch, Worms, Israel, North Carolina, Louisiana, and more.

There are even other famous Bodenheimers: like Max Bodenheimer (of the Berwangen Bodenheimers) who appears on stamps in Israel., Jane Bodenheimer (of the Harthausen line) who married the actor Edward G. Robinson, and a bunch of Bodenheimer authors, professors, and banking geniuses -- some of who are even from my Waibstadt branch.

In any case, I have not been able to make all the connections, even after all these years of research. I have not been able to unite the clans! :-)

With all likelihood, George is probably related to the Bodenheimers of North Carolina, and I'm not related to them. I've done a lot of work on their tree trying to find the connection, and I've traced them all the way back to Johann Christian Badenheimer of Maxsain, Miesbach, Germany. Their name moved around a bit from Badenheimer to Bodenheimer, and then to Bodenhamer. All the same family, but nope, not my family.

So flash forward to 20 May 2019 at 6:11pm when I get an email that simply asks yet again, "Are you related to George Bodenheimer?"

This time, I've had it. I am now much better at this Cousin Detective thing after years of experiences, and I have a few hours left in the evening. I'm going to figure this out once and for all. I'm done with this! :-)

There are two basic ways to figure this out. Go to all the loose ends on my Bodenheimer tree and try to send lines down in hopes of hitting George. Or, the other option is to do George Bodenheimer's tree for him, working up the Bodenheimer line in hopes that it hits me. This is sort of like Mark Twain's old saying, "Why waste your money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics and your opponents will do it for you." Well, George isn't in politics, yet... he's just famous enough that he doesn't have to waste his money!

So, I start pulling records and using all the tricks of the trade and I trace his Bodenheimer family to his 2nd great grandfather, David Bodenheimer, and it is a new branch to me. They are all in New York, and they've been there ever since David came to New York in 1846. The New York Bodenheimers. Great, another branch!

David and his wife, Hannah arrived with infant daughter Caroline on 19 Aug 1846 aboard the Louis Philippe. Yes, that's early in American history. The Civil War didn't start until 1861!

American Packet Ship " Louis Philippe" Havre, 1837, by Frèdèric Roux (French, 1805–1870)

The manifest is not super helpful as it lists everyone on the ship as "from: Germany" and "occupation: Farmer."

19 Aug 1846 ship manifest of the Louis Philippe arriving in New York

David and Hannah had six more children born in New York, including George's great grandfather, Julius Bodenheimer, born in 1854.

But the real question is WHERE did he come from? That information tried to hide from me. It was a brickwall for a good hour or two. The first clue came from David's 1854 naturalization papers: he was from the Grand Duchy of Baden. Well, that's good. My Bodenheimer ancestors were from Baden too, and wow, what a beautiful signature. Marvelous! Not perfect, as Baden is a big place. It was a bit bigger than Connecticut, and it's now merged into the German state of Baden-Württemberg. But a Bodenheimer of Baden means I might actually be related to George!

27 Oct 1854 oath of citizenship for David Bodenheimer of New York

The 1860 census confirms that he is a master shoemaker from Baden, but that's the dead end. He died in 1866 and wasn't on any other census lists.

Stumped. I actually didn't even know his wife Hannah's maiden name (spoiler, it's Hirsch). And she was from Baden too.

Then I had a clever idea, a classic trick. When you hit a brick wall, go sideways. Remembering his first daughter was born in Baden, perhaps I can find a marriage or death for her that will list more details on her origin. Thus, that would be likely the city that David and Hannah were married in, and I could keep tracing. Well, I still to this day, don't know when their first daughter died. She did marry, but it wasn't any help (to me). Another cold lead.

So, it's a dead end. I'll never know. I'm going to bed. It's late. I'll check one more place... I'll check this little known German emigration site that is all in German. And guess what I found there! An emigration listing for David Bodenheimer in 1846 leaving Baden for Nordamerika (North America), and next to it was his wife, Hannah.

1846 Emigration records for David and Hannah Bodenheimer of Baiertal, Baden

I'm sure you probably missed it, but the town they are leaving is listed as Baiertal. Well, I actually KNOW about Baiertal as it is a suburb of Weisloch, and the literally the town right next door to Waibstadt. My Waibstadt! It is 19 km away down the road. We are getting actual close, and in genealogy close is good. People didn't have airplanes and cars back in 1846, so you usually married someone FROM THE NEXT TOWN OVER. Hello!

Baiertal to Waibstadt in 22 minutes

I pause, and then think. I actually have Bodenheimers from Baiertal on my family tree already. I wonder if there is a little lost David hanging out somewhere all alone.

So, I pull up my tree and search for David Bodenheimer, and guess what. Yep there he is. David Bodenheimer born in Baiertal, son of Simon Abraham Bodenheimer and his wife Rosina Regie Manasses/Moses.

David Bodenheimer, son of Simon Bodenheimer in my family tree (before connecting)

What's even more insane, is I already had found his birth certificate years and years ago. It's just been sitting there, waiting...

In the year 1814 at the 26th April in the morning between 9 and 10 o'clock here in Beuertal born: David, legitimate son of Simon Abraham Bodenheimer, protected-Jew (Schutzjude) here and his wife Regle born Mannasses, witnesses and also godparents were the in Wiesloch residing protection-citizen (Schutzbürger) Joseph Maier and his wife Giedel born Marx.

Proof that Simon is George Bodenheimer's 3rd great grandfather, and from my tree I can see that Abraham is his 4th great grandfather. And Abraham Bodenheimer of Baiertal is my 6th great grandfather. So, we are DNA cousins. We are blood relatives! Abraham Bodenheimer connects us both!

At 1:21am in the wee hours after midnight, I finally have the answer:

George Bodenheimer is my fifth cousin twice removed.

That means he is a 5th cousin of my grandfather, Edgar Bodenheimer. George's children are my father's 6th cousins, and his grandchildren are my 7th cousins.

One slight problem.

Our last names are not connected yet. My Bodenheimer name comes from the Bodenheimers of Waibstadt. George's last name comes from the Bodenheimers of Baiertal. I'm descended from Abraham's granddaughter who married a Wolfsbrück, whose daughter in turn married a Bodenheimer from the next town over: Waibstadt. I still haven't connected Abraham of Baiertal to my Josef Jehuda Bodenheimer of Waibstadt -- they were born a few years apart, and I don't know their parents. They could be brothers. I just don't know... yet...

Saying your family is from Posen is like saying you are from New York

2018-03-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Do you mean Posen, or do you mean Posen?

Well, do you mean New York, or do you mean New York?

In that way, Posen is just like New York. When you say you are from New York, do you mean New York State or New York City. Most people actually default to New York City based on our common assumptions, but the State is much bigger and probably has more people overall. Here in America, we assume that if you say you are from New York, then you are from the city. Most people when they talk about the rest of New York either say "Upstate New York" or "near Buffalo" or their exact town to ensure they are understood.

When my relatives came to America, they just listed Posen on their immigration forms. I'm sure your family did the same thing. The problem with that is that we just assume they meant the city of Posen, Prussia. However there are a lot of other cities in the greater province of Posen.

1848 map of Posen Province

In fact the Grand Duchy of Posen was about 11,000 sq miles large. About a fourth the size of New York state. It had a lot of cities in it besides the capital city of Posen in Posen. Cities like Kempen, Lissa, Rawitsch, Schroda, Bromberg, Gnesen, and Kolmar.

To make things even more complicated and confusing, the Prussian Province of Posen was divided into two government regions: Posen in the south, and Bromberg in the North. So, the address of the City of Posen was actually something like Posen, Posen, Posen, Prussia. One hint if you are indeed looking for the city of Posen: the German word to look for is Stadt Posen. It means Posen City, just like saying, New York City.

How to do genealogy research for family from Posen

First off, you are in luck. There are a number of great online resources for Posen research, and if you write to the registration offices they are very helpful.

The strangest part is that all the resources are in Polish, and you'll have to do some Google Translating to get around. After WWII Posen was given back to Poland. However all the records are still in German, so you are looking for are German language records on Polish sites. So, between English, Polish, and German you should be fine.

BaSIA: Your first stop is to visit the BaSIA Project, the Database of Archival Indexing System for all of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland region in west-central Poland). They have indexed over 4 million records, many of them with links to the original scanned images! There are birth, marriage, and death records. And not just for the city of Posen. All Posen!

Poznan Project: While working with BaSIA you may also try the Poznan Project, which is a sister project dedicated to indexing and transcribing all the 19th century marriage records for Posen. It can be helpful to find the exact record, and then go back to BaSIA to narrow your search down to find the image links.

Luft's Naturalized Jews of Posen: If you have any Jewish relatives, the book Naturalized Jews of the Grand Duchy of Posen in 1834 and 1835 by Edward David Luft is a really great resource.

Posen City Card for Isaak Wolff and Family

Posen City Cards: There is a treasure trove online. It is the City of Posen Population Census, and spans the years 1870 to 1931. These cards list out all the family members in a household along with their birth dates and places. Sometimes their death dates and address changes. These are amazing, and there is a searchable index! Now, these are only for the city of Posen, but like New York many many people ended up in the big city at some point. My own family was from Lissa originally, and they have a Posen City card for their time there.

Keep searching. You might just discover an entire tree of family members you never knew about!

My Cousin AJ Jacobs Has Written Another Great Book!

2018-01-08T10:43:00.003-08:00

I really love reading books by the author A.J. Jacobs, and have avidly consumed most of his written works. I only say "most" as I'm sure some article he wrote for a local newspaper when he was 10 has probably escaped my attention. In any case, one of the things I like best is that his smart and sarcastic insights are what I wish I could aspire to if I was any good at writing myself. His prose resonates with me, and his topics are mysteriously in-tune with my own life (yes, I too read the entire encyclopedia when I was in grade school).

In 2009 I briefly corresponded with him, and on 26 Oct 2009 I invited him to join the big family tree on Geni. A mere four years later on 9 Nov 2013 I got an email from Geni telling me that he had accepted! That's lightning response speed in the genealogy world -- you all know what I'm talking about: that one super important close DNA match who still hasn't responded to your many attempts to contact them.

Now, I'm not taking credit for getting A.J. involved in Genealogy. I'm not even suggesting he joined Geni at my recommendation. In fact, according to his story it was his eighth cousin Jules Feldman in Israel who was the tipping point. I only hope that my tiny grain of sand helped with the gravitational pull that eventually led to his involvement.

Well, as AJ does when he does get involved, he really gets involved! He hit the genealogy world full steam and I'm not sure they really knew what hit them. On 6 Jun 2015 he held The Global Family Reunion in Queens, New York, and in late 2017 he published a book about it all.

It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree
By A.J. Jacobs

I think the thing I like best about the book is that it is completely readable by anyone, and each chapter imparts an important lesson in a funny and down to earth manner. Gosh darn it, that's exactly what I've been trying to do with this site, and he just did it oh so much better! Game on!

No no, thank you Cousin AJ. This book couldn't have been more timely and on-topic, and almost seems like it was written specifically for me -- even though I know that it wasn't!

My Growing Family Memorial Day

2017-05-29T13:14:00.138-07:00

When I was a child, Memorial Day meant that summer was officially here. That it was time for beach, barbecue, beach barbecue, frisbee, and best of all... no school!

We didn't have any close family who were lost in war, so we didn't have anyone to remember at a solemn cemetery visit. We skipped that, and moved directly on to the fresh ice cream and swimming lessons.

Life was carefree and untouched. The meaning of Memorial Day was abstract and a little lost. Memorial Day honors those who have fallen in the line of service for their country. Not knowing any of those, we had to really stretch. We honored neighbor's cousins, friends of friends, veterans who died of old age, and even living veterans (forgetting that's what Veterans' Day is for).

As I've dug into our family history, I have found some of the fallen. Not very many, to be sure, but the list keeps growing ever year as I track down second cousins, third cousins, and more. Genealogy has many surprises, and finding relatives who gave up their lives for their country is one of the heart-stoppers for me (others include infant deaths and holocaust victims).

So on this Memorial Day here in the United States, I'm taking the time to list out my family's patriots who gave their lives in service to their country. Their home country is not always America, but it was the home country of my family. This is my personal memorial day, honoring those who've fallen in protection of their home and family.

