52 Ancestors #34: Rachel Shuham Jacobs--Granny of 13, Great-Granny of 8+

Rachel and a Mahler granddaughter (before 1910)

My 2d great-grandma, Rachel Shuham Jacobs (?-1916), was the Russian- (or Latvian-) born matriarch of my father's family. She lived to see 13 grandchildren and at least 8 great-grandkids--with even more great-grandkids born after she died.

Rachel and her husband Julius/Jonah Jacobs had two children (that I know of): My great-grandma, Tillie Jacobs (1857?-1952), and my grand-uncle, Joe Jacobs (1864-1919). Joe left home in 1882, arriving in New York to scout out possibilities for the family.

Rachel was widowed sometime before 1886, when she came to New York with her daughter Tillie Jacobs Mahler and Tillie's growing family. 

If only the 1890 Census hadn't burned up, I'd know a bit more about Rachel and her children and grandchildren. The first and only Census record I have for Rachel is in 1900, when she's living in the 88 Christie Street apartment of her daughter Tillie and son-in-law Meyer Mahler. Down the hall, in the same building, lived Rachel's son Joe Jacobs and his family.

I'll keep looking for Rachel in the 1905 NY Census, but so far, no luck. Another avenue to explore is the New York City directory for Manhattan. Maybe her name will be listed for some year between 1887 and 1916?

According to Rachel's granddaughter Ida, who kept a detailed book of names and dates, Rachel died in December of 1916. Alas, I've never been able to find Rachel's burial place or even a death cert. I came close once or twice, and I'll keep looking. Meanwhile, here's to you, Matriarch Rachel!

52 Ancestors #33: Mary Shehen of London, a Family Link to Ireland

Ancestry Images (www.ancestryimages.com)

Mary Shehen (b. in London abt 1839, died there before 1888) was hubby's great-grandma and one of his links to Ireland.

Her parents, Mary and John Shehen (or Shehan or Sheehan) were both born in Ireland around 1801. It's a mystery how and when they arrived in London, but there they were in the 1841 UK Census, in Gray's Buildings in Marylebone. At that time, the family consisted of Thomas (7), our Mary (3), and Michael (8 mos). Mary Shehen's birth was registered in the second quarter of 1840, yet the 1841 Census shows her as 3 years old. Hmmm...

On December 18, 1859, a Sunday just a week before Christmas, Mary married John Slatter in Spitalfields Christ Church, located in the Whitechapel area of London. She and her new husband moved into Whitechapel, while her parents remained in Marylebone, five miles away.

Mary and John Slatter had six children. The family was quite poor, and the five youngest children left for North America after they grew up. I'm still trying to determine what happened to the oldest child, Thomas John Slatter. He's 1 year old in the 1861 census but missing from the family household in the 1871 census and ever after.

HOWEVER, there's an intriguing possibility in the 1871 census, where a "Thomas Slatter, grandson" is living in the living in the household of John and Sarah Shuttleworth, along with a granddaughter with a different surname. The Shuttleworth household is barely 3 miles from the Slatter household. Could this be our Thomas John Slatter? He's the correct age in 1871. The Shuttleworth name is new to me, not anywhere in the family tree--yet.

Friday's Faces from the Past: Minnie, Teddy, and Mary Celebrate in the 1950s

I found this photo quite unexpectedly while scanning photos from my grandparents'  album, assembled by my mother about 40-odd years ago.

Sometime in the 1950s, my grandparents Minnie Farkas Schwartz and Teddy Schwartz were at an unknown family celebration, and Teddy's sister Mary Schwartz was also invited.

Possibly this is from Minnie and Teddy's 45th wedding anniversary in 1956, given that Minnie has a corsage and is quite dressed up. Or it might be Minnie and Teddy's retirement in Spring, 1955, after they sold "Teddy's Dairy Store" to Teddy's assistant, John.

Did Mary's husband Ed take the photo? Who else was at the event? I'm delighted to have this memento of a very happy occasion in my immigrant grandparents' lives.

52 Ancestors #32: The Maiden Name Mystery of Second Great-Grandma Elizabeth Steiner

The scrap of paper at left shows notes made by hubby's grandfather (Brice Larimer McClure) about his Steiner grandparents--hubby's great-great-grandparents.

