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| Moritz Farkas and his twin granddaughters, Dorothy and Daisy |
Moritz's crops did well and he prospered for a long time . . . until the year a hail storm wiped out the harvest. (Family story about the hail and his financial ruin was so consistent and believable that I am relying on it.)
That was the one year my great-grandpa did not insure his crops. His finances were wiped out along with the harvest.
No Harvest Was a Turning Point
With no harvest and a wife (Leni Kunstler, 1865-1938) and eight children to support, Moritz faced a difficult decision about his family's future.
He ultimately decided to leave Hungary and his debts behind and try to make a new life in New York City. He was the first in the family to make this life-changing journey, but not the last.
Moritz arrived in New York in 1899. Like many new immigrants in my family, he initially lived as a boarder in a crowded apartment in the Lower East Side. (Two families of four each plus Moritz meant a total of 9 people shared that one small apartment.)
Slowly Reuniting the Family
Moritz's wife Leni followed him to New York City a year later, in 1900. Meanwhile, the eight children remained with her mother and father in Hungary.
Finally, Moritz and Leni were established enough to begin sending for their children. My grandma Hermina "Minnie" (1886-1964) came with the first group of four in 1901, leaving Hungary when she was just 14 years old.
The four remaining children arrived in 1902, having not seen their father for three years and having missed their mother for two years. Three more babies were born in New York City as the family reunited.
In New York City, Moritz learned skills to work as a presser in the garment trade. Leni and a number of the children also worked in the clothing business for a time. My grandma Minnie was a finisher of fine silk ties, a job she got because of Leni's connection to the Roth family that manufactured the ties.
No Harvest Led to a New Life--and Descendants Like Me!
If not for hail destroying my great-grandpa's harvest, my ancestors would not have left Hungary...
...my grandma would not have met my future grandpa in a New York City deli...
...my mother (a twin in the photo at top, with her grandpa Moritz) would not have been born...
...and I wouldn't be here to retell their tale!
Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow for this #52Ancestors prompt.
Wow. Bad weather changed all their lives & the lives of your family. How did you learn about the bad weather ruining the crops &no insurance? I usually don't know why my family branches came to the USA.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing about family history - it is full of examples of the ripple effect. A corresponding event in my family was the theft of some law books in London in 1784. That led to generations of my family farming in Australia.
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