William F. KURZ (b. ? Nov 1857 d. 14 Apr 1924) was my paternal ggrandfather. His wife's first name was Anna or Annie. She immigrated in 1864 from Germany. He was born in November of 1857 in PA. The 1900 census has them on Ontario St. with seven children: Gertrude V. 17, Florence E. 15, Caroline A. 12, William A. 9, Francis F. 7, Elsa E. 4, and Walter E. 2. William F's parents may have been Henry KURTZ (b. 1830) and Caroline (b. 1824). The 1880 census indicates that Henry was born in Wittenburg, Germany. I seek information on any of the above.

My Father's father was Walter Kurz. I don't know his middle name but he lived in Philadelphia and died in his 40's of a heart attack when my father was a teenager. My father was an only child born in 1932. He married Virginia Heitman and they divored during the depression when my father was only 3 years old. We do not know much of our history from this side of the family.

Hello,

This is what I can tell you about Walter Edward Kurz. He was born in 13 Sep 1897 and died on 16 Apr 1950. The 1900 census lists the address as 434 Ontatio St. At the time of his death his address was given as 5940 Walnut Street, Phila, PA. He was buried on 21 Apr 1950 in Oakland Cemetery, Lot 240, Sec U, Grave 3, body 2. In 1919, his Draft Registration card lists his address as 3040 North 5th Street, Phila, PA. Do you have any images of your grandfather? What is your name and where do you live? I'm in Schwenksville, PA. My Father's mother was Florence Emma Kurz -- a sister of Walter.

I live in Reading PA. My maiden name was Deborah Kurz. My married name is Moore. My father is Rev. Walter Robert Kurz. He was an only child. I have two brothers Scott and Todd. I believe my father was only 14 or 15 when my grandfather died which would have been earlier than 1950. This is very interesting. Thank you for your reply and yes, I do have a few images of my grandfather including his wedding picture to my grandmother, Virginia Heitman/Kurz. I knew that he had a sister. What is your name? We know very little about this side of our family.

Hello Deborah,

I'm Link Davis b.23 Aug 1947. This KURZ family was large in the sense that there were about 5-6 (not sure, notes upstairs) brothers and sisters. Do you have access to the censuses? If not, I can do a little lookup on your father and his relations. I would like to know what year, month and day your father was born and where his parents lived at that time. Does the name VAN HORN ring a bell?

Van Horn does not ring a bell.
Let me talk to my father and I'll get back to you
on the details he knows. His birthday is Jan. 2, 1932. I'll let you know where he was living at the time of his birth. I stumbled onto this website. I have not done any research of my own up to this point. Thank you for sharing your information. I'm finding it fascinating!

Dear Link,
Walter Edward Kurz was my father's father. His sister was Florence Kurz, Aunt Flossie. She had a sister Marie, a distant memory. My father is Rev. Walter Robert Kurz (he is known as W. Robert Kurz), his friends call him Bob. His mother named him after Walter E. Kurz. My father was born on Jan. 2, 1932 in Philadelphia PA., 1949 he graduated from Upper Darby HS, 1953 graduated from Gettysburg College, and 1956 from the Lutheran Theological Center at Gettysburg College. In 1957, I was born. My email address is swnsong@comcast.com.

Dear Link,
I spoke more to my father about Walter E. Kurz. He married Virginia Charlotte Heitman from NJ. My father was born in 1932. Walter left my grandmother and father on Christmas day when my father was only 4 years old (she could be difficult). She lived till she was 91 and died in Sarasota Fla as Virginia H. Meyers. Walter had visits on Sundays with my father till he was about 12 years old when he told my father he was old enough to visit him. My father never saw him again. Somewhere along the line there was a legal divorce. He graduated from Upper Darby HS. My grandmother ran into him one more time while Walter was an elevator operator at Litt Brothers in Philadelphia. She got on the elevator but they never spoke, he didn't make eye contact with her. Apparently Walter died alone in his apartment after a heart attack. He had a parakeet. He had been dead several days before the landlord entered his apartment to check on him. My father found out about his death when Litt Brothers sent him Walter's final check. He was about 19 years old. My great Aunt Gladys Heitman Tindall (deceased), Virginia's sister, always described Walter as a very nice man. They also had a brother Harrison (deceased). My father remembers your grandmother Flossie, he does not remember her having any children. My father is 78 years old. This is a memory that contributed in shaping his life. He was an only child. Virginia didn't remarry again until I was about 8 or 9 years old to Charles Meyers in Jenkentown, PA.
I hope to hear from you again as this has really opened a lot of curiosity for me. I hope my contacts are helpful to you too. Regards, Debbie Moore

Hello Debbie,

If you send me your email address, I'll send you what I have on William F. KURZ and his family (Walter was one of his seven children). My email is entoman@comcast.net Did you say you had a photo of Walter? If so, can you scan it and send it as an attachment? If not, we can use snailmail. I have an image of young Florence and some of whom I believe to be her family. Perhaps from your image I might be able to identify Walter. I could also send you the image. I'm not 100% sure my Walter is your Walter, but I'm leaning that way.

Link Davis

Hey Link,
In the original blog I read that the 1900 census listed Walter E. Kurz as 2 years old (that blog was dated 2005 from you), and peaked my interest. I knew the family was from Philly. Speaking to my father confirmed Florence as an older sister. I did a little poking around this morning and found a Marie Kurz (my father remembers visiting a Marie) that would have been around the same age as Florence so I'm thinking she may have been a cousin to Florence. Let me talk to my kids (19 & 21) and see if they can scan and send an image. (I'm not as caught up technologically as I'd like to be.) Please, give me a little time to dig up the photos. I also own the original wedding certificate to Walter and Virginia. My father and I resemble Walter, olive skin, originally very dark chestnut brown hair, and dark brown eyes. Walter, as well as my father, were very handsome men of their day. Thank you for responding. Debbie