Julius J. Adler, Part I: Was His Birth Name Joseph?

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The third son of Sara Rothschild and Moses Adler, Joseph, was born on July 28, 1887, in Niedermeiser, Germany, and as I mentioned in my first post about Sara’s family, I could not find any further documentation of the existence of this son other than his birth record:

Joseph Adler birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 909; Signatur: 7413, Year Range: 1887, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

I searched for a Joseph Adler in US and German records but failed to come up with anyone who was a definite or even a likely match. (The name was quite common.)

And then, when I was researching Louis Adler, as I mentioned in my first post about Louis, I saw that on the 1920 US census, Louis Adler’s household in Leavenworth, Kansas, included a brother named Julius as well as three children of Julius: Roland, C(h)rystal, and Irene. Julius was 32 years old, so likely born in 1887 or 1888. He was a widower and a baker. I wondered whether Julius Adler could be the same person as Joseph Adler, who was born in 1887.

Louis Adler 1920 US census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Leavenworth Ward 6, Leavenworth, Kansas; Roll: T625_537; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 109,
Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census

That led me to search for Julius Adler and his three children. The 1920 census is hard to read, but it looks like Julius arrived in the US in either 1901 or 1907 and was naturalized in 1911. According to this census record, his three children were all born in Wisconsin, so American-born. Roland was seven, Crystal five, and Irene three and a half. With those clues, I went to look for Julius Adler in Wisconsin on the 1900 and 1910 census records as well as on immigration and naturalization records.

I could not find him on any passenger ship manifest, but I did find him on the 1910 census in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He was then 22 and a baker, so that fit with the facts reported on the 1920 census. He was not yet married. On this census he reported that he had arrived in the US in 1906.1

Since his son Roland was seven in 1920, I assumed he was born in 1912-1913 in Wisconsin, so I searched for a birth record and found one for a George Rolland Adler born February 12, 1912.2 Searching further for Roland, I found a Roland George Adler born February 12, 1912, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin in the Social Security Applications and Claims Index on Ancestry. His parents were Julius J. Adler and Edith Richelt.3 I also found Chrystal Adler on the SSACI, and she was born in Stevens Point to Julius and Edith on January 30, 1914.4

Knowing the name of the mother of Roland and Chrystal was Edith Reichelt or Richelt led me to a marriage record for Julius. He married “Ida Richelt” on May 11, 1911, in Portage County, Wisconsin.5 I then found a news article about their wedding:

“Adler-Richelt,” Stevens Point (WI) Journal, May 12, 1911, p. 1

It appears that Ida was also known as Edith and that her birth surname was also sometimes spelled Reichelt.

In any event, all of this was interesting, but it didn’t definitively tie Julius Adler to the Joseph Adler born to Sara Rothschild and Moses Adler.

But the fact that Julius was in Wisconsin in 1910, the same state where Sigmund Adler was living and going to school at that time, seemed likely to have been more than coincidental and made me think it was very likely that Julius was in fact the same person as Joseph Adler. This little article in the March 16, 1916, Leavenworth, Kansas, newspaper also buttressed the ties between Louis, Sigmund, and Julius:

“Looking for Brother,” The Leavenworth (KS) Times, March 16, 1916, p. 5

Notice that Louis knew that Julius had been in Beloit, Wisconsin four years earlier in 1912. Sigmund went to Beloit College in Beloit before attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison and finishing his education there. Had Julius been drawn to Beloit, Wisconsin by Sigmund or perhaps vice versa? By 1916 when Louis was searching for Julius, Sigmund had left Wisconsin and was in Michigan. Perhaps that’s when Louis lost touch with Julius.

I knew that Julius’ children Roland and Chrystal were both born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, but Irene, the youngest of the three, was born September 12, 1915, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.6 So sometime between 1914 and 1915, Julius and his family had relocated to Minneapolis. I also knew from the 1920 census that Julius was a widower by 1920, so sometime between September 12, 1915, and the taking of the 1920 census, his wife Edith/Ida must have passed away.

I found this obituary for Edith, and it filled in some of these holes:

“Mrs. Julius Adler,” Stevens Point (WI) Journal, September 3, 1919, p. 5

Edith was only thirty years old, and her children were only seven, five, and three, when she died from tuberculosis on August 28, 1919. She was buried back in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where she was raised and where she’d married Julius just eight years before.

