Edward Wirtschafter's Day in Court

Edward Wirtschafter and his partner Geza Rev
had their say in the Supreme Court of NY

With the coronavirus shut-down keeping me indoors, I've been taking a fresh eye to my family tree and various ancestors. Because new materials become available online every day, this is a great time to update my genealogy research without leaving home!

Last night, I was surprised to learn something new about Edward Wirtschafter, the husband of my great-aunt Mary Schwartz (1891-1959).

Edward was born in Hungary and trained as a furrier in France before arriving in New York City in 1907. He and my great-aunt eloped on Christmas Eve of 1913. When his U.S. citizenship was finalized a few months later, she--born in Ungvar, Hungary--automatically became a U.S. citizen as well.

Simple Search: Name in Quotation Marks

Searching "Edward Wirtschafter" - top result!

By using a simple online search for "Edward Wirtschafter" (inside quotation marks) I located a book digitized by Google. It's the top result shown here. But directly below it on the results page is another snippet. Take a look:

As shown above in a small article in the Fur Trade Review of February, 1919, Edward joined with coworker Geza Rev to take over the fur manufacturing business where they had been working, after the owner retired. Edward was in charge of design and manufacture, while Geza was in charge of sales.

Now I returned to the top search result, Supreme Court Case on Appeal, and pieced together the following story about Edward's legal odyssey. I'm presenting the overall outline as I understand it, plus a bit of context. NOTE: I'm not a lawyer so the finer points argued in the transcripts are beyond me. And believe me, there were some very detailed points being argued, back and forth, in hundreds of pages of details and exhibits.

Roaring Twenties, Fur Fashions, and Disputes

Fur coats were becoming very trendy as World War 1 wound down and the Roaring Twenties geared up. As demand increased, fur skins and fur coats became even more valuable week after week. Companies were eager to get in on this fast-moving fashion trend.

During the summer of 1919, Wirtschafter, Rev & Co. struck a complicated deal with the Schwartz Brothers*, another fur firm in New York City. The Schwartz firm would acquire hundreds of fur skins and provide them to the Wirtschafter firm.

In turn, the Wirtschafter firm would make dozens of fur coats and deliver to the Schwartz firm for sale. They agreed on pricing that would compensate the Schwartz firm for the raw skins and compensate the Wirtschafter firm for the manufacturing.

However, the two firms were soon at odds, disputing bills and delivery dates and more. Ultimately, the Wirtschafter firm filed suit to receive payment it said was due but had not been paid. The Schwartz firm disagreed, and the case went to a jury.

The bottom-line amount demanded by the Wirtschafter firm: $3,913.30, plus interest--worth nearly $61,000 today.

Legal Complications Ensue

The case was originally filed at the end of 1919. The Wirtschafter firm won a judgement of $3,685.55, including interest, during a jury trial. Then the Schwartz firm appealed.

The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division considered the appeal.

The final word came in June of 1926. As shown above, the original judgment was affirmed, with court costs awarded to the Wirtschafter firm, as far as I can tell.

Entrepreneur Edward Wirtschafter

Even as the original law suit wended its way through the legal process, my great uncle and his partner parted ways. In 1921, Edward Wirtschafter incorporated a new company, with himself as director, treasurer, and secretary. He built his business by giving personal service and making quality fur fashions. As late as 1953, Edward had a fur business in Manhattan...I found it listed under his name in the phone book.

What an exciting find, learning about Edward Wirtschafter's day(s) in court. All because I'm stuck inside and have lots of time to go over my genealogy research, clicking to do new searches and look for new clues!

* no relation to Edward's in-law Schwartz family.

So Far Away But Hearts Remain Close

Schwartz Siblings in Ungvar, Hungary

My maternal Grandpa Theodore (Tivador) Schwartz (1887-1965) left many siblings at home in Hungary when he departed for America in March, 1902. His older brother Samuel Schwartz (1883-1954) arrived in America in 1904. Together, they saved money and sent for a younger sister, Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter (1891-1959), who arrived in New York late in 1906.

Despite being thousands of miles apart, the siblings who came to America and the siblings who remained in their home town of Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine) kept in touch via photos and photo postcards. I inherited images of babies, couples, and siblings in various combinations, sent from Hungary to show that the three American siblings were still in the hearts of those who remained at home.

