Olga, Valeria, Blanka, and Tony Curtis

My maternal great-grandma's nephew very likely married Tony Curtis's cousin. I was reminded of this connection when looking at Olga, Valeria, and Blanka Schwartz this week. Okay, this gets complicated!

Schwartz and Klein from Mateszalka, Hungary

Above, an excerpt from the Find a Grave listing of those buried in Mateszalka Jewish Cemetery in Mateszalka, Hungary. Olga and Valeria both died young, sorry to say, and both were buried in this cemetery. Researching them, I again looked at their sister, Blanka "Blanche" Schwartz (1892-1986), who married Alexander Roth (1893-1949). Alex was a son of my great-grandma Leni Kunstler Farkas's sister. Alex was Leni's nephew, in other words. Alex was my 1c2r.

Back to Blanka, Olga, and Valeria, who were all the daughters of Frida Klein and Frank Schwartz. The kind gentleman who put Olga and Valeria on Find a Grave helpfully included the Hungarian records of their deaths, confirming the names of their parents. You can see those snippets just above the wording "no grave photo" in the image at top.

Blanka's Social Security application (above, with her Americanized first name of Blanche) confirms she had the same parents (creative spelling). All the Schwartz sisters were born in Mateszalka, Hungary. Schwartz and Klein were their parents, hold that thought.

Bernard Hersch Schwartz had roots in Mateszalka

I looked up the Mateszalka cemetery where Olga and Valeria were buried. A historic note about the cemetery mentions that actor Tony Curtis (original name: Bernard Hersch Schwartz) donated money to help restore the local synagogue, knowing his family originated in this town. 

His father was Emanuel "Mano" Schwartz, and his mother was Helen Klein Schwartz. Mano's parents were from the Mateszalka region, according to Mano's passenger manifest from his voyage on the S.S. Mount Clay, arriving in Boston in March, 1921. Mano's naturalization petition in New York City (#102586) also specifies his birthplace as Mateszalka. The petition was signed by two witnesses: his grandfather Victor Schwartz and someone named Albert Klein. 

Klein--the maiden name of Tony's mother, and the maiden name of Blanka, Olga, and Valeria's mother. My second cousin L knew Blanka very well, staying in touch in her later years when she was in a Bronx nursing home. He heard firsthand the stories of Blanka being Tony Curtis's cousin. Others in the wider family had heard the same story from their parents or grandparents.

Surely the Mateszalka area had an abundance of Klein and Schwartz residents. But the combination of family stories, shared surnames, and many given names from the Tony Curtis family tree being repeated in the Schwartz and Roth lines of my family tree lend credence to the stories. A circumstantial case for Blanka and her sisters Olga and Valeria being cousins of Tony Curtis but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

Checking Page Two--Twice--for Great Uncle Albert

My great uncle Albert Farkas (1888-1956) died on this date, 67 years ago. I'm focusing on my Farkas ancestors as part of my series of family history photo books.

Albert and his wife, Sari Klein Farkas (1901-1982) often entertained dozens of Farkas relatives for big holidays, according to meeting minutes from the Farkas family tree association, 1933-on. Albert didn't marry Sari until he was in his early 30s, and I know from descendants that they were warm-hearted, generous people who put family first. 

Before Albert met Sari, he served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Two of Albert's military documents had significant info on the first and the second pages. Of course, not all info on every document is indexed, another reason to check page two (and beyond if a document has a page 3 or even more pages). One click beyond page 1 and I had even more of his story!

WWI Draft Registration - 2 pages

At top, page 1 of my great uncle's WWI draft registration paperwork. Relatives told me Albert was trying to establish a business in Canada in the 1910s. On this page, Albert says he's a manufacturer, living at the Rainier Grand Hotel in Seattle, Washington. 

Also he says he was naturalized on his father's naturalization. Interestingly, the town of birth is not listed, only Hungary as country of birth. 

