3 The New York Years (1931–1953)

The Family 11
Fig.1.1. Family genealogy of the Mayr-Pusinelli lines, the ancestry of Ernst Mayr. The
chronological sequence of unidentified brothers and sisters is from left to right; m.–married
◭
was Dr. Oscar Mey (1865– ca. 1940). His wife Gretchen, a close friend of Helene
Pusinelli from her youth in Dresden, took things into her hands. She decided that
Otto Mayr, at 32 still a bachelor, and Helene Pusinelli in distant Dresden, also still
unmarried in 1899, were the perfect match. She invited her friend to visit her in
Bavaria and then brought the two together. Mrs. Mey’s instinct had been sound.
The “eligibles” agreed that they were suitable for each other and were married on
24 June 1900 (Fig. 1.2) 1
Otto and Helene Mayr first lived in Kempten (Allgäu) where he was a magistrate
of the city and here their three sons Otto, Ernst, and Hans were born (Fig. 1.3). 2
Fig.1.2. Ernst Mayr’s parents, Helene Pusinelli and Dr. Otto Mayr in 1900. (Photograph
courtesy of O. Mayr.)
1 Ernst Mayr and his brothers did quite a bit of genealogical research in old church records
across southern Germany during the 1920s. The results indicated—as is also evident from
the above account—that there was no Jewish ancestor in their father’s or mother’s family
back at least to the 17th century. Ernst Mayr’s emigration from Germany to the United
States in 1931—two years prior to the Nazi takeover of the German government—was
not motivated by political (but strictly professional) considerations. He had, however, no
sympathy for the Nazi regime at all (see p. 300).
2 ErnstMayrbecamethelongest-livingmemberoftheentirefamily.Thelifespansof62
(ofatotalof64)nearestancestorsareknown.Amongtheseeight(13%)havereachedan
age of 80 or more years including his mother who was almost 82 years old when she died.