The List of the Fallen

1914: Erich Lachmann, German in WWI France

24 August 1891 — 29 August 1914

Death of Erich Lachmann

Erich Lachmann was born in Berlin on 24 August 1891 to Louis Lachmann and his wife Caroline, geb Rosenbacher. Erich was my great grandmother Rosi's first cousin, and the brother to her close cousins Vera and Nina, both of who I knew about as a child -- I just didn't know that they had lost a brother in WWI.

Unteroffizier in the 6. Batterie of the 1. Garde-Feldartillerie-Regiment.

On 17 August 1914, the 1st Guard Field Artillery Regiment was assigned to the following command structure: 1. Garde-Feldartillerie-Brigade / 2. Garde–Division / Garde-Korps / 2. Armee and by clicking on the 2nd Guard Division you can see a list of all the battles that his regiment was involved in.

Berlin, March 13, 1915

The 2nd reserve of the first Garde-Feldartillerieregimentes (army artillery regiment) announced that the Unteroffizier (seargent) of the 6. Batterie (battery) Erich Lachmann, bank clerk, single, 23 years old, of the Mosaic religion, residing in Berlin, Wilsnacker Straße 29, born in Berlin, son of the master builder Louis Lachmann, deceased, last residing here, and his wife, Karoline née Rosenbacher, residing in Charlottenburg, at was killed in action at Colonfay on the twenty-ninth of August of the year one thousand nine hundred and fourteen. The exact time of death is not given.

The town of Colonfay mentioned in his death certificate is about 30 km due East of Saint-Quentin.

Erich died in the 3rd battle of the war while the 2nd Army was fighting in the Battle of St. Quentin on 29 August 1914 on the Western Front.

Western Front, WWI in August 1914

As the Germans advanced into France in August 1914, thus began The Great Retreat of the British and French forces. The Battle of St. Quentin (also called the First Battle of Guise) was one of a string of German victories along the way to the River Marne.

Erich is buried in grave 361 at De Le Sourd French and German Military Cemetery in Leme, France.

Erich was 23 years old and unmarried.

1914: Kurt Goldschmidt, German in WWI East Prussia

4 March 1887 — 11 September 1914

Death of Kurt Goldschmidt

Kurt Goldschmidt was born in Thorn, West Prussia on 4 March 1887 the son of Julius Goldschmidt and his wife Sophie, geb Wolff. Kurt was my great grandmother Rosi's 2nd cousin.

Unteroffizier Kurt Goldschmidt of the 11th company of the 148th infantry reserve died on 11 September 1914 at Klein Beynuhnen in East Prussia.

The Infantry Regiment No. 148 has announced that the officer (seargent) of the reserves of the 11th Company of this regiment, painter Kurt Goldschmidt, 27 years of age, of the Mosaic religion, residing in Berlin-Schöneberg, Kufsteiner Strasse 6, born in Thorn, unmarried, son of the merchant Julius Goldschmidt and his wife Sophie née Wolff, residing in Posen, died in action at Klein-Beynuhnen on the eleventh of September of the year one thousand nine hundred fourteen. The hour of death is not determined.

His exact military placement was 5. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.148 under the command of 74. Infanterie-Brigade / 41. Infanterie-Division / XX. Armee-Korps / 8. Armee and by click on these links you can build up a picture of where his regiment or division was positioned on September 11th.

Eastern Front in WWI, September 1914

On 11 September 1914, his regiment as part of the 8th army was involved in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes, which was a German offensive to push the Russian army back across the entire front out of Germany.

Kurt is listed on the honor roll for his regiment online under 11. Kompanie from the history of the 5th West Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 148, edited by Gustav Ponath.

Kurt's Gold Star mother, Sophie was murdered in the Holocaust.

Kurt was 27 years old and unmarried.

1914: Otto Scherk, German in WWI France

17 June 1889 — 30 October 1914

Otto Scherk was my great grandfather Ernst Levy's 2nd cousin. Both men were born in Berlin, and both served in WWI. Ernst made it out alive. Otto didn't; in fact he was lost at the very start of the war.

Otto Scherk was born in Berlin on 17 June 1889 to Herimann Scherk and his wife Rosalie, geb Fliess.

On 2 August 1914, Gefreiter Otto Scherk's regiment was mobilized for war in Berlin. He was in the 9th company of the 24th Infantry Reserve: Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog Friedrich Franz II von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (4. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 24 of the 12. Infanterie-Brigade of the 6. Infanterie-Division of the III. Armee-Korps of the 1. Armee.

All that information is important, as by viewing the history of his regiment, and his brigade, and his division, and the history of the 1st Army it is possible to figure out what battles he was in and where they all were on the day he died.

German Soldiers of Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 24 in December 1914 back at garrison Neuruppin outside Berlin

As part of the 6th Division of the 1st Army, the 24th was sent to the Western Front at the beginning of the war.

4th-16th August 1914 : Conquest of Liège
August 18-19, 1914: Battle of the Gette
August 23-24, 1914: Battle of Mons
August 25-27, 1914: Battle of Solesmes and Le Cateau
August 28-30, 1914: Fighting on the Somme
September 1, 1914: Battle at Villers-Cotterêts
Sept 4, 1914: Battle at Vieils - Maisons - Montmirail
September 5-9, 1914: Battle of the Ourcq
September 6-7, 1914: Montceaux - Esternay
Sept 10, 1914: Rearguard battles near Neuilly - St.Front
Sept 12, 1914 to July 1, 1915: Fighting on the Aisne
Oct 30, 1914: Battle at Vailly

Otto died on 30 October 1914 during the battle at Vailly, France which turned out to be an important battle as to the doctrine of trench warfare. It was the first battle in which the 1st Army produced an after-action report of the important lessons they'd learned about aerial reconnaissance targeting of artillery. The 3rd Army Corps also made first use of fire waves from which rolling barrages and box barrages were born, their success serving as the model for this new type of coordinated and carefully planned warfare.

The Battle of Vailly, 30 Oct 1914 in WWI France

Otto was 25 years old, unmarried with no children.

1914: Werner Gottschalk, German in WWI Belgium

9 July 1895 — 16 November 1914

I have a lot of Gottschalk relatives as they both married into the family and were direct relatives in a couple different ways. Gottschalk turns out to be a fairly common name, but if you have any connection to the Gottschalk family of Märkisch Friedland... well, that's my family.

Many of the families from Märkisch Friedland made their way to Berlin, but not Max Gottschalk. He stayed in Märkisch Friedland and at the age of 52 he had his only child with his wife Käthe: a son named Werner Gottschalk.

Werner Gottschalk with his parents Max and Käthe, c1900

Werner Gottschalk was born on 9 July 1895 in Märkisch Friedland, and was my 2nd great grandfather Louis Philipp Maass' 3rd cousin (who has Gottschalk connections via both of his parents).

At the start of WWI, Werner joined up with the Colbergsches-Grenadier-Regiment Graf Gneisenau (2. Pommersches) Nr. 9 out of Stettin (about 110 km west of his hometown). He was assigned to 7th company.

An important source for both his birth and death, including his regiment comes from a book listing all the Germany Jewish soldiers who died for their country in WWI. There are five listings for his town, shown below. Note that his death year is 1914 instead of 1915 as misprinted in this list -- he is listed in a German causality list from 31 Dec 1914, and his correct date of death is in the official history book of his regiment.

Werner Gottschalk of Märkisch Friedland

His 9th Grenadier-Regiment was in the 6th Garde Infanterie-Brigade of the 3rd Division of the German 2nd Army, and from the history of the 3rd Division we can learn a little more about his death. In the days before Werner's death -- 16 Nov 1914 -- his regiment was involved in the Battle for the fortified village of Wytschaete.

The reason I think the death year is incorrect above is that The Honor Roll of the Colberg Grenadier Regiment Graf Gneisenau (2nd Pomeranian) No. 9 lists Kriegsfrw. Werner Gottschalk as missing and declared dead at Wytschaete, West Flanders, Belgium on 16 Nov 1914 (not 1915). Company 7 lost many soldiers at Wytschaete during that period, and the information is more detailed. Also, that date a year later doesn't really correspond with any particular battle, while the 1914 absolutely does.

The First Battle of Ypres, in November–December 1914 was a component of the 'Race to the Sea', and from the 4th to the 14th of November, Werner's division was involved in the Battle for the fortified village of Wytschaete on the plateau of Messines Ridge. See also The Battle of Messines (1914).

Werner was 19 years old, unmarried without children.

1914: Paul Lachmann, German in WWI Poland

20 November 1885 — 9 December 1914

A random infantryman from R.I.R. 93

Paul Lachmann was born in Braunschweig, Niedersachsen, Germany on 20 November 1885, the third of four children born to Hermann Lachmann and his wife Henriette Sachs. Paul was my grandfather Edgar's 3rd cousin. He was named after his Uncle Paul Lachmann who died earlier that year on 10 January 1885 in Berlin -- my great grandmother Rosi's 2nd cousin

Paul joined the German Army in 1914 as a Grenadier and was assigned to the 8th Kompanie of Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment, Nr. 93.

The 93rd was formed up in Berlin, which is where Paul was living at the time, and was part of the 15. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade of the 1. Garde-Reserve-Division of the Garde-Reserve-Korps of the 9.Armee at the time of his death.

At the start of the war, the 1. Garde-Reserve-Division was attached to the 2nd Army and sent to the Western Front where they saw their first action on 20 August 1914 near Andenne during the Siege of Namur in Belgium.

Then spent a few more days fighting in the aftermath of the Battle of Namur (as the Germans called it) from 22 August 1914 to 25 August 1914.

The Battle of Namur in WWI Belgium, August 1914

Following that battle, his Korp was reassigned and transported to the Eastern Front between 26 August to 3 September, where they eventually were assigned to the 9th Army.

On 1 Sep 1914 Verlustliste Preußenthe published a report that Paul Lachmann had been lightly wounded in battle. Since he'd been in only one battle, it's sadly clear that he was wounded in the first action his regiment was involved in.

"8th Company Grenadier Paul Lachmann of Braunschweig -- lightly wounded"
Verlustliste Preußen Nr. 15 from 1 Sep 1914

By looking at the war record for his division, the 1. Garde-Reserve-Division, you can see that he was involved in a lot of battles on the Eastern Front after getting wounded in Belgium.

26 Aug 1914 - 3 Sep 1914 : Reserve of the OHL, transported to the Eastern Front
5 Sep 1914 - 15 Sep 1914 : Battle of the Masurian Lakes (Goldap-Angerburg) under the 8th Army
9 Sep 1914 - 9 Sep 1914 : Battle of the Alley
28 Sep 1914 : Battle near Jendrzejow as part of the 9th Army
30 Sep 1914 : Battle at Kelce
1 Oct 1914 : Battle near Bzin
4 Oct 1914 - 5 Oct 1914 : Skirmishes near Opatow and Radom (Battle of Opatow)
9 Oct 1914 - 20 Oct 1914 : Battle of Ivangorod
22 Oct 1914 - 28 Oct 1914 : Fighting on the Pilica
24 Oct 1914 - 26 Oct 1914 : Lipa
5 Nov 1914 - 15 Dec 1914 : Fighting near Czenstochau
15 Nov 1914 - 3 Dec 914 : Fights near Zarki

Then on 17 Feb 1915 it was reported that Paul had died in WWI two months earlier on 9 Dec 1914. He died in a hospital in Beuthen, Oppeln, Schlesien of an illness. It is not clear whether he died of an on-going infection from his earlier wound, if he never got better, or if he otherwise took ill as Winter rolled in. Perhaps the "lightly wounded" phrasing was vastly understated to keep morale up?

The horrific conditions in WWI were host to huge numbers of fevers, parasites and infections in the trenches, with the most prevalent being influenza, typhoid, pneumonia, sepsis, cholera, trench foot, dysentary, trench fever, and more. While 1914 is too early for the Spanish Flu Pandemic, there are clearly plenty of other diseases to choose from if it wasn't from an infected wound. Penicillin wasn't discovered until 1928, so there weren't any antibiotics to treat festering infections -- even from a "light wound."

In any case while the 9th Army was just outside Warsaw, he was 300 km Southwest in Beuthen at a Reserve-Lazarett, which is a military hospital established outside the combat zones during wartime -- a normal Lazarett exists during peacetime as an everyday city hospital. He died there on 9 Dec 1914, and I suspect Paul is buried in Beuthen.

