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POST 153: DOCUMENTING MY THIRD GREAT-GRANDPARENTS JACOB NATHAN BRUCK (1770-1836) & MARIANNE BRUCK, NÉE AUFRECHT’S (1776-) CHILDREN

Note: In this post, I present and synthesize some primary source documents I’ve collected proving the existence of my third great-grandparents’ children. A family memoir states they had twelve unnamed children though I can definitively account for only nine of them. I am not surprised given that large families often had children who died at birth or in childhood. I strongly suspect a tenth offspring, the oldest girl, who shows up on several ancestral trees, may have lived to adulthood though I cannot independently prove this. The point of this post is to illustrate the standard to which I hold myself accountable in verifying ancestral data, not simply tell another family story to which readers may not relate.

POST 145: PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS ABOUT MY GREAT-GREAT GRANDUNCLE, DR. JONAS BRUCK (1813-1883)

POST 150: UPPER SILESIAN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS FROM RATIBOR [RACIBÓRZ, POLAND]

POST 152: TANTALIZING CLUES ABOUT MY THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER JACOB NATHAN BRUCK (1770-1836) AND HIS LIFE IN RATIBOR [RACIBÓRZ, POLAND]

A distant Bruck relative, Bertha Jacobson, née Bruck (1873-1957) wrote a memoir for her granddaughter, Maria Jacobson (1933-2022). In this memoir, which Maria donated to the Leo Baeck Institute in New York before her death, Bertha notes that my third great-grandparents Jacob Nathan Bruck (1770-1836) and Marianne Bruck, née Aufrecht (b. 1776) had twelve children, though she doesn’t name them. As a challenge to myself, I set out to determine how many of these purported children’s existence I could find proof of in the form of primary source documents, my gold standard. I’ve summarized this data including the source in a table readers will find at the end of this post.

I’ve often admonished followers about cloning ancestral data that one finds on other people’s ancestral trees, especially if source documents are not identified. That said, ancestral trees are sometimes specific enough to direct researchers to other sources that can be independently checked to confirm the veracity of the information in a tree. Below I will give readers an example of how I was able to confirm the burial place of one of Jacob and Marianne’s children in Berlin through data found on an ancestral tree in MyHeritage.

Before delving into the evidence I’ve tracked down for Jacob and Marianne’s children, let me review the vital data I’ve found out about them. In Post 150 I told readers how I discovered my third great-grandfather Jacob Nathan Bruck’s death register listing for Ratibor among the primary source documents digitized by the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s “Silius Radicum” project. (Figure 1) The index proved Jacob died in Ratibor [today: Racibórz, Poland] on the 29^th of June 1836 at the age of 66, meaning he was born in 1770. While I’ve been unable to uncover the exact date he was born, the Geneanet Community Tree Index claims Jacob was born on the 18^th of February 1770. (Figure 2) Notwithstanding that the source of this data is Michael Bruck, my fourth cousin once removed, I’ve yet to see the source document from which Michael drew this information.

Figure 1. The death register listing found in the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s Ratibor Signature Book 1699 showing my great-great-great-grandfather Jacob Nathan Bruck died on the 29th of June 1836 at the age of 66

Figure 2. Geneanet Community Tree Index claiming Jacob Nathan Bruck was born on the 18th of February 1770

A related aside. Another one of my distant Bruck relatives, Marianne Polborn, née Bruck (1888-1975) developed a family tree which includes some vital information for Jacob and Marianne Bruck. (Figure 3) Jacob’s date of birth matches that found on the Geneanet Community Tree Index. While I’m inclined to believe the 18^th of February 1770 was indeed Jacob’s birth, the skeptic in me asks whether Michael Bruck had access to Marianne Polborn’s ancestral tree, so that everyone is copying the same unverified information from a record that is not a primary source document? This is likely a rhetorical question.

Figure 3. Marianne Polborn, née Bruck’s (1888-1975) family tree with vital information on Jacob Bruck and Marianne Aufrecht

I draw readers’ attention to another date on Marianne Polborn’s ancestral tree, namely Jacob and Marianne’s marriage date, specifically, the 16^th of May 1793. Given the confirmed dates of birth for some of Jacob and Marianne’s children towards the end of the 18^th century and the beginning of the 19^th century, this seems like a plausible marriage year. While this tree is the sole unconfirmed source of their wedding, even if Marianne was already pregnant when she and Jacob married, a not uncommon occurrence I’ve learned, their oldest child would likely not have been born much before 1794. The earliest confirmed birth year for any of their children, as I will discuss, is 1796.

Another date I draw readers’ attention to is the purported date of birth of Marianne Aufrecht, the 21^st of August 1776.

Marianne Polborn does not specify when Marianne Bruck died, although the Geneanet Community Tree Index claims she died on the 3^rd of August 1835. (Figure 4) I believe this is a case of “false precision.” Let me explain. By chance, when scrolling through the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Family History Library Microfilm Roll Number 7990058 with the names of Jews who died between 1832 and 1838 in Neisse [today: Nysa, Poland], located 54 miles northwest of Racibórz, I stumbled on the death register listing of the “witwe Marianne Bruck” who died at 70 years of age on the 3^rd of August 1835; “witwe” means widow. (Figure 5) As discussed above, I know for sure Jacob Bruck died in 1836 so obviously in 1835 Marianne would not yet have been a widow. Also, if Marianne’s birth year was 1776, which I’m inclined to believe, had she died in 1835 she would only have been several weeks short of her 59^th birthday. Finally, unless Marianne was visiting Neisse, her death there rather than in Ratibor seems odd.

