The
Family History of the Calzaretta, Krieger, Michaels and Rafael Families and other related families as researched by Alex Calzareth
Here you'll find a large part of the information I've discovered about
my ancestors and their extended families during the last ten years. As
you browse through this site please keep in mind that it is a work in
progress.
Many source documents have already been included in the site so that
you can see where I got my information from. Look for the following: - indicates that
there's a picture or document
associated with the individual or event - PDF
document - most likely a newspaper article
Sometimes the documents may be attached to the source references. To
get to them please click on the source links under each individual's
entry. Alternatively, you may click on the Sources button
above to browse
through them.
You can start exploring the site using the buttons above, or continue
reading below to learn a little bit more about me and my research.
One of the greatest parts of family history research is
the connections
that I have made with fellow researchers and relatives throughout the
world. If you find a connection to any of the people or places
mentioned here, I would love to hear from you. I may have more
information that has not yet found its way onto the site yet and I
would also like to learn from you. So, please drop me an e-mail at
.
Note about the Photos
Section
This links to my digital family photo albums. It includes most of the
older photos that I am lucky enough to have along with a selection of
more recent ones. The main
focus is on the Rafael, Baer, Krieger and Löwenstein families
from the 1920s onwards.
A request to all
relatives: One of my goals for my family
history research is to build a story about each individual family
member. Family
photographs provide another important connection to each invdividual.
Please consider sharing with me any special family photos,
both old and more recent, that you may have. With your
permission, I
will also include them in the Photos section of
this web site. Thank you.
About me and my research
My interest in family history began about ten years ago when I was 13.
It started with a family
tree that was put together for a Löwenstein
family reunion in 1993. I came across the tree a few years later and
started asking my grandmother, Lorie
Krieger, questions about her parents and their
cousins. At the same time, I discovered the resources of the LDS Family History
Centers and JewishGen.
Its Family
Finder connected me to a number of fellow researchers
and distant relatives around the globe. One of them, Werner
Frank, provided me with a family tree going back to
the 1600s. By this point I was hooked. Thanks to the help of many
cousins I have gained a better understanding of where my ancestors came
from and what their
lives were like. Additional insight into their lives has come from a
variety of records, which are still
preserved in archives in the U.S, Germany and Italy.
Most of my research efforts to this point have been focused on my
maternal
ancestors. My mother's father, Alex (Axel) Rafael, was born in 1921 in
Gablonz, Czechoslovakia. Most of his ancestors had lived in Bohemia and
Moravia for centuries. His maternal grandmother however was born in
Hamburg, Germany. He immigrated to the US in 1938, followed by his
parents and sister in 1940, after they spent almost two years in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. My grandmother, Lorie Krieger, was born in
Munich, although both of her parents were born in Weingarten, Baden.
She was lucky enough to get out of Germany in February 1940 with her
parents, Meta and Siegfried, and grandmother, Ida Baer.
Both of my grandparents lost aunts, uncles and cousins in the Holocaust
along with a great number of more distant relatives. I feel it is
especially important to
remember the stories of these lost individuals and their communities.
Furthermore, the relatives that were able to emigrate from Germany and
the rest of Europe were scattered around the globe. Today descendants
of these
families live in the US, Canada, Argentina, Israel, South Africa,
France, England, and Australia, among other places. These are families
that share a common past and that constituted a vibrant part of their
communities that were torn apart.
My paternal ancestors came from southern Italy between 1884 and 1905.
One branch however had its origins in Kaunas (Kovno), Lithuania. My
surname
should be Calzaretta but for some reason after my great-grandfather and
his parents arrived in the US, it was changed to Calzareth. Most
people with the Calzaretta surname can trace their origins back to
Oliveto Citra near Salerno in Campania, Italy. My Micallo (Michaels)
ancestors lived in the city of Naples while the Dellamonica family was
originally from Cava de' Tirreni (near Salerno). The LDS Church has not
yet been permitted to microfilm the records of the province of Salerno.
This means I have not had access to most of the records that still
exist in Italian archives concerning these families.
My goal in doing this research is to have more than just a family
tree
with lists of people's names and dates. I'm motivated by the desire
to learn more about the details of my ancestors' lives. It's
fascinating to learn about their occupations, immigration, daily lives
and how they fit into the larger scope of history. Personal interviews,
archival records and the assistance of relatives and fellow researchers
have all provided invaluable assistance. My plan is
to write a book. That however is a long ways
off as there is still much information waiting to be uncovered. Until
that time this site serves as a way to update everyone on what I've
learned so far.
If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them.
Thank you for your interest in my research.
- indicates that
there's a picture or document
associated with the individual or event 
- PDF
document - most likely a newspaper article