Wordless Wednesday - The Capek Sisters (Updated)

In March, I posted a copy of this photo (see previous post here). I had been asking where the original was and my mother-in-law knew someone had it, but couldn't remember who it was. We kind of forgot about it until it was unearthed in a batch of photos lent to me by a cousin on that side of the family! I was so excited to see it and it's amazing how much detail you could not see on the previous copy I had, such as the two girls holding hands. It is such a sweet gesture captured in this photo, especially since this little sister would later die when she was eight.

Wedding Wednesday - Ezra Barrows and Rose Frantel

Ezra Canfield Barrows and Rosie Capek Frantel met around 1923 in Elmira, New York. They both worked at American Sales Book Company in different departments. According to their daughter, Rose may have known someone in the department Ezra was working in and was visiting that person when she first noticed him and thought he was handsome. He must have noticed her too at some point along the way because he sent her a note at work asking her out. Up until this point, everyone called her Rosie. Ezra addressed her as Rose and from then on, that is the name she went by. He signed his note "I.K.E." His nickname was Ike, but since he wrote it like they were initials, she initially couldn't figure out who had sent it to her. She must have asked someone who it was because they started dating.

They did not have a formal wedding. They got their marriage license the same day and went into a church and had the minister marry them. They chose the Erste Deutsche Evangelische Kirche [First German Evangelical Church] in Elmira, New York.

By Lvklock (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Their marriage record confirms this and even shows witnesses to look into. The family story is that it was only the minister and his wife who witnessed the marriage, however, there are two witnesses and neither of them bear the same name as the minister.

Record of Marriages, page 180

No. 10888

Column 1: For the Groom

Name: Ezra Canfield Barrows

Residence: 1005 Gr. Central Ave. Elmira, NY

Occupation: Paper Cutter

Birthplace: Lockwood, N.Y.

Father: Wm. Barrows

Birthplace: U.S.A.

Mother: Minnie Tannery

Birthplace: U.S.A.

Color: White

Age 26

No. of Marriage: 1st

Column 2: For the Bride

Name: Rose Anna Frantl

Residence: 210 Washington St. Elmira, N.Y.

Occupation: Packing

Birthplace: New York City

Father: Joseph Capek

Birthplace: Austria

Mother: Antoinette Prochaska

Birthplace: [blank or illegible in copy]

Color: White

Age: 22

No. of Marriage: 1st

Date of License: Oct. 11- [19]24; Date of Marriage: Oct 11 [19]24; Place of Marriage: Elmira, N.Y.; Official: R. Vieiveg; Profession: Minister; Witness: Nellie A. Garrigan & Samuel C. Fabletta.

I also have a copy of their wedding certificate given to them by the church, which is actually quite beautiful.

This Certifies That Ezra C. Barrows of Elmira, NY and Rose A. Frantl of Elmira, NY were united in Marriage according to the Ordinance of God and the Laws of the State of New York on the 11th day of October in the year of Our Lord 1924 One Thousand Nine Hundred twenty four. Witnesses: Samuel C. Falletta, Nellie A. Garrigan. R. Vieweg, Pastor. [Seal] Erste Deutsche Evangelische Kirche [First German Evangelical Church], Elmira, NY.

Ezra and Rose's wedding gifts to each other were professional portraits of themselves. There are no photos of them together on their wedding day and it is unclear if these photos were taken before or after their marriage. Either way, they were most likely taken close to their marriage date, circa October 1924.

Ezra Barrows

Rose Capek Frantel Barrows

This marriage produced five children. They were married until Ezra passed away in 1987. His last years were spent in a hospice and she walked over to visit him every single day. She lived on to be 102 years old.

Sources:
Marriage Record: Chemung, New York, Marriage Records, 1908-1935, 3: 180, Barrows-Frantl, 1924; FHL microfilm 849,271, item 10888.
Marriage Certificate: Erste Deutsche Evangelische Kirche (Elmira, New York, USA), Heirloom Marriage Certificate, Ezra C. Barrows & Rose A. Frantl (1924), issued 1924; Erste Deutsche Evangelische Kirche, Elmira; Color copy of marriage certificate in author's possession. Original held privately.

