Mappy Monday ~ Handler and Hollander from Hungary

I've been writing about my husband's paternal grandparents, Josef Handler and Lena Hollander. They immigrated from Hungary in 1910 and 1911. I know Lena was born in Bonyhád, Hungary and naturalization records indicate that Josef Handler was born in Ilok, formerly in Hungary and now part of Croatia.

The following screenshot, from Google Maps, shows the locations of their birthplaces on a current map of eastern Europe.

From Google Maps

"A" represents Ilok, Croatia, and "B" represents Bonyhád, Hungary. They are about 180 kilometers (about 112 miles) apart.

In contrast, going back one generation, Lena's parents were born in towns much closer to each other. (Their birthplaces are indicated on Lena's birth record and her siblings' birth records.) Samuel Hollander was born in Bonyhád, Hungary, and his wife, Anna Honenváld, was born in Hőgyész, Hungary, about 27.6 kilometers (about 17 miles) north.

From Google Maps

In this map, "A" represents Hőgyész, Hungary, "B" represents Bonyhád, Hungary, and "C" represents Ilok, Croatia. I have added the country names in yellow because they did not appear on the map at this magnification.

If you want to have some fun looking at an interactive map of Europe throughout history, visit European History Interactive Map. 

Mappy Monday is a daily blogging prompt from GeneaBloggers, the genealogy community’s resource for blogging. It is used by many genealogy bloggers to help them tell stories of their ancestors. 

(Almost) Amanuensis Monday ~ Birth Record for Samuel Hollander

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. This is (Almost) Amanuensis Monday because below is an 1863 Hungarian record that is handwritten in German so I don't feel that I'm truly copying and translating exactly what is in this record; I'm just doing my best. 

I've written about finding the birth record for Bubbie Lena (Lina Hollander Handler) on a Family History Library microfilm of vital records for the Jewish residents of Bonyhád, Hungary. I also found at least four siblings of Lina's in Bonyhad's Jewish birth records up to 1895.

This very useful (for me) microfilm, "Registers of Jewish births, marriages and deaths for Bonyhád, Tolna, Hungary. Text in Hungarian and German." FHL microfilm no. 642923, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, starts with records in the late 1850's. Following is the birth record for Samuel Hollander, Lina's father.

Lena Hollander's siblings

While researching the birth record for my husband's grandmother, Lena (or Lina) Hollander, in Bonyhád, Tolna District, Hungary, I did my best to look at every page on the microfilm of records and decipher the handwritten records to look for any other Hollander records, especially siblings. Family members vaguely remember Bubbie Lena mentioning that she had a sister or maybe two sisters.

I found the following records of children born to her parents, Samuel Hollander and Anna Honenváld on the same microfilm: "Registers of Jewish births, marriages and deaths for Bonyhád, Tolna, Hungary. Text in Hungarian and German." FHL microfilm no. 642923, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

See Lina Hollander's birth record for details of the headings and how I figured out the translation.

Closeup of above record, far left

Daughter, Fanny Hollander was born on May 12, 1888. (I'm not sure about this name. If you think it reads something else, please let me know in the comments below.)

Closeup of above record, center left

Her father is Samuel Hollander, who was born in Bonyhád and her mother is Anna Honenváld, who was born in Hőgyész (also in Tolna District, Hungary). The family lives in Bonyhád. The midwife's name is Bertha Hausser (or Hausner).

Closeup of above record, right

Fanny Hollander's naming ceremony was held in Bonyhád on May 21, [1888], and the name of the officiant is Sol Gurwitz. (Again, if you think the name is something else, please let me know in the comments.)

Amanuensis Monday ~ Bonyhád, Hungary Birth Record

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

My husband's mother, known as Bubbie Lena, was born in Bonyhád, Tolna District, Hungary. Bonyhád is 87 miles SSW of Budapest, Hungary. Lena married Josef Händler in Hungary and followed him to America with her first-born son, Arpad in 1911. Those passenger lists were very helpful in providing me with her birthplace and her father's name, Samuel Holländer.

As well as obtaining the book written about Bonyhád, (Bonyhád: a destroyed community: the Jews of Bonyhád, Hungary, by Leslie Blau (1994)), I also found that the Family History Library has a microfilm of Jewish records covering the period from 1851 to 1895, which I borrowed and examined last month.  (Hungarian Civil registration began in October 1895.)

Registers of Jewish births, marriages and deaths for Bonyhád, Tolna, Hungary.
Text in Hungarian and German.
FHL microfilm no. 642923, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is the page from the FHL microfilm that shows Lina Hollander's birth record. The headings are in Hungarian and German.

Simche Segel's Death Certificate

My husband's second great grandfather, Simche Siegel, died on July 7, 1919. Although the name on the death certificate is Samuel Segel, enough other information matches that I know this is Simche, whom I have already written about.

New Jersey, Department of Health of N.J.; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Death Certificates,
Wildwood, Cape May County. Samuel Segel, died July 7, 1919.

He lived at 5006 Arctic Avenue in Wildwood, Cape May County, New Jersey. The death certificate states that his age was "about 70" when he died, implying a birth year of 1849. However, his passenger list record suggests a birth year of 1835 and his naturalization records suggest a birth year of 1845. Therefore, he could have been as old as 84 when he died.

Samuel's wife is Rebecca Segel. She is remembered by family members as Blume. His occupation at his death is Junk Dealer. His birthplace is Russia and name of his father is Israel Segel, but unfortunately, his mother's name is unknown.

He died of Arteriosclerosis (and something else I can't read) which he had suffered from for two years with a contributory cause lasting one year. The handwriting is challenging. Update on June 2, 2015: Thank you to tkrupar who notes that the secondary cause is Nephritis. (Initially I couldn't read it.)

Item 19 indicates that he was buried in Woodbine on July 7. We have looked in the "older" cemetery in Woodbine, where it is believed he is buried and have not been able to find his gravestone. I believe he had at least six children survive him. Although family tradition is to visit family gravestones in Woodbine a couple of times a year, it is not remembered if his daughter, Golda (Segal) Levitt or his granddaughter, Rose (Levitt) Goldstein ever visited his gravestone.

The informant (the person providing personal information for the record) is Benj[amin] Katz, who also lived at 5006 Arctic Avenue with the Segels. Benjamin ended up marrying Simche's widow Rebecca, and in the 1930 census, I find them at this same address as husband and wife.

I again thank Robert, my husband's second cousin once removed, for providing this death certificate and helping me piece together this family.