I explained on the first day of this challenge that I was going to look into the lives of Ezriel Kornmehl and Viktor Kornmehl. But neither Ezriel or Viktor is closely related to me -- or to each other. Why chose them as my subjects? Because of Sigmund Freud. As I've often mentioned, my maternal great uncle, Siegmund Kornmehl, sold meat to the father of psychoanalysis.
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 1: The Plan
Here it is, February. By putting the snazzy Family History Writing Challenge badge in my sidebar, I committed to taking part in the genealogy marathon that the Armchair Genealogist is hosting, starting today. Damn you, Armchair Genealogist for making that badge so snazzy that I coveted it! The Preemptive Kvetch What was I thinking? February is my busiest month, with a
The Mormon Church, the Holocaust & Me
On Saturday, I made my first visit to Tucson's Family History Center to take advantage of a slate of free genealogy courses. I learned more in three hours about my research options -- including, at the center, free access to Ancestry.com -- than I had in the last six months. Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes studying genealogy knows that most of these centers offer
Meet Our Newest Cousin, Jessica Klein Levenbrown
This has been quite a week in the world of Kornmehl kin and blogging. First, I wrote a post in memory of a twice-lost cousin, Gigi Michaels. It drew a lovely response from Gigi's daughter, Jodi Warshauer, who hadn't known about this blog before, as well as responses from previously discovered new cousins, who had. Then yesterday a comment appeared on an earlier post, The
In Memory of a Twice-Lost Cousin, Gigi Michaels
Once upon a time -- a little more than a year ago -- I believed I had far more friends than I had family members. My parents are both long gone, and I thought my sister and my nieces were my only blood relatives. No paternal or maternal cousins were on my radar. I regretted that a bit, but never thought much about it. I figured that's how it is when you're from a family that
The Doktors Kornmehl & Professor Freud
One of the few stories my mother told about her life in Vienna was that her cousin Stella had been sent to see Sigmund Freud in the hope that her limp, resistant to traditional treatments or diagnoses, would prove to be psychosomatic (it didn't). The more I read about Freud, the more I think he was a regular guy, brilliant, but a schmoozer rather than a snob. Nevertheless, I
In Praise of Meandering
I spent yesterday morning in a research haze. It often happens when I work on posts about my family. I start with one bit of information that needs clarification and follow it as my interests take me until I realize I've gone far from my original search and that I'd better get back to work, either on the blog post or on the writing that pays the bills. Usually I just close
2013 Goals for Family History Writing, Pt. II
In Part 1 of my 2013 Goals series -- can a series have only two parts? even a mini-series? or is this just a sequel? -- I discussed how I would like to approach researching and writing my family history. Goal #5 was "Write shorter posts" so I stopped there. But it's a good segue into topics that are, for me, more difficult to tackle: The technical aspects of writing and
2013 Goals for Writing My Family History, I
New Year's resolutions can set you up to fail if they're too numerous and too vague. I've learned to go for simple and specific. One year my only resolution was to floss every day. I could -- and did -- stick to that. This year, I'm working on a large, unwieldy project that doesn't have any structure except the one I decide to impose on it: writing my family history. Since
Seeking Dating & Fashion Advice
No, not that kind. At least not here. It's genealogy I'm cozying up to. One of my research goals in 2013 is to learn when, where, and on what occasion the formal portrait of my grandparents and great aunts and uncles featured in the header of this blog was taken. My mother identified all the participants on the back of the picture and, on a separate family tree, noted their
The Great Gefilte Fish Divide: Unearthing My Jewish Roots, 3
At the end of this first year of exploring the history of my mother's family, I've been looking into its geographical origins. My mother was proud of her sophisticated Viennese heritage, so I was surprised to learn that her roots were in Tarnow, Poland, considered a shtetl. I was also confused about how our family eluded the linguistic and religious preferences that might have
Holy Rollers vs Persnickity Parsers: Unearthing My Jewish Roots, 2
Earlier this week, I discussed my surprise in learning that my mother's family home, the town of Tarnow, was defined as a shtetl on a Jewish genealogy site. I hadn't previously traced my ancestry beyond sophisticated Vienna, and the notion that my origins were Yiddish-speaking and roof-fiddling took some mental adjustment. I next decided to try to put Tarnow into a larger
Shtetl Snobbery: Unearthing My Jewish Roots, 1
Exactly one year ago, on December 27, 2011, I learned that the butcher shop of my great uncle Siegmund Kornmehl was now an art gallery in Vienna's Freud Museum. This discovery spurred me to look into the history of my mother's family. It has been a year filled with surprises. The greatest one, unquestionably, was finding out that I had living relatives all over the
Forget Penis Envy, Dr. Freud; I’ve Got Parent Envy
I am a glass half empty type of person. This is not good when you write a personal blog because you don't want to continually bum people out. Especially during the holiday season. On the other hand, I know I'm not the only one who finds other people's perkiness deeply depressing. I bring this up because when I tried to write the second part of the story I posted earlier
Belly Dancing, Knitting, Pastry & Psychology: A Virtual Convergence
A few months ago, I made the virtual acquaintance of a very accomplished woman with a Viennese Jewish parent. She, in turn, had recently become virtually reacquainted with an old friend/cousin with a Viennese Jewish parent. Each of the two friends/cousins has a Viennese non-Jewish parent too. It's a bit confusing. Bear with me here. How I Know the Very Accomplished Woman