My Grandfather's House

The grandfather is on my Dad's side, born in 1861, in Halbturn, Austria. His name was Karl Fischer. His baptismal certificate in Latin was Carolus Fischer.

The photo here came from Maria and Franz Kettner who live in the house and have resided there since 1960 -- 49 years. It is a ceramic plaque which hangs on a wall in their house. I have seen it there. It shows a one-story structure with the front door to one side, opening out onto the street. There is no front yard. Houses in Halbturn generally come out to the the public right of way.

The inscription reads Michael and Anna Fischer, who were Maria's parents. Anna, born Anna Holzapfel, was alive when I first visited in 1995. My Dad and I visited again in 1996. Sadly, Anna passed away in 2002 at age 94. Her husband, Michael Fischer, died from yellow fever contracted during WWII, but he hung on until 1950 at age 44, according to Maria's recent letter.

The house pictured here is at Budapeterstr. 37 and has always been a Fischer house since it was built in 1865. My grandfather was four years old when the house was built. It is more likely than not that he lived in this house from 1865 until 1885 when he left for the United States.

It is only reasonable to conclude that Josef Fischer (1828 - 1915) and Anna Himmel (1828 - 1902) commissioned the building of this house in 1965. Maria, or Maridl Fischer, the oldest daughter, was 15. Jakob Fischer, the next oldest, was 13 years old. My grandfather was four. Theresa, the next youngest, was two years old. Elizabeth Fischer was born two years after the house was built (1867). The youngest, Michael Fischer, was born in 1870 -- five years after the house was built.

Maria and Franz Kettner could not verify what years each of the children lived in this house. However, it is more likely than not that Jakob, Karl and Michael, the three grandfathers and greatgrandfathers of the existing lines of the Fischer family all lived in this house for some undetermined period of time. It would be nice to have proof or some documentation of every fact presented in a family history, but that is hoping for too much. "More likely than not" is a legal standard in the United States which means "preponderance of the evidence," a level of proof required in a civil case.

Maria has lived in this house her entire life. We can believe what she says about this house. Combined with the limited documentation that we have, we can say it is more likely than not that my grandfather lived in this house for several years before he immigrated to America.

Maria tells us this house was renovated in 1969 when it was expanded into a two-story structure. The photo of the present house is on the front cover of the book, "My Grandfather's House," published at www.lulu.com