The Danenberg Family

Ilze Balka b. 1945

Peter's first cousin once removed.

Living. As for every living relative on this site, the birth date is given by year only, and no current address is shown.

Also recorded as Ilze Bērziņa; Ilze Balka (married name Augenbergs).

Ilze Balka was born in 1945 in Haunstetten DP camp, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany3,4, the daughter of Vitolds Balks and Biruta Zeltīte Sirlaka16,17. She left Bremen-Grohn (IRO emigration camp), Germany between 9 Jan 1950 and 22 Jan 195013. She arrived at New York City, New York, United States in 1950 (according to an online family tree)14.

Family

Parents
Vitolds Balks 1921–1984 and Biruta Zeltīte Sirlaka 1919–2002 documented
Partner
Uģis Augenbergs 1938–2019
Children

Life events

EventDatePlace and details
Born1945Haunstetten DP camp, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany
Preferred version: Her DP record: born at the Haunstetten DP camp. Raimonds's MyHeritage tree (2026) gives 'Latvia', from the 1950 New York passenger list he matched.3,4
Born1945Latvia
According to an online family tree5
Arrived1950New York City, New York, United States
According to an online family tree14
Leftbet 9 Jan 1950 and 22 Jan 1950Bremen-Grohn (IRO emigration camp), Germany13
Livedbet Feb 1950 and Feb 1951Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, United States7
Livedbet 1959 and 1969Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan, United States8
Religion8 Jul 1964Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
Named in the caption of the group photograph of a youth confirmation class ("Jauniešu iesvēte") at the Kalamazoo Ev. Lutheran Latvian congregation, listed 9th of 10 in the second row (caption order; positions in the photo were not matched to faces). The caption gives no date of the service, no…15
Education1970Columbus, Ohio, United States
A portrait photograph with a seven-line caption (no headline on the article): B.S. in pharmacy from Ohio State University; member of the Latvian corporation "Dzintra" and of "Kappa Epsilon"; member of the pharmacy association, of whose Ohio State chapter she was president in her last year. The…12
Lived1 Sep 1973Beverly Hills, Michigan, United States
According to an online family tree9
LivedSep 1984Michigan, United States10
Lived1 Oct 1992Farmington, Michigan, United States
According to an online family tree11
OriginLatvia
According to the family's 2015 tree6

Possible records (not confirmed)

Records that may concern her, but don't settle it: an initial and a surname only, a family recollection, or a reading that needs a second look. Each links to the record.

  • Other 1964-07 Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA: "Ilze Balka" is the ninth name in the second-row list (second to last before Jānis Zuika) of the same youth-confirmation photograph. The sweep called her a cousin of the twins; the page says nothing about kinship. The tree (data/people/ilze-balka.yaml, from the memoir) has Ilze Balka (b. 1945) as the daughter of Vitolds and Biruta Balks, Elvīra's sister, i.e. the twins' first cousin. The caption…18 Name only (surname "Balka" is not exactly "Balks" in the tree, and no age or relation is on the page); the match rests on Kalamazoo, the right age group and the family link to the Balks family in Michigan.
  • Other 1964-05-06 Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Sidrabene children's and youth summer camp; Ilze "from the USA"): Laiks issue 1000323 p. 2 (the sweep's 999850 was wrong), zone DIVL173, column 'Latviešu dzīve Kanadā', dateline TORONTO; a notice about the Sidrabene camp. Read by eye in a zoom of the column: '… Par meiteņu vadītājām darbosies Vija Zuntaka, Dace Ligere, Edīte Meldere (no Montrealas) un Ilze Balka (no ASV), par zēnu vadītājiem Andris Rubenis, Rolands Zālīte (no Montrealas), Valdis Kau[liņš] …'…19 Name 'Ilze Balka (no ASV)' only; no parents or town. A 1964 US-based girl of that name who is at Kalamazoo in July 1964 (pl-059) is plausible but unproven; a namesake in Michigan/Ohio is possible.

