Category Archives: Momberg

Baruch Blumenfeld: Where and When Did He Die, Part II

Posted on by
36

The mystery of where and when Baruch Blumenfeld died led me down several rabbit holes to answer several questions. Did Baruch Blumenfeld move to New York and leave his wife Emma and his daughters and his grandchildren behind? Was the 1920 census accurate in reporting that he had immigrated to the US in 1869 and become a US citizen in 1875? If so, how did he marry Emma in 1872 and father two children between 1872 and 1875? And did he really die in New York City in 1923?

I turned to several Facebook groups for further help to confirm that this was the correct Baruch. First, I asked on Tracing the Tribe for help finding more information about the Baruch Blumenfeld who died in New York. My fellow Blumenfeld cousin Tova Levi suggested that I try and find a connection to the family with whom Baruch was living in 1920. That led me to search for Getta and Emma Neuberger and their place of origin, including locating their extended family in New York and searching for naturalization records that might reveal where they came from in Germany.

Baruch Blumenfeld, 1920 US census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Manhattan Assembly District 14, New York, New York; Roll: T625_1212; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 1047 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census

After hours of searching and getting help from the New York City genealogy group, the German genealogy group, and the GerSIG group, including from Sandy Hahn Lanman and Matt Luders, I concluded that the Neuberger family came from Thalmassig in Bavaria, not anywhere near Hesse where Baruch had lived, and that thus it was unlikely that my Baruch would have known them before coming to the US.

Steph Mayer, one of the members of the German Genealogy group, also was very helpful. She made several suggestions, including sending me a link to the entry for Baruch Blumenfeld on genealogy.net, an important Germany genealogy website. Steph recommended that I email the contact person, Hartwig Faber, to see if he had any additional information.

And so I did, and Hartwig helped solve one part of this mystery. He noted that on the 1900 marriage record for Baruch’s daughter Charlotte, Baruch is described as living at an unknown distance. That is, by 1900 Baruch’s whereabouts were no longer known by his family.

Marriage record of Charlotte Jeanette Blumenfeld and Hermann Hammel, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 6510
Year Range: 1900, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Here is the transcription and translation of that part of the record:

Tochter des in unbekannter Ferne weilenden Kaufmanns Baruch Abraham Blumenfeld und der nochlebenden Ehefrau Emma geb. Docter wohnhaft in Neustadt.

Daughter of the merchant Baruch Abraham Blumenfeld, living in unknown distance, and the still living wife Emma, née Docter, living in Neustadt.

That record supports the possibility that Baruch did immigrate to the US and did die in New York in 1923.

But I can’t still cannot find a Baruch Blumenfeld on any ship manifest even when I search without limiting by dates or with wildcards on the name.

I also have had no luck finding any naturalization papers for him. I’ve gone through indexed and unindexed records on Ancestry and FamilySearch, and the only citizenship record that came close was a declaration of intention dated October 8, 1873 by a Baruch Blum. In that era declarations carried no identifying information other than the name and country of origin, so that doesn’t help very much. And I remain skeptical that Baruch would have been in the US at that time, given that he married Emma in 1872 and had a baby later that year and a second three years later.

I also cannot find a Baruch Blumenfeld on any census record in the US except the 1920 census. If he really immigrated to the US in 1869, he should have appeared on the 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 US census enumerations.

I did find a German-born Benny Blumenfeld living as a boarder in New York in 1915 on the New York State census of that year. He was 72, so born in or close to 1843. He had no occupation. Could that be Baruch? Maybe. It says he’s been in the US for 32 years or since 1883. That would make a lot more sense than 1869, the year given on the 1920 census. There’s even a young man listed below, also a boarder in the same household, who was a butcher. Do you think this could be my Baruch?

Benny Blumenfeld 1915 NYS census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 10; Assembly District: 10; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 38, District: A·D· 10 E·D· 10, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1915

But there is no one else with a similar name and age that I could locate on the 1900 or 1910 US census. My working hypothesis at this point is that Baruch Blumenfeld took on an assumed name when he immigrated and then changed it back years later.

When I received the copy of the actual death certificate for the Baruch Blumenfeld who died in New York in 1923, I was even more certain that he was the same person as my cousin Baruch Blumenfeld.

The first page of that certificate first of all made it clear that his mother’s surname was Strauss, not Lhauss. Secondly, his age is given as 80 years and eight months. Since he died in September, 1923, that means he was born in January, 1843. My Baruch was born on January 29, 1843. This definitely supports the conclusion that this was my Baruch Blumenfeld.

