Freda Hyamovitch/Hyams Mystery Solved

On May 14th, I wrote a post about Freda Hyamovitch (1c2xr) who was traveling from her home in England to Brooklyn, New York. You can read the post at the link below.

https://wordpress.com/post/nwpaintedlady.wordpress.com/9381

On her travel document she had declared she was traveling to 127 Corbin Place, Brooklyn, New York. This document opened up the question for me – who was she traveling to? Could it be to the home of our mystery Haimowitz – sister to brothers Marks Hyamovitch and Samuel Haimowitz. (Marks was her father. I was hoping researching the address might lead me to this sister, but it hadn’t)

On April of 1951, Freda traveled to New York and visited with her Aunt and Uncle Samuel (my great-grandfather). Below photo taken on this visit with her mystery Aunt, Samuel and Freda.

Since locating our branch of the family in England, I have been in close contact with a 3rd cousin named Karen. Yesterday, she was visiting her Aunt Marie (my 2ndc1r) and Karen shared with Marie the post I had written ‘Freda Hyamovitch/Hyams 1919-1994 And Her Mystery Aunt’

Corresponding by email, Marie shared she thought the address in Brooklyn, 127 Corbin Place, probably belonged to Marks Hyamovitch wife’s family. Freda was most likely traveling to her mother Polly’s side of the family. Marie also shared she too had visited Brooklyn in the 1950’s. She had visited with Marion Levin (nee Weiss) and her two brothers, Samuel and Norman.

With this lead, I began to look at the Weiss family. Polly Weiss, Marks wife, had a sister Rose and brother Phillip (Pacey) both who immigrated to the United States, Phillip eventually settling in Chicago and Rose remaining in New York. Phillip married Sarah Meiselman and Rose married William Levin.

Phillip and Sarah had children Jeanette, Rachel and Seymour. Rose and William had children Samuel, Norman and Marion.

Ruling out Phillip and Sarah’s children during this time period, I focused on records for Rose and William’s children and looked for anything I may have missed when originally researching them.

There it was, with the help of Marie and her memories, I found the New York Passenger arrival list for Marion Levin, age 27, single, departing Southhampton and arriving in New York on 7 May, 1950, returning home to 127 Corbin Place. She had been to England visiting family.

While Freda had indeed traveled to Brooklyn, New York and visited with her Aunt and Uncle she had traveled to and was visiting with her cousin Marion Levin nee Weiss and family.

Thank you Marie and Karen for your help in solving this family mystery.

A Lot Of Children Photo Follow up

For Wordless Wednesday this week I posted another unmarked photo shared with me from the Weiss Family collection. It is a wonderful photo of children sitting/standing on the running board of a car.

My connection to the Weiss family is through marriage. Rosie was the sister to the wife of my 2x great Uncle, Marks Hyamovitch. This connection has led to some fun family history collaborations and picture sharing.

Here is a better photo of the car the children are sitting on and if anyone can ID the car for us that would be wonderful. As to who is driving and sitting in the back, it is still left to speculation.

Back to the photo above of the children. Marion Levin b. 1922, daughter of William Levin and Rosie Levin nee Weiss is the little girl sitting on the right end. I am dating this photo about 1927. And below is photo of Marion with her mother Rosie. (I have shared this photo before.)  I suspect her two older brothers, Samuel b. 1910 and Norman b. 1919 are also in the photo.

Rosie Weiss Marries William Levin 1909

In my last posting I wrote about Phillip (Pacey) Weiss (1885 – 1961) who married Sarah Meiselman (1889 – 1965) November 4, 1909, Brooklyn, N.Y. They both had long lives passing within a few years of each other in Chicago, Ill. They were the parents of three children Jeanette (1907 – 1988) , Rachel (1910 – 1913) and Seymour Louis 1916 – 1998) .

Phillip was the brother to Pauline (Polly) and Rose/Rosie Weiss.

In this posting I am concentrating on Rosie Weiss born December 24, 1890, Romania to Samuel Leib Weiss and Mariam (Mary) Shwartz. 

Rosie left Romania and immigrated to New York. I have not been able to find any immigration record for her but according to the NY 1910,1920, and 1930 census, they all report a 1903 immigration year which would make her about 13 years old when she traveled.

Rosie Levin nee Weiss 

Rosie met William Levin who was born April 5, 1883, Russia. His parents were Abraham Levin and Anna Cohen. Using familysearch.com, I was able to confirm  his parents names along with his death date of June 30, 1948, buried July 1.

 On October 30, 1909, Rosie Weiss married William Levin in Brooklyn, New York.

Here is another more casual photo of Rosie and William. I love her little sassy pose with her hand behind her, casually off of her hip.

A google search for Washington Hall, 93 Thatford Ave led me to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac with a notation under Labor Unions and Organizations and under the sub heading of Textile and Clothing Trades was Washington Hall at the 93 address.