On page 2 is the reason why Albert did not register when he was required to do so: "Was in Canada on June 5th, 1917 and arrived in Seattle this date" [meaning Jan 19, 1918, date of his registration]. I'm pretty sure he was aware of the legal requirement to register, just dragged his feet. And of course once registered...

WWI Abstract of Service - 2 pages 

Albert was inducted into the U.S. Army on Aug 26, 1918, as shown on page 1 of his Abstract of Service (U.S. Adjutant General's Office). Also shown on page 1 was his correct birth town (NagyBereg, Hungary).

This first page shows how Albert was moved from a Depot Brigade to Camp Gordon, GA, then to Company A, 329th Infantry on Dec 5, 1918. But since this page shows he was overseas from Oct 1918-May 1919, there must be more to the story. 

And there is more, on page 2, where I see he was placed in Company G of the 310th Infantry until his discharge.

Thinking of you, great uncle Albert, gone but definitely not forgotten. 

I Did a Double-Take When I Saw This Date!

 

I do a lot of horizontal genealogy research, adding siblings, their spouses, and their in-laws to my family tree. More than once, I've discovered some of these folks are actually distant cousins of my ancestors!

This man's relationship to me is not very close: sibling of husband of sister-in-law of 1c1r.

Still, by looking closely at Ray Klein and his siblings, I'm seeking to determine whether and how their mother might be related to my maternal Waldman cousins from Hungary. 

I did a double-take when this database info turned up. Anybody think this is an actual birth date?? 

Um, no. 

Automated indexing and extracts don't always get the details right. That's why I aim to look at original documents myself. 

Remembering Great Uncle Albert's Life of Service

Sadie Klein and Albert Farkas on their wedding day in 1921

My great uncle Albert (Bertalan) Farkas (1888-1956) believed in giving back.

Born in Nagy Bereg, Hungary, as the second-oldest son of Moritz Farkas and Leni Kunstler Farkas, Albert arrived at Ellis Island on April 4, 1903, just a month shy of his 15th birthday. Albert was the oldest of four siblings traveling without adults from Bremen to join their parents, who had gone ahead to establish the family in New York City.

Not only a devoted family man, Uncle Albert built a successful business and volunteered his time to help others--locally, nationally, and internationally.

Giving Back in New York City

Among the founders and early leaders of the Ferencz Kossuth Hungarian Literary, Sick and Benevolent Society, a landsmanshaftn aiding Hungarian immigrants in New York City, Albert met his wife Sadie (later Sari) Klein (1901-1982) there. Decades later, when Albert died, the group honored his long years of service with a special meeting dedicated to his memory.

Albert spent his working years in the clothing business. He was a designer and then an entrepreneur, owning a booming coat manufacturing firm. He would regularly give coats and clothing to his nieces, a much-appreciated gesture especially during the Depression years. Often, he and his wife would graciously volunteer to host the Farkas family's Thanksgiving dinner or Passover Seder--a very big undertaking, given the dozens of people (of all ages) who attended!

Giving Back, Nationally and Internationally

In addition, Albert was quite active in U.S. and worldwide Jewish advocacy and aid groups. He served as a delegate to the American Jewish Congress convention in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1937. There, he learned that the plight of European Jews was far worse than generally known at the time. Thanks to the family tree minutes of December, 1937, I know he talked with passion about the worsening world situation to keep his sisters and brothers fully informed.

During 1938, Albert served as Vice-President of the American Jewish Congress and was on the ballot to become a National Delegate of that group (according to family tree minutes of June, 1938).


Giving Back to His Industry

Albert was also a long-time leader of the American Cloak & Suit Manufacturers Association. He was President and, later, an executive board member, helping others in the industry with advice and guidance based on his years of experience.

When my great uncle Albert Farkas died on June 28, 1956, the trade association paid for a memorial notice in the newspaper of record (see above). Albert is buried in the Kossuth Society's plot at Mount Hebron Cemetery in New York.
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So many family members have spoken with great affection and great respect for great uncle Albert Farkas. This is my tribute to his life of dedication and service.