Portrait from Ungvar, 1915

Above, a photo postcard showing three sisters and possibly a younger brother who remained in Ungvar, the hometown of the Schwartz family. On the reverse is written the date, 1915, and the place name. This was sent to my Grandpa 105 years ago. (To keep it in good condition, I keep it in an acid-free photo sleeve inside an archival box.)

Not long ago, "Sherlock" Ava Cohn posted a photo showing men in the uniforms of the Austro-Hungarian army, circa 1915-16. The uniforms are just like the one worn by the young man in the photo above, confirming that the date on the photo is correct.

Was this young man, possibly my great uncle, sent into combat for the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I? Did he survive, if he battled on the front lines? Wish we knew.

The American Siblings in WWI

During World War I, American men had to register with their local draft boards. Since my Grandpa was 30 years old when he registered with the NYC draft board in 1917, married with a young son, he was never called to serve.

Theodore Schwartz's WWI draft card

Great-uncle Sam Schwartz was 35 and married with two young children when he registered with the NYC draft board in 1918. He was never called for military duty.

Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter's husband Edward was 28 and had an infant son when he registered with the NYC draft board in 1917. So he never served, either.

Despite the war, correspondence between siblings in Hungary and siblings in America continued, judging by the dated photos I inherited.

The Aftermath of World War II

My mother believed that her father, my Grandpa, never heard from his family in Hungary again after WWII. It turns out this was NOT the whole story.

One of Grandpa's teenaged nieces survived Auschwitz. Happily, I was able to connect with this part of the family because of Yad Vashem, where she had submitted written testimony and a photo of her mother--a photo I recognized as one of my Grandpa's sisters.

Her emotional video testimony housed at the USC Shoah Foundation includes many harrowing, horrific stories of the Holocaust. She tells of how her mother and the other Schwartz family members were rounded up and murdered. She managed to live through it all.

After the war, she returned to her hometown of Ungvar, married, and brought up two children in what was then the USSR. The family applied for permission to move to Israel several times. Their requests were denied and delayed for years, but ultimately they gained official approval and went to Israel, where they made a new life.

After WWII, this niece again corresponded with her uncle Theodore (my Grandpa) and her aunt Mary, relatives in America she knew only through letters and photos. A few years after I located this cousin in Israel, thanks to her testimony, my Sis visited and met that entire family. We're still in touch today.

Hearts remain close even when family is so far away.

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, it is also the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Never forget.

--

"So far away" is the week 5 prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Where Were Ancestors in 1950 Census?

Randy Seaver and I are on the same wavelength this week, with the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun focusing on the 1950 US Census! I've been digging into the details of the 1950 Census, so I'll be ready to find ancestors by location when the records are released in April, 2022.

Randy's challenge: Who in your ancestral families will be in the 1950 census?  Where will they be residing,  What occupations will they have?  The official "date" was 1 April 1950.

Maternal Ancestors in 1950 Census

Grandma Hermina Farkas Schwartz and Grandpa Theodore Schwartz will be living on 180th Street in the Bronx, NY, having moved from their long-time apartment on Beck Street soon after World War II ended. He will still be a dairy grocer, but not for long--his retirement came early in the 1950s!

Their twins, Daisy and Dorothy Schwartz, had already left home by this time. Daisy (hi Mom!) married Harold Burk (hi Dad!) and they were living in an apartment building on Carpenter Avenue in the Bronx, NY. The apartment building full of paternal ancestors, as noted below. Daisy was a homemaker and Dad was a travel agent.

Dorothy Schwartz (hi Auntie!) was somewhere in the Bronx, soon to move to Hackensack, NJ, with her partner, Lee Wallace. Dorothy was working for Macy's, I believe, where she met Lee, head of publicity/special events and leader of the Thanksgiving Day Parade for many years.

Daisy and Dorothy's older brother lived in Brooklyn, a high school teacher in 1950. His wife later became head of guidance for all of New York City's public schools. Their two children will both be enumerated in the 1950 Census.

Grandpa's brother, Sam Schwartz, was living in Queens, NY, also a dairy grocer. This is where I'll learn whether he had already married his second wife, Margaret. My guess is yes, they were already married by this time (his first wife, Anna Gelbman, died in 1940).

