Cambria Jackson Genealogy

Interview with Bill Fleischhauer, my grand uncle

Today I finally got in contact with my great uncle Bill Fleischhauer, the last of that generation. I first asked him some questions about his life.

Bill Fleischhauer was born in 1921 in Hollis, Queens, New York. He went to Andrew Jackson High School, where he was on the swimming team he noted. For College he went to the Pratt Institute of Science and Technology in Brooklyn where he studied Mechanical Engineering. He worked in aircraft engine business for Fairchild and Ranger Engines, and later worked for business and administration/business affairs for Grumman. He has never served in the military since he was not eligible for WWII.  Asking him what it was like living in New York City, He noted that he had a rather mundane life. He and his wife, Jane Marilyn Nelson, were into boating a lot. They had a total of four boats in his lifetime. In fact, Bill did freelance writing for boat magazines some years ago. He also developed courses for administration which he lectured for about 10 years. Asking where he has lived in his lifetime, he said he had lived in Cambria Heights and Massapequa, New York all a part of long island. He is as of now, living in Santa Barbara, California. He moved there from New York because he and his wife wanted to be with his family (he had two children living out in Santa Barbara), he had two biological children with his wife, Paul and Kim Louis Fleischhauer, and had one adopted child, Lisa Jean Fleischhauer. They retired in 1988. his wife died in 1989 of Colon Cancer.

We started to talk about some of the family dynamics. I told him my ultimate goal was to find out the origins of the Fleischhauer family. He said he never asked them about, regretfully so, he would love to know more about it now. He knows that they came from Hanover, Germany and heard about the Highlands and Lowlands (this is something i will follow up on). He says his grandfather, Franz Fleischhauer, came over in 1878, with very little money. His grandmother, Meta Fleischhauer, was a maid and her mistress taught her to speak English. He also commented that he never got to know his Fleischhauer grandparents very well, but saw his Pralle Family much more often, stating they were a great couple.

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