Inheriting Genealogical Stuff

A relative on my husband’s side of the family passed away a few months ago. Because I am the “family historian,” I inherited her box of photos and papers.

When pondering what to do, I remembered an Extreme Genes podcast in which Scott Fisher and David Allen Lambert talked about the items that family members sent to each of them. They were enthusiastic about their gifts. So, instead of viewing the box as yet another item on my ever-present, to-do list, I decided to get excited about the genealogical possibilities that may surprise me inside this carton.

What Was in the box

There were 4 photo albums, several knick-knacks, a few papers and lots of loose photos.

Sorting

First, I made a quick pass through all the items. Some things should be gifted to certain cousins. Travel souvenirs may be donated to the local thrift shop. All photos need to be digitized and cataloged.

Something Special

There was one piece of paper that caught my attention.

There was no photo folded in this sheet. For most family members, this would be an uninteresting piece of paper. But for me, this note gave me details for a photo that I already had in my collection.

Susanna Klein and Joseph Fleischhacker family, with inset photo of their son, Joseph (1891-1946)

Many years ago, I was given this photographic copy of the original photo. Yes, the color needs correcting. The inset photo in the upper right corner has a bit of a shadow, so it was definitely not part of the original studio photo.

When I wrote about the marriage of Susanna Klein and Joseph Flesichhacker, I noted that this was the oldest photo that I had ever seen of the couple. [Yes, I removed the inset photo for the previous blog post.] Indeed, it is the only photo of Susanna and Joseph that I’ve ever seen.

I scoured the box of photos multiple times, hoping to find the original photograph. No luck. However, the typed note provided some additional clues anyway.

• Author of the typed note: unknown. Although the point of view is from Sr. Mavilla Fleischhacker, O.S.B (Order of St. Benedict). Another one of the sisters/nuns may have transcribed what Sr. Mavilla told them.
• The people in the photograph are labeled left to right as S. Mavilla’s parents and 2 of her older siblings (Mary and Catherine, who died in 1891).
• Picture location: Einstadel, Austria [There is no town in the Burgenland by that name. Could is be Eisenstadt, the capitol of Burgenland? Or could is be Edelstat, near Bratislava?] In German ein Stadel is a barn.
• Date of Photo: 1891 [This correlates with my previous guess.]
• Other information at the bottom of the typed note referred to the monastic professions of Sr. Mavilla and her older siblings.

Sr. Mavilla Fleischhacker O.S.B (1899-1994) was the youngest of 6 children born to Susanna and Joseph. She was the second child to be named Catherine; she took the name Mavilla when she took her vows. Two of her older sisters and one niece also became nuns of the Benedictine Order.

More Research

Who has the “original” of this photo?
What is the photographer’s mark in the bottom right corner?