Figure 4. Geneanet Community Tree Index claiming Marianne Bruck, née Aufrecht died on the 3rd of August 1835

Figure 5. Page from LDS Microfilm 7990058, listing people who died in Neisse, Prussia [today: Nysa, Poland] between 1832 and 1838, including the “widow Marianne Bruck” who died on the 3rd of August 1835 at 70 years of age

Let me now discuss Jacob and Marianne’s children.

Helene Bruck (unconfirmed)

Often the oldest of Jacob and Marianne’s offspring listed on ancestral trees is Helene Bruck shown married to an Itzig Mendel Guttmann Aufrecht. As I discussed in Post 150, I located Marianne’s death register listing in the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s database proving she died on the 20^th of May 1838 at the age of 68 (Figure 6), identical to the year Jacob Bruck was born, 1770. Thus, the Helene Bruck married to Itzig Aufrecht was not one of Jacob and Marianne’s children, but more likely Jacob’s cousin. It’s conceivable Jacob and Marianne named their first-born daughter Helene, but I cannot independently verify this nor prove she existed.

Figure 6. The death register listing found in the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s Ratibor Signature Book 1699 for Marianne Aufrecht, née Bruck, married to Itzig Mendel Guttman Aufrecht, showing she died on the 20th of May 1838 at the age of 68

Wilhelmine Bruck (1796-1864)

Wilhelmine Bruck’s existence is incontrovertible. Proof of her marriage to Wilhelm Friedenstein is found on LDS Microfilm 1184449 showing they got married on the 7^th of November 1814 in Ratibor, identifying her father as Jakob Nathan Bruck. (Figure 7) Find-A-Grave shows she was born in 1796 and died in 1864, and is interred in the Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu, the Old Jewish Cemetery, in Wrocław, Poland. (Figure 8) My friend, Dr. Renata Wilkoszewska-Krakowska, is the Branch Manager of this cemetery and sent me a picture of her headstone giving her precise birth and death dates. (Figure 9) Her husband is not buried alongside her.

Figure 7. Page from LDS FHC Microfilm 1184449 showing that two of Jacob Nathan Bruck’s daughters got married, Wilhelmine on the 7th of March 1814 and Dorothea Babette Bruck on the 25th of February 1817

Figure 8. Information in Find-A-Grave for Wilhelmine Friedenstein, née Bruck showing she was born in 1796 and died in 1864 and is buried in the “Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu,” the Old Jewish Cemetery, in Wrocław, Poland

Figure 9. Wilhelmine Friedenstein, née Bruck’s “matzevah” or headstone in the Old Jewish Cemetery, in Wrocław, Poland

Dorothea Babbett Bruck

Although no birth or death information has so far been uncovered for another of Jacob and Marianne’s daughters, her existence again is irrefutable. According to LDS Microfilm 1184449, Dorothea married Salomon Freund on the 25^th of February 1817 in Ratbor, and her father is listed as Jakob Nathan Bruck. (see Figure 7)

Moritz Bruck (1800-1863)

A German book published in 1845 entitled “Gelehrtes Berlin in Jahre 1845,” roughly translated as “Scholarly Berlin in 1845,” includes a biography of Moritz Bruck stating he was born on the 24^th of December 1800 in Ratibor and that his father was Jacob Bruck. (Figure 10) He was a respected doctor and was actively involved in researching and writing about cholera. Unlike his older brothers, Moritz attended the gymnasium, high school, in Brieg, [today: Brzeg, Poland], 80 miles northwest of Racibórz. His 1824 dissertation written in Latin was entitled “De myrmeciasi,” and was about ants popularly known as bulldog ants, bull ants, or jack jumper ants due to their ferocity; his dissertation includes a dedication page for his father. (Figures 11a-b)

Figure 10. Moritz Bruck’s biography on page 46 of book entitled “Gelehrtes Berlin im Jahre 1845” showing he was born on the 24th of December 1800

Figure 11a. Cover page of Moritz Bruck’s 1824 Latin dissertation “De myrmeciasi”

Figure 11b. Page from Moritz Bruck’s dissertation acknowledging his father

On MyHeritage, I discovered the “Tuchler Family Tree,” which correctly indicates Moritz died on the 25^th of October 1863 in Berlin and is buried in the Jüdische Friedhof in der Schönhauser Allee, a fact I confirmed by having one of my German cousins call the cemetery. At a future date, I will include a photo of his headstone. This is one of the few occasions I found vital information on a family tree that I was independently able to verify.

Fanny Bruck (1804-1879)

LDS Microfilm 1184449 indicates that like her sisters Wilhelmine and Dorothea, Fanny got married in Ratibor on the 26^th of November 1822 to Isaac Seliger. (Figure 12) Kurt Polborn, my fourth cousin from Germany, shows she died on the 29^th of August 1879 in Breslau [today: Wrocław, Poland]. Given the exactitude of her death, I asked Kurt about it, and he sent me a copy of a letter Fanny wrote on the 19^th of February 1873 informing authorities in Breslau her husband Isaac had passed away on the 13^th of February 1873. (Figure 13) The Julian and Hebrew calendar dates of death for both Isaac and Fanny are written at the bottom of this correspondence; the source of this letter is the online archives of the Centralna Biblioteka Judaistyczna, Central Jewish Library. I was able to locate Isaac Seliger’s death register listing on LDS Microfilm 7990011 confirming he died on the 13^th of February 1873. (Figure 14)

Figure 12. Page from LDS FHC Microfilm 1184449 showing that another of Jacob Nathan Bruck’s daughters, Fanny, got married on the 26th of November 1822