And then Julius appeared on the 1920 census, living with his older brother Louis in Leavenworth, Kansas. For all his legal troubles, Louis came through for his younger brother. He looked for him and obviously when he learned that his wife had died, he welcomed Julius and his young children into his home. Louis and his wife Edna had no children of their own, so it must have been quite an adjustment having Julius and three young children move in with them.

Of course, I still had no absolute proof that Julius was the same person as the Joseph Adler born on July 28, 1887 to Sara Rothschild and Moses Adler, just circumstantial evidence: the 1920 census listing him as Louis Adler’s brother, the fact that he had lived in Beloit, Wisconsin, around the same time that Sigmund Adler was in school there, and the fact that he was born in Germany in around 1887. But for me that circumstantial evidence was strong enough to conclude unless proven otherwise that Julius must have been the secular name adopted by Sara and Moses for the third-born son Joseph. And so based on that assumption, I will continue in my next post to tell the story of Joseph/Julius Adler and his family.

What do you think? Have I persuaded you that Julius Adler was the son named on the 1887 birth record as Joseph, son of Sara and Moses?

To those celebrating Hanukkah (and everyone else), I hope you are finding some light, some hope, in these very dark days. It seems like just one tragedy after another since the weekend: Brown, Bondi Beach, Rob Reiner, an MIT professor, teens at a sweet sixteen party in Brooklyn. Everywhere we turn, we see the results of violence and hatred and guns. I am searching for the light and the hope, but it just keeps getting harder.

Be safe, everyone, and be kind.

  1. Julius J Adler, Age in 1910 22, Birth Date 1888, Birthplace Germany, Home in 1910 Menomonee Falls, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA, Sheet Number 14a, Street Fond Du Loc St, Race White, Gender Male, Immigration Year 1906, Relation to Head of House Baker, Marital Status Single, Father’s Birthplace Germany, Mother’s Birthplace Germany, Native Tongue English, Occupation Baker, Industry Bakery
    Employer, Employee or Other Wage Earner, Naturalization Status Alien, Able to read Yes Able to Write Yes, Enumeration District Number 0163, Out of Work N, Number of Weeks Out of Work 0, Enumerated Year 1910, Year: 1910; Census Place: Menomonee Falls, Waukesha, Wisconsin; Roll: T624_1741; Page: 14a; Enumeration District: 0163; FHL microfilm: 1375754, Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census ↩
  2. George Rolland Adler, Birth Date 22 Feb 1912, Birth County Portage, Wisconsin, USA, Wisconsin Department of Health Services; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Birth Records, Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, U.S., Birth Records, 1812-1921 ↩
  3. Roland George Adler [Roland Edward Adler] [Roland Adler] Gender Male, Race White, Birth Date 22 Feb 1912, Birth Place Stevenspoint, Wisconsin, Death Date 6 May 1999, Father Julius J Adler Mother Edith Richelt SSN 488109582, Notes Nov 1936: Name Listed As Roland George Adler; Sep 1964: Name Listed As Roland Edward Adler; 12 May 1999: Name Listed As Roland E Adler, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  4. Chrystal Lorraine Adler, [Chrystal Lor Boyd] [Chrystal Boyd] Gender Female
    Race White, Birth Date 30 Jan 1914, Birth Place Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Death Date 1 Jun 2004, Father Julius Adler, Mother Edith Reichelt, SSN 494035530
    Notes Dec 1936: Name Listed As Chrystal Lorraine Adler; Nov 1955: Name Listed As Chrystal Lor Boyd; 05 Jun 2004: Name Listed As Chrystal L Boyd, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  5. Julius Adler, Marriage Date 11 May 1911, Marriage County Portage, Wisconsin, USA, Spouse Ida Reichelt, Wisconsin Historical Society; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Marriage Records 1907-1939, Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Records, 1820-2004 ↩
  6. Irene Jeanette Kohring, [Irene J Kohring] [Irene Jeanette Adler] Gender Female
    Race White, Birth Date 12 Sep 1915, Birth Place Minneapolis, Minnesota, Death Date 6 Jun 2000, Father Julius J Adler, Mother Edith Reichelt, SSN 489071723, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩

25 thoughts on “Julius J. Adler, Part I: Was His Birth Name Joseph?”

