John & Florentina Schelgunov

Select a yellow box to move around Lisa's maternal family tree.

John was born in Psokv, Russia. He had at least one brother.

Florentina was born in Bzezyny, Poland. Orphaned at a young age, she spent a hard life on farms living with uncles and aunts who expected her to earn her keep, although living with Aunt Julia, her mother's sister, was a pleasant experience.

John served in the white Russian army. He and his family fled the country to escape the victorious Bolsheviks. Their last place of residence in the Old World was Danzig, Germany. They crossed the Atlantic on board the Ausonia which left Liverpool, England on 4 October 1922. They passed inspection at Ellis Island in New York on 16 October. Although Polish citizens according to their entry papers into the United States, they considered themselves to be German. Florentina's brother Alexander, who was married to Alvina, was their sponsor in America. They settled in the Cleveland, OH area. John and Florentina are buried in Lutheran Cemetary in Cleveland.

John and Florentina's son Alexander invented the florescent bulb switch and airplane prop starter. He was a co-founder of Bird Electronic which later became Honeywell.

John & Florentina Schelgunov

Florentina Schelgunov

(left to right) Walter Schelgunov, Olga Schelgunov, Ted Fensel (John Fensel's son), Florentina Schelgunov, Tatiana Schelgunov, John Schelgunov, John Fensel (married Florentina's cousin and then Alvina Reschke's sister), Alvina Reschke (Alexander Schelgunov's wife), Alexander Reschke (Florentina's brother), Otto Fensel (John Fensel's son)

Cunard Liner Ausonia on which the Schelgunovs crossed the ocean in 1922