My grandmother's name was Catherine Hochban Knapp(b:1887), married to Anton Knapp(b:1885).  I think she died in 1959 or 1960.

My mother's birth name was Anna Bernauer, changed to Knapp when she was adopted. She was born December 20, 1919 and she died March 21, 1993.

My father's name was Henry Wietrzykowski.  He was born December 30, 1917, and he died April 13, 1962.

My mother's birth parents were Joseph and Magda Bernauer.  Magda died when my mother was nine months old, and is buried in Belgrade.  My mother and an older brother were brought to an orphanage by their father in 1920, shortly after World War !.  Europe was ravaged after that war, and many people died. I had wondered if there were no living relatives left to care for these children. Don't guess I will ever know.  The records were probably lost in the next war.

Anton and Catherine came to America in 1922, and I think they came in through Canada.  The census records would be helpful in this too. 

Thank you so much for sending the Hochban history!!  I have saved it both to my computer and a flash drive. This is all priceless!

I have my mother's passport, but sent Anton's and Katherine's passports to my cousin, Kathy Bianco.  I also had letters in German from Mariolana, that I was unable to have translated.

I should explain.....  My grandparents adopted my mother while still in Germany. They immigrated abt. 1922, and in 1926 or so, Aunt Rosemary , Kathy's mother,was born to them. My mother, being the oldest, was given the letters and passports. After my mother died, I reasoned that Aunt Rosie should have these documents, being the birth child. She died shortly after I sent them to her, and I have not had any reply from my cousin.

They came over on the Mauritania.  I have my mother's ticket and Kathy has the others. Anton's passport was in French and it looked like he was a journalist.

Thank you Rose for responding and giving the details you did. If you don't mind I would like to add a more complete history of the Anton-Katharine family to the Hochban website.

There are many corrections to be made given your new information.

-Knapps immigrated in 1922, in ship Mauritania, your mother Anna came with them.
-Was Anna adopted in Belgrade very close to the time of immigrating to Canada. It was usual for Banat migrants to obtain tickets in Belgrade, then travel to a port in Germany for immigration.
-Rosemaria was born in USA 1926 thus Katharine was not pregnant on the ship.
-Where is your mother Anna buried? Did she ever find contact with her brother. Your aunt Rosemaria died in Irvine, California, 31 Jan 2006 with married name Quavier.
-Do you have any knowledge or information about Katharine's 2nd marriage to Nicolas Dittrich. Dates of marriage, his birth & death,etc. He seems to be a loss identity with missing records. (Note:I  Found Marriage Jun 13, 1942 Chigago)

Stay in Touch
Ken & Charlotte Hochban

I tried to call my cousin Kathy and that phone number is no longer in use.  I am writing to her hoping that she will be interested in family history, and will reply. Kathy and her husband, Ron Bianco, own two restaurants in CA and have been very successful. Might have a website, and we could contact them that way.

My mother's birth mother was buried in Belgrade.  This info came from Joe's mother Lena, shortly before she passed.
My mother's story is this, Anton and Katherine wanted to adopt, and found Anna outside of the orphanage/inn, fighting over a raw potato with another child. She had the swollen belly of the malnourished child. When they brought her home, they fed her gruel, a thin oatmeal, and she slept for two days!

She had been brought to the orphanage/inn at the age of nine months,(Sep 1920) with her brother,age?,  by their father. She was eighteen months old,(Jun 1921), when adopted. Lena said that the people across the street, adopted the brother, but it was so long ago, that she could no longer remember who they were.

When my mother was at the end of her life, we talked about her adoption, and she insisted that her father had kept her brother but not her. I had heard the story years ago, that both of them had been given up, but I didn't know about the neighbors adopting the brother.

I often wondered why there was no family to take the children after their mother died, but maybe they died too.  It was after World War I, and many people died. We can probably assume that the orphanage/inn was in or near Belgrade.

My mother's birth certificate is in Serbian.  It is a large document and very, fragile. I copied it, and had to do it in pieces as it was too large for my copier. My mother's birth parents are Josef and Magda Bernauer. I can't make out anything else.on the documents.

Bye for now,
Rose

Rose

Hi Ken,
It is my father's parents who have the Krakow connection. Their last name was Wietrzykowski.  You can imagine my surprise to learn that they were born in Germany. 
I do kind of remember my grandmother talking about being afraid of the Czar and the Russian solders. She said they had to bury their food so the soldiers wouldn't take it. I think she was talking abut her childhood. She also said how she would hide if a farm boy came to call, because she didn't want to be married to a peasant! She was very adamant about having good manners.

My grandparents were sausage makers here, and I wonder if that was what they did in Poland, that was maybe Germany at the time.  I learned something interesting about my father's family.  They are Polish, but were born in Posnan Germany.   But way back when, Poland was under German rule. Today, that would be the Warsaw area.  They immigrated in 1907 to the Banat ? Can you imagine the lives our ancestors led?  We have it so easy compared to them.

God bless,
Rose