lorber.family/galizier

Probable link

Is still in the dark. It was not until 1787 that the Austrian Emperor Joseph II decreed that Jewish citizens should have a surname. If the name had come up at that time and the family had named itself after the spice, the spelling would have been with two "e". The older spelling with an "e" from the Middle Ages was no longer common at the time. This could mean that the roots of this today Jewish family originally lie in one of the Christian Lorber branches. Maybe with the Brno, Southern Styria, Caricatures, Bohemian Offshoots or another branch that moved there in the course of the settlement of Germans in the years 1774 to 1790 - and then married a Jewish woman who inherited her religion from the descendants.

Probable progenitor

So far unknown. Early known mentions are those of ...

Yosef Shulem Lorber from Tiszalök / Hungary and
David Lorber from Zborov / Slovakia around 1827/28;
Samuel Lorber (born around 1820), father of Jacob Lorber (around 1842-1898), who emigrated from Šariš in Slovakia (then Sáros, Hungary) to New York;
the brothers Morris Lorber (1842-1926) and Lewis William Lorber (1854-1931), who also emigrated from Austria-Hungary to the USA;
Salomon Lorber (1849-1931), emigrated from Nagykiniz in today's Hungary to Indianapolis and ran a saloon there;
Bendit (Benedict) Lorber (1859-1946), who lived in Drohobycz and emigrated from Tlumacz / Galicia to New York in 1892.

Werdegang

These namesakes live in Galicia, a region of Austria-Hungary that was inhabited by so many different tribes like hardly any other. From Poland, Ruthenians, Russians, Hungarians to Germans, over ten different cultures lived there. For a while the area was an unusually pleasant place for Jews. Here they could sometimes live in their own settlements and practice their religion unhindered. This changed from the second half of the 19th century when Polish nationalism brought seeds of anti-Semitism to the country and many Jews emigrated to the United States. During the First World War, many of the remaining fled from the Russian pogroms. Before hatred culminated in massacres and deportations of the German Holocaust during the Second World War.

Outstanding biographies

Charles I Lorber (1867-1941), Zigarrenhersteller;
Adolf Lorber (1872-1953), Besitzer des Restaurants Lorber's am Broadway;
Herman Lorber (1879-1958), Arzt in Manhattan;
Samuel Lorber (1881-1979), männlicher Altersrekordhalter unserer Familie, geboren in Drohobytsch, Österreich-Ungarn (heute Дрогобич, Ukraine) verstorben in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;
Kalman Lorber (*1892), soll in Kosice in der heutigen Slowakei Menschen vor dem Holocaust gerettet haben, während fast seine gesamte Großfamilie darin umkam;
Sandor Alexander Lorber (1901-1990), Opernsänger und Gesangslehrer;
Sylvia Rose Lorber, verheiratete Egnal (1912-2014), genannt "Shosho", weibliche Altersrekordhalterin unserer Familie, geboren in New York, verstorben in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Judith Lorber (*1931), Soziologin und Gender-Forscherin in New York;
Stephen Lorber (*1943), Künstler des Realismus;
Richard Lorber (*1946), Filmhändler;
Jeff Lorber (*1952), Jazz-Musiker und Grammygewinner;
Nica Lorber, Graphikerin und Künstlerin.

Spread today

Descendants can be found in the regions that offered refuge to Jewish emigrants, mainly the USA, also in Israel and Great Britain. Most still bear the name Lorber, especially in Israel it has sometimes been changed to Lorbert or Daphni (the Hebrew word for laurel). Had it not been for this refuge, this branch might have been wiped out today.

The article in the family magazine Laurus

This branch was also covered in the family magazine "Laurus" in 2014. The corresponding article can be downloaded here (PDF in German).

Do not be surprised about deviations from the above text. The article reflects the state of research from 2014. In contrast, the text on the homepage is up to date with family research.

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