Joseph Wagner was born on July 6, 1912 in Lake Zurich, Illinois to Eckhart Wagner and Klara Schwartz, both of whom were born in Germany. As a teenager, Eckhart came over with his father, Otto, and they bought a dairy farm together near Lake Zurich. They sold milk and eggs in town, and at the […]
Emilia Mundt was born on October 26, 1913 in Chicago to Jan Jelen and Zofia Nedved, both of whom were immigrants from Slovakia. Jan came to America with a relative when he was nineteen, and Zofia came with her father when she was fifteen. Somehow Jan and Zofia met and married when Zofia was just […]
Anton Lungu was born near Brasov, Romania on July 22, 1936 to Ciprian and Ileana Lungu. Ciprian was a soldier, and Ileana cared for their four children. Anton only went to the equivalent of seventh grade before he quit to work at a construction job. He stayed in construction his whole life, except for the […]
Wilma McDonald was born on April 10, 1910 in Chicago to Lech Kaszubski and Berta Kaluza. Not much is known about the origins of Lech and Berta. It is believed that they were both born in Chicago, though there parents had been born in Poland. They did not call themselves Poles, however, but Kashubs, which […]
Edith Wojewodika was born on February 7, 1915 in Chicago. Her parents were Eluf Akselsem and Britta Dam, both immigrants from Denmark who met in New York shortly after arriving in America. They married three weeks later, much to the surprise of those who knew them. Everyone said they were crazy and that it wouldn’t […]
Leonard “Leo” Frazier was born on October 7, 1906 on a farm in Minnesota to Lewis and Marion Frazier. Lewis was born in Minnesota, and Marion was a German immigrant. Together they had eight children, of whom Leonard was the youngest.
When Leo was only three years old, his father died. His mother eventually remarried and […]
Hazel Reuter was born on May 17, 1920 in Chicago to Douglas Wilson and Eileen Brady, who were of Scottish and Irish descent, respectively. Douglas worked in the produce business, and Eileen cared for their five children: Vernon, Victor, Hazel, Gerald and Jane. Sadly, however, both Vernon and Victor died as toddlers in the flu […]
Mirna Claesson was born on November 29, 1900 in Velika Gorica, Croatia, near Zagreb. Her parents were Dejan and Nada Juric. Mirna was the oldest of three children and went to school as far as the sixth grade. At that time, when she was about eleven, her mother died. Following her death, her father, Dejan, […]
Deiderich Muller was born on July 27, 1921 in Dortmund, Germany to Adolf and Elisabeth Muller. Elisabeth had been married before to a man named Karl Achterberg and had one child with him, Ada, before he was killed in the First World War. Elisabeth was apparently a very strong, dominant woman and married again, this […]
Maria Kumiega was born on June 7, 1913 in Poland to Albert and Milena Gajos. Milena’s maiden name was also Gajos, though Maria says her parents weren’t related. Albert owned a small farm, and Milena cared for Maria, who was just a baby when World War I broke out. Albert was soon rounded up to […]
