52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #3: What Happened to Joe Jacobs?

Great-grand uncle Joe Jacobs (1864-1919?) is one of two children of my great-grandma Rachel Shuham Jacobs (?-abt 1916). Joe was born somewhere in Russia and arrived in New York in 1882, according to his naturalization papers.

But what happened to Joe after 1905? He seems to disappear from official records, although family notes say he died in 1919. Sometimes his surname was recorded as "Jacob," sometimes as "Jacobs," which only complicates my search for Uncle Joe.

In 1900, Joe was living at 88 Christie Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, in the same apartment building as his mother and his brother-in-law Mayer Mahler. Joe's occupation was peddler (above).

In 1905, Joe was still living at 88 Christie Street, now shown as the janitor (at right).

But after that, his wife Eva Michaelovsky Jacobs and the children are shown by themselves, living in Brooklyn, in the 1910 US Census and the 1915 NY Census. No Joe in either of these records.

In the 1920 Census, Eva Jacobs is listed as a widow living in Brooklyn. Where did Joe Jacobs spend the time between 1905 and his death in about 1919? If he registered for WWI, I can't find his paperwork. But I'm still on Joe's trail!

PS Joe Jacobs was naturalized on 25 October 1888 by the Common Pleas Court of New York County (see above image of index). How to obtain his actual papers? NARA doesn't seem to be the right place for a NY state court. UPDATE: These papers were not much help, only saying what the index card said (see below).

*I received an excellent comment from Steve, who says:

"Copies of local court naturalization records in New York City from 1792-1906 are held by the New York branch of the National Archives. So you should be able to order a copy of a naturalization by the New York County Common Pleas Court from the National Archives website.

However, I don't think the Joe Jacobs from the naturalization index card is the same person as your Joe Jacobs.  I checked both the 1900 and 1905 census records mentioned above.  In the 1900 census it says that Joe had only filed first papers and had not become a citizen yet. In the 1905 census he's listed as an alien.  So I don't think he could be the same person who naturalized in Oct. 1888."

Steve has a very good point--and I also appreciate knowing that I can order this naturalization from the National Archives website. I have to investigate further, but since the Joe Jacobs on the index card was living at 49 Clinton Street, and that's the exact address where Joe and Eva were living when they married in 1890, my guess is there's some connection worth pursuing. Thank you, Steve! UPDATE: As shown above, the papers provided no other information, unfortunately, so the hunt continues.

2013 Genealogy Priorities: Birk, Mahler, Jacobs Families

Happy new year! It's time to set new genealogy goals. Here are the brick walls I want to break down in 2013, from my side of the family tree:

Obituary of David Mahler, died 30 May 1964

• Mahler. Meyer Mahler, my g-grandpa, told authorities that he arrived in New York City on 27 May 1885. Which ship? He's NOT on the manifest of the S.S. Wisconsin, which arrived on that date, I know from "browsing" passenger lists on FamilySearch. But he may have come on a different day in that year, so more research is in my future. (I've started a new "family tab" about Meyer, see just below my blog header.) His wife Tillie Jacobs Mahler seems to have arrived in 1886 with their children, Henrietta Mahler (my grandma) and David Mahler. Again, no luck finding them yet, but I'm gonna keep looking. Speaking of David Mahler (see 1964 obit above), he told Census officials he was married (in the 1940 and 1950 records). Who was his wife, and where/when were they married?? This is a mystery. One more Mahler mystery: When/where was David naturalized? 2022 update: No answers yet, but he was in the 1950 US Census as living in LA, working as a laborer for a movie studio.
• Burk or Birk. I'm still on the trail of grandpa Isaac Birk's siblings, and by 2022, have found a number of delightful 2d cousins who helped. For a summary of Isaac's story, see tab just below the blog header. According to the 1905 NY Census, he and a brother, Meyer Birk, were boarders in the Manhattan apartment of Meyer Mahler and family (soon to be Isaac's inlaws, since married Henrietta Mahler). Meyer was listed in the Census as a "cutter" which makes sense, since Meyer was a tailor.
• Jacobs. Meyer Mahler's wife, Tillie Rose Jacobs, is something of a mystery. According to family legend, she fooled her children into giving her a 100th birthday party early. (2022 update: The 1950 US Census lists Tillie as already being 100 years old. Nope.) Also, what can I learn about her parents, Julius (Jonah) Jacobs and Rachel Shuham, back in Latvia? I'll create a "Jacobs" family tab soon to summarize what I know.

Speedy NYC Marriage Cert

With unprecedented speed, NYC has sent me my grandparents' marriage license from 1906. It's some help with genealogy but has less detail than I'd hoped.

I didn't know where Isaac Birk/Berk/Burk lived at that time, and now I do. Below is a photo--the tenement is still in existence, although the storefronts have obviously been updated (not necessarily "improved") since Grandpa's time.

Grandpa was 26 and Grandma Henrietta Mahler was 19 when they married, the first time for both. This license may be where some of the confusion about Grandpa's name came about. The official who wrote out the info calls Grandpa "Isaac Burk" but he signs himself "Isaak Berk." He gives his birth place as simply "Russia" and writes that his occupation is "carpenter." His father's name was Elias S. Burk (but the last name has been clearly corrected in some way). His mother's name was Necke Burk (again, both names heavily corrected, suggesting that they didn't translate well?). 2022 update: Necke Gelle Shuham Burk, possibly. 

PS Here's where my Grandma lived at the time, another address I never knew (here we are between the US Census years, so they may have moved every year for all I know). Another tenement still standing but with changed storefronts.

Not MY Rachel Jacobs

Wonder of wonders, the NYC authorities turned my death cert request around in only one week, a new speed record. And now I know that I was wrong about my g-g-grandma Rachel Jacobs being buried in the cemetery plot devoted to patients from the Montefiore Home for Incurables in NYC.

The death cert I received shows a Rachel Jacobs dying in 1904 and being buried in that plot. It can't be my family's Rachel Jacobs because this one was just 56 yrs old, married, and born in US. None of that fits the profile of MY Rachel Jacobs.

I feel sorry for this Rachel Jacobs, however, because she had a cerebral hemorrhage in 1902 and finally died in 1904, having been at the Montefiore Home for 21 months, according to the death cert.

Lessons learned: (1) just because someone with the same name as an ancestor is buried within walking distance in the same cemetery as a known relative, doesn't mean he or she is in my family; (2) if the known relatives have expensive headstones and paid $ for perpetual care, but the mother of one of those relatives has a nearly impossible-to-see, insignificant headstone in a charity plot, chances are that mother is not a relative.

I'm going to have to take a different approach to finding my Rachel.

2022 update: I finally did find Rachel Shuham Jacobs in Mt. Zion Cemetery, Queens, NY. Her Find a Grave memorial is here.