I have posted on this list a few years ago, and I thought I'd give it another try. I am hoping someone eventually will recognize this name and it will help in my search. My grandfather John Benedict SPRENTZ came to California from Ohio/Michigan aprox 1928. He worked on the fishing barges as a fisherman. His SS application says he was living at 45 E. Horizon in Venice in 1936 working for A. A. HERNAGE. He married a woman by the name of Norma SHERMAN aprox 1930. According to her death certificate, she was born in Wisconsin, however I am unable to locate her birth record. His residence prior to his death was 4243 1/8 Redondo Beach Blvd. Lawndale, CA. His death certificate says he was a fisherman for 45 yrs. and lists his last employer as NATIONAL FISH MARKET. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the waters he fished in for so many years. He died 23 Dec 1974. His death certificate lists Roosevelt Cemetary @Sea, Santa Monica as cemetary and Funeral Director as Cremation Society of California, INC. This is not only a genealogy request, but it is an identity quest for me. My father died without knowing his father. He was an only child and his mother, my grandmother had not seen John since they divorced in 1928 and knew little about his family. My grandfather may have had children with his second wife, Norma. I do know that John Sprentz was born to two Hungarian immigrants.. by the name of Mihaly Princz and Mary Helen Szedlovich. I have tried searching all the usual avenues, but because this is so recent, no records are available. I have tried finding the informant on my grandfather's death record.. a Margaret CRONIN.... to no avail. It lists her address in 1974 as 6026 Marlett, Mira Loma, CA. I have tried searching California births to determine whether or not John and Norma had children. Unfortunately, while I was taking a break from research, I discovered the CA birth records have been taken offline. I have been working on finding info on my grandfather for over 8 years now. I've called all the Sprentz's in the phone book... I've called all the Margaret Cronins.. I've called the cemetary but they will not give me names of living people...(children of my grandfather, if any)...I've tried finding my grandfather's place of employment.. with no luck. I didn't know my father either...my parents divorced when I was about 5. My mother passed when I was ten. Most of my childhood, I felt the strong urge to know about my heritage. I grew up in foster homes... and never knew much about my father, John B. Sprentz, Jr . He came to visit me once when I was about 16 and I thought it would be the beginning of a relationship... the questions I wanted answered, I would finally have.. unfortunately.. I never saw my father again. He was murdered when I was 17. Now it is extremely important for me to find out if I have any relatives.. hopefully living..who can tell me about my Hungarian heritage. Sorry if I've rambled.. but I suppose desperate people will go to desperate measures. If any of you from southern California have parents or grandparents who lived in the area at the time, maybe it's possible that someone knew of a John B. Sprentz.??? It can't hurt to ask...:-) I apologize if I've went too far... and many thanks to all of you for reading this long email. A. Sprentz

Anne, I'm one of the people on this list who tries to help unravel mysteries, and I have had some success and some failures...kind of like everyday life! I read your story very carefully over and over and I really do believe that you have covered all bases. In the years I have been helping people with geneology, many "truths" have come to mind. The first one is that all families have mysteries, and many people just don't leave a big mark on the world when they are here, and when they die. There is a very good chance that your grandfather had no other children, and that there are no unknown surviving relatives. That may be it for this search. I know it's hard to give up, especially when you are determined. The only think I can suggest is to examine and explore the last two residences of your grandfather and and the woman who was the informant on his DCT, Mrs. Cronin. What do I mean by this? Well, where I live there are people who have live on my street more than 30 years. If I were you, I would prepare a very friendly letter and mail it to all the addresses in and around 4243 1/8 Redondo Beach Blvd. Lawndale, CA. Tell them there is a $50 reward or something for anyone with information about your grandfather. Also, do the same for the Margaret Cronin address. I like that you TAKE THE TIME to actually call people and ask if they are related to you. You would be amazed at how many people don't bother to go that extra step. Good luck, and keep us posted. Joe W. Anne Sprentz <asprentz@ameritech.net> wrote: I have posted on this list a few years ago, and I thought I'd give it another try. I am hoping someone eventually will recognize this name and it will help in my search. My grandfather John Benedict SPRENTZ came to California from Ohio/Michigan aprox 1928. He worked on the fishing barges as a fisherman. His SS application says he was living at 45 E. Horizon in Venice in 1936 working for A. A. HERNAGE. He married a woman by the name of Norma SHERMAN aprox 1930. According to her death certificate, she was born in Wisconsin, however I am unable to locate her birth record. His residence prior to his death was 4243 1/8 Redondo Beach Blvd. Lawndale, CA. His death certificate says he was a fisherman for 45 yrs. and lists his last employer as NATIONAL FISH MARKET. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the waters he fished in for so many years. He died 23 Dec 1974. His death certificate lists Roosevelt Cemetary @Sea, Santa Monica as cemetary and Funeral Director as Cremation Society of California, INC. This is not only a genealogy request, but it is an identity quest for me. My father died without knowing his father. He was an only child and his mother, my grandmother had not seen John since they divorced in 1928 and knew little about his family. My grandfather may have had children with his second wife, Norma. I do know that John Sprentz was born to two Hungarian immigrants.. by the name of Mihaly Princz and Mary Helen Szedlovich. I have tried searching all the usual avenues, but because this is so recent, no records are available. I have tried finding the informant on my grandfather's death record.. a Margaret CRONIN.... to no avail. It lists her address in 1974 as 6026 Marlett, Mira Loma, CA. I have tried searching California births to determine whether or not John and Norma had children. Unfortunately, while I was taking a break from research, I discovered the CA birth records have been taken offline. I have been working on finding info on my grandfather for over 8 years now. I've called all the Sprentz's in the phone book... I've called all the Margaret Cronins.. I've called the cemetary but they will not give me names of living people...(children of my grandfather, if any)...I've tried finding my grandfather's place of employment.. with no luck. I didn't know my father either...my parents divorced when I was about 5. My mother passed when I was ten. Most of my childhood, I felt the strong urge to know about my heritage. I grew up in foster homes... and never knew much about my father, John B. Sprentz, Jr . He came to visit me once when I was about 16 and I thought it would be the beginning of a relationship... the questions I wanted answered, I would finally have.. unfortunately.. I never saw my father again. He was murdered when I was 17. Now it is extremely important for me to find out if I have any relatives.. hopefully living..who can tell me about my Hungarian heritage. Sorry if I've rambled.. but I suppose desperate people will go to desperate measures. If any of you from southern California have parents or grandparents who lived in the area at the time, maybe it's possible that someone knew of a John B. Sprentz.??? It can't hurt to ask...:-) I apologize if I've went too far... and many thanks to all of you for reading this long email. A. Sprentz --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more