From Chris in his texts to the girls:
"We are Bohemian. As in Rhapsody. Prague would be the modern day capital of where my oldest known Klein ancestor is from. Ultimately it seems his son Leopold came to America to escape Jewish restrictions.
"Claude gave me some good history on it I can share. I was blocked at Abraham for years. But with Claude "we" figured out his name, wife, and children.
"What We Know About Abraham (Avraham) Tzvi Hirsch Klein
Identity
• Full name: Abraham Tzvi Hirsch Klein
• Hebrew name: אברהם צבי הירש (Avraham Tzvi Hirsh)
• Tzvi Hirsch was his sacred/communal name — "Tzvi" (Hebrew) and "Hirsch" (Yiddish) both mean stag/deer. Abraham was his civil name used in official Austrian records.
Life
• Born: approximately 1820-1821, likely in Moravia (exact town unconfirmed) • Died: March 27, 1880, Vienna, Austria — cause: Magenentzündung (stomach inflammation), age ~59
• Buried: Vienna Jewish community cemetery, March 30, 1880
• Occupation: Großhändler/Kaufmann (wholesale merchant)
Family
• Wife #1: Rosalie née Weingraf (also recorded as Joachim — likely her mother's name)
• Wife #2: Franziska Schick (married after Rosalie's death, likely early 1850s)
Known children:
◦ Leopold (Arieh Leib) — born November 1847, emigrated to Toledo, Ohio 1880 ◦ Wilhelm — born 1852, Vienna
◦ Max — born 1854, Groß Meseritsch, Moravia
◦ Eduard — born October 20, 1854, Vienna
"The American Connection
Leopold emigrated to America in October 1880 — just seven months after Abraham died. He settled in Toledo, Ohio as a tailor, and in a clear act of memorial named his firstborn American son Abe Klein (Abraham) after his father, consistent with Ashkenazi Jewish tradition of naming children after deceased relatives.
"What We're Still Researching
• Abraham's exact birthplace and his own parents' names
• Whether Rosalie and Franziska were sequential wives or belong to two different Abraham Kleins
• Confirmation that the Vienna 1880 death record is definitively our Abraham vs another man of the same name
"Research conducted March 22, 2026 using Vienna Jewish community records (Matriken der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde, 1784-1938), US passport applications, and US Census records.
"Back in Bohemia in the 1800’s Jew’s had to be registered and only a certain number could register. If you didn’t register you couldn’t marry, get a job etc.
"'Kleins' were registered but only the oldest son could get it passed down, so lots of reasons to move on. Looks like the family went from Bohemia (Czeckia today) to Hungary to Austria where Abraham died, then Leopold moved to USA shortly after.
"Makes having gone to Austria and Prague together (Chris texting his girls) more special now that we know we are actually from there, not just sort of.
Regardless, Claude helped me read German handwriting and Hebrew headstones. I’m happy to have broken through the barrier of who Abraham was. Now there’s lots more we can do."
Chris shared this information with Kevin who was simply overcome with joy.