One other interesting bit of information is included on first page of the certificate. It reports that he had been living in the US and in New York for 42 years or since 1881. That would make a lot more sense than the year given on the 1920 census—1869. By 1881 both of Baruch’s daughters were born, and he very well might have left Germany around that time.

I was feeling pretty excited that I had enough information to confirm that this was my cousin Baruch Blumenfeld—until I looked at the reverse side of the certificate.

It indicated that Mary Farley, a sister of the deceased, had hired the undertaker to take care of Baruch’s burial. Mary Farley? A sister? There were many Mary Farleys living in the US 1923—too many to count. If I limited my search to New York City, I found 32 registered to vote in New York in 1924.1 I also searched for a Mary Farley born in Germany living in or near New York who might be the woman named on the death certificate. I only found one woman with that name born in Germany; she lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was married to a native-born American named John Farley. Her maiden name was Richardt, not Blumenfeld.

UPDATE!! Thank you so much to Lisa K of the GerSIG group on Facebook for pointing out that this is NOT the reverse of the death certificate for Baruch Blumenfeld, but for someone named James Graham. So Mary Farley must have been HIS sister. I’ve now ordered a correct version of the reverse of Baruch’s death certificate.

I very much doubt any one of the many possible Mary Farleys was Baruch’s sister. Friend, neighbor, whatever—she likely said she was the sister so she could arrange the burial for him.

What do you think? Have I convinced you that the Baruch Blumenfeld who died in New York in 1923 was the same man born in Momberg, Germany, on January 29, 1843, to Abraham Blumenfeld II and Giedel Strauss? Please share you thoughts in the comments.

I am so very grateful to the genealogy village for all the help I’ve received to try and learn what happened to my cousin Baruch Blumenfeld.

  1. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61536/?name=Mary_Farley&count=50&gender=f&location=2&name_x=1_1&pcat=cen_1920&priority=usa&residence=_new+york+city-new+york-usa_1652382&residence_x=_1-0&qh=8f4e39c5192af81a6a5c1c6c8c1c8ceb ↩

Baruch Blumenfeld: Where and When Did He Die?

Posted on by
22

Searching for information about the death of my great-grandmother’s second cousin Baruch Blumenfeld led me down several rabbit holes. And I am still digging!

The first thirty years of his life were easy to uncover. Baruch Blumenfeld was the second child born to Abraham Blumenfeld II and Giedel Strauss. He was born on January 29, 1843, in Neustadt, Germany.

Baruch Blumenfeld birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 628, p. 13

On February 20, 1872, he married Emma Docter, daughter of Joseph Docter and Zerline Wallach. Emma was born on February 9, 1848, in Gilserberg, Germany; her father was a veterinarian. Baruch was a merchant.

Emma Docter birth record, Arcinsys Archives Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 359, p. 8

Marriage record for Baruch Blumenfeld and Emma Docter, Arcinsys Archives Hessen, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 629, S. 19

Baruch and Emma had two daughters. Antonie was born in Momberg on December 25, 1872, and Charlotte Jeanette was born three years later on June 28, 1875, also in Momberg.

Antonie Blumenfeld birth record, Arcinsys Archives Hessen, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 628, S. 29

Charlotte Jeanette Blumenfeld birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 6458, Year Range: 1875, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Antonie married Sussel Siegfried Engelbert on November 5, 1894, in Neustadt. He was born on January 3, 1867, in Kassel, Germany, to Jacob Engelbert and Julie Oppenheim. Siegfried was a merchant.

Antonie Blumenfeld and Siegfried Engelbert marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 6504, Year Range: 1894
Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

I am very grateful to Antonie’s great-granddaughter Marsha who shared the wonderful photographs of Antonie and her family included in this post. This is a photograph of Antonie and Siegfried on the occasion of their engagement.

Antonie Blumenfeld and Siegfried Engelbert engagement, c. 1894

Antonie and Sussel had three children. Margot Engelbert was born on November 15, 1895, in Kassel.

Margot Engelbert birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 910; Signatur: 910_5120, Year Range: 1895, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Joseph Julius Engelbert was born on October 18, 1897, in Kassel.

Siegfried Engelbert birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 910; Signatur: 910_5129, Year Range: 1897, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Elfriede Caroline Engelbert was born on June 3, 1900, in Kassel.