It most certainly had to have been a grand affair, with an evening wedding at 7pm, William in his top hat and tails and Rosie so beautiful in her gorgeous gown with cascading veil off of the fabulous head piece.

But more important to note is Mrs. Mary Weiss, mother of Rosie on the wedding invitation. This certainly indicates her husband Samuel Leib Weiss was deceased and that she was present in New York at the time of her daughters wedding. Family states that Rosie traveled here with her mother. I have not been able to confirm this.

A hint on the invitation was the brides address listed at 46 Lynch St. I did a quick check for the address but unfortunately the building has been torn down. If Mary was truly here perhaps Rosie was living with her mother at this address. I still have not been able to find any record for Mary/Miriam living here, nor have I been able to find where she is buried. Her death date is March 6, 1921 and in my previous post I had shared her  gravestone photo. The question as to who is standing by the grave is still in question. It was shared with us by the great granddaughter of Phillip Weiss and Sarah Meiselman. At this time the my thoughts are that this is Rosie by her mothers grave.

 

Continuing with the William and Rosie, their first home was at 61 Hopkins Street, Brooklyn, NY. The 1910 census has William (26) working as a house painter. He had arrived in 1890 and it says he was naturalized. Rosie was listed as 23, and living with them was lodger, Mamie Portland (30), working as a laundress in a laundry. Rosie’s age seems to be an error as a birth year of 1890 made her 19 when married and 20 in 1910.

On August 25, 1910 William and Rosie welcomed their first son Samuel.

I could not locate the family in the 1915 census but located William’s WWI 1918 draft registration.  William’s birth date is recorded as April 5, 1883, Rose is listed as his wife and they were living at 339 Central Ave., Brooklyn. His employer was M. Kamenstein @ 135 Pearl St. Brooklyn. Also noted on this record is that William was naturalized on his fathers papers.

WWI Draft Registration William Levin 

World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918AuthorAncestry.com

A year  later in 1919 William and Rosie welcomed their second son Norman on April 20th.

Still working as a house painter, William moved his family to 2860 West Sixth Street, they were renting. Interesting on this census was that Rosie was listed as naturalized . Does this mean it was on her own account since William was on his fathers papers, as seen on the WWI document. I could not locate her naturalization record under Rose or Rosie Weiss or Levin.

I do believe I located the ‘Declaration Of Intention’ papers for William. I am not sure what to make of the fact the WWI record said he was under his fathers papers, when this appears to be his record. Lots of interesting information on this but mistakes too. The date on this 1906. His age says 21, with an 1889 birth year. If that were so, it should be 1885. The birth information conflicts with the WWI record but the fact it says his occupation was painter led me to believe this was his record. (I could be wrong) It says he was born in Minsk and last know residence was Ekateriuoslaw, Russia which today is the Ukraine. You can google this read the history. I love that this record has his signature.

Declaration Of Intention

New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1929 Ancestry.com

In 1922 they welcomed their 3rd and last child, a daughter named Marion/Marian and by 1925 they had moved again. Located on the 1925 census under the spelling of Levine, they were now at 2910 W. 36th St between Surf and Mermaid. William’s occupation was listed as tailor which I am sure was a mistake as the 1930 census had him as a painter again. I am sure this was the correct family as all three children were listed, Samuel, Norman and Marion.

Willam with Marion

The 1930 census showed another move to 2917 W. 20th Street. (In my research I have come across many moves for families turning these early years but for some reason this time I am feeling like they really bounced around quite a bit and I can’t help but wonder why) William (44) was renting the place for $60. Under attended school, it says no and yes to able to read and write. Under language, yiddish and yes to speaking English. Under occupation it said painter but this time “own” Under Veteran it said no, so he must not have served in WWI, only registered. Samuel (20) was still at home and working as a painter with Norman (11) and Marion (7)

From the 1940 census William (56) and Rosie (50) had moved his family once again.  The census notes home in 1935 which showed they had moved to the 2868 W. 29th St. address by ’35. Both Samuel (29) and Norman (20)  were working as house painters along with their father. Marion (17) was still home.

Marion and Mom Rosie

 

William and Rosie Levin 

If you look very carefully into the car you will see two other people, a child in the middle with a man next to him.

Rosie Levin passed away on February 17, 1946 at the age of 55.

William made one more move that I confirmed with the death information from familysearch.com. It lists his address at the time of death as 2824 W. 30th St. Brooklyn.

William passed away on June 30, 1948. Both are buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Queens, New York. A check of the grave sites show that they are buried next each other. (R 81-5-6-17 and W 81-5-6-20) The photo is from FindAGrave.

 

* A check for Rosie’s mother Mariam Weiss yield no record for her at Mount Hebron with her daughter and son-in-law.

Thank you to the Brian Morris and Bass families for so graciously sharing their amazing family photos.