Figure 13. Letter Fanny wrote on the 19th of February 1873 informing authorities in Breslau her husband Isaac had passed away on the 13th of February 1873; Fanny and Isaac’s death dates are written along the bottom (source: online “Centralna Biblioteka Judaistyczna,” Central Jewish Library)

Figure 14. Page from LDS FHC Microfilm 7990011 with Isaac Seliger’s death register listing confirming he died on the 13th of February 1873

Because the LDS Church does not have the Breslau death register covering the years between 1874 and 1910, I asked my friend Renata from the Old Jewish Cemetery in Wrocław if she could help track down Fanny Seliger’s death register information. Coincidentally, Fanny is buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery. Renata confirmed she was born on the 8^th of November 1804 and died on the 29^th of August 1879. A photo of her matzevah, headstone, will soon follow. (Figure 15-COMING SOON)

Isaac Bruck (~1805-?)

Isaac Bruck is estimated to have been born in 1805 or 1806. Along with his Samuel Bruck, both of their names show up on the roster of students who attended the inaugural class when Ratibor’s gymnasium, high school, opened in June 1819. (Figure 16) The roster indicates Isaac was 13 years old at the time, while his brother Samuel was 10 years of age. Isaac and Samuel’s unnamed father is listed as an “arendator,” beer tenant or distiller, which Jacob Bruck was known to have been. I discussed this topic in Post 152.

153-Figure 16. Isaac and Samuel Bruck’s names among the students who attended the inaugural class of the Ratibor “gymnasium” when it opened on the 2nd of June 1819

A particularly intriguing document I located mentioning Isaac Bruck was in a gazette entitled “Amtsblatt für den Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder,” dated the 26^th of May 1828. The Marienwerder gazette printed a notice to be on the lookout for the deserter Isaac Bruck from Ratibor, who in 1828 was said to be 22 years old. (Figure 17)

Figure 17. Police notice in the gazette entitled “Amtsblatt für den Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder,” dated the 26th of May 1828 seeking Isaac Bruck’s arrest for desertion; he was 22 years of age at the time

The Marienwerder Region (German: Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder) was a government region (Regierungsbezirk) of Prussia from 1815 until 1920 and again 1939-1945. It was a part of the Province of West Prussia from 1815 to 1829, and again 1878–1920, belonging to the Province of Prussia in the intervening years, and to the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia in the years 1939-1945. The regional capital was Marienwerder in West Prussia [today: Kwidzyn, Poland].

According to LDS Microfilms 1194054 and 1194055 for Gleiwitz [today: Gliwice, Poland], Isaac and his wife Caroline Bruck, née Stolz, are known to have separated on the 19^th of July 1835. (Figure 18)

Figure 18. Pages from LDS Microfilms 1194054 and 1194055 for Gleiwitz [today: Gliwice, Poland], announcing Isaac and his wife Caroline Bruck, née Stolz’s separation on the 19th of July 1835

Isaac Bruck is my cousin Michael Bruck’s 4^th great-grandfather who he estimates died in 1856 or 1857.

Samuel Bruck (1808-1863)

Samuel was my third-great-grandfather, and the original owner of the Bruck’s “Prinz von Preussen” Hotel in Ratibor. His existence is beyond doubt. I discussed Samuel in Post 144, so direct readers to that installment.

Heimann Bruck (~1812)

Heimann Bruck first attended Ratibor’s gymnasium, high school, in April 1823 when he was 11 years old. (Figure 19) Heimann’s unnamed father is said to be a “Destillateur,” distiller, which Jacob Bruck is known to have been.

Figure 19. Heimann Bruck’s name among the roster of students who attended Ratibor’s “gymnasium” in April 1823 when he was 11 years old

Heimann married Rosalie “Rosa” Bruck on the 21^st of August 1832 in Neisse, Prussia [today: Nysa, Poland]. Heimann’s father is identified as “Jacob B.” and Rosa’s father as “David B.” (Figure 20) Jacob and David were likely cousins.

Figure 20. Page from LDS Microfilm 7990058 listing Heimann Bruck and Rosa Bruck’s marriage in Neisse on the 21st of August 1832

In an 1826 Ratibor publication entitled “Einladungsschrift der Offentlichen Prufung der Schuler des Konigs. Gymnasium in Ratibor am 5, 6, und 7 April,” “Invitation to the Public Examination of the Pupils of the Royal Grammar School in Ratibor on April 5, 6 and 7, 1826,” Heimann Bruck’s name appears as having graduated from fourth class Latin. This may correspond with Heimann’s graduation from the gymnasium. (Figure 21)

Figure 21. Heimann Bruck’s name in an 1826 Ratibor publication showing he graduated from the “gymnasium”

Various ancestral trees indicate Heimann died in 1875 but this information is unconfirmed.

Jonas Bruck (1813-1883)

Jonas Bruck’s history is well-known. Primary source documents related to my 2^nd great granduncle were discussed in Post 145. Jonas first attended Ratibor’s gymnasium in 1824 at 10 ½ years of age (Figure 22) and is shown in an annual Ratibor yearbook to have graduated in 1828.

