52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 8: I Can Identify

Hello! I'm trying to catch up on weekly ancestor posts for the 52 Ancestors genealogy challenge. (www.amyjohnsoncrow.com).

Week 8: I Can Identify

My Oma, Ernilore Marianne Wirth, was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1929. Her parents were Friedrich Wilhelm "Willi" Wirth and Annemarie Vera Helene "Vera" Eckhardt.

When I was in high school, my family traveled to Frankfurt with my Oma to visit her sister, my great-aunt Ursula, and other family and friends. We saw the home where she grew up, at 72 Grunebergweg, and other landmarks of her childhood.

Many years later, I was looking through some of the heirloom items from my Dad's side of the family. This book of photos looked interesting, so I took it with me to my daughter's Tae Kwon Do class, to page through while watching her practice.

Cover of the small book, "Frankfurt am Main in alten Ansichten."

By Franz Schaub, published in 1979, Europäische Bibliothek - Zaltbommel/Niederlande.

Much to my surprise, my Oma's childhood home, 72 Grunebergweg, was featured in this book! There was a family photo from 1899 of a family who lived in the home before she did. Their surname was Pfeil, and according to Google's translation of the caption text, the father of the family was a textile merchant, and at that time the Kaiser was visiting the city.

Photo of the Pfeil family in 1899 in the garden of 72 Gruneburgweg, the house where my Oma was raised later (1929-1950s). From the book above. As far as I know they are not related to me.

Of course this element of serendipity raises some questions. Why did my family have this book? Did they realize their former home was featured in it? Did they have any connection to the family who lived in this home before them? Or was this simply a souvenir book, full of memories of a bygone era in their hometown?

Thanks for reading! I hope to share more heirlooms stories in the future.