Grandpa's sister, Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter, was most likely living with her furrier husband, Edward Wirtschafter, in their home in Mount Vernon, NY. There's a small possibility they were elsewhere, since their daughter remembered them taking an apartment in the Bronx at some point.

Many of Grandma's Farkas siblings lived in the New York area and I'll be able to find them easily, thanks to the Farkas Family Tree minutes and letters I've indexed for quick reference.

Paternal Ancestors in 1950 Census

Great-grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler was living in the Bronx on Marmion Ave., where I believe she stayed until her death in 1952. This is the ancestor who was either 99 or 100 when she died. The Census might give me a solid clue about her age...

Tillie's daughter Dora lived with her at this time. Dora, tall and thin, had been in millinery sales but retired early due to a chronic health condition (heart?). She died just a few months after this Census was taken.

My paternal grandma was Tillie's daughter Henrietta Mahler Burk (hi Gran!). Henrietta's husband Isaac Burk had died years earlier, so I'm going to be interested to see whether Grandma Henrietta was still on Valentine Avenue in the Bronx, where they were living when Isaac died in the 1940s. More likely she will be found in the same apartment Bronx building as her son Harold (hi Dad) and daughter-in-law Daisy (hi Mom) AND her younger son Sidney Burk and older daughter Mildred Burk Lang. Lots of family in one apartment building, the building where I was brought up.

I'll be able to locate all of Tillie's other living children, I think, because I'm in touch with 2d cousins who are their descendants. One daughter married and went to California. A son worked as a handyman in Hollywood and lived in a small apartment in Los Angeles.

One goal is to trace all of Tillie's nieces and nephews, the children of her brother Joseph Jacobs and his wife, Eva Michalovsky Jacobs. Two of Joseph's and Eva's daughter died young. I know where one of the other daughters lived in 1950, and one of the sons. So I'll be looking for the two other children!

Genealogy on Christmas Eve

December is a busy month in my family tree and that of my husband. Weddings! Birthdays! Holiday cheer!

Here are two of many penny post cards sent to my husband's uncle in Cleveland, Wallis W. Wood (1905-1957), from 1905 through 1917. Happily, these and other holiday greeting cards remain in the Wood family all these decades later.

In my family, great-uncle Alex Farkas (1885-1948) married Jennie Katz (1886-1974--the "nicest" aunt I recently wrote about here) in what looks like quite a fun Christmas Eve wedding in 1916.

Alex was the oldest of the Farkas siblings, born in Botpalad, Hungary, on Christmas day in 1885 to my great-grandparents, Moritz Farkas (1857-1936) and Lena Kunstler Farkas (1865-1938).

The second-oldest was my grandma Minnie Farkas Schwartz (1886-1964), who is shown in the wedding portrait with her husband Ted Schwartz (1887-1965) and their toddler son, my uncle Fred.

On the Schwartz side of the family, my great-aunt Mary Schwartz (1891-1959) eloped with handsome furrier Edward Wirtschafter (1889-1958) on Christmas Eve of 1913.

They went to City Hall in Manhattan, got married, and then returned to their separate apartments without saying a word to family and friends. Why? Because Mary's in-laws, the Farkas family, had "picked out" a suitable young man for her to marry, but she chose Edward. Mary's daughter told me this created a bit of a stir at first among the Farkas folks.

But then Mary and Edward were married a second time, just four days later on December 28, in a religious ceremony, with Mary's oldest brother Sam Schwartz signing the marriage license as a witness, representing the Schwartz family. Mary had just turned 22 on December 26.

Mary and Edward were happily married for more than 40 years. Above, my grandma Minnie Farkas Schwartz with her husband Teddy Schwartz and his sister Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter, at a family celebration.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season!

My Schwartz Ancestors Married for Love

Mary Schwartz and Teddy Schwartz (circa 1909)

My great aunt, Mary Schwartz (1891-1959) and her older brother, my grandpa Tivador "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965), both married for love after they came to New York. There were some bumps in the road to matrimony, but both stories (pieced together from family legends and official documents) ended with love winning the day, despite the family's initial feelings.

