Monthly Archives: December 2024

Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Merry Christmas!

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Happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, and merry Christmas to all my friends, family, and readers! No matter which holiday you celebrate (assuming you celebrate any of them), this will be a week of celebration. I don’t remember there ever being a time where Hanukkah began on the evening of Christmas Day. And Kwanzaa starts on the first day of Hanukkah, the day after Christmas.

While those celebrating Christmas will be honoring the birth of Jesus, gathering around their trees, singing carols, going to church, and opening gifts, we Jews will be honoring the Maccabees who rescued the Temple and rededicated it, thinking of the miracle of the oil, lighting the first candle on the menorah, playing with dreidels and also opening gifts. We will be eating latkes and sufganiyot (doughnuts); Christians will have their traditional Christmas meals (seven fishes or ham or some other festive meal) and Christmas cookies. Those celebrating Kwanzaa light candles in a kinara and have  traditional foods and music and rituals inspired by their African heritage and the seven values the holiday honors. While all of our traditions are different, we will all share a time that brings more light into the darkest time of the year.

And we certainly all need more light right now. Regardless of your political beliefs, there is no question that there is far too much anger, hatred, war, disease, and suffering in the world. The divisions here in the US and in Europe and in the Middle East and throughout the world have made this past year a very scary time.

Let’s hope that whatever joy and light our celebrations bring to our individual families and homes this week can somehow be transformed into love and peace throughout the world.

Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa Solstice!

Moses Rothschild’s Grandson Alvin and His Many Homes

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The 1940s were challenging years in the US and around the world with World War II raging in Europe and America’s entrance into the war after Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. They were also challenging years for the two oldest children of Moses and Mathilde Rothschild, Samuel and Rudolph. And Rudolph’s son Alvin found himself being transferred to at least five different cities over twenty years.

Samuel and his wife Sallye were living in the Bronx, now each 66 years old, and retired.1 Samuel and Sally’s son Milton and his family were also living in the Bronx, and Milton was a salesman in a wholesale grocery business.2 His 1940 draft registration shows that he was working for a company called J. Bond & Co.

Milton Rothschild World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

Samuel’s wife Sallye died on November 14, 1945, at the age of 77.3 Samuel remarried on March 18, 1948; his second wife was Fannie Lichtenstein.4 She was born in Germany in about 1888. In 1940 she’d been single and living with her niece and brother-in-law in New York and was working as a “salesgirl.”5 In 1950 Samuel and Fannie were living in the Bronx.6 Samuel died eight years later on October 22, 1958, in New York.7 Fannie died four years after Samuel on February 8, 1962.8

Milton Rothschild, Samuel’s son, and his family were still in the Bronx in 1950, and Milton was still working in the wholesale grocery business.9 At some later point, Milton and Blanche moved to New Rochelle, New York,10 and then later retired to Hollywood, Florida, where Blanche died on October 7, 1974, at the age of 66.11 Milton outlived her by almost 20 years. He died on October 15, 1993, at the age of 87.12  He was survived by his daughter and grandchildren; his other child, Ronald, had died from leukemia in 1960 when he was only 25 years old.13

Samuel’s younger brother Rudolph lived in Florida, but years before Samuel and Blanche moved there. In 1940 Rudolph and his wife Rebecca were living in Miami Beach, Florida, and Rudolph was retired.14 But they may have been splitting their time between Florida and New York because  in 1948 they were in New York and living at 23 West 73rd Street when Rudolph died suddenly on May 31, 1948; he was 73. 15 In 1950 his widow Rebecca was living in New York City.16

As for Rudolph’s children, I could not find Mortimer and his family on the 1940 census, but when Mortimer registered for the draft on February 15, 1942, he was living in Manhattan and working for Mode Kiddie Coats, Inc.

Mortimer Rothschild World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

In 1950, he and his wife Amelie and their two children were living in Scarsdale, New York, and Mortimer was an executive of a clothing manufacturer.17 Mortimer died on October 4, 1974, in Scarsdale; he was 74;18 his wife Amelie outlived him by 36 years; she was 104 when she died on March 4, 2010. 19 According to her obituary, Amelie made her mark in her support of public education. It states that “[s]he was an educator, the first Jewish woman on the Scarsdale, NY, Board of Education, one of the two New York State representatives at President Eisenhower’s White House Conference on Education, and a driving force for public education. She was President of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale, the Associate Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and in 1958 was honored by inclusion in the first Who’s Who of American Women.”