Records

The full page of the record, with the part cited outlined in red: Pēc auto sadursmes miris agr. Arvīds Danenbergs, Laiks, 6 April 1996, p. 7
Pēc auto sadursmes miris agr. Arvīds Danenbergs, Laiks, 6 April 1996, p. 7. . The page, large, and the untouched original.
Scan of the record: Standesamt Augsburg, Kategorie III Form 7 (births), 25 Aug 1948
Standesamt Augsburg, Kategorie III Form 7 (births), 25 Aug 1948. .
Scan of the record: Household of Arwids F Danenbergs, Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio
Household of Arwids F Danenbergs, Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio. US census, U.S. National Archives, image via FamilySearch, public domain.
The full page of the record, with the part cited outlined in red: Obituary of Vitolds Balks, "Mums zudušie" (Laiks, 1984, p. 7), by Sigurds Rudzītis
Obituary of Vitolds Balks, "Mums zudušie" (Laiks, 1984, p. 7), by Sigurds Rudzītis. . The page, large, and the untouched original.
The full page of the record, with the part cited outlined in red: Photo and caption "Ilze Balka Augenberga" (Laiks, 25 July 1970, p. 3)
Photo and caption "Ilze Balka Augenberga" (Laiks, 25 July 1970, p. 3). . The page, large, and the untouched original.
Scan of the record: IRO movement roll (DocID 81989986) and USS General Howze nominal roll (DocID 81666500)
IRO movement roll (DocID 81989986) and USS General Howze nominal roll (DocID 81666500). .
The full page of the record, with the part cited outlined in red: Jauniešu iesvēte Kalamazū ev. lut. latv. draudzē (group photograph and caption), Laiks, 8 July 1964, p. 5
Jauniešu iesvēte Kalamazū ev. lut. latv. draudzē (group photograph and caption), Laiks, 8 July 1964, p. 5. . The page, large, and the untouched original.
Scan of the record: AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Ilze, Reg. No. 901950314
AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Ilze, Reg. No. 901950314. .

Sources

  1. Pēc auto sadursmes miris agr. Arvīds Danenbergs, Laiks, 6 April 1996, p. 7, Laiks, Nr.26 (06.04.1996), p. 7.
    meitas: Līga Šūbacha (Schubach) un Ilze Bērziņa
    Translation: daughters: Līga Šūbacha (Schubach) and Ilze Bērziņa

    Married name Bērziņa. She is described as a 'daughter' at Arvīds's memorial, but she is the daughter of Rūta and Vitolds Balks (memoir). She was probably raised partly in the household, or the reporter conflated.

  2. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I145 (person-6000145), GEDCOM lines 4295–4347.
    NAME Ilze /Balka/ · _MARNM Augenbergs
  3. Standesamt Augsburg, Kategorie III Form 7 (births), 25 Aug 1948, DE ITS 2.1.1.3 BY 011 7 LET ZM, DocID 85921857.
    12. Balks Ilse [date] w. Haunstetten

    LIVING. Standesamt Augsburg births list, 25 Aug 1948 (DocID 85921857), row 12; 1950 roll: country of birth GER.

  4. My Life and Times (1912–1949), ¶42.
    Here Ilze was born in 1945 and one year later, the twins Līga and Kalvis.
  5. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I145 (person-6000145), GEDCOM lines 4295–4347.
    BIRT · 1945 · Latvia

    His record match: Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10512/ellis-island-other-new-york-passenger-lists-1820-1957?itemId=29671046&action=showRecord: 'Ilze Balks | Dzimums: Sieviete | Dzimšana: Apmēram 1946 - Latvia | Ierašanās: 1950 - New York, New York, United States | Kuģis: General Howze | Vecums: 4 | Līnija: 9 | Avota infromācija: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957 (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, roll 7789); Records of the Immigration and Naturalizati | on Service, Record Group 85.'. His record match: ASV Publisko Ierakstu Indekss, https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10220/asv-publisko-ierakstu-indekss?itemId=240939799&action=showRecord: 'Ilze Augenbergs | Dzimšana: 1945 | Pazīstams arī kā: Berzins Ilze, Derzins Ilze'.

  6. Peter's tree, danenberg.sql, 2007–2015, personae 22, provenance.
  7. Household of Arwids F Danenbergs, Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio.
    Ilze Balks: Race = White; Birth 1946 @ Germany; Census 10 April 1950 @ Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio, United States; Residence 1949 @ germany; RelationshipToHead=Niece; Age=4

    After arriving in New York on USS General Howze in late January / February 1950, she lived with her parents, grandmother Emma, and the Danenberg family in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio (Rockford mailing address), where she was enumerated as 'Ilze Balks' (age 4) in the 10 April 1950 US Census.