Figure 22. Jonas Bruck’s name among the roster of students who attended Ratibor’s “gymnasium” in April 1824 when he was 10 ½ years old

Rebecka Bruck (1815-1819)

Jacob and Marianne last known child is Rebecka Bruck and is their only child whose birth was recorded on LDS Microfilm 1184449 for Ratibor. (Figure 23) Her fate was unknown until I found her death register listing in the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s Signature Book 1699 indicating she died in Ratibor on the 16^th of September 1819 at 4 years 8 months of age. (Figure 24)

Figure 23. Page from LDS Microfilm 1184449 for Ratibor recording Rebecka Bruck’s birth on the 10th of January 1815

Figure 24. The death register listing found in the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s Ratibor Signature Book 1699 showing that Rebecka Bruck died in Ratibor on the 16th of September 1819 at 4 years 8 months of age

In closing, let me make a few remarks. As readers can tell, I hold myself to a very high standard when documenting vital statistics for individuals I’m researching. On rare occasions, ancestral trees with vital data will direct me to information I can verify. Thanks to German and Polish friends and family, while compiling source documents for this post, I was able to uncover vital information for three additional children of Jacob and Marianne, namely, Wilhelmine Bruck, Moritz Bruck, and Fanny Bruck. While there are likely limits to what more can be uncovered, particularly for their children who died at birth or in infancy, I remain convinced additional primary source documents exist and that I may eventually find them. As things now stand, I’m confident I’ve proven the existence of nine of Jacob and Marianne’s children and confirmed the birth and death dates of six of them.

REFERENCES

Amtsblatt für den Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder. (1828)

https://archive.org/details/bub_gb__pwDAAAAcAAJ/mode/2up?q=%E2%80%9CAmtsblatt+f%C3%BCr+den+Regierungsbezirk+Marienwerder

“Einladungsschrift der Offentlichen Prufung der Schuler des Konigs. Gymnasium in Ratibor am 5, 6, und 7 April.” (1826)

https://sbc.org.pl/en/dlibra/publication/696629/edition/655777/einladungsschrift-zu-der-offentlichen-prufung-der-schuler-des-koniglichen-gymnasiums-zu-ratibor-am-9-10-und-11-april-von-e-hanisch-director-des

Koner, Wilhelm (1846) “Gelehrtes im Jahre 1845.”

Gelehrtes Berlin im jahre 1845 : Wilhelm Koner : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

VITAL DATA & SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON JACOB NATHAN BRUCK & MARIANNE BRUCK, NÉE AUFRECHT’S CHILDREN

NOTE: My frustration with ancestral data in other people’s family trees is that they are often unsourced. In the table below, I’ve noted whether the data is “confirmed” or “unconfirmed.” I do not generally consider hand drawn family trees to be irrefutable proof of accuracy, nor do I consider the Geneanet Community Tree Index a primary source document. Even among contemporary records, I’ve occasionally found errors though generally consider the information in these registers and certificates to be the best available. I welcome corrections and additions from readers that have a personal interest in the information provided below.

NAME (relationship)	EVENT	DATE	PLACE	SOURCE

Jacob Nathan Bruck (self)	Birth	18 February 1770 (unconfirmed)	Pschow, Prussia [today: Pszów, Poland]	Marianne Polborn, née Bruck family tree; Geneanet Community Tree Index
	Marriage	16 May 1793 (unconfirmed)		Marianne Polborn, née Bruck family tree
	Death	29 June 1836 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	Upper Silesia Genealogical Society, Ratibor Signature Book 1698_0078; Geneanet Community Tree Index
Marianne Aufrecht (wife)	Birth	21 August 1776 (unconfirmed)	Teschen, Prussia [today: Cieszyn, Poland]	Marianne Polborn, née Bruck family tree; Geneanet Community Tree Index
	Marriage	16 May 1793 (unconfirmed)		Marianne Polborn, née Bruck family tree
	Death	1835 (unconfirmed)		Geneanet Community Tree Index
Wilhelmine Bruck (daughter)	Birth	24 April 1796 (confirmed)		*Headstone at the Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu* (Museum of Cemetery Art, Old Jewish Cemetery), Wroclaw, Poland**
	Marriage (to Wilhelm Friedenstein)	7 November 1814 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	LDS Family History Center Microfilm 1184449; Upper Silesia Genealogical Society, Ratibor Signature Book 1699_0053
	Death	21 December 1864 (confirmed)		*Headstone at the Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu* (Museum of Cemetery Art, Old Jewish Cemetery), Wroclaw, Poland**
Dorothea Babbett Bruck (daughter)	Birth
	Marriage (to Salomon Freund)	25 February 1817 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	LDS Family History Center Microfilm 1184449
	Death
Marcus Moritz Bruck (son)	Birth	24 December 1800 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	*1845 biography entitled “Gelehrtes Berlin in Jahre 1845”*
	Marriage (to Nannette v. Aldersthal)	16 October 1836 (confirmed)	Berlin, Germany	Berlin Marriage Certificate
	Death	25 October 1863 (confirmed)	Berlin, Germany	*Tuchler Family Tree on MyHeritage; buried in the Jüdische Friedhof in der Schönhauser Allee* in Gräberfeld J, Erbbegräbnis 170 (Grave Field J, Hereditary Burial 170)**
Fanny Bruck (daughter)	Birth	8 November 1804 (confirmed)		*Headstone at the Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu* (Museum of Cemetery Art, Old Jewish Cemetery), Wroclaw, Poland**
	Marriage (to Isaac Seliger)	26 November 1822 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	LDS Family History Center Microfilm 1184449; Upper Silesia Genealogical Society, Ratibor Signature Book 1699_0055
	Death	29 August 1879 (confirmed)	Breslau, Prussia [today: Wrocław, Poland]	Headstone at the Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu (Museum of Cemetery Art, Old Jewish Cemetery), Wroclaw, Poland; Letter written & signed by Fanny Seliger dated 19 February 1873 in the online archives of the Central Jewish Library (https://cbj.jhi.pl/documents/375623/8/)
Isaac Bruck (son)	Birth	~1805 (unconfirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	**Königl. Evangel. Gymnasium zu Ratibor am 2. Juni 1819, roster of students (Isaac said to be 13 years old in June 1819); Amtsblatt für den Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder, Vol. 18, 26 May 1828, p. 213 (Isaac said to be 22 years old in May 1828)**
	Marriage (to Caroline Stolz)
	Separated	14 July 1835 (confirmed)	Gleiwitz, Prussia [Gliwice, Poland]	LDS Family History Center Microfilms 1195054 & 1194055 for Gleiwitz [Gliwice, Poland]
	Death
Samuel Bruck (son)	Birth	11 March 1808 (confirmed)	Pschow, Prussia [today: Pszów, Poland]	Caption on family photo; Pinkus Family Collection, Leo Baeck Institute
	Marriage (to Charlotte Marle)	18 January 1831 (unconfirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	Marianne Polborn, née Bruck family tree
	Death	3 July 1863 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	Caption on family photo
Heimann Heinrich Bruck (son)	Birth	~1812 (unconfirmed)		*Königl. Evangel.* *Gymnasium zu Ratibor, 1819-1849* roster of students (Heimann said to be 11 years old in April 1823); MyHeritage family tree
	Marriage (to Rosalie “Rosa” Bruck)	21 August 1832 (confirmed)	Neisse, Prussia [today: Nysa, Poland]	LDS Family History Center Microfilm 00799058, page 17 of 596 & 68 of 596;
	Death	1875 (unconfirmed)	Breslau, Prussia [today: Wrocław, Poland]	MyHeritage family tree
Jonas Bruck (son)	Birth	5 March 1813 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	Headstone at the Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu (Museum of Cemetery Art, Old Jewish Cemetery), Wroclaw, Poland; Königl. Evangel. Gymnasium zu Ratibor am 2. Juni 1819, roster of students (Jonas said to be 10.5 years old on April 1824)
	Marriage (to Rosalie Marle)
	Death	5 April 1883 (unconfirmed)	Breslau, Prussia [today: Wrocław, Poland]	*Headstone at the Stary Cmentarz Żydowski we Wrocławiu* (Museum of Cemetery Art, Old Jewish Cemetery), Wroclaw, Poland**
Rebecka Bruck (daughter)	Birth	10 January 1815 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	LDS Family History Center Microfilm 1184449
Rebecka Bruck (daughter)	Death	16 September 1819 (confirmed)	Ratibor, Prussia [today: Racibórz, Poland]	Upper Silesia Genealogical Society, Ratibor Signature Book 1699_0067