1914 Map of the Eastern Front with starred locations of the 9th Army and Beuthen hospital

In total, Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment, Nr. 93 from Berlin lost 88 officers and 4,150 soldiers in the war.

Paul was 29 years old and unmarried.

1915: Leo Martyn, Australian in WWI at Gallipoli

December 1892 — 25 April 1915

Leo Dorman Martyn (1892-1915)

Private Leo Dorman Martyn of the Australian Infantry was born in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia in December 1892 to policeman Thomas Martyn and his wife Emily Maude Smith. Leo was my grandfather Kessler's second cousin via the Lukes and Martyn families of Cornwall. Leo went to North Goulburn Public School in New South Wales, and was trained as a blacksmith.

Leo joined up with the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion at Liverpool, New South Wales on 27 October 1914 -- service number 1381.

The 2nd Battalion was part of the 1st Brigade, charged with attacking Gallipoli. Leo was mortally wounded six months after enlisting during the first landing at Gallipoli in WWI on 25 April 1915.

Australian 1st Brigade landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 2915

During the Landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, the 2nd Battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel George Braund's command, came ashore in the second and third waves, landing a total of 31 officers and 937 other ranks. Upon landing, the 2nd Battalion dispatched two companies, 'A' and 'D' to assist the 3rd Brigade who were pushing inland towards a high feature known as "Baby 700", which overlooked the beachhead. One of the 2nd Battalion's platoons, under Lieutenant Leslie Morshead, advanced further than any other Australian unit, making it to the slopes of Baby 700, before a determined counter-attack by Ottoman forces drove them back in the afternoon.

After landing, Leo Martyn was in the group attacking at the top of the ridge about half a mile from the beach. He was struck by a bullet and fell backwards down the cliff, breaking his back. Leo died a few days later on 2 May 1915, at the age of 22, aboard a hospital ship as it was leaving the Peninsula.

Leo Dorman Martyn, final military accounting

Sadly, as is often true in wartime, that neat and tidy description of his falling was confused, slow in coming, and filled with false hope and rumors. From the accounting above, you can read that his parents didn't really get full closure until 1922!

25 Apr 1915 Leo is mortally wounded at the Gallipoli Landings at Anzac Bay
2 May 1915 Leo dies aboard a hospital ship and is buried at sea
15 Jun 1915 Military letter sent to Leo's parents informing them that Leo is "Missing"
Aug 1915 first rumors about him being a POW in Turkey
27 Sep 1915 Pleas from a District Railways Superintendent in New South Wales begging for any information about him being listed as "missing" for some time, which naturally distresses his parents.
13 Oct 1915 Letter from parents asking if rumors of Leo being wounded and a prisoner of war in Turkey can be verified.
16 Nov 1915 The matter is being investigated
2 Dec 1915 Still missing
12 Jan 1916 Unofficial POW report is just that. He is still officially "Missing" only.
31 May 1916 Official Court of Inquiry in Alexandria found "Killed in Action" confirmed and noted.
Jun 1916 Telegram sent listing Leo as Killed in Action on 2 May 1915.
11 Oct 1916 Father sends telegram asking for Death Certificate
27 Feb 1918 Personal effects returned to the family: a mirror and 5 handkerchiefs.
13 Jun 1921 Leo's father Thomas Martyn writes that while he still has no official notice of the circumstances of his son's death, he has heard from a Chaplin that he was seriously wounded at the landing and was taken aboard a transport, and that he was likely buried at sea. A fellow solider also had told him that he'd spoken to Leo about noon on the day of the landing as they were heading for the cliffs, and that was the last he saw of him.
4 Aug 1921 Memorial Scroll delivered to father.
8 Aug 1921 Father informs military that no medals have been yet received.
2 Sep 1921 Officer in Charge reports that medals are with Base Commandant at Victoria Barracks and have been dispatched to Mr. Thomas Martyn at the Police Station in Cobar.
1 Dec 1921 Medals and Memorial Plaque with King's Message received by family.
4 Oct 1922 Victory Medal delivered to family.

The King's Message

I've seen the 1981 movie, Gallipoli, with Mel Gibson, but now I really need to see the movie again. Urgently. With this new context, it will surely take on a new meaning to me. It will probably make me cry. I certainly didn't cry the first time I saw it back in the 1980s.

Leo Martyn is one of the honored heroes on the Roll of Honour each Anzac Day on April 25th. I only just discovered him recently, missing that date by about two weeks. Watch out for next year!

Leo was 22 years old, unmarried with no children.

1915: Arthur Bodenheimer, German in WWI Belgium

11 February 1892 — 9 May 1915

Arthur Bodenheimer's grave at Langemark

Landsturmmann Arthur Bodenheimer was the brother of Gustav Bodenheimer, listed below, and thus also my great grandfather Bodenheimer's third cousin.

Arthur Bodenheimer was born in Waibstadt, Baden on 11 Feb 1892 to Bernhard Bodenheimer and Adelheid Friedberger.

It took a long time to sort out and find his death, and I had to research every Arthur Bodenheimer to make sure that a certain grave on FindaGrave was actually his. Through a process of elimination, I'm 95% certain that the grave at Langemark German Military Cemetery near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium is indeed his.

Location of Ypres, Belgium

From the dates and places, it looks like Arthur and Siegfried Bodenheimer (listed next) were both killed about the same time at about the same place: May 1915 near Ypres.

Arthur's grave shows that he died on 9 May 1915 on the Western Front in Belgium, likely near Ypres.

Arthur was 23 years old, unmarried with no children.

1915: Siegfried Bodenheimer, German in WWI Belgium

5 January 1892 — 31 May 1915

Siegfried Simon Bodenheimer was my second great grandfather Benno Bodenheimer's third cousin on his mother's side. He was from the next town over, being born in Wiesloch, Baden on 5 Jan 1892 to Bernhard Bodenheimer and Mini Stauss. Siegfried is from the same Bodenheimer branch as ESPN's George Bodenheimer -- his second cousin twice removed.

Siegfried reportedly died in Aachen as a result of injuries sustained in the First World War on 31 May 1915.

After much research, I found a site devoted to the Jews of Aachen which lists Siegfried Bodenheimer, born 5 Jan 1892 in Wiesloch, living in Aachen of regiment 10. I. R. 161, dying in Aachen on 31 May 1915, in their list of the fallen.

Getting the regiment was a huge breakthrough as with that I was able to figure out that between 11 Apr 1915 and 4 Aug 1916 10. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 161 was part of the 29. Infanterie-Brigade of Aachen and 15. Division of Köln -- all part of the VIII Army Corps of Koblenz. And finally the 4th Army of the German Empire. With that information, I was able to discover that the 4th Army fought on the Western Front at the First Battle of Ypres in late 1914, and then faced the British at Flanders for the rest of the war.

WWI - The Western Front (1914-1918)

During May 1915 the German Fourth Army was involved in the Second Battle of Ypres:

The Second Battle of Ypres began in the northern sector of the Ypres Salient. It started on 22nd April 1915 when the German Fourth Army carried out a surprise attack against two French divisions holding the Allied Front Line. On that day the warm, sunny spring afternoon was suddenly shattered at 5pm with a devastating and frightening new development in modern warfare: a cloud of poisonous gas.

The Second Battle of Ypres comprised four phases:

The Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge, 22-Apr-1915—23-Apr-1915

The Battle of St. Julien, 24-Apr-1915—04-May-1915

The Battle of Frezenberg Ridge, 08-May-1915—13-May-1915

The Battle of Bellewaerde Ridge, 24-May-1915—25-May-1915

My best guess is the Siegfried was wounded at Ypres, and then died of his injuries at his home in Aachen. Otherwise if he died on the field of battle "auf dem Feld der Ehre," it was All Quiet on the Western Front the day he died as the battle ended on the 25th. He died on the 31st.

Writing about the death of the fallen in the war, the journal The Israelite of 17 June 1915 covered the loss of Siegfried Bodenheimer:

Wiesloch, June 12 (1915). Even in the local community, the horrors of war have not left their mark. On June 1, Siegfried Bodenheimer died at the age of 23, the hopeful son of our revered head, Mr. Bernhard Bodenheimer. The family is deeply saddened by the heavy blow that afflicts them and the whole community with them. In spite of his youth, the too early departed was already a fully trained merchant, and he had sought to expand his commercial career in various large trading cities abroad. For a short time he was destined to fight against our Western enemies when the enemy bullet struck him. May the consolation of the grieving family be found in the thought of God, and further protected from all misfortunes. We will keep faithful remembrance to those who have passed away.His soul is bound in the covenant of life.

Siegfried was 23 years old, unmarried with no children.

1915: Max Wolff, German in WWI France

5 July 1890 — 3 June 1915

German War Cemetery Neuville-St. Vaast

Max Martin Wolff was my great grandmother Levy's first cousin. Max was born in Charlottenburg, Berlin on 5 July, 1890 to Leopold Wolff and his wife Ida Wolff, geb Lazarus.

Max was an Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer) in the Artillery, a member of the Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regimenter No. 5 (of Würzburg), 9. Batterie. His peacetime profession was listed as Studiert Mathematik in Charlottenburg, ledig.

Max died on the field of battle in France on 4 Jun 1915 during the Second Battle of Artois. His death was on the third day of intense French artillery bombardments, launched to prepare for a June 6 infantry attack.

He was first buried at Soldatenfriedhof Farbus. After the war, in 1919, all the nearby German graves were consolidated into the Neuville-St. Vaast German military cemetery, which is located about 8 km from Farbus. Also called La Maison Blanche, after a nearby farm, it s the final resting place for 44,833 German soldiers. 8,040 were never identified and are buried in a common grave.

Max was 24 years old and unmarried.

1915: Fritz Lachmann, German in WWI Poland

26 May 1894 — 12 June 1915

Fritz Salomon Lachmann is my 2nd cousin 4x removed, meaning he was my great grandmother Rosi's 2nd cousin. He lived in Berlin, as did she and a great number of her Lachmann cousins.

Fritz was born in Berlin on 26 May 1894 to my 2x great grandmother Henriette's first cousin, Leopold Lachmann and his wife Rike Löwendorff. He was the 2nd cousin, once removed of Paul Lachmann listed above.

I don't have a lot to go by other than his death certificate and the amazing book that lists all the Jews who died fighting for Germany in WWI: Die jüdischen Gefallenen des deutschen Heeres, der deutschen Marine und Schutztruppen, 1914-1918

Those sources say that he was a Grenadier in the 9th Kompanie of the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 12 which was formed up in various places, including his hometown of Berlin.

The 12th Reserve was mobilized on 2 August 1914 and attached to 10. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade / 5. Reserve-Division / III. Reserve-Korps / 9. Armee at the time of his death.

Looking at the military history of the 5th Reserve Division, from 18 December 1914 to 16 July 1915 they were fighting the Battle of the Bzura River as part of the 9th Army.

Fritz died on 12 June 1915 in the trench warfare around Kozłów Biskupi, Poland on the Eastern Front, just before Russia's Great Retreat and the Battle for Warsaw.

The 9th Army's headquarters was in Łódź, which is where I'd expect him to be buried all things considered.

Fritz was 21 years old and unmarried.

1915: Alfred Rosendorf, German in WWI France

16 March 1897 — 29 November 1915

Death Certificate

Alfred Abraham Rosendorf was born in Danzig, Westprussia on 16 March 1897, the son of Gerson Julius Rosendorf and Thekla Rosendorf geb Lachmann.

This is relationship is a bit more distant, as Alfred is a third cousin of my great grandmother Rosi via the LACHMANN family. They probably didn't know each other, as his branch of the family moved to Danzig and my branch moved to Berlin.

Alfred is also a third cousin of Richard Julius Lachmann and Franz Salomon Lachmann listed later on this page.

List of the Fallen

Alfred's death was reported in Berlin in Dec 1915 as a Unteroffizer (Corporal) gefallen from the 3rd Compagnie of the Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 26. His final death certificate in Jun 1916 lists his official date of death as 29 November 1915, and his place of death as St. Pierre.

His regiment was part of the 13. Infanterie-Brigade / 7. Infanterie-Division / IV. Armee-Korps / 1. Armee.