 

 

The Family of Samuel Leib Weiss and Mariam (Mary) Shwartz

Pauline (Polly) Hyamovitch nee Weiss was the wife of my 2x great Uncle, Marks Hyamovitch, brother to my great grandfather Samuel Haimowitz.

Her parents were Samuel (Shmuel) Leib Weiss and Mary (Miriam) Shwartz 

I have written quite a bit about Polly and Marks family in the last year or so. I have been part of a continuing email share between cousin’s both in the US and England,  corresponding on this Weiss family branch. This will be one of my first attempts at documenting their story.

Believed to be a photo of Samuel (Shmuel) Leib Weiss and Mary (Mariam) Shwartz (Shwarz or Sch) they were the parents of Polly, Phillip, and Rose/Rosie

   Photo Curtesy of Brian Morris & Family

A recent photo confirmed and gave us the exact date of death for Mariam who passed 6 March 1921 and helped confirm her year of birth of 1853. Her place of death has still not been determined. It is believed she died in Brooklyn, New York where she was living by her daughter. I have not been able to find any census records for her, nor a record for her death using both Ancestry and  Familysearch as well as checking Newspapers.com and Genealogybank. An exhaustive search of all cemeteries has not been done.

Believed to be daughter Rose standing by her mother’s grave; according to one family member named Marie, she has shared that Mariam went to America with her daughter Rose. Also note spelling of Mariam on the gravestone which I feel is her correct spelling as opposed to Miriam and perhaps a clue to the reason she went by Mary. 

Samuel and Mary’s children were Polly Weiss b. 1882, Romania, Philip Weiss b. 18 Apr. 1885, Romania, and Rose b. 24 Dec., 1890, Romania. (Another researcher of this family has included a son named Michael with no supporting evidence but I wanted to include his name for this posting)

Polly and her husband Marks Hyamovitch immigrated from Romania to England in 1900 however siblings Phillip and Rose both immigrated to the United States. It is their stories I would like to concentrate on.

Philip Weiss also known as Pacey, immigrated to New York arriving on Sept. 30, 1902 aboard the La Gascogne. He was 18 years old and traveling under his Hebrew name of I/Edel Pesech/esach Weiss.

On the passenger record found on Ancestry, I noticed that below Idel (Philip) was ‘Schwarz, Beile’, the maiden name of his mother Mary (we are spelling Shwartz) Could they be traveling together and be related? In the cut outs from the passenger list below, the 2nd photo shows who they were traveling too. Philip to his Uncle M. Schwarz, I think that is 610 Delancy St. and Beile is going to her brother (can’t read) c/o Moish (?) Moses (?) Schwarz 58 Allen St. The question here is who is this Beile? a cousin?  She would not be Philips sister Rose because Rose was 5 years younger than him.

Is Phillip traveling to the brother of his mother Mary (Mariam) adding another clue into the Shwartz family.

Philip married a few years after arriving to Sarah Meiselman (1889) daughter of Kalman Meiselman and Celia Eisenblat. They were married on November 4, 1906. Sarah was 17 and Philip 21. (Wedding and subsequent photo’s shared with permission by the original posters on Ancestry)

Their first child was a daughter, Jeanette (Jean) b. 29 Oct. 1907, N.Y.

followed by Rachel on May 31, 1910, Brooklyn, N.Y.. Sadly Rachel passed away 3 short years later on Mar 3, 1913 in Chicago, Ill.

Death Certificate Rachel Weiss

This document gives a great clue to as when the family left Brooklyn, N.Y. and relocated to Chicago, Ill. It indicates Rachel had only been a resident for 6 months which would have the family moving about Oct. 1912.

As the family settled into their new lives in Chicago, son Seymour Louis was born Apr. 18, 1916.

Phillip registered for the WWI draft on September 12, 1918. His address is listed as 830 W. 14th St. He listed his occupation as peddler – for self.

Ancestry.com World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918

By 1920 census they were still living at the 830 W. 14th St. address and Philip noted his occupation now as ‘fruit’ peddler. I could not find any records to confirm whether he actually served in the military.

In 1921 his Mother Mary passed leaving me to wonder if, in fact she was living in Brooklyn. Would Phillip have returned to N.Y. to attend the funeral or a year later for the unveiling of her headstone? Would he have been able to afford this on a fruit peddlers salary?

Written as “Edel Paskel (Phillip Weiss)” Phillip naturalized on June 18, 1925

 Ancestry.com U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project)

 

1930 saw a change of address with the family living now at 3148 Douglas Blvd, Chicago. Phillip (48) listed his occupation as proprietor fruit store. It was nice to see that he had moved from peddler to actually having a fruit store. Daughter Jeanette (22) was now working as a stenographer in a handkerchief company. Sarah (42) was home along with  Seymour (14). But also living at the 3148 Douglas address was Sedelle Weiss (25) as head, working as a typist in a factory, listed as mother to head was a Rose Weiss (45) widow, and living with them was boarder Meyer Eckskan (30) proprietor dry good store. (this opens another rabbit hole which I am not ready to go down)

On June 17, 1930 Jeanette married Emanuel (Manny) Goldberg in Chicago. They would go on to have 2 children.