Mortimer and Amelie were survived by their sons and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mortimer’s younger brother Alvin and his wife Marjorie, who had been living in Wilmington, Delaware, when they married in 1936, were living in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, by 1940. Alvin was still working for the same company, Neisner Brothers, owners of a chain of variety stores, that he’d been working for in Wilmington in 1936, so I assume he must have been transferred from one company location to another.20 By February 14, 1942, when Alvin registered for the draft, he had again been transferred by Neisner Brothers, this time to Buffalo, New York.

Alvin Rothschild World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

But Alvin and Marjorie weren’t done moving. In 1950 they were living in Wheaton, Maryland, with their three children, and Alvin listed his occupation as the manager of a variety store, I assume again one owned by Neisner Brothers.21

And that wasn’t the end of Alvin’s relocations. By 1957 it appears that he had moved to the Skokie, Illinois area and that his mother Rebecca had moved there as well and lived with them. I inferred this from the August 27, 1957, death notice in The Chicago Tribune for Rebecca Rothschild, which gave her address as 8943 N. Samoset. That matched the address of Alvin and Marjorie Rothschild as reported in the engagement announcement for their son Charles in the March 19, 1961, issue of The Chicago Tribune.

Death notice for Rebecca Rothschild, August 27, 1957, p. 28

“Weds in June,” Chicago Tribune, March 19, 1961, p. 125

It seems that the Chicago area was finally a place where Alvin and Marjorie and their children could settle in and stay. Alvin died there on February 22, 1987; he was 83.22 Marjorie survived him by almost twenty years. She died on January 9, 2006, in Chicago.23 Alvin and Marjorie were survived by their children and grandchildren.

The next post will cover the post-1940 lives of the children and grandchildren of Albert Rothschild, Moses and Mathilde’s third son, who, as we saw, died at a young age.

 

 