On 29 Nov 1915 the German 1st army was around the city of St. Pierre in the Somme region. It doesn't look like there were any major battles at that time, both sides were dug in and stuck in a horrible trench warfare stalemate.

German Trenches in 1916

Alfred's division was mobilized as the 7th Infantry Division in August 1914 and sent to the west for the opening campaigns of the war. It fought in the siege of the Belgian fortifications at Liège, and then participated in the subsequent march into France and the Race to the Sea. The division then spent time in the trenches where Alfred was lost in Nov 1915. Without him, they went on to fight in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 in the same area, including the Battle of the Ancre right around St. Pierre. During the German Spring Offensive of 1918, the division fought in the Battle of the Lys. It then fought in the defensive battles against the Allied offensives, including the Hundred Days Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

His division was rated a first-class division by Allied intelligence and was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Alfred was 18 years old, unmarried without children.

1916: Alexander Hirsch, German in WWI France

20 May 1878 — 9 March 1916

Alexander Hirsch

Alexander Hirsch was born in Heidelberg on 20 May 1878. He was a lawyer in Heidelberg. His parents were Joseph Hirsch and his wife Rosalie, geb Kahn. Alex was my great grandfather Siegmund's 3rd cousin, who was also born in Heidelberg just a few years earlier.

Kriegsfreiwilliger Gefreiter Alex Hirsch was in the 6th battery of the 2nd Baden Field Artillery Regiment 30.

The history of 6. Batterie, 2. Badisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 30 is documented in these links for it's command structure throughout the war as part of 29. Feldartillerie-Brigade / 29. Division / XIV. Armeekorps / 7. Armee

By looking at the history for the 29th Division, we find that his regiment was positioned in Champagne from January to October 1916. At some point during the early part of 1916 he was either wounded or fell ill and was sent back behind the lines to a large war hospital in Sedan, France where he died on 9 March 1916.

The loss list just says "in einem Krgs. Laz" -- a Kriegslazarett is a war hospital, but a larger newspaper announcement reports that, Lawyer Alexander Hirsch, a war volunteer Private in the 30th Field Artillery Regiment died in the war hospital in Sedan after a short serious illness, at the age of 38, in faithful performance of duty in the service of his fatherland. The funeral will take place Monday, March 13, in the afternoon at 5 o'clock, from the mortuary of the Israelite cemetery in Heidelberg. Please refrain from paying condolence visits.

There are many photos of Alexander and his family that survived, and he has a memorial grave with his parents in the Heidelberg cemetery.

Alexander Hirsch on left with parents (seated) Joseph and Rosalie and siblings (standing) Hedwig, Friedel, and Heinrich

Alexander was 37 years old and unmarried.

Alexander's sister and four of his nieces were murdered in the holocaust.

1916: Franz Aberle, German in WWI Belarus

5 April 1878 — 27 March 1916

1916 death of Franz Aberle

Franz Kurt Aberle was born in Berlin, Germany on 5 April 1894, the son of Julius Aberle and Elisabeth Henriette Aberle (geb Wolff).

Franz was my great grandmother Rosi's 3rd cousin via the Wolff family of Märkisch Friedland. He was two years older than her, and they both lived in Berlin. I just don't know how close the families were and if they knew that they were 3rd cousins.

On May 5, 1916 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf the commander of the 62nd Replacement Battalion of Kulm Infantry Regiment no. 141 announced that the vice sergeant ( Vizefeldwebel ) of the 12th Company of the Infantry Regiment no. 343 Franz Kurt Aberle, 21 years old, Jewish, residing in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Eislebener Straße 12, born in Berlin, unmarried, son of factory owner Julius Aberle residing in Berlin-Wilmersdorf was killed in action as a result of bullet in the head at the Narocz Sea on March 27, 1916.

Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 343 was in the 172. Infanterie-Brigade of the 86. Infanterie-Division and by looking at the battle history of the 86th division, they were indeed fighting in the battle of Lake Naroch on the day he died.

Eastern Front in March 1916

Lake Naroch (Narocz, east of Vilna and north of Minsk in today Belarus) was on the Eastern Front

the Lake Naroch offensive - The Lake Naroch offensive in 1916 was an unsuccessful Russian offensive on the Eastern Front. The battle raged from March 21 to April 30, with Franz falling on March 27, 1916.

XXI. Armee-Korps memorial at Naroch

The 86th Infantry Division was under the command of XXXX Reserve Corps of the 10th army at the time, and General Lizmann sent the 86th north from Smorgon to assist XXI Army Corps in the defense.

In 1937 Leutnant a.D. Gerhard Neumann, a veteran of Infantry Regiment 343 wrote a book about it, Das Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 343 im Weltkriege 1914/18 which lists Franz in the honor roll.

Franz is most likely buried in a german war cemetery in Belarus near the village of Narach. After 10 days the main offensive was brought to an end with over 120,000 Russian and 20,000 German casualties.

Franz's Gold Star father and brother were murdered in the holocaust.

Kurt was 21 years old and unmarried.

1916: Paul Rosenfeld, German in WWI France

7 September 1895 — 14 April 1916

Paul Rosenfeld (1895-1916)

Paul Rosenfeld was the nephew of Hugo Lachmann, who was the first cousin of my great-grandmother Marie Levy (Wolff).

Paul Rosenfeld was born in Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany on September 7, 1895. During World War I, he served in the German Army as a Gefreiter (Lance Corporal) in the 8th Company of Reserve Infantry Regiment 202.

R.I.R. 202 was an early war unit, formed in September 1914 in Berlin, drawing its men from the replacement battalions of elite Prussian Guard Grenadier Regiments. It was subordinated to the 43. Reserve-Division, and its commander at the time was Major Karl Anders.

The Battle for "Toter Mann"

The 43. Reserve-Division was held in reserve until late March 1916, when it was sent directly into the Battle of Verdun. Paul's unit was deployed on March 25, 1916, to the left bank of the Meuse River, where they became engaged in the relentless German attacks on the infamous hills.

The hill known to the Germans as "Toter Mann" (Dead Man's Hill, or Mort Homme in French) was a critical and fiercely contested position, described as a "Blood Mill" due to the continuous and devastating artillery fire. Capturing it was essential for the German high command.

Paul was wounded on or around April 11, 1916, placing him only 18 days into the line of fire. His wounding occurred in the midst of a massive, renewed German assault on the Toter Mann and Côte 304 that had begun on April 9th. The fighting in April was a stalemate of brutal, close-quarters combat marked by relentless shelling.

Missing In Action

Official records from the Hamburg Red Cross Committee for German Prisoners of War confirm that Gefreiter Paul Rosenfeld has been missing (vermisst) since the time he was wounded near the Toter Mann.

Paul Rosenfeld in Hamburg State Association of the Red Cross

At the age of 20, Paul was lost during one of the most concentrated and terrifying battles of the war. Given the sheer chaos and intensity of the fighting in this sector, his body was likely never recovered or identified. His status as missing reflects the final and common outcome for countless soldiers who fought and fell at Verdun.

Paul was 20 years old and unmarried.

1916: Gustav Bodenheimer, German in WWI France

22 April 1885 — 19 April 1916

Grave of Gustav Bodenheimer

Canoneer Gustav Bodenheimer was my great grandfather Bodenheimer's third cousin, and a first cousin of Ludwig Bodenheimer below. Cousins Ludwig and Gustav were both from Waibstadt, so they knew each other. Gustav's brother Arthur Bodenheimer, listed above was also lost, and it looks like a third brother, Siegmund Bodenheimer could also have died during WWI, but only Arthur, Gustav, and Louis are listed as Gefallenen from Waibstadt.

Gustav's death certificate reads, the commander of the field artillery regiment nr. 241 reported, that the canoneer of the 7th battery of this regiment, merchant Gustav Bodenheimer, 30 years old, Jewish religion, last residing in Frankfurt/Main, Elbestreet 31, born in Waibstadt, county Sinsheim in Baden, unmarried, son of the merchant Bernhard Bodenheimer and his wife Adelheid geb Friedberger, residing in Waibstadt, at the battleplace Merancourt-Ferme (Verdun) at the 19th April 1916 past midday at 4 o'clock due to a wound is deceased.

German War Cemetery Hautecourt-lès-Broville

Gustav is buried along with 7884 other German solders at German War Cemetery Hautecourt-lès-Broville near Verdun.

Gustav was 30 years old and unmarried.

1916: Richard Lachmann, German in WWI Romania

23 February 1885 — 7 September 1916

Grave at Friedhof Ohlsdorf, Hamburg

Richard Julius Lachmann was my great grandmother Rosi's first cousin on her mother's side. Richard was a twin to Edwin Julius Lachmann, both being born on 23 Feb 1885 in Hamburg, Germany to Julius Lachmann and Emma Rose. Richard's twin Edwin died at 21 in 1906. Richard Julius Lachmann was a second cousin of Baron von Hünefeld who flew across the Atlantic the hard way in 1928 -- the first to do so.

Richard was a noted German geologist, famous enough to have his own Wikipedia article in Germany.

Richard's military records show that he was in the Jägerregiment, An Infanterie of the Jäger und Radfahrer Unit of Jäger-Regiment No. 3. 1st Battalion. (Oder Bayer Schneeschuh Bataillon 1). I think this translates to, "Bavarian Jägerregiment No.3 (1st Bavarian Ski Battalions)". Jäger Regiment Nr. 3 was originally formed in May 1915 as part of the Alpenkorps.

Richard died on 7 Sep 1916 during the Battle of Transylvania against the Russians and Romanians in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania (Karpaten-kämpfen).

The Battle of Transylvania was the first major operation of the Romanian forces Campaign during World War I, beginning on 27 August 1916. It started as an attempt by the Romanian Army to seize the disputed province of Transylvania, and potentially knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. Although initially successful, the offensive was brought to a halt after Bulgaria's attack on Dobruja. Coupled with a successful German and Austro-Hungarian counterattack after September 18, the Romanian Army was eventually forced to retreat back to the Carpathians by late October.

In the second phase of the offensive (3–10 September), the Romanian Second Army crossed the Olt river and captured Sfântu Gheorghe on 7 September. By the end of the second phase, the Second Army controlled all of the Brașov Depression, reaching the Cătălina-Arcuș-Vâlcele-Feldioara-Șercaia-Șinca Veche line.

In September, the elite Alpenkorps was dispatched to fight in the Romanian Campaign. The Infanterie-Leib-Regiment suffered a number of losses in the mountain fighting in Romania.

The exact details of his last days are written in his obituary as:

Im September 1915 trat er als Freiwilliger Schütze in die Schneeschuh-Erstaz-Abteilung in Immenstadt ein. Im Juni 1916 kam er als Gefreiter des 3. Jäger-Regiments ins Feld und machte die Stürme auf Douaumont vor Verdun mit. Er erhielt das Eiserne Kreuz für das Eindringen in das franzosische Fort Souville, über das er seinem Regimentskommandeur Meldung erstattete. Am 7. September ist er in den Karpathenkämpfen durch Kopfschuß beim siegreichen Sturmangriff am Carny Czeremosz gefallen.

This roughly translates to in September 1915 he joined as a volunteer Schütze in the snowshoe-Erstaz-division in Immenstadt. In June 1916, as a private of the 3rd Hunters Regiment stormed Douaumont before Verdun. He received the Iron Cross in the invasion of the French Fort of Souville, It was reported to his regimental commander that on September 7 he fell in the Carpathians from a headshot during the victorious assault at Cheremosh River.

Battle in the Carpathian Mountains during October-November 1916; German infantry firing rifles and machine guns and throwing hand grenades from a hill at left at Romanian and Russian troops, suffering heavy losses in foreground.

Richard was 31 years old, married with one child.

1917: Eugen Heymann, German in WWI Germany

12 April 1876 — 24 June 1917

Eugen Ludwig Heymann was born in Stuttgart on 12 April 1876.

Nr. 119

Berlin Friedenau, on 20 March 1918

The commander of the First Reserve Battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 27 has reported that the Musketeer in the Second Genefenen Company of this Reserve Battalion, the businessman Eugen Heymann, 41 years of age, of the Jewish religion, whose last residence was in Berlin Friedenau, and who was born in Stuttgart, in the district of Stuttgart, an unmarried man, died in the "Salvator Hospital" in Halberstadt on the twenty-fourth of June of the year one thousand nine hundred seventeen at nine o'clock in the morning.

