You might recall that my family tree is doubly connected to the Hano family tree.  First, I learned that Jacob Weil had married Flora Cohen, the daughter of Louise Lydia Hano and Samuel Cohen.  Jacob was the son of Rachel Cohen Weil, my great-grandfather’s sister.  (Samuel Cohen was not related to Rachel Cohen or any of my Cohens, however.)

Louise Lydia Hano was the sister of Jacob L. Hano, who married Fanny Nusbaum, first cousin of my great-great-grandmother Frances Nusbaum.  So one Hano married a Nusbaum, and another Hano married a Cohen.  Talk about an endogamous group!

Jacob Hano and Fanny Nusbaum had married on February 28, 1877, and had moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where their first two children, Louis and Ernest, were born.  They had returned to Philadelphia by 1884, when their third son Samuel was born.  Samuel died just fourteen days later on August 21, 1884, from inflammation of his kidneys. He died in Atlantic City, and was buried at Mt. Sinai cemetery in Philadelphia.

A fourth son, Myer Arnold, was born in Boston in 1885, so the family must have relocated again after Samuel’s death.  And then by 1890 the family had moved to New York City, where they would have two more sons, Alfred (1890) and Clarence (1891).  Their second oldest son Ernest served in the US Army in the Spanish American War in 1898; according to his nephew Arnold, Ernest was gassed while serving in the war and as a result suffered heart damage that affected him for the remainder of his life.

Jacob Hano had been in the printing business on his own, but in 1892 he joined with his younger brother Philip in the printing business instead of competing with him, as discussed in the ad below.

I love the comment here that this reduction in competition would not result in rising prices, just better service.

As of 1900 the Hano family was living at 205 West 134^th Street in Manhattan.  Louis, now 22, was working as a salesman, and the other four sons were at home.  Unfortunately, the family was to lose another son early in the 20^th century.  On April 10, 1902, Myer Arnold Hano died at age seventeen from typhoid fever.  This was the second son that Jacob and Fanny lost far too early.

In 1905, the family was still living at the same address on West 134^th Street, and now Ernest (25) was also working as a salesman.  Alfred (15) and Clarence (13) were still in school.  Jacob was in the “manifold business,” as stated in the advertisement above.  From what I can gather, a manifold book is a type of form book used by businesses.

Louis, the oldest son, was not listed with the family on the 1905 census, nor can I find him elsewhere.  However, by 1910, he was back living in the household with his parents and brothers.  The family was now living at 344 St. Nicholas Avenue, and both Jacob and his son Louis were in the business of manufacturing “cravats.” Clarence was a salesman for the company, and Alfred was not employed.  Alfred must have been in school because by 1910, he was employed as a lawyer.

Ernest, the second oldest son, was not living with his family in 1910, but was living as a lodger in the household of Madeleine McGlone at 325 West 141^st Street.  There were two other lodgers living there as well.  Ernest was a neckwear salesman, presumably those made by his father since his father and brothers were manufacturing and selling cravats.  Madeleine McGlone, his landlady, was listed as married for 14 years, but there was no husband in the household.  A little research revealed that Madeleine was born Madeleine Constance Barnard in Ontario, Canada, and had married George A. McGlone in 1896; however, in 1910, George McGlone was living in the Bronx and listing himself as a widower, so it would seem that the marriage between Madeleine and George had ended.  At any rate, I mention this because, as we will see, Madeleine would end up being much more than Ernest’s landlady, and perhaps already was by 1910.

In 1915, Jacob and Fanny still had three of their sons at home, Louis, Alfred, and Clarence, and the family had relocated to Queens. Jacob, Louis (37), and Clarence (23) listed their occupations as salesmen, and Alfred (25) was a lawyer.  Ernest, meanwhile, had moved to the Bronx, where he was still listed as a boarder living in Madeleine McGlone’s household along with her mother.  Ernest, now 36, listed his occupation as a collector (bills? Stamps? Coins?).

The next five years brought lots of changes, in particular, the year 1917.   On June 3, 1917, Clarence, the youngest of the brothers, became the first to marry.  He married Mathilda Kutes, the daughter of a Russian immigrant and an Austrian immigrant.  Mathilda was born in New York in April 1897, and although she was living with her parents in 1900 in New York, by 1910 when she was not yet 13 years old, she was living as a “relative” in a household of people named Hertz of Hungarian background.  I cannot seem to locate Mathilda’s parents or her siblings on the 1910 census.

