Bentschner & Visanska Families
Born in Germany, David Bentschner (d. 1900) married Danish-born Hanne Jacobi Bentschner (1827–1897) in 1869. In 1892, he bought the property at 12 Bull Street. After they remodeled the house and added an iron fence, with his initials, “D B,” on the gate, the Bentschners moved here from 127 Wentworth Street. A few years later, their daughter, Sarah, married Julius M. Visanska, and he joined Bentscher’s menswear business, which operated for years as Bentschner & Visanska. Sarah B. Visanska inherited her parents’ house, and, in 1908, she and her husband moved here from 2 Bull Street (the home they occupied at 2 Bull has since been replaced). When they relocated to their newly-built home at 19 East Battery, they kept this house as a rental property. It was sold in 1930, after Mrs. Visanska’s death.
12 Bull Street
Former home of David Bentschner (d. 1900) and his wife, Hanne Jacobi Bentschner (1827–1897). Their daughter Sarah B. Visanska (1870–1926) inherited the property and, in 1908, moved into the house with her husband, Julius M. Visanska (1865–1933). Photo by Jack Alterman, 2016.