Elfriede Engelbert birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 910; Signatur: 910_5143, Year Range: 1900, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Here are two photographs of the Engelbert children, generously shared by Baruch’s great-great-granddaughter Marsha.

Elfriede Engelbert, c. 1901

Julius, Margot, and Elfriede Engelbert, c. 1902

On January 24, 1900, Antonie’s sister Charlotte married Hermann Hammel, son of Abraham Hammel and Karoline Kahn. Hermann was born in Roedelheim bei Frankfurt on November 5, 1867. He was previously married to Thekla Kass, who had died on July 21, 1898,  one week after giving birth to their daughter Caecelia, who then died when she was less than a month old on August 5, 1898.1 Charlotte and Hermann had one daughter together, Klara, born on February 17, 1901, in Frankfurt.

Marriage record of Charlotte Jeanette Blumenfeld and Hermann Hammel, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 6510
Year Range: 1900, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Thus, by February, 1901, Baruch and Emma (Docter) Blumenfeld had four grandchildren.

Emma died on December 2, 1917; she was 69 years old. She’d been very fortunate to live to see those four grandchildren grow up or at least reach their teenage years.

Emma Docter Blumenfeld death record, Emma Blumenfeld, Maiden Name: Docter
Gender: weiblich (Female), Age: 69, Birth Date: abt 1848, Death Date: 2 Dez 1917 (2 Dec 1917)
Death Place: Kassel, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office: Kassel I
Father: Joseph Docter, Mother: Juline Docter, Certificate Number: 1512, Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 910; Signatur: 5555, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Now we get to the mystery. Emma’s death record describes her as a widow, which would mean that Baruch had predeceased her. But I could not find a death record for Baruch in Germany nor has anyone else.

Several Ancestry trees and other secondary sources reported that Baruch died in New York City on September 22, 1923. When I first saw that, I was skeptical. Was this a mistake? Had someone attached a death record for the wrong Baruch Blumenfeld and then been copied by other tree owners?  I started to search for a source to prove where Baruch died.

Although I didn’t yet have the actual death certificate for the Baruch Blumenfeld who died on September 22, 1923, in New York, I found transcription on FamilySearch:2

Name    Baruch Blummenfeld

Sex         Male

Age        80

Residence Place Manhattan, New York, New York

Address 1505 E 83 St.

Burial Date         24 Sep 1923

Burial Place        Manhattan, New York, New York

Death Date         22 Sep 1923

Death Place        Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Death Place (Original)     Manhattan, New York, New York, United States

Birth Year (Estimated)     1843

Birthplace            Germany

Marital Status    Widowed

Occupation         Butcher

Race      White

Father’s Name   Abraham

Father’s Sex        Male

Father’s Birthplace           Germany

Mother’s Name Jette Lhauss

Mother’s Sex      Female

Mother’s Birthplace         Germany

Certificate Number          cn 23689

Cemetery            Union Fields

Note      Lenox Hill Hospital

In many ways this fit my Baruch Blumenfeld. He was a widower in 1923 and 80 years old. He came from a long line of butchers. His father’s name was Abraham. His mother’s name wasn’t Jette Lhauss, but it was Giedel Strauss, and that’s close enough to assume this was a transcription error by the indexer at FamilySearch.

But then…

I found a Baruch Blumenfeld on the 1920 US census living at the address given on this death certificate—1505 East 83rd Street in New York. He was single and living as a boarder with Getter [sic: actually Getta] and Emma Neuberger, who were also German born. But according to the census record, this Baruch had come to the US in 1869 and had become a naturalized US citizen in 1875.

Baruch Blumenfeld, 1920 US census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Manhattan Assembly District 14, New York, New York; Roll: T625_1212; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 1047
Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census

My Baruch married Emma Docter in 1872 and had two daughters between then and 1875 in Neustadt, Germany. How could he have been living in the United States and getting naturalized there? Was he living in New York and traveling to Germany to father those children? Or could the Baruch Blumenfeld living in New York be a different man who just happened to be born the same year and have a father the same name as my cousin Baruch?

More to come…including the actual death certificate.

