rudolphvayandtheresamerkel

Rochester, New York Genealogy Research

RudolphandTheresaVayFamilyTree.pdf

This page is dedicated to my grandparents, Rudolph Vay and Theresa Merkel Vay. Rudolph was the oldest child of the second marriage of his father, Rudolph, to his mother Mary Detamble. Rudolph was 16 years old when his father died. His youngest sibling, Norbert, was only 10 years old. His father died at the age of 75.

The 1914 Rochester City Directory (RCD) shows Rudolph working as a stenographer at 39 N. Water St. and also as a proprietor for Vay & Kolb which served lunches at 282 State Street. He was living at 395 Maple Street with his mother, Mary.

Rudolph served in the armed forces for World War I starting in 1917 and was stationed in France when the war ended. He served with the 309th Artillery. He returned home in 1919. Below is a copy of his draft registration card and his military portrait.

In the January 1920 census Rudolph was listed as 26 years of age and living at home with his mother after having fought in World War I. He is now a clerk in the Post Office. According to the City of Rochester Historic Marriage Archives, he marries Theresa Merkel on May 25, 1920. They moved into 26 O'Neil street with Louise Merkel since Theresa's father, Henry, had passed away in 1919.

By 1924 Rudolph, Theresa, and their children (Selma, Arline and Eunice) are living still at 26 O'Neil Street with Theresa's mother Louise, and Theresa's sisters Gertrude and Anna. Louise then passes away on December 30, 1924.

The 1930 census shows Rudolph and Theresa were living at 26 O'Neil Street and they had six children (Selma, Arline, Eunice, Bernice, Geraldine and Donald) ranging in age from nine years to five months old. Rudolph was still at the post office. The census lists Rudolph as owning his own home which is valued at $2,000.00. Theresa lists her father has having been born in Germany and her mother in New York.

Rudolph and Theresa had three more children after 1930 - Mary Louise, Marguerite and Dorothea.

The Vay's lived on O'Neil street until the 1950's when they moved to 23 Briarcliff Road in Greece. They belonged to Holy Family Church where all of the children attended school. They appear in the RCD on Briarcliff in the 1958 edition. Below is a picture from from Rudolph and Theresa's 35th wedding anniversary in 1955.

Right side of the table from left to right: Bernice Vay Hammill, Richard Richter, Geraldine Vay Richter, Theresa Merkel Vay, Rudolph Vay, Marguerite Vay, Mary Louise Vay Lester and Arthur Lester.

Left side of the table from left to right: Selma Vay Schmerbeck, Lawrence Schmerbeck, Arline Vay Nealon, Francis Nealon, Donald Vay, Robert LaVigne and Eunice Vay LaVigne.

Rudolph worked for the Post Office for 54 years, working both before and after he served in World War I. At his retirement he had been the head of the finance division. He retired about 1959. He had attended Holy Family School at Jay and Ames streets and in later years graduated from the Rochester Business Institute after studying business administration.

By the time Rudolph died on December 4, 1969 he and Theresa had 33 grandchildren (16 boys and 17 girls). Their 34th grandchild (a girl) was born in August 1970. When Theresa died on November 21, 1989 at the age of 96 she had 45 great-grandchildren (23 boys and 22 girls). A family tradition had always been that everyone went to Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas Eve. This tradition continued on until a few years before Grandma's death. This tradition was then changed to an open house that she and Aunt Marge (Marguerite Vay) would host. Our family had just become to large.

At this writing (July 2008), only five of the 34 grandchildren have moved from Rochester. We still have the family tradition of coming together once a year for a family reunion in September. We usually have between 110-120 family members in attendance. Grandma and Grandpa would be so happy that we do this!