Random Rosenbach find of the week. Earlier this week I was working on a question about our paintings of Philip Heymann Rosenbach and Adelheid Rosenbach (the paternal grandparents of our founders Philip & A.S.W., the parents of their father Morris Rosenbach).
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| Unknown artist. Philip Heymann Rosenbach. German, mid-19th-century. 2004.0089 |
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| Unknown artist. Adelheid Rosenbach. German, mid-19th-century. 2004.0090 |
Just for kicks, I threw their names into Google along with the names of their hometown: Gunzenhausen, Germany. What should pop up, but a page put together by students in Gunzenhausen on “The Story of the House at Kirchenstrasse 11.” The students trace the ownership of Kirchenstrasse 11 in Gunzenhausen from its construction in 1550 to the present– it turns out the the Rosenbachs owned it for almost 60 years! Apparently Philip Heymann Rosenbach bought the upper half of the house in 1813 and the lower half of the house in 1815 and the family owned it until 1872. I don’t know if Philip owned other properties in Gunzenhausen, but this is presumably where the family was living when their children were born, including Morris, who was born in 1820. The house is still standing and you see pictures of it on the students’ page! If you scroll down, there’s also a nice section on Rosenbach genealogy.
So, many thanks to the students of Gunzenhausen for giving us a picture (literally) of Morris Rosenbach’s pre-emigration home. I should also point out that the page is part of a larger student project on Jewish Life in Gunzenhausen and there are many other interesting pages to explore.
Kathy Haas is the Assistant Curator at the Rosenbach Museum & Library and the primary poster at the Rosen-blog
Kathy, I think you were awesome on Jeopardy! I wish you'd have won. Best of luck to you out there.