Corinne's Story
The below details chronologically how she established the relationship. It makes fascinating reading.
Part 1
Dear Alan
My name is Corinne Keller, I am from Switzerland. I am contacting you because while going through old family documents I came across an old letter with an envelope from South Africa (Cape Town). The letter was sent by Max Kaimowitz to my Grandfather. On the envelope there is a big bell with the name Belmor Brand. Researching the internet I found your address in connection with Belmor. So I wonder if your company has a connection to my family (Kaimowitz, nee Kac).
Thank you in advance for your reply. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Corinne Keller
Part (2)
Hi Corinne
Thank you for making contact with us.
You managed to reach the right family. I am Alan, a nephew to Max who wrote the letter.I am intrigued to know how you got my name. Please let me know. I am forwarding this email directly to my first cousin Daryl (Kaimowitz). He is the late Max Kaimowitz's son and I am sure that he would like to know more about the letter and the possibility of their being any relationship between our two families.
I am also forwarding this email to Dr.Solly Kaye who is a younger brother of Max. I am sure that he too would like to know more about your family.
I, too, would like to hear more from you.
Please keep me up to date with any news.
With kind regards
Alan
Part (3)
Hi Alan
Thank you for your reply. For the moment I was a bit speechless - I really didn't expect you to reply so quickly!
First, let me introduce and tell you how I found you (it's quite a long and complicated story):
As I mentioned, my name is Corinne Keller, I am 33 years old, married with two daughters and I live in Switzerland. In February 2004 I lost both my parents in a terrible car accident. By that time I already knew about a very well kept family secret: my father wasn't the son of my grandmother's husband but he was the son of Majer Kac, a Polish refugee who stayed with my grandmother, her husband and their three daughters.
Since this all happened during World War II (my father was born in 1941) the family and everybody else kept it secretly. After the loss of my parents I had to clean the house and the bank safe. There, in the bank safe I came across very old family documents (letters, photographs even envelopes with addresses). I tried to put the pieces pieces together, found out about my father's cousins in England and got in touch with my second cousin Eric Kalman in Sheffield, England who still lives in the same house as his mother did and the address was noted on an envelope. I actually traveled to meet him in person and we tried to put names to the people on the pictures. He also told me about the family in South Africa, but I didn't take notes but I came to understand how the Kaimowitz of South Africa were related to my grandfather: Bella Kaimowitz, nee Kac was my great-grandfather's (Chaim-Lajb) sister she was born in Zdunska Wola (?), Poland. So Bella was my grandfather's aunt and Max was my grandfather's first cousin. Please correct me if I am wrong! I am not sure in which year Bella was born - the only date I found out (Eric gaveme a family tree but some dates were wrong) was 1883, she married a M. Kaimowitz and emigrated to South Africa. One of her sons was Max. I don't know how many children Bella had. I am actually working on the Kac's family tree. You will find enclosed the scanned letter by Max to my grandfather Majer - nothing important just a note because Max's father sent my grandfather a cheque and obviously my grandfather didn't tell them if he had received the cheque and whether he had cashed it or not. This is the only letter that "survived" there must have been quite a good correspondence since I found about 5 or 6 envelopes (3 enclosed), a picture of the family (also enclosed) - on the back it says: "zur freundl. Erinnerung von Onkel und Fam." (to the friendly memory from uncle and family). There is also a stamp on the back: Photo-Hausmann, Gordon Street, Cape Town, phone 2-2671.
While browsing the internet I had an idea: I tried to search the internet for Belmor, then I tried the South African Yellow pages and so I found the website www.imprints.co.za and on the website I found your e-mail address. I decided to give it a try even if I got the wrong people. I know from experience that South Africans are friendly and helpful people. My family and I traveled to South Africa in December 2001. My husband participated in the World Gliding Championships in Mafikeng. We stayed there for almost a month. Even our daughter Lea (who was 6 months then) had a good time.
Thanks again for your reply. I am really looking forward to your next e-mail.
All the best,
Corinne
Corinne's story
Part (4)
Hi Daryl,
Thank you for your e-mail. I can understand that you're "blown away". I felt the same when I opened my late parents' bank safe and found all those old documents and pictures. First, I didn't even know who these people were since I didn't know any details of my grandfather's family - for a very long time I didn't even know that Majer Kac was my grandfather. Officially, my father was the son of my grandmother's husband (Alfred Kellenberger) that's also the reason why my maiden name was Kellenberger and not Kac. The story gets even more confusing since Majer Kac was married to an Austrian lady (they had two daughters) before he could escape to Switzerland. I actually found his younger daughter Hermine the older one passed away a few years ago) - in fact my aunt - who still lives in Vienna, Austria. For her it was a big shock to hear that she had a younger brother in Switzerland. She was about 14 years old when her father left Austria for good. She couldn't even say goodbye to him and never heard anything from him again. Her last letter to her father (my grandfather) still exists and is very moving - I really can't understand why he never replied to her. That was the main reason to find her or at least to find out what has become of her and
her older sister. A funny story, she didn't know that her father's first name was Majer - in Austria he called himself Marcus - and that was my father's first name (Marcus Kellenberger).
OK, enough for today! I am really happy to have found another branch of my family!
Thank you for your warm welcome.
