Jacob Meier Goldschmidt’s Third Child, Julius Goldschmidt: Cousins Marrying Cousins Who Married Cousins

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Jacob Meier Goldschmidt’s third child Julius Goldschmidt married Elise Seligmann on June 9, 1882. Elise was the daughter of Hermann Seligmann and Regina Cahn. She was born on April 23, 1863, in Frankfurt.

Marriage record of Julius Goldschmidt and Elise Seligmann, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 9417, Year Range: 1882, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

When I saw that Elise’s mother’s birth name was Regina Cahn, I wondered whether she was possibly related to Jettchen Cahn, her husband Julius’ mother. I knew that Jettchen’s parents were Aaron Simon Cahn and Minna Gamburg, as seen on her marriage record. I looked for records for Elise’s mother Regina Cahn and learned that indeed her parents were also Aaron Simon Cahn and Minna Gamburg. That meant that Julius had married his first cousin on his mother’s side, his mother’s sister’s daughter.

Julius and Elise had five children, Helene, Mimi, Jacob, Amalie and Regina.

Helene Goldschmidt was born on January 16, 1886, in Frankfurt. And that meant there were two family members named Helene Goldschmidt, Julius’ sister (Helene I) and his daughter (Helene II). Helene Goldschmidt II was also apparently known as Leni, so I will often just refer to her by her nickname. [It makes this work so much harder when the family keeps repeating names: Jacob, Amalie, and Regina are also the names of some of Julius’ siblings and cousins.]

Helene Goldschmidt II birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903; Signatur: 903_9015, Year Range: 1886, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Mimi was born in August 9, 1887, but died three years later on February 16, 1891.

Mimi Goldschmidt death record, Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 903; Signatur: 10440, Year Range: 1891, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Jacob Goldschmidt, to be referred to as Jacob (Julius) Goldschmidt to distinguish him from all the others with that name, was born on September 27, 1890, in Frankfurt.

Jacob (Julius) Goldschmidt, birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903; Signatur: 903_9076, Year Range: 1890, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

A third daughter, Amalie, was born in 1892 and also died as a young child. She died on November 22, 1893, in Frankfurt, when she was only a year old.

Amalie Goldschmidt death record, Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 903; Signatur: 10466, Year Range: 1893, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Finally, Regina Goldschmidt was born on March 7, 1900, in Frankfurt.1

Unfortunately, the death records for Mimi and Amalie do not reveal the cause of death. Losing two young children must have been devastating, and I do wonder whether being the children of first cousins contributed in any way to their deaths.

On May 1, 1905, Helene Goldschmidt II married Julius Falk Goldschmidt, son of Falk Goldschmidt, her grandfather Jacob’s brother.

Marriage record of Helene Goldschmidt II to Julius Falk Goldschmidt, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903, Year Range: 1905, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Julius Falk Goldschmidt and Leni’s father Julius Goldschmidt (son of Jacob Meier Goldschmidt) were first cousins. That is, Leni Goldschmidt and her husband Julius Falk Goldschmidt were first cousins, once removed.

In November, 1909, Leni and her husband Julius Falk and her younger brother Jacob all traveled to New York from Cherbourg. The ship manifest indicated that Julius Falk and Jacob were merchants and that they were all non-immigrant aliens.  Julius Falk and Jacob were traveling on business, and Leni was traveling for pleasure.

Goldschmidt, ship manifest, Year: 1909; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 1381; Line: 1; Page Number: 120 Description Ship or Roll Number: Roll 1381 Source Information Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957

Year: 1909; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 1381; Line: 1; Page Number: 120 Description Ship or Roll Number: Roll 1381 Source Information Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957

Leni and Julius Falk Goldschmidt had their first child, Felix Arthur Goldschmidt, on September 10, 1910, in Frankfurt.2 His brother Hermann Goldschmidt was born on December 6, 1912, in Frankfurt. 3

I didn’t want to even try and calculate how Hermann and Felix were related to each other in addition to being brothers, given that two of their maternal great-grandmothers were sisters (I think that means Felix and Hermann were third cousins) and their parents were first cousins, once removed (making Felix and Herman their mother’s second cousins as well as her sons, I think).

Jacob (Julius) Goldschmidt married Nellie Jaffa, daughter of Maximilian Jaffa and Toni Babette Landsberger, in Berlin on October 11, 1918; Nellie was born in Berlin on January 17, 1899.

Marriage record of Jacob Goldschmidt and Nellie Jaffa, Certificate Number: 515
Archive Sequence Number: 433, Register Type: Zum Erstregister erklärtes Zweitregister
Ancestry.com. Berlin, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1920

The marriage did not last long, as they were divorced on October 25, 1922, as indicated on the marriage record’s notation in the upper right hand corner. Not long after, Jacob immigrated to the US and became a naturalized US citizen on March 20, 1924:

Jacob Goldschmidt, naturalzation certificate, The National Archives at Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; NAI Title: Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, 1/19/1842 – 10/29/1959; NAI Number: 4713410; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, (Roll 257) Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, 1842-1959 (No 127601-128400), Ancestry.com. New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943

Note that like so many others in the Goldschmidt family, Jacob was an art dealer. Note also that he indicated that he was unmarried.

The youngest of Julius and Elise’s chidlren, Regina, married Siegfried Rosenberger on March 10, 1921, in Frankfurt. Siegfried was the son of Sigmund and Dina Rosenberger and was born on July 25, 1889, in Stuttgart.

