Returning now to the Blumenfeld branch of my family tree, it’s time to see where I am in that saga. I am still on the oldest child of my four-times great-grandparents Abraham Blumenfeld and Geitel Katz—-their son Moses I. I have completed the stories of Moses’ first two children, Abraham IIA and Isaac I, and have been working through the children of Moses’ youngest child, his daughter Gelle Blumenfeld Rothschild. I have so far covered the first four of Gelle’s twelve children: Seligmannq, Abraham, Levi, and Moses. Here’s a chart to show my slow progress through the Blumenfeld family. I’ve only gotten as far as that arrow on the upper left side.

Now I turn to the next group of Gelle’s children, and for better or worse, there is not a lot to say about the next three: Isaak, Gitel, and Betty, their fifth, sixth, and seventh children.

Isaak is an unsolved brick wall. He was born January 15, 1850, in Zimmersrode. But there is no further record of him. No marriage record, no death record. I have searched high and low, and I’ve noticed that no other researcher on Ancestry or MyHeritage or elsewhere has any dates for Isaak’s death. My hunch is that he died in infancy, perhaps at birth, but I have no record to prove it. Here, however, is his birth record:

Isaak Rothschild birth record, Arcinsys Archives in Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 893, p.23

I thought perhaps the note on the far right would reveal more about Isaak’s life, but unfortunately it does not. All it says is “war noch nicht eingetragen, geschieht nachtraeglich,” which translates as “was not yet registered, will happen later.”

The child born after Isaak was Gitel Rothschild. Sadly, for her I have both her birth and death records. She was born on January 7, 1852, in Zimmersrode, and died there just over a year later on February 11, 1853.

Gitel Rothschild birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 893, p. 24

Gitel Rothschild death record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 896, p 21

Following Gitel came Beschen or Betty, born on June 22, 1853, just a few months after her sister Gitel died.

Beschen Rothschild birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hesse, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 893, p. 25

Fortunately, Betty survived to adulthood. On February 4, 1876, in Kassel, Germany, she married Isaac Rosenblatt, the son of Meier Rosenblatt and Hannchen Loewenberg. Isaac was born in Malsfeld, Germany, on December 31, 1846.

Beschen Rothschild and Isaac Rosenblatt marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 910, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930,

I did not find any records showing children for Betty and Isaac. Isaac died on November 13, 1916, in Kassel.¹ Betty died there ten years later on February 28, 1926.

Beschen Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 5603; Laufende Nummer: 910, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Thus, there are no known descendants for Isaak, Gitel, or Betty Rothschild as far as I have been able to determine.

The story of Gelle Blumenfeld Rothschild’s ninth child Gerson is a more complete one but filled with tragedy. That story begins in my next post.