Individual 2834: Opid, Ludwik (Ludwig)

Individual Record 2834

Name} Opid, Ludwik (Ludwig)

Family History} Olson

Title}

Race} White

Sex} Male

Birth: Date} Fam 12 Jul 1865

Place} Poland, Austria-Hungary

Marr. 1: Date} Cir 1889

Place} Poland, Austria-Hungary (Link)

Marr.2: Date} Exa 22 Nov 1905

Place} Home of bride, Alhambra, Los Angeles, California (Link)

Death: Date} Exa 6 Oct 1948

Place} , Los Angeles, California

Burial: Date} Aft 6 Oct 1948

Place} Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Los Angeles, California

Grave Marker}

Source 1}	257 = Interview
Source 2}	1035=Geog history
Source 3}	1071=Biography
Source 4}	1076=Newspaper
Source 5}	1069=Passenger ls
Source 6}	1070=Citizenship
Source 7}	1072=Newspaper
Source 8}	1073=Newspaper
Source 9}	1430=Marriage rec
Source 10}	1074=1910 USA cen
Source 11}	988 = City directory
Source 12}	1082=Photograph
Source 13}	1075=1920 USA cen
Source 14}	1064=1930 USA cen
Source 15}	1452=1940 USA cen
Source 16}	716 = Death record
Source 17}	963 = Cemetery rec

Parents: } Parents not traced
Relationship No.} None

1st Household No.} 465 = Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Occupation 1} Musician
Occupation 2}

Religion/Church}

Spouses: Prime} Sikorski, Stefania
Hildebrand, Caroline Barbara
Total Number of} 2

Notes: Ludwik Opid was born in Poland on 12 Jul 1865. At that time Poland was a part of Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and thus documents recording his birth usually report him as being born in Austria. In official documents his name was spelled "Ludwik", but in common day usage he was known as "Ludwig".

Ludwig married Stefania Sikorski, and they immigrated to the United States in 1889. The Hamburg Passenger list reports that they sailed on the steamship Breslau, leaving Hamburg on 6 Jul 1889, arriving in Leith (Scotland), final destination America (USA) via Glasgow (Ireland). In his Declaration of Intention, Ludwig states that he embarked at Glasgow, and arrived in New York on 25 Jul 1889. The Hamburg Passenger list reports that their residence was "Kakau, Austria", which most likely is now Krakow, Poland.

Ludwig and Stephania had three children while they lived in New York, namely John, Helena, and Felicia, perhaps also known as Lola. The family moved to Southern California in 1895. Ludwig declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen on 7 September 1896, and became a citizen on 2 Jun 1900 in the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Ludwik was a well-known musician whose instrument was the cello. There are numerous Los Angeles Herald newspaper reports of him playing in recitals and accompanying other musicians and singers. He was a member of the Krauss String Quartet. There is no record of the family in the 1900 USA Census. It was reported that he and two other musicians were sent by Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead in the summer of 1900, to Oregon to settle on property outside Alsea. There Whitehead intended to form a communal colony for musicians and artists. The project never got off the ground and Ludwig and his family returned to California.

Ludwig maintained strong ties with the local Polish community. In 1908, when the great Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski arrived in Los Angeles for a concert, Ludwig was a member of the formal reception party. Ludwig's aunt was Helena Modjeska, (1840-1909) a renowned Polish actress, who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles. When she died in 1909, he served as a member of the funeral cortege accompanying her body to the Cathedral of St. Vibiana, where it lay in state with a Knights of Columbus honor guard. At the funeral mass, the Krauss String Quartet played, and Ludwig rendered Chopin's "Funeral March" as a cello solo. Helena Modjeska left $1,000. each to the children of Ludwig. Whether there was enough in her estate to pay the bequest is unknown. Today there is a mountain and a canyon in Orange County named Modjeska.

Stefania, Ludwig's wife, died 27 Nov 1903, leaving him with their children, then ages 12, 10, and 8 years. Ludwig married Caroline Hildebrand on 22 Nov 1905 in her family home in Alhambra. Caroline herself was an accomplished musician, who came from a musically talented family.

In the 1910 USA census, Ludwig and Caroline were living at 519 South Breed Street in Los Angeles. Ludwig's three children were living with them. Ludwig and Caroline had a daughter of their own, Stephanie, born 5 Sep 1910. In the 1920 USA census, the family was still living on Breed Street, with Helen, a daughter from his first marriage, and their daughter Stephanie, age 9 years. By the 1930 USA census, the family was living at 1019 S. Grammercy Place, Los Angeles, and only their daughter Stephanie, age 19 years was living with them.

Stephanie married, and in the 1940 USA census, she and her husband Edward Cyril Holton were living with Ludwig and Caroline. The census reports that Ludwig had a high school education, owned their home valued at $4,000., and was no longer working.

Ludwig's son John was a Forest Service employee, who found what he felt would be an ideal spot for a camp. In 1910, Ludwig and John founded a resort for well-to-do-visitors high in the San Gabriel Mountains, about five miles from Mt. Wilson. Called Opid's Camp it operated until 1944. Today, is is owned by the Long Beach Unified School Districr and called Camp Hi Hill. It has the reputation being the wettest place on record in Los Angeles County. The greatest amount of rainfall in one minute in California was O.65 inch at Opid's Camp on 5 Apr 1926.

Ludwig died 6 Oct 1948 in Los Angeles. He is buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, Los Angeles, California.

Time of Birth}

Time of Death}

Fraternal/Social}

Baptism Date}

Place}

Confirm. Date}

Photos} Ludvig Opid in 1908

Immigr'n Date} Exa 25 Jul 1889

Port} New York

Education: Grade} High school or Top 2 Degrees}

Military: Service} for the State of}

Health Condition}
Cause of Death}

Last Updated
by} Karen Hancock

Date Updated} 24 Mar 2014
Date Created} 27 Sep 2010

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