Teddy Schwartz met his future bride, Hermina (Minnie) Farkas (1886-1964), in a Hungarian deli on the Lower East Side. Both Teddy and Minnie had been born in Hungary and came to New York as young teens.(1) Although Minnie's family objected to the match (they thought he was a "peasant"), she insisted on seeing Teddy, then a clerk for steamship lines and insurance firms. Minnie used a signal (putting something on the clothesline) to let Teddy know that the "coast was clear" to meet.

Meanwhile, Minnie's parents tried to arrange a "more suitable" marriage. Minnie refused and threw the suitor's engagement ring out the window. After she wore her parents down, the couple was married at the Clinton Street Synagogue on Sunday, October 22, 1911. Teddy and Minnie couldn't afford a honeymoon until the late 1940s, when they retired. My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1961.

Teddy's sister Mary Schwartz also married for love. It seems Teddy's Farkas in-laws were arranging a marriage for Mary with one of their cousins. Late in 1913, before any formal engagement, Mary met a handsome furrier, Hungarian-born Edward Wirtschafter (1889-1958). Since he was living on the Lower East Side and she was living in Jewish Harlem but working as a shirtwaist maker, I imagine they met in Manhattan's garment district (or possibly in that Hungarian deli where Teddy and Minnie met?).

Mary and Edward fell in love and within weeks, they decided to elope. On Christmas Eve of 1913, just two days before Mary's 22nd birthday, they went to City Hall and signed all the paperwork. That night, even though they were married, they went back to their own apartments and told no one. At least that's what their daughter told me.

What she didn't tell me (maybe she didn't know) was what happened four days later. On December 28, 1913, Mary and Edward had a second wedding ceremony.(2) This time, they were married by a rabbi. And this time, Mary's older brother Sam Schwartz was one of the witnesses. Possibly my grandfather Teddy was present, as well. But I don't know whether my grandma Minnie was there. She might have been miffed that Mary married a man of her own choosing rather than the Farkas cousin favored by the family. Mary, like Minnie, was determined to marry for love!

This post celebrates the Genealogy Blog Party's February theme of LOVE.

(1) According to City of Dreams by Tyler Anbinder, the Lower East Side neighborhood where Teddy and Minnie lived was a particular enclave of Hungarian Jews in the early 1900s. Teddy was from Ungvar, Hungary, and Minnie from Berehovo, Hungary. No wonder they met in a Hungarian deli.

(2) I only know about the 2d wedding ceremony because I sent for the complete set of marriage documents after learning about their availability through Reclaim the Records. Read all about it here. Well worth the $15 fee to know the full story!

Family History Month: TUVWXYZ Surnames

Edward Wirtschafter, Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter (front left), and her friend

In this last of 5 posts listing surnames being researched, I'm highlighting T-Z names in hubby's McClure/Wood tree and my Farkas/Schwartz (maternal line) and Mahler/Burk (paternal line) trees.

McClure/Wood tree:

• T is for Taber
• T is for Traxler
• V is for Van Roe
• V is for Velpel
• W is for Welburn
• W is for Wilt
• W is for Wood
• W is for Work
• W is for Wrona
• Z is for Zollinger

Farkas/Schwartz tree:

• W is for Weinberger
• W is for Weiss/Weisz
• W is for Wirtschafter

Mahler/Burk tree:

• V is for Venezky
• V is for Vinokur
• V is for Volk
• W is for Whitelaw
• W is for Wilner/Willner
• W is for Wolf

Friday's Faces from the Past: Remembering Mom, Counting Her Cousins

Remembering my dear mother, Daisy Schwartz (1919-1981), on the 36th anniversary of her death. This 1946 photo shows her looking radiant on her wedding day, just before the ceremony at the Hotel McAlpin in New York City.