Just four and a half months after Clarence married, Alfred Hano married Clara Millhauser on October 25, 1917.  Clara was the daughter of Isaac Millhauser, a police officer, and Bertha Silverberg, and was a native New Yorker.  According to the 1915 New York census, Clara had been working as a typist before she married Alfred.

Unfortunately, 1917 ended on an unhappy note.  Fanny Nusbaum Hano, my first cousin four times removed, died on December 25, 1917, from cancer.  She was 61 years old.  She was the second of the Nusbaum children to predecease her mother Clarissa.

The World War I draft registrations for the Hano sons give more information about where they were in 1917-1918.  Louis, now 40 years old, was living with his father Jacob in Manhattan.  He was a salesman for Anathan & Co.  Ernest, now 38, was living in Brooklyn, and was self-employed as a kennel owner.  Both Louis and Ernest were single. Alfred was a lawyer, living in Manhattan with his wife Clara.  He claimed an exemption from service based on “dependents—physical disability.”  He also indicated that he had previously served as a private in the infantry for a month.  It appears that instead Alfred served in the NY Guard.  Finally, Clarence was living in Manhattan with Matilda and was employed as a salesman for Berg Brothers.

Both Alfred and Clarence had sons born in 1918, named Alfred and Richard, respectively.

In 1920, Jacob, now a widower and working again as a printer, was living with Clarence, Matilda, and their son Richard in Hempstead, Long Island.  Clarence was a dry goods buyer.  Louis was living alone at 168 West 74^th Street and working as a ladies’ neckwear salesman.  Alfred and his wife and son were living on Edgecomb Avenue in Manhattan, and Alfred was working as a lawyer.  Ernest was continuing to live with Madeleine McGlone.  Ernest was listed as Madeleine’s “cousin” on the census.  Hmmm…  Madeleine and Ernest both described their occupations as dog breeders.  From my cousin Arnold, I now know that they were very successful breeders of Boston terriers.

In the next two years, both Alfred and Clarence again had sons, named Arnold and Edwin, respectively.  That made four grandsons after six sons for Jacob and Fanny Hano.

Jacob Hano died on September 5, 1922.  He was 72 years old and died from kidney and heart disease.

In 1925, Louis was living alone on West 73^rd Street, working as a salesman.  Ernest was living on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx with Madeleine McGlone, now listed as her “partner” in the dog breeding business.  Alfred was also living in the Bronx on Montgomery Avenue with his wife and two sons, and he was still practicing law.  Clarence was living in Inwood on Long Island with his wife and two sons, and he was still a salesman.

Ernest finally married his former “landlady/cousin/partner” on December 28, 1927.  He was 47, and she was 51, and they had been living with each other since at least 1910.  Things did not change much for the other brothers between 1925 and 1930.  According to the 1930 census, Louis was still living alone in Manhattan, now on West 86^th Street, and selling sportswear.  Alfred was still living in the Bronx, but had changed occupations; he was now in the printing business as his father Jacob had once been. According to his son Arnold, Alfred joined his uncle Philip Hano’s printing business after he closed his law practice.  Clarence was still living on Long Island, now a sales manager for a millinery business.

Sometime between 1930 and 1940, Louis Hano married a woman named Blanche, who had a son named Lewis.  Blanche is listed as his wife on the 1940 census, and Lewis, 22 years old, is listed as his son.  Since Louis was single in 1920 and 1930, I was fairly certain that Lewis was not his biological child.  After much research, I concluded that Blanche had previously been married to Maurice Tobias and that Lewis was his biological child.  After Blanche married Louis, Lewis Bertram Tobias became Lewis Bertram Hano.  Whether or not he was legally adopted I cannot determine.  I am in touch with a descendant of Lewis, and we are trying to learn more.  At any rate, Louis F. Hano (note the different spelling of Louis and Lewis) became a husband and father for the first time some time in his fifties.  Louis was a salesman for a knit goods business, and Lewis was engaged in purchasing for a specialty shop.  They were living in Queens.