• Jeanette looks like a glamorous film store in the photo to me

March 24, 1937 Seymour married Celia Toby Horow/vitz also in Chicago and they too had two children.

By 1940 both of Phillip and Sarah’s children had married and they we’re now living on their own at 3426 Douglas. Both of them were working, Philip as a salesman and Sarah as a saleslady. It was impossible to decipher what industry from the census, but by then they were grandparents to 2 children born to Jeanette and Manny.

WWII Draft registration Phillip Weiss April 27, 1942

Ancestry.com U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

The WWII draft registration reveals a few things. We have his signature along with how he is spelling his first name, with 2 L’s. He was quite short at 5’2″ and stocky at 192lbs and he is in business, his own, selling handkerchiefs now. If that seems familiar, back in 1930, his daughter Jeanette was working as a stenographer in a handkerchief company.

Phillip passed away on August 3, 1961 and Sarah followed on December 27, 1965.

Death Certificate Phillip Weiss

Both Phillip and Sarah are buried at the Jewish Roman Section of the Waldheim Cemetery Forest Park, Ill. (I did check Waldheim for mother Mariam but she was not there)

 

In the next posting I will share what I know about Phillip’s sister Rose Levin nee Weiss.

Before I close I would like to add one more record for Mariam Weiss. A possible immigration record for her. First I located on Ancestry a passenger list for detained passengers traveling on the SS Batavia arriving on November 18, 1905. Spelled Mariem Weiss, 43 years of age, reason for detention simply states Dr. Memo with no details. Not able to find anything else for her I went over to Ellis Island to search the records there.

There I found, SS Batavia arriving the same date, transcribed as Marpin for Mariam Weiss age 50 traveling to her husband Libe Weiss in Chicago, Ill. and next to her name is written Dr. Memo: Senility. traveling with her was a male, 9 years, Yankel possibly Shermann (?) He is traveling to his Uncle but what is really interesting is that also noted is the name Malke Schwarz, c/o above, which would be Libe Weiss

Libertyellisfoundation.org 

At this point I am not quite sure what to make of this. Is this the right family? The year was 1905, and we know Phillip did not move to Chicago until 1913. But had there been this Chicago connection prior which brought him there? I do not have immigration records for daughter Rose, who Mariam was supposedly traveling to or with. The 1910 census says that daughter Rose arrived in 1903. This brings up a lot of possibilities. The possibility of the family being in Chicago and then going back to New York. The possibility that Samuel Lieb died in Chicago, and then widowed Mariam went to N.Y. where daughter Rose was which would explain only Mariam’s name on the Rose’s wedding invitation (which I will share/explore in the next post) There is quite a lot to still be discovered, still a lot of questions and lots of unknowns.

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday: Engaged

Stanley Rich & Ethel Seltzer ~ 1932

Ethel (Ettie) Seltzer And Her Family

For Wordless Wednesday last week I shared the beautiful photo of Stanley Rich and his bride Ethel (Ettie) Seltzer.

Stanley and Ethel are the parents of my adopting mother’s sister-in-law Sandra. Married to my mother’s stepbrother Ken, they are two very special people in my life. 

Stanley was born 29 December, 1907, in the Rosebank area of Staten Island, New York to Isidor Rich (1886 Russia) and Sophie Ritwe (1889 Russia)

Known as Stanley, he was originally named Shem but on all census records up until his marriage and the 1940 census he was listed under the name Samuel. He was the first born of 5 children Isidor and Sophie.

Ethel was the daughter of Morris Seltzer and Rose Benowitz. She was born 30 September, 1910, in New York City. Ethel, known as Ettie, was also the first born of 8 children of Morris and Rose.

Spending a little time researching Ethel’s parents, Morris’s WWII draft registration (1942) stated he was born on 20 October, 1890 Keshinev, Russia. I was able to confirm this was the correct Morris Seltzer, by the address listed at 787 Linwood St. Brooklyn, working for the Excel Blouse company. His wife was listed as Rose. (there were 3 other families named Morris and Rose Seltzer in the same time period so identifying the correct family was done by the children names and then the address)

Morris and Rose were the parents of Ethel, Eva, Harry, Anna, Joseph, Bertha, Gloria, and Bernie.

I first located Morris and Rose in 1910 living at 30 -32 Stanton St, NYC. Morris was working as a presser in cloak factory. Following quite a few clues and then backtracking in my research, living in the same building but counted as a separate household in the building, was Morris’s parents Israel and Brinah Seltzer. Both listed as 57 years old, Israel was working as an operator in a fur factory. Living with Israel and Brinah were nephews Harry Tellis 27, presser, cloak factory, Morris Coopersmith 38,  presser skirt factory and  Louis (transcribed Geller) 23,  working in a jacket factory. There was an Annie Tellis 23, listed as a lodger living with Dorn/Dom family next to them. Annie was also working in the fur industry.

