This photo was taken in Vienna, Austria, and someone has labelled it in a neat handwriting, it says: “Souvenir, Ludwig Gezek, 18 IX 94”.
The photo studio was located at 55 Mariahilferstr, at the corner of the Catholic Mariahilfer chruch.
I find one Ludwig Gezek in the records, born on August 9, 1875 in Vienna to parents Adalbert Gezek and Anna née Wacik. I then found a marriage record for the same person from July 7, 1915. The marriage ceremony took place in the same Catholic church of Mariahilfer which was located close to the he photo studio of our photo.
Ludwig was 40 years old when he married Wilhelmine Franziska Katzer née Thomas, a widow with two children, Franz Haver Maria Wilhelm Katzer (born in 1896) and Wilhelmine Anna Maria Katzer (born in 1900).
I can also guess why his handwriting was so neat – Ludwig became a teacher.
Ludwig's parents Adalbert Gezek and Anna née Wacik had married in 1868. At the time, Adalbert was a business owner. Later, in the birth records of his chidlren, he was referred to as Hofleibwäshmeister. I wonder about the tasks someone in Adalbert's profession had - Hofleibwäschmeister would translate to master (Meister) of underwear (Leibwäsche) at the royal/noble court (Hof) in Vienna. Did he sell them, sew them, wash them, organise them, buy them?
Ludwig had 3 siblings. One of them, Leopold, died as a newborn in 1870.
Ludwig’s older brother Carl Gezek, born in 1872, was a civil servant / auxiliary official (Hilfsbeamter) in Vienna according to his marriage record to Maria Hlinka from February 1898.
Ludwig’s younger brother Franz Alfons Maria Gezek, born in 1876, was also a director in civil service. He died in 1928 at the age of 52 of pneumonia.
I don’t think Ludwig had children of his own. His wife Wilhelmine was 43 when they got married. But it seems that Ludwig played a big role in Wilhelmine’s children’s lives. His step-son Franz became a teacher too. Ludwig also figured as a witness to the marriage ceremony of his step-daughter Wilhelmine in 1925. Young Wilhelmine married the 61-year-old ballet master Friedrich Josef Fränzel while she herself was just 24.
Lugwig died in 1931 due to a pulmonary embolism. He was 55 years old at the time. He was buried in Penzing, Vienna, next to his mother Anna and brother Franz.
Perhaps the 19-year-old Ludwig was just starting out as a young teacher when this photo was taken. Perhaps your Austrian grandparents remember their teacher Ludwig Gezek?
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