MY GREAT GRANDFATHER (Author IVY LILLIAN PERVINKLER, my mother)
We have no documentary evidence about my great grandfather, and the little that we do know has been remembered from bits and pieces of conversation with my grandfather and father.
Joseph Francis PERVINKLER was born in 1814, or thereabouts, in the little town of SAN MARTOM, a small town on the banks of the River THEIS in what was at that time part of the Austro Hungarian Empire. The family were Catholics and judging from the family Christian names I imagine they were supporters of the Royal Family. All eldest sons were called Joseph Francis and daughters were Teresa Maria. The Emperors were Franz Joseph and Maria Teresa. At the time of his birth, Europe was in chaos, Napoleon had over run and conquered most of the European countries, the Holy Roman Empire had disintegrated, and Hungary, Bohemia, Lombardy and Silesia were agitating for independence and in 1814 Napoleon was defeated by the Allies.
We know nothing of his childhood, except that he was well educated, in Buda Pest, I understand, was fluent in at least eight languages and was probably involved in student unrest. His proficiency in languages is easily understood, when one realises that San Martom was on the borders of Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia. Some of his relatives were furriers in Vienna and French was the accepted language learnt in schools.
The town of San Martom no longer exists. It was totally destroyed in the Second World War.* At the end of the First World War it became part of Czechoslovakia and after the Second World War, it was ceded to Russia who built a large strategic town on the site, and San Martom disappeared for ever from the atlases. If you want to find its situation, you need a map of Central Europe. The river Theis, now called TISZA, a tributary of the Danube flows from North East past the wine producing town of Tokay having its source in the Carpathian mountains. There is a place there (N.E. of Tokay), where the borders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Russia all meet, just inside the Russian frontier is the town named Chop almost due south of Uzhgored. That is the site of San Martom.
When we were in Vienna once, I hunted through Telephone Directories to see if I could find the name PERVINKLER in any of them, but I did not find it. I did see a furriers with the name WINKLER, but that name is a common in Austria as Smith is in England. Of course W is pronounced as V is in England and a Hungarian friend of my brother's suggested that the PER could have been part of the Anglicisation of the name, when he took British Nationality.
*Heinrich Heidriech, a general of Hitler?s was assassinated and as revenge Hitler had the village and all its inhabitants destroyed. It was another Lidice, destroyed with all its inhabitants on the orders of Hitler as an act of revenge. The modern Lidice was on a different site.
When he was sixteen years of age, Joseph Francis ran away to Paris, we do not know why, but it has been assumed, that he was involved in some political trouble. (The year would be 1830 when there were political riots in practically every country in Europe.) He never returned home. He lived in Paris for three years, and there he met an English girl named PLOWRIGHT and he married her, and that is how he came to England. It would be somewhere about the year 1833 and he would have been about 19 or 20. I have never heard my grandfather or father say that there was any association with the girl's family in Suffolk, so I presume she broke away from them completely, but they must have been of some standing to have enabled her to be in Paris at that time.
Once Grandfather showed me a photograph of the council in Norwich and pointed out the Mayor, named Jex, and said he was a relative.
*The name JEX is not uncommon in Norfolk. Mrs Rush (a neighbour from the district) remembers a Lord Mayor of Norwich called JEX (not the same one obviously). There was a family called Jex on Theydon. One of the children was in my class.
The young couple set up home in SPITALFIELDS in London. This area was the rendezvous of all the political exiles from all over Europe - an assortment of Jews, Russians, Hungarians, French etc., you name it they were there. They set up businesses which thrived and spent a great deal of their time plotting counter revolutions, but as they thrived, their revolutionary yearnings simmered down a little, they became British citizens and worked at making money. I understand that Joseph was in great demand as a speaker, at political meetings, as not only was he a fluent speaker but he could argue and debate in eight languages, very useful in such a mixed society. He and his wife had a haberdashery business in Spitalfields and later on a light engineering business in Rotherhithe. They had four children. First came Joseph Francis who died young, then there was Frederick, then Teresa Maria and then my grandfather GEORGE.*
Frederick seems to have been prosperous. He owned property in the Walthamstow area. (Then right in the country) and had some sort of business, but I don't know what it was. His wife was called Fanny and they had two sons. When he died in rather mysterious circumstances, his wife left the country almost immediately and took her two sons to Canada and were never heard of again. Family rumours had it that she poisoned him and dashed away quickly to escape retribution. She must have found some quick way to get hold of his money and sell the property, but she disappeared. Now those two sons and their descendants would be the only ones existing that may have the name PERVINKLER because as far as the English side of the Family is concerned the name dies out when my cousin PERCY dies. MICHAEL (LOTT) who lives in Canada, has spent some time trying to trace Pervinklers in Canada and has been told of their existence as I have also, but has had no success so far. I was told there were some in Ottawa.