POST 152: TANTALIZING CLUES ABOUT MY THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER JACOB NATHAN BRUCK (1770-1836) AND HIS LIFE IN RATIBOR [RACIBÓRZ, POLAND]

Note: Tiering off a few elusive clues I found about my third great-grandfather Jacob Nathan Bruck (1770-1836) from Ratibor [today: Racibórz, Poland], I examine the historic and geographic context in which the events he was involved in played out.

POST 13, POSTSCRIPT: THE FORMER JEWISH CEMETERY IN RATIBOR (RACIBÓRZ)

POST 150: UPPER SILESIAN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS FROM RATIBOR [RACIBÓRZ, POLAND]

POST 151: LET’S CONVERSATE: A TRIBUTE TO MY FRIEND PAUL NEWERLA

In Post 150 I told readers how I discovered my great-great-great-grandfather Jacob Nathan Bruck’s death register listing among the primary source documents digitized by the Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s “Silius Radicum” project. The index proves Jacob died in Ratibor [today: Racibórz, Poland] on the 29th of June 1836 at the age of 66. (Figure 1) As the oldest known Bruck from the Ratibor line, I refer to him as the paterfamilias.

Figure 1. The death register listing found in Upper Silesian Genealogical Society’s Ratibor Signature Book 1699 showing my great-great-great-grandfather Jacob Nathan Bruck died on the 29th of June 1836 at the age of 66

Finding definitive proof of my long-ago ancestor’s death is particularly satisfying as ancestral trees on ancestry.com and MyHeritage, often cloning erroneous information from one another, indeterminately placed his death as 1832. Having never been able to independently verify Jacob’s vital data, it was always an open question of when exactly he died.

In the last several months, I’ve uncovered a smattering of clues from a range of sources that give me a limited sense of Jacob’s life. Before delving into these, I want to touch on a few intriguing finds I’ve made in the process.

First, a little background. According to a memoir written by Bertha Bruck (Figure 2), the grandmother of one of my recently deceased cousins, Jacob Nathan Bruck and his wife Marianne Bruck, née Aufrecht had 12 children. Most of my cousins, whom I consider highly accomplished genealogists, can account for seven or eight of them. I think I can provide corroboration of nine of Jacob and Marianne’s purported 12 children. Presenting the underlying proof relying on evidence-based primary source documents will be the subject of an upcoming post.

Figure 2. Bertha Bruck whose memoir claims that Jacob Nathan Bruck and Marianne Bruck, née Aufrecht had 12 children

While researching one of Jacob and Marianne’s offspring, Marcus Moritz Bruck, I stumbled upon a Bruck Family Tree on Geneanet Community Tree Index. Geneanet is a collaborative website with ancestral data added by participants and intended for all genealogists.

