The Seneft Family
I have covered most of the Seneft family story already in
the Hillinger family entry, but to be complete, I want to do a separate entry
on the Senefts.
I only have about one and a half generations of Senefts in
my family line. I'm not even sure if there are any existing Seneft descendants
who still use that name.
If things had gone a differently, my maiden name would have
been Seneft, but due to German legalities, my great-grandfather was forced to
use his mothers surname instead. As I said in the Hillinger post, this line was
Jewish, and so his parents were married in a religious ceremony. Likely, if
that religion had been a Christian one, there would be no issue, but because
they were Jewish, a religion which has always faced persecution in Europe
and elsewhere, that made him an easy target.
The the earliest I can trace the Seneft family is in the mid
to late 1880s, with my great-grandfather's birth. He was one of five or
possibly six children born to his parents, all of whom were born in Galicia.
At some point, his father decided to move the family to London,
likely in search of a better life, as life in Galicia
was very difficult.
His father was a Rabbi, though I do not know exactly when he
began to practice that calling. What I do know is that my great-grandfather
finished growing up in the city of London,
and lived there until the start of World War I, when he was sent to Camp
Douglas on the Isle of
Man for being an enemy alien on English soil.
After the war, the English government expelled him for still
being German, and so my great-grandfather left and never looked back.
Unfortunately, upon arrival in Germany,
he was told that he was required to take his mother's maiden name, and so he became
Alex Hillinger and never used the name Seneft again.
It's not an uncommon story for German Jews, unfortunately.
But it does make finding more about our family difficult, even without the usual
overlay of the Holocaust.
Despite his return to Germany
after the first World War, my great grandfather and his family survived the
Holocaust, as he chose to leave Germany
before things got their worst. And none of his siblings were in Germany,
so the Seneft branch managed to avoid the worst during the war, though many of
the next generation served, some of them died in their service.
The Seneft line is identical to the Hillinger line, but it
follows for those interested:
Ø
Leon Seneft married Mindel
Hilinger sometime in the mid 1800s, likely in Galicia.
He was a Rabbi, in London at the
very least.
o They had at least five children, three boys and two girls: Alex,
Jennie, Annie, Jack, and a third son whose name I currently do not know. I
believe all the children were born in Galicia.
Ø
Of their five children, only two
had children of their own.
o Alex and his wife, Dora, had six children: Ben, Mina, Sam, Helena,
Hilda (aka Peppi), and Selma,
all born in Frankfurt, Germany.
Five of the six of Alex and Dora's children had children, and that line
flourished in the US,
and still thrives there today, mostly in Seattle and Chicago.
o The unnamed son had about five kids. Three or four sons, most or all of
whom died in World War II, and a daughter named Kitty. Sam's notes tell me that
his unnamed uncle stayed in England, and that at least one of his children (his
daughter) had children, at least one of whom is now residing in Vancouver, BC,
Canada.
What I don't know:
Ø
I know Seneft is a German name, so
I believe that his branch of the family were Germanic Jews, though I am not sure
where all they may have lived, as I know of none aside from Leon and his
children.
Ø
I do not know when Leon
became a rabbi, and would love to learn more about his time as a rabbi.
Ø
I am uncertain when he died,
though I believe he outlived his wife, as I found a gravestone that appears to
be hers with her daughter's name on it. I do know that he was apparently dead
by the time my grandfather was born, or so he told me.
Ø
I am still hoping to find out more
about his other children.
o I know that Jack lived in New York
after the war, though I am not certain when he left England
for the US.
o I know that one of their sisters (Annie, I believe) married and settled
in Memphis with her husband.
o I also know that their other sister also married, though I am uncertain
where she met and married her husband.
o The final son stayed in England,
as stated above, but I know almost nothing about him aside from the loss of
several sons during World War II, and that he had a daughter who has
descendants today. I would love to know more.
Other information about this branch of the family:
Brick Wall Posts -Ø Brickwall Ancestors
Ø Brickwall Update – the Seneft/Hillingers
Ø Brick Wall Update
Ø Brick Walls –a different listing
Ø Brick Wall Update
Ø Brick Wall Update 2012
Old Surname Posts –
Ø Seneft
Where We're From Posts –
Ø Where We're From – England
Ø Where We're From – Galicia
Ø Where We're From – The Unknown
Other -
Ø The Life of Sam Hillinger as told by Maggie Hillinger
Ø Searching for: Galician Town Names
Ø Hillinger Family History
Ø Women's History Month – Week 1
Ø Women's History Month – Week 3
Ø On Jewish Names and Naming Traditions
Ø World War II Draft Cards
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