*That is all I know of Great Grandfather. I do not know when he died. He witnessed the wedding of MARIA PEARCY to his son GEORGE in 1880, so he was alive then. Granddad once showed me a cycle shop in Rotherhithe that he said he had owned once which sounds as though he lived to a good age.
Teresa Maria married a captain of a sailing ship. His name was McVicar. She travelled with him on his last voyage, and was never heard of again. Either the boat was lost at sea, or they landed somewhere and stayed there - no one will ever know. Teresa Maria McVicar signed as a witness to the marriage of George Pervinkler in 1880, so she was alive then.
Since writing this I have found a copy of my GRANDFATHER'S birth certificate. This says that he was born in Christchurch and that his mother's maiden name was ANN KRICKMER. His Father's occupation is down as cabinet maker.
I have never heard of this before. Maybe he married twice. So many women died in childbirth and I understand the first child died anyway. If he came to England in about 1833 as I have been told at some time, it doesn't tally with the story of meeting his wife in Paris and therefore coming to England. Granddad was not born until 1848 which might indicate a second marriage.
He took out naturalisation papers, but I do not know when or if he adapted his original name to PERVINKLER.
DAD'S ACCOUNT (Author: Ernest Pervinkler My Grandfather, nephew to Teresa Pervinkler)
My Grandfather's name was Joseph Francis. He was born at St. Marton's situated on the upper reaches of the River Theiss (Tiza) in Hungary. He went to school at Buda where he apparently received a good education. I was told that he could speak eight languages, but this is not very surprising when one considers what a conglomeration of people live in Hungary. Among other things he learned at Buda was the spirit of revolt and an introduction to politics. Unfortunately fro the family politics took priority over business.
At the age of 16, for a reason unknown, he ran away from home and finally ended up in Paris. Here he managed to set himself up in business as a make of Rosewood furniture - his father's trade. Eventually he came to England. When he arrived here, he was apparently able to start up another business in the same trade.
He married a Norfolk woman whose name was Anne Krickmer who was the granddaughter of the Jex family of Aylsham. I understand that it was at her request that he took up naturalisation papers and he became a British citizen. They made their home in Spitalfields. They lived in Brown's Lane, but his workshop was in Wheeler Street, a corner building adjoining Quaker Street, but long since demolished.
They had four children, Joseph Francis, the elder named after his father. Next came my father (your Grandfather) who was named George after the Roman Catholic priest at Old Moorfields Church (now demolished). This priest wanted to look after him and train him to becomes a priest like himself, but he died shortly after, and so that idea fell through. Dad would have made a good priest, being an unbeliever, and having no room for priestcraft of any kind.
The next one was my aunt Theresa Maria, and lastly my uncle Frederick William. You will notice that with the exception of my father, all the names are the names of the Hapsburg royal family in reverse. So much for the family.
At that time there was an institute near the old Bishopgate Station known as the Bradford Institute, which was a meeting place of all the foreign element living in the neighbourhood. Although it was for educational purposes, politics seemed to be the dominant feature about it, and there was always some political discussion or other going on among the various people. This is where grandfather came in. Besides being able to speak different languages, he was also I understand, a good speaker and would often give a political address to some audience in their own tongue.
After spending many years in Spitalfields they had to move because he could not get his workshop lease renewed. The owner of this property died, and since they could not trace any relative, the place went to chancery, and of course they refused to renew the lease.
He found a place over the water in the Old Kent Road, and this is where the trouble started. As I said before granddad put politics before business. By this time the family was growing up. Uncle Joe had learned the business and being the favourite, was placed in charge, while granddad trotted to and fro to the Bedford Institute. Now Uncle Joe was a thoroughly bad hat. He drank heavily and gambled and was all for wine and women. He dipped his hand in the coffers of the business to such an extent that they could no longer pay their way, and found themselves heavily in debt. To make matters worse, machinery was making headway in the cabinet making industry now rosewood furniture was always expensive, and what is more did not take kindly to machines, so while furniture in other woods began to fall rapidly in price, rosewood prices still remained high. The result was there was a rapid fall in the demand for rosewood and this, in conjunction with my Uncle's dishonesty brought the business crashing to the ground.
