Frank Family Chronicles
Introduction
Leonard James Weiss
In the latter part of the 20th Century, looking for one's roots has become a widespread trend. When I was growing up the opposite was true.
Most of my parents' contemporaries - the immigrant generation- instead went out of their way to forget their lives in Europe and almost never discussed their heritage and cultural background.
They wanted to erase all reminders of from where they had come and who they had been to the extent that "Americanizing" one's name became the thing to do.
I am reminded of the old story, where Mr. Levy goes to court and has his name legally changed to O'Brien. Six months later he is back in court before the same judge requesting that his name be changed to Callahan. The judge, surprised, asks Mr. Levy why he wants it changed again. His response: everyone wanted to know what his name was before it became O'Brien.
Today the pendulum has swung the other way. Children are changing their names back to their fathers' birth names. My grandchildren, now grown, would frequently ask me when still quite young, what it was like when I was their age. If only I had asked those questions of my parents...
Mulling over the changes in attitudes from my youth to what was happening some years back had provided the impetus for the original book published in 2000. I wanted to be able to provide some answers to the questions my grandchildren had and to the ones I never asked.
Of course, as the original published book, this Web Chronicle certainly does not give a complete picture of our Family Circle. The ones who might have provided more information and history are long since gone now. But with a little detective work, we have been able to provide some idea of what life was like for our parents and grandparents in the countries where they were born as well what their lives might have been like as new arrivals to this country.
We've also tried to preserve a bit about my generation as we grew up, the children of immigrants, the first generation born in this country.
As with the original hard copy Chronicle, I hope this web version brings our family closer and that our descendants will continue to chronicle the happenings of our Frank Family Circle.
Leonard James Weiss
Publisher
New York
2000