Person:Henry Keller (10)

Address: Address 1: 705 Cypress Place City: Sun City Center State: FL Postal code: 33573 Country: USA

Phone: (813) 634-9157

In Vol. 283, page. 123 of the Monroe County Naturalization files, Henry Keller applied for citizenship on 1 December 1951. Because his children were adopted not as infants, I assume that Henry wanted to become a citizen so he would be eligible for adopting children. He says on the application that he is also known as Emerich Pinczés and that he was born in Boscia, Romania (1951 name). He is listed as being 5' 6" tall, has blond hair and blue eyes. He lists himself as a tailor and his witnesses are Christina M. Safnauer (his cousin) at 99 Strathmore Drive, Rochester, and John Helldobler (his brother-in-law and neighbor) at Pinnacle Road, East Henrietta.

Henry Keller was not only my uncle (he married my mother's sister) but he was also my cousin (he was my father's nephew) — however, I always called him "Uncle" because that was how I was taught. He and my aunt were married the year I was born. He was my last remaining uncle and now there is another loss and emptiness. Once again, I wish I had been present in Florida to say a few words about my uncle/cousin . . . he was very special to me . . .

Henry Pinczés Keller

Henry was born Imre Pinczés October 20, 1910, in the town of Baciu, Hunedoara county in Hungary. He was the youngest son of Hans (John) Pinczés and Katalin (Katherine) Szabo. Both Hans and Katalin were born in Semlak, Hungary, but it is assumed that since Hans was not the oldest son, he and his wife moved to Baciu upon their marriage. It was the practice at the time to leave the eldest son the family farm and the remaining children either opened businesses or went on to other villages to do so. The first two children were born in Semlak -- Katherine, the second Peter, and Henry were all born in Baciu.

Henry married Katherine Wagner on December 3, 1931, in the little town of Semlak in the county of Arad, Hungary. Semlak was the village where Katherine's parents owned property. They had returned from America and intended to remain in Semlak for the remainder of their life and Katherine, since she was not yet 20, had to accompany them. However, she met Henry and fell in love. They were told by the Romanian authorities that if Katherine preceded Henry to the United States and got all the necessary papers, he could join her in three months. However, when Katherine sent the papers to Henry, the Romanians said Henry could not leave the country until he had served his time in the military. This newly married couple was separated for two years.

Henry passed away on October 7, 2000 -- just 13 days short of turning 90. He had outlived Katherine by seven months. They would have been married 69 years in December. In both the Keller and Wagner families, this was the longest marriage on record.

So, one might ask what happened to Henry in almost 90 years of life? He was orphaned at the age of five when his father was killed in World War I. Because there was a lack of income, his mother, who was left with 5-year-old Henry, 8-year-old Katherine, and 13-year-old Hans. had to depend on her parents and other relatives. They must have left Baciu and returned to Semlak because Henry told me stories of going to his grandmothers when he was very little. He told me also about his brother, Hans, and sister, Katherine, leaving home at an early age, so, as he put it, "I was all alone -- no sister, no brother, no father." His sister had gone off to work as a domestic at the age of 12 and I'm not sure where his brother went to work. Two other brothers, both named Peter, died in infancy.

Henry, himself, left home at the age of 12 to find work. He went to several different towns; there were quite a few small towns in the area that he entered seeking employment. When he was applying for a job, he said the employer asked him his nationality. Henry replied, "German." The employer laughed and said, "How can an Imre Pinczés be German?' His name was Hungarian because his family's name had been Magyarized but his people and Katherine's people all considered themselves Germans even though they lived in Hungary for several hundred years. The language spoken in their homes was German and they learned Hungarian and Romanian in school. Henry's family were congregants in the Reformed (Calvinist) Church and the church records were all in German as well.

He wasn't happy as a child and didn't like to talk about that time of his life. Since his father died when he was very young and his mother was dependent for help from her mother, they led the life of the very poor. When talking about his youth, Henry told me he remembered his maternal grandmother as a very selfish person. He told me of one instance when he went to her house and asked if he might have a little milk to drink; she refused, saying that she needed it for herself. His paternal grandmother, Susanna Pinczés, however, he remembers as a very kind woman who would give you her last drop to drink. He also told how she had so very little but she left him money when she died. He choked up as he told me this story.

When he was in his teens, he worked as a tailor in Romania. This was the beginning of a skill that was to be his major means of livelihood in his adult life.

Katherine returned to Semlak with her parents and they fell in love and were married. Henry had to fulfill his two years of service and entered the Romanian army in 1932 where he did tailoring as a soldier. Katherine went to America while he was in the army since she was a citizen and he could enter as her spouse at the end of his military obligation. He said he was the only Hungarian in the unit to which he was assigned, but they treated him decently. This was not a usual happening because at the end of World War I, parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were divided and borders were changed. Semlak became part of Romania and ethnic prejudice was rampant. The Romanians didn't like either the Germans or the Hungarians; to be a German- Hungarian was to be on the bottom of the pecking order and there was a lot of ill feeling.

Henry loved the countryside in his homeland and often talked fondly about the Mures River on which the village of Semlak was located. When we visited them in 1995, he had many maps out so he could show me the geography of beautiful Semlak.