Kindest regards,
Corinne
The below details chronologically how she established the relationship. It makes fascinating reading.
Part 1
Dear Alan
My name is Corinne Keller, I am from Switzerland. I am contacting you because while going through old family documents I came across an old letter with an envelope from South Africa (Cape Town). The letter was sent by Max Kaimowitz to my Grandfather. On the envelope there is a big bell with the name Belmor Brand. Researching the internet I found your address in connection with Belmor. So I wonder if your company has a connection to my family (Kaimowitz, nee Kac).
Thank you in advance for your reply. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Corinne Keller
Part (2)
Hi Corinne
Thank you for making contact with us.
You managed to reach the right family. I am Alan, a nephew to Max who wrote the letter.I am intrigued to know how you got my name. Please let me know. I am forwarding this email directly to my first cousin Daryl (Kaimowitz). He is the late Max Kaimowitz's son and I am sure that he would like to know more about the letter and the possibility of their being any relationship between our two families.
I am also forwarding this email to Dr.Solly Kaye who is a younger brother of Max. I am sure that he too would like to know more about your family.
I, too, would like to hear more from you.
Please keep me up to date with any news.
With kind regards
Alan
Part (3)
Hi Alan
Thank you for your reply. For the moment I was a bit speechless - I really didn't expect you to reply so quickly!
First, let me introduce and tell you how I found you (it's quite a long and complicated story):
As I mentioned, my name is Corinne Keller, I am 33 years old, married with two daughters and I live in Switzerland. In February 2004 I lost both my parents in a terrible car accident. By that time I already knew about a very well kept family secret: my father wasn't the son of my grandmother's husband but he was the son of Majer Kac, a Polish refugee who stayed with my grandmother, her husband and their three daughters.
Since this all happened during World War II (my father was born in 1941) the family and everybody else kept it secretly. After the loss of my parents I had to clean the house and the bank safe. There, in the bank safe I came across very old family documents (letters, photographs even envelopes with addresses). I tried to put the pieces pieces together, found out about my father's cousins in England and got in touch with my second cousin Eric Kalman in Sheffield, England who still lives in the same house as his mother did and the address was noted on an envelope. I actually traveled to meet him in person and we tried to put names to the people on the pictures. He also told me about the family in South Africa, but I didn't take notes but I came to understand how the Kaimowitz of South Africa were related to my grandfather: Bella Kaimowitz, nee Kac was my great-grandfather's (Chaim-Lajb) sister she was born in Zdunska Wola (?), Poland. So Bella was my grandfather's aunt and Max was my grandfather's first cousin. Please correct me if I am wrong! I am not sure in which year Bella was born - the only date I found out (Eric gaveme a family tree but some dates were wrong) was 1883, she married a M. Kaimowitz and emigrated to South Africa. One of her sons was Max. I don't know how many children Bella had. I am actually working on the Kac's family tree. You will find enclosed the scanned letter by Max to my grandfather Majer - nothing important just a note because Max's father sent my grandfather a cheque and obviously my grandfather didn't tell them if he had received the cheque and whether he had cashed it or not. This is the only letter that "survived" there must have been quite a good correspondence since I found about 5 or 6 envelopes (3 enclosed), a picture of the family (also enclosed) - on the back it says: "zur freundl. Erinnerung von Onkel und Fam." (to the friendly memory from uncle and family). There is also a stamp on the back: Photo-Hausmann, Gordon Street, Cape Town, phone 2-2671.
While browsing the internet I had an idea: I tried to search the internet for Belmor, then I tried the South African Yellow pages and so I found the website www.imprints.co.za and on the website I found your e-mail address. I decided to give it a try even if I got the wrong people. I know from experience that South Africans are friendly and helpful people. My family and I traveled to South Africa in December 2001. My husband participated in the World Gliding Championships in Mafikeng. We stayed there for almost a month. Even our daughter Lea (who was 6 months then) had a good time.
Thanks again for your reply. I am really looking forward to your next e-mail.
All the best,
Corinne
Corinne's story
Part (4)
Hi Daryl,
Thank you for your e-mail. I can understand that you're "blown away". I felt the same when I opened my late parents' bank safe and found all those old documents and pictures. First, I didn't even know who these people were since I didn't know any details of my grandfather's family - for a very long time I didn't even know that Majer Kac was my grandfather. Officially, my father was the son of my grandmother's husband (Alfred Kellenberger) that's also the reason why my maiden name was Kellenberger and not Kac. The story gets even more confusing since Majer Kac was married to an Austrian lady (they had two daughters) before he could escape to Switzerland. I actually found his younger daughter Hermine the older one passed away a few years ago) - in fact my aunt - who still lives in Vienna, Austria. For her it was a big shock to hear that she had a younger brother in Switzerland. She was about 14 years old when her father left Austria for good. She couldn't even say goodbye to him and never heard anything from him again. Her last letter to her father (my grandfather) still exists and is very moving - I really can't understand why he never replied to her. That was the main reason to find her or at least to find out what has become of her and
her older sister. A funny story, she didn't know that her father's first name was Majer - in Austria he called himself Marcus - and that was my father's first name (Marcus Kellenberger).
OK, enough for today! I am really happy to have found another branch of my family!
Thank you for your warm welcome.
Kindest regards,
Corinne