By 1915 Israel and Brinah/Brina had relocated to 93 1/2 Christopher St. in Brooklyn with Israel still working in the fur industry – listed furrier now. Living separately in the same house and listed as ‘Head’ were Jacob Coopersmith 50, his wife Molly 38, and son Harry 14. Although listed with the first name of Jacob now, I believe this could actually be Morris Coopersmith mention on the 1910 c. Morris was listed as married and for 18 years.

I could not find a census record for Morris Seltzer, Ethel’s family, in 1915 but picked him up again in 1920.

In 1920 the family was listed with the spelling/transcribed Feltz. It is a difficult census to read but it is clearly Seltzer confirmed with parents Israel and Brian living with them.  The home was at 21 Hinsdale, Brooklyn, this census revealed quite a bit about the family. Morris owns the home with a mortgage, his papers for naturalizing had been submitted, he was the proprietor of cloak factory, employer. Both of his parents were listed living in the home, and at 70 years old Israel was still working as a furrier, employer.

Living next door to Morris and Rose with his family, was Philip Seltzer, 43, his wife Ida and 4 children. Philip was working as an operator in a cloak factory and I feel safe to assume it was in Morris’s factory. The question became who exactly was Philip Seltzer? Philip arrived in 1894 and naturalized in 1905 according to this census. It placed him here 11 years ahead of Morris and his parents. With just a little research and checking with others researching this family it was clear Philip was another son of Israel and Brinah, Morris’s brother. In addition, from continued research I learned Morris Coopersmith, above, was the husband of Molly Seltzer, sister of Morris and Philip.

1927 saw the death of Brinah Seltzer followed by Israel in March of 1930.

The census for 1930 was recorded in April and Morris had relocated his family to 601 Pine St., Brooklyn from the Hinsdale house. No longer a home owner, Morris was paying $50 for the rent of this home. He was listed as an employee working as a tailor – dresses, no longer with is own business. Brother Philip, now living at 783 Linwood, Brooklyn, owned the home valued at 15,000. He was still employed as an operator in ladies ‘coats’. For me, the question became, had Morris sold both his business and home or had he lost them. The times were the great depression 1929 – 1933. In an attempt to discover what may have happened I turned to newspapers.com 

Not able to find anything that specifically linked to Morris I did find a mention against Ida Seltzer widow of Philip (Fischel aka Leon Seltzer) It was a  legal notice in The Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) . 08 Nov 1935, Fri . page 19 Brought against her by the Lincoln Saving Bank for the sale of the home on Linwood St. at auction. (Philip had passed away in 1934 at the age of 57, Ida would pass in Nov 1936, a year after the loss of the home)

I was surprised to find Morris and Rose living at 787 Linwood St. in 1940. They were next to the home lost at 783 Linwood St.  Daughter Anne, married, was living with her husband Murray Moskowitz with her parents. The home was rented for $53. The census indicates they were there in 1935. Morris was a contractor in ladies sports wear working on his own account.

From Google here is a view of both 783 and 787. On the far left is 783 with a basement apt address 781, the home by alley 785 and address was clear 787 on the building with  the arched doorway.

I have taken quite a detour from the posting of the wedding photo of Stanley Rich and Ethel Seltzer. They married at a time of great hardship for so many families. The great depression was in full swing. Their’s did not escape from the little I learned. I did not look into Stanley’s family and will save that for another posting.

Taking another small detour, I wanted to share a book that was written by my Aunt Sandy. Having received it as a gift from her back in 2000, read and put on the shelf for the last 20 years, I was so surprised to see who she had written about, our beautiful Ethel (Ettie) Seltzer. I will be rereading this with new eyes, understanding and appreciation for Ettie, her life and her story. If you have young readers on your gift list you may want to take a look for this wonderful family story 🙂

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Wordless Wednesday: Stanley Rich and Ethel Seltzer

 

Stanley Rich & Ethel Seltzer 

Dec 25th, 1932  Brooklyn, New York 

Mollie Lifschitz daughter of Davis/David Lipschitz and Ida Paley

Continuing with the family of my great grandfather Benjamin Lipshitz I am moving on to his sister Mollie Lifschitz born March of 1872. At this point in my research she appears to be the second oldest child of David/Davis and Ida/Yetta Palay. Mollie was born with in the Russian Empire with no exact location identified at this time. She married Hyman Cohen on Dec. 24, 1892. The only record I could find (and thankfully so) for the marriage was from familysearch.org

Mollie Lifschitz and Hyman Cohen  

Name	Hyman Cohen
Spouse’s Name	Mollie Lifschitz
Event Date	24 Dec 1892
Event Place	Manhattan, New York, New York
Father’s Name	Joe Cohen
Mother’s Name	Ettie Sheiewitz
Spouse’s Father’s Name	Davis Lifschitz
Spouse’s Mother’s Name	Ida Paley

Those early years right after the marriage produced the only 2 children I have been able to find for Hyman and Mollie. Son Joseph was born in Dec. 1894 followed by Jacob in May 1898.