After an official investigation, it was determined that the deceased had the given names of Ludwig Eugen, and lived most recently in Berlin Friedenau, Sieglindestrasse 7 and was the son of the businessman Siegfried Heymann and his wife Ernestine nee Grünwald, both deceased.

The registrar

Eugen was 41 years old and unmarried.

1917: Fritz Mecklenburg, German in WWI Belgium

18 September 1890 — 21 September 1917

Weissensee grave of Fritz

Fritz Max Mecklenburg was born in Berlin on 18 Sept 1890 to one of my great grandparent's favorite uncles, Max Theodor Mecklenburg and his wife Ernestine Lachmann. Fritz was a first cousin of my great grandmother Rosi's, and is related to many of the Lachmann family listed on this page.

Fritz had a brother and sister, and in fact my great grandparents Rosi and Siegmund signed as witnesses on his brother Gustav Max Mecklenburg's 21 Aug 1919 marriage to Anita Margarete Fischer. So, yes they knew cousin Fritz.

His official Berlin death certificate states that Fritz Max Mecklenburg died in Maria-Aalter, Flanders, Belgium fighting for the Germans on 21 Sep 1917 during WWI.

Maria-Aalter was an airfield between Ghent and the Belgian coast that were used as emergency landing grounds for the German bomber groups coming back from England, which strongly suggested to me that he was a bomber pilot — well, that and the text on his Berlin grave that says und Flugzeug ührer (and Airplane flyer).

As it turns out Bogol I was stationed to Maria-Aalter on 20 Sep 1917. Bogohl I was a Bombengeschwader der Oberste Heeresleitung (Bomb Squadron of the Supreme Army Command), that made up the Kampfgeschwader (Specialized Bomber Units) in the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service). In May 1917 the Bogoh I returned to Flanders and exchanged it’s AEG’s for the larger Friedrichshafen bombers. It is most likely that Fritz was piloting a 3-man crewed Friedrichshafen G.III in Sept 1917.

Friedrichshafen G.III in WWI

So, yes Fritz was a bomber pilot. He was a medical student before he became an officer in Dragoner-Regiment König (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 26, attaining the rank of Leutnant d.R.

Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Baron, was seriously injured at Wervik, Flanders on 5 July 1917, which is about 45 km Southwest of Maria-Aalter and 15 km west of the main airfields of Marke, Bissegem, and Heule used by Richthofen’s famous Flying Circus. Richthofen began his career as an observer for the bomber groups. Make of that what you will. Maybe they knew each other.

Fritz Max Mecklenburg's 2nd cousin Franz died in Flanders just a few days later (see next record).

On September 21st our beloved son and brother Fritz Mechlenburg, Leuteant der Res. died for the Fatherland as a pilot in a Dragoons Regiment of the Iron Cross

Fritz died from his injuries on 21 Sep 1917 at Maria-Aalter. Some references list Mariakerke as the place of death, so that might be where the injury was sustained. Most records state that it was a wound or injury, and one site denotes his death with an “i”, meaning he died of illness. So, that’s clear as mud, but certainly close enough for now.

Fritz’s body was returned to Berlin and is buried at Jüdischer Friedhof Weissensee along with his brother and sister.

Fritz was 27 years old, unmarried without children.

1917: Franz Lachmann, German in WWI Belgium

6 September 1896 — 26 September 1917

Lachmann Family Plot

Franz Salomon Lachmann was born in Berlin on 6 Sept 1896 to Siegbert Lachmann and Helen Henriette Cohen. He was the first-born son of four children, of which only one lived past the age of 23 -- his brother Kurt died at the age of 85 in the United States.

Franz was my great grandmother Rosi's second cousin on her mother's side, making him my 2nd cousin 3x removed. Franz Salomon Lachmann was also Baron Günther von Hünefeld's second cousin, who in 1928 was the first to fly the Atlantic the hard way.

According to the official death certificate issued in Berlin on October 2, 1918 (Nr. 1107), Franz Salomon Lachmann, a 21-year-old merchant of Jewish religion, was serving as a Gefreiter (Lance Corporal) in the 10. Kompanie Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 34 when he died from a wound at a military hospital (Lazarett) near Zonnebecke, Belgium on September 26, 1917.

Berlin Death Certificate for Franz Salomon Lachmann

Franz Salomon Lachmann, serving as a Gefreiter in the Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 34 (FR 34), was part of the 39. Infanterie-Brigade within the 19. Infanterie-Division. This division, in turn, belonged to the IV. Reserve-Korps of the German Fourth Army (4. Armee) and was deeply entrenched on the Western Front in Flanders, Belgium, during the latter half of 1917.

Franz Lachmann died from a wound on September 26, 1917. This date placed him directly into the thick of the Third Battle of Ypres, commonly known as the Battle of Passchendaele. Specifically, his regiment was defending German positions against the powerful British and Australian assault known as the Battle of Polygon Wood, which began that very day.

The fighting in this sector was characterized by continuous artillery bombardments, deep mud, and short, violent attacks, making it one of the most punishing environments on the Western Front. Lachmann was not killed instantly on the field but succumbed to his injuries at a military hospital (Lazarett) near the front, at Zonnebeke.

Franz has a grave in the Lachmann family memorial at Jüdischer Friedhof Schönhauser Allee in Berlin, although his body is buried elsewhere -- likely in Belgium.

Franz was 21 years old, unmarried without children.

1918: Max Frank, German in WWI Belgium

20 November 1884 — 8 June 1918

Max Frank was my great grandaunt Flora's brother-in-law. At the start of the war, brothers Max, Samuel, and Hermann volunteered for military service. Max died of his wounds in the last year of the war, while his brother Hermann went on to marry Flora Bodenheimer and have two girls -- cousins of my grandfather Edgar.

Max was a Landsturmmannin in 12 Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 88 of Mainz assigned to 21. Infanterie-Division for the course of the war.

Regiment 88 fought in the entire war from 1914 to 1918 starting first on 20 August 1914 at Longlier, Belgium on the Western Front, then to the Eastern Front for the summer of 1917 before heading back to the West in October 1917.

Max died of wounds on 8 June 1918, and just before that his division was involved in fighting on the Ancre, Somme and Avre in the trenches of the western front. He was involved in the Second Battle of the Somme, and was likely wounded in the aftermath of that offensive.

Western Front in WWI France, 1918

While some online trees have Max dying in a military hospital back in Mainz, his grave is number 191 (Block K) at the Menen German Military Cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium. Many German graves from 1917 and 1918 were consolidated there after the war. It's more likely that his death was reported in Mainz, the headquarters of his regiment, while he died behind the lines at a field hospital in German occupied Belgium.

Three of Max's sisters, his decorated WWI veteran brother Samuel, and three nieces were murdered in the Holocaust.

Max was 33 years old, unmarried with no children.

1918: Ludwig Bodenheimer, German in WWI France

23 April 1879 — 23 August 1918

Ludwig Bodenheimer (1879-1918)

Gefreiter (Corporal) Ludwig Bodenheimer was also my great grandfather Bodenheimer's third cousin -- a first cousin of Gustav mentioned above. I'm quite certain my great grandfather never met him and probably never even knew about him. However I have tracked down living descendants of Ludwig and reunited our Bodenheimer family!

Ludwig was born in Waibstadt, and died on the field of battle during WWI on 23 August 1918. He fought for Germany, and as I've read more of the history of WWI, it seems that the entire thing was a real mess and probably should never have happened.

From a single page of German military history, it looks like Ludwig was in 1 Infanterie-Regiment 87 as a Gefreiter, (Verlustmeldung 1874). That German regiment was stationed out from Mainz, only about 60 km south west from Bad Nauheim. They were assigned to the 21. Division, which was at Schlacht Albert-Péronne from 22 August 1918 to 2 Sept. So, from that, I can tell that Ludwig fell on the 3rd day of the Second Battle of the Somme, likely at the Second Battle of Bapaume.

Defaced by Nazis

While his body may be in a grave at Fricourt, a commemorative plaque to honor him and the other fallen of his hometown of Bad Nauheim was placed in 1921. Sadly, during the Nazi period, his part of the memorial plaque was defaced as he was Jewish. I've tried to do as many Photoshop tricks as I know to clean up the photo, but as you can see it's still a bit mangled. Many Jews fought for Germany in WWI, which is one of the reason that they didn't immediately leave when Hitler came to power -- they were decorated veterans or families of the fallen. What could be more German than that? His wife, what Americans would call a gold star widow, was killed by the Nazis on 30 September 1942 in Treblinka Concentration Camp.

Ludwig was 39 years old, married with two children.

1918: William Streeter, New Zealander in WWI France

July 1888 — 29 September 1918

William Sendall Streeter (1888-1918)

Lance Corporal William Sendall Streeter was my grandfather Kessler's 2nd cousin via the Lukes family. Both of their mother's were Lukes, and first cousins at that. He is not blood related to Leo Martyn listed above, William is the great nephew of Leo's great aunt -- so basically second cousins by marriage of the Lukes and Martyn families.

William was born in Addington, Christchurch, New Zealand and somehow ended up in Perth, Australia as a young man, probably looking for work as a miner. On January 9, 1917 he enlisted in the Australian Army.

He joined the 44th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force, Service Number 3351. He headed for England in June of 1917 and saw battle at Flanders Field and other places. The 44th was on-hand the day the Red Baron was shot down near Vaux-sur-Somme on 21 April 1918, and the current theory is that the Red Baron was shot down from the ground by Australian forces.

After that, in September 1918, he was promoted to Lance Corporal and the 44th joined the Americans at the Battle of St Quentin Canal in France.

He was killed in action on the first day of the main assault, 29 September 1918. He was buried 1,300 yards South of Bony, just West of the Road (approx). After the war, his grave and others was moved to the main Bellicourt British Cemetery.

William was 30 years old, unmarried without children.

1943: Edward Fry, American in WWII Italy

Edward John Fry, Jr. (1922-1943)

My mother's first cousin is probably the closest relative we've lost in war. Corporal Edward John Fry, Jr. was killed in action in Italy during WWII. He was born in Garrison, Benton County, Iowa on 3 December 1922. Edward Fry enlisted in the army on 3 October 1941 and went overseas with the first American troops following Pearl Harbor. He was in the US 133rd 34th "Red Bull" division, and after some training in Ireland they shipped out to North Africa. News that he was wounded arrived in Iowa in June 1943. At that time his division was securing the Chougui Pass near Eddekhila, Tunisia in preparation for the invasion of Scilly.

9 September 1943 was D-Day in Italy, as US troops landed at Salerno. It appears that Edward had recovered enough from his injuries to join his regiment as they crossed the Volturno river in Italy to secure the town of Alife. He was killed in action near Alife on 21 October 1943.

Edward was 20 years old, unmarried with no children.

1944: Harris Fehr, American in WWII Italy

Harris Wendel Fehr (1917-1944)

Harris Wendel Fehr served in the same "Red Bull" division as Edward Fry.

Harris Fehr served in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy; participated in Battle for Rome, 1944, invasion of No. Africa. Stationed in Algiers several months and was at one time attached dto Hqs. of Gen. Eisenhower as Honor Guard

He was born in Tama County, Iowa on 5 December 1917 and was Killed in Action on June 3, 1944 in Italy during the Battle for Rome, most likely near the town of Lanuvio, Italy -- that was where the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, wasa at the time.

Harris is a little more distantly related to me, as he was the first cousin of Dean Gilliatt's wife. Dean is the next entry.

Harris was 26 years old, unmarried with no children.

1944: Dean Gilliatt, American in WWII in the Pacific

Dean Willis Gilliatt (1920-1944)

This is probably the story I know the most about, and I need to sit down and properly write the entire case up. It hit me the hardest.

Dean Willis Gilliatt was born in Benton County, Iowa on 6 December 1920. He is my great uncle, Edward George Fry's first cousin twice removed. Edward Fry is indeed the father of the Edward Fry listed above, so that also makes Dean the second cousin once removed of Edward John Fry, Jr.

