Freaky Friday Ancestor Switch Wish

Remember the movie Freaky Friday? The most recent version of this body-switch comedy was in 2003, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. In the movie, a mysterious fortune cookie causes mother and daughter to wake up in each other's bodies. Only a temporary switch, of course--by the end of the movie, each has been switched back and they now share a stronger bond of understanding.

My Freaky Friday wish is to switch places for a single day with a single ancestor: Leni Louise Winkler (1909-1997). Leni (Americanized to Louise after she immigrated here in 1941) was my 1c1r, a dear niece of my maternal grandpa Teddy Schwartz.

The day I would like to be Leni is her wedding day, a Friday, August 2, 1929 in what was then Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine). Leni was about to turn 20 and she was marrying Jeno Eugene Preisz (1906-1979), their surname later Americanized to Price. Leni's family gathered from far and wide to attend the wedding, including her great uncle Sam Schwartz, an honored guest who came all the way from New York City to serve as a witness. He returned home to New York City on September 4, 1929 (see passenger list from S.S. Homeric above).

As Leni in 1929, I would get to meet not only her parents and siblings and cousins but also her grandmother, Hani Simonowitz Schwartz (1858-1933). This would be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate an especially happy occasion with relatives and friends, people I know today only as names on a family tree.

As Leni in 1929, I wouldn't be aware that in the future, four siblings would be killed in the Holocaust, along with other members of the Schwartz, Simonowitz, and Winkler families. Happily, two of her brothers were survivors who submitted Yad Vashem testimony about relatives who were killed. Sis and I are in touch with a descendant of a Schwartz survivor, a cousin connection we treasure.

As Leni in 1929, I wouldn't yet know that with her husband and young daughter, she would leave Europe during WWII, obtaining passports in Marseilles in January, 1941, and sailing to New York from Lisbon. The three landed in New York City on Friday, April 15, 1941 and went on to build a new life--helping Leni's two brothers when they came to America after the war.

Well, for just one Freaky Friday, I wish I could stand in for Leni as she married on a special Friday in the presence of her loving family and friends. While I'm in Leni's shoes, she would be in mine, having my wonderful Sis show her the family tree and ask for identifications of old family photos. 

Ancestors Born on the 4th of July

My husband and I both have ancestors who were born on July 4th, Independence Day. I'm celebrating them with this penny postal greeting card sent to the Wood family 116 years ago.

In hubby's family tree, Thomas Jefferson Isaiah Haskell Wood was born on July 4, 1848 in Plaquemine, Iberville, Louisiana. He was the second of 17 children born to my husband's great-grandparents, Thomas Haskell Wood and Mary Amanda Demarest. Unfortunately, according to the Wood family bible, this young man drowned in 1861, at the age of 12, while the family was living in what is now Huntington, West Virginia. 

In my family tree, great uncle Samuel Schwartz was born on July 4, 1883, in Ungvar, Hungary, which is now Uzhhorod, Ukraine. His younger brother, my grandpa Theodore, was the first to leave for America. Sam followed in his footsteps three years later, in 1904. While researching his life, I was surprised that Sam returned home to Hungary 25 years after he left, to attend the wedding of his niece, Leni Winkler, who married Jeno "Eugene" Preisz (Price). Happy to know that Sam saw their family in person, since grandpa was never able to return to Hungary.

Happy Independence Day 2023!

Paying to Check Out Clues Takes Me Back A Generation

Over the years, I've gotten some intriguing clues from researchers who are investigating people in my ancestors' FAN club (friends, associates, and neighbors). Of course, sometimes it pays to actually pay for documents if I want to go beyond the clue stage.

FAN club: sailing to America together

This week, I heard from a lovely researcher whose female ancestor sailed across the Atlantic with a distant Farkas female ancestor of mine in 1914. They not only were listed one after another on the manifest, their U.S. destination was the same: they were going to Herman Weiss in New York City. Herman's wife, Ida Farkas Weiss, was my 1c3r, I knew from previous documented research. 

In further investigating the FAN club connection (Farkas-Weiss-Schwartz and more), this researcher found interesting clues in transcriptions on the Sub-Carpathia Genealogy website, devoted to Jewish genealogy in the region shown on the map above. Her finds put the site at the top of my research priorities for learning more about my Schwartz family from Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine).

Revisit old sources and be willing to pay

In the past, I have searched the Sub-Carpathia site, but not for several years. I should have revisited before this. Many more records have been transcribed and posted. Yesterday and today I spent hours searching the site, jam-packed with birth/marriage/death documents, gravestone photos/transcriptions, and other useful resources for researching Jewish ancestors! It includes extremely helpful and detailed suggestions for exactly how to search and what spelling variations may be found in the records from this region. 