By 1900, the first census for the family, their address was 133 Henry St., NYC. Hyman’s (30), Russin/Poland, profession: foundry; manufacturer. His immigration year was noted as 1889, here for 11 years. Noted for Mollie (30) also from Russia/Poland, married 8 yrs with 2/2 children. Joseph (5) and Jacob (1)

according to occupationalinfo.org

“Performs any combination of following tasks in foundry concerned with melting metal, pouring metal into molds, removing castings from molds, dressing castings, moving foundry materials, and cleaning equipment and work areas: Moves sand, castings, flasks, or other materials about foundry by hand, using wheelbarrow or …” 

By 1910, remaining in Manhattan, the family had relocated to 550 West 144th St. Hyman (42) was no longer working at the foundry but was now working in manufacturing/clothing.  Mollie (38) with the notation that she had immigrated in 1889, the same year as Hyman, now naturalized. I have been unable to find any record for this. Joseph (15) and Jacob (11) had nothing else noted. Also by 1910 their last name spelled Cohen changed to Cohn on all census and death records found.

1920 arrived and the family again made another move to 620 West 149th St., N.Y.C.. Hyman was working on his own account in wholesale clothing, noted partner. Both of his sons,  Joseph (24) and Jacob/John (20) were also listed as wholesale clothing, partner. I am assuming that the three of them were in business together.  The family must have been doing well. They employed a servant by the name of Bella Shiner (25) from Austria. What ever happiness and success the family had was shattered with the death of Mollie on March 10th, 1922. She was 53 years old.  (I have sent away for her death certificate and hopefully we can learn what caused her death)

Death record for Molly Cohn 

Name	Mollie Cohn
Event Type	Death
Event Date	10 Mar 1922
Event Place	Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
Gender	Female
Age	53
Marital Status	Married
Race	White
Occupation	Housewife
Birth Year (Estimated)	1869
Birthplace	Russia
Burial Date	12 Mar 1922
Cemetery	Mt. Carmel
Father’s Name	David Lifschitz
Father’s Birthplace	Russia
Mother’s Name	Ida Palay
Mother’s Birthplace	Russia
Spouse’s Name	Hyman Cohen

Citing this Record”New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W1R-YLW : 10 February 2018), Mollie Cohn, 10 Mar 1922; citing Death, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 2,028,040.

Three years after the death of Mollie, 1925, Hyman Cohn (57) was now retired. Joe (30) still home with his father was now working in ‘loans’. Jacob had moved out. Hyman still employed a ‘domestic servant; her name was Methilde Ramberg (27) from Hungry. They were still at the 620 West 149th St address. A short five years later it appears that the partnership between Hyman and his sons had dissolved, not only had Hyman retired but now Joseph was in entirely different field, loans, but what happened to Jacob who was listed as John. With  Cohn/Cohen an extremely common name it was impossible for me to pin down anything concrete for him however I did find 1 record that matched his age perfectly. Listed on the 1925 census for the Central Islip State Hospital there was a John Cohen listed, notes said born New York City, N.Y., white, male, 26, day laborer, nationality US and citizen. Could this be our Jacob who had been listed as John on the 1920 census? The spelling of Cohn had the added ‘e’ which was the original spelling. I can not be sure with any certainty. Central Islip was a psychiatric hospital that opened in 1899 and closed in 1996.

By 1930, Joseph (33) was still living with his father Hyman (62) at 143 73rd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam) at the Hamilton Hotel.  Hyman was listed as a retired merchant  and Joseph as a salesman – bonds. The Hamilton Hotel was built in 1919 in the neo – Renaissance style fitting of the Upper West Side. By the 1970’s the building had become mainly a welfare hotel. The owner of the building wanted to turn it in to a luxury building but community groups lobbied the city to have it transferred to Project Find for Senior housing. You can read more about this building at projectfind.org 

I can find no identifying information to locate Joseph or Jacob/John from this point on in my research. There are simply to many records that could be either of them. However I was able to locate Hyman (70) in the 1940 census. He was now living at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease at 830 E. 49th Street, Brooklyn, New York. He was listed simply as widower.

Hyman would live another 3 years before passing away on the 29th of October, 1943.

Both Mollie and Hyman are buried at Mt Carmel Cemetery, section 1 at 83 -45 Cypress Hills Street, Glendale. I made a phone call to the cemetery to request photo’s and learned they are both interred in a family crypt with a contact name of Abraham Males. Who is Abraham? The burial society was Unity Synagogue. Along with them in the crypt is an Esther (d. 1945) Jack (d. 1952) Joseph (d. 1962) Samuel (unknown death date) and Sydney (d. 1953). I did locate a Jacob Cohn (with the e) buried in section 1 as well, not in the crypt, but with the same burial society with a death year of 1948.

