Included below are all of the pictures that I currently have of the Pankenier Family; the majority of which are my direct relatives.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate many pictures of our ancestors prior to 1920, and I only have a few photos of the 'Great Uncles of Jersey City'.
I hope that someday additional pictures will become available; and would gratefully accept any pictures of the Pankenier's that are not included here. If you have photos that you would like to send, please contact me at the email link below.
While I have tried my best to properly identify these photos, there are some pictures that remain a complete mystery to me. Please contact me if you notice any inaccuracies, or if you have additional details on any of the photos included below.
Picture #1 Portrait Picture of Amelia & Rudolf Schwebs circa 1880's:
This is a picture of Amelia Pankenier (née Schwebs, 1859-1930) and her younger brother Rudolf Schwebs (1866-1906). It's believed that this picture was taken in the Schwebs home in Marienwerder shortly before the family had immigrated to America.
The clothes that Amelia and Rudolf are wearing indicate they came from a middle class family, and it should be noted that there is no jewelry, watches, or even bright colors visible within their outfits. Assuming that the photo was taken around 1883, Amelia would be about 24 years old, while Rudolf would have been about 17 years old.
Another significant fact is while Amelia and Rudolf had posed for the photograph; there are no other family members included in the picture. It's possible that the other Schwebs were not available when the picture was taken, or the family didn't have the money for a larger picture. Maybe Amelia and Rudolf desired a photo of just the two of them, as its believed the two siblings were very close.
in the 1880's, photography was still in it's infancy; and it's assumed that this image was captured using the collodion process, or possibly even a daguerreotype (photographs on silver-plated sheets of copper). Many Europeans felt that getting a photograph taken was frivolous and wasteful; and the cost of having even the smallest picture taken was approximately $2.50, or $81.50 in today's money.