In January 1909 the Hallesche Zeitung printed marriage banns for Else Reichenbach of Halberstadt and the merchant Siegfried Sernau of Halle. Twenty-two years later, as Else Sernau née Reichenbach, she stood among Paul, Max and Ernst as a mourner for Anna Jacob. Family memory keeps a relative called Liesl; no record yet says they were the same person.
The Hallesche Zeitung of 17 January 1909 publishes marriage banns naming the merchant Siegfried Sernau of Halle and Else Reichenbach of Halberstadt. The full page has now been visually verified rather than accepted from OCR alone.
The 1931 death notice for Anna Jacob, née Reichenbach, names Else Sernau, née Reichenbach, among the mourners together with Paul, Max and Ernst Reichenbach.
Together, the 1909 pairing and Else’s married surname in 1931 make it very likely that she and Siegfried married. The banns notice is not the civil marriage record, and neither newspaper item names Else’s parents.
Because the 1931 notice collectively describes Anna as a sister, sister-in-law and aunt, it establishes a close family relationship without specifying Else’s exact relationship.
Family memory preserves a relative called ‘Liesl’ or ‘Liesel.’ Because Else can be used as a familiar form of Elisabeth, Else Sernau may be the remembered Liesl, but no record yet confirms that they were the same person.
Family and household
People connected to this life
- Siegfried Sernau · named with Else in 1909 marriage banns; marriage very likely
- Anna Jacob née Reichenbach · named in the same close-family mourning notice
- Paul Reichenbach · named in the same mourning notice
- Max Reichenbach · named in the same mourning notice
- Ernst Reichenbach · named in the same mourning notice
Sources
Sources
- Hallesche Zeitung, 17 January 1909, PDF p. 11: marriage banns for Siegfried Sernau and Else Reichenbach (RB-DOC-0221)
- Berliner Tageblatt, morning edition, 16 June 1931, p. 10 (RB-DOC-0214)
- Family memory preserving the name Liesl/Liesel
What remains uncertain
The 1909 banns and Else’s married name in 1931 make the marriage to Siegfried very likely, but the civil marriage record has not been found. No civil record yet names Else’s parents or confirms that she was the relative remembered as Liesl.