ABOUT NAMES

PECHAL/BENNECK: John Pechal Benneck was born May 14, 1877. He arrived in America 
from Austria-Hungary with his family when he was 18. He became unhappy with the 
name Pechal because Americans did not know how to pronounce it. After much 
deliberation, he decided to change his name to Benneck. On the Official Receipt 
of Name Change, it shows that the name of the children (John Henry, William and 
Elsie) would legally be Benneck. Clyde and Annie Marie were born later.
As time went by John Benneck found the name change did not have the result he 
had hoped for --- acquaintances and kin made fun of the new name, so it was 
shortened to Benick.

About 1930, Elsie decided to obtain her birth certificate. She wrote to the 
County Clerk, Calhoun County, Port Lavaca, Texas where she, John Henry and 
William were born and was told that their births were not registered and that 
their name was legally Pechal and any children born later would be named 
Benneck. She went ahead and got her birth certificate showing her name to be 
Pechal. John Henry must have done the same.

After Clyde's death, Laverne brought me some of his papers. Among them was the 
Official Receipt of Name Change. He had never shown it to us. I suppose he 
thought that we knew about it. In later years, he did go to Houston and visited 
with his Dad. That is probably when it was given to him.

KRAUSKOPP: On the immigration papers the name is Krauskopp. It has been spelled 
various ways. Such as: Krauscupp, Krauscoff, Krauscuff. I suppose Americans 
spelled it however it sounded to them.

Written in 1995 by Annie Marie Benick McGee
for her daughter, Patricia Evelyn McGee Crowley

notes by pemc:

SHINDLER: Census records and other documents may also spell Shindler as Sindler 
or Schindler.