The realisation of what had taken place gave grandfather such a shock that he had a stroke and had to take to his bed.
Things would have been very bleak for them but for the fact that grandmother had a haberdashers shop which she had opened some time previously. Grandfather was dying and all the family had gathered round his bed. Casting his eyes on Uncle Joe he upbraided him for his dishonesty and way of life. Instead of saying he was sorry for what he had done, he swore at his father and actually punched him on the nose. The rest of the family hounded him out of the house and he was never heard of again. So much for favourites. granddad died shortly after. I was told that my grandfather said he really died of a broken heart. Not surprising under the circumstances.
My dad and Uncle Fred did their best to try and pull the business together but it was hopeless and all the money was gone.
Grandma died soon after.
My Aunt Theresa had married a sea captain and had twins by him - a boy and a girl. The boy was named Sidney and the girl Ethel. The boy was born with spinal trouble and the Doctors told him he would never make old boxes. Her husband (McGregor) died and she married again, this time to another sea captain named McVicar.
About the year that I was born, Aunt vanished and was never heard of again. Rather strange since she was reported to have been very fond of her two brothers. One theory was that she died at sea on a voyage with her husband.
But to return to the fortunes of the family.
Dad and Uncle Fred finding it was hopeless to carry on had to find work outside. Dad tried his hand on the railway. Got a job on the old Bishopgate Station when it was the terminus of the GER. He did not like that so went to work for a Mr Sinclair a solicitor. I was told that this man was so pleased with him that he was willing to coach him and pay his fees so that he could become a solicitor himself. But he could not forget about the cabinet making and left to go back in his trade and regretted it ever after. Cabinet making was on the downward path as he soon found to his cost.
Uncle Fred after doing a spell at cabinet making obtained the post of wood master at the Roman Catholic Reformatory School in Shern Hall Street in Walthamstow which he held to his death. He was only 49 when he died. Aunt Rebecca his wife was also caretaker of the RC school in Raglan Road and lived on the school premises. Not long after his death they all trundled off to Canada.
My Grandmother's sister was married to a Plowright of Aylesbury (I have used the name Plowright because I think I made a mistake in thinking it was Flowright)
There is a curious story here.
The Jex's Plowright and the rest of them were having a party. The Plowrights were millers and the rooms in which they were enjoying themselves overlooked the mill. Someone looking out of the window remarked that some sacks of flour had been left out and it was likely to rain. Some ran to the window to look and to their amazement these sacks seemed to grow larger and float towards the window like a cloud and in the middle of the cloud appeared the figure of a ships officer who was recognised as being a son of the Jex family who was at sea. One remarked that his uniform was minus a button. When his ship was due to arrive at Southampton the Jex's went there either to meet him or for news. It was then that they learned that he had died and was buried at sea off the Island of St Thomas in the West Indies. When comparing the time of death with our time they found that the apparition appeared at that time. When his uniform was handed over, lo, there was a button missing. You can believe this if you like, but you have it as it was given to me.
At that time the Jex family was mostly seafaring folk, quite well off, and according to my information boasted a crest consisting of a mermaid. Whether she was sitting on a rock combing her hair or merely swimming, I don't know, but it was a mermaid.
Dad had an uncle, a Krickmer, who had himself been to sea and was a bit of a dare devil. On one occasion they (ie Dad and his uncle) crossed from Ryde to Portsmouth in a rowing boat and got caught in a storm. Dad said he got the wind up but uncle laughed at it. Incidentally, it put the wind up those who were watching on the shore. But he liked his uncle none the less.
He also had a cousin whether a Krickmer or a Plowright I am not sure, who was a medical student at Guy's Hospital. His mother was a qualified chemist, rather an achievement in those days. He told Dad some grisly tales of body snatching for which Guys was notorious in those days and they were not always dead bodies. I can well believe his stories to be true after reading a book on body snatching which claimed to be authentic.
Here are two of them.
There used to be a Chinaman living in the Borough who had a goitre. Now in those days they did not know what a goitre was and they wanted the old fellow to sell his body, which he refused. Never mind they said we'll have him and he has no friends or relatives. Well, by accident , or design, the old fellow was knocked down and run over. No one knows by whom, but he was brought to the hospital where he died. I told you they would get him.
The other was the shock they got when they opened a coffin and the woman inside sat up and wanted to know where she was. She had been in a cataleptic trance and been buried alive and a pretty penny it cost all those concerned to hush the matter up with her husband. It was agreed that on receiving the money they would remove outside the district to a place where they were not known.