In Search of Szendrovics

INTRODUCTION

 

[Note: This blog also contains information about the Fischmann family which is linked to the Szendrovics family by marriage. The Fischmann family history begins in next blog

on Levoča.]

 

My mother's maiden name is Jean Sanders. For most of my life it never crossed my mind that Sanders might not be the original family name.  In fact, It was not until after I had my own children that I learned from my mother that the original name was actually different. Although she knew how to pronounce it, she wasn't sure how to spell it. This set me on a search to discover and confirm what the original family name was.

 

The first source I used to search for clues was the Ellis Island database. However, when I put my grandfather's name, Max Sanders, into the search field of this database, this led nowhere. Eventually I found that my grandfather had arrived in the United States on August 27, 1906 at the age of 16 with $16 in his pocket.  There were two important findings in the Ellis Island database. First, his original name, as entered on the ship manifest, was recorded as Miksa Szendrowitz. Second, it indicated that he was planning to visit his Uncle Bernat Sandrowitz in Cleveland. I found it odd that he would spell his name differently than his uncle but as I continued my research, I found multiple spellings of the family name which made it clear that there was no standardized spelling of the original family name.

 

When my grandfather's birth record was eventually found in the State Archives in Levoča, Slovakia, his name was recorded as Miksa Szendrovics which was slightly different than how it was spelled in the Ellis Island records. Over the years I have found many other documents linked to my grandfather. Some, like my grandfather's Petition for Naturalization (filed in 1952) match the spelling in the Ellis Island database, however, others do not. For example, on his 1922 marriage record, my grandfather indicated that his father's name (my great-grandfather) was Eli Sandowitz. This spelling was much closer to the spelling used by his Uncle Bernat when Max first arrived in the United States.  

The oldest record I have found with our family name is the birth record of another uncle, Salamon (Samuel) Senderovits, in 1850. Other variations I have found over the years on other birth, death and marriage records of our family include: Sendrowitz, Sendrowits, Szendrowits (the first use with a 'Sz' occurs in 1859), Szendrovics (the first time the name ends with 'vics' occurs in 1866), Szendrowitz, Szendrovits (the first time this spelling appears is in 1870), Szendrovitsch, Sandorowitz, Szendrovicz, Sandrowitz, Sandrowits, and Szendravits.  In many instances, the same life event was recorded in two separate books, one in German and another in Hungarian. When this occurred, the family name was written differently in each book, even though they were both recording the same life event. 

  

Even today, descendants of this family lineage spell the family name differently. Those living in the United States agreed long ago to shorten the name to Sanders, those living in Canada spell the name as Szendrovits and, in France, family members use Szendrovics.

 

With the tragic impact of the Shoah and the loss of so many family members, family possessions and our oral history, I sought to uncover what little still remained. Beyond the many records that I have found, one thing that stands out for me from this search is a connection to the land that our ancestors came from.  

 

This blog summarizes what I have found so far and documents a trip I took in June 2012 through the villages and towns where are family came from to learn more about them. All of the photos used on this site were taken by me during this trip. Once part of Hungary, the villages and towns featured in this blog are now part of Slovakia. The countryside in Eastern Slovakia where they are located is very beautfiful and still very much the same as it was when our ancestors lived there. 

 

Despite the beauty, one of things that stood out for me is that there is nothing that remains in these villages that would suggest they were once inhabited by Jews.  All of these villages and towns have a Jewish cemetery but they are located outside the village situated on a hill overlooking the town or village but out of view. 

 

In all but once instance, the cemeteries were overgrown, unkempt and sometimes vandalized.  There is no one around to care for the dead. And so this part of the village's or town's history is ignored or forgotten.  There is nothing in the literature given to tourists in the larger towns that mentions this history. It is as if it never happened.

 

While I knew that I would never be able to see our ancestors, hold them in my arms, or hear their voices, there was someting very satisfying about being able to look out at the landscape that they would have viewed on a daily basis. For just a moment they seemed to come alive for me. I felt a connection to them in a way that I had never felt before.

 

 

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