Sarah Brod Goldfarb’s first twenty years in the United States from 1896 to 1916 were years of change and growth. She arrived with four children and settled in Pittsgrove, New Jersey. She and her husband Sam had three more children, moved from New Jersey to New York City, and saw three of their seven children marry—Julius, Gussie, and Bessie. In addition, Sarah and Sam became grandparents during those years; Bessie and her husband Meyer Malzberg had their first child Norman, and Julius and his wife Ida had their first child Sylvia.
The next five years also saw much growth, but one tragic loss.
When the US entered World War I in 1917, Sarah’s adult sons had to register for the draft. Julius registered in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he was working as a saloon keeper in his own establishment.
Julius Goldfarb World War I draft registration, Registration State: New Jersey; Registration County: Hudson; Roll: 1712213; Draft Board: 10, Registration State: New Jersey; Registration County: Hudson Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Morris’ World War I draft registration shows that in 1917 he was still living at 131 Avenue C with his parents and working as an operator for the B&R Cloak and Shirt Company.
Morris Goldfarb, World War I draft registration, egistration State: New York; Registration County: New York, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
By the time Joe Goldfarb registered in December, 1918 (after the war had ended), Sam and Sarah had moved to 526 Williams Avenue in Brooklyn. Joe was working as a claims adjuster for the American Railway Express Company.
Joseph Goldfarb World War I draft registration, Registration State: New York; Registration County: Kings, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
And Leo, the youngest son, also was working for the American Railway Express Company and living at 526 Williams Avenue with his parents.
Leo Goldfarb World War I draft registration, Registration State: New York; Registration County: Kings, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
As far as I can tell, none of the brothers ended up serving in the war, and Sam and Sarah were among the fortunate parents who did not lose a son in World War I.
But the year after the war ended, the family did suffer a tragic loss. Sarah and Sam’s daughter Gussie Goldfarb Katz died on May 13, 1919. She was about 31 years old (records vary). Her death certificate reports that her cause of death was acute lobar pneumonia. According to family lore, she was one of the millions of victims of the 1918-1919 pandemic.
New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WN5-B6V : 3 June 2020), Gussie Katz, 13 May 1919; citing Death, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,324,337.
Gussie was survived by her husband Max; they had no children. Max remarried within a few years and had children with his second wife.
There was also good news, however, during those years during and after World War I. Julius and Ida Goldfarb had a second daughter, Gertrude, who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on June 28, 1917.1 And Bessie and Meyer Malzberg’s son Gustave was born in New York on June 4, 1919, less than a month after Bessie lost her sister Gussie.2 Gustave was perhaps named for his recently deceased aunt.
There was also another family wedding during this time. Morris Goldfarb, Sarah’s second oldest child, married Anna Grinbaum in Brooklyn on February 2, 1919. Anna, according to the marriage certificate, was born to Samuel Grinbaum and Molly Goldman in Austria/Galicia and was 21 when she married Morris. I could not find any records for Anna earlier than the marriage record, but later records indicate she immigrated to the US in about 1914 and was born in 1897.
Marriage record of Morris Goldfarb and Anna Grinbaum, Morris Goldfarb
Gender: Male, Marriage Date: 2 Feb 1919, Marriage Place: Kings, New York, USA
Certificate Number: 1346, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937
On May 26, 1920, Anna gave birth to their first child, Martin Goldfarb, in New York, New York, giving Sarah and Sam their fifth grandchild.3
The 1920 US census shows Sam and Sarah living at 526 Williams Street in Brooklyn with Joe and Leo, both working for the express company, and Rose, a dressmaker for a factory in New York. Sam was not employed and was now 64 years old, according to the census, and Sarah was 54.
Sam and Sarah Goldfarb 1920 US census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Brooklyn Assembly District 2, Kings, New York; Roll: T625_1146; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 82; Image: 21
Julius and Ida and their two daughters Sylvia and Evelyn were living in Jersey City as of the 1920 census, which listed Julius’ occupation as “liquor business.”
Julius Goldfarb and family 1920 US census, lines 70-73
Year: 1920; Census Place: Jersey City Ward 3, Hudson, New Jersey; Roll: T625_1043; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 135; Image: 1104
Unfortunately, despite searching anyway and anywhere I could, I could not locate either the family of Morris and Anna Goldfarb or Meyer and Bessie (Goldfarb) Malzberg on the 1920 census.
So as of 1920, the Goldfarb family had experienced much growth and one terribly tragic loss.
- Gertrude Goldfarb Levy, Birth Date: 28 Jun 1917, Birth Place: Jersey City, New Jersey, Death Date: Feb 1979, Father: Julius Goldfarb, Mother: Ida Hecht, SSN: 140449263, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
- Gustav Malzberg, Birth Date: 4 Jun 1919, Birth Place: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, Certificate Number: 21712, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965 ↩
- Martin Goldfarb, Birth Date: 26 May 1920, Birth Place: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, Certificate Number: 25007, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965 ↩
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Interesting. When I lived in Philadelphia I worked with a physician named Sam Goldfarb who was from the midwest.
Suzanne Michel
610 299 4505 MichelSu@MUSC.edu smichelrd@aol.com
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Hi Suzanne! I don’t think that’s a relative of my Goldfarbs, but anything is possible.
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Compared with the influenza pandemic 0f 1918/19, the number of deaths caused by Covid-19, while dangerous and frightening, is quite small.
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And that itself is a tragic statement. Worldwide over 50 million died in 1918-1919, and we are at “only” 3 million world wide from COVID. But…I know the death total from COVID in Canada is quite low, but in the US the total COVID deaths (over 565,000) is quickly approaching the total US deaths from the 1918 epidemic (675,000). I fear we may surpass that number so I wouldn’t say the relative number of COVID deaths is small here in the US.
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With so many men old enough to have to register for the draft, it must have been a relief to find they did not have to serve. You had me trying, just in case, to find Morris and Meyer in the 1920 census. Sometimes I can’t resist. Unfortunately, I was not successful.
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I am so glad you tried! I can’t tell you how many hours I spent looking for them using first names only, all Malzbergs (not a very common name), all kinds of wild cards and asterisks, etc. Somehow they just managed to avoid the enumerators…
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I thought about trying to go into the census and find Anna’s parents’ address on the marriage record but since it is New York I didn’t. I’m not familiar enough with that city and state.
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I didn’t think of that. I can use stevemorse.com and try and find it. Worth a try—thanks!
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I found that right ED with the address, but there were no Green(Grin)baums or Goldfarbs living there in 1920. Thanks for the suggestion!
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You’re welcome. Would have been nice if it had worked.
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Always worth a try…
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I was so glad to read there was lots of happiness to help get them through Gussie passing.
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It’s almost as if all the siblings said we need more children in the family and all got pregnant within weeks or months of each other.
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What a tragic loss to have lost Gussie at such a young age. That pandemic was horrific.
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I used to say it is hard to imagine what it was like. I no longer have to imagine.
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I think the major difference in the pandemics is how many young people the influenza took. COVID seems to have impacted the elderly so much more. Not that any passing isn’t terrible, but somehow it seems worse when a person is young.
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Yes, that’s true. Although this latest surge is hitting more younger people, and we don’t yet know what the final numbers will be.
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I wonder if that was typical death record would not mention the flu. Good job as usual, Amy.
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I have seen some that specifically say influenza, but others that just say, like this one, pneumonia. Probably depended on the person filling out the death certificate.
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