The Family Name.
Brought to you by: Matěj Fašenpáur. He arrived in Cleveland,
Ohio on 1 June 1867. Sailed from Bohemia (then, Austria).
Matěj is pronounced "Ma-Tay" and Fašenpáur is pronounced
with the š as an 'sh' sound; and the á as like the 'a' in acute;
so putting it all together -- it sounds like 'Fashenbauer'.
Matěj Fašenpáur & Anna Hrubecky
He used Mathias Wassenbauer until 1880, then he used variations of
the name "Fasimpaur"; until finally deciding on "Michael Fashempour".
Some of his children took the name 'Fashenpour'.
Anna Hrubecky (20 years old) arrived in the United States with her brother
Frank Hrubecky (16 years old) on 26 May 1870 aboard the German Steamer
"Hermann" -- from Bremen to New York.
When Frank return to Bohemia for a 6 month visit in 1892, his Passport
shows he was born in 29 June 1853 in SKalat, Bohemia (see below).
Frank's Photo & Biography is posted at Find a Grave
His bio reads: [Quote]
Among Cleveland's residents who are now living retired, their present
commendable financial position being the direct result of former activity
and enterprise along business lines, is numbered Frank Hrubecky, living at
7916 Central avenue. He is a retired grocer who for many years successfully
conducted a store. He was born in Bohemia, June 29, 1853, his parents being
John and Catherine (Bouse) Hrubecky, both of whom were also natives of Bohemia
and are now deceased. Their children were Mary, the widow of M. Zak, of Kekle, Bohemia; Jacob, deceased; Constantine, the wife of John Zamicnik, of Cleveland; John, of this city; Anna, the widow of M. Fashenbaur, of Cleveland; and Frank.
[Unquote]
The Marriage Certificate, one year after Anna came to America is shown below:
Marriage Certificate is dated 10 Jul 1871.
Harvard Grove Cemetery, 6100 Lansing Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44105
Say Matěj Fašenpáur
Did you notice on the gravestone it read " CERY ANNA & MARIE"
(the two daughters that caught the Russian Flu and died as teens)?
That is a stone-typo, an expert in the Czech Republic said that
it should have read "DCERY ANNA & MARIE", because "DCERY"
means "Our Daughters".
Did you notice on the gravestone it read "DITKY J. FASENPAUR"
(referring to John's baby twin girls that died at birth)?
Translated it means "the kids" of J. FASENPAUR.
The Harvard Grove Cemetery is located in Newburgh Heights,
a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The grave site is located in
Section 2, Lot 94 and it originally cost $97.50 for the plot
of land.
Matěj Fašenpáur was 59 years old when he caught
pneumonia and died on 7 Sep 1905.
1880 Census from Cleveland, Ohio -- Note Address: 1727 Third Ave.
In 1880 he was a "Milk Peddler" pushing a cart through the
city streets of Cleveland. By 1890 he was a butcher in a Meat
Market on 34th & Francis and spelled his last name: "Fasimpaur".
In 1896, he moved from Third Avenue (Newburgh Heights) to Morrison,
in Lakewood.
By 1900 Matěj was called "Mike" and with wife Anna had 5 kids. Two
of his daughters (Anna & Marie) died from the 1889 Russian Flu Pandemic
and were buried in the same plot with Michael; his wife Anna (Hrubecky)
Fašenpáur (66); his daughter Anna (17); and his daughter Marie (13).
Also, buried in that plot are Matěj son John's twin baby-girls
(one stillborn, one lived 2 days) and John's son Johnnie (12),
who got struck in the arm with a rock and bled to death.
Additionally Matěj daughter Bertha's little daughter Lydia Jedlicka
(1 month) and Bertha's young son Alfred Jedlicka (6), that drowned
in a canal's lock.
Notice the order that people were burried in the family plot. First
were the two teen girls in 1889, then John's twin baby girls by 1902.
Next was Matěj (Michael) in 1905 and some time went by until, Bertha's
little girl Lydia died in 1910 and her young son Alfred in 1911 (19 Aug).
The next month Anna died (8 Sep 1911) and four years later, John's young
son "Johnnie" got killed in 1915.
John - Emma - George
Sons:
George Fashenpour, 1880 - 1937
John Fashempour,1882 - 1961
Daughters - Married Names:
Kate Fashenpour STASTNY,1875 - 1947
Bertha Fashenpour JEDLICKA, 1880 - 1951
and Emma Fashenpour MALONE, 1886 - 1963.
Alien Declaration and Naturalization Records for Mathias Wassenbauer
(web addresses and dates from official Cayahoga County Courthouse)
Below is the actual Alien Declaration document that is filed at the Cayahoga
County Courthouse -- with a title "Smeard Ink", evidently the orinial document
got smeared and was unreadable. So it appears that someone (after in the invent of
IBM punched-cards), copied the information to a punched-card and stored it away
for posterity. Notice the "Country" of origin is "BH" for Bohemia and "Date - Arr"
was June of 1867.
Why WASSENBAUER?
After my Grandfather, John, died in 1961, I helped my Grandmother, Ann,
move into a small apartment in downtown Cleveland. One day we were having
tea at the breakfast table and I asked her "tell me about Grampa's Father."
What she told me didn't make any sense at the time. She said that John's
Father came from the "Bo-Hunk" side of town (she explained to me that
meant he used to live in the Bohemian part of Cleveland). Then she said
"he spelled his last name with a [W]"!! A what?
