Showing posts with label Budapest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budapest. Show all posts

Monday, November 30, 2009

Orphaned by Another Means



Great Grandmother Maria was born 12 Jan 1869 in Budapest, Hungary. Oral family history has it that her mother died when she was still young.  Maria was the youngest of several children and her father, not being able to handle all the extra responsibilities, gave her to a Jewish family to be raised as a servant. 
She married Ignatz J. Kollain and they immigrated to the U.S. in 1909. They were residing in NYC in 1912; then moved to Jamesburg, NJ, prior to 1920. Maria Kollain died 12 Oct. 1957 in Jamesburg, Middlesex, NJ. Because of her past, researching Maria has been very frustrating. Her parents were listed as 'unknown' on her death cert. We gleened the date and place of Maria's birth from her husband, Ignatz's naturalization papers. Interestingly her older children cited her maiden name as Bergner while the younger children cited Pergel on their documents.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Madness Monday - More than one Maiden Name?

Researching my Great Grandmother, Maria, has been very frustrating. Depending on who you talk with and what record I find she has two maiden names. Her youngest daughters all believed her surname was Pergel. This can be found on some records where her 3 youngest daughters were the source. Her older sons recorded their mother's maiden name as Bergner. I have one record where Mary, herself, is the source where, on her husband's death certificate, she states her maiden name as Bergner. Oral family history may shed some light on this discrepancy. As the story goes - Maria's mother died when she was still young. She was thought to be the youngest of several children and her father gave her to a Jewish family to be raised as a servant. Perhaps one is her real name and the other belongs to the family that she was raised with.

She was born 12 Jan 1869 in Budapest, Hungary. Hungary was also cited as the place of birth of her parents in the 1930 census. She married Ignatz J. Kollain abt 1887 in Austria-Hungary and they immigrated to the U.S. in 1909. They were residing in NYC in 1912; and moved to Jamesburg, NJ prior to 1920. Maria Kollain died 12 Oct. 1957 in Jamesburg, Middlesex, NJ. Parents were listed as 'unknown' on her death cert. Her date and place of birth came from Ignatz's naturalization papers. That is all we have for Maria. Nothing further is known about her family or the family who raised her. Thoughts?