Dean was a Naval Aviator, flying off the U.S.S. Gambier Bay. He was killed in action off the coast of Saipan during the Pacific campaign. On 19 June 1944, the Wildcat fighter plane he was flying wasn't properly trimmed for takeoff and he crashed into the sea as all his shipmates watched in horror. His wife got the news of his death on the same day that his daughter was born.

The exact location of Dean Gilliatt’s fatal accident was 43.5 miles east of the island of Saipan in the Marianas at 15°12’00”N,146°27’00”E

Dean was 23 years old, married with one child.

1944: Leslie Martyn, New Zealander in WWII

Leslie Arthur Martyn (1911-1944)

Flight-Lieutenant Leslie Arthur Martyn was my grandfather Kessler's second cousin. I doubt they ever met, and I don't have any pictures from that entire branch of Martyn cousins.

Leslie was born in Kumara, New Zealand on 30 March 1911, the son of Edward Martyn and Jessie Andrews. He was one of ten children.

On 21 November 1944, his Lancaster Mk.I NN745 AA-A took off at 13:46 with him in the pilot seat. This was a three-aircraft operation to lay mines in the Oslo Fjord. Two aircraft planted their mines in good visibility and without opposition. One aircraft captained by NZ417082 A/F/L L. Martyn, failed to return.

All seven crew are commemorated on the Runnymeade Memorial.

F/L Leslie Arthur Martyn, RNZAF NZ417082 – Pilot.
F/O Thomas Issac Elliot, RNZAF NZ421364 – Navigator.
F/O Allan Roy Frank Dunkerley, RAAF AUS.423083 – Air Bomber.
F/S John Calverley Crabtree, RAFVR 1492180 – Wireless Operator .
Sgt. Charles Ronald Starkey, RAFVR 1863956 – Flight Engineer.
Sgt. George Lindsay, RAFVR 1624589 – Mid Upper Gunner.
P/O Andrew Roy Wright, RCAF J.88789 – Rear Gunner.

Leslie was 33 years old, and as far as my research shows no wife or children.

1968: Thomas Lukes, American in Vietnam War

Thomas Burton Lukes (1947-1968)

Thomas Burton Lukes is my mother's third cousin. I don't think she ever knew about him, as I'm not sure she even knew or met all her first cousins.

Thomas was born in Waterford, Pontiac County, Michigan on 18 December 1947 to my grandfather's second cousin, Thomas A. Lukes. His grandfather, Thomas B. Lukes was my great grandmother's first cousin. That's how cousining works.

Thomas was a member of company A, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 50th Infantry which served in Vietnam beginning on 22 September 1967. Thomas's tour of duty started 27 February 1968.

On day 137 of his tour, 13 July 1968, Specialist 4th Class Thomas Burton Lukes and another member of "A" Company (Ronald Pillow) were killed near the base of Cay Giep Mountain (about 14.346353, 109.085670) in Binh Dinh Province by a 105mm artillery shell that had been modified as a pressure detonated mine. Death was instantaneous. Thomas was promoted to the rank of Sargent posthumously, and awarded the bronze star for meritorious service. He is honored on Panel 52W, Row 23 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC.

Thomas was 20 years old, unmarried with no children.

Thomas B Lukes on Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Memorial Day's Real Meaning

I took an informal poll the last few days, with a sample size of about 4. Many people have been very lucky just like me. They didn't have any family members who were killed in wartime. They were able to enjoy Memorial Day without thought or pain. They honored the memory of those who've given their lives to protect our way of life, but it didn't really hit home. It wasn't really real. While I still can't even imagine losing a son, brother, father, or close friend; this growing still hits me where I live. It's real to me.

The lesson here is that genealogy makes history relevant and relatable. Memorial Day is not an abstract concept now. It's a real thing, and as you find your connections to history through genealogical adventures, you too will discover how many new things really matter to you. Truly matter.

Making Memorial Day more Real and Relevant with #genealogy https://t.co/BM6L5ZlhTq
— the Cousin Detective (@CousinDetective) May 29, 2017

Second Cousins Are Magic (Ancestry repost)

2016-07-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

Second Cousins Are Magic was originally written as a guest post for Ancestry Blog on July 22, 2016. I'm cross-posting it here in 2020 (back-dated to 2016) for completeness, updates, and follow-up.

Siegmund Bodenheimer, 11 May 1913 Berlin

“How in the world did you find those great old photos?”

“I wish my family had photos like that.”

“I’m so jealous, all our family photos were lost in the flood.”

We all hear comments like this from time to time, and there really isn’t a good answer to them besides that well-practiced air of mystery we all try to perfect. Revealing the magic trick behind your finds just doesn’t do all the hard work justice. The response to seeing how the magic is done is usually underwhelming. You also could have just been plain old lucky and found your grandmother’s scrapbook – something we’ve all had to sheepishly confess to from time to time.

Your relatives really don’t want to know the techniques you use in your craft. Sadly, it generally bores them to tears. However they do love and appreciate those photos!

Well, to those of us who love genealogy, it is all about technique. I’ll now let you in on the very secret methods I personally employ in my genealogical detective casework to find photographic treasures. Are you ready for the big reveal?

I Talk to Second Cousins

Second cousins hold the magic.

Second cousins have all the best photos. All those great-grandparents who we thought never had their photos taken, the copies of photos that were destroyed in the fire, the photos we thought were left behind when the family left with only the clothing on their backs. Yes, those. For some families, those photos may really be lost, which is sad. But it’s possible that there are people out there who do have copies of photos you don’t know about, people who you never knew about – your second cousins, or better yet, your parent’s second cousins. They’re the ones who may have those precious photo albums.

My second great-grandfather, Benno, was camera shy. I really didn’t think a photo of him existed anywhere in the world. When I finally tracked down one of my father’s second cousins in Brazil, what did I find hanging in his front room? Not one, but two photos of Benno! Right there on the wall in plain sight. My newly-found cousin was astonished at my reaction, as my jaw literally hit the floor.

“Why wouldn’t I have a photo of my great grandfather?” he asked.

Benno Bodenheimer's family at his 70th birthday 21 Mar 1915

That’s the key. Second cousins share great-grandparents. And some of their photos might also have the entire family, which means one of your grandparents at an early age!

When I showed that photo to another second cousin, he said, “Oh, I have a photo that looks like that but I didn’t know who anyone was.” He then sent me a slightly beat-up photo taken on the same day: you can tell by the hats!

Benno Bodenheimer with children at his 70th birthday 21 Mar 1915

It turns out that the mysterious Benno was not at all camera shy. I now have at least seven photos of him.

A Piece of The Puzzle

Another of my father’s second cousins now lives in London. His mother ended up with all the family photos by way of South Africa. My father had never heard of him, yet there they were – photos of his great-grandparents, grandmother, her siblings, and even second great-grandparents. One of the most interesting discoveries was that up until then, I only had two photos of my second great-grandfather, Emanuel Wolff. This included one that just said, “Emanuel Wolff 1901” on the back. Well, since he died in 1901, I had made up a story in my head about this being the last photo taken of him.

Emanuel Wolff 1901

Wolff Family in Pegli, March 1901

In the collection was another photo that told a great deal more of the story. It was a group shot, and it turned out I literally only had a small piece of the big picture. The notes on the back helped the story take shape. The family was on vacation in the Italian Riviera resort of Pegli. It was winter in March 1901, and the family traveled about 1,200 km south by train from their Berlin home to get some much needed warmth and sun. Emanuel died in December of 1901, some nine months later. So, it was not the last photo after all. It’s a completely different story, and one that I could not have heard without finding that magical second cousin.

Not to say that first cousins are a lost cause. They’re lovely people. You may have known them all your life. You probably know all their stories and photos already. If you don’t, well that’s really your first step: talk to your family. Actually, my motto is if all else fails, talk to your family, but you get the idea. This will also help you fill out the family tree so that you have a complete list of second cousins to trace.

It never fails that I finally track someone down, only to have my aunt tell me, “Of course I know Ronnie; we used to go to the movies together.” How does my family not understand that I am a genealogist?

Second cousins are really close relatives in a genealogical sense. They are the children of your parent’s first cousins. However, they often get lost in the shuffle, especially if you go up one generation and work on your parent’s second cousins. It is much easier to lose touch with your grandparent’s first cousins, whose children would be your parent’s second cousins. Don’t you dare refer to second cousins as distant cousins. Good grief, I have fourth cousins I still consider close.

How to approach your second cousins about photos:

Talk to your own family and get your tree filled out. Be sure to include all your parent’s second cousins by finding all your grandparent’s first cousins. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to look through everyone’s photo collections again.
Contact your long-lost cousins, and try not to sound like a crazy person. Establish your family credentials. Tell your story before asking any questions.
Tell them you are looking for photos. Many people are worried about your motivation. Their first instinct is that you want something from them: money. So ease their fears, and tell them right up front what you want from them: copies of photos.
Share the family tree with them, and share your photos with them. You’ll be amazed at how excited they are to see your boring old photos. Your photos are the ones that they haven’t seen, just as theirs are so special to you. It works both ways. Each person has a small piece of the puzzle, and they discount the pieces they have, simply because they have them.
The internet makes sharing digital photos across the world so easy. It’s truly an amazing time to live. If you don’t have a scanner, use something like Shoebox from Ancestry to turn your phone into a scanner.
Don’t get offended if they refer to you as a distant cousin. Try to repeat long-lost cousin as often as possible.

Second cousins may have more than photos. They could have juicy stories, scrapbooks, paperwork, letters, family lore, and much more. You’ll be surprised at how much you have in common with them. They are indeed family after all. Who would have guessed you’d have so much to talk about.

At the end of the day, my truthful answer to “How did you find those photos?” is a tired smile, and, “Legwork, lots of legwork.”

How to be an Agile Genealogist

2016-05-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

Albert Einstein's desk the day he died

Do you have notes and lists all over your desk reminding you of all those genealogy sites you need to visit? Those surnames your need to research? That e-mail you need to write to the family history center in your great grandparent's hometown?

How do you ever get anything done?

Well, I know way too much about the Agile software development processes. It's the same in the software world. Thousands of great ideas, and only the time and money to do a few of them a week. I can talk about Agile for hours and hours and hours and hours and I won't bore you to tears about why it is so amazing and awesome. Yes, it's based on Lean manufacturing principals, and all sorts of science. So what. For us in the genealogy world, there are just two things you need to know:

1) Prioritize your next tasks. Giant lists are not at all helpful. They are overwhelming. In Agile they call this your backlog. Manage your backlog. If you only research ten genealogy mysteries in the next month, what would they be? Put them in order on a shorter list: your "Prioritized Burn-down List."

2) Work on one thing at a time and finish it. As much as you think you can multi-task, you can't. Genealogists are human. Yes, and humans can only work on one thing at a time. This is called managing the WIP (Work in Progress). Do one thing; finish it, and move to the next. For you, your limit is one thing. That's your WIP limit. Teams of people can do more than one thing; and you are a team of one.

There, was that too painful? I actually introduced you to some important Agile terms: burndown list, backlog, WIP, and WIP limits. Easy stuff, and you're one step closer to starting that second career as an app developer!

How to Use Trello to Become an Agile Genealogist

Yes, all the kids these days are using Trello. Dropping Trello into a conversation with your granddaughter will blow her mind. Try it!

Step 1) Sign up for Trello, it's free!

Really, it's free for all the features you'll need for genealogy! Go to Trello.com and sign up! Do this now. It's the real deal. Millions of people are using it.

Step 2) Create your first board

The dreaded blank screen. Trello is so flexible, you can do anything you'd like. Therefore, it's easy to get stuck here. Follow me onward friends! Create a board called "Genealogy" or something sensible like that. Once you master Trello, you'll probably want to create another board called "Things for my spouse to do around the house" and then another and another. It's addictive.

Once you create the board you'll end up with this screen:

Step 3) Create your lists

Remember what I said about how giant lists can destroy your life? Oh, I must have left that part out. Anyway, the way to manage a giant list is to spilt it up into smaller lists. In the simplest Agile process, we create Kanban boards that have three lists: To-Do, Doing, and Done.

I recommend for genealogy, that your lists look like this, working in that same Kanban fashion left to right. All the things you want to do are on the left. All the things you've done are on the right. And in the middle, instead of just "Doing" you make three lists, Next Week, Tomorrow, and Today. So, five lists to sort things into:

Someday -- these are things you don't want to forget. They need to be on a list.
Next Week -- these items actually need to get done this month; they are just that important.
Tomorrow -- the priority short list I need to do when I'm done with today's work.
Today -- this is the one thing you need to do today. Finish it.
Done -- large list of completed tasks. Yay you!