While Louis had moved out of Manhattan by 1940, two of his brothers had moved back to Manhattan. Alfred Hano was living at 41 West 83^rd Street with his wife and sons in 1940, and he was working as a salesman for an industrial company, according to the census.  His son Alfred, now 21, was working as a salesman for a tonsorial equipment company, i.e., barbershop supplies.

Clarence Hano also moved back to Manhattan by 1940.  He and his family were living at 465 West 65^th Street.  Clarence was still selling millinery; his wife Mathilda was working as a manager for a publishing company.  Their sons Richard and Edwin were both working as stock clerks, one for a thread company and the other for a button company.

I cannot locate Ernest and his wife Madeleine on the 1940 census, but he and Madeleine are listed in the 1938 directory for Claremont, New Hampshire, described as “retired” and living at “Blink Cottage” on Lake Avenue.  There is an identical listing in the 1942 Claremont directory, so I assume that that is where they were in 1940 as well.  On the other hand, Ernest’s 1942 draft registration lists his residence as 1422 Pelham Parkway in the Bronx, so perhaps they had both a city home and a country home during this period.  The draft registration confirmed that he was retired and married to Madeleine Hano.

Louis’ World War II draft registration showed him living with Blanche in Elmhurst, Queens, and employed by the Elgin Knit Sportswear Company.  He was now 64 years old.  His adopted son Lewis Bertram Hano married Marion Fitz on September 20, 1942, and Lewis served in the US Navy for much of World War II.

According to his World War II draft registration, Clarence Hano was living at 25 West 68^th Street and employed by the American Straw Goods Company. He was 50 years old.  His son Richard enlisted in the US Army on May 14, 1941, before the US had entered World War II.  Edwin Hano also served in the US Army during the war.

Alfred Hano was living at 41 West 83^rd Street at the time of his draft registration in 1942.  He was employed by the United Autographic Register Company at that time.  He was 52 years old.  Both of his sons also served in World War II.  His younger son Arnold enlisted in the US Army on October 16, 1942, and served in the Pacific Theater during the war.

Alfred’s older son, Alfred, had enlisted six months before his younger brother on April 10, 1942.  He served in the Army Air Corps in Europe.  Tragically, Alfred was killed when his plane was shot down over Germany in March, 1944.  He was only 25 years old.

The 1940s must have been very painful, heart-breaking years for the extended Hano family.  Not only did they lose Alfred in the war and see four other young men put their lives on the line, they also lost two of the Hano brothers within just months of each other.  On August 8, 1847, Ernest Nusbaum Hano died in Sunapee, New Hampshire; he was 67 years old.   His wife Madeleine survived him by sixteen years, dying March 6, 1963, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she had relocated after Ernest’s death.  Then on November 30, 1947, Louis F. Hano died in Queens; he was seventy years old.  His wife Blanche lived until April 2, 1965.

As for the other two brothers, Clarence died in April, 1960.  He was 69 years old.  His wife Mathilda died in 1976 when she was 79 years old.  Both of their sons died before they were sixty years old, Edwin in 1970 and Richard in 1977.

Alfred Hano was the last surviving Hano brother.  His wife Clara had died in 1953, and Alfred lived until May, 1967.  He was 76 when he died.  He was survived by his son Arnold, who is a very well-known and well-regarded sportswriter.  His book about one game of the 1954 World Series, A Day in the Bleachers, is considered a baseball classic and innovative in the way he described in detail the play by play of the entire game. It was in that game that Willie Mays made his historic catch, captured in this video:

He has also written a number of biographies as well as a number of novels.  I recently had the great pleasure of speaking with Arnold, who is now 93 years old.  It was an absolutely delightful conversation in which we discussed everything from the Bronx, baseball, war, children, careers, and family.  I have already added his books to my reading list for the summer.  There is a documentary currently being made about my cousin Arnold, and although Arnold himself questions why anyone would be interested in his life, I know that I will be very excited to see this film when it is completed.

And so that brings me to the end of the story of not only the Hano family, and not only to the end of story of the descendants of Ernst Nusbaum, but to the end of the story of all the children and grandchildren of Amson Nusbaum and Voegele Welsch,[1] my four-times great-grandparents from Schopfloch, Germany.

[1] Voegele was most likely the person for whom all those girls named Fanny, Flora, Florence, and Frances were named for in the Nusbaum/Dreyfuss/Dinkelspiel family.  I still need to find out more about the Welsch line of my family.