Beyl Ancestors

With the help of my new found Beyl cousins we've been able to trace the Beyl ancestors back to my 7th Great-Grandparents.

For someone who couldn't even find my great-great grandparents a few months ago...this has truly been a gift.

Joseph Antoine (Anton) BEYL
b-1/2/1897 Strasbourg
d-1/28/1989 San Francisco, CA
*Married: Amelia FRIES (3/11/1905 - 12/18/1982)

Francois Antoine (Franz Anton) BEYL
b-5/31/1860 Oberlauterbach
d-?
*Married: Josephine SIGRIST (3/19/1865 - ?)

Jacques (Jacob) BEYL
b-3/12/1815 Oberlauterbach
d-?
*Married: Maria Anne (Maria Anna) SCHMITT (3/23/1825 - ?)

Paul BEYL
b-4/27/1791 Oberlauterbach
d-12/27/1850 Oberlauterbach
*Married: Madeleine (Magdelaine) LEHMANN

Jean (Joannis) BEYL
b-7/20/1754 Oberlauterbach
d-12/7/1831 Oberlauterbach
*Married: Catherine SCHICKEL

Jean Georges (Joannis Georg) BEYL
b-5/19/1729 Niederlauterbach
d-6/18/1758 Oberlauterbach
*Married: Maria Elisabeth KRAEMER

Joseph BEYL
b-1682 Siegen
d-4/10/1752 Siegen
*Married: Anne Marie FRITZ

Introducing Anton and Josephine Beyl

Anton Franz Beyl with his wife Josephine Sigrist Beyl 

and one of their sons Joseph Beyl

I never thought I'd actually see a photo of my Great-Great-Grandparents. I can't even put into words the emotions that I felt seeing this photo for the first time.

My Great-Great Grandfather was a baker. If you look in the first window you'll see different types of breads. Yummy! I wish I could taste them.

The other windows have beautiful lace curtains, which I can imagine Josephine dusting.

Joseph has such a swagger about him. Isn't he a cutie? What a charmer he must have been.

New Information on Joseph Anthony Beyl

I have recently been contacted by a Beyl cousin in France and a genealogist who has been helping her. In a short comment and email I learned more then the many hours I've spent researching the Beyl side of my family.

When I started this blog I hoped I'd find my lost cousins...but feared getting my hopes up. I have been truly blessed to meet (even if only through emails) the most amazing people...all of whom I'm so thrilled to call family.

From left to right: Amelia Fries, Jane Adams holding son Jeffrey, and Joseph Beyl

My Grandfather has written about his father so much more eloquently then I ever could, if you're interested read here.

Joseph's obituary:

Birth:	Jan. 2, 1897 Strasbourg, France
Death:	Jan. 28, 1989 San Francisco San Francisco County California, USA
Joseph A. Beyl Funeral services will be held tomorrow for Joseph A. Beyl, a well-known San Francisco chef who died Saturday after a lengthy illness. He was 92. Friends may visit after 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Evergreen Mortuary at McAvoy O'Hara Co., 4545 Geary Boulevard. Funeral services are at 3 p.m., with San Francisco historian Kevin Starr giving the eulogy. Private internment will be held at Mountain View Cemetery. Son of a Strasbourg baker, Mr. Beyl left his home in Alsace in 1912 when he was 15, saying he wanted to see the world. After arriving in New York City, he talked his way into a cook's job at the Hotel Astor, explaining that he had worked in his father's bakery. Mr. Beyl susequently worked at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia and the Minneapolis Athletic Club. By 1916, he began working as a cook at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco under the famed chef Victor Hirtzler, who became Mr. Beyl's mentor. Mr. Beyl became chef de cuisine at the Hotel Californian in Fresno in 1924. He returned to the San Francisco area in 1932 and remained here throughout his life. During his career, Mr. Beyl served as chef in San Francisco's Alexander Hamilton Hotel, the Lake Merritt Hotel in Oakland, the Menlo Country Club in Redwood City and various restaurants. He retired in 1970. He was a member and past president of the Gastronome Club. Mr. Beyl and his wife, who died in 1982, were longtime Oakland residents. Since 1983, Mr. Beyl lived in San Francisco. Survivors include a sister, Anna Fromm of Strasbourg; a son, Ernest Beyl of San Francisco, Laurel Beyl of San Francisco of San Francisco, Michael Beyl of San Anselmo, and Jeffrey Beyl of Seattle; and five great-grandchildren.

