Zygmunt Frankel

SIBERIAN DIARY

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MISS HALBERT

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"Halbert's, Inc.
3687 Ira Road,
Bath, Ohio 44210

Dear Mr. Frankel,
Did you know that the family name Frankel was recorded with a coat-of-arms in ancient heraldic archives hundreds of years ago?
We discovered this while doing some research that should interest anyone whose last name is Frankel. We've had an artist recreate the Frankel coat-of-arms exactly as described in ancient records. This drawing, along with other information about the name, has been printed into an attractive one page report.
The right-hand side of this report tells the story of the very old and distinguished family name of Frankel. It tells what the name means, its origin, and the original family motto. All in all, the coat-of-arms information goes a long way in helping you to understand the historical background of your name. The left side has a large, beautiful reproduction of an artist's drawing of the earliest known coat-of-arms for the name Frankel. This entire report is documented, authentic, and printed on parchment-like paper suitable for framing.
We made extra copies of the report, and we feel that anyone named Frankel will find this a fascinating document.
Framed, these reports make distinctive wall decorations and they are great gifts for relatives. It should be remembered that we have not traced anyone's individual family tree but have researched back through several centuries to find out about the earliest people named Frankel.
Our biggest expense was in researching and writing the original report. The extra copies weren't as costly to make. So we're not charging very much. (See below.) If you are interested, please let us know right away. Just verify that we have your correct name and address and send the correct amount in cash or check for the number of reports you want. We'll send them to you promptly. /Sincerely, /(Signed) Nancy L. Halbert

P.S. If you are ordering one report, send two dollars ($2.00). Additional reports ordered at the same time and sent to the same address are one dollar each. Please make checks payable to Halbert's."

Alas, Miss Halbert; I am afraid there were no coats-of-arms among any of my ancestors. There are lots of Frankels, variously spelled, (our own had an Umlaut over the "a" which we dropped after the war to severe the German connection.) One source has it that Jews of that name came from the town of Franken in Germany; another, that "Frank" in a name indicates exile from Spain during the Inquisition, into or through France. (There are some entries pointing to this in an old Bible in a branch of my father's family.) My two grandfathers did achieve some distinction before the First World War: one was the mayor of a small town in Poland, and the other received the (comparatively common) honorary title of Kaiser's Councillor and was even received by Franz Josef in a brief formal audience upon its granting; but that was as close as any of my ancestors ever got to a coat-of-arms. Although the family lore I had absorbed only goes back to my great-grandparents or so, something tells me that had there been a coat-of-arms anywhere up the line I would have heard about it.