  1. Samuel Rothschild and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02497; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 3-1438A, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  2. Milton Rothschild and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02497; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 3-1438A,
    Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  3. Sallye Rothschild [Sallye Livingston], Gender Female, Race White, Marital Status Married, Age 77 Birth Date 14 Oct 1868, Birth Place Missouri, Clarkville, Residence Street Address 1900 Grand Concourse, Residence Place New Death Date 14 Nov 1945
    Death Street Address 1900 Grand Concourse, Death Place New York City, Bronx, New York, USA, Cause of Death Adenocarcinoma of Ascending Colon, With Metastasis
    Burial Date 16 Nov 1945, Burial Place MT Carmel Cemetery, Occupation Housewife
    Father’s Birth Place Germany, Mother’s Birth Place Germany, Father Aaron Livingston
    Mother Magdeline Livingston, Spouse Samuel Informant Thomas Rothschild Informant Gender Male Informant Relationship Husband Executor Samuel Rothschild Executor Relationship Husband Certificate Number 10938, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Death Certificates; Borough: Bronx; Year: 1945, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Death Certificates, 1862-1948 ↩
  4. Samuel S Rothschild, Gender Male, Marriage License Date 18 Mar 1948, Marriage License Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, Spouse Fannie Lichtenstein
    License Number 7437, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 11, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 ↩
  5. Fanny Lichtenstein, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02654; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 31-1275, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  6. Samuel Rothschild, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: 3965; Page: 71; Enumeration District: 3-1030,
    Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  7. Samuel Rothschild, Age 83, Birth Date abt 1875, Death Date 22 Oct 1958, Death Place Bronx, New York, New York, USA, Certificate Number 10774, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Death Index, 1949-1965 ↩
  8. Fanny Rothschild, Age 74, Birth Date abt 1888, Death Date 8 Feb 1962, Death Place Manhattan, New York, New York, USA, Certificate Number 2961, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Death Index, 1949-1965 ↩
  9. Milton Rothschild and family, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: 3965; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 3-1030, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  10. Milton S Rothschild, Birth Date 5 Mar 1906,Address 164 Church St, Residence Place New Rochelle, New York, USA, Zip Code 10805-3254, Ancestry.com. U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 ↩
  11. Blanche Rothschild, Social Security Number 098-36-1046, Birth Date 4 Nov 1907, Issue year 1962, Issue State New York, Last Residence 33021, Hollywood, Broward, Florida, USA, Death Date Oct 1974, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩
  12. Milton S Rothschild, Gender Male, Birth Date 5 Mar 1906, Death Date 15 Oct 1993, Claim Date 15 Dec 1970, SSN 062019743, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  13. “Ronald Rothschild Succumbs at Home,” The New Rochelle Standard Star, August 11, 1960, p. 2. ↩
  14. Rudolph Rothschild, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Miami Beach, Dade, Florida; Roll: m-t0627-00580; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 13-37A, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  15. Rudolph Rothschild death notice, Buffalo (NY) Jewish Review, June 11, 1948. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96200762/rudolph-rothschild: accessed December 6, 2024), memorial page for Rudolph Rothschild (19 Mar 1875–31 May 1948), Find a Grave Memorial ID 96200762, citing Mount Carmel Cemetery, Glendale, Queens County, New York, USA; Maintained by Dave Davisson (contributor 36744121). See also search results here: http://www.mountcarmelcemetery.com/search.asp ↩
  16. Rebecca Rothschild, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: 1128; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 31-819, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  17. Mortimer Rothschild, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Scarsdale, Westchester, New York; Roll: 135; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 60-367, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  18. Mortimer Rothschild, Social Security Number 068-07-0481, Birth Date 28 Oct 1899, Issue year Before 1951, Issue State New York, Last Residence 10530, Hartsdale, Westchester, New York, USA, Death Date Oct 1974, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. Death notice, The White Plains Reporter Dispatch, October 7, 1974, pp.8, 12. ↩
  19. Amelie S. Rothschild, Social Security Number 117-30-5315, Birth Date 13 Aug 1905, Issue year 1955-1956, Issue State New York, Last Residence 10530, Hartsdale, Westchester, New York, Death Date 3 Mar 2010, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩
  20. Alvin Rothschild and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Kingston, Luzerne, Pennsylvania; Roll: m-t0627-03554; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 40-147, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  21. Alvin Rothschild and family, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Wheaton, Montgomery, Maryland; Roll: 2551; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 16-189, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  22. Alvin Raymond Rothschild, Death Date 22 Feb 1987, Death Place Cook, Illinois, USA, File Number 12187, Cook County Clerk; Chicago, IL; Cook County Genealogy Records (Deaths), Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988 ↩
  23. Marjorie Breuer Rothschild, [Marjorie B Rothschild] [Marjorie Breuer Breuer] Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 29 Apr 1914, Birth Place Wilmington, Delaware
    [Wilmington|], Death Date 9 Jan 2006, Claim Date 5 Apr 1976, Father Charles Breuer
    Mother Maryann Gold, SSN 343368015, Citizenship or Alien Status U.S. citizen, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩

Theresa Rothschild Alexander’s Daughter-in-Law Grete Maren: A Dramatic Life

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Although Theresa Rothschild Alexander’s daughter Frances Alexander Jacobs left the US for Canada in the 1930s, her parents and siblings remained in the US. This post will be about the other members of Theresa’s family, in particular her son Herbert and his wife Grete.

In 1940, Theresa and her husband Max Alexander and their two sons Herbert (29) and Albert (24) were living together in the Bronx along with Max’s sister Esther, as they had been in 1930. Max continued to work in the real estate business, Herbert, who had graduated from New York University in 1931 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, was a short story writer, and Albert was an insurance salesman.1

Although the census said Herbert was a short story writer, according to one source, Herbert had been working as an editor in the publishing industry since 1932, except for two years when he worked as a social worker for New York City. Herbert’s 1940 World War II draft registration lists his employer as Norman Warren, which I assume was a publishing company. Thus, I think the census may be inaccurate—perhaps Herbert was writing stories on the side, but he was working as an editor in 1940. In 1942, Herbert enlisted in the US Army Air Force where he served until 1945, achieving the rank of second lieutenant.2

Herbert Alexander World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.

