The Senica-St Louis Aufrichtigs
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The Senica-St Louis Aufrichtigs |
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The following family of Aufrichtigs are descended from a Karl Aufrichtig (dates unknown). Karl was father to Lazar Aufrichtig (b.1847), Alois Aufrichtig (1848) and Emma Aufrichtig (1853), all born in Senitz, northern Hungary (Hungarian name Szenic), now Senica, Slovakia. Earlier origins for either Karl or his parents have not been established. What is known, however, is that Senica is sited directly on the main route from Moravia into Hungary and very possibly became home to Jews leaving Moravia following the issue of anti-Jewish laws by Charles VI in 1725/6.
A positive link between Seneca and Boskovice, home town of two of the largest Aufrichtig groups, is contained in the Boskovice Records Notes, which includes a Lazar Aufrichtig, born in Senica in 1842.While the date may appear to be five years earlier than that credited to Karl's son, such discrepancies are not without precedent and therefore this entry cannot be overlooked, particularly since Karl would appear to have had Moravian connections, and is known to have spent some time in its capital city Brno [Brünn] - approximately 20 miles from Boskovice - as is evidenced by a studio portrait credited to J Wildner of Krapfengasse 31, Brünn.
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Although no birth date has yet been established for Karl, his wife, Hannah Fischof, mother of Lazar, Alois and Emma, is believed to have been born cir 1807. Were Karl of a similar age, his presence in Brno [Brünn] would have been near the time that either Lazar or Alois was born. There are, as yet, no records for either date or place of death for Karl and Hannah. There is, however, an unaccounted for Karl Aufrichtig who died in November 1888 and was buried in Boskovice Jewish Cemetery. Burial in Boskovice, though previously living in another town, that, too, is also not without precedent. The aforementioned Boskovice Notes and the Boskovice Archive Records contain many references to Aufrichtigs who are known to have moved to Vienna, Prague, Brno, Teplice and other cities and towns. The term "zuständig" was frequently applied to the persons to indicate that they were officially registered in those towns. In every Aufrichtig case - without exception - the root member of that individual's family was a Boskovice resident. Similarly, the inclusion of a Lazar Aufrichtig, born in Szenice, included in an official Boskovice register is a decided pointer to his roots. This is not to suggest that Karl Aufrichtig was definitely a Boskovite, but certainly provides strong possibilities of links to the Moravian town.
There are, as yet, no further details regarding Lazar. His siblings Alois and Emma each left Hungary for the U.S. and, perhaps surprisingly, despite being the more documented of the two, no ship's manifest has been located for Alois's entry into the United States, although on his 1900 Census form he entered 1875 as his year of immigration, qualifying this by entering "25" for the number of years he had been living in the United States. Emma, according to the 1930 Census, emigrated to the U.S. in 1869, when she would have been only 16 years old. There is no evidence to support this, and it appears unlikely. There are, however, confirmed details of a 24 years old Emma Aufrichtig travelling on board the SS Weiland which arrived in the U.S. (port unknown) on 21 July 1875. This would indicate an 1851 birth year and be entirely consistent with the ages given by Emma on subsequent US Census forms in 1900 and 1920.
Alois is known to have served an apprenticeship in the coppersmith trade in Klausenburg, Transylvania, prior to developing his skills in Vienna, Austria and Brno. He worked for a period in London and Newcastle, in the north-east of England, before setting sail for America. He is known to have worked for some time in Springfield, Massachusetts and Chicago before his arrival in St Louis in 1878.
It appears likely that he and Emma were simultaneously in Chicago between 1875 and 1878, although there is no documentation to support this. By 1880, Alois was establishing his St Louis business and Emma had met the recently widowed fellow Austro-Hungarian, Ignatz Weinfeld. Ignatz and his first wife Rosalie [Rosa] had married in Hungary cir 1870 and were still living there when the first of their four children, Joseph Weinfeld, was born in February 1872. The Weinfelds emigrated to the US, arriving on board the SS Mosel on 26 July 1973. Their settlement in Chicago was probably immediate since it was in that city that second child, Kate [Kittie] Weinfeld was born in 1874, followed by William Weinfeld in 1876 and Samuel Weinfeld in 1877.
Rosalie is known to have died in November 1879. Emma most probably became Ignatz Weinfeld's second wife early 1881 followed by the birth of her first child, Charles Weinfeld, in April 1882. Exactly 12 months later, daughter Hannah Weinfeld was born in April 1883. The couple's third (and Isaac's 7th) child, Roza [Rose] L Weinfeld arrived four years after in 1887. Although the Aufrichtig line is extended through Joseph, Kate and William Weinfeld, the special relationship between Emma and the four elder Weinfeld siblings of her own children has prompted the creation of a sub-section devoted to the descendants of Ignatz and Rosalie.
Emma's family and descendants came to be known as the Chicago arm of the family, while Alois became the head of its St Louis branch. Both branches of this family group have been traced to the present day, although it must be recorded that respect of privacy and inability to make contact with some living members has prevented the use of complete details in such instances.
Much of the information on the Senica-St Louis Aufrichtigs was originally based on a number of Internet reports, the earliest of which is the inclusion of Alois (Aloes) Aufrichtig on a St Louis, Missouri 1880 Census form. In May 1882, he married Jenny Lederer, with whom he had four children: Hannah Aufrichtig (1883) who, coincidentally, was born exactly the same month as her cousin Hannah Weinfeld - both presumably named after their grandmother Hannah Fischof - Charles Grover Aufrichtig (1885), Elsa Aufrichtig (1890) and Albert Alois [Ollie] Aufrichtig (1895). Although resident in America and a highly respected businessman, Alois did not become a naturalised U.S. citizen until August 1896. Despite a 1900 Census form advising his year of immigration as 1875, it is, perhaps, his wife Jenny's August 1921 Passport Application that more accurately reflects Alois's US entry as 1871. As well as confirming her own uninterrupted residence in St Louis since 1880, her documentation also revealed that after leaving Massachusetts, Alois had spent some time in New York prior to moving on to Chicago and St Louis.
Alois's descendants have been successfully traced to the present day, thanks to the outstanding efforts of his great-grandson, Tripp Alyn. Tripp, the grandson of Albert Alois [Ollie] Aufrichtig, and son of Albert Alois Aufrichtig Jr (who changed his name to Albert A Alyn in 1946) has provided family details and digital copies of all pictures illustrating his genealogical history. Under his guidance, the Senica-St Louis Aufrichtigs has become one of the most faithfully recorded groups on this website.
Senica-St Louis Aufrichtigs Home Page
Senica-St Louis Aufrichtigs Alphabetical Listing
Charles G Aufrichtig Obituary Notice