Feel free to change the names of the lists to something that really works for you. An important part of Agile is the idea of trying something, reflecting on the experience, and modifying thing to work better for you. Add another list if you need one. I have one called "Daily" right next to Today that is a list of all the things I need to do every day, like Twitter, Facebook, and the like.

Step 4) Fill in the lists with cards

Now the fun part. Start adding cards to the list. Cards are the tasks you need to do. One card for each task. These are those Post-It notes that are all over your wall, desk, and computer. Click on "Add a card..." and type them in.

One rule about cards. Each card should be no more than a day's work. "Scan Photos" is a great card, but if you can't do it all in a day, you'll need to break it down into multiple cards. Step it out into things like, "Buy Scanner", "Sort photos to be scanned", and "Scan important photos from uncle's album".

I recommend adding all your cards to the "Someday" list. Type them in as fast as you can. Get them all into that horrible giant list catch all bucket.

Then sort the cards into their proper list. Just drag and drop. Grab the one card you need to work on today, and move it over to the Today column.

Next, ask yourself, "If I only do four things this week, what are they?" Find those cards and add them to Tomorrow's list.

Step 5) Do a Task and Finish a Card

Hopefully, the card in Today's bucket is called something like "Try Trello for Genealogy." Well, that's done. Move it into Done. Done done done!

Next, and this is important, pull the next card from the top of tomorrow's list. Drag it into the now-empty today column. Always pull the top-most card. Therefore, always put the most important next task at the top of your lists. Drag the cards around. It's actually fun and easy. You're a prioritizing wizard now!

I had to sit through two full days of time-management classes to learn how to break through the tyranny of the inbox, and you've mastered it in the ten minutes it took to read this post: take large lists and break them up horizontally into smaller, prioritized lists.

Advanced Features

Trello has some amazing features that will help you along the way. My favorites include the following:

Due dates: if something actually has to be done by a certain date you can get a reminder a few days before it's due. This tells you to find that card and move it closer to the top of the tomorrow pile.
Trello Apps: you can install the Trello app on your iPad, phone, or other mobile device and have your to-do list with you wherever you go. You can even add things to it, and it is all synched together.
Teams: Trello was actually built for teams, so if you have another researcher working with you, there is a good deal of communication and collaboration built in.
Checklists: each card can have a checklist of all the little tasks that can be checked off as you do them.
Photos: yes, you can add images to Trello cards. Especially cool when taking photos with your iPhone at a research center.

Seriously, sign up for a free Trello board today.

How to use @Trello to manage your genealogical research in an #Agile way. https://t.co/xTX95FsOr3 #genealogy pic.twitter.com/17Tfc1HDUL
— the Cousin Detective (@CousinDetective) May 13, 2016

All My Brick Walls are in Breslau

2016-04-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I like the sound of this title: All My Brick Walls are in Breslau. It would make a good book, don't you think? And perhaps it will be made into a movie someday, with some sort of Hollywood title change to make it a bit more catchy. Breslau Bricks (2020), starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Breslau is hip right now; Polish author, Marek Krajewski has written a large number of Inspector Mock Investigation books, with titles like Death in Breslau, Phantoms of Breslau, and The End of the World in Breslau.

Breslau, when my ancestors lived there was German. It was the capital city of the Prussian province of Silesia. It became part of the German Empire when that was formed in 1871. In much earlier history, like around the year 1000, it was in the Kingdom of Poland (with a little back and forth between Poland and Bohemia), so after World War II it was given back to Poland. It is now the largest city in western Poland, and has been renamed Wrocław.

I've even created a Pinterest board for Breslau, to get a better feeling of what the old city looked like back in the day.

Why I am so far off topic, well I'm getting to that. The gist of it is that doing German research in Poland while speaking English is quite an interesting task. Many of the German records for Breslau are in Poland, and some are accessible via Polish-language websites that are starting to pop up. But, all the records are in that old German handwriting I love and hate. I am getting much better with that. It turns out my personal problem with genealogy and family research is that I grew up in the United States. I didn't learn German or Polish in school. Luckily, Google's automatic translation is starting to get almost good enough to surf a Polish site. Almost.

Which is why my helpful color-coded family history wheel is missing a ton of information in Silesia.

The Brick Walls of Silesia

Is that a better book title? In any case, I'm throwing this out to the world. Here's where I am stuck. The area in and around Breslau of Silesia. I'd love to hear some suggestions. Can you help?

OBST - Louise OBST born in Breslau around 1845? Had a daughter, Emilie on 31 January 1863 in Breslau. I need to find that birth record! I also found Louise's sister, Marie whose death certificate listed their father as Fritz OBST. I have zero information on him. One clue that might help narrow the search is some old photos with the photographer mark listing the city as Deutsch Lissa -- now a part of greater Wroclaw (Wrocław-Leśnica).

POACH - Fritz's wife was listed on that same death certificate as Johanna POACH. I'd guess Johanna was born about 1825. Daughters born about 1845 and 1855.

MANSEL - Carl MANSEL fathered daughter Emilie with Louise OBST, but it is suspected that they did not marry.

ZIMMER - I have never found an 1863 birth record for Paul John ZIMMER, whose father was very likely Eduard ZIMMER. While not technically Breslau, the Zimmer family lived in nearby Reichenbach -- which took me a long time to figure out since there are 27 different Reichenbachs! My Reichenbach is now Dzierżoniów, Poland.

PETAU - Pauline PETAU, born 3 February 1836 was Paul Zimmer's mother.

Ideas for Searching Breslau

Here are some the suggestions I've had so far in my genealogy research; and I'll add more as they come in.

Breslau

City Directories - Address and Business Directory for Breslau, 1884 to 1887
Birth Records - searchable Breslau civil registration of birth records
Standesamt Breslau I, II, and III - Index of the Breslau civil records currently online
Protestant Church Books - there are a great number of Evangelische Kirche Breslau entires. Too many! Which one is the closest to Deutsch Lissa?

Reichenbach

FamilySearch Films for Poland, Wrocław, Dzierżoniów - Church records; this is my next logical step after any online options are exhausted (in the old days I would have started here)

Many thanks for any and all help!

Who Are All These People? (MyCanvas repost)

2016-04-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

Who Are All These People? was originally written as a guest post for MyCanvas Blog on April 12, 2016. I'm cross-posting it here in 2020 (back-dated to 2016) for completeness, updates, and follow-up.

Benno’s Photo

Many years ago, in the very early dawn of the internet, a complete stranger sent me an e-mail from Israel about his genealogical research into the family of Ludwig Bodenheimer. Ludwig was my great grandfather’s brother. I’d only recently discovered that he even had a brother, and that we had living Bodenheimer relatives here in the US. Anyway, this random chap thought he might have found a picture of Ludwig’s father, Benno Bodenheimer. He wasn’t sure, but wanted to share it with me, as it would be the first known photo of my great great grandfather. I’d heard about Benno many times, and never thought I would see a photo of him. This was great news, and the photo was attached to the e-mail for immediate gratification.

(Bodenheimer Family Photo, circa 1918: Ludwig, L; Benno? R)

In April 2008 I joined a new collaborative genealogy site called Geni, and I posted my only photo of Benno to his Geni profile. There it happily sat for a couple years. I’d almost completely forgotten that the photo “might” be Benno.

But I Don’t Have Relatives in Brazil

Then one day I opened my e-mail to find a message from another complete stranger, this time from Brazil, telling me that the photo of Benno Bodenheimer on Geni was most certainly not Benno. I hope I wrote back something short and nice, but I think it actually came across more like an accusation of, “who in the world are you and what makes you think that I could have possibly posted wrong information?”

Well, the gentleman in Brazil wrote back that he was the great grandson of Benno Bodenheimer. And furthermore, he would certainly know what his great grandfather looked like as he had photos of him hanging in his front room. What? That would make him my Dad’s second cousin. How would I not know about him? Well, to make a long story short, it turns out he was actually telling the truth and sent me some photos to prove his connection (I have since met him, and he’s wonderful).

(Bodenheimer Family Photo, circa 1915; Benno Bodenheimer)

Finally, an authoritative photo of the camera-shy Benno Bodenheimer! But that wasn’t the only photo he sent me… no, he also sent me a real mystery that I wouldn’t solve for years.

The Real Mystery

(Bodenheimer Family Photo, circa 1915: The Benno Bodenheimer Family)

Yes, this is it: a simple family photo. Armed with the newly acquired reference photo, I can deduce that the one and only Benno Bodenheimer is seated right smack in the center, with his family gathered around him.

Here’s the issue. My newly found Brazilian cousin didn’t know who any of the people were. Nothing was written on the back. All he knew was that all of Benno’s children, and their related spouses (if applicable), were there. But, as to which were which? Nothing.

Who are all these people?

Solving The Case of Benno’s Family

Here are the steps I took in figuring out each and every person in this priceless family photograph:

Family Tree: I made sure I had a complete family tree for Benno, including his three wives, two sons, and six daughters. I needed marriage dates and names of all his children’s spouses, as they were potentially in the photograph.
Build a Bigger Tree: And, being the Cousin Detective, I needed to find all the descendants so that I could reach out to living cousins in the following steps. This involved finding all the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of the people in the photograph.
Ask Your Relatives: I always seem to do this last, but this time I did it first. Yay me! I numbered each person in the photo, and sent the numbered photo around to all the descendants I had contact with so they could help pick out their grandparents (most people have photos of their grandparents). This step took a while, as over the years I kept finding new cousins who might be able to help.
Couple Up: Generally speaking, it is likely that a married couple will stand together in a photo. It doesn’t always happen, but there seem to be at least two or three obvious couples, so figuring out one of them is a good clue to the other.
Find More Photos: I scoured the world for reference photos, and I was able to find other group photos that had annotations. For example, I got a photo from another second cousin that was clearly labeled on the back. It was bittersweet to finally be able to identify the Rosenzweigs, knowing they had been killed in Stutthof concentration camp along with their two young daughters during the Holocaust.

(Bodenheimer Family Photo; Flora, Leni, Bella, Felix, Helene, and Hermann)

Meet The Bodenheimers

The years have passed, and I can finally call this case closed.

Using disqualifying date ranges, I was able to figure out that it was most likely the occasion of Benno’s 70th birthday on 21 March 1915. And, by finding a small photographer’s mark in the bottom right corner, it’s certain that the photographer was Oskar Ensslinger of Darmstadt, Germany (about 60 km north of Benno’s Heidelberg 1915 home).

(Bodenheimer Family Photo; Close-up of Photographer’s Mark)

As for the people, everyone has been identified; so let’s meet them.

Standing, left to right: Siegmund Bodenheimer, Bertha Loeb née Bodenheimer, Arthur Loeb, Betty “Bella” Rosenzweig née Bodenheimer, Felix Rosenzweig, Elsa “Minna” Lauchheimer née Bodenheimer, Heinrich “Henry” Lauchheimer, Else Bodenheimer née Hahn, Flora Frank née Bodenheimer, and Ludwig “Louis” Bodenheimer

Seated, left to right: Rosi Bodenheimer née Maass, Klara Ruben née Bodenheimer, Rosa Bianca Bodenheimer née Loeb, Benjamin “Benno” Bodenheimer, Selma Uhlfelder née Bodenheimer, and Philipp Uhlfelder.

(Bodenheimer Family Photo; The Bodenheimer Family, fully annotated)

About the Cousin Detective

The Cousin Detective is written by Dan Bodenheimer, and is dedicated to solving mysteries in family trees, telling funny stories about the amazing things that happen during the investigations, and trying to keep a sharp sarcastic sense of humor fully engaged at all times.

Genealogy draws on many of Bodenheimer’s professional and personal strengths, the most rewarding is connecting people together to build the family tree in collaboration and sharing all the photos that are discovered in the process.

Follow the Cousin Detective’s mysterious cases by visiting http://www.cousindetective.com/ or click on your social media site of choice: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest.

Upcoming Guest Bloggers

Last Week – Madam Ancestry – “Family Friday”

Next Week – Lynn Palermo – “Family History: From Blog to Book”

April 26, 2016 – Elizabeth Goesel – “Creating Your Family Museum”

See all 15 Guest Bloggers.

