Surname Saturday 2.0: The Reichs

The Reich Family

As of writing this, I have only one person in my family tree with this surname, my great-great grandmother Feige Golda Kresch (nee Reich). I have always had her in my tree, but I know almost nothing about her. So this entry is going to be a little different.

Feige (which is what I believe she went by given the records I have of two of her children) was likely born in Galicia to Jewish parents about 1870. Going by her name, she was probably a German Jew, but I have seen the name in many eastern Galician records as well, so it's also possible her family came from the eastern area, where the Ukrane now is.

The first record I have of her is in my great-grandparents' family book. It lists her as being from Czudek, which is where my great-grandmother was born, though I am uncertain if she was born there herself, or just lived there most recently according to that paperwork. I know nothing of her parents at all, or if she had siblings, or how many.

Of her husband, I know little. She married Benzion Kresch sometime before 1890, and the two had at least three, likely more, children. I am certain of the names of three at this time, but little else. I am uncertain when her husband died, but I do know that after, she moved to Frankfurt to be closer to her daughters. She died there sometime in the late 1920s, possibly 1929.

That's all I have. No exact dates, no family outside her husband, daughters and son, no addresses or specific birthplace. I do hope to find more, but given where she lived, I don't expect to find it easily, if I can at all.

The Reich line, as I know it:

>Feige Golda Reich was born about 1870, likely in Galicia. She married Benzion Kresch sometime before 1890. The two had at least three children, and possibly as many as five or more, according to some stories I have heard. The children I know are:
o Naftali Mendel Kresch, who I believe, according to the information I found, went by the name of Mendel, born 1890, married Rosa Lowenbraun, and they had at least one child, a Sabina Kresch, who was married herself by the time the family escaped to Brazil, sometime in the early days of World War II.
o Dora Kresch, born 1892, married Alex Hillinger 1919 in Frankfurt, Germany, where they raised 6 children before leaving for the US in the early 1930s.
o Minna Kresch, who I have little information about, but who came to Frankfurt with her sister after World War I, and who also managed to escape the war, as I have a photo of her at one of my great-aunts' weddings in the late 1940s.
o Of the others, I have no information, though I can guess their possible fates, given the time period. I have yet to have it confirmed, but it seems unlikely, given the area and the time, that my family would have completely escaped that fate.

> Dora and Alex Hillinger had six children, who have been covered in both the Hillinger and Seneft entries.

> Mendel and Rosa had at least one daughter survive the war, and she had a daughter as well. The last records I have of that branch of the family is a few photos of a "South American" cousin who came to visit in the 40s, and Mendel and his daughter's immigration cards to Brazil. I would absolutely love to get in contact with this branch of the family to see if they have any further information on our family.

What I don't know has been detailed above, but I will list it here fore easier reading, too:

> I would love to know anything about Feige's family—her parents, her siblings, where they lived when she was born.

> I would love to know when Feige and Benzion married, how many children they had, and when he died.

> I want to know more about the family of Mendel Kresch, and how they have done down in South America, and specifically if there are any family members still alive there today.

> I would also love to know more about my great-great aunt Minna, and how she survived the years. Did she marry? Did she have children? When did she come to the US? Or did she settle elsewhere?

> Last of all, I would love to know the fate of the other Kresch children, and what happened to them.

Other information about this branch of the family:
Brick Wall Posts -
> Brick Walls –a different listing
> Brick Wall Update
> Brick Wall Update 2012
Old Surname Posts –
> Reich
Where We're From Posts –
> Where We're From – Galicia
Other -
> On Jewish Names and Naming Traditions