Ancestor Timeline Reveals Gaps (Gasp)

Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun this week was to create a timeline for one ancestor and explain how we created it, along with the image.

Since I'm still a RootsMagic7 newbie (less than 4 months' experience), I was delighted to follow Randy's detailed directions for how he created his ancestor's timeline in RM7. I did the same for my 2d great uncle, Bela Bernard Roth (1865-1941). His first wife was Sali/Zali Kunstler (? - 1895), sister to my great-grandma Leni Kunstler Farkas (1865-1938). Bela's parents were Shlomo/Salomon Roth and Hannah Klein.

After I created the timeline in RM7, I took a screen shot with my "Preview" function for Mac. To do that, I selected just the timeline itself as it appeared on my screen and saved it as a .jpg. There is more info available in the timeline, but I didn't include all in this screen shot.

As Randy indicates, the look is bare-bones but practical. At a glance, I can see how old Bela is during each moment on the timeline. When his children were born, when he came to America the first and second times, at the point of each census, when he died.

This timeline reveals (gasp!) gaps for me to research. For instance, Bela had four more children with his second wife (Bertha Batia Weiss, 1885-1967), including one mentioned in a 1907 passenger manifest and a 1914 passenger manifest.

This son, Imre (or Emery) Roth, vanished before the 1920 U.S. Census. He's a gap that I'd like to fill with more information so I can record him and honor his memory. For now, Bela's timeline will have to state that son Imre/Emery died "before 1920."

Was Cousin Alex Roth's Wife Blanche a Cousin of Tony Curtis?

Tony Curtis (Bernard Schwartz) was born in Mateszalka; my Roth cousins were born in Vasarosnameny.

Maybe one glamorous star of stage and screen isn't enough for the Roth branch of my family tree. We know that the 1940s Broadway and Hollywood star Gloria Warren  (original name: Gloria M. Weiman, daughter of Herman Weiman and Julia Weiss Weiman) was a cousin. She was related through the Farkas-Kunstler cousin Bela Roth (1865-1941), who frequently visited the Farkas Family Tree meetings--my mother's side of the family.

Cousin Alex "Sandor" Roth (1892-1949) was the oldest son of Bela Roth, born in Vasarosnameny, Hungary. The Roths came to New York in the early 1900s. While living in the Boston area and working in a car dealership (a family occupation in the Roth line), Alex married Blanche "Blanka" Schwartz (1897-1986). I've sent for Alex's Social Security application, and hope to have it before the calendar clicks over to 2016.

Meanwhile, I'd heard a whisper that Blanche Schwartz was some kind of cousin of Tony Curtis, whose original name was Bernard Hershel Schwartz. So I've been trying to find out more.

Parents of Blanche Schwartz

An experienced researcher interested in the Schwartz connection to Tony Curtis shared with me the following information:

• Blanche Schwartz was very likely the daughter of Frank (Ferencz) Schwartz and Frieda Frimet Klein. We will know for sure once I get a copy of Blanche's Social Security application in January.
• Blanche was born in Mateszalka, Hungary, which is close to Vasarosnameny, the home town of the Roth family (see map at top).
• Blanche had 3 sisters who lived to adulthood: Elaine (married name was Stern), Violet (married name was Winton and then Fidel, and she was an actress), and Elizabeth. 

Because this researcher suspected that Blanche's parents were buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in New Jersey, I took a field trip and photographed their stone, shown above. Translating, Frank is the son of Shalom, Frieda is the daughter of Dov Ber.

The researcher also discovered that Frank Schwartz's mother's maiden name is Weiss. Remember Weiss? That's the maiden name of Gloria Warren's mother. Coincidence? Very possible, given how many Weiss families lived in that area of Hungary. But then again, there were a number of intermarriages with the Weiss family on my mother's side.

To discover the connection between Blanche Schwartz and Bernard Hershel Schwartz will require investigating older ancestors in the Mateszalka records. This is going to be quite a challenge!