© copyright Monica Palmer, 2011

Marriage Record of Joseph Capek and Antonie Procházka

Joseph Capek, date unknown but prior to 1908

I received a marriage record from the Family History Library that turned out to be a treasure trove of information. The family is on my husband's side and is Czechoslovakian. My mother-in-law knew they came from Bohemia, but that is about all she knew of the origins of her grandmother. Her biological grandfather passed away when her mother was a small girl, so she grew up knowing the second husband as her grandfather.

This is one of those cases where it pays to get a copy of the actual record. It was indexed simply with names, parents' names, and the date of marriage. But as you can see, there is SO much more on this one record. I did not find anything stating that I could not post an image of the certificate on my blog, but if anyone knows differently please tell me so that I'm not violating any copyright laws.

Capek-Prochazka Marriage Record, 1901

Transcription:

City of New York.                                                                                         
No. of Certificate, 16063

STATE OF NEW YORK

[Stamp] Bureau of Records Received Sep 25 1901 Borough of Ma[nhattan]

I Hereby Certify that Joseph Čapek and Antonie Procházka were joined in Marriage by me in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, in the City of New York, this twenty first day of September 1901.

Witnesses to the Marriage, Václar Fous, Jan Procházka. Signature of person performing the ceremony: Wenceslaus Supik.

Date of Marriage. September 21st 19[image cut off]

Groom's Full Name. Joseph Čapek

Residence. 424 E 75 St

Age. 26 years

Color. White

Single or Widowed. Single

Birthplace. Dolní Krupá in Boh. [Czech Republic]

Father's Name. John Čapek

Mother's Maiden Name. Frances Bemák

Number of Groom's Marriage. First

Bride's Full Name. Antonie Procházka

Residence. 422 E. 75 St

Age. 26

Color. White

Single or Widowed. Single

Maiden Name, if a Widow. ---

Birthplace. Hrabĕšín Bohemia [Czech Republic]

Father's Name. Joseph Procházka

Mother's Maiden Name. Marie Čerinak

Number of Bride's Marriage. Frist [sic]

Name of Person performing Ceremony. Wenceslaus Supik csm

Official Station. Catholic Priest

Residence. 323 E. 61 St

Date of [rest cut off]

[Page Two - back of form]

We, the Groom and Bride named in this Certificate, hereby certify, that the informaton given therein is correct, to the best of our knowledge and belief.

[Signature] Josef Čapek Groom,

[Signature] Tony Procháska Bride.

Signed in the presence of Vaclar Fous and J Prochaska [difficult to read]

Not only did we find more exact birthplaces for each of them, but we have parents' names (one was incorrectly indexed) and where they lived when they got married, which by the addresses it appears they were neighbors!

Page Two of this record (the back) has their signatures as well as the signatures of the witnesses. My mother-in-law was always under the impression that her grandmother had traveled to this country as an orphan and that she didn't know anyone here, but if you look at the witnesses to the marriage, one of them has the same last name as her!

I looked up the Catholic Priest who performed the marriage, Wencelaus Supik, as I thought this was an unusual name. I searched Ancestry.com and managed to find a photo posted of him at an age that was close to 31 when he performed the marriage. It makes it more personal to know what the priest looked like who performed the ceremony.

My mother-in-law was very excited by all of this information as was I!! It has been one of the most exciting records I've found, although I am certainly not a seasoned researcher, so I'm hoping for many more like this in the future!

© copyright Monica Palmer, 2011

Tombstone Tuesday - Antoinette Frantel (1877-1956)

Antoinette P. Frantel grave marker

Mother

Antoinette P.

Frantel

1877-1956

 

Antonia (tombstone lists her as Antoinette) Prochazka Capek Frantel was born 1877 (according to her grave marker) in Bohemia. She immigrated to America when she was 17 and married Joseph Capek, also from Bohemia. She had two daughters with him and then lost him in 1908 to influenza. Five years later, she lost her youngest daughter, Antonia, as well. She remarried Leo Frantel and moved to Elmira, New York where she spent the rest of her days. She now rests in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, NY.

Source: Antoinette P. Frantel tombstone, Section BB, Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira (Chemung County), New York; read and photographed by the writer, 26 Jun 2010. 
© copyright Monica Palmer, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - The Capek Sisters

Antonia & Rosie Capek, ca 1907

This is Antonia Capek and Rosie Capek. Shortly after this photo they lost their father (1908) due to sickness. Antonia later died in 1913 from sickness at the age of 8.