The Origins and Descendants of Eugenie BLOCH
My father, Leonard Dreifuss was able to determine his parents' ancestral lines in most cases to his great great grandparents (who were born in the mid to late 18th century). One exception involved determining the origins of his father's mother, Eugenie Dreifuss born Eugenie BLOCH. Her origins were much more difficult to determine. From her death certificate, he learned that his grandmother's father was Samuel Bloch and her mother was Jeanette. Jeanette's surname was difficult to read but appeared to dad to be Sumner or Sumter.  He knew that Eugenie had a brother Leopold Bloch but knew little about him other than he lived in New York City. In his research of the 1900 U.S. Federal Census records, my dad found a Leopold Bloch, his wife Fanny and three children living in Brooklyn, NY. He was comfortable with the data he found on this Leopold and made a working assumption that this was his great uncle.
Eugenie Bloch Dreifuss

At the time of his death, dad did not know much more than the names of Eugenie's parents. Less than a year before his passing he told me he considered finding Eugenie's family origins to be the most important task ahead in our family history.  I have felt he was setting a goal for my brother and I.

Like many theories in genealogy, the theory that Eugenie's brother, Leopold Bloch was the one fhe found in the 1900 census, was shown to be incorrect. I was able to track down a descendant of the Leopold and Fanny Bloch he located in the 1900 census. After sharing a lot of information with my apparent new third cousin, there were clear indications that my great grandmother and this Leopold were not of the same parents.

Well now what?

In June/July of 1999 my brother, my family and I visited our family's ancestral town. Altdorf in Baden Germany not far from and the Jewish Cemetery in Schmieheim. We also traveled with a fourth half-cousin, Hanna Meyer Moses and her husband, Werner.  

The Meyer Family: Werner and Hanna seated with daughter Caroline and son Rolf (standing)

In the course of his research my dad had met Hanna, who had lived in Switzerland since escaping Germany in the course of the Holocaust. Quite by surprise, Hanna told us on that trip that before his death, Leonard asked her if she would look into birth records of Eugenie in Berne, Switzerland. My father knew that his grandmother often claimed to have been born in Berne Switzerland. Hanna told us at the time the above photo was taken, that she obtained information for dad on Eugenie from the Stadtarchiv und Dokumentationsdienst in Berne Switzerland. However it was somewhat inconsistent with birth dates my father believed to be correct for Eugenie. The Stadtarchiv und Dokumentationsdienst reported to her that the records they found were not the correct ones because the dates were inconsistent, and so Hanna never sent the records to my father.

However, the Stadtarchiv und Dokumentationsdienst data is very likely that for Eugenie's family. The data details the children born to Samuel Bloch (born 1808 in Emmindingen, Germany) and Jeanette Sommer born in 1818 in Sirentz (then located in Alsace). They were married in 1837. However, the fact that the parents' names were correct is not the only fact that points to the relevancy of the data. The data indicates that Samuel and Jeanette had the following children: Ida (born 20 Nov 1838, died 1 Aug 1850), Rosalie (born 1840), Leopold (born 1843), Eduard (died 29 April 1847) and then Eugenie (born 1849). Eugenie and Leopold named one of their own children Ida, apparently named after the sister of Eugenie, who died in childhood.

This was a fresh start in determining the Origins of Eugenie Bloch. The lineage data which follows was built upon that. The data for Eugenie's ancestors may remain somewhat unconfirmed until additional sources surface.

First Generation

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1. Isaac Bloch.

Isaac married Beyle Mosen.

They had one child:

          2             i.           Samuel (Wemser?) (1807-<1885)

 

Second Generation

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2. Samuel Bloch. Born on 7 Jan 1807 in Emmendingen, Baden/Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France. Samuel died before 1885   (Eugenie's son Samuel was born 1885). Occupation: Pferdehandler.

Jeanette Sommer

In 1837 when Samuel was 29, he married Jeanette Sommer, daughter of   an unknown Levy. Jeanette was born in 1818 in Sierentz, Alsace. Jeanette died before   Jun 1913.

They had the following children:

          3             i.           Ida (1838-1850)

          4            ii.           Rosalie (1840-)

          5           iii.           Leopold (1843-1902)

          6           iv.           Eduard (?1847-1847)

          7            v.           Eugenie (1849-1937)

Third Generation

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3. Ida Bloch. Born on 20 Nov 1838. Ida died on 8 Jan 1850; she was 11.

4. Rosalie Bloch. Born in 1840.

5. Leopold Bloch. Born in Apr 1843 in Switzerland or Germany?

6. Eduard Bloch. Born Apr 1847. Eduard died on 29 Apr 1847; he was <1.

Eugenie Bloch

7. Eugenie Bloch. Born on 29 Apr 1849/1853 in Berne, Switzerland. Eugenie died on 29 Oct 1937; she was 88. Buried in Cypress Hills St. &Ave, Glendale,NY (See Notes). Occupation: Housewife. Emigration: 1866 Or 1865.

Leopold Dreifuss

On 21 Jul 1873 when Eugenie was 24, she married Leopold Dreifuss, son of Isaac (Isaak) (Itzig) Dreifuss (26 Sep 1808-1880/1881?) & Rosa (Rosina, Racheles ) Bernheim (Bernheimer) (28 Mar 1821-16 Apr 1864), in Manhatten, New York. Born on 29 Oct 1850 in Altdorf, Baden, Germany. Leopold died in 736 Lexington Ave B'klyn, NY, on 14 Dec 1909; he was 59.