Upon immigrating to America, Imre Pinczés became Henry Keller. Keller is the German equivalent for Pinczés; changing his name was following the practice of his family members who had preceded him to the United States. Henry joined Katherine in Rochester where he was unemployed for a year; to bring in money for food on the table, he would do odd jobs such as going to pick fruit with his younger cousin, Henry Keller. Eventually he and Katherine bought a place on Mozart Place for $1,325 and worked very hard to fix it up. From there they moved to Highland Avenue in the suburb of Irondequoit. Katherine wanted the move and, even though he had to complain, he didn't refuse her wish for a new home. They eventually sold their Mozart Place home to other Semlakers, Joe and Julia Holb. Their oldest daughter eventually became the second wife of Henry Keller, the nephew of Henry and Katherine and the son of Joe and Mary Keller.

Eventually Henry got a job with Bond Clothing as a tailor. He was even a "poster boy" depicted in a large picture on the side of the Bond trucks. sewing a suit. I'm surprised that another uncle, Henry's brother-in-law, didn't take a picture of one of the trucks. We were all so proud of him!

Moving from Highwood to Hilton, New York brought out Henry's love for the land. He had a fruit farm there and it became a place where many relatives and friends would congregate on weekends. Henry was never happy in "sinus country" and when cousin Henry moved to California, he said to Katherine, "I'm going to California. I can't stand it here any more. If you want to come, good! If not, there's nothing I can do -- I'm going." She went. I can still remember standing at the roadside at our home watching them drive away and hearing my grandmother sobbing because her little girl was going so very far away. Henry continued his sewing skills and was the tailor to Alan Ladd, the actor, among other well-known customers.

They finally returned to the Rochester area and settled in Henrietta, New York, where they built a home on land acquired from Katherine's sister and brother-in-law. It was here that Norman and Joanne lived with their parents.

The wanderlust for warm weather hit Henry again and they were off to Florida to be in the warm sun and be free of sinus problems. They would periodically come back North for visits to all of us and we were always so happy to see them. Henry and Katherine would fill me in on family history as I was becoming interested in the genealogy of our ancestors. I also sent them each a cassette tape to answer questions I had asked on an accompanying paper. Katherine did research so she could give me correct names; Henry wanted to tell me about the history of Semlak, Hungary, and Romania. He was always interested in learning. He encouraged my mother to try to send me to college because I had asked if I might.

He was always embarrassed by his lack of education and would talk to me about feeling ashamed because he spoke with an accent and called himself "shtupid." On the contrary, he was a very intelligent human being who had gone through a very tough life and learned many things along the way. Given the opportunities offered the children here in the United States, he would have gone far. He was a successful man; he had bought beautiful homes for his wife, had adopted two fine children, and had been faithful as a husband for 68+ years. He was never on public assistance, never had huge debts, and had friends and family who loved him. And . . . he had his Cadillac. When we visited the two of them in 1995, he proudly showed me his car — "look Rose Mary, I have my Cadillac!"

And . . . if he weren't a smart man, would he have gone to China to see the porcelain army in Xian? He so enjoyed that trip and other trips that he and his little wife took. He had a full life, one we can admire.

Talking to his son, Norman, after Uncle Henry's death, the following little tidbits were garnered. They are all indicative of his need to be an independent person!

When he moved to Miami, after living so many years in Sun City, there were certain aspects of his home that didn't suit him. There were four coconut trees in the front of the house that he didn't like, his preference was fruit trees. He wanted Norman to help him take them down — since Norman worked six days a week, he could only come on Sunday. When he arrived at the house, Norman saw that the trees were removed. He asked his father who had taken them down. Uncle Henry indicated he had. Norman asked his father why he didn't call a professional to help him. Uncle Henry replied that they wouldn't come when he wanted them to. One of the trees was 30 feet high! This from a man who was 88 at the time!

Aunt Katherine died and he was very lonely. He was angry as well because he had always thought he would go first. Not only was he struggling with his grief, but his health was deteriorating as well. The cancer had spread through his body. It was quite remarkable that he had lived 40 years after the prostrate problems had been discovered. He believed in self doctoring and wouldn't take the medicine doctors had prescribed. In fact, he believed that Epsom salts were a cure-all and faithfully took it. At the end he was down to 120 pounds. He would have good stretches of feeling good but would have bouts of serious pain. They would medicate him and he would be, in Norman's words, "zonked." There was also internal bleeding. Only four days before he died he was busily weeding his garden. He had another pain attack and the hospice workers told Norman that his father should be hospitalized since he was so dehydrated. He went into the hospital on Friday afternoon and the next morning at 10:55 he passed away. He was a stubborn Keller and was fiercely independent but as a very young boy he had to take responsibility for himself long before a child should; I believe that is why he was stubborn and why he didn't want to rely on anyone. He was the hardest on his son because he had to rely on him. Something that was extremely difficult because he wanted it to be just the opposite; he wanted others to rely on him. He is the last of that generation in our family. He taught us many things, and we learned. We shall miss him.

Snapshots: Felt rejected by parents. Served as tailor to Hollywood stars. Very intelligent. Orphaned young. Was off on his own at the age of 12, learning to be a tailor.

1. ↑ Ladislau Gyémánt, Researcher.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Family Records.
3. ↑ Naturalization Pre-Form.
4.   Georg Schmidt. Semlak Lutheran (Evangelische) Church Marriage Records.