I was shocked, because I had been searching for a trace of his entry into
this country and had not found one fact connecting to him. I asked more
questions -- but she didn't remember much more than what she had already
told me. Once the Marriage Certificate was discovered in the Cayahoga
County Court House -- everything else fell into place. Note: There is no
one living in the United States by the last name of "Wassenbauer" and all
traces of that name vanished after the 1880 Cleveland Census.
I believe that I now understand how our name got written "Wassenbauer" when
Matěj Fašenpáur first came into this country. See below, the Intent to Marry
Certificate that Matěj filed at the Courthouse a week before he obtained the
Marriage Certificate.
He signed his name with an "X". He did not know how to read and write! So when the
immigration official asked him for his name -- the official wrote down what Matěj said...
"Wassen" for "Fašen" (because that is how Michael pronounced it) and "bauer" for "páur"
because that is exactly the way Michael said his name. Not being able to read or write
in a strange land -- I am sure that he was happy to see his new name "Wassenbauer".
Obviously the correct translation for "Matěj" is Mathias -- so the immigration official
had no problem deciphering Michael's whole name: Mathias Wassenbauer.
Why then, did he change it back to how it was written in the old country? From 1867 to
approximately 1880, Michael was happy with Mathias Wassenbauer -- so what triggered the
name change. My guess is that during that time frame, some of Michael's relatives came
over from the old country -- to live closer to Michael. Maybe they could read and write
and asked Michael how he came up with "Wassenbauer" -- maybe even poking fun at him.
What would you have done? Of course, change your name to the name your ancestors were
using -- so that everyone could see the relationship. So by 1895, in the Cleveland City
Drectory there were: Matěj Fašimpáur (a butcher living at 48 Alexander St.), Frank Fašimpáur
(a laborer living at 13 Ovington St.), Frank Fašimpáur (a laborer living at 67 Dolloff St.),
John J. Fašimpáur (a grinder living at 13 Ovington St.), and Joseph Fašimpáur
(a laborer living at 110 S. Wilson Ave.). I think that some of those folks,
if not all, were related to one another. The name trace in the Czech Republic,
which is currently being conducted, may show those connections.
One more piece of evidence is needed to CONNECT [Matěj Fašimpáur] with [Mathias Wassenbauer].
Below is a listing for MATHIAS WASHENBAUER -- a saloon keeper who lived at 1727 Third Ave.,
Cleveland, Ohio.... that is the same address that "Michael Fassenpauer" was recorded in the
1880 US Census - shown above. (keep in mind the many spellings were because Matěj Fašimpáur
was not a big fan of reading and writting -- especially in this new, strange land.).
Accessed through Ancestry.com -- linking to the City Directory
The Cleveland Ohio City Directory
A Milk Pedler in 1880 -- but a Saloon Keeper by 1882. By 1895 Matěj Fašimpáur worked in a
Meat Market at 34 Francis and remained a Grocer/Butcher until his death in 1905, at 59 years old.
The evidence has lead us to more about our special relative
So, welcome Matěj Fašenpáur to the twenty first century, we honor you
and we acknowledge your fascinating name. I only wish that I could have
known you. Even my father, Ralph W. Fashenpour, didn't ever get to meet
you being born 4 years after you passed at 59 years old in 1905. But we
know about you and that will have to do. The rather large tombstone that
you left in the Harvard Grove Cemetery in Newburgh Heights, Ohio; tells
many stories -- like the pronounciation of your name and information
about some of the grandchildren that were buried with you. Your life
will be remembered. He was my Great Grandfather and I am Dave
Fashenpour.
P.S.
Here is a transcript of a story -- told to me in 1997 -- by Aunt Phyllis
I have been operating on the assumption that the home village of
Matěj Fašenpáur is Vodňany -- South Bohemia and the Bohemian Forest.
The town Vodňany is situated about 7 km south-west of the town Protivín
near the Blanice river in the countryside full of ponds in the
Českobudějovická Pánev (České Budějovice Basin), 398 m a.s.l.
[the Czech Republic].
I say that, because a close friend of Matěj Fašenpáur was John (Jack)
Lucas (pronounced in the old country as LuKash), came from the town
Vodňany -- and was his close friend in the old country.
But I have never confirmed the Vodňany linkage.
The only other clue was from a Czech expert on Ancestry.com who reviewed
church records (in the old country) and found a son (Matěj Fossembauer)
born on 22 Feb 1842 in Purkarec*, (was called Burghholz), Bohemia; to a
couple named Woytech and Maryana Fossembauer. The problem with that
theorey is that the grave-marker in Harvard Grove says Matěj was born
in 1847... so maybe that is wrong? New information from the name search
in the Czech Republic, reveals that person never left for the U.S. -- but
stayed in the old country and had a family. See Localization Research, below.
The following tree diagrams represent information extracted from the
official archival documents from the Cuyahoga Courthouse of Cleveland,
Ohio. Each of the following pages is a collection of data about a specific person;
a person that has been identified as coming to America from Austria, Bohemia, or Slovakia.
FRANK-1854-A
FRANK-1854-B
JOSEPH-1852
MICHAEL-1847 (Matěj Fašenpáur)
JOHN-1861
FRANK-1863
FRANK-1849
FRANK-1825
If you have information that is different or new -- please send whatever you have,
hopefully with source documentation, to "dfashenpour@gmail.com" as soon as possible.
Dave Fahenpour Email Dave
281-380-2159 (updated 3/20/2019)