  8. S-fs-JRNP-MMG.
    Emma Sirlaks: Death Oct 1970 @ Southfield, Oakland, Michigan; Birth 06 Jan 1885; Age=85; ZipCodeOfLastResidence=48075

    Inferred to have lived with her parents Vitolds and Biruta Balks in the Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan area, where her grandmother Emma Sirlaka lived with the Balks family before moving to Toronto and where Emma's US Social Security Death Index record gives her last US residence at ZIP code 48075 in Southfield.

  9. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I145 (person-6000145), GEDCOM lines 4295–4347.
    RESI · 1 SEP 1973 · [address omitted], Beverly Hills, Michigan 48025-2720, USA
  10. Obituary of Vitolds Balks, "Mums zudušie" (Laiks, 1984, p. 7), by Sigurds Rudzītis, Laiks, Periodika issue 763633, p. 7, article DIVL390 (doc 53933326), column "Mums zudušie". Issue date 27 October 1984 read on the masthead (`Sestdien, 1984. g. 27. oktobrī`)..
    Aizgājējs atstāj dzīves biedri Rutu, meitu Ilzi ar ģimeni Detroitā un brāli okupētajā Latvijā.
    Translation: The deceased leaves his spouse Ruta, daughter Ilze with her family in Detroit and a brother in occupied Latvia.

    New (the sweep missed it as a separate item): the obituary names a daughter Ilze "ar ģimeni Detroitā" (with her family in Detroit) among the survivors of Vitolds Balks. No surname or birth date on the page; the tree has Ilze Balka b. 1945, daughter of Vitolds and Biruta.

  11. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I145 (person-6000145), GEDCOM lines 4295–4347.
    RESI · 1 OCT 1992 · [address omitted], Farmington, Michigan 48336-4147, USA
  12. Photo and caption "Ilze Balka Augenberga" (Laiks, 25 July 1970, p. 3), Laiks, Periodika issue 738625, p. 3, article DIVL280 (doc 52038522), portrait and caption, right-hand column. Masthead (top left of the page) reads `Sestdien, 1970. g. 25. jūlijā`..
    Ilze Balka Augenberga Ohaijo valsts universitātē ieguvusi B. S. gradu [sic: grādu?] farmācijā. Viņa pieder korp. Dzintra saimei un Kappa Epsilon, ir locekle farmācijas apvienībā, kur pēdējā studiju gadā bija Ohaijo valsts universitātes nodaļas priekšsēde.
    Translation: Ilze Balka Augenberga has earned a B.S. degree in pharmacy at Ohio State University. She belongs to the corporation (sorority) Dzintra and to Kappa Epsilon, and is a member of the pharmacy association, in which in her last year of study she was the president of the Ohio State University chapter.

    A portrait photograph with a seven-line caption (no headline on the article): B.S. in pharmacy from Ohio State University; member of the Latvian corporation "Dzintra" and of "Kappa Epsilon"; member of the pharmacy association, of whose Ohio State chapter she was president in her last year. The page gives no month, no year of graduation and no town (Columbus is inferred from Ohio State); the year 1970 is the issue year; the masthead at the top left of this page reads `Sestdien, 1970. g. 25. jūlijā`. "Kappa Epsilon" is not described on the page (the sweep called it a professional pharmacy fraternity). The caption does not call the photo a graduation portrait.

  13. IRO movement roll (DocID 81989986) and USS General Howze nominal roll (DocID 81666500), DocID 81989986, 81666500.
    GROHN AGENCIES … 1097 | 119875 | 855706 | Balks Ilze | C | LAT | Prot. | S | F | 4 | GER | child | J.Smalley (NLC) | [address omitted], Rockford, Ohio

    Transferred from Assembly Center Haunstetten no. 505 on 9 January 1950 to the IRO Resettlement Center at Bremen-Grohn with her parents Vitolds and Biruta before sailing for New York on USS General Howze on 22 January 1950.

