Introduction

Joseph Strauss and Katherine Knach lived and met in Posługowo, Poland—a small farming community. They were married in 1855. Their first son, John Johan Strauss, was born in May of 1856. Their second son, Michael Strauss, was born 13 years later in 1869.

John Johan Strauss married Mary Marianne Kabaczinska in 1884. Two years later, on Saturday, April 3, 1886, John and Mary left Poland for a new life in the United States, where they raised a family of five children.

The next year, on Sunday,  April 24, 1887, Joseph, Katherine, and Michael (age 18) boarded the SS Lessing in Hamburg, Germany. They arrive in New York on Friday, May 6, 1887. Their journey from Posługowo took about 15 days, with 12 days at sea.

Seven years later, Michael met Johanna Makowski in New York and married her on February 4, 1894. They had nine children, but two (twins) died as infants.

Thus began the start of today's Strauss family tree.

Here's a chart of the first three generations of the Strauss family, starting with Joseph and Katherine Strauss.

Here's one of the earliest photos of the family from 1912. This is the Michael and Johanna Strauss branch of the family tree. From left to right: Mary Strauss, Frank Strauss, Lillian Strauss, Kinga Strauss, Johanna Makowski Strauss, Hattie Strauss, Helen Strauss, Michael Strauss, and Jane Strauss.

The son, Frank, died when he was twenty years old after being kicked by a horse. This left six daughters who would go on to marry and have children. Some of their descendants would refer to these six as “the girls.” It was a sad day when the youngest, Johanna, passed away in 2000, the last to go.

Notables

John Uhl, then 25 years old, was serving on the USCG LIGHTSHIP RELIEF anchored off of New York Harbor when it was struck by the freighter Green Bay. All hands survived.