Clearly, Brice knew how old his grandma Elizabeth Steiner was when she died but not the age of his grandpa. I'm still looking for Jacob Steiner's death date and place (he died before the 1860 census).

What was Elizabeth Steiner's maiden name? She lived from 1802 to 1864 and, judging by the birth date of her oldest child, she married Jacob S. Steiner in the early 1820s, either in Pennsylvania (where he was born) or in Ohio (where she was born).

Elizabeth and Jacob Steiner had nine children that I know of:

• Sarah Steiner (b. about 1824)
• William Steiner (1827-1899)
• Edward George Steiner (1830-1880)
• James M. Steiner (b. about 1832)
• Samuel D. Steiner (1835-1901)
• Elizabeth A. Steiner (b. about 1837)
• Benjamin Franklin Steiner (1840-1924)
• Stephen Decatur Steiner (b. about 1842, d. 1933)
• Mary M. Steiner (b. about 1846)

Last year, hubby and I visited Elizabeth's grave in the bucolic Oceola Cemetery #2, Crawford County, Ohio. We only found the cemetery thanks to detailed instructions from a kind Find a Grave volunteer who knows the area well. RIP, Elizabeth. Someday, we'll know your maiden name and be able to trace your family back even further.

Workday Wednesday: Horsman Dolls and the Roth Connection

Cousin Joseph Roth and his son-in-law Lawrence Lipson were involved with the Horsman Doll Company, headquartered at 200 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, with a factory in New Jersey. Above, one of the beautiful dolls made by Horsman in 1956.

Horsman was founded right after the Civil War to manufacture baseballs and toys, as well as to distribute sporting goods like archery sets and croquet. There really was a Mr. Horsman (Edward I. Horsman) who established the company in 1865, when toy wholesaling businesses tended to locate in the Maiden Lane area of lower Manhattan. Mr. Horsman died in 1927 and is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Just before the great stock market crash of 1929, the company narrowed its focus exclusively to doll manufacturing. I don't know how or when my Roth family became part of this business, which passed out of Horsman control a few years after the market crash. I do know that when Joseph Roth died in 1945, his son-in-law Lawrence Lipson told authorities that Joseph had retired from the toy manufacturing business in 1930. Lawrence was the president of Horsman during the 1950s and he remained in charge when the company was bought by Botany Mills in 1957.

My Roth cousins remember being gifted with Horsman dolls for birthdays and holidays. One cousin remembers going to the Fifth Avenue showroom and being dazzled by the stunning displays of one gorgeous doll after another!

Blogiversary #6: Blessed with Cousin Connections

Meyer Mahler and Tillie Jacobs Mahler and family, early 1900s

Six years ago, I began my blog with a post wondering when my great-grandpa Meyer Elias Mahler--the gentleman seated at right in this photo--died. (Answer: 1910).

That same summer, I made my first big cousin connection, with the Wood family genealogist who showed hubby how his ancestors are descended from Mayflower passengers. Blogging as cousin bait!

Since then, I've connected with cousins on both sides of my and my hubby's families and expanded our family trees and family stories all over the map. What a joyful journey it's been to "meet" (in person, online, or on the phone) cousins from these extended families (and related families): Burke/Berk, Bentley, Farkas, Mahler, Markell, McClure, Roth, Larimer, Schwartz, Slatter, Steiner, Weiss, and Wood. 

Some cousins weren't interested in being "found" and simply didn't answer my calls or e-mails or letters. In the past six years, only one cousin has actually told me to buzz off. Before I sent his e-mail to my "junk" file, I saved his final words to share here. He wrote:

There is no need to reply to this email nor any purpose in further

correspondence with me in the future.

Thank you to all my wonderful, loving cousins who have enriched my life and given me so many ideas and so much support as I research the relationships that connect us. The genealogy journey continues!

A New View of Ancestors' Lives via "The Golden Age Shtetl"

Having read a recent review of The Golden Age Shtetl, I dove in for insights into my ancestors' lives in early 19th-century Eastern Europe.

Fiddler on the Roof is one way to look at shtetl life--but not the only way. This book shows the shtetl in its heyday, decades before pogroms drove many (including my ancestors) to leave for good. Although it focuses on shtetls in what is now central Ukraine, its observations apply to a great many shtetls that ultimately came under Russian dominance.

