I can barely focus today. There's a very good chance that both the son and grandson of Ezriel Kornmehl, the first subject of this family history writing challenge, have been located. If the information turns out to be correct, Ezriel's son just celebrated his 90th birthday in Chicago, while his grandson is living and working in New York. Both are doctors, like their
Kornmehl family
Escape From Austria: Celebrating Self-Deportation
There's a point in every Kornmehl family story that I usually dread, the one where I approach the end of their lives. Some family members died of natural causes, of course, and some escaped the Nazis. But even the escapes are generally disturbing, last minute and harrowing. Things are different with Viktor Kormehl and his brother, Bertschi. I'm not sure of all the details of
When Images & Dates of Family Photographs Don’t Synch
I was excited today to be able to provide a visual introduction to some of the major players in the family of Viktor Kornmehl, the soon-to-be subject of my family history writing challenge. The picture below, I thought, was of Viktor's mother, Kamilla Bergmann Kornmehl; Viktor's father, Ferdinand/Fischel Kornmehl; and their grandchildren, Hesi, Viktor's nephew, and baby
Many Funerals and a Wedding: Kamilla Kornmehl
Although genealogists are fond of cemeteries, boneyards are not the liveliest places to meet a family member for the first time. Yesterday I introduced Kamilla Bergmann Kornmehl, mother-to-be of Viktor Kornmehl, as the young (age 35) occupant of a plot where her in-laws were already resting. I'd like to go back in time today and give her an entrance on a happier occasion -- her
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 11: The Plot Thickens
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. -- David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens. This quote came to mind as I try to approach the putative next subject of my family history challenge, Viktor Kornmehl. I thought I knew everything there was to know about him because I have many
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 10: A Brief Breather (with Chocolate)
It's been quite the whirlwind week. I hadn't expected to find enough information about the the first subject of this challenge, Ezriel Kornmehl, to fill more than a few days worth of postings. Instead, I ended up with a goldmine of material -- with more to come if I get answers to even a few of the many questions I posed. What I learned about the process (so far): In
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 9: Back in the USSR
It's hard to believe that, after spending eight days with him, I'm ending my journey with Ezriel. At least for now. There are many questions still to be answered, including the one I posed yesterday -- i.e., how Ezriel met his wife, Ernestyna. Another thing I'd like to know: Why did Ezriel decide to transfer from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow to the University of
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 8: When Ezriel Met Ernestyna
It turns out Ezriel Kornmehl married well. Mazel tov. His wife, the former Ernestyna Karp, didn't do too badly either. The History of the Jews of Jaslo says of the couple: [Ezriel] was the son in law of Mordechai Karp and a doctor. He was the only Jewish doctor to work for the general governmental health insurance office in the city. He was well regarded and respected by
The Family History Writing Challenge, Day 7: Fathers-In-Law
Yesterday I brought Ezriel Kornmehl, the first subject of this challenge, back to Poland from medical school in Vienna and pondered his war service. I alluded to the fact that he would have met a distressing death had he not fled Jaslo. Today I start filling in the story of Jaslo, including the question of what brought Ezriel there in the first place, when most of the
Pondering Jewish European Patriotism
I learned the other day that my current family history subject, Ezriel Kornmehl, had volunteered to serve in the Polish-Bolshevik War in 1921, and that he is listed in the Polish Officer's Year Book (as Esriel Kornmehl) for 1923 and 1924. I dutifully set out this morning to look into the details of his military service and to find out what exactly the Polish-Bolshevik war
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 5: Ezriel’s Not-So-Lazy School Days
Thanks to the excellent student files kept by the Medical University of Vienna, Ezriel Kornmehl's academic life comes into far clearer focus than most other parts of his life -- at least so far. As a result of information that Jill Kornmehl gleaned, we know that Ezriel (I'm summarizing a bit from the original here): ...studied [at the University of Vienna] from March 1914
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 4: Researcher Bait
If you're at all familiar with genealogy, you've heard the term "cousin bait": information posted expressly to attract relatives. This blog seems to attract relatives without my having had to deliberately create a particular type of post -- Jessica Klein Levenbrown was only the most recent -- and that's a wonderful thing. But I had a feeling in the back of my mind that if I
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 3: Finding Ezriel, Part 1
I decided I would start with a profile of Ezriel for this challenge because he is the older of the two Kornmehls I plan to focus on -- and also because I am waiting for permission to reproduce a document relating to Viktor. But I realized that my information about Ezriel is far sketchier than what I have about Viktor, requiring more blanks to be filled in. I also realized --
Family History Writing Challenge, Day 2: Why’d You Choose Those Relatives?
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.
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