  1.  Thekla Kass, Gender: weiblich (Female), Age: 24, Birth Date: 6 Jul 1871
    Marriage Date: 23 Dez 1895 (23 Dec 1895), Marriage Place: Frankfurt am Main, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office: Frankfurt am Main
    Father: Michael Kass, Mother: Esther Kass, Spouse: Hermann Hammel, Certificate Number: 46, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930. Thekla Hammel, Maiden Name: Kass
    Gender: weiblich (Female), Age: 27, Birth Date: abt 1871, Death Date: 21 Jul 1898
    Death Place: Frankfurt am Main, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany)
    Civil Registration Office: Frankfurt am Main, Father: Michael Kass
    Mother: Ester Kass, Certificate Number: 76, Personenstandsregister Sterberegister,
    Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958. Cäcilie Hammel, Age: 0
    Birth Date: abt 1898, Death Date: 5 Aug 1898, Death Place: Frankfurt am Main, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office: Frankfurt am Main
    Father: Hermann Hammel, Mother: Thekla Hammel, Certificate Number: 83,
    Personenstandsregister Sterberegister, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958. ↩
  2. “New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W1H-FP1 : 3 June 2020), Baruch Blummenfeld, 1923. ↩

My Cousins Karoline, Franziska, and Rosa: Unanswered Questions, Tragic Endings

Posted on by
15

The second, third and sixth children of Meier Blumenfeld and Sarah Strauss, Karoline, Franziska, and Johanna are three about whom I know very little, but I will report what I do know and hope that eventually I will discover more information. (I will discuss the fourth child Rosa and fifth child Sophie out of order in the next post.)

Karoline Blumenfeld was born on February 27, 1869, in Momberg.

Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 608, p. 6

She must have married a man named Dannenberg because her death record shows her surname as Dannenberg. That death record is unfortunately the only other record I have for Karoline. I cannot find a marriage record, even after searching on Ancestry and JewishGen and on two databases of vital records for the Hesse region. One profile on Geni and several Ancestry trees report that her husband’s name was Sally Dannenberg, but there are no sources given to corroborate that information.

Karoline died on August 18, 1919, in Frankfurt at the age of fifty. Sadly, that is all I could learn about her life. I don’t know when she married or whether they had children.

Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 903; Signatur: 10823
Year Range: 1919, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Meier and Sarah’s third child Franziska was born on November 3, 1870, in Momberg.

Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 608, p. 7

She married Aron Oppenheim on October 10, 1905, in Marburg, Germany. Aron was fifteen years older than Franziska; he was born on February 5, 1855, in Rhina, Germany, to Salomon Oppenheim and Ester Klebe. He had been previously married to Hannchen Klebe, with whom he’d had a number of children. Franziska was thirty-four when they married, and Aron was fifty. I could not find any record of children born to Franziska and Aron.

Franziska Blumenfeld, Gender: weiblich (Female), Age: 34, Birth Date: 3 Nov 1870
Marriage Date: 10 Okt 1905 (10 Oct 1905), Marriage Place: Marburg, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office: Marburg, Father: Meine Blumenfeld, Mother: Sarchen Blumenfeld, Spouse: Aron Oppenheim, Certificate Number: 101, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 5620, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Aron died on June 7, 1921, in Halle, Germany. He was 66 years old.1 Franziska survived him, but tragically she was sent to the Therienstadt Concentration Camp by the Nazis on August 18, 1942, from Frankfurt where she was then living. She died there a month later on September 28, 1942. She was 71 years old.

Meier and Sarah’s sixth child, Johanna, like Karoline and Franziska, is a sibling about whom I know very little. Johanna was born on December 22, 1878, in Marburg, Germany.

Johanna Blumenfeld birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 5557 Description Year Range: 1878 Source Information Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Tragically, the only other record I have for Johanna is her record with Yad Vashem. According to that record, Johanna was deported on October 20, 1941, from her home in Frankfurt to the Litzmannstadt Ghetto in Poland, where she was murdered on March 15, 1942. I had never heard of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto before seeing this listing at Yad Vashem, but learned it was another name for the Lodz Ghetto, which I had known about. You can read more about it here. Johanna was 63 when she was killed.

Thus, two of Meier and Sarah (Strauss) Blumenfeld’s daughters were murdered by the Nazis, Franziska and Johanna. As far as I know, neither of them had children nor did their sister Karoline. They thus have no living descendants.

Fortunately, the remaining three siblings—Rosa, Sophie, and Hugo—left Germany long before the rise of Hitler and have stories that do not end tragically. Their stories come next.