Simon and Annie Lifshitz DNA Twist and Son Moses and the Big Surprise

The rabbit holes I have fallen into continue to get deeper, totally taking me off task and into new directions. After the last post, I heard from another DNA connected cousin (with an unproven line of connection) regarding a few things that rang a bell for her. Her name is Gail Samowitz and we met via the FB genealogy page Tracing The Tribe back  about 2015. We have corresponded off and on over the last few years but have never established our shared connection. Fast forward to the last post when we began looking at records together and sharing thoughts and ideas.

1940 Bronx Census Simon & Anna Lifshitz 

Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02477; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 3-654 Source Information Title 1940 United States Federal Census

Above is the census document for Simon and Anne (Dinofsky) Lifshitz. The address is 1422 Minford Place, Bronx. They were occupying this address since 1935 according to the census. This was the home they came back to after living in New Jersey where Simon was tending to the chickens business.  Simon had resumed his profession as a tailor and their grandson Charles Joffe was living with them. Charles was listed as a new worker.

They were renting at this address from the owners of 1422 Minford Pl., Bronx.

The owners were Benjamin (59) Saltzman and his wife, his new bride, Dora Saltzman (58).  They were also living at this address with Simon and Anne. Benjamin was the proprietor of a candy store. However, the home at 1422 Minford Pl., actually belonged to Dora and would be passed down through her family. Gail and I have established that Benjamin and Dora were married sometime between 1933 – 1935 after the passing of her 1st husband Israel Schulman on April 13, 1933. No marriage certificate has been found at this time for Benjamin and Dora Saltzman.

Living at this same 1422 Minford Pl. address was Dora’s sister Goldie (55), her husband Benjamin (55) Samowitz and their son Abraham (28). Benjamin was a machine operator in a cloak factory and Abraham was a stock clerk at a knit good factory. What connects all this is that Benjamin and Goldie are Gail Samowitz’s grandparents and Abraham is Gail’s father. The home at 1422 Minford Pl. belonged to Dora and her husband Israel and not to Benjamin Saltzman, that is why it passed eventually to her nephew, Gail’s father Abraham.

Lets not forget that Gail and I have a DNA connection.

Coincidence or family connection? That is what we are trying to figure out.

From 1915c up to some time prior to 1925c Dora and husband Israel were living just 2 doors away from – yes, Simon and Annie at the 1422 Stebbin’s Ave at 1426. What kept these two families living so close together?

Goldie and her son Abraham arrived in 1922 joining her husband Benjamin Samowitz who was already here establishing a home for them. As if I haven’t already established an interesting connections – Benjamin’s WWI draft record throws an additional interesting twist into the story. Benjamin’s last name was originally Chanowitz. Very similar to Haimowitz, often seen as Chaimowitz, and all variants of endings vici, vitz, witch, vitch, the m as an n, the i missing…..I know I am stretching; but trying to look at everything. At some point the name was changed.

Gail reported that a Frieda Samowitz Blum lived at the 394 New Jersey Ave., Brooklyn address. Gail has a definite DNA match with the Blum family as well. Below, the 1920c record lists Benjamin Samowitz living at the 38 Jefferson St. address, the same as on his WW1 draft record. The only reason I am adding this record at this time is to point out that Benjamin is living with Sam and Rose Lippman. Could Lippman have been Lipschitz. It just seems to open up and continue the dialog of between the connection of these families.

http://www.ancestry.com

So the question remains and Gail and I will continue to try and put together the possible connection of the Lipshitz and Samowitz families and our DNA connection.

Now on to ~~~~~~~~Moses with the discovery of the most interesting information

Moses/Moe Lifshitz, oldest child of Simon and Anne Lifshitz

While rechecking and working on the ‘above’ somehow and I don’t know how, I noticed a record on ancestry for Moses, the oldest and first son of Simon and Annie Lifshitz that peeked my interest. Simon is the brother of my great grandfather Benjamin, my great uncle and Moses is my 1st cousin 2x removed. Born 24 March, 1896, he passed away on 24 July, 1955 in Seagoville, Texas.

But first let me tell you a little bit more about Moses before he died.

As I began digging into his life I was able to piece together quite a story. Born in 1896 at the age of 26, Moses now using the name Moe, married Fray (Fay) Parrer. Moe’s age was not 26 but more like 34 at the time. The error with his age will come clear later in the story. (this record seems to have a wrong marriage date)

Moe Lifshitz

Name	Moe Lifshitz
Event Type	Marriage
Event Date	16 Jan 1930
Event Place	Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
Event Place (Original)	Manhattan, New York, New York
Gender	Male
Age	26
Marital Status	Single
Race	White
Birth Year (Estimated)	1904
Birthplace	N.Y.C.
Father’s Name	Siman Lifshitz
Mother’s Name	Anna Danufsky
Spouse’s Name	Fray Parrer
Spouse’s Gender	Female
Spouse’s Age	26
Spouse’s Marital Status	Single
Spouse’s Race	White
Spouse’s Birth Year (Estimated)	1904
Spouse’s Birthplace	N.Y.C.
Spouse’s Father’s Name	Louis Parrer
Spouse’s Mother’s Name	Anne Aeronson

Citing this Record “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2487-Z8F : 10 February 2018), Moe Lifshitz and Fray Parrer, 16 Jan 1930; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,653,973.