Before enlisting, Herbert married Grete Maren in early May, 1942.  Grete’s story deserves a post of its own. She was born Margarete Johanna Hinterauer on February 12, 1912, in Munich, Germany, to Maximillian and Margarete Hinterauer.3 Her parents were Catholic, and her father was a merchant in Munich. From a very early age, Margarete was interested in dance and theater, and by the time she was sixteen she was performing professionally on several stages in many cities in Germany, including in Munich at the Munich Kammerspiele, as well as at several theaters in Vienna, where she established herself as a successful actress, using the stage name Grete Maren.4

I located one image that was labeled Grete Maren in 1932, so I believe that this may be her.

Grete became part of the troupe of actors hired by Max Reinhardt, the esteemed Austrian theater and film director known for, among other things, establishing the famous Salzburg Festival.5 On August 31, 1930, Grete was performing as part of Reinhardt’s company in a theater in Bad Ischl, Austria, a town not too far from Vienna. She was eighteen years old. A young man named Kurt Daehn, who was also part of the same theater company and with whom she’d been involved romantically, traveled from Vienna to Bad Ischl to demand that she return to Vienna with him. An argument followed, and when she tried to end their relationship, he shot her five times, injuring her critically.6 As the notes below reveal, there was widespread international coverage of this crime of passion.

From “Vienna Beauties and The Jinx of 3,” The Buffalo (New York)Times, December 7, 1930, p. 45.

Grete was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, and she was able to resume her acting career once she recovered despite being scarred from her injuries. Kurt Daehn was arrested and convicted, but according to numerous newspaper reports, Grete testified on his behalf at his trial and as a result he was sentenced to only two years in jail, but only served nine months. 7 Numerous US papers ran a story in February 1932 that claimed Grete was going to marry Daehn after he was released from prison, but the Munich Kammerspiele biography of Grete Maren does not include any reference to a marriage between Grete and Daehn, nor can I find any support for it elsewhere.8

After the Nazis came to power in April 1933 and much of German theater was shut down or censored, Grete left Germany and on October 20, 1933, she arrived in New York, listing her occupation as an actress. However, she did not remain in the United States to live, but went to Montreal, Canada, until she returned to the US on May 3, 1934.9

When Grete came to the US in 1934, once again her life was filled with drama. After she was awarded a role in the Broadway production of Alfred Savoir’s play, Sexes and Sevens, the Council of the Actors Equity Association blocked Grete from taking the role because as a foreign actress, she was prohibited from taking another role within six months of performing in a different work. It appears she had been in a one-week tryout for a different play in a different theater less than six months before.10 The producer, Lee Shubert, soon selected another actress for the role.11

In April 1935, Grete finally had her debut on Broadway in Journey by Night, an English adaptation of a Germany play by Arthur Goodrich. Grete was cast  in the lead female role, and Jimmy Stewart was given the lead male role. Unfortunately the play closed after only seven performances after receiving terrible reviews.12 Once again, Grete’s acting career was stymied.

In 1937, Grete filed a Declaration of Intention to become a US citizen. Her Petition for Naturalization, filed on July 14, 1939, was approved, and she became a US citizen on November 13, 1939.13

Greta Maren Declaration of Intention, The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Petitions For Naturalization From the U.s. District Court For the Southern District of New York, 1897-1944; Series: M1972; Roll: 1199, Archive Roll Descriptions: (Roll 1199) Petition No· 330211-Petition No· 330571, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944

From various newspaper reports, it appears that Grete never returned to Broadway, but did appear in various local theater productions in the greater New York City region until she married Herbert Alexander in May 1942.

Grete and Herbert had one child born after Herbert was discharged from the military in 1945.  Herbert resumed his career in publishing and became the associate editor of Pocket Books, Inc., in 1947, and its editor-in-chief in 1948. He remained with Pocket Books for most of the rest of his professional career.

