Family Story Finder
The sweep of family history across the generations
Betty Wohlgemuth's last years
Following Isaak's death in 1929, Betty lived comfortably in the cosmopolitan Bavarian Quarter—until the Nazi repressions made life unbearable
Dan's 2018 research trip to Berlin and Gdansk
Dan supplemented his attendance at a Warsaw genealogy conference with a tour of family locations. Read his blog postings and view the post-trip video coverage.
Ed Eilertsen tribute puzzle
Ed loved crosswords, so Dan Ruby created a tribute puzzle for his memorial. Kate and Twyla were the clue crew.
Eilertsen roots in Farsund, Norway
Farmers and seafarers from the south Norway coast
Eilertsens at sea
Members of a farming family took to the sea both as an occupational calling and a means of emigration
Eilertsens by the lake
Ed was the rector at Saint Martin's By the Lake in Minnetonka Beach, Minn. The family was raised in towns around the lake region west of Minneapolis, including in the church rectory
Escape from Berlin—last good chance to get out
Our reconstructed timeline: How Elly and Helga Ringel were smuggled with SS escort out of Germany and across the Belgian border in October 1938
Filming of "The Heartbreak Kid"
Ed officiates at a movie wedding
First grandchild
Twyla Ariel Eilertsen Ruby was born on August 7, 1985
Fourth Generation Rubys
Just a bit about Twyla, Gene, Zach and Lani.
Ghosts of Weißensee—the cemetery played on
How did Betty Katz meet her end in February 1942?
Grammy — everyone’s favorite grandmother
She made each of her six grandchildren feel special
Hilda's fabulous lifestyle with Joe Liebman
After the war, Joe Liebman came back to Paris with a glamorous new wife. Oh, what a life they led
If walls could talk—75 years in a Parisian villa
Insider dealings in the French jewelry trade. Swank cocktail parties for the Nazi elite. A rough-cut Jewish jeweler and his ebullient new wife. Where Henry Kissinger met Le Duc Tho.
Motives for mercy—the consuls of Toulouse
In July 1940, consular officials from three nations conspired to open an escape route for Jews out of occupied France. Why did they do it?
Our family during the Nazi years in Berlin
During the first five years of Hitler's reign of terror, Jewish families of Berlin faced one repression after another.
Paechter roots in West Prussia
Our Paechter family prospered in the Vistula delta town of Tiegenhof. But their roots probably go back further in west Pomerania.
Rosa’s fateful choice
Rosa Feidt was the only Lewi sibling who got out, to her everlasting remorse
The early history of the Wohlgemuth family
In 1812 in Preußisch Stargardt, an elderly Jew Moses and his sons Salomon and Herz took the surname Wohlgemuth in exchange for Prussian citizenship rights. Our family, descended from Herz Wohlgemuth, stayed in Stargardt for the next three generations
The Eilertsens in Brooklyn
From Red Hook to Gerritsen Beach to Bay Ridge, Jack and Camilla Eilertsen lived the Norwegian immigrant experience in Brooklyn
The Ringels in Berlin—time of prosperity
From 1880s to the 1930s, the Ringel family prospered in the garment trade in the German capital. Herman made men's outerwear.
The Wohlgemuths in Danzig
Before moving his family to Berlin in 1912, Isaak Wohlgemuth prospered as a mover in Danzig. His family roots were in nearby West Prussia.
The Wohlgemuths in Elbing
The Wohlgemuth family settled in Elbing, near to Tiegenhof, during the 1890s, where they owned and operated a water mill.
The Wohlgemuths on the Woelckpromenade
In 1912, Isaak and Betty Wohlgemuth moved to the German capital and settled in Weißensee, where their two daughters came of marriageable age
Third Generation Rubys
First came Walter, then Danny and Joanne. They would carry on the Ruby-Ringel genes.
Twyla's childhood
Outlooks of a pre-millennial