Fred's family—Sandner Family?

 In a bag of photos from my uncle's estate, I came across one labeled on the back: 

"Anna/7 months/Fred's Family."

The items in this bag were unsorted but contained photos from my uncle's father's AND mother's sides. The author of "Anna, 7 months" is unknown. I think the author of "Fred's Family" is my grandmother. There aren't any "Freds" on the father's side, so I assume that this photo is from the Sandners, his mother's side. 

Please remember that I'm making an assumption here. This could be a different "Fred," but I don't think so. Looking at the front can give us some clues:

But not very many.

There aren't many clues in the clothing or surroundings, so we'll just have to concentrate on how well this photo matches the details of Fred Sandner's life. 

Fred Elwin or Edgar Sandner was born in Zwickau, Saxony, Germany, around 1880. He was called "Fritz." He accompanied his father Albin (Alvin) to the US in 1892, when Albin was recruited to work the mines. They were naturalized in 1895; I own the naturalization papers. 

1900: 19, living with parents and family in St. Louis, MO.

1910: Working on it

1920: Working on it

About 1927: Married Marie Reis (Reece) Glover, who had two daughters from a previous marriage

About 1929: Fred, Jr., born

1930: In the 1930 US Census for IL, Fred Saudmers is living in Springfield, Sangamon County, IL. He is 49, age at first marriage 46, born Germany, parents born Germany, naturalized 1895, coal miner, not a vet (this is wrong). Also  in the household are wife Marie, 25, age at first marriage, 15; son Fred, Jr., 1, and Glover step-daughters Louise, 9, and Caroline, 7. They all live at 145 Wesley St.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4584641_00089?backlabel=ReturnSearchResults&queryId=a347f5ed46f127ef1065ead142bdb4e3&pId=87703140

About 1935: Norman, about six years after the first

1940: In the 1940 US Census for IL, Fred Sanders is living in Springfield, Sangamon County. He is 58, born Germany, attained 8th grade, miner in a coal mine, $900 income. Also in the household are wife Marie, 36, born Germany, attained 7th grade; Fred, Jr., 11, 6th grade, born IL; Norman, 5, born IL, not attending school; and Noretta Inskipp, 4, foster daughter. 

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-00884-00146?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=143031304

About 1942: William born (about 13 years after Son #1 and seven years after Son #2)

Big age gaps between the three sons. Big age gap between Fred and Marie. 

Fred died in 1950 in Illinois. His obit mentions three sons and two stepdaughters but no daughter named "Anna."

No record anywhere shows an Anna Sandner died young. It may be out there, but I haven't found it.

And yet...

My grandmother's name was pronounced "Anna," so it's possible.

In the photo, the woman or wife does appear to be much younger than the man or husband. Twelve years? Hard to say but certainly possible.

If this is Fred Sandner and it's his family, then the photo was taken between 1940 (Fred, Jr., age 11, and Norman age 5) and 1950 (Norman age 15 and William age 8). I tend to think it's the latter—around 1949 or 1950.  

I am hoping that one of Fred's grandchildren will read this blog and let me know if my theory is correct!

 

New photo

Now that I've seen several dozen photos of my Sandner relatives, I may be able identify the people in the photo below.

 

Left to right:

Emma Sandner S., Homer Satterlee or a Sandner brother, Helen Sandner Satterlee, Anne Sandner H. 

Date of photo?

Unknown, but the styles look like late 40s and early 50s.

Back of Jenny and Alfred's postcard

Here's what the back of Jenny and Alfred's postcard looks like:

 

I find it almost impossible to read the German handwriting. Luckily my German professor has volunteered to transcribe these letters, trusting to her fabulous teaching that I can translate them. 

The script above reads:

"An unsere Lieben ein Andenken an unsern 40. Hochzeitstag am 25. März senden wir in treuer Geschwisterliebe und ewiger Dankbarkeit.

Allen ein frohes Osterfest!"

Translated and slightly paraphrased, it says:

"On March 25th, our 40th wedding anniversary, we are sending a little keepsake to our loved ones with sibling affection and true gratitude. Happy Easter, everyone!"

The photographer was Paul Biedermann, Auß Plauensche Straße 26, Zwickau, Saxony, Germany. A neat little fact is that there are still shops located at that address. 

If I recall correctly—not sure, have to check this—Alfred and Jenny got engaged in 1926 and married in 1927. Which means that the photo on the front of the card was taken about 1966 or 1967. Since my records state that Jenny died in 1971, the date is quite plausible.

Jenny was born in 1883 and died in 1971. Thus she was 21 - 25 during World War I (1914 - 1918) and 56 - 62 during World War II (1939 - 1945). Moreover, she lived behind the Iron Curtain from 1946 until her death in 1971 from ages 63 to 87. 

