2023 LEISZ FAMILY REUNION IN TURTLE LAKE, WISCONSIN—A BIG SUCCESS!
Their Parents
FATHER AND MOTHER
WHAT SEPARATED THEM
WHAT SEPARATED THEM
OUR COMMON ANCESTORS—LEO AND MARY (ANNA MARIA SCHMIDT LEISZ)—WERE BORN IN 1835 AND 1840 RESPECTIVELY. WHY DID THEY CHOOSE TO LEAVE THEIR HOMELAND AND IMMIGRATE TO AMERICA?
WHAT SEPARATED THEM
WHAT SEPARATED THEM
WHAT SEPARATED THEM
FAMILY PATRIARCH LEO DIED TRAGICALLY IN A FIRE DURING A FAREWELL PARTY SHORTLY BEFORE THE FAMILY DEPARTED FOR AMERICA.
BEFORE LEO AND MARY
WHAT SEPARATED THEM
BEFORE LEO AND MARY
DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT OUR GENEALOGY PREDATING LEO AND MARY?
WAYBACK! Our ancestor Antonius Geppert
Antonius: 1763-1833
Who was he?
Our family patriarch Leopold (or Lipot) Leisz (1835-1897) was the ancestor who died in the 1893 tavern fire just before the Leisz family immigrated to the United States in May 1893. His maternal grandfather was Antonius Geppert. Here's how it works:
Leopold/Lipot was a "junior" as his father was also named Lipot (last name spelled Leiss), born 1790 and died 1866. Lipot Sr.'s wife was Katalin M. Gepperth (1792-1866), and HER father was Antonius Geppert.
About Antonius
Antonius Geppert was born on January 17, 1763 to father Jacobus (1737-1790) and mother Maria (1738-1805), both 25 years of age at the time of his birth. Antonius was born in Schutterzell (name of the parish), city of Offenburg, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, according to records discovered in ancestry.com. LOOK AT HIS LIFE STORY BY CLICKING HERE.
His wife
On Monday, January 11, 1796 Antonius married Magdalena Hahn; he was 32 years old and his wife was 20. They would be married for 18 years before Magdalena would pass away on March 21, 1814 at age 38, leaving Antonius a widower.
Problem with records
It's uncertain how many children Antonius and Magdalena Geppert had over the course of their 18-year marriage. Here's where the old records get sticky:
Their daughter Katalin Maximilian Gepperth shows a birth date of "about 1792", which would put her birth four years before her parents married. Could this be possible way back then, or are our records in error?
His death
Antonius apparently lived in the same place for his full life—70 years, which was extraordinary for the time, as his own dad died at age 53 on October 27, 1790 in Schutterzell, Offenburg, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany,
Who came before Antonius?
Ancestry.com records show Antonius Geppert's father as Jacobus (1737-1790), whose father is Johannes (born about 1675), and then this branch of the tree dead ends.
But the family tree for Johannes' wife Anna Catharina Eichner Geppert (1709-1789) goes way back to her maternal grandfather born in 1648 and died April 21, 1795—a man named Johannes Matthaus Rechler. This man Joannes would be the maternal 4th great-grandfather of Leopold/Lipot who died in the 1893 fire!
Even further back
Using ancestry.com records, we've traced ancestors of Leopold/Lipot (1835-1893) WAY BACK to Margretha Vamsserttin Marx Kirchenfauth, who was born in 1540 in Asperg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. If you're a grandchild of one of the six Leisz brothers, she is your 10th great-grandmother! In 1540, King Henry VIII of England divorced Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. MORE ABOUT LIFE IN THE 1540's HERE.
Map of Europe in 1910
This map is from 1910 so its a bit later than when the Leisz family immigrated to America in 1893. But you can see that Hungary is between Austria where Mary Schmidt Leisz was from and where they lived in present day Romania. Peregu Mare is near Szeged.
Check this out!
1903 publication: Rich with historical information relevant to the Leisz family
HERE'S A GLIMPSE INSIDE OF THE LIVES OUR LEISZ ANCESTORS LIKELY LIVED IN A VILLAGE IN THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE CALLED NEMET PEREG DURING THE LATE 1800's. TODAY IT IS KNOWN AS PEREGU MARE, IN THE COUNTY OF ARAD, IN WHAT IS TODAY ROMANIA. NOTE THAT PEREGU MARE IS 300 MILES SOUTHEAST OF VIENNA, AND ABOUT 150 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BUDAPEST.
Arad County was an administrative unit in the Kingdom of Hungary, the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and the Principality of Transylvania. The county was established along the Maros (Mureș) river in the 11th or the 12th century, but its first head, or ispán, was only mentioned in 1214. Its territory is now in western Romania and southeastern Hungary. The capital of the county was Arad.
Our Leisz European Roots
WHERE did they immigrate from?
WHAT did their village look like?
WHERE did they immigrate from?
Learn about Peregu Mare, Arad, Romania—the village our ancestors left in 1893 to immigrate to the U.S.
WHY did they immigrate?
WHAT did their village look like?
WHERE did they immigrate from?
What were the driving forces that led our ancestors leave Peregu Mare for America?
WHAT did their village look like?
WHAT did their village look like?
WHAT did their village look like?
The Village Museum in Bucharest has structures likely similar to those that our ancestors lived in.
Covid note of hope
Unprecedented times
We hope you are safe and well during these unprecedented times. As you shelter in place, we at LeiszFamily.com continue to craft stories to tell the lessons our ancestors left us as they paved the way forward.
Today, we're reminded more than ever of the insight and inspiration that can come from the stories of our collective past. Our history offers us all a rudder in troubled times. It reminds us of how important understanding our collective past can be as we navigate our collective future.
They paved the way for us today
It may be hard in these uncertain times to remain hopeful and forward-focused. But remember our ancestors paved the way for us with their courage, tenacity and vigilance. They left lessons that can help guide us now. Case in point: Anna Maria Schmidt Leisz (1840-1918), who lived through much, yet persevered. Learn about her HERE.