I sound my usual admonishment about the accuracy of any ancestral tree particularly if source documents are not attached and/or identified. Nonetheless, Geneanet corroborates Jacob Nathan Bruck’s date of death as the 29th of June 1836, as I’ve independently discovered; having learned that Jacob was 66 upon his death obviously means that he was born in 1770. Geneanet not only confirms that Jacob was born in 1770, but also provides his exact date and place of birth, the 18th of February 1770 in Pschow [Pszów, Poland]. (Figure 3) Notwithstanding my usual doubts about the accuracy of ancestral trees, the specificity of Jacob’s place and date of death suggests it could be accurately drawn from an entry in some unknown birth register. For the moment, I reserve judgement.

Figure 3. Ancestral tree from Geneanet for Jacob Bruck confirming he died on the 29th of June 1836, and was purportedly born on the 18th of February 1770 in Pschow [Pszów, Poland]

Another intriguing find I made on the Bruck Family Tree in Geneanet is the name and dates of birth and death of Jacob’s father, Nathan Bruck, purportedly born in Upper Silesia in Poland in 1735 who died there in 1825 at age 90. (Figure 4) Again, absent more background information, I remain skeptical as to the veracity of this data.

Figure 4. Ancestral tree from Geneanet for Jacob Bruck’s father Nathan Bruck claiming he was born in 1735 and died in 1825 at age 90

Some brief historical geography. The historical region of Silesia is now in southwestern Poland. Silesia was originally a Polish province, which became a possession of the Bohemian crown in 1335, passed with that crown to the Austrian Hapsburgs in 1526, and was taken by Prussia in 1742. In 1945, at the end of World War II, Silesia was one of the regions of German territory that was granted to Poland by the Soviet Union in compensation for land in eastern Poland that was incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, land that is today part of the Ukraine.

For the purposes of this discussion, in 1735 when Nathan Bruck was born Upper Silesia would have been part of the Hapsburg empire. (Figure 5) Where ancestral records from this period are archived and even whether they still exist are unknown. If Nathan did indeed survive until 1825, his death would likely have been recorded in the death register in the Prussian town where he died; it’s possible the register noting his age when he died survives while the Austrian Hapsburg empire birth register no longer exists. At present Nathan’s place of death is unconfirmed.

Figure 5. The Austria-Hungary Empire as it looked in 1914

I would like to briefly touch on a fascinating possibility stemming from the discovery that Nathan Bruck lived until age 90. Because of her ancestral connection to Jacob Nathan Bruck and Nathan Bruck, in passing I told Helen Winter, nee Renshaw, my fourth cousin from Wolverhampton, England, about my discovery, namely, about Jacob’s date of birth and the possibility that his father lived into his 10th decade. In response, Helen casually mentioned an unframed painting that she and her sister once saw 30 or more years ago of a diminished, toothless old man. The unnerving effect it had on young children means the picture remained secreted. Given her family’s ancestral connection to Nathan Bruck, could it be that this painting is a rendering of Nathan Bruck? The search is now on by Helen and her sister to try and relocate this potential “treasure.” Stay tuned!

Jacob Nathan Bruck is my and Helen Winter’s last common Bruck relative, being the third great-grandfather to both of us. Helen’s paternal grandfather, Eberhard Friedrich Bruck (1877-1960) (Figure 6) wrote a memoir for his daughter Margot Renshaw, nee Bruck, Helen’s mother, in which he briefly mentioned Jacob.

Figure 6. Helen Winter’s grandfather, Eberhard Friedrich Bruck (1877-1960) with his dachshund Seppel in 1913 in Mittenwald, Bavaria; Eberhard wrote a memoir for his daughter Margor, Helen’s mother, in which he spoke briefly about Jacob Bruck

The original German passage and the English translation read as follows:

ORIGINAL PASSAGE

Mein Urgrossvater Jacob Bruck, 1762-1832, war Hotelbesitzer. Ihm gehörte das erste Hotel in Ratibor an der Oder ( Oberschlesien ). Das Hotel hiess “Prinz von Preussen”. Es wurde von Jacob Bruck um 1800 erbaut und bestand noch, wie ich aus einer Zeitungsnotis entnahm, 1933. Jacob Bruck war ein unternehmender Mann. Er besass auch eine Werft an der Oder, wo grössere Schiffe ( sog. “Oderkähne”) gebaut wurden. Um das nötige Holz zu erhalten, pachtete er Walder in Osterreichisch- Schlesien.

TRANSLATION

My great grandfather, Jacob Bruck, 1762 -1832 [EDITOR’S NOTE: INCORRECT DATES], was a hotelier. He owned the first hotel in Ratibor on Oder in Upper Silesia. The hotel was called the “Prince of Prussia.” He had it built in around 1800 and it was still standing in 1933, according to a newspaper item I saw. Jacob Bruck was an enterprising man. He also owned a shipyard on the Oder, where large craft (the so called ‘Oder Barges’) were built. To obtain the timber needed for these, he leased forests in Austrian Silesia.

A few observations and comments concerning what Eberhard Bruck wrote about Jacob and his occupational endeavors. As previously discussed, Jacob was born in 1770, not in 1762, and passed away in 1836, not in 1832. Eberhard was born in 1877 so would not personally have known his great-grandfather. Likely, his “memories” of Jacob would be recollections he’d heard of him as a child and would be distorted by the prism through which childhood memories are often processed and remembered.

