June 28, 1914

100 Years ago today, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot by Gavrilo Princip.

Where were my ancestors on June 28, 1914?

Newmarks/Cruvants - St. Louis, Missouri

• My grandfather, Melvin Newmark, was born in 1912
• His father, Barney Newmark, had immigrated in 1909
• His mother, Bertha (Cruvant) Newmark, was likely born in Missouri in 1886. (The Cruvant family was definitely in the US at the time.)
• Three out of four of Melvin's grandparents were alive in 1914 - all living in the greater St. Louis area.

Blatts/Feinsteins - St. Louis, Missouri

• My grandmother, Belle "Sissie" Newmark was born August 14, 1914, so she wasn't quite born yet.
• Her father, Herman Feinstein, had immigrated in 1890
• Her mother, Anna (Blatt) Feinstein, had immigrated, I believe, in the late 1890s
• Three out of four of Sissie's grandparents were alive in 1914 - all living in the greater St. Louis area.

Van Everys/Denyer - Caldwell County, Texas

• My grandmother, Myrtle Van Every, was born in 1900
• Her father, Melvin Van Every, and mother, Margaret (Denyer) Van Every, were both alive in 1914 and living in Texas
• None of Myrtle's grandparents were alive in 1914

Deutsches/Lichtmans - Chicago, IL

• My grandfather, Martin Deutsch, was born in 1907 in Nagyalmas, Hungary (Almasu, Romania)
• The Deutsch family had immigrated to Chicago from Hungary between 1912-1913.
• They were the last of my ancestors to arrive in the US.
• Both of Martin's parents were alive in 1914, and living in Chicago
• All four of Martin's grandparents remained in Hungary. Their dates of death are unknown.

On our honeymoon in 2012, my wife and I visited the jail cell where Gavrilo Princip spent the years 1914-1918. It was Cell #1 at Terezin, which was renamed Theresienstadt by the Nazis during WWII. [Not Your Usual Honeymoon Destination]

Several ancestors and kin registered for the draft during WWI, but I am not aware of any who actually served.