As other reviews and interviews have noted, I was surprised to learn that many shtetls were not impoverished, shabby, shanty towns. In the mid-1800s and earlier, they were often thriving settlements with the right to hold lucrative market days at regular intervals. Some shtetls were quite large, others rather small. The homes weren't dark and dingy--many were brightly colored, as suggested by the book jacket above (picture painted by the book's author).

For family and business reasons, marriages were planned between wealthy merchants when their children were quite young--sometimes only 11. Ordinary families, however, had few assets to consider and could afford to let love make the match. Because of tax consequences, such families might wait a long time to register their children, which of course complicates present-day searches for ancestors who were children in the early and mid-1800s.

The photos and sketches of shtetl homes and synagogues were eye-opening. The sketch on p. 245 is, in my mind, a smaller, wooden precursor of the larger, more solidly-built restaurant that our family long ago operated on the market road to Ungvar (a bustling city then part of Hungary, now Uzhorod, Ukraine). The main floor was where guests were served, the upper floor was for family use, and the lower levels and outbuildings were for supplies and storage. The family also had a mill and cows to supply the restaurant.

The Golden Age Shtetl goes into considerable detail (both a plus and a minus) but it also gave me several ideas for further research into the daily lives of my ancestors in Hungary, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Tuesday's Tip: Try, Try Again--New Clues Come Online Every Day

My most recent research has been looking for Rose Lebowitz Markell (abt 1877-1909, married to Barney Markell), the beauty who died young after having a son who grew up and married my matchmaker aunt. My latest discovery about Rose reminds me to keep searching, keep trying--because new clues come online every day.

Just last week I found Rose's death certificate--only because Ancestry and Pennsylvania have a new arrangement for scanning and making these documents available online. It would have been difficult to find her otherwise, so my timing was good.

Months earlier, I had sent for the death cert of her sister Ella Lebowitz Markell (1886-1965, married to Julius Markell) the old-fashioned way, starting with a Pennsylvania death index and paying $9 (a relative bargain) to receive a paper copy f-o-u-r months later.

But here was Rose's complete death cert, freshly posted on Ancestry! She died in Pittsburgh and was buried in New York City. This makes sense because Rose's mother lived in New York City. Next challenge: There are a LOT of potential burying places around the city. Where to start?

I went to Find-a-Grave, of course, where I've searched in the past. This time I had a death year so I could do a more specific search.

I plugged in the last name, Markell, and the year 1909, and searched in New York only.

Up popped a result that was posted at the end of May by a kind volunteer: Rosa Markell [sic], buried in Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. This cemetery has more than 52,000 burials, but only a small percentage have been photographed or posted online. If I'd checked in early May, I would have found nothing.

Of course some things have to be done the old-fashioned, pre-Internet way. I picked up the phone and called the cemetery. The office personnel had a lot of info to share: Rose was buried one day after her death, in an "independent" plot. A year later, presumably when her gravestone was to be put in place, Rose was moved to the Markell family plot in another area of the cemetery. They also gave me the (new to me) name of the relative who was in charge of that plot.

Timing, as they say, is everything. Who knows what new info will be posted online today or next week or next year?

Military Monday: RIP to Harold Burk of the 3163d Signal Service Company

On this anniversary of Harold Burk's death, I want to look back at his WWII experience. Dad enlisted in 1942, at the age of 32, and after basic training, he was assigned as a teletype operator. Because he could type, he then served as a personnel clerk in the Signal Corps, the Army unit responsible for communications.  

In 1944, he and his unit (the 3163d Signal Service Company) were sent to the heart of Europe to prep communication lines for the Allies' major ground offensives. After Paris was liberated, his unit advanced to a position close to the city in preparation for the final weeks of the war. He spent the spring of 1945 in Paris and sent home photos of himself with famous landmarks.

When Dad was honorably discharged in October, 1945, he held the rank of Technician, 5th grade. I've told the story before of how he was "busted" from sergeant back to private because he wanted to keep the men in his company warm with deliveries of coal. RIP, Dad (1909-1978).

52 Ancestors #31: Beautiful Rose Lebowitz Markell Died Young

For years I've tried to find out what happened to Rose Lebowitz Markell, wife of Barney (Barnhart) Markell and mother of Joseph Markell. Joseph married my great-aunt Mary Mahler, who is one of the matchmaker aunts responsible for introducing my parents.