What I'd like to share is the new information that has been shared with me.

Joseph Anthony Beyl was born in Stasbourg on 1/2/1897 to Franz Anton (Francois Antoine) Beyl and Josephine Sigrist. He had a brother Leon Marie (Leo Maria); two sisters, Maria Antonia Beyl and Anna Maria Beyl.



FRANZ ANTON (FRANCOIS ANTOINE) BEYL was born 31 May 1860 in Oberlauterbach, he was a baker. He married JOSEPHINE SIGRIST born 19 March 1865 in Obernai.

Children of FRANZ ANTON AND JOSEPHINE BEYL are:
1. JOSEPH ANTOINE (Joseph Anthony) BEYL born 02 Jan 1897 in Strasbourg; died 28 Jan 1989 in San Francisco
2. LEON MARIE (Leo Marie) BEYL born 28 Sept 1898 in Strasbourg; died 18 Feb 1976 in Vandoevre-les-Nancy
3. MARIE ANTONIA BEYL born 27 June 1900 in Strasbourg; died 13 July 1900 in Strasbourg
4. ANNA MARIA BEYL born 21 June 1902 in Strasbourg; died 11 May 2000 in Strasbourg


I'm still looking for more information about Leon and Anna Maria's children and grandchildren and will share as soon as I learn more.

(left to right: Amelia Fries Beyl, Honor "Ben" Boland Adams, Ernie Beyl, 

Jane Adams, Jeff Beyl, Roxanne Minnigh, Joseph Beyl, 

anet Burns Minnigh and Robert Minnigh)

Getting To Know Jane Theresa Adams

I never had the privilege of meeting my grandmother, Jane Theresa Adams...she passed away a few weeks after my older brother was born.

She was born on June 9, 1930 in San Francisco, CA. She was adopted by Miner Barnes Adams (b. 4/9/1899 in Mt. Vernon, NY / d. 5/17/1969 in Palo Alto, CA) and Honor Jane Boland Adams (b. 12/22/1900 in San Francisco,CA / d. 1/3/1988 in CA)...everyone called Honor "Ben". Yet no one can tell me why. Hmmm??

Miner and Ben had a daughter Nancy Ruth Adams (b. 12/20/1926 d. 5/24/1993). They had two other children that I have evidence of...both died at birth. Judy Adams on 11/29/1928 in Palo Alto, CA and John Adams on 2/20/1930 in Palo Alto, CA.

(left to right: Amelia Fries Beyl, Honor "Ben" Boland Adams, Ernie Beyl, Jane Adams, Jeff Beyl, Roxanne Minnigh, Joseph Beyl, Janet Burns Minnigh and Robert Minnigh)

Now what I find interesting...is that Miner and Honor were preparing for a baby to be born in February of 1930 (if that was full-term) and yet my grandmother was born in early June in 1930. That's only a little over 3 months. Adoptions usually took longer than that. So either my grandmother Jane wasn't adopted immediately after birth OR Miner and Honor knew the birth mother perhaps??

Growing up there were only a few things I knew about her...

1. She was adopted.
2. She played the piano.
3. She'd been married twice and divorced twice.
4. She was beautiful.
5. She died of cancer.
6. I supposedly resemble her.

I don't remember seeing pictures of her growing up. I mourned her absence in my life. Maybe it was easier to idolize someone who wasn't there. But I did miss her. I use to talk to her late at night when I was trying to work out some adolescent problem...thinking she would have the answers. 

Jane Theresa Adams

(I LOVE this dress. I even have a pair of shoes just like the ones she's wearing)

Jane was always a mystery.

My mom met my dad when they were just teenagers so she has been a huge help in filling in some of the blanks. 

I may never know Jane's entire story...and that's truly a tragedy. She was given up for adoption and brought into a family who from all appearances loved her. I believe they did. But I also think, from all I've been told, that Jane also had a darkness to her....a pain that was deep. 