Tip: Read The Latest MyCanvas Guest Blog Series

2016-04-12T11:06:00.001-07:00

MyCanvas was originally part of Ancestry.com, as a product line featuring ways to print you family tree in many different ways -- including photobooks, posters, collages, calendars, and the like. They were acquired by Alexander's a while back, and continue to offer some really beautiful options for displaying your family history.

MyCanvas Guest Blog Series

Yes, I'm slowly getting to the real point. I was asked to be part of their latest Guest Blog series, and I jumped at the chance to write a story about one of the first real mysteries I was presented with -- one that took me years to solve.

Who Are All These People?

The case I wrote up is all about this old family photograph, and how I figured out who everyone was. There are a number of methods I used, and all of them were required in order to figure out the names of each and every person pictured.

Read all about Who Are All These People? by The Cousin Detective and then tweet and follow the hashtag #MyCanvasGBS to join the conversation.

Who Are All These People? How to identify mystery people in old photographs. #MyCanvasGBS https://t.co/1jUQD9LFgf pic.twitter.com/CFPkoGqysM
— the Cousin Detective (@CousinDetective) April 29, 2016

How to Scan your old Family Photos

2016-04-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a few old family photos that are unlabeled. Mystery photos! Well, the only way to figure them out is to get more photos. Every member of your extended family has some piece of the puzzle, and the goal is to get all the pieces into one place so that everyone can share them, view them, and start bringing the big picture into focus.

The best way to do this, in this day and age, is to digitize all the old photos and put them somewhere on the internet where family members can comment on them.

So, how to digitize them!

The 4 Ways to Digitize Your Precious Photos:

Camera: I know it's strange to start a scanning discussion with "don't scan them", but with today's digital cameras and latest smartphones you can do a decent job of digitizing an old photo by just taking a picture of it. In fact, the really professional operations who are digitizing all the known records around the world use a camera set-up. At least 12MP.

A Service: Also, nobody has time to deal with this. There are many services that will scan your photos and clean them up a bit. A good one is ScanCafe.com, and there are others. The nice thing about these services is that they do slides (remember those) and just about anything you can put into a box and send them.

Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II

Friend or Family: Ask somebody with a scanner to do it for you. I often scan photos for my family; practically begging them to mail me their precious family albums so that I can scan and share them with the family and then next-day them right back to their owner.

Scanner: a decent flatbed scanner is actually not that expensive anymore. There are really good ones under $200. You just need to make sure you scan at least 600 dpi, going up to 1200 dpi for small images.

And now share them!

The importance of sharing these photos can not be ignored. That old picture of your great grandfather means something incredibly special to possibly hundreds of people. Share it. And likewise, you'll be astonished that people have photos you never knew existed.

Create a Facebook group private to your extended family, or post them on Google Photos and send out links.

How to Color Code Your Genealogy for Places

2016-03-27T20:49:00.003-07:00

Previously, I wrote about how to color code your genealogy family research by family using the fan charts from FamilySearch. Well, a recent rush of tweets about #MyColorfulAncestry inspired me to take it a step further.

What about Places?

Color coding isn't just for family surnames anymore! Nope, it can actually be even more useful than that. It an actually help with focusing your research. You can color code by places!

Using the amazing Ancestor Graph tool from HistoryLink, I automatically created the basic color wheel just by authorizing HistoryLink to pull in all my Geni data. Once the chart displayed, I realized that I had a bunch of holes that needed to be researched, and a lot of the data I had entered wasn't consistent. So, after only a slight side-track, I brought the wheel into Photoshop and changed the colors and added my own text labels.

Ta-dah!

Places of Birth Color Wheel

Wait, Why Places?
It took me a lot longer to figure this out than it should have. Surnames are nice and all, but where exactly your ancestors came from is really really important. You don't realize just how important they are until you have to figure out which of the 27 Reichenbach's your family came from. All the records you need are most likely somewhere near those places.

Looking at the color wheel, you can see that my relatives didn't just come from "Posen" as I first heard. Nope, they came from a bunch of specific places in Posen.

Also, you can see that I still have a lot of work to do in Silesia, which was part of Prussia back in the day -- it now lies squarely in Poland, and I just haven't what I need yet. Yet.

Another quick tip. Use the names of the places as they were back when your family was there. For example, Waibstadt is now in Baden-Württemberg, but that's nice. My family lived in Waibstadt before 1871 and at that time it was in the Grand Duchy of Baden. Focusing my research on just Baden allows me to ignore the huge areas of Württemberg, Hohenzollern, and Swabia that joined Baden to officially become Baden-Württemberg on April 25, 1952. It's all about narrowing the focus.

How to Create a Places Color Wheel for Your Family Tree

1) Update Geni with all your family tree information -- most of it might even already be there.

2) Run Ancestor Graph and change the display options to "by region, country of birth"

3) Fix errors that you can now see extremely clearly

4) Download the final image once you've gotten it looking better

5) Photoshop the final image to update the colors to match your standards and to add text

6) Tweet it out and post it to Facebook to show the world

7) Research those missing gaps now that you have reminded yourself where you need to look

Tip: Ask Facebook about your Genealogical Brick Walls

2016-03-19T15:25:00.003-07:00

There are now more than one billion people on Facebook every day. That's a lot of people, and maybe one of them can help you. What are the odds?

All of us have that famous family tree brick wall that we've been starring at for years. It happens to all of us. I finally caved in and asked Facebook about my brick wall. I wrote up the question and posted it to one of the many Facebook groups devoted to genealogy. This group was specifically devoted to Posen, a German province in Prussia that is now part of Poland. Posen is Poznan in Polish.

I rewrote my question a couple of times as people asked me great questions that I should have anticipated, like years, names, and places -- data that has to be included in order to get a good answer. I know that many of us get lazy and write short questions, or we don't give all the information so that we can do a double-blind confirmation if someone comes back with what we already know. However, in order to really get the best answers from the thousands of experts (out of one billion), you need to give them the best information you have. Many of them will devote research time on your question, for free, on their own time, and they are far more likely to do that if you give them a good rich question.

In my case, one person told me I should check out the Posen Project website. Duh! I'm obviously working on this area, and have used that site many many times. Anyone who knows how to use Google finds the Posen Project on their first search. How very remedial and somewhat demeaning. So, before writing something snarky back to them, I realized I hadn't been to the site in a few months and I better double-check. So, off I went, and boom! There it was. The marriage record that would break down the brick wall! Yes, they keep adding records. Every day.

Thank you Facebook!

Reasons to Ask Facebook:

1) One Billion: There are over one billion, with a "b", users each day.

2) There's a group for you: there are so many groups of Facebook, that it's very likely that there is one devoted to your area of genealogy. Thus, the people in that group are even better equipped to give you some good advice and maybe some answers.

3) Articulation: By just writing down your question, and making it a good question, you help yourself figure out just what you really need. Figuring out your exact problem is often more than half the issue, and the act of writing sometimes gets you to focus on what that really is.

4) Reminders: Sometimes, someone will remind you of something very basic and fundamental. And sometimes those reminders are really the best thing, as they you bring back to the foundations and force you to get it absolutely right.

The Cousin Detective

How to Find a Cousin (With Only Breadcrumbs and Sheer Stubbornness)

The Maass family of Märkisch Friedland

Clue 1 — Start with a Birth You Can Point At

Clue 2 — Connect a Death That Talks Back

Clue 3 — Newspapers: Where Families Quietly Shout

Clue 4 — Marriages Are Mini-Censuses

Clue 5 — Königsberg Records Sweep

Clue 6 — Hulda’s Death

Clue 7 — Hulda’s Death Notice

Clue 8 — The History You Wish You Didn’t Need

The Payoff — Great Grandchildren Who Prove the Paper Trail Breathes

The Maass Cast of Characters Just Got Bigger

Closing Thought

The German Forger: The Story of Berthold Bodenheimer in Australia

FIRST SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH CABLE LAID BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

JOHN ELDER ARRIVES, BRINGING NEW HOPE AND GOODS TO AUSTRALIA

GERMAN COMMISSIONER ROBBED, THIEF AT LARGE

CAUGHT BY TECHNOLOGY, TELEGRAPH TIP-OFF LEADS TO ARREST

BODENHEIMER IN NSW POLICE CUSTODY AFTER FLIGHT FROM JUSTICE

FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS AT TRIAL TODAY

IMPROVED LIVING CONDITIONS FOR INMATE

FORGER'S RELEASE MARKS NEW BEGINNING

Francis Wolff, Blue Note Jazz Photographer and Cousin

Francis Wolff - Wikipedia

Francis Wolff - MoMA

Francis Wolff - Jazz Images

Bodenheimer villa Jagowstraße 29-33 in Grunewald

1920

1927

Many family photos feature the large garden and grounds of the villa's estate.

There was at the end of the lot was a garage and behind the garage was a flower garden which... with a gold... a little pond with goldfish. And it was all really very pretty, very peaceful, and it was quite an elegant setting. —Gerda Blau geb Bodenheimer, 1979

Helga with cousin Ruth Maass at goldfish pond, c1927

Tello

1931

Siegmund with wife Rosi in the garden, c19311933

1934

1936

Siegmund Bodenheimer arrived in New City on 29 Sep 1936 aboard the SS Berengaria.

1938

Kristallnacht, 9 November 1938.

1939

By 1939, the situation for Jews in Berlin was intolerable. In April 1939 the Frankfurther children left Berlin for England with their parents following on one of the last flights out of Germany in late August.

Vera Lachmann abandoned her school at Jagowstraße for the United States in November 1939, assisted by friends in both countries. In 1944 Vera established Camp Catawba in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina.

1943

1944

1945

1953

Claude Heilman, Film Producer and Cousin

The Lachmann Family of Graudenz

The Lachmann Family of Neuenburg

Meet Claude Heilman (born Klaus Heilmann)

The Hollywood Adventures of Claude Heilman

The Furnace Within (1954)

Forever and Ever (1955)

The Earth Is Mine (1959)

Islandia (1959)

William The Conqueror (1960)

Desamor (c1962)

The Odyssey of Justice Lee (1963-1966)

The Taos News, Thursday 29 August 1963

Movie May Be Filmed Here

The Taos area is being considered—again—for a movie location.

Taos C of C Manager W. B. McCollum has had correspondence and telephone talks with Claude Heilman, location chief for United Film Associates International, Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood.

The Film story, dated in the 1860's, is set in a lush valley of northern New Mexico, with mountain ranges in the background and extensive ranch country including cattle and horses. The C of C furnished the studio with a listing of area, ownership and description of major ranches in the area.

By November, more details were forthcoming, and the dates had been pushed.

The Taos News, Thursday, 14 November 1963

Now It's March For Film

Looks like it'll be March before that movie company starts filming here. That's the word from Claude Heilman of United Film Associates International, Goldwyn Studios.

Said he in a letter to Taos C of C Manager W. B. McColum:

"Present plans call for the locations to be filmed in the area of Taos, the Red River valley and with the gratefully appreciated cooperation of the CS Ranch in the Cimarron valley."

Sound General Quarters (?)

This film appears in Claude's listing in the International TV & Video Almanac and nowhere else. Perhaps the name was changed and it still never came out? A mystery. Likely about Pearl Harbor or some other major military battle the US Navy was involved in.

The Adventures of Gulliver (?)

Another mystery entry in the International TV & Video Almanac that remains ellusive. There is a 1968 television cartoon series of The Adventures of Gulliver by Hanna-Barbera. And while 1968 is in the right timeframe, I can find no evidence of Heilman's involvement. The Italian Goes Home (1966)

IMDB

Cousin Bait

Top 10 Ways to Break Down Your Genealogy Brick Wall

The Missing Photo of Hedwig's Grandchildren

Did you know Denyse Magnhild Neustadt of Wembley?

Siegmund with wife Rosi in the garden, c1931

1933

Another mystery entry in the International TV & Video Almanac that remains ellusive. There is a 1968 television cartoon series of The Adventures of Gulliver by Hanna-Barbera. And while 1968 is in the right timeframe, I can find no evidence of Heilman's involvement.
The Italian Goes Home (1966)

It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree
By A.J. Jacobs