  14. MyHeritage family tree 'Dzimta' of Peter's third cousin (his family site), member GEDCOM export of 26 Oct 2026, I145 (person-6000145), GEDCOM lines 4295–4347.
    IMMI · 1950 · New York, New York, United States

    His record match: Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, https://www.myheritage.lv/research/collection-10512/ellis-island-other-new-york-passenger-lists-1820-1957?itemId=29671046&action=showRecord: 'Ilze Balks | Dzimums: Sieviete | Dzimšana: Apmēram 1946 - Latvia | Ierašanās: 1950 - New York, New York, United States | Kuģis: General Howze | Vecums: 4 | Līnija: 9 | Avota infromācija: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957 (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, roll 7789); Records of the Immigration and Naturalizati | on Service, Record Group 85.'.

  15. Jauniešu iesvēte Kalamazū ev. lut. latv. draudzē (group photograph and caption), Laiks, 8 July 1964, p. 5, Laiks, Periodika issue 1028428, p. 5, article DIVL374 (doc 72981163), photo and caption at the foot of the middle column; masthead read: "Trešdien, 1964. g. 8. jūlijā"..
    Jauniešu iesvēte Kalamazū ev. lut. latv. draudzē. 1. rindā no kreisās Līga Dannenberga, ērģelnieks prof. Ā. Ābele, māc. K. Zuika, māc. J. Meisters, māc. A. Piebalgs, māc. E. Rūsa, dr. pr-ks J. Salna un Ilze Lejiņa; otrā rindā Jānis Aivars, Mārtiņš Tolis, Maija Jirgene, Valdis Bormanis, Dace Rolle, Kalvis Dannenbergs, Liene Rava, Jānis Kirulis, Ilze Balka un Jānis Zuika. A. Purmaļa foto
    Translation: Youth confirmation (iesvēte) at the Kalamazoo Ev. Lutheran Latvian congregation. In the first row from the left Līga Dannenberga, organist Prof. Ā. Ābele, Rev. K. Zuika, Rev. J. Meisters, Rev. A. Piebalgs, Rev. E. Rūsa, Dr. pr-ks J. Salna and Ilze Lejiņa; second row Jānis Aivars, Mārtiņš Tolis, Maija Jirgene, Valdis Bormanis, Dace Rolle, Kalvis Dannenbergs, Liene Rava, Jānis Kirulis, Ilze Balka and Jānis Zuika. Photo: A. Purmalis ("A. Purmaļa foto").

    Named in the caption of the group photograph of a youth confirmation class ("Jauniešu iesvēte") at the Kalamazoo Ev. Lutheran Latvian congregation, listed 9th of 10 in the second row (caption order; positions in the photo were not matched to faces). The caption gives no date of the service, no town other than Kalamazoo, and no relation to the Danenbergs; "iesvēte" is the youth confirmation/consecration. The sweep's "cousins" is the tree's relation, not the page's.

  16. Peter's tree, danenberg.sql, 2007–2015, parentages 36.
  17. AEF DP Registration Record, Balks Ilze, Reg. No. 901950314, DE ITS 3.1.1.1, folder DP0173, DocID 66492237.
    (2) Family Name: BALKS | Other Given Names: ILZE | (6) Birthdate: 1945 | Birthplace: AUGSBURGA VĀCIJA | (10) Full Name of Father: BALKS VITOLDS | (11) Full Maiden Name of Mother: SIRLAKS BIRUTA | (20) Signature of Registrant: tēvs V. Balks | Date: 1945. 12. XII | (24) REMARKS: tēvs: Balks Vitolds - [ID number omitted] / māte: Balks Biruta - [ID number omitted]
    Translation: (2) Family Name: Balks | Other Given Names: Ilze | (6) Birthdate: 1945 | Birthplace: Augsburg, Germany | (10) Full Name of Father: Balks Vitolds | (11) Full Maiden Name of Mother: Sirlaks Biruta | (20) Signature of Registrant: father V. Balks | Date: 12 Dec 1945 | (24) Remarks: father: Balks Vitolds - G 02673011 / mother: Balks Biruta - G 02673063

    father: Vitolds Balks; mother: Biruta Zeltīte Sirlaka

  18. S-periodika-1028428-divl374.
  19. S-periodika-1000323-divl173.

See in the family tree