Below is the 1930 census for Moe Lefshitz (34) and Fay (26) with 1 son, David (6)  They are living at 1818 79th St. Brooklyn. He was working as a clothing salesman. Married in 1930, son David was already 6 yrs old. At first I thought perhaps Fay had David before marriage or from a previous marriage. (David’s age seems to confirm the wrong marriage year with other evidence to follow)

1930 Census for Moe and Fay Lifshitz 

Title1930 United States Federal CensusAuthorAncestry.comPublisherOnline publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.Original data – United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626,

By 1935 a whole new image of Moe was emerging. Moe landed in Sing Sing Prison. He was in for forgery, 2nd offense. Also noted are a number of alias Moe Howard, Morrey Lifshitz, Moses Cohen. Noted on the side under notes G.C. (?), arthritis, venereal  disease, drug use

By 1940 Fay (36) was now divorced and working in Millinery as a saleslady. Son David was 16 and her sister Shirley Luskin (31), married, was living with then at 1511 Sterling Pl., Brooklyn. So where was Moe?

1940 Census Fay Lifshitz 

Title1940 United States Federal CensusAuthorAncestry.comPublisherOnline publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.Original data – United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627

Moe (44) was living at Clinton Prison in Dannemora, New York. “It is the largest maximum security prison and the 3rd oldest prison New York” From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1940 Census Clinton State Prison, Dannamora, New York  

“United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQM5-B1D : accessed 7 April 2018), Moe Lilshitz, Dannemora, Dannemora Town, Clinton, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 10-18, sheet 15B, line 71, family , Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2516.

This of course led to the question – what in the world did he do? Why had Fay divorced him?

From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle 16 Oct 1936 Fri pg 15 

https://www.newspaper.com/image/52700007

I was totally blown away after finding this article, rereading it quite a few times. There were a few things that stood out in the article for me. The year of their marriage (1922 according to the article) contradicted the marriage record for them (see record) 1922 would make more sense siting the marriage date to Betty Wexelman of Feb. 1, 1930 and the age of son David.

Rebecca Wexelman Joseph M. Schiffman Marriage

Name	Joseph M. Schiffman
Event Type	Marriage
Event Date	01 Feb 1930
Event Place	Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
Event Place (Original)	Manhattan, New York, New York
Gender	Male
Age	34
Marital Status	Single
Race	White
Birth Year (Estimated)	1896
Birthplace	N.Y.City
Father’s Name	Samuel
Mother’s Name	Hannah Leibowitz
Spouse’s Name	Rebecca Wexelman
Spouse’s Gender	Female
Spouse’s Age	21
Spouse’s Marital Status	Single
Spouse’s Race	White
Spouse’s Birth Year (Estimated)	1909
Spouse’s Birthplace	N.Y. City
Spouse’s Father’s Name	Hyman
Spouse’s Mother’s Name	Sarah Klabyak

Citing this Record”New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2487-6QB : 10 February 2018), Joseph M. Schiffman and Rebecca Wexelman, 01 Feb 1930; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,653,974.

Locating the 1930 census (April 24, 1930) for Betty Wexelman (21 & married) I found her  living back at home with her parents Hyrum (Hyman)  and Sarah at the 85 Penn St. address.

Before I found the newspaper article I had asked myself, had Moe learned his lesson?  The answer was undoubtably no. Bigamy and the forging of a $20 check led to a life of crime and prison. It was in Seagoville, 1955, at the Federal Correctional Institution that I found the death record for Moses/Moe, now under the name of Morris Lifshitz. He had only been in prison for 6 months before he passed away. Notice his parents names of Simon and Annie (Danufsky) confirming our Moe. It also appears his body was removed and returned to Hartford, CT.

Death Certificate for Morris (Moses/Moe) Lifshitz: July 14, 1955  

Finding these type of family stories seem to give a jolt of adrenalin to push forward to see what else can be uncovered. It also reminds me that the ancestors of my past were truly flesh and blood, experiencing true joys and very deep lows in their lives just as we do. Their parents and siblings, children were real and deeply affected by each others actions. What happened to Fay and their son David? What led to Simon forging a $20 check…..$20 and bigamy that led to Sing Sing and Dannemora which led to the Federal Correctional Institution at Seagovolle, Texas. Looks like I am falling down that rabbit hole again.