Earlier this summer, I spotted an Ancestry family tree that included the name of Rose's sister Ella, and I contacted the tree owner. He responded and now that we know he's my Left Coast cousin, we've been exchanging info. The family story was that Rose was quite beautiful and she died young. Details were sketchy, however.

Thanks to Ancestry posting and indexing thousands of Pennsylvania death cert images, my search this morning turned up Rose Lebowitz Markell's death certificate. The informant was Barney and he didn't get everything correct (Rose's father was Samuel, not Solomon) nor did he know his wife's exact birth year.

Still, this is undoubtedly our beautiful Rosie, who left behind a husband and a school-age son. Barney remarried in 1914 to Esther, who had a teenaged daughter from a first marriage. When Barney and Esther had a daughter in 1918, they named her Rose.

Unfortunately, teenaged Joseph didn't get along with his step-mother (according to family lore) and he ran away. As soon as he was old enough, he joined the Navy, serving on a ship that was anchored off the coast of Mexico during the "Tampico Affair" right after WWI.

Happily, Joseph didn't lose touch with his Lebowitz relatives. My Left Coast cousin says that his wife Mary made sure their children got to know their Lebowitz cousins.

My next task is to locate where Rosie the beauty was buried. She's not in Find-a-Grave, but I'll keep looking!

52 Ancestors #30: Alfred Olando Wood of the Wood Bros. Carpenters in Toledo

If name influences destiny, then hubby's Wood ancestors were following their name by working in wood.

Hubby's great-grandpa Thomas Haskell Wood and great-grandma Mary Amanda Demarest Wood had 17 children. Their fourth-oldest son was Alfred Olando Wood, born in 1855 in what was then Cabell County, Virginia* (and is now Huntington, West Virginia).

Alfred Olando Wood was a carpenter, part of the "Wood Bros. Carpenters" family business in Toledo, Ohio.

Above, an excerpt from the 1891 Toledo directory, showing Alfred O. and several of his Wood brothers (Frank E.--really Francis Ellery--plus Charles A.--really Charles Augustus--and Marion E.--really Marion Elton).

The Wood brothers who were not carpenters were painters, according to Census records and city directories. Robert Orrin Wood was a painter. William Henry White Wood was a painter. Marion Elton Wood, shown above as one of the Wood Bros, was also listed as a painter in several Toledo directories.

Poor Alfred died at age 39, in 1895. I know the exact date because it's in the 1895 Toledo directory. And that's where I learned his widow's name, Mary A. [maiden UNK].


*When Virginia voted to secede from the Union at the start of the Civil War, Cabell County stayed in the Union (with the exception of one town). 

52 Ancestors #29: Cousin Jennie Hartfield and the Roth-Mandel-Farkas Connection

The gentleman second from left is "Hartfield." That's what my mother's Farkas family always called him, never by his full name--Isidore Hartfield.

His wife (next to him, in the white hat with black trim) was "Cousin Jennie." They lived in Brooklyn and often attended Farkas Family Tree meetings, even hosting on a few occasions.

This photo was taken in November, 1946, at my parents' wedding. The Hartfields are seated with members of my Farkas family and with Margaret Roth Mandel (in dark hat, third from right) and her husband, Herman Mandel (just visible behind the lady with a spoon in her mouth).

Margaret is definitely a cousin, but I wanted to learn more about the Hartfields.

I read through Isidore Hartfield's Declaration of Intention to become a US citizen and learned his marriage date and place: November 26, 1916 in New York City. (Isidore and Jennie celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary two days before they attended the wedding pictured above.)

Look at the above screen shot, and you'll see why I just sent for this marriage document. It shows Isidor Hartfield's bride's name as "Jennie Maudel." Very likely this is actually "Jennie Mandel." When this cert arrives, I'll know Jennie's parents' names.

Since Jennie was born in NagyBereg, Hungary, where my Roth relatives were born, it seems that she must be related through the Roth and Mandel cousin connection. More cousins!

UPDATE: Six weeks ago, I sent for this marriage cert. It arrived yesterday (see left). Now I know the family connection was through my great-grandma Lena Kunstler, who was related to Jennie Mandel's mother!

52 Ancestors #28: John Slatter, Son of a Cook at Christ Church College, Oxford

John Slatter (1837-1901) was hubby's great-granddaddy. He was third of six children born to John and Sarah Slatter in Oxfordshire.