  1.  Aron Oppenheim, Age: 66, Birth Date: abt 1855, Death Date: 7 Jun 1921
    Death Place: Halle-Nord, Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Deutschland (Germany)
    Civil Registration Office: Halle-Nord, Spouse: Franziska Oppenheim, Certificate Number: 417, Stadtarchiv Halle (Saale); Halle (Saale), Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: A 2.1; Signatur: A 2.1 3_S_1921_1,
    Ancestry.com. Halle (Saale), Germany, Deaths, 1874-1957 ↩

Abraham Blumenfeld II’s Granddaughter Dina and Her Sons Ernst and Otto Blum

Posted on by
16

Tackling the Blumenfeld branch of my family tree will be a long process, given that the limb I am starting on—the limb based on my four-times great-uncle Moses Blumenfeld and his children—is already such a long limb. As we saw, Moses had only three children—Abraham II, Isaak, and Gelle. But Abraham II had eight children, seven of whom lived to adulthood.

And his first child Meier had nine, seven of whom lived to adulthood, as seen on this chart.

As discussed in my prior post, Meier was born on December 11, 1840 in Momberg and married Sarah Strauss, his first cousin, on January 10, 1866, in Amoeneburg. The first child of their eight children was Dina, who was born on April 20, 1867, in Momberg.

Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 608, p. 6

She married Moritz Blum on November 2, 1896, in Marburg, Germany. Moritz was born in Battenfeld, Germany, on December 14, 1861, to David Blum and Roschen Herstein. He was a merchant.

Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 5609
Year Range: 1896, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Dina and Moritz had two children. Ernst Jacob Blum was born in Frankenburg, Germany, on November 10, 1897, and his brother Otto Blum was born on July 20, 1900, in Frankenburg.

Ernst Blum birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 3586
Year Range: 1897, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Otto Blum birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 3589
Year Range: 1900, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Moritz Blum died when he was 61 on February 17, 1923, in Frankenburg.1

Three years later Dina and Moritz’s younger son Otto left for the United States. He arrived in the US on November 1, 1926. According to the ship manifest, he was a clerk and was heading to Chicago where his uncle Hugo Blumenfeld, Dina’s younger brother, was then living.2 Indeed the 1930 US census finds him living with Hugo and his family in Chicago where Otto was working as a clerk in a mail order factory.

Otto Blum on 1930 US census with Hugo Blumenfeld, Year: 1930; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Page: 27B; Enumeration District: 0260; FHL microfilm: 2340159, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census

Meanwhile, back in Germany, Otto’s older brother Ernst Jacob had married Erna Bachrach on January 25, 1925, in Marburg.3 Erna was the daughter of Solomon Bachrach and Frederike Heilbrunn and was born in Frielendorf, Germany, on May 19, 1901.4 In 1926 their first child was born in Frankenburg, and a second child was born three years later.

Unfortunately Dina did not live to see the birth of this second grandchild. She died in Frankenburg on May 21, 1928, when she was 61.

Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 3706
Year Range: 1928, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Dina also did not live to endure the Nazi persecution of the Jews that began a few years after her death. Fortunately, her son Otto was already in the United States, and in 1936, Ernst and his family also immigrated to escape the Nazis. Like his brother Otto, Ernst was headed for Chicago. He listed his uncle Ignaz Herzka as the person he was going to on the ship manifest. Ignaz Herzka was married to Rosa Blumenfeld, younger sister of Ernst’s (and Otto’s) mother Dina. Ernst reported that he was a merchant on the ship manifest.5

Ernst and his family settled in Chicago where in 1940 he was working as a salesman.6 His brother Otto is not listed in his household on the 1940 census, but by 1942 he was living at the same address as his brother Ernst, 5340 Cornell Avenue in Chicago. Otto was working for his uncle Ignaz Herzka who was a tailor. Ernst was working for a company called Hillman’s in Chicago. His 1942 petition for naturalization stated that he was working as a food clerk.

Ernst Blum, World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Illinois, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 151, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

Otto Blum, World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Illinois, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 151, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

Ernst Blum petition for naturalization, National Archives at Chicago; Chicago, Illinois; ARC Title: Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1991; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21,  Petitions, V· 1032-1034, No· 254210-254835, 1942, Ancestry.com. Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991

Otto served in the US Army during World War II from October 16, 1942, until June 23, 1943. He was a private in the 976th Field Artillery Battalion, fighting against his native country and against Hitler.7 It does not appear that Ernst served during the war.

After the war Otto married Mary Shields on February 11, 1949, in Chicago.8 She was born in Indiana on February 23, 1904. I do not know her father’s name, but her mother was Mary Jane (Medda) Shields. Mary had been previously married to Irving Bartlett with whom she’d had one child.9 Otto and Mary did not have children together.