Marriage record of Regina Blanche Goldschmidt and Siegfried Rosenberger, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903, 1921, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Regina and Siegfried had two children born in the 1920s.

Thus, by 1925, the two surviving daughters of Julius and Elise, Leni and Regina, were married and had children, and their brother Jacob had immigrated to the US where he was an art dealer. The story of Julius and Elise and their two daughters and family from the 1930s onward will continue in the next post.

 

  1. Regina Goldschmidt marriage record, Certificate Number: 251
    Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930 ↩
  2. Felix Goldschmidt, Birth Date: 10 Sep 1910, Birth Place: Frankfurt am Main, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Name Index of Jews Whose German Nationality Was Annulled by the Nazi Regime (Berlin Documents Center); Record Group: 242, National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675 – 1958; Record Group ARC ID: 569; Publication Number: T355; Roll: 3, Fränkel, Werner – Hartmann, Hermann, Ancestry.com. Germany, Index of Jews Whose German Nationality was Annulled by Nazi Regime, 1935-1944 ↩
  3.  Hermann Goldschmidt, Birth Date: 6 Dez 1912, Birth Place: Frankfurt am Main,
    National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Name Index of Jews Whose German Nationality Was Annulled by the Nazi Regime (Berlin Documents Center); Record Group: 242, National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675 – 1958; Record Group ARC ID: 569; Publication Number: T355; Roll: 3, Fränkel, Werner – Hartmann, Hermann. Ancestry.com. Germany, Index of Jews Whose German Nationality was Annulled by Nazi Regime, 1935-1944 ↩

28 thoughts on “Jacob Meier Goldschmidt’s Third Child, Julius Goldschmidt: Cousins Marrying Cousins Who Married Cousins”

  1. The task of sorting out family members with the same first name and also cousins marrying each other must have been a tremendous challenge for you, Amy. From early childhood on, I always experienced great difficulty in looking through the complexities of having so many aunts and uncles. When dealing with many names, I easily get confused. The work you put into your ancestry research is truly admirable, Amy.

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    • Thanks so much, Peter. It does get a bit mind-boggling! When I look at my family tree software and see how many men were named Jacob (or Jakob) Goldschmidt (or Goldsmith), it astounds me!

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  2. So many cousins marrying. My maternal grandfather’s family is like that. His parents, my great grandparents, were first cousins. And before that were many others. It is difficult to decipher who is who and how they are related! Good job

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  4. I share your frustration with the same names being repeated not only through the generations but across different contemporary branches of the same family. In some cases it was a clear tradition as to how each child would be named. As with your Cahn family, I have two ancestors with the same surname who married, but I have yet to meticulously identify the common ancestor. My best guess is 6th cousins, but I honestly don’t know. You may have inspired me to figure it out.

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  5. Hi Amy ~ I laughed when I read the title to this post and thought here we go. You did a great job keeping it clear and easy, well, not so easy but able to follow with a few read throughs. You’re so right with your comment to Laurel – it’s all about charts and being able to see it. Thats how I keep it straight. Interesting thought on the death of the 2 children – got me wondering too now. Great post

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  6. My great-grandfather’s family married their cousins, it’s difficult to figure out in the bigger scheme of things who’s who! I look forward to reading about Jacob Goldschmitt and how he fared in New York as an art dealer.

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  7. Hello Mrs. Cohen/Brotman,

    I have left a comment on a much earlier post regarding Ms. Zusi Rosenzweig, but I also realize I may have addressed you incorrectly. I apologize if I have and I mean no disrespect.

    Having discovered and deeply enjoyed this blog, I would like to share some information with you, if possible. If it would be suitable for you, I would greatly enjoy corresponding a bit through email. I do admit that I am not the most technologically versed so I hope my mistakes are excusable. As of yet I am not fully sure how to share my address with you privately for the sake of my other family, but I hope we can speak. I fully respect that you are a very busy woman. I hope this finds you well, especially in these trying days. Thank you for your time.

    Peace,
    Tshoshannah

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  8. You asked if marrying first cousins may have had anything to do with those early deaths. Most likely not. I recall reading (many years ago) a report about the survivors of the two atomic bombings in Japan in WW2. The U.S. followed for many years the health of these people. A side benefit (if you want to call it that) was a report on first cousin marriages. Since first cousins marriages in Japan at that time were common it provided much information on this subject. In short they found no real differences as to health of the children of these marriages when compared to the general public. Just thought I would throw my two cents in.

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    • Thank you, Charles! That’s really interesting. And good to know because there are so many first cousin marriages on my family tree. Of course, with child mortality rates so high back then, it could have been any of a number of illnesses that killed those poor little babies.

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  9. The same names are challenging enough, but the same genes lol! If I didn’t know this was real I would say it’s fodder for a Jeff Foxworthy routine. But I think it’s true of a lot of families.

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  10. Pingback: Leni and Julius Falk Goldschmidt and Their Sons: Escaping from Germany | Brotmanblog: A Family Journey

  11. I have some cousins marrying cousins, as well. Was it more common in the Jewish community? My mother thought it was because the Jewish community was not large in California.

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    • I can’t speak to other religions or ethnic groups in terms of more or less common, but given the levels of discrimination and the desire to continue traditions, I think many ethnic groups married within their community back in the days when there was less mobility. And remember that there was a lot of anti-Semitism (still is) and so Jews, being a very small population, did have to look within their community for partners so the chance of marrying a cousin was likely greater than it would have been for the general population in a place like Germany where Protestants and Catholics had a much wider population to select from even if they wanted to choose within their own faith.

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