Gersuny Family Collection

The Gersuny family came to Germany after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. At first they settled in Amsterdam, eventually moving to Hamburg in the early sixteenth century. In 1740 the family moved to Teplitz, Bohemia (now Teplice, Czech Republic), where the larger part of the family lived until the 1930's. Other members of the Gersuny family moved to Vienna.

The Gersuny family traces its lineage to Abraham Gersuny (Gersuni), who was born in about 1765 and died in 1843 in Teplitz. His son, Isaak Gersuny (Isak Gersuni) worked as a teacher in both Jewish and non-Jewish schools. Abraham Gersuny’s other son, Gotthelf Gersuny, was a merchant. Isaak Gersuny was married to Eva Caroline (Karoline) Gersuny, who was a peddler and was involved with the sale of linen, wool, and cottons among other business activities. Isaak and Eva Caroline had two sons: Gottlieb and Eduard. Gottlieb (1846-1924) was a merchant while Eduard (1844-1876) served as a secretary at the Weltausstellung in Vienna. In 1875 Gottlieb married Wilhelmine Popper and had a daughter, who was given the name Wilhelmine, after her mother died at childbirth. Wilhelmine Fink, née Gersuny, was born in 1875 and was last heard from in 1942 from the Lodz ghetto. Gottlieb married Sophie Gans and in 1889 had a son Otto. Otto attended a gymnasium in Teplitz and later became a physician. During WWI Otto served as an army physician. After the war, he had his own practice in Teplitz. As things started to deteriorate in Germany in 1930s, Otto and his family moved to Vienna. After the Anschluss, they were able to obtain a visa to America, where they went in 1940. Otto Gersuny opened his practice in New York in 1942. He died in 1964.

The larger portion of the Gersuny family stayed in Europe and perished during WWII.