  1. Yes I think you have found Julius / Joseph The child of Moses and Sara. However I know that like me you will never feel right about it until you find the “proof” that will seal it for you.

    As many of us celebrate a holiday that long ago was announced with “peace on earth and good will toward man” events seem to mock those words. But I think we have had much worse on this earth. That’s not to say we should not be on guard and work to make things better. These times seem to warrant that we need to keep a careful watch and also watch our own hearts.

    On that note I wish you and your family a happy and peaceful holiday and a very happy New Year.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I agree. There’s an old Jewish fable about how things could always be worse, but they’re pretty bad right now in so many ways. And I hope your holidays are joyful!

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  2. You convinced me.

    Julius is obviously the brother of Louis and we know of no other brothers who this can be, so eveidently Julius is Joseph.

    Amen. Chanukah Sameach.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • My guess is that his Hebrew name was Joseph, given at birth, and then once he was in public life, he used Julius as a secular name. Even today most Jews have both a Hebrew name and a secular name.

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    • I don’t know if they exist. I searched on Ancestry and FamilySearch without any luck. If you have any suggestions on where I might find them, let me know. The 1920 census reports that he was naturalized in 1911. In 1911 he was living in Wisconsin, probably in Stevens Point where he was married and where his son was born in 1912.

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      • Yes, I had already checked there, and I don’t think spending the $ on the USCIS program is a worthwhile investment. I would bet all that money and more that Julius came to the US as Julius, that he was known as Julius in the secular world when he left Germany, and that he is the same person who appeared on that birth record as Joseph! 🙂

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  5. I thinks it’s pretty clear cut. He’s Louis’s brother and born at the right time and place.

    Happy Hanukkah, Amy!

    There has always been—and will always be—ugly violence in this world. Now we have 24/7 media in our face going on and on about it, so it seems worse than ever. But it isn’t, really.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks, Eilene. I do, however, think things are worse. We didn’t grow up with school shootings. Neither did my children. It’s only in the last 20 years or so. And antisemitism is definitely much, much worse than it was 20 years ago. So it’s not just the media. They may be contributing to some of the issues, but the problems are real and they are worse.

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      • Interestingly, in my childhood, there was a school shooting – at a Catholic school in 1975. I remember the incident well.

        Extremism in all its forms has definitely seen a rise over the last decade with right wing politicians gaining power in many countries.

        All we can do is continue to speak up and not allow people in our sphere to get away with it. At work, I can’t debate politics with patrons, but racist remarks of any sort are met by me with silence.

        Liked by 1 person

      • I agree–we need to speak up whenever we can. Sometimes it’s not safe to do so, sometimes the place or time makes it impossible. But we do the best we can.

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  6. You have convinced me as well – after all, we know people are often given one name at birth and use another most of their lives.Incidentally, my dad’s name was Jozef Juliusz.My thoughts, like yours these days, are heavy. But we have to keep searching for the light in the little things we see people do for each other.

    Happy Hanukkah.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Yes—very often Jewish babies were given Hebrew names at birth, but used secular names for their day to day life. Joseph could have been his Hebrew name (Yosef), Julius his secular name. Thanks, Teresa!

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  7. Hi Amy, it would seem that Joseph is Julius, I guess there’s always that niggling doubt, this is what I feel with my own ancestry.

    Happy Hanukkah Amy. I agree, we didn’t have this level of violence and hatred when my children were growing up.

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  8. I hereby vote that you may continue to do your work, somewhat secure in the conclusion that Joseph Adler and Julius Adler were the same person. It’s only a bit strange that he went from a common, “American” first name like Joseph to a more unusual name like Julius, but maybe in 1910 that wasn’t the case. Many of my German and Rumanian ancestors changed their first and/or last names, or perhaps had them changed accidently in the bureaucratic process of becoming Americans.

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    • Well, Joseph is Yosef in Hebrew, but whoever did the birth record would have given it a Germanic spelling. Since most Jewish men have both Hebrew names and also secular names, it’s not really that surprising.

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  9. Pingback: Julius Adler, Part II: Another Restless Brother | Brotmanblog: A Family Journey

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