Full original scans are available for a modest fee, and the info was so compelling that I opened my wallet to see the originals. Actually, I've already spent a small fortune buying excellent scans of various documents that mention my Schwartz family and intermarried ancestors. It's an investment that has truly paid off.

To my amazement and joy, the site has taken me a full generation back on the Schwartz side in Ungvar, and maybe even another generation back before that. 

Keep traditions in mind

The Ashkenazi Jewish tradition is to name babies after relatives who are deceased, not after the living. Also, the tradition is to inscribe the gravestone of someone who has died with "son [or daughter] of ___[insert father's first name]___". Knowing the father's name, from the gravestone, takes the line one more generation back.

I was thrilled when I found the gravestone photo of my paternal great-grandmother Hani Simonowitz Schwartz, who died on April 25, 1933 (documented date and name, awaiting death record itself). The inscription says she was the daughter of Nisen. So one of my great-great-grandfathers was Nisen Simonowitz! -- CORRECTION: Stone doesn't match original death record I received after writing this. SO according to written death record, great-great-grandpa's name was Shmuel Simonowitz. 

Another gasp when I saw the gravestone of my paternal great-grandfather Herman (Yehuda) Schwartz, who died on January 21, 1921 (documented date and details, confirmed by written original record). The inscription says he was the son of Moshe. This means I've found another one of my great-great-grandfathers, Moshe Schwartz. 

But wait, there's more: I visited JewishGen.org for more research. In the same area of the Ungvar cemetery, according to the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry, is a Moshe Schvarcz, who died in August of 1880. According to the transcription (no photo), Moshe's father's name is Yehuda Schvarcz. 

Combine personal knowledge with new info

In my Schwartz family, the naming pattern looks like this, based on the new info and what I know from relatives:

• Yehuda in the early 1800s had a son named Moshe
• Moshe in the mid-1800s had a son named Yehuda
• Yehuda in the late 1800s had a son named Tivador (my grandfather--he had brothers, but I don't know all their names yet--not found a Yehuda at this point)
• Tivador in the early 1900s had a son named Yehuda
• Yehuda in mid-1900s had a son whose middle name is Moshe. 

All of which supports (but doesn't quite prove) my theory that Yehuda Schvarcz is likely my 3d great-grandfather. Further research is in my future, and I'll open my wallet if needed.

--

"Fortune" is the theme for this week's #52Ancestors challenge. Despite spending a small fortune on these ancestors who lived and died many generations ago, I consider it a worthwhile investment!

Bite-sized Project: A Special Place in Family History

I enjoy bite-sized family history projects because I can research and produce them in a short time--and younger relatives (my audience) clearly like the short takes more than the lengthier projects. 

The key is limiting the focus, rather than trying to create a massive project about the entire family tree. Typically, I focus on one ancestor, one couple, one surname/family, or one special photo/occasion/heirloom. But there are other ways to limit the focus for a bite-sized project.

Focus on one special place

When I recorded my new talk about bite-sized projects for the NERGC 2021 Conference* last week, Carolyn (one of the wonderful audience members) asked about focusing on an ancestral hometown. I told her I love that idea and I'm stealing it! Um, I mean adapting it ;) Another genealogy buddy calls this a #Genealogy travelogue!

A bite-sized project about a special place in family history could be about:

• where an ancestor was born, lived, married, or died
• where an ancestor operated a business or traveled on business
• where an ancestor worshipped
• where an ancestor vacationed or visited
• where something of importance (good or bad) took place that affected an ancestor's life

A paragraph or two to place my ancestor in context

An example is a bite-sized page I want to write about Uzhhorod, Ukraine. Before the Soviet era, this bustling market center was known as Ungvar, Hungary. It was the home town of my maternal grandfather, Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965).

I've done a bit of research into Ungvar's past, when he was a boy and after he left but family remained behind. Also I have a key Census (including street and house number) from when borders were redrawn and the city was part of Czechoslovakia--a Census that includes five Schwartz family members! I have almost enough content for a couple of paragraphs (or a brief video) that will put my grandpa's home town into context, as an element of family history.

For visual interest, I can include a map like the one at top, from a Creative Commons source. No copyright issues as long as I include attribution (https://mapcarta.com/Uzhhorod). I know how images can catch the eye of the audience. 

*I'll be demonstrating the process in detail during my upcoming talk, "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects," at the all-virtual New England Regional Genealogical Conference in April.