Meanwhile, Herbert’s brother Albert also served during World War II. On January 20, 1941, Albert enlisted in the New York Guard, where he served until he was discharged on May 7, 1945.14

In 1950, the entire family of Theresa and Max Alexander was living in the same building at 2033 Morris Avenue in the Bronx where they’d been living since at least 1930. Herbert and Greta and their son were living upstairs from Herbert’s parents Theresa and Max and his brother Albert, who were all living on the first floor. Herbert was an editor for the Pocket Books publishing company. His brother Albert was a machine parts salesman. No one else was employed outside the home.15

Theresa Rothschild Alexander died not long just months after the 1950 census was taken; she was 71 when she died on June 18, 1950, in the Bronx.16 Her husband Max Alexander died five years later on February 12, 1955, in New York City.17

Their son Albert took out a license to marry Mary Jane Deiches in 1952.18 Mary Jane was born on December 15, 1925, in New York, and was the daughter of Maurice Deiches and Ruth Greenebaum.19 In 1950 she had been living on her own in New York City and working as a freelance editor.20 Perhaps Albert’s brother Herbert had made the connection through his work as an editor. Albert and Mary Jane eventually relocated to the Rochester, New York, area.21They had two children.

UPDATE! I have been very fortunate to hear from Albert’s son Charles and granddaughter Kate, who have provided me with more information. Charles wrote that his mother Mary Jane Deitches did not meet his father Albert through Herbert, even though they were both in the publishing business. Charles wrote, “They met because they lived next to one another in an apartment building. They met on Thanksgiving of what I believe was 1950 or 1951and were married 6 weeks later. My mom was 10 years younger than my Dad.” Also, I learned that Albert and Mary Jane had four children, not two. There is nothing like first-hand information. I am so glad that Charles and Kate found me through this blog! Charles also shared this photo from his father’s high school yearbook. Unfortunately I could not add it to this post except at the very bottom because WordPress has made it too difficult to add here, so please look below. 

Herbert Alexander died on November 23, 1988, in New York City after a lifetime career in the publishing company. After Simon & Schuster acquired Pocket Books, Inc., in the late 1950s, he became a director and vice-president of that large publishing house. Herbert was 78 years old when he died;22 his wife Greta had died six years earlier in September 1982.23 They were survived by their son.

Albert Alexander died when he was 79 on September 15, 1994, in Rochester, New York;24 he was predeceased by his wife Mary Jane, who died at 65 in May 1991.25