Otto Blum died on October 9, 1967, in Chicago; he was 61.10 He was survived by his widow Mary, who died sixteen years later on April 6, 1983, at 79.11

Ernst Jacob Blum also survived his younger brother Otto. He died October 2, 1985 at the age of 87 in Chicago.12 His wife Erna had predeceased him; she was 70 when she died on October 11, 1971, in Chicago.13 They were survived by one of their daughters and their grandchildren.

Thus, Dina Blumenfeld Blum was fortunate that her sons left Germany in time to survive the Holocaust, and she has living descendants today because of that.

Next, Dina’s younger sisters Karoline, about whom I know very little, and Franziska and Johanna, who were not as fortunate as Dina’s family when it came to the Holocaust.

  1.  Moriz Blum, Gender: männlich (Male), Age: 61, Birth Date: abt 1862
    Death Date: 17 Feb 1923, Death Place: Stadtbezirk-Frankenberg, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office: Stadtbezirk-Frankenberg, Spouse: Dina, Certificate Number: 10, Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 3701,
    Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  2. Otto Blum, ship manifest, Year: 1926; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 8; Page Number: 42, Ship or Roll Number: Deutschland,
    Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
  3. Erna Blum, Declaration of Intention, National Archives at Chicago; Chicago, Illinois; ARC Title: Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1991; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21,
    Ancestry.com. Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 ↩
  4. Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 191, p. 54. ↩
  5.  Ernst Blum, Gender: Male, Ethnicity/ Nationality: German;Hebrew (German), Marital status: Married, Age: 38, Birth Date: abt 1898, Birth Place: Germany
    Other Birth Place: Frankenberg, Last Known Residence: Frankenberg, Germany
    Place of Origin: Germany,Departure Port: Hamburg, Germany, Arrival Date: 29 May 1936, Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA, Final Destination: Chicago, Illinois
    Years in US: Permanently, Citizenship Intention: Yes, Height: 5 Feet, 10 Inches
    Hair Color: Dark Blonde, Eye Color: Brown, Complexion: Fair, Money in Possession: $50, Person in Old Country: Salomon Bachrach, Person in Old Country Relationship: Son-In-Law, Person in Old Country Residence: Frielendorf, Person in US: Ignatz Hertzka, Person in US Relationship: Uncle, Ship Name: Hamburg, Year: 1936; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 9; Page Number: 64, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
  6. Ernst Blum and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: m-t0627-00929; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 103-262, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  7. Otto Blum, Rank: PVT, Birth Date: 20 Jul 1900, Service Number: 36617489
    Service Branch: Army, Unit: Hq Battery 976th Field Artillery Battalion, Enlistment Date: 16 Oct 1942, Discharge Date: 23 Jun 1943, Death Date: 9 Oct 1967, Cemetery: Oak Woods, Cemetery Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA, National Archives at St. Louis, MO; St. Louis, MO, USA; Applications for Headstones, 1/1/1925 – 6/30/1970; NAID: NAID 596118; Record Group Number: 92; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970 ↩
  8. Otto Blum Marriage Date 11 Feb 1949 Spouse Mary BartlettMarriage Location Cook County, IL Marriage license{4D14C476-31B6-41F4-AF45-4CAA7C27AE2D} File Number 2071238 Archive collection name Cook County Genealogy Records (Marriages) Archive repository location Chicago, IL Archive repository name Cook County Clerk, Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960 ↩
  9. Mary E Fogarty, Spouse Name: Irving G Bartlett, Marriage Date: 3 Jun 1924
    Marriage County: Tippecanoe, Birth Date: 23 Feb 1903, Age: 21, Tippecanoe County, Indiana; Index to Marriage Record Jan. 1, 1921 to Dec. 31,, W. P. A. Original Record Located: County Clerk’s O; Book: M-39; Page: 558, Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Marriage Index, 1800-1941. Mary E. Shields, [Mary E. Bartlett], Gender: Female
    Registration Year: 1929, Spouse: Irving Bartlett, Child: Mary Jane Bartlett, Certificate Number: 52941, Roll Number: 022, Agency: Indiana State Dept. of Health, Volume Range: 106 – 110, Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1940 ↩
  10. Otto Blum, Death Date: 9 Oct 1967, Death Location: Cook County, IL
    File Number: 672811, Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Deaths), Archive repository location: Chicago, IL, Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk, Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988 ↩
  11. Obituary for Mary E. Blum, News-Press, Fort Myers, Florida
    08 Apr 1983, Fri • Page 30 ↩
  12. Ernst Blum, Death Date: 2 Oct 1985, Death Location: Cook County, IL
    File Number: 6019403, Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Deaths), Archive repository location: Chicago, IL, Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk, Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988 ↩
  13. Erna Blum, Death Date: 11 Oct 1971, Death Location: Cook County, IL
    File Number: 628510, Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Deaths), Archive repository location: Chicago, IL, Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk, Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988 ↩

