Franziska Seraphine Penz

Penz von Dölitz

The wife of Wolf von Bibra and my great grandmother background is somewhat nebulas. I will attempt to put down what I know to help the matter.

I have put a lot of information on Franziska and her family on the Reunion of the Descendants of Wolf and Fraanziska but want a page focusing on her family in Austria. Her journey to Los Angeles (and South Pasadena) from Austria is on that page at the end.

Franziska was born in Aspang Austria (just below Wiener-Neustadt) on September 23, 1869 and died in Los Angeles January 1, 1934.

The wedding announcement lists her maiden name as Penz and is dated November 12, 1884. The date of wedding in handbook is November 11, 1884.

Genealogical Handbook has Anton Penz as father and Caroline de Dölitz as mother (“de” is equivalent to “von” in use). However the family “Penz von Dölitz” is/was an Austrian family origin started by Johann Penz (1763 Tyrol-1849 Wiener-Neustadt), a military officer, who was ennobled in 1830. Her daughter, Malou, wrote that her maiden name was “Penz von Dölitz”. My assumption is that the Genealogical Handbook was incorrect. The most obvious solution is that her father’s last name was “Penz von Dölitz”. Possibly her mother’s ( Caroline) last name was “Penz von Dölitz”.

Malou devotional book when she was at a convent school has a memory inscription in 1998 referring to “Madame Penz Dölitz”. Assuming Malou was correct in her notes as an adult and Franziska’s maiden name was “Penz von Dölitz”, how was she related to Johann Penz von Dölitz. Perhaps granddaughter. There was a “Franziska Penz von Dölitz” at a girls school for noble girls in 1835-36. This is likely Johann Penz von Dölitz daughter just after being ennobled but could be a transcriber’s typo giving a wrong year. Either way suggests our Franziska either was in a school for noble daughters or more likely named after her aunt.

While there is information about Johann Penz von Dölitz, there is not much know about his family. Wikisource has an article on him but there is some confusion as to Dölitz has one or two “l”‘s. https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/BLK%C3%96:Penz_von_D%C3%B6llitz,_Johann . Also link https://www.archivinformationssystem.at/detail.aspx?id=4393621 which has images of coat of arms and mentions two grandsons, Johann and Joseph in 1839 to be added to ennoblement. There was a Wilhelmine, geb. Penz von Dölitz), geb. Wr,-Neustadt 4. September 1838, + Graz 4. März 1881 and Karl Penz von Dölitz (b. 1802) also an officer, Katharina Hofmeister (maiden name: Penz von Dölitz about 1809 and died 20 April 1875) and the referenced above Franziska Penz von Dölitz above in 1835-6 at school.

Wolf met Franziska at a ball reportedly so she had to have some social rank, but was considered an inferior wedding by rank according to Wolf’s sister Leonie. Penz von Dölitz as a low level rank of nobility (Elder) was indeed somewhat of a mismatch but not so dramatic as forcing Wolf to change the trajectory of his life so dramatically.

Coat of Arms

The Tyroler Landesmuseum list the following coat of arms.

https://wappen.tiroler-landesmuseen.at/index34a.php?wappen_id=2596&drawer=&tr=1#prev

Which is consistent with what Malou had for coat of arm for Franziska below.

Malou also had it copied by her son Franz below.

There is another copy which may also be by Franz Bauer below.