Dr. Renata Wilkoszewska-Krakowska Archives

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 148: METAPHORICALLY, THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Note: In this post, I discuss how I recently came into possession of images of ancestors from a branch of my family that originates mostly from Breslau [today: Wrocław, Poland], and learned about a memoir written by the grandfather of the English lawyer who shared these pictures.

POST 11, POSTSCRIPT: RATIBOR & BRUCK’S “PRINZ VON PREUßEN” HOTEL

POST 11, POSTSCRIPT 2: RATIBOR & BRUCK’S “PRINZ VON PREUßEN” HOTEL

POST 132: FATE OF THE BRUCK’S “PRINZ VON PREUßEN“ FAMILY HOTEL IN RATIBOR (RACIBÓRZ): GEOPOLITICAL FACTORS

POST 143: TOM BROOK, BBC JOURNALIST ON SCENE THE DAY JOHN LENNON DIED

A scant three months ago, on the 29^th of September 2023 to be precise, I received an email from a lawyer living in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England, Helen Winter, née Renshaw. (Figure 1) I say “scant” because in the short period since we’ve been in touch, we’ve already exchanged several hundred emails.

Figure 1. Helen Winter, née Renshaw in Attingham Park in Wolverhampton in 2023

In Helen’s initial missive, she explained that she is a descendant of the Bruck family and that her maternal grandfather was Professor Eberhard Friedrich Bruck (1877-1960). (Figure 2) He taught law at the University of Bonn until enactment of “The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” (German: Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums, shortened to Berufsbeamtengesetz) by the Nazis on the 7^th of April 1933. The primary objective of this law was to establish a “national” and “professional” civil service by dismissing certain groups of tenured civil servants, including individuals of Jewish descent and non-Aryan origins. Additionally, the law forbade Jews, non-Aryans, and political opponents from holding positions as teachers, professors, judges, or within the government. It also extended to other professions such as lawyers, doctors, tax consultants, musicians, and notaries.

Figure 2. Helen’s grandfather, Professor Eberhard Friedrich Bruck (1877-1960), with his dachshund “Seppel” in 1913 in Mittenwald, Bavaria

Following Eberhard’s dismissal as university professor and confiscation of his home, he fled to the United States and wound-up teaching at Harvard University. As Helen further explained, her grandfather wrote a memoir for his daughter, Helen’s mother (Figure 3), relating the history of his branch of the Bruck family. As a Christmas gift to her nephews and nieces, Helen has slowly been translating the account. Her grandfather’s chronicle makes mention of the Bruck’s “Prinz von Preußen” Hotel, the family business in Ratibor [today: Racibórz, Poland] owned by three generations of my family. (Figure 4) While researching the history and fate of the hotel, Helen stumbled on multiple blog posts where I made mention of the establishment.

Figure 3. Margot Renshaw, née Bruck (1917-1985), Helen’s mother and Eberhard’s daughter

Figure 4. The Bruck’s “Prinz von Preußen” Hotel in Ratibor [today: Racibórz, Poland] in 1942, owned by my family for three generations from ca. 1850 until 1926

Helen has promised to share her grandfather’s translated story but has given me a preview of the brief entry her grandfather Eberhard Bruck wrote about his great-grandfather, Jacob Nathan Bruck, my great-great-great-grandfather from Ratibor. Since Jacob arguably died in 1832 or 1836 and Eberhard was born in 1877, he would not have known him personally. Eberhard’s written accounts of Jacob are likely stories he heard about him growing up and may have been clouded by the lens through which childhood memories are often remembered. In an upcoming post, I intend to discuss the meager details I’ve been able to uncover about my earliest known ancestor from Ratibor but suffice it for now to say the particulars caused me to more thoroughly investigate when the Bruck’s Hotel might have been built. These findings will be the basis for yet another post because they give insights on avenues others may want to follow in examining their own family histories.

On various occasions I’ve told readers that my ancestral tree has fewer than 1,500 names, which pales in comparison to multiple trees I’ve come across with more than 100,000 names. I use my tree mostly to orient myself to the people I write about on my blog. That said, I have people in my tree, living and deceased, whose names I’ve come across without knowing anything about them. This was the case with my fourth cousin Thomas “Tom” Friedrich Brook until he contacted me asking if we were related; I wrote about Tom in Post 143. (Figure 5) This was also true of Helen who previously existed only as a wraith. Coincidentally, Tom and Helen Winter are second cousins who’ve never met (i.e., Helen and Tom’s grandfathers were brothers), and like Tom, Helen is my fourth cousin.

Figure 5. My fourth cousin, Tom Brook (b. 1953) who coincidentally is Helen Winter’s second cousin

In conjunction with translating her grandfather’s memoirs, Helen recently obtained family documents and pictures her older sister was curating. (Figure 6) Scrutinizing these items in combination has caused Helen to become obsessed with ancestral research. I can relate!

Figure 6. Helen with her older sister Anna (right) as children (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

It is not my intention to further dwell on this branch of my family. However, as I just mentioned, I have numerous individuals in my tree I know nothing about and have no idea what they looked like. As names only, they are lifeless. Helen has been like the gift that keeps on giving because she has sent me pictures of many of my ancestors, including some of the earliest known ones from Breslau [today: Wrocław, Poland]. Acquiring these visuals for my ancestral tree is like filling in my Bingo card!

Among the most beguiling images Helen sent are ones of Jacob Bruck’s son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Jonas Julius Bruck (1813-1883) (Figures 7a & b-10) and Rosalie Bruck, née Marle (1817-1890) (Figures 11-12) and his famous grandson, Dr. Julius Bruck (1840-1902). (Figure 13) Julius is known for having designed in 1867 a water-cooled diaphanoscopic instrument for transillumination of the bladder via the rectum.

Figure 7a. Miniature painting from the 1830s of Dr. Jonas Julius Bruck (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Figure 7b. English-language caption on the back of the miniature painting of Jonas Bruck indicating that Jonas’s wife didn’t care for the painting because she thought her womanizing husband had it done for another woman (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Figure 8. A second painting of Dr. Jonas Bruck (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Figure 9. Yet a third painting of Dr. Jonas Bruck (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Figure 10. A photograph of Dr. Jonas Bruck later in life (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Figure 11. A photograph of Dr. Jonas Bruck’s wife, Rosalie Bruck, née Marle (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Figure 12. A second photograph of Rosalie Bruck, née Marle (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Figure 13. A photo of the famous and fashionable Dr. Julius Bruck (1840-1902) in August 1880 (photo courtesy of Helen Winter)

Jonas and Julius Bruck and their respective wives are interred in a mausoleum-like structure at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Wrocław, Poland (Figure 14), and are among my only Bruck ancestors whose burial location is known. Because I am friends with the Branch Manager of the Old Jewish Cemetery, Dr. Renata Wilkoszewska-Krakowska (Figure 15), I shared the pictures Helen sent with her and she was thrilled to receive them since some of the people are interred in “her” cemetery.

Figure 14. The mausoleum-like structure at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Wrocław, Poland where Drs. Jonas and Julius Bruck and their respective wives are interred (photo courtesy of Dr. Renata Wilkoszewska-Krakowska)

Figure 15. Dr. Renata Wilkoszewksa-Krakowska receiving her Ph.D. diploma at the recently renovated Baroque Leopoldina Hall at the University of Wrocław, built between 1728-1732

To close this post, I will share two other images (Figures 16-17) Helen has sent over the last several weeks, like the twelve daily gifts of Christmas! Suffice it to say, my Bingo card is becoming quite full!