What a life. I am certainly glad that she and Alfred found joy in it.

Jenny & Alfred

 One of the most fun parts of getting a box with jumbled photos is figuring out who the people are. Below is a photo whose subjects are probably Alfred and Jenny Sandner Naser on their 40th wedding anniversary (?). 

Let's assume for now that the subjects are Jenny and Alfred. Here's what I know about them. 

The source for the info below was my grandmother.

Jenny was born October 26, 1883, in Zwickau, Saxony, Germany. Jenny was the third child, second daughter of Albin and Ernestine Unger Sandner. Jenny remained behind in Zwickau when the rest of the family emigrated to the U.S. in 1892. That means she was just nine when her entire family left! 

Why did she stay behind? Where and with whom did she live? Mysteries abound.

The picture above is dated about 1966, if my rusty German is correct. This means that she married Alfred about 1926. They were together during World War II and while behind the Iron Curtain. 

My family tree says that Jenny died on April 10, 1971, but there is no source listed. Dang. Obviously this info was recorded at the beginning of my genealogy journey, when I wasn't as careful about listing sources. Another mystery. 

This is what I think I know about Alfred: he was alive in 1966. He married Jenny. He lived in Zwickau. One of the jumble photos maybe shows him as a soldier. What job did he work at? What did he do during World War II? What job did he work at when East Germany was divided off from West Germany? More mysteries.

Other photos from the jumble prove that Alfred and Jenny had a daughter or granddaughter named Kathe. Don't know which yet. She wrote several of the jumble postcards that haven't been translated. Hope to figure out her relationship soon.  (Mystery!)

Jenny resembles my grandmother so much! Same cheekbones, same nose, which they inherited from mother Ernestine. 

That's about all I have discovered from the front of this photo so far. Next, a look at the back and what it can tell us about Jenny and Alfred. 

Solving mysteries is my game!

Shirley Jeanne Risch

Looking at old pix as time and allergies allow...slow going...

Below is a picture of Shirley Jeanne Risch, daughter of Gertrude Moeckel and John Risch. My best guess is that the picture was taken in her junior year of high school in Denver. 

She sure was pretty!

 

More new old pictures

This one is easy because the name and date are written on the back. Here is the front:

And here is the back:

The photo is of "Mrs. Ewald Sandner and daughter 1921."

"Mrs. Ewald Sandner" was the former Sarah Jane Gardner, born 1890, died 1960. She married Ewald Sandner about 1909 because in the 1910 Census they are enumerated at 5 Main St., Mount Olive, IL, and have been married one year. She might have been pregnant when the Census worker talked to them, because Frederick, their first child, was born in December of that year. 

The daughter has to be Lorraine Gertrude Sandner, who would have been about three in 1921. Ewald and Sarah's first two children were boys: Frederick born 1910 and Raymond born 1912. As far as I can tell there were only four children: Frederick, Raymond, Lorraine pictured above, and finally Doris. 

I found this photo mixed with a bunch of others that came from my great-aunt's house. My great-aunt was not related by blood to the Sandners. But apparently she like them enough to save their photos. 

That's nice.

More photos as I find them. Bis nachste Mal.

New old picture of the Sandners

Having just received six boxes of family treasure from my uncle's estate, I am trying desperately to bring some order to the boxes and boxes of family history that already crowd my house. Thank heavens my husband is so patient!

Imagine my joy to re-discover a faded image of the Mining Sandner family from about 1900! The image below is a print of a scan of the original photo. I then scanned that image to get this one, which is cleaned up and enhanced to get more detail. Lots of generations, but it's the best I can do at the moment. I hope to find the original someday. Who knows? It may be buried in the boxes upon boxes. But I digress...

Here's the enhanced image:

The handwriting underneath is extremely faded—I think it's my dad's. It labels these people left to right, front row: Anne, ? (but I know it's Ernestine), Jenny (could say "Emma"), Helen. Left to right, back row: Ella, Ewald, Fred. 

Here's my take:

IF the year is 1900, then this picture was taken in either St. Louis (1900 Census) or Mt. Olive, IL. Left to right, front row would be: Anne, about 4, Ernestine, about 45, Emma, about 10, Helen, about 14. Left to right, back row: Ella, about 24, Ewald, about 12, and Fred, about 20. 

I have doubts about the complete accuracy of all the identifications. For example, the woman on the right labeled Helen looks a lot older than 14. The person labeled "Jenny" probably isn't, because Jenny stayed behind in Saxony; she wan't listed with the rest of the family on ship's logs. And Ewald is sporting a pretty amazing mustache for a 12-year-old. 

The rest of the IDs I can get behind.

These folks are spiffed up for some reason. No idea why at the moment, but if there are more like this in the new shipment, I'll update you.

More coming (eventually). Bis nachste Mal!