I have tried to confirm whether what Eberhard wrote vis a vis Jacob Bruck is true, and in the process crafted what I consider to be a more accurate scenario of what likely happened. I will relate this is a future blog post where I recount when the Bruck’s “Prinz von Preussen” Hotel was probably built based on documented accounts of when the walls and towers surrounding and historically protecting Ratibor were torn down. I invite readers to stay tuned for this upcoming post but suffice it for now to say that it’s unlikely that Jacob had the Bruck’s Hotel constructed prior to his death nor that he was its first owner. This does not mean that Jacob did not operate the town’s first hotel as he is known to have owned several parcels of land in Ratibor. More on this below.

As I’ve discussed in earlier posts, the Bruck’s “Prinz von Preussen” Hotel survived WWII mostly intact but was dismantled by the Communist authorities to harvest the hotel’s bricks to rebuild Warsaw.

Prior to his passing, I asked my friend Paul Newerla whether Oderkähne, or Oder River barges, had ever been constructed in Ratibor, and he confirmed there had once been a shipyard there along the Oder River. He sent a postcard showing a large craft, possibly of the type Jacob manufactured. (Figure 7) Given that Jacob Bruck was fabricating these before he died in 1836 and that 1839 is the generally accepted date as the birth year of practical photography, no photographs of the barges Jacob manufactured are known.

Figure 7. Postcard of an “Oderkahne” sent to me by Paul Newerla, possibly representative of the type Jacob Bruck manufactured

I also discussed this matter with another good friend, Peter Albrecht von Preußen. As he was reading an 1861 book on Ratibor entitled “Geschichte der Stadt Ratibor und deren Stadtteile” (“History of the Town of Ratibor and Its Districts”) by Augustin Weltzel, I asked him to be on the lookout for any mention of Oder River barges or ship building activities in Ratibor but neither subject was broached.

A quick note about Augustin Weltzel’s 1861 book. Regrettably it is written in Fraktur font, a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand; Fraktur was commonly used to write German and other European languages from the 16^th to the 20^th century. Regrettably, this invaluable book has not been transcribed into modern-day German script, nor translated into Polish or English. On my behalf, Peter read through and synopsized relevant sections for me. Suffice it to say this book is full of valuable historical insights about the history of Ratibor that will serve as the foundation for my theory as to when the Bruck’s “Prinz von Preussen” Hotel could realistically have been constructed.

Returning briefly to the issue of Oder River barges, Peter discovered that on average an Oderkahne was 130 feet long, 13 to 15 feet wide, and 3 to 4 feet deep, so by no means a small boat. Assuming these were assembled on land, the factory or shop would have had to have been very close to the river. Possibly the shipyard was located outside Ratibor’s city limits, and therefore not mentioned in Weltzel’s book.

Intriguingly, Peter sent me a photograph of the type of barge I initially imagined Jacob Bruck was constructing. (Figure 8) The reason it seems more representative of barges Jacob Bruck was building is that they were mostly used to transport agricultural products from Ratibor to Breslau [today: Wrocław, Poland], which this one appears to have been suited for. According to Weltzel, the three primary industries at the time wrote his book were weaving, grain production, and limestone manufacturing.

Figure 8. An example of a possibly older generation Oder River barge

The pole on the barge in Figure 8 would have been attached to a rope which in turn would have been fastened and pulled upstream by a horse from the banks of the Oder. Once unloaded, it could basically float empty downriver. The “newer” type of barge illustrated in Figure 7, which began to appear between around 1850 to 1860, would have been steam-powered. According to Weltzel, the Oder River was not well suited for larger barges between Ratibor and Breslau, even during the rainy seasons in the spring when high waters would have made navigating larger craft easier.

A constant concern for the city were the bridges spanning the Oder River which collapsed or were destroyed no fewer than a dozen times historically because of fires, wars, flooding, ice buildup, and strong currents undermining the structures. The bridges were constantly rebuilt in different locations but because of the sandy sediment of the Oder they rarely survived for long until advanced building techniques were devised.

Eberhard Bruck’s fleeting reference to the fact that Jacob obtained his wood to build barges from Austrian Silesia sent me on a search to find maps delineating this area. In the attached figure, readers can see where “Oster Schlesien,” Austrian Silesia, was situated. (Figure 9) According to Paul Newerla, later shipyards apparently obtained their wood from Slovakia and Hungary, perhaps cheaper alternatives. Regardless, all three areas would have been logical places from which to obtain wood given their proximity to Ratibor.

Figure 9. Map of “Osterr Schlesien,” Austrian Silesia, showing its proximity to Ratibor

Other fleeting references to Jacob Bruck can be found in a 1995 book by Thomas Wardenga entitled “Häuserbuch der Stadt Ratibor” (“House register of the town of Ratibor”). This book includes an 1812 map of Ratibor showing the town’s lots at the time, identifying property owners. Jacob is shown as the co-owner of three lots. (Figure 10)

Figure 10. 1812 map of Ratibor from Thomas Wardenga’s 1995 book with the three lots that Jacob Bruck co-owned

Jacob is identified as a so-called “arrendator.” Not recognizing or being able to obtain a clear translation of this obscure and obsolete occupation, I turned to Paul Newerla, my recently deceased friend, for clarification. Translated, this is what Paul explained about Jacob’s line of work:

Arendator [EDITOR’S NOTE: ALSO SPELLED AS “ARRENDATOR”] is known to be a tenant of a pub, for example. During my research, I came across several instances where a tavern was leased by the noble owner of the village, for example. The right to produce spirits (distiller) was sometimes associated with the bar. However, the tenant had to buy the beer from the owner’s brewery. Sometimes it was the other way round: the right to brew beer was linked to the arrende, but the brandy had to be bought from the “lord”. In such cases, it can be said that a person could have been both “arrendator” and “distiller” and/or beer tenant (brewer).