Abraham Blumenfeld II and His Eight Children

Posted on by
17

Abraham Blumenfeld II, born September 11, 1811, was the first child and older son of Moses Blumenfeld, brother of my 3x-great-grandmother Breine Blumenfeld Katzenstein, making Abraham my first cousin, four times removed, or, in other words, the first cousin of my great-great-grandfather Gerson Katzenstein. As noted in my earlier post, he was a cattle dealer and butcher and was married to Giedel Strauss on February 5, 1840. She was born on June 19, 1815, so was almost 25 when she married Abraham.

Abraham and Giedel had eight children for whom I could find birth records.  They were all born in Momberg.

Their first born was Meier, born December 11, 1840:

Meier Blumenfeld birth, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 628, S. 11

Then came Baruch (January 29, 1843):

Baruch Blumenfeld birth, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 628, p. 13

Salomon (March 29, 1845):

Salomon Blumenfeld birth, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 628, p. 14

Dusschen (June 27, 1847):

Dusschen Blumenfeld birth, Arcinsys Archives Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 628, p. 16

Moses, named for his grandfather who died in 1846, was born on December 31, 1849. I will refer to him as Moses Blumenfeld IIA:

Moses Blumenfeld IIA birth, Arcinsys Archives Hessen,HHStAW Fonds 365 No 628, p. 17

Rebecca (March 14, 1852):

Rebecca Blumenfeld birth, Arcinsys Archives, Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 608, p. 3

Heinemann (October 8, 1854):

Heinemann Blumenfeld birth, Geburtsregister der Juden von Momberg (Neustadt) 1850-1874 (HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 608)AutorHessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Wiesbaden, p. 4

And finally, Gelle (July 16, 1857):

Gelle Blumenfeld birth, Arcinsys Hessen Archives, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 608, p. 5

Sadly, one of those children, Rebecca, died before her fourth birthday. She died in Momberg on March 3, 1854.

Rebecca Blumenfeld death, Arcinsys Archives Hessen,HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 609, S. 4

I already have discussed Heinemann Blumenfeld because he married Karoline Katzenstein, one of my Katzenstein from Jesberg cousins, so I need not repeat their stories.

That leaves me with six other children of Abraham II and Giedel who lived to adulthood. In this post I will report on their marriages and then in separate posts to come I will report on their children and other descendants.

Meier Blumenfeld married Sarah Strauss on January 10, 1866, in Amoeneburg, Germany, where Sarah was born on January 21, 1844.1 Sarah was the daughter of Hirsch Strauss, Meier’s uncle (his mother Giedel’s brother), and thus she and Meier were first cousins. Sarah’s mother was Betty Loewenstein.

Meier Blumenfeld and Sarah Strauss marriage, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 50, S. 11

Meier and Sarah had eight children, one of whom, Martha, died in infancy on April 1, 1881.2

UPDATE: Thank you to Steve Bachenheimer who found a ninth child of Meier and Sarah. Bertha Blumenfeld was born on June 12, 1884, and died nine days later on June 21, 1884. See Bertha Blumenfeld, Gender: weiblich (Female), Birth Date: 12 Jun 1884
Birth Place: Marburg, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration  Office: Marburg, Father: Maier Blumenfeld, Mother: Sara Blumenfeld, Certificate Number: 265, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 5563, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901; Bertha Blumenfeld, Age: 0, Birth Date: abt 1884, Death Date: 21 Jun 1884, Death Place: Marburg, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office: Marburg
Father: Maier Blumenfeld, Mother: Sara Blumenfeld, Certificate Number: 192, Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 5664, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Baruch Blumenfeld married Emma Docter, daughter of Josef Docter and Zerline Wallach, on February 20, 1872, in Neustadt, Germany. Emma was born on February 9, 1848 in Gilserberg, Kirchhain, Germany.3 Her father was a veterinarian.4  Baruch and Emma would have two children.