Old Country Images as Cousin Bait

Excerpt of results from image search for "Ungvar"

My maternal grandfather Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965) was born and raised in Ungvar, Hungary--known these days as Uzhhorod, Ukraine. He left in 1902 and he never returned to the "old country," although his son visited twice during the 1930s.

Ungvar was a bustling market town--really a city, and so well documented! A simple search for images of Ungvar turned up hundreds of vintage photos, old and new postcards, travel posters, vacation photos, and much more. Actually, any image tagged as Ungvar wound up being included in my search results.

Ungvar Tag as Cousin Bait

At top, a snippet of the images in my pages of results. These results included numerous old photos I have posted in blogging about ancestors from Ungvar. In this small excerpt, you see a photo of one of my Schwartz great aunts and her husband, along with a link to my blog as the source.

Could such images, tagged as Ungvar, serve as cousin bait for distant relatives researching the "old country" where our mutual ancestors lived? That's my hope.

The Kossuth Connection

Kossuth Lajos "space" in Ungvar, 1915

The 1915 photo above was among the first results in my search. I smiled when I read the name of this wide street, as printed on the postcard: Kossuth Lajos. Kossuth was a legendary politician and orator who advocated for Hungarian freedom.

In 1905, my Schwartz and Farkas ancestors organized a benevolent society in New York City, named for Kossuth's son Ferenc, also a freedom fighter.

The 1915 street scene gives me another sense of connection between the old country of my grandfather's birth (Ungvar) and his home in the new world (New York City).

"Old Country" is this week's #52Ancestors prompt. Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow for these thought-provoking genealogy prompts!

From BSO to Family History, Part 2

Thanks to the 1921 Czechoslovakian census (the brightest of bright shiny objects discovered during my genealogy research in 2020), I now know more about my Schwartz family in Uzhhorod (formerly known as Ungvar, Hungary).

The census includes enough information to offer a glimpse of the daily life of these ancestors and allow me to connect photos with the names on this page! In other words, this BSO added significantly to my knowledge of family history...and has led to other research possibilities.

Great-Grandpa Herman Schwartz

Great-grandpa Herman Schwartz was the father of my maternal grandfather, Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz. I know little about Herman, but the census gave me two key pieces of information.

First, Herman was shown as the official homeowner according to the 1921 census aggregation page (see previous post). He was also shown as the homeowner on this detail page listing occupants of the home at 45 Szobranci Street in Uzhhorod. See green oval at top right of the image above. This tells me Herman had enough money to own his home or inherit the home from one of his relatives.

However, Herman is NOT listed as one of the occupants of this home. In fact, his wife Hani is listed as the home owner in column 4, and reported as a widow ("vdova") in column 5.

This is the second piece of information: Now I know Herman died before the census was taken, possibly as late as March, 1921.

Great-Grandma Hani Simonowitz Schwartz

From cousin info, I was aware great-grandma Hani outlived her husband. The census says Hani was born in Tasolo, Uzhhorod, on November 20, 1858. Her nationality was Hungarian (Ungvar was part of Hungary before it became a Czechoslovakian city and much later a Ukrainian city).

She had first registered in Uzhhorod 30 years earlier, according to columns 9/10. Hani said she was "Israelit" (Jewish) and could read and write. Not surprisingly, she said she was not working in July 1914 (column 17), at the outset of World War I, most likely because she was bringing up her family.

As a 63-year-old widow, how did Hani keep the household going financially? A quick look below the green line in the census page above reveals the answer: She rented part of the house. The renters (listed as such in the census) were not Hungarian, not from Uzhhorod, not Jewish, not relatives of the Schwartz family. The rental income must have helped Hani a great deal, especially with grown children still living at home.

Three Schwartz Daughters, a Son-in-Law, and a Granddaughter

This 1921 Census included new info about three daughters of Hani and Herman--siblings of my grandpa Teddy Schwartz. There was also a surprise: Hani had a son-in-law (Ferencz Stark) and a granddaughter (Mici Stark) living in her home.

• Paula Schwartz was born in Uzhhorod on May 19, 1898. She was unmarried at the time of the Census, of Hungarian nationality, Jewish religion, and able to read and write. She was not working in July of 1914. I'm incredibly fortunate to be in close touch with Paula's lovely granddaughter, who has memories of the Schwartz house in Uzhhorod where she, her mother, and her grandmother grew up.
• Lenka Schwartz was born in August, 1906 in Uzhhorod. Lenka was unmarried in 1921, of Hungarian nationality, Jewish religion, and able to read and write. Like her sisters and mother, she was not working in July of 1914. Some time after this census, she married Ignatz. Below is a photo of the couple in March of 1924.



