Famfule (Famfoolie?) Family

Mom's family name is Famfule (Famfoolie?). The family came to the Vienna area and settled near Mödling (I think); they had a brick making business. Mom thought the family was originally from near Pisek, Czech Republic. At the time, this was all the Austro Hungarian Empire, so they considered themselves Austrian.

I don't know how many brothers and sisters Sofia had. I think Aunt Annie was one of her sisters, and I believe she had a brother that visited periodically; there are photos of him in the garden in the house in Mödling. Mom said the brother was a nice "hobo" and implied he did not have a permanent residence. I asked her if the family was afraid of having him near the children, if maybe he was schizophrenic or something; she said he was nice and he was safe, and that all she knew.  Age-wise,  he probably would have fought in WWI; I wonder if he suffered from PTSD?

The older girls, Liesel and Trude, would take cookie sheets from the kitchen and ride them down the staircase into the basement like a sled; this had to have been very noisy and always got them into trouble.

The girls all shared a big nursery room, as was done at that time... Apparently Trude and Liesel were scared of thunder and lightning. After Mom was born, they would pour water into her diaper so she would cry, which would get the attention of their mom!

There's more on some Famfule family relations on the post about Die Tante.

Mom's father, Edwin (pronounced Edvin) died when she was 3. Up until then, he would take her to the Synagogue with him for services. I don't know if the other girls went as well. She didn't remember much of it other than that the men sat on the bottom floor, and the women where in the mezzanine. She would go with the women and she said they were very nice and gave her cookies. After this death, she did not attend anymore. 

Mom did attend Catholic services and all of the religious training as would happen in a Catholic country.

I don't know if the family moved from Mödling to Hietzing before or after Edwin's death... I believe Sofia's parents lived with her in Hietzing, as well as Edwin's mother.

From Hietzing, they moved to an apartment on Rudolphsplatz (#10? #12?) but I don't know the timeline.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LA Freeways, Clark Gable, and the Burbank Airport

Image
I just returned from Pasadena, we were there overnight for a little R&R and to look at some art.  Travelling through, I was reminded of a story Mom had told me. She was going to take Jacqueline to Disneyland, but was afraid to drive on LA freeways; LA freeways had to have been a lot easier back then... I think it was Grover Collins that told gave her this strategy: immediately pull all the way to the left into the fast lane, then stay there until you're close to your destination. That was there's only cars passing you on one side. I think this behavior is a felony on the Autobahns of Germany, but it's legal in LA, and that's the way Mom navigated LA freeways for many years. I'm imagining how exasperating that must have been for the other drivers... This fear of LA Freeways might account for the reason she and Jacqueline never went to visit Clark Gable. They were on the same plane to LA when Mom emigrated; Mr. Gable was apparently quite taken with the baby Ja
Read more

Die Tante

Edwin Bardach's first wife was a Jewish woman; they had two girls. I'm going to guess that the girls were born in the 1890's but I do not know for sure; I have tried but have been unable to find information on whether the survived the Nazi occupation. His second wife was die Tante (the Aunt); I don't know her name but that's how mom and cousin Peter referred to her. She was moms moms sisters illegitimate daughter who was raised as a sister of Aunt Annie's (moms moms other sisters daughter). I think I have this right. She and Edwin divorced with no children and no animosity; she met the love of her life and went to live with him in Saalbach, near Zell am See. His wife would not grant him a divorce so they lived together until their 80's when his wife passed away and they were able to marry. His third wife was Sofia Famfoolie, mom's mom. There's a book on the Mischlinge (Jewish/Catholic mixed kids under Hitler's regime) that tells their story a
Read more

What's the purpose of this blog, anyways!

Image
I promised my family when Mom passed that I'd try to write down some of the family stories... Lacking a vehicle for this, I've failed in every way but thinking about it. Lately, I've been scanned old photos, and updating my projects blog, which got me to thinking... What about putting the stories, in no particular order, into a blog? So I'll start writing out the stories I remember, hoping that my siblings will comment according to their memories. I'm hoping the family will enjoy reading these. I'll include stories Mom and Dad told me about their lives, stories of the families, and stories I remember from when we were growing up. Hoping you all enjoy!
Read more