They had the following children:

          8             i.           Rosa (1875-)

          9            ii.           Ida (1876-)

        10           iii.           Martha (Maude) (1879-)

        11           iv.           Isaac (Joe) (1882-1968)

        12            v.           Emma (1883-)

        13           vi.           Samuel W. (1885-1963)

        14          vii.           Estella (Stella, Billy) (1888-1978)

        15         viii.           Walter (Wally) (1891-1945)

Fourth Generation

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Rosa Dreifuss

8. Rosa Dreifuss. Born in Apr 1875 in Brooklyn,NY. Buried in Wellwood Cemetary, Farmingdale, NY. Occupation: Hairdresser And Beautician.

Rosa married Berg.

Ida Dreifuss

9. Ida Dreifuss. Born in Jul 1876 in Brooklyn, NY.

Louis Schlesinger

On 2 Sep 1896 when Ida was 20, she married Louis Schlesinger, son of Meyer Schlesinger & Beathe, in Brooklyn. NY. Born in Nov 1869 in Germany.

They had the following children:

        16             i.           Marcella (1898-)

        17            ii.           Harold (1899-)

        18           iii.           Alice

        19           iv.           Arthur (1903-?)

        20            v.           Evelyn (1902-)

        21           vi.           Daisy

Martha (Maude) Dreifuss

10. Martha (Maude) Dreifuss. Born in Mar 1879 in Brooklyn NY. Occupation: Housekeeper.

Os (Frank) Steffen

Martha (Maude) married Os (Frank) Steffen. Born in Germany.

Isaac (Joe) Dreifuss

11. Isaac (Joe) Dreifuss. Born on 21 Jan 1882 in Brooklyn, NY. Isaac (Joe) died in Brooklyn, NY (9 TAMUZ), on 5 Jul 1968; he was 86. Buried in Montefiore Cemetary, Long Island NY. Occupation: Butcher.

Karolina Hess

On 5 Jun 1910 when Isaac (Joe) was 28, he married Karolina Hess, daughter of Benedict (Baruch Shalom) Hess (8 Dec 1846-1 Mar 1925) & Betty Neumark (11 Apr 1845-18 Dec 1910). Born on 19 Mar 1884 in Schluchtern, Hintersteinau, Kr. Germany. Karolina died in Brooklyn, NY (25 TISHREI), on 13 Oct 1963; she was 79.

They had three children

           

Emma Dreifuss

12. Emma Dreifuss. Born on 9 Nov 1883 in Brooklyn NY. Emma died in Oakland, CA. Buried in Wellwood Cemetary, Farmingdale, NY. Occupation: Seamstress And Button Sample Card Designer.

She did not marry.

She had one child.

           

Samuel W. Dreifuss

13. Samuel W. Dreifuss. Born in Nov 1885 in Brooklyn NY. Samuel W. died in Oct 1963; he was 77.

Beatrice J. Bach

On 4 Oct 1914 when Samuel W. was 28, he married Beatrice J. Bach, daughter of Julius Bach (1846-1900) & Caroline (Carie) Jacobs (1855/1859-1900), in Brooklyn New York. Born on 9 Nov 1892. Beatrice J. died on 15 Aug 1993; she was 100.

They had one child:

        26             i.           Juliet R. (1917-)

Estella (Stella, Billy) Dreifuss

14. Estella (Stella, Billy) Dreifuss. Born in Apr 1888 in Brooklyn NY. Estella (Stella, Billy) died in 1978; she was 89. Buried in Wellwood Cemetery,   Farmingdale, NY.

Estella (Stella, Billy) first married Cliff Turner Sr.

Estella (Stella, Billy) second married Samuel Mautner. Samuel died ca 1915.

Walter (Wally) Dreifuss

15. Walter (Wally) Dreifuss. Born on 23 Jul 1891 in Brooklyn NY. Walter (Wally) died in San Francisco, CA, on 13 Nov 1945; he was 54. Buried on 15 Nov 1945 in Cremated. Occupation: Paint Distributor For Baer Brothers And Others.

Walter (Wally) first married Bernice Williamson, in California. Born on 6 Dec 1903 in San Francisco, CA.

They had two children (living).

           

Fifth Generation

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16. Marcella Schlesinger. Born in Feb 1898 in Brooklyn, NY.

Marcella first married Charles Kazlow. Born ca 1893 in England. Charles died in 1921; he was 28.

They had three children:

           

Marcella married Sidney Shaw.second.

17. Harold Schlesinger. Born in Mar 1899 in Brooklyn NY.

Harold married Frances Levine, daughter of Morris Levine & Jennie [Levine].

They had two children:

           

Alice Schlesinger

18. Alice Schlesinger.

Alice married Phillip Stansky.

19. Arthur Schlesinger. Born in 1903. Arthur died ? .

Arthur married someone.

They had two children:

           

Evelyn Schlesinger

20. Evelyn Schlesinger. Born in 1902 in New York.

Fred Byron Slepyan

In 1922 when Evelyn was 20, she married Fred Byron Slepyan, son of Morris (Moses) Slepyan (15 May 1872-7 Dec 1917) & Lillian Kreider (Mar 1882-abt 1930). Born on 18 Sep 1899 in Wausau, WI. Fred Byron died about 1945; he was 45.

They had one child:

        36             i.           Marcia (Marsha)

Daisy Schlesinger

21. Daisy Schlesinger.

Daisy married Eli Frieman.

 

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