Lenka Schwartz, who later married Ignatz

• Etelka Schwartz Stark was born in Uzhorrod on May 3, 1892 in Bereg (then Hungary, now Ukraine). "Etelka" was an affectionate diminutive of her name, Etel. The census shows her married to Ferencz Stark, a tailor who worked just down the street from the Schwartz house on Szobranci Street in Uzhhorod. Etel and her husband could both read and write, were both Jewish, and were the parents of Mici Stark, born in January, 1920. In July of 1914, Etel was working as a seamstress. 

Next Steps

This BSO opened up new avenues of research for my genealogy. Not only has the census enabled me to expand photo captions, it provided Etel's married name and her daughter's name so I can look for more clues.

In addition, discussions of the census triggered my cousin's memories of Blanka, a cousin of Hani, who had a son named Jeno Zeller. I have Jeno's baby picture from 1924. My cousin remembers he grew up to be a baker, came to Israel after WWII, then lived in Brooklyn for a brief time in the 1950s or 1960s before returning to Israel. Of course I'm going to be on the lookout for Jeno as I continue my research!

From BSO to Family History, Part 1

1921 Czechoslovakian Census page - Ungvar/Uzhhorod

BSO alert! (Bright shiny object--something that attracts attention but might ultimately be a distraction.)

My maternal grandpa Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965) was born in the bustling little market city that became known as Uzhhorod, Czechoslovakia. I'm always on the lookout for sources that will help illuminate the people and places he left behind.

Learning from Other Genealogy Bloggers

Last week, genealogy blogger Lara Diamond wrote about a newly-available online resource: The 1921 Czechoslovakian Census, which included Transcarpathia, now in Ukraine. According to the Hungarian library's intro, the census took place on 1 November 1920 and 31 March 1921. This was a BSO alert for me.

Great-grandpa Herman Schwartz

Lara helpfully linked to the census, offered suggestions for how to proceed, and listed some of the column translations. In short, she gave me a head-start in diving into the census.

I didn't resist this BSO, and if you have ancestors from the same area, I encourage you to dive in, too.

By investigating this census, taken nearly 20 years after my Grandpa Teddy came to America, I hoped to find out about my great-grandfather Herman (photo at right), great-grandmother Hani, and other relatives who remained behind when Grandpa Teddy left.

Step 1: Browse Aggregation Pages

Because the census pages aren't indexed or transcribed, I needed to browse through sections, page by page, in search of my ancestors' names.

All I had to go on was that the Schwartz family lived in Ungvar/Uzhhorod. I began with the Uzhhorod city census pages aggregating the names of homeowners and the number of people reported in each household.

After an hour of browsing pages individually, I felt my heart leap as I saw a familiar name at the top of a page of homeowners: Schwarz, Herman (see snippet of page at top of this post).

If I didn't have a cousin who was born and raised in Uzhhorod, it would have taken me longer to get to step 2--finding the detailed census pages that correspond to this homeowner. Happily, my cousin could see exactly where the Schwarz family home was located, and directed me to the detailed census pages that showed our ancestors.

Step 2: Browse Census Pages by Area

Under Uzhhorod, I navigated to the files for Szobranci, the street where my Schwarz family was enumerated in the Census. (Thanks to the Hungarian library for neatly organizing the census scans into these easy-to-navigate subfolders.)

By clicking the caret at left of that section, I could browse each homeowner page, one at a time.

On pp. 112-113, there was great-grandpa Herman Schwarz's name as the homeowner of number 45.

Step 3: Translate (Yikes)

The hardest part: translating what was on the census pages to learn more. I needed to know both the printed column headings and the handwritten census entries. I blew up images on my screen, and also printed some out on paper to use a magnifying glass.

1921 Czech census headings translated

For the actual translation, I had two trusty tools. Google Translate helped me translate from Czech to English and occasionally Hungarian to English.

I also used the Family Search Czech genealogical word list for handy reference. At right is my translation of the columns.

Now you can see the wealth of detail in this census! Including the profession of each person enumerated, both in 1921 and in July, 1914, before World War I.

I created a chart to fill in the translated answers for each person enumerated in the Schwartz household. Just in case, I kept my handwritten scribbles for extra backup as I uncovered more about my Schwartz ancestors in 1921 (and before).

Cliff-hanger: What Did I Learn?

Part 2 will explain what I learned about my Schwartz family. Sorry, no spoiler alert.

This BSO was definitely worth investigating! I'm grateful to Lara Diamond for blogging about the 1921 Census.

Looking for Grandpa Teddy in the NY Census

My maternal grandfather, Theodore Tivador "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965) left Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine) in early 1902. He arrived in New York City when he was only 14 years old.