Since I'm still researching siblings of her maternal grandparents Moritz Farkas/Leni Kunstler and paternal grandparents Herman Schwartz/Hani Simonowitz Schwartz, I can't yet name all of Mom's first cousins. Here are the 28 whose names I know:

• George and Robert, sons of her uncle Albert Farkas and Sari Klein Farkas.
• Edythe and Jacqui, daughters of her aunt Irene Farkas Grossman and uncle Milton Grossman.
• Ron and Betty, children of her aunt Ella Farkas Lenney and uncle Joseph Lenney.
• Harry and Richard, sons of her aunt Freda Farkas Pitler and uncle Morris Pitler.
• Barbara, Robert, and Peter, children of her aunt Rose Farkas Freedman and uncle George Freedman.
• Richard and Susan, children of her uncle Fred Farkas and aunt Charlotte Chapman Farkas.
• Michael and Leonard, sons of her aunt Jeannie Farkas Marks and uncle Harold Marks.
• Hajnal, Clara, Sandor, Ilona, and Elza, children of her uncle Joszef Kunstler and aunt Helena Schonfeld Kunstler.
• Margaret, Alexander, and Joseph, children of her aunt Zali Kunstler Roth and uncle Bela Bernard Roth.
• Burton and Harriet, children of her aunt Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter and uncle Edward Wirtschafter.
• Morton and Eugene, sons of her uncle Sam Schwartz and aunt Anna Gelbman Schwartz.
• Viola, daughter of her aunt Paula Schwartz Weiss and uncle [first name unknown] Weiss.

Remembering Mom today, with love.

PS: I can name every one of Dad's first cousins--he had only 20. But until a few months ago, I didn't know about all of them, and then I broke through a brick wall!

Family Weddings on Christmas Eve

Here are two stories of Christmas Eve weddings among members of my grandparents' families.

My grandfather's sister, great-aunt Mary Schwartz (1891-1959), eloped with handsome furrier Edward Wirtschafter (1889-1958) mid-day on December 24, 1913.

They were married at City Hall and kept their marriage secret from the family for a number of weeks.

Mary quickly became close to her sister-in-law Anna Gelbman Schwartz (1886-1940), wife of Sam Schwartz (1883-1954), a brother of Teddy and Mary.

The photo at right, courtesy of my 2d cousin, shows Mary and Edward in middle age, still a devoted couple.

My grandmother's brother, great-uncle Alex "Sandor" Farkas (1885-1948), married beautiful, talented Jennie Katz (1886-1974) on December 24, 1916.

Both Alex and Jennie worked in the garment industry. It was said that Jennie could sew a copy of any fashion after seeing it once, without a pattern. In fact, she sewed dresses for the bridal parties of many Farkas relatives.

Alex was one of the prime movers of the Kossuth Society in New York, which helped take care of sick members. This is where he met his future bride.

The photo at left shows Jennie with her husband Alex (at right) and her brother-in-law Teddy Schwartz (at left, hi Grandpa!). Teddy was married to Alex's older sister, Minnie Farkas (hi Grandma!). 

Friday's Faces from the Past Go Home with a Granddaughter

Edward and Mary (left) with friend at Coney Island

My grandfather Teddy Schwartz and his older brother Samuel Schwartz scraped up money to bring their younger sister Mary Schwartz to New York City from their hometown of Ungvar, Hungary in November, 1906.

In 1913, Mary married Edward Wirtschafter, who founded a furrier business in the Big Apple.

More than 80 years after the photo below was taken, my cousin Harriet still remembered sitting beside her brother Burton in the studio and wearing a lovely pink chiffon dress made by her mother. They're Ed and Mary's children.







Now all these wonderful faces from the past are going home with Mary and Ed's granddaughter.

Friday's Faces from the Past: Mary and Edward in Coney Island

My pretty great-aunt Mary Schwartz eloped in New York City on Christmas Eve, 1913 with Edward Wirtschafter, a dapper furrier who reportedly swept her off her feet.

This photo is obviously from a different season--a season for going to the boardwalk.

Great-aunt Mary is shown at left in the front row. (Years ago, my mother identified Mary and my sis wrote a note below the photo.) Philly Cuz has positively identified Edward as the lucky man with the two gals. Alas, we don't know the other lady.

Because Philly Cuz wondered where and when the photo was taken, I dug it out and turned it over. And guess what?

It was taken at the Elite Studio in Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, NY. (Click on the link to read about the park's fascinating past.) Judging by what people are wearing, we suspect this was taken before 1920.

In searching for Mr. Goldberg, who owned the Elite Studio, I stumbled upon a post from a gentleman whose father owned the first studio on the Coney Island boardwalk. We've had an e-mail conversation and he says his dad's studio was not in Steeplechase. I'll keep looking!