David Nemetzky (188?-1947)

Searching out my family history and piecing this puzzle together, I'm always surprised by what I find and how pieces come together...and how many pieces there are to fit together.

Searching out the life of David Nemetzky has been a big challenge. He married my great-great aunt, Frances Cleveland (Dodge) Fogalsang in 1930 in San Francisco, California. At the time of their marriage, his place of residence is the Letterman General Hospital at the Presidio at the north end of San Francisco. He was a pharmacist with the U.S. Amy. They lived in San Francisco together until his death in 1947. He is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park in the city of Colma, just south of San Francisco.

Marriage Record - 24 January 1930

World War II Draft Card - April 1942

Funeral Record - May 1947

Gravestone for David Nemetzky

David's date of birth is undetermined. According to his death information, he was born in 1883. However, his World War II Draft Card lists his year of birth as 1888. Even his World War II Draft card contains a discrepancy; his listed age should be 53 years old instead if 55 years old (if he was 55 years old, his year of birth would be listed as 1886). The 1930 and 1940 Census further obscure his year of birth. Depending on which Census Record you go by, he was born between 1888 and 1890. Also, he was listed twice in the 1930 Census, once with his wife Frances, and again at Letterman General Hospital at the Presidio.

1930 US Census - Letterman General Hospital, Presidio, San Francisco, California

For several years, I have searched into the life and military service of David Nemetzky to find out where he came from and who his family was. He was born in Warsaw, Poland and immigrated to the U.S. as a little child. He was in the U.S. Army, serving in the Medical Corps, and ending up in San Francisco. He was discharged from the Army in January of 1931. Below is his Final Payment Voucher, listing his dates of service in the Army, his rank, serial number, and length of service.

Final Payment Voucher - January 1931

He first enlisted in the U.S. Army in January of 1904 and served for a period of three years. At the time of enlistment, he was 22 years and 8 months old (further obscuring his date of birth. According to his first enlistment record, he would have been born in May of 1881). His father's name was Herman Nemetzky, who lived at 53 Suffolk Street in New York City. After completing his term of service in 1907, he re-enlisted in 1907, 1908 and 1911. Each enlistment record below shows his age at the time of enlistment; his date of birth varies from October of 1880 to August of 1881.

Enlistment Record - January 1904

Re-enlistment record - June 1907

Re-enlistment record - January 1908

Re-enlistment Record - April 1911

Each available enlistment record lists where he lived at the time of enlistment. He re-enlisted again in 1914, 1919, 1922, 1924, 1927 and 1930 before his final discharge in January of 1931. Only small portions of his Service Record are available. Following his re-enlistment in 1911, he served for a time in the Philippines. He was there between 1912 and 1914. In March of 1914, he returned to the United States, where he was discharged at Fort McDowell, California. He also served in China from March of 1924 to November of 1925. He also spent time serving in New York in 1927. The existing final payment vouchers from 1922, 1924, 1927 and 1930, as well as 1931, also list his place of enlistment and discharge. 

Final Payment Voucher - 1922

Final Payment Voucher - 1924

Final Payment Voucher - 1927

Final Payment Voucher - 1930

Troop Transport - March 1914 from Philippines to San Francisco

Troop Transport - March 1924 from Philippines to China

Troop Transport - November 1925 from China to San Francisco, California

By the time he was discharged from the Army in 1931, David had settled in San Francisco with his wife, Frances Cleveland Dodge. They married in January of 1930 in San Francisco. Frances was the owner of Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams, a candy store in San Francisco that opened around 1924. They ran the store until the early 1940's. Below is a picture of Frances & David (left) in San Francisco during the 1930's, with my great-grandmother (right) and her two boys (my grandfather and great-uncle). Below is a picture of my great-grandfather, Jim Dodge (Frances' brother) in front of the storefront.

Another interesting, and challenging, part of searching out David Nemetzky are his parents and siblings. One challenge is the spelling of their surname. Searching out his parents and siblings, I have found several variations of the surname: including Nemetsky; Nemetzki; and Nemetzsky. His marriage record lists his parents, Herman & Hanna Nemetzky. His father's name is either Herman or Hyman, depending on the source. His mother's name is either Betsy; Betsey; Bessie; or Hannah, again depending on the source. According to the 1900 Census, they had immigrated to the U.S. in 1892 and lived at 53 Suffolk Street (the lower East Side of Manhattan). During the 1910's, his parents and siblings moved to Brooklyn, where they passed away.

His funeral record lists his surviving siblings: Isaac, David, Bella, Molly (Goldberg), Lena (Berosa) & Anna (Zwellingberg). Other siblings include Minnie (Arond), Louis and Rachel. Below is a chart I have pieced together listing his parents and siblings. Their birth information comes from the 1900 US Census. Their death information comes from available New York City and New York State vital records.

Name	Birth	Death	Marriage	Spouse
Herman-Father	Aug 1849	11 Oct 1919	ca. 1875	Betsy Lubert
Betsy-Mother	Feb 1850	31 Mar 1932	ca. 1875	Herman Nemetzky
Isaac	Mar 1876	13 Jun 1948	ca. 1897	Rebecca Fischman
Mollie	Jan 1879	8 Jul 1948	22 Mar 1901	Isaac Goldberg
David	Feb 1881	Mar 1969	18 Jun 1911	Anna Bloom
Louis	Mar 1883
Bella	Jul 1884	14 Jan 1955	Did Not Marry	Did Not Marry
Lena	Jun 1886	14 Mar 1960	13 Dec 1910	Herman Beroza
Annie	Apr 1889	29 Dec 1951	26 Nov 1916	Jacob Zwillenberg
Minnie	Aug 1889	21 Jun 1935	22 Apr 1917	Morris Arond
Rachel	11 Aug 1894	24 Nov 1894	N/A	N/A

2018 Update: Today, I found David Nemetzky in the 1920 U.S. Census. This was the first Census that enumerated active military personnel. He was stationed at the Fox Hill Hospital in Staten Island (then known as Borough Richmond, N.Y.C.). According to the 1920 Census, he was born in 1886 (once again obscuring his still unknown real date of birth).

Here is a link giving a brief history on the Fox Hill Military Hospital: https://www.silive.com/specialreports/index.ssf/2011/03/post_1.html 

Below is the image of the 1920 Census for David Nemetzky. He is enumerated on line #14.