  1. Max Alexander and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02497; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 3-1442,  Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  2. Herbert M Alexander, Gender Male, Birth Date 1 Sep 1910, Death Date 23 Nov 1988, SSN 082015161, Enlistment Branch AF Enlistment Date 26 May 1942 Discharge Date 6 Jul 1945 Enlistment Branch 1 AF Enlistment Date 1 7 Jul 1945, Discharge Date 1 26 Oct 1945, Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010. ↩
  3. Herbert M. Alexander, Gender Male, Race White, Marriage Age 41, Birth Date 1 Sep 1910, Birth Place New York City, Marriage Date 9 May 1942, Marriage Place New York, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA, Residence Street Address 2033 Morris Ave., Residence Place Bx.NY, Bronx, Occupation Writer, Father Maximilian Alexander
    Mother Theresa Alexander, Spouse Greta Maren, Certificate Number 9322, Current Marriage Number 0, Witness 1 Enid Bessett, Witness 2 Robert Peters, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Marriage Licenses; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1942, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Index to Marriage Licenses, 1908-1910, 1938-1940 ↩
  4. This information about Grete Maren and much of what follows about her comes from a page in the Munich Kammerspiele website “dedicated to the employees of the Munich Kammerspiele who were disenfranchised, persecuted and murdered during the Nazi era.” Grete Maren is one of the many individuals named on that website, which includes detailed biographies of each of those being remembered. ↩
  5. “Vienna Beauties and ‘The Jinx of Three,’ ” The Buffalo (New York)Times, December 7, 1930, p. 45. This story ran in numerous other US newspapers during this time. ↩
  6. See Note 7, supra. As a side note to this tragic story, another actress who was in love with Kurt Daehn committed suicide when he chose Grete over her even after shooting her. “She Fell in Love to Learn about Life,” Detroit Free Press, August 9, 1931, p. 46. This story also ran in numerous US newspapers during that time. ↩
  7. See the biography of Grete Maren on the Munich Kammerspiele website at https://schicksale.muenchner-kammerspiele.de/  Also, see “Weds Girl He Once Attempted to Kill,” The Oklahoma County News, May 13, 1932, page 1. ↩
  8. See, e.g., “Actress Plans to Wed Suitor Who Shot Her,” Chattanooga Daily Times, February 7, 1932, p. 21. Many other papers ran the same story. One paper later reported that the couple had in fact married. See, “Weds Girl He Once Attempted to Kill,” The Oklahoma County News, May 13, 1932, page 1. ↩
  9. Grete Maren, passenger ship manifest, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85, Description Ship or Roll Number: Deutschland, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Greta Maren, [Margareta Johanna Hinterauer], Race German, Record Type Naturalization Departure Place Montreal, Canada, Residence Place New York, USA, Declaration Date 10 Mar 1937
    Declaration Place New York, USA, Mode of Travel D & H Rr 10, Court District Court
    Court District Southern District, New York, Description (Roll 1199) Petition No. 330211-Petition No. 330571, The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Petitions For Naturalization From the U.s. District Court For the Southern District of New York, 1897-1944; Series: M1972; Roll: 1199, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944 ↩
  10. “Broadway Barred to Alien Actress,” The New York Times, September 26, 1934, p. 17. ↩
  11. “Margot Graheme Replaces Greta Maren in ‘Sexes and Sevens,’ ” The New York Times, October 5, 1934, p. 28 ↩
  12. See the biography of Grete Maren on the Munich Kammerspiele website at https://schicksale.muenchner-kammerspiele.de ↩
  13. Greta Maren, Naturalization papers, The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Petitions For Naturalization From the U.s. District Court For the Southern District of New York, 1897-1944; Series: M1972; Roll: 1199,
    Archive Roll Descriptions: (Roll 1199) Petition No· 330211-Petition No· 330571, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944 ↩
  14. Albert E Alexander, Birth Date 6 Jul 1915, Birth Place Bronx, New York, Residence Place Bronx, New York, Enlistment Age 25, Enlistment Date 20 Jan 1941, Enlistment Place Bronx, New York, USA, Unit Co A 8th Regt, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; Collection: New York, New York Guard Service Cards and Enlistment Records, 1906-1918, 1940-1948; Series: B2000; Film Number: 27, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., New York Guard Service Cards, 1906-1918, 1940-1948. ↩
  15. Max Alexander, Herbert Alexander, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: New York, Bronx, New York; Roll: 856; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 3-1805, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  16. Theresa Alexander, Age 71, Birth Date abt 1879, Death Date 18 Jun 1950, Death Place Bronx, New York, New York, USA, Certificate Number 6080, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Death Index, 1949-1965 ↩
  17. Max Alexander, Age 80, Birth Date abt 1875, Death Date 12 Feb 1955, Death Place Manhattan, New York, New York, USA, Certificate Number 2493, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Death Index, 1949-1965 ↩
  18. Albert Alexander, Gender Male, Marriage License Date 1952, Marriage License Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, Spouse Mary Deiches, License Number 1742, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 ↩
  19. Mary J Deiches, Birth Date 15 Dec 1925, Birth Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, Certificate Number 46405, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965; Maryjane Deiches, [Maryjane Alexander] [Mary Alexander] Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 15 Dec 1925, Birth Place New York New, New York, [New York N Y, New York], Death Date May 1991 ,Father Maurice Deiches, Mother Ruth Greenebaum, SSN 132206980, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  20. Mary Jane Deiches, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: 4145; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 31-86, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  21. Ancestry.com. U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1 ↩
  22. Herbert M Alexander, Gender Male, Birth Date 1 Sep 1910, Death Date 23 Nov 1988, Claim Date 1 Apr 1975, SSN 082015161, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007; “Herbert Alexander, Pocket Books Editor and Publisher, 78,” The New York Times, November 24, 1988, p. 96; “Herbert Alexander, Ex-Pocket Books Publisher,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, November 25, 1988, p. 42. ↩
  23. Greta Alexander, Gender Female, Birth Date 12 Feb 1912, Death Date Sep 1982
    Claim Date 7 Apr 1975, SSN 045129047, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  24. Albert E. Alexander, Social Security Number 114-12-2501,Birth Date 6 Jul 1915
    Issue year Before 1951, Issue State New York, Last Residence 14610, Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA, Death Date 15 Sep 1994, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩
  25. Mary J. Alexander, Social Security Number 132-20-6980, Birth Date 15 Dec 1925
    Issue year Before 1951, Issue State New York, Last Residence 14610, Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA, Death Date May 1991, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩

Moses and Mathilde’s Granddaughter Frances Alexander: A Genealogy Adventure Takes Me to Canada

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As we saw in the last post about the family of Moses Rothschild, Mathilde Rothschild died in 1931, and her daughter-in-law Rose Katz Rothschild died in 1933. There were also some weddings and some births for the children of the three oldest children of Moses and Mathilde, Samuel, Rudolph, and Albert.

Now we turn to Moses and Mathilde’s fourth child Theresa Rothschild Alexander and her children and their lives in the 1930s. This post focuses primarily on my challenges in finding out what happened to Theresa’s daughter Frances during this decade and thereafter.

In 1930, Theresa was living in the Bronx with her husband Max Alexander, who was in his own real estate business, and their two sons, Herbert (19) and Albert (14) as well as Max’s sister Esther.1 I will follow up with their lives after the 1930s in a later post.

But Theresa and Max’s daughter Frances, who would have been 24 in 1930, was not listed as living in the household, nor for a long time could I find her elsewhere. Looking for Frances led me down many a rabbit hole and provided me with a good reminder of how tricky genealogy research can be, even when you are looking for someone who lived fairly recently in the United States.

I searched for a death record, a marriage record, and elsewhere on the 1930 census, but for a long time could not find Frances. There were several other women close to her in age with the same or similar names, but I couldn’t establish that any of them was the daughter of Max and Theresa Alexander. The closest one I could find was a Frances H. Alexander who married a Joseph Jacobs, but I could only find a listing on the marriage license index and no actual marriage record. And the index didn’t provide the names of the bride’s parents. The marriage license index showed that the license was taken out on July 6, 1926, when Frances would have been only twenty years old.2

I was more certain that this was the right Frances when I found her birth certificate and saw the her middle name was Harriet, consistent with the middle initial on the listing on the marriage license index. I wasn’t positive, but pretty persuaded that Frances had married Joseph Jacobs.

But…then I found a Frances H. Alexander who married Jerome Walton in 1933. Had Frances never married Joseph Jacobs, just taken out a license?3

But when I searched for Frances and Jerome Walton on FamilySearch, I located a record there that revealed that the Frances H. Alexander who married Jerome Walton was the daughter of William Alexander and Helen Harkness, not Max Alexander and Theresa Rothschild. Also, that Frances was born in 1913, not 1907 like my Frances.4 So I eliminated Jerome Walton as a possible husband for Frances and focused back on Joseph Jacobs as the likely candidate.

Joseph Jacobs was born on November 6, 1902, in the Bronx to Max and Sarah Jacobs.5 In 1920, Joseph and his parents and siblings were living at 2020 Morris Avenue in the Bronx.6 When I saw Morris Avenue, it rang a bell. I went back to see where Frances Alexander and her family were living in 1920, and sure enough, they were at 2033 Morris Avenue.7 Frances and Joseph were neighbors! I was now more confident that my Frances Alexander had married Joseph Jacobs.

My next step was looking for Joseph Jacobs with a wife named Frances on the 1930 census, and sure enough, I found them living in the Bronx with a daughter named Joan. Joseph was working as an engineer. Joan Jacobs was born in the Bronx on July 13, 1927.8 But Joseph, Frances, and Joan disappeared after the 1930 census. I could not find them on the 1940 census nor could I find them anywhere else. Where had they disappeared to? Had they had any other children?

