“Like the pine trees linin’ the windin’ road
I’ve got a name, I’ve got a name
Like the singin’ bird and the croakin’ toad
I’ve got a name, I’ve got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did”
Jim Croce (1973)
You come from a big family tree of wonderful ancestors. Let me tell you about the side of the family where you got the “Leitmeyer” name.
Once upon a time, in the country of Germany, a man named John Leitmeyer (your great-great-great-great grandfather) married his girlfriend, Mary Neuwirth. They decided to move to America in 1869, and found a home in Philadelphia. John and Mary had 5 children- George, John, Harry, Annie, and Mary.
Their middle son, Harry Leitmeyer (your great-great-great grandfather), was born in 1871, two years after John and Mary moved to America. When Harry was 22 years old, he married Cora, who lived in Allentown PA. Harry had several jobs over his career- he was a printer, a policeman, and in his later life, worked in the lobby at Mercy Fitzgerald hospital. Harry and Cora had 5 children- Marie, Harold, John, Dorothy, and Gladys.
Harry’s son, John Leitmeyer, was your great-great-grandfather (and my grandpop). He was born in 1900, and was an insurance salesman. In 1925, he married Johanna Sachs (my grandmom), whose parents were both born in Germany. Her friends and family called her “Jo” or “Hanna”. They also lived in Philadelphia, in a row house in Crescentville. Grandpop was bald, like me! And he loved the Phillies baseball team- I went to many Phillies games with him. I remember one time when he was older he suffered a heart attack after walking up the ramp at Veteran’s Stadium, and I rode in the ambulance with him to Methodist Hospital. Grandmom and grandpop enjoyed playing pinocle- I played it frequently with them when I was young. They liked to watch the Ed Sullivan show on TV, and I was at their house watching it with them on that famous day when The Beatles first appeared on American TV. I also remember grandpop’s sister Marie very well- we shared the same birthday, and she would come to all our family gatherings. Grandmom and grandpop had one child- a son, John (also known as “Jack”).
John and Johanna’s son, Jack Leitmeyer (your great-grandfather, and my dad), was born in 1932. He married the love of his life, Dolores Waters, in 1954. (He called her “Doll”.) Dolores’ father wanted her to wait until she was 21 to get married, but since Jack was in the military, Dolores’ parents let her get married a few months before her 21st birthday. Shortly after they got married, Jack and Dolores lived in New Mexico, where he served in the 10th Ordinance Battalion, Special Weapons Support at the Sandia Base. After the service, they moved back to Northeast Philadelphia, in the Fox Chase section. Dad used the electronics training he gained in the Army to become a service manager at IBM, working on big mainframe computers. He worked long hours, and was frequently “on-call”, getting phone calls in the middle of the night from major companies in the area when their computer systems went down. Jack and Dolores had 2 children: me (“Pops!”), known as John (or “Jack”), and Debra Ann (Debbie). Dad and I would play chess almost every day when I was young. I also remember frequently playing “catch” with a baseball, and playing basketball with dad in our back driveway. They were fun times.
I (“Pops”) am Jack and Dolores’ son. I attended Northeast High School and Temple University. At my first job as a research technician at the Institute for Cancer Research, I met Eva Schiefer (E-ma!). We got married 2 years later, and we both got jobs at the Merck pharmaceutical company. We always enjoyed music and travelling and doing many activities with our family. We had 3 sons- Kevin, Keith and Jason.
Our oldest son, Kevin Leitmeyer (your dad), married Karin Hornlein (your mom), and they had 2 beautiful children- you! Now the rest of the story will be for you to write.
And that’s the history of our “Leitmeyer” family name- now you carry it with you like your daddy did. Welcome to the Leitmeyer family tree!
NEW * I Got A Name – Jim Croce {Stereo} (youtube.com)
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