After pestering my dad a bit, he finally sent me some photos of Jane last March. I was coming home from a business trip in Chicago and there was a large envelope from my dad and inside were a handful of B&W photos of Jane and my Grandfather Ernie. I cried! It was the first time I'd seen a photo of her. It was such a special moment. 

Jane Adams fixing her veil on her wedding day. Ernie and her mother are standing beside her.

I love the kid in the background...was he part of the wedding or was he a creeper? 

Ernie Beyl and Jane Adams on their wedding day

Amelia Fries Beyl, Jane Adams with son Jeffrey and Joseph Beyl

Jane with her sons Jeff and Michael

This photo is my favorite...after being told I resembled her...I could finally see why. I sit just like this, with my shoulders rolled forward. Our bodies are very similar and I have her hands.

Family Recipe Book - Salad Eleanor by Joseph A. Beyl

My Gr Grandfather Joseph A. Beyl was a chef. He came to America from Germany in 1912. His father, Anton, was a baker in, what I've been told was a storybook village, Obernai, not far from Strasbourg.

Joseph worked in the bakery with his father until he was 15 when he left for America. Shortly after he arrived in the U.S. he got a job in Manhattan's Hotel Astor as a baker's assistant. After a year there he took a train to Philadelphia, where the chef at the Bellevue Stratford signed him on as a kitchen helper. After that he went to Minneapolis where he also worked in a hotel kitchen...then finally on to San Francisco when he was 19 years old. He went to work for the St. Francis Hotel as a chef commis and his mentor Victor Hirtzler. By 1928 Joseph was worked as a chef at the Hotel Californian is Fresno, CA. In 1930 he became the chef at the prestigious Alexander Hamilton Hotel in San Francisco, CA.

A few years ago my mother gave me a small stack of photos and in those photos was a thin, brittle recipe card. The recipe "Salad Eleanor" by Joseph A. Beyl, Sea Wolf Restaurant. It was the first time I'd seen a photo of my Gr Grandfather. I've seen seen a few more...but the photo of Joseph in his chef's hat is my favorite.

Midnight Treasures....Joseph A Beyl and Amelia Fries Beyl Graves Found

Any genealogist will tell you when you are searching for information about Family A it's inevitable you'll find a nugget of information about Family B that will take you down a different path then you'd planned. There are days I will bookmark this information and continue my Family A search...but not often...since the nugget about Family B is so unexpected it becomes my new obsession. 

And even though my search for information on Family A has been put on hold once again...I'm so thrilled with what I've found it'll be hours before I get up from my computer.

I was doing a search on my grandfather, Ernest Beyl, this evening and instead a hit came up for Joseph Anton "Anthony" Beyl on Find a Grave Memorial's site. I quickly clicked over to find his obituary and a few details I was unaware of. Like his sisters name "Anna Fromm from Strasbourg"...Now I knew her name was Anna and she's in my Ancestry.com tree as Anna Beyl, so I'm assuming if they've named her Anna Fromm in the obituary it's her married name. I hope to one day get in touch with any of my Beyl cousins. I hope you're out there...

Anyway, I love reading the obituaries of my ancestors. But especially this one for Joseph and his wife Amelia since they list their great grandchildren (which is me)...always brings a tear to my eye. I met them when I was a very young child but my parents moved us away from CA so sadly I didn't get to know them as I got older. I remember after Amelia died I was given a hand purse that was hers. I loved this thing and took it with me to the airport one evening and someone stole the purse while I was there. It was devastating. All these years later I don't remember who we were there to pickup...or even what items I lost in that purse...none of that even matters to me. But the loss of that heirloom still breaks my heart.

One other interesting tidbit was from Amelia Fries Beyl's memorial page...she is listed as "Mollie" Amelia Fries. Now there is no headstone image, so I'm dying to know if this was her true full name. I've never heard or seen this in my research before.

Plus, her parents and her siblings were all listed and their headstone images were included. They have all been buried in the Mountain View Cemetery...which I find interesting. I wonder if they're all close by each other. That really makes me happy.