Family Origin

My mother, her maiden name Fanny Weis, was born in Ploesti to her mother Weis (nee Lichtag) Roza and her father Weis Samuel (for him this marriage a second one; from his first marriage there was a girl named Bluma who lived with her grandmother on her late mother's side). My grandfather from my mother's side was a chazan (cantor), and a son of the tzadik David Leib Weis from Hajdunanas. Because of his profession, they sometimes wandered from place to place. I heard that my cantor grandfather was invited to the court of the Romanian king to sing; he had a pleasant voice. Thus, when my mother was born, they lived in Romania in the City of Ploesti where my grandfather Samuel Weis worked as a cantor. Shortly after she was born a pogrom broke out against the Jewish people, so my grandparents fled the country immediately and returned to Hungary.

My Father David Bleier was born in the city of Tisza-Csege; his mother Eva (nee Lichtag). My paternal grandfather was Moshe Itshak Bleier (son of Menachem Bleier a rabbi of the City of Tisza-Igar for 45 years). About my paternal grandfather all I know is that he earned his degree as a rabbi, but did not follow this profession; he wished to earn his living by working - whatever that means. My two grandmothers were sisters, and my parents were first cousins. Moshe Itshak Bleier, my late grandfather, died of pneumonia in 1915.

My paternal grandfather had his first engagement party with my maternal grandmother, there he fell in love with my paternal grandmother, so he busied himself to find a husband for his fiance - it took some time but he finally found one! Then he got married with his fiance's sister! What a clever young man my grandfather was!

Both my paternal and maternal grandfathers passed away at an early age, leaving their widows with about a dozen children, with the youngest less that ten years old. But both my witty grandmothers succeeded to bring up their children well-educated and honest citizens in the country where they were born and grew up to manhood.

In 1924 my parents met as young cousins - and soon they became a married couple. After their wedding day they moved to a very small town called Hencida, located in Hajdu-Bihar county. There my eldest brother, myself and a younger brother were born (also a sister who was the second child, but sadly enough returned her angelic soul to her creator while still in infancy).

© David Muskal, 2001