4.2
ALFRED JOSEPH DONTENVILLE (1889 - 1973)
MARY FRANCES BRNAK (1889 - 1970)

Alfred Joseph Dontenville who immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio from St. Maurice in 1914 was the son of Leo Felix Dontenville. Leo Felix was the sixth of twelve children of Francois Louis Dontenvill and Marie Anne Gallerey. He was born in St. Maurice August 4, 1854. He married Marie Justine Kern on May 1, 1882.Three children were born to their marriage. Anne Marie, born November 2, 1882, married Emil Erb and lived in Strasbourg. Victor, whose birth date is unknown, married Frances Dontenville. Alfred, born March 14, 1889, left St. Maurice for the United States in 1914 at age 25.

Alfred's daughter Lillian reported in 1995 that Emil Erb had four daughters by an earlier marriage. One of those daughters, Antoinette came to Ohio in 1927 when she was 16 years old. Antoinette married Oreste Gallucci and lived in Euclid, Ohio. She further reported that Victor and Frances Dontenville had a daughter Irene who had visited, or may have moved to, the United States.

Alfred Joseph Dontenville arrived in the United States at the Port of New York on May 9, 1914, aboard the SS Imperator from Cuxhaven, the Port for Hamburg, Germany. He traveled to Cleveland, Ohio where he found work in a tailor shop. Shortly after his arrival Alfred met Mary Frances Brnak who had arrived in the United States two years before him. Mary was born June 14, 1889 in Bohemia, a region that in 1918 became part of Czechoslovakia and today makes up the largest part of the Czech Republic. Mary came to the United States from Vienna where she had attended school and later worked as a domestic servant.

Alfred and Mary were married in late 1914. They established their home on East 49th Street in Cleveland. Their first daughter Jeanette was born August 10, 1915 in Columbus. A second daughter, Lillian, was born April 22, 1917. Some time in the early 1920s Alfred went to work as a machinist with the Singer Sewing Machine Company. His responsibilities involved maintenance and repair of the industrial machines used by clothing manufacturers. The family moved to East 41st Street in Newburgh Heights. A son Alfred George was born in Cleveland May 3, 1924.

In the late 1920s Alfred established a machine shop in association with a partner. There were financial improprieties on the part of his partner and Alfred withdrew from the partnership after a sizable investment. He continued with the Singer Company until his retirement in the 1960s. Mary died in Cleveland on February 7, 1970 and Alfred on June 7, 1973.

Jeanette Frieda Dontenville (1915 - 1994)
born in Cleveland, Ohio August 10, 1915. She married Edward Kreager. Three children were born to their marriage. Elizabeth Joan, Philip Edward, and Mary Ellen. In later years they lived in Rocky River, Ohio. Jeanette died in Cleveland December 30, 1994

Lillian Mathilda Dontenville (1917 - )
born in Cleveland April 22, 1917. On September 13, 1935 she married Arthur Reith in Cleveland. A son, Arthur Donald, was born on August 7, 1936. Separated when their son was very young. On November 21, 1959 Lillian married Andrew Naymik. Andrew died in Sun City, Arizona in 1987. Lillian continues to live in the Phoenix Area in an Adult Care Center.

Alfred George Dontenville (1924 - )
born May 3, 1924 in Cleveland. Married Elizabeth Pearl Ruebensaal. Six children: Diane, '47; Christine, '49; Margaret; Susanne; Michael Alfred, '60, and Lisa. In 1988 Fred and Elizabeth retired to Mesa, Arizona. Elizabeth died in Mesa September 5, 1995. Fred continues to live in Mesa with his youngest daughter Lisa.