Great-great-granddaddy John Slatter Sr. was a cook at Christ Church College in Oxford, England, I know from the baptismal records at St. Ebbe's Church.

Thanks to the kind folks at the Woodland Cemetery Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, I now have John Slatter's exact birth date, which is carved on his grave stone. And with that confirmation, I was able to send for his birth cert.

Now I know John Slatter was born on Blackfriars Road, St Ebbe, Oxford, to a cook, John Slatter, and his wife, Sarah Harris Slatter. Although the birth was on January 31, 1838, it wasn't registered with authorities until March 7th.

Great-granddaddy John married Mary Shehen (or Shehan) and they had six children (five lived beyond childhood). After the children were grown and gone, Mary seems to have died. John Slatter left for North America and remarried, to Louisa M_____ [maiden name unknown]. She died before him, in February of 1895, and was buried in Woodland Cemetery. So far, no luck getting her death certificate...but I'll try again.

John died at the Cleveland home of his daughter, Mary Slatter Wood, in 1901, and he was buried beside Louisa. Only then was a gravestone erected. John's stone includes the honorific "Father" but Louisa is recognized only as "His wife, Louisa M." Maybe Mary didn't know her step-mother's maiden name? That's a surprisingly plausible explanation because Mary only arrived in Ohio in 1895, the year Louisa died.

52 Ancestors #27: Joseph Roth and Julia Goodfried Roth, Naturalized 105 Years Ago

Joseph and daughters: top, Helen and Blanche; bottom, Serena and Theresa

Joseph Roth (1860-1945) married Julia Goodfried (or Gutfried, 1862-1937) in Hungary, and the couple had four daughters before they came to New York City in March, 1903.

This week, during a visit with one of Joseph's granddaughters, I was able to scan his address book, which included specific details about his naturalization.

Joseph Roth in 1921

Joseph's petition was filed in the US Circuit Court, Southern District of New York, on July 27, 1909, when he was 48 years old and Julia was 46. Today I'm sending for those documents to learn more!

Joseph was a brother of Bela B. Roth, whose first wife Sali/Zolli Kunstler died young. Sali was my great-grandma Lena Kunstler Farkas's sister. I've written about Joseph/Josef and the Roth family before. In short, Joseph was, like Bela, a cousin to my family.

Now for more fun. Joseph Roth listed two other Joseph Roths in his own address book! Here's the rundown:

• The Joseph Roth who owned the address book lived with his oldest daughter Blanche and son-in-law Alex Rethy on West 108th Street in Manhattan in 1940, after Julia Goodfried Roth died.
• Joseph Roth #1 was listed in the address book at 70-03 Harrow Street in Forest Hills, NY. I will check that address in the 1940 census. This is where the OTHER Joseph Roth lived, the son of Bela Roth! One of his descendants confirmed the address.
• Joseph Roth #2 was listed in the address book at 20 Pond Park Road in Harbor Hills, Great Neck, Long Island. I will check that address in the 1940 census.

Using Stephen Morse's handy-dandy one-step ED finder for the 1940 Census, I am looking up Census districts for Joseph Roth #1 and #2 and manually paging through the listings. Maybe some Roth family members will be listed--or their occupation/employer. Or I'll spot a friend or neighbor whose name I recognize?

Sympathy Sunday: Ella Markell, "Aunt of Husband of Grand Aunt"

Ella Lebowitz Markell (1886-1965) was the "aunt of the husband of my grand aunt." The family connection is through Joseph Markell, who married my grand aunt Mary Mahler. Mary was one of the matchmaker aunts who arranged for my parents to meet, so anyone connected with her family is special to me.

Two Markell men married two Lebowitz sisters, and I have been hoping to learn whether the Markell men were brothers or cousins or what. Ella and her husband Julius Markell (1882-1966) had a daughter, Ruth Markell. After Ella and Julius divorced, he married Tillie UNK and they had one son, William Markell.


Ella's death cert finally arrived today and I was saddened to see that she died of a stroke in Pittsburgh's Jewish Home for the Aged, just a month after her 81st birthday. She is buried in the Sons of Israel cemetery, Forest Hills, PA.

Ella had the same condition which also contributed to her mother Fanny Schwartz Lebowitz's death in 1933.

Thinking of Ella on this Sympathy Sunday.