My big breakthrough came when I found an obituary for Frances’ brother Albert that listed “a sister Francis Jacobs of Canada” as one of his survivors.9 (More on Albert to come in a later post.) Not only did that give me the confirmation that my Frances (or Francis—both spellings appear to have been used) had married Joseph Jacobs, it told me where she was living at least in 1993 when her brother Albert died. I switched my search for Frances and her family from the US to Canada.

And sure enough I soon found an obituary for Frances Jacobs in the Montreal Gazette of June 19, 1998, that reported that Frances had died on June 17, 1998, in Montreal.10 The obituary provided the names of Frances’ survivors, including her daughter Joan and son-in-law Martin Samuels, but also two other children, a son Peter and a daughter Maggie. I then found an obituary for Frances’ husband Joseph Jacobs, who died on April 5, 1983, in Montreal.11 So I knew that Frances and Joseph had moved to Montreal at some point, but when?

That question was answered when I found an obituary for Frances and Joseph’s daughter Joan Jacobs Samuels, who died on August 16, 2021. The Montreal Gazette ran a long and detailed obituary for Joan on August 21, 2021, that reported that Joan “had moved with her family to Montreal in 1933.”12

Interestingly, I had earlier been confused by Joseph Jacob’s 1942 World War II draft registration, which listed 2033 Morris Avenue in the Bronx as his mailing address, but gave a Westmount, Quebec address in Canada as his place of residence. I had assumed that he was temporarily living in Canada for business, but otherwise still a US resident living in the Bronx. Now, after finding that 2021 obituary for their daughter Joan and looking more closely, I realize that he gave 2033 Morris Avenue, his in-law’s address, as his mailing address for purposes of his required registration with the US military. But they were living in Westmount, a section of Montreal.

Joseph Jacobs World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

So Frances and Joseph had moved to the Montreal area with Joan in 1933, where they would have two more children, Peter and Maggie. As we saw above, Joseph died in 1983, Frances in 1998, and Joan in 2021.Joan Jacobs was predeceased by her husband Martin Samuels, who died on December 23, 2003.13 Joan was survived by her children and grandchildren and her brother Peter and sister Maggie.

Sadly, Maggie Jacobs died on November 4, 2024, just days before I found the family of Frances Alexander and Joseph Jacobs. She is survived by her brother Peter and her nieces and nephews and their children.

It took some doing, but I am so glad I persisted and located my Canadian cousins.

 

 

 

  1. Max Alexander and family, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Bronx, Bronx, New York; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0609; FHL microfilm: 2341221, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
  2. Francis H Alexander, Gender Female, Marriage License Date 6 Jul 1926, Marriage License Place Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, Spouse Joseph N Jacobs, License Number 4383, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Bronx, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 ↩
  3. Frances H Alexander, Gender Female, Marriage Date 19 Jul 1933, Marriage Place Kings, New York, USA, Spouse, Jerome M Walton, Certificate Number 10142, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 ↩
  4. “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CD-FHZF : Sat Mar 09 21:15:06 UTC 2024), Entry for Jerome Maury Walton and Frances H Alexander, 19 July 1933. ↩
  5. Joseph Jacobs, World War II Draft Registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Max Jacobs, Naturalization Petition, The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Petitions For Naturalization From the U.s. District Court For the Southern District of New York, 1897-1944; Series: M1972; Roll: 178, Archive Roll Descriptions: (Roll 0178) Petition No· 29218-Petition No· 29480, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944 ↩
  6. Max Jacobs and family, 1920 US census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Bronx Assembly District 8, Bronx, New York; Roll: T625_1141; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 416, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census ↩
  7. Max Alexander and family, 1920 US census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Bronx Assembly District 8, Bronx, New York; Roll: T625_1141; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 416, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census ↩
  8. Joseph Jacobs and family, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Bronx, Bronx, New York; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0689; FHL microfilm: 2341224, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
  9. “Alexander, Albert E.,” Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, September 17, 1994, p. 5. ↩
  10. Montreal Gazette, June 19, 1998, p. 60. ↩
  11. Montreal Gazette, April 7, 1983, p. 31. ↩
  12. Montreal Gazette, August 21, 2021, p. CS18. ↩
  13. Montreal Gazette, December 26, 2023, p. 86. ↩