I am struggling to trace my ancestors in Silesia, Germany. This area is now split between Germany and Poland due to the border changes around WW2, making my research even more difficult. However, my ancestors were definitely of German nationality not Polish, despite being born on the now Polish side.
My 2x great-grandfather, Richard Wolff, was born in Festenburg, Silesia, Germany (Now Twardogora, Poland) on 7th April 1881. His parents were apparently Sicbalus Wolff and Louise Richter. Wolff can also be spelt: Wolf, Woolf, Woolfe, or Wolfe. My grandmother tells me that he travelled to the UK with his Uncle, but she does not know any more than that since it was her husband that was a Wolff, and he died several years ago.
Both Richard and the relative he travelled with were hairdressers. Richard Wolff appears in the 1901 census at age 19, living in Camborne, Cornwall with the Uren family as a hairdressers servant/apprentice. He then appears in Redruth, Cornwall marrying Bessie Thomas in 1904. He then moves to Torquay, Devon and sets up his own business as a hairdresser and tobacconist, under the name R. Wolff & Son.
The 1910 business directory also lists a Eugen Moritz Wolff living at 47 Fore St (only a minutes walk from Richard's address at the time), also with a hairdressing business. I suspect that this is the relative with whom Richard came to the UK with, but I am not 100% sure. I have contacted a person on Ancestry, who had a picture of Eugen outside his hairdressing shop, and the resemblance between him and the male Wolff line of my family is undeniable. Eugen was born in Wilhelmsdorf, Brandenburg, Germany in 1866, which would be about the right date for him to be Richard's uncle, but this area of Germany is a fair distance from where Richard was supposedly born. Eugen's marriage certificate lists a Sebaldus Wolff as his father in the 1899 marriage certificate, but he was deceased at the time.
Richard Wolff's children, Frederick Maurice and Cora, were both born in Redruth, Cornwall in 1905 and 1907 respectively. Richard was naturalized in 1933. It is only through his Naturalization Certificate that I know his birthplace and parents names. Richard died in 1953.
I have recently managed to get Richard's naturalization papers at the national archives opened early. This states that whilst he assumed his birth date to be 7 Apr 1881 in Festenburg, he actually had no documentation with him upon arrival or when applying for naturalization to prove that this was the case. It also says that he was brought to the UK by an elder brother at age 13 in 1895. Perhaps Eugen Wolff was this elder brother, rather than the family story of Richard's uncle.
In regards to Richards parents, the naturalization documents say that their names were Sicbalus Wolff and Louise Richter. However, it states that both are assumed to be deceased by 1933, and possibly by Richard's arrival in 1895. Both are stated to be of German nationality, but again, Richard had no documentation to prove his parentage or any details about them.
The National Archives papers also give a list of his residences since his arrival as:
1895 - 1900: Hampton, Greater London (address unknown)
1900 - 1901: 23 Fore St, St. Marychurch, Torquay, Devon
1901 - 1909: Trelowarren St, Camborne, Cornwall (care of Mrs Uren)
1909 - 1914: 52 Babbacombe Rd, Torquay, Devon
1914 - 1919: Knockaloe Internment Camp, Isle of Man
1919 - 1921: 99 St Marychurch Rd, Torquay, Devon
1921 - 1933: 301 Teignmouth Rd, Torquay, Devon
The papers also mention that Richard applied for Naturalization twice, but was denied in 1914 due to the outbreak of war and his German nationality. It also seems that he never left the UK again after his arrival in 1895, or had any further contact with anyone in Germany, and that his internment was not the result of any "anti-British" activities.
I wish to trace Richard's parents in Germany, and I estimate that they would have been born around 1840-60. I would also like to try and confirm that Eugen is in fact Richard's uncle or brother, and who exactly Sicbalus and Sebaldus are, if they are different people or the same person with spelling mistakes made on documentation. However, I cannot even find any information about the name Sicbalus. It doesnt appear to be a genuine name as far as I can tell. Sebaldus on the other hand could have been named after Saint Sebaldus. But, I can't find any records of anyone with either name. I also can't find any record of a Louise Richter or any Emigration/Immigration records for Richard.
I also wonder why they left Germany. Festenburg was known to be a fairly large Jewish settlement, but both Richard and Eugen left before WW1 and there is currently no evidence of any Jewish ancestry in the family. Did Sicbalus and Lousie die when Richard was young? Did Richard have the correct names of his parents and his correct birth date? And, if Eugen is Richard's uncle/brother, why isn't Richard living with him in 1901, instead of being a servant in Cornwall?
Sorry for the long post, but any advice on my great family mystery would be appreciated!