Teddy's older brother Samuel (Simon) Schwartz (1883-1954) followed, arriving in New York in January of 1904. The manifest indicates that Sam was discharged to his brother Teodor Schwartz, who lived at 941 Second Avenue in Manhattan, near the corner of East 50th Street, according to Google Maps.

This intrigued me because most new immigrants from my family started out living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, an area packed with tenements.

On the Lower East Side: Brother Sam, No Teddy

Previously, I had easily found Teddy's brother Sam Schwartz, a printer, as a boarder with the Grossman family at 82 Avenue D, on the Lower East Side, in the 1905 NY Census.

Again looking at that 1905 NY Census page and the others before and after, no sign of Grandpa Teddy near his brother. Yet in 1911, Grandpa was living at 82 Avenue D, because it's listed on his marriage license.

Also, I looked but have not found Teddy in any Manhattan city directories for that period. Grandpa, you are being elusive!

During today's search, I thought I might find him as a boarder, lodger, or roomer in the household of some other family at 941 Second Avenue. It was the only lead I have to follow up as of right now. The process would be good to figure out for this and future searches of this time.*

First Step: Creative Search of 1905 NY Census

Navigating to the Family Search collection of 1905 New York State Census records, I tried searching for Theodore Schwartz, white, male, boarder, born 1886-1888 in Hungary. No relevant results. Sure, there were Schwartz people in Brooklyn and upstate New York, but nobody vaguely like my Grandpa Teddy in New York County.

So I tried Tivador, Teddy, Ted Schwartz. No relevant results. Tried Russia instead of Hungary. No relevant results. Then I edited the search to eliminate everything except his surname and range of birth years, but still got no relevant results from the transcribed Census. All my creative searches didn't turn up Grandpa Teddy.

Next Step: Steve Morse's AD/ED Finder 

Next, I decided to browse individual records to see who was living at 941 Second Avenue when the 1905 NY State Census was taken. To do that, I had to use Steve Morse's AD/ED Finder from SteveMorse.org. As shown at top, this address would be in one of two AD/ED combinations: AD 22/ED 19 or AD 22/ED 20.

Now I was ready to do what we used to when there were no indexed/transcribed Census results online. I did the equivalent of cranking the ole microfilm reader by hand. Actually, I went to the 1905 NY Census collection at Ancestry, where I can see all images. I clicked through each and every page of both AD/ED combinations, looking for 941 Second Avenue.

Clicking for Teddy, One Census Page After Another

The clicking went quickly because all I had to do was look at the left margin of every page to see the street or avenue covered on that page. I was looking for Second Avenue. There were only 23 double-pages in each AD/ED combination.

Naturally, 941 Second Avenue was not on 22/19. So I kept clicking into 22/20. Would I find Grandpa Teddy?

On p. 13 of 23 in the second AD/ED combo, I finally located 941 Second Avenue. It was a small walk-up apartment building. Every head of household was an immigrant.

Alas, no Grandpa Teddy, not as a boarder/lodger/roomer and not as any kind of relative or in-law. Not on the two pages before or after, either.

Grandpa Teddy, Born and Died in May

Today was not my lucky day to find Grandpa Teddy, but I'm thinking of him because May was an important month in his life: he was born on May 21, 1887 and died on May 12, 1965, just 9 days before his 78th birthday.

Rest in peace, Grandpa, you are remembered and I'm going to keep looking for where you were living in New York City in 1905.

*I followed the same process to try to find Grandpa Teddy in the 1910 US Census, starting with Steve Morse's US Census ED finder, then clicking through each page in the ED that includes the address "82 Avenue D near East 6th Street" on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in NYC. No luck finding Teddy in 1910, either.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Siblings in Ungvar, 1915

I've been trying to learn more about the siblings of my maternal grandfather, Tivadar/Tivador (Theodore) Schwartz, born in Ungvar, Hungary (Uzhhorod in Ukraine today, see map).

In 2011, I knew Teddy was one of at least five children. In 2022, I now know he had more siblings. See the ancestor landing page for more info here.

The postcard photo at left is a treasure, unearthed in a box of newly-discovered family photos and documents. It shows Teddy's two sisters, Etel and Paula (back left and seated, right) and others, unknown, from the Schwartz family. It's dated August 15, 1915 and inscribed to Tivadar, my grandfather.

Clearly the young man is in uniform, but I don't know what country he's serving.* 

*Thanks to Greta Koehl, whose husband identified the uniform as Austro-Hungarian. Yes! This link shows such uniforms and hats. Another confirming detail. Thank you!