Recently, while doing further research I discovered an excellent article by Alan Weiser entitled “The Arenda System: A Boon or Bane for Jews.” According to the author, “The arenda has been defined by the University of Virginia in its course on European Jewry as a system of leasing property in early modern Poland in which in exchange for a predetermined rent the lessor agreed to transfer to the lessee control over property or rights; thus, enabling the lessee to pocket any income produced from the leased property or rights. The arenda provided a livelihood for a significant proportion of Polish Jewish families.” Jacob as the lessee in an arenda contract would have been called an “arendar” or “arrendator.”

It has been suggested that because of the pressure the Jewish arendars were under to make payments to magnates and kings who owned the leased properties this resulted in large scale Jewish community debt causing the arendars to apply harsh measures to their serfs to ensure high productivity as soon as possible. According to Alan Weiser, “There was considerable anti-Semitic backlash resulting from this interaction.”

I encourage readers interested in learning more about the Arenda system to read Alan Weiser’s article and review his bibliographic references.

Thanks to another of my Polish acquaintances, Mr. Kamil Kotas from Chałupki, Poland, known in Prussian times as Annaberg, I was made aware of another very obscure reference to Jacob Bruck I would never have found on my own. On the Leo Baeck Institute’s website, in a file entitled the “Ratibor Community Collection,” Kamil found a typed German report translated as “The Jewish Community of Ratibor and its Cemetery” by C. Baendel. According to this document Jacob Bruck was one of the members of the Jewish community in Ratibor authorized to carry out the transaction of purchasing the land for the Jewish cemetery in 1814; according to C. Baendel, the deed is dated the 4^th of October 1814.

Interestingly, the deed was signed by all those authorized on the Jewish side authorized to negotiate the purchase, while on the selling side, the three heirs of a man named Johann Huttny had to use the help of a witness to confirm their signatures (they were probably illiterate) and a translator (they were probably from the Slavic-speaking local population). C. Bandel notes the cemetery was once used to mine brown coal, the prospects of which do not appear to have been lucrative. He also mentions the centennial celebration of the cemetery was set for the 26^th of November 1913. The link to C. Baendel’s document can be found among the references.

The Polish website, Cmentarz Żydowski w Polsce, List of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland, provides additional historical background on the Ratibor Jewish cemetery. Prior to its acquisition in 1814, Jews from Ratibor were buried in nearby Zülz [today: Biała Prudnicka, Poland], Nikolai [today: Mikołów, Poland], Langendorf [today: Hlučín, Czech Republic], or Hotzenplotz [today: Osoblaha, Czech Republic], or further afield in Bodzanów in central Poland. Purportedly, burials did not begin until 1817, though the oldest documented headstone dated from 1821. The last burials took place, respectively, in March 1940 and February 1941.

As I discussed in Post 13 and Post 13, Postscript, the Jewish Cemetery in Ratibor was demolished during Poland’s Communist Era in 1973. Quoting from an anonymous resident of Racibórz, who sent a letter to the Polish website Cmentarz Żydowski w Polsce, described the events as follows: “One day gentlemen appeared, described all the tombstones with colored paint, then arranged them according to some key. The most beautiful ones were taken to the reconstruction of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The less attractive ones were sold to stonemasons. The remains of the stones were still lying around for a long time. It looked terrible; the real devastation of the cemetery, demolished, felled, dug up stones. What was left was chaos, rubble, and so the bushes were overgrown. I think that the destruction was undertaken due to the necessity of delivering the marbles to Warsaw.”

A plaque was placed at the cemetery by a Pawel Głogowski in April 2014 (Figure 11), and more recently on 19^th of December 2023, a ceremony was held there with representatives from Warsaw’s Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich Polin, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews; Director of the Museum in Racibórz; and several Jewish attendees including a Rabbi who offered a prayer. (Figure 12) Fragmentary pieces of headstones were collected. (Figure 13)

Figure 11. The commemorative plaque installed in April 2014 by Pawel Głogowski at the former entrance to the Jewish Cemetery in Ratibor

Figure 12. A recent ceremony held at the former Jewish Cemetery in Ratibor on the 19th of December 2023 with representatives from the Jewish community, the Museum of Racibórz, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, and local attendees

Figure 13. Fragments of matzevahs gathered from the former Jewish Cemetery in Ratibor

In closing, I would note that while the historical references to my third great-grandfather are elusive, they’ve provided me the opportunity to discuss a wide number of topics including the geopolitical landscape at the time; ship building in Ratibor; the source of wood used in barge construction; the Arenda System; and the purchase of land for the construction of the Jewish Cemetery in Ratibor and its ultimate destruction.

REFERENCES

Baendel, C. “Die jüdische Gemeinde von Ratibor und ihr Friedhof.” https://search.cjh.org/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=CJH_ALEPH000193739&context=L&vid=lbi&lang=en_US&search_scope=LBI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=default_tab&query=sub,exact,Jewish%20cemeteries%20–%20Poland%20–%20Racibo%CC%81rz,AND&mode=advanced

Cmentarz Żydowski w Polsce.

Spis cmentarzy żydowskich – List of Jewish cemeteries (cmentarze-zydowskie.pl)

Wardenga, T. (1995). Häuserbuch der Stadt Ratibor. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin.

Weiser, A. (2004). “The Arenda System: A Boon or Bane for Jews.”

https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kolomea/arenda.htm

Weltzel, A. (1861). Geschichte der Stadt Ratibor.

Geschichte der Stadt Ratibor : Weltzel, Augustin : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive