When Jacob Katzenstein died in 1916, he left behind his second wife, Bertha Miller, and their six children: Helen, who was then 24, Gerald (23), Eva (22), Leopold (18), Maurice (16), and Perry (12). His wife Bertha was 49 years old. As I learned from Leonard Winograd’s book, The Horse Died at Windber: A History of Johnstown’s Jews of Pennsylvania (Wyndham Hall Press, 1988), Bertha’s brother Maurice Miller had been in business with Jacob as owners of a clothing store. That business continued to support the family, as we will see.
In 1917, the oldest child, Helen Katzenstein, married another Johnstown native, John Augustus Rodgers. John had been the captain of the football team at Greater Johnstown High School in 1909 and went on to Penn State for college, according to the 1909 Greater Johnstown High School yearbook, The Spectator, found on Ancestry.com.
In June 1917 when he registered for the World War I draft, John was a physical training teacher at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was still single at that time, so Helen and he must have married sometime after June.
![John Rodgers World War I draft registration Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893244; Draft Board: 1 Description Draft Card : R Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/john-rodgers-ww-1-draft-registration.jpg?w=584&h=275)
John Rodgers World War I draft registration
Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893244; Draft Board: 1
Description
Draft Card : R
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
![John Rodgers application for Veterans Compensation Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: World War I Veterans Service and Compensation File, 1934–1948. RG 19, Series 19.91. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg Pennsylvania.](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/john-rodgers-veterans-compensation-application.jpg?w=584&h=744)
John Rodgers application for Veterans Compensation
Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data: World War I Veterans Service and Compensation File, 1934–1948. RG 19, Series 19.91. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg Pennsylvania.
![Gerald Katzenstein World War I draft registration Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893243; Draft Board: 1 Description Draft Card : K Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/gerald-katzenstein-ww-1-draft-reg.jpg?w=584&h=268)
Gerald Katzenstein World War I draft registration
Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893243; Draft Board: 1
Description
Draft Card : K
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
![Leo Katzenstein, 1917 Greater Johnstown High School yearbook Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Various school yearbooks from across the United States.](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/leo-katzenstein-hs-yearbook-1917.jpg?w=584&h=219)
Leo Katzenstein, 1917 Greater Johnstown High School yearbook
Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Various school yearbooks from across the United States.
When he registered for the draft in September, 1918, he was a student at Lehigh University, studying to be a metallurgy engineer. He joined the service on October 2, 1918. He served in the Student Army Training Center at Lehigh until December 11, 1918. He never served overseas during the war.
![Leo Katzenstein World War I draft registration Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893243; Draft Board: 1 Description Draft Card : K Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line].](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/leo-katzenstein-world-war-1-draft-reg.jpg?w=584&h=278)
Leo Katzenstein World War I draft registration
Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893243; Draft Board: 1
Description
Draft Card : K
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line].

Maurice Katzenstein, 1919 Greater Johnstown High School Yearbook
http://usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/images/spectator-19/p031.jpg
![Maurice Katzenstein World War I draft registration Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893243; Draft Board: 1 Description Draft Card : K Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/maurice-katzenstein-ww1-draft-reg.jpg?w=584&h=274)
Maurice Katzenstein World War I draft registration
Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria; Roll: 1893243; Draft Board: 1
Description
Draft Card : K
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]

John Rodgers 1920 census
Year: 1920; Census Place: Coblenz, Germany, Military and Naval Forces; Roll: T625_2040; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: Infantry Barracks; Image: 304

Bertha Miller Katzenstein and children 1920 census
Year: 1920; Census Place: Johnstown Ward 6, Cambria, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1546; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 176; Image: 851
As the census report indicates, in 1920 Gerald Katzenstein, the oldest son, was working as a clerk in a clothing store, presumably the store once owned by his father and uncle, M. Miller & Company. Eva was working as a bookkeeper in a bank. The other family members, including Helen, were not employed outside the home.
But by 1922, Bertha had taken on an official role in the family business. She is listed in the Johnstown city directory for that year as the Vice-President and Treasurer of M. Miller & Co; Gerald and Leo were employed as salesman in the store. Eva was working as a teller in the bank, and Maurice and Perry were in school. (I assume Maurice was in college, but I don’t know where.) They were all living together at 838 Franklin Avenue in Johnstown.
![Katzensteins in 1922 Johnstown directory Title : Johnstown, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1922 Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/katzensteins-on-1922-johnstown-directory.jpg?w=584&h=152)
Katzensteins in 1922 Johnstown directory
Title : Johnstown, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1922
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Perry, the youngest sibling, graduated from Greater Johnstown High School in 1922. He was on both the varsity football and basketball teams. I wonder how accurately the quote reflects his personality—“Happy I am, from care I am free.” According to the yearbook, he was known as Puz, was always in a hurry, and had a weakness for “the ladies.”
![Perry Katzenstein, 1922 Greater Johnstown High School yearbook Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Various school yearbooks from across the United States.](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/perry-katzenstein-1922-johnstown-yearbook.jpg?w=584&h=318)
Perry Katzenstein, 1922 Greater Johnstown High School yearbook
Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Various school yearbooks from across the United States.
![Katzensteins, 1929 Johnstown directory Title : Johnstown, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1929 Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]](https://brotmanblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/katzensteins-in-1929-johnstown-directory.jpg?w=584&h=119)
Katzensteins, 1929 Johnstown directory
Title : Johnstown, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1929
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]
As for Helen’s siblings and mother, they were all still living together in Johnstown in 1930. Gerald and Leo were salesmen in a clothing store, Eva was a bank teller, Maurice was now working as a salesman for the newspaper, and Perry had no occupation listed. I wonder whether the last two entries are accurate, as Perry was the one working for a paper in 1929 and Maurice had no listing; I think the enumerator must have switched the occupation entries for the two brothers.

Bertha Katzenstein and family 1930 census
Year: 1930; Census Place: Johnstown, Cambria, Pennsylvania; Roll: 2012; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 0056; Image: 201.0; FHL microfilm: 2341746
That is even clearer when the 1931 city directory is examined: Maurice was working as a collector for a clothing store (Eagle Clothing), and Perry was still an advertising solicitor for the Johnstown Democrat. Gerald and Leo were still clothing salesman, and Eva was still a bank teller.
Interestingly, the first of the Katzenstein brothers to marry was Perry, the youngest. On July 30, 1930, he was engaged to marry Helene Haws, also a Johnstown native. Although I don’t have a date for their wedding, their first child was born in 1932.
Other changes started to occur as well. Maurice became the first of the brothers to leave Johnstown. (Helen had obviously left some years before with her husband John.) In 1931, Maurice is listed in both the Johnstown directory, as noted above, and also in a directory for Springfield, Illinois, which listed him as an advertising manager for the Famous Department Store. He is also listed in Springfield in 1934 and 1935. Then in 1936, he is working as a window trimmer again, now in Lima, Ohio.
While working there, he met Gladys Weixelbaum, a Baltimore native who had lived most of her life in Ohio and who was working as a school teacher in Lima in 1930. Maurice, the second youngest brother, became the second to marry when he married Gladys in Lima in 1938. He was 38, and she was 39.
The remaining siblings continued to live in Johnstown. In 1938, Gerald, Leo, and Eva were living with their mother Bertha at 221 Haynes Street. Leo was the manager of a store called Lee’s, perhaps his own store, and Gerald was a salesman there; Eva continued to be a bank teller. The 1940 census report reflects these same facts:

Bertha Katzenstein and family 1940 US census
Year: 1940; Census Place: Johnstown, Cambria, Pennsylvania; Roll: T627_3454; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 11-65
Perry was also still in Johnstown. Although I cannot find him on the 1940 census, in both 1938 and 1941 he and his family were living at 415 Vickroy Street, and he was working as a clerk and then a solicitor for the Johnstown Tribune. By 1940, Perry and Helene had had three children, but tragically their daughter Judith died just before she was four months old from pneumococcal meningitis. She died on March 1, 1940, which might explain why Perry and Helene are not on the 1940 census; perhaps they were out of town, perhaps the enumerator knew they were grieving and skipped their home.

Judith Katzenstein death certificate
Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Pennsylvania, USA; Certificate Number Range: 025901-028900
Maurice and Grace were living in Marion, Indiana, in 1940; Grace’s mother was also living with them. Maurice was working as a display manager for a department store. A year later they had moved to Flint, Michigan, where Maurice was the advertising manager for a business called The Fair.

Maurice and Grace Katzenstein 1940 census
Year: 1940; Census Place: Marion, Grant, Indiana; Roll: T627_1047; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 27-9
Helen and John Rodgers and their children were living in New Rochelle in 1940; John had no occupation listed on the census. Perhaps by then he had retired from the army. He would have been fifty years old in 1940.

John and Helen (Katzenstein) Rodgers on 1940 census
Year: 1940; Census Place: New Rochelle, Westchester, New York; Roll: T627_2809; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 60-213B
Thus, as of 1940, four of Jacob and Bertha (Miller) Katzenstein’s children were still living in Johnstown; three were still unmarried and living with their mother, and two were following in their father and uncle’s footsteps in the clothing business. Perry was still living in Johnstown, working in newspaper sales, and married with children. The other two siblings had moved away from Johnstown: Helen had left years before with her husband and children and was living in New Rochelle, New York, and Maurice had moved to the Midwest where he had gone from Illinois to Ohio to Indiana to Michigan. He and Grace did not have children.
The 1940s would present some changes and some losses. More on that in my next post.
Grace Weixebaum — Her name is Weixelbaum, German spelling Weichselbaum, a special cherry tree with tart fruit, common in all of Europe. Another example for choice of last names…
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Thanks, Dorothee! I knew baum meant tree, but not the Weichsel meant cherry—good to know as I add words to my German vocabulary. 🙂
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More complicated, as usual: cherry is KIRSCHE, Weichsel is only the name for a tart variety. Mandelbaum is another frequent Jewish name – almond tree.
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My uncle’s surname was Lehrbaum, and he alway proudly told us that it mean teaching or learning tree!
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It’s hard to believe you got this much information on the family for a period of only a little more than two decades. Do you use the timeline of your genealogy software to generate a timeline of all the events? If not, it would be nice to know your method of keeping this all together.
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No, I use my own notes. I just take everything I’ve found and organize it chronologically, looking for trends and keeping in mind as best I can what might be happening around them all. I tend to be old school about some things!
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Thanks, Amy. Always nice to know how others do it. 🙂
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I’m so glad to know that they were able to carry on after Jacob’s death. My 2nd great grandfather died when my great grandfather (the second child, oldest son) was 18. He found himself in the role of breadwinner for his mother and 4 siblings. It had a huge impact on his life – not all bad – but he certainly had to sacrifice a lot. It sounds like the store provided some stability so that the sons were able to support but still move forward. What a blessing. Times have certainly changed.
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I did find it interesting how the family almost all stayed close by and even lived together long after they were adults. You don’t see that much today either!
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No you don’t!
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I had fun looking up the 838 Franklin Ave address on google earth. Looks like the house is gone, what a shame because many of the old original or nearly original homes and buildings are there. Great post Amy 🙂
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Thanks, Sharon! I should have done that also. Now I will! 🙂
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Every time I read what one of your relatives did for a living I want to be a fly on the wall and see what the day to day job was like. I think it was because so many of them had the sort of jobs that I can relate to, for one reason or another. Not sure that makes sense, but I feel that way so often when I read your posts. Do you know if John Rodgers was Jewish or not?
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Was it the window trimmer? Bank teller? Or design engineer? John Rodgers was not Jewish; in fact, not one of the siblings married someone Jewish.
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Oops, not true. Grace Weixelbaum was Jewish, I believe.
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I love your use of the different record sets and how you incorporate them into the narrative. I particularly like seeing the old yearbook photos and blurbs. Great to see more of those coming online.
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Thanks, Michael! I love the yearbooks also—always interesting insights into the adolescence of our relatives.
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Pingback: Jacob Katzenstein’s Second Family: Conclusion | Brotmanblog: A Family Journey
I am envious of the details you have about different families and how you keep it all together. I need to get better at that.
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Thank you, Debi. That’s the fun part for me—trying to get the details and seeing the bigger picture. You’ve done an incredible job of that with your grandparents’ families!
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Amy, I never cease to be amazed at the documents you are able to collect and then compile and tell a really great story that is easily followed. I especially like seeing documents regarding WWI service.
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Thanks, Janice—that means a lot coming from you!
I’d love at some point to pull together all my relatives who fought in the Civil War (a handful), World War I (a few more) and World War II (even more). If I ever get through all the “basic research,” I will have a chance to do theme posts like that. Someday….
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Trying to send you an email but it won’t deliver. Bernadette
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I will email you—perhaps you have the wrong email address? Thanks for letting me know.
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