Baruch Blumenfeld and Emma Docter marriage, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 629, p. 19

Salomon Blumenfeld married Emma Bendheim in Auerbach, Germany, on April 18, 1876. She was born in Auerbach on June 19, 1854, to Loeb Bendheim and Carolina Lichtenstein. Salomon and Emma had one child born in 1877, Moritz,5 and then in the 1880s they relocated to Huelva, Spain, where Salomon was known as Emanuel and then Manuel. More on that in a later post.

Salomon Blumenfeld and Emma Bendheim marriage, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 330, Year Range: 1876, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Abraham and Giedel’s oldest daughter Dusschen married Mayer Loewenstein in about 1865. I am still looking for more information about Mayer.

Moses Blumenfeld IIA married Fanny Bachrach, who was born in Rhina, Germany, on October 30, 1853, to Kallman Bachrach and Jette Klebe.6 They were married on May 20, 1875, in Marburg. Moses IIA and Fanny would have five children.

Moses Blumenfeld and Fanny Bachrach marriage, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 585, S. 27

As noted above, Heinemann Blumenfeld’s marriage and family have already been covered in my earlier discussion of my Katzenstein family.

That brings me to the youngest child of Abraham Blumenfeld II and Giedel Strauss for whom I have records, their daughter Gelle Jettchen Blumenfeld, also known as Caroline. She married Simon Hoexter on November 25, 1882. He was born in Gemuenden, Germany, on August 26, 1852, to Anselm Hoexter and Betty Blumenthal.7 Gelle and Simon had four children.

Gelle Jettchen Blumenfeld and Simon Hoexter marriage, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 6492
Year Range: 1882, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Abraham Blumenfeld II and his wife Giedel Strauss lived to see all of their children marry and the births of all 28 of their grandchildren. Giedel died on August 12, 1890, in Momberg; she was 75.8 Abraham died ten years later on May 15, 1900; he was 88.9 They are both buried at the Jewish cemetery in Neustadt near Momberg.

The Hebrew side of Giedel’s stone is translated as:

Here lies 

a respected and respected woman,

her husband’s crown and ornament

of their children. Mrs. Gitel, wife of the

Abraham Blumenfeld. she died

on the 26th of Av, and was buried on the 28th of the same

Her soul is part of the bond of life.

The Hebrew side of Abraham’s stone is translated as:

Here lies

an honest and sincere man, he loved

the truth and was peace-loving:

Abraham, Son of Moses ha-Kohen.

He died on the 6th of Iyyar, and was buried

on the 8th of the same [5] 660

His soul is part of the bond of life,

Amen, Sela.

In the next series of posts, I will tell about the families of the seven children of Abraham II and Giedel who lived to adulthood, starting with their oldest child, Meier, and his descendants.

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Blumenfeld, Sara, geborene Strauß (1912) – Marburg, Alter Jüdischer Friedhof“, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/17933&gt; (Stand: 1.8.2020) ↩
  2.  Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 5661,
    Year Range: 1881, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  3. Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 359, p. 8. ↩
  4. Alfred Schneider, Die Juedischen Familien im ehemaligen Kreise Kirchain, p. 129 ↩
  5.  Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 357, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930 ↩
  6. Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 687, 49. ↩
  7. Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 351, p. 17. ↩
  8. Blumenfeld, Giedel geborene Strauß (1890) – Neustadt (bei Marburg)“, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5333&gt; (Stand: 5.6.2012) ↩
  9. Blumenfeld, Abraham (I) (1900) – Neustadt (bei Marburg)“, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5332&gt; (Stand: 5.6.2012) ↩

Moses Blumenfeld, My Four-Times Great-Uncle

Posted on by
22

Moses Blumenfeld was my four-times great-uncle, the older brother of my three-times great-grandmother Breine Blumenfeld Katzenstein. He was born in Momberg in 1778, the first-born child of Abraham and Geidel Katz Blumenfeld, my four-times great-grandparents.

Family register of Moses Blumenfeld, Lagis-Hessen Archives, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 631 p 18

He was a cattle dealer in Momberg and married to Gidel Katz Loeb, daughter of Isaak Katz and Gelle Katz (the name Loeb must have been adopted after her birth when surnames were required of Jews in Germany). Gidel was born in about 1782 in Neustadt, Germany, and she and Moses married sometime in or before 1811 when their first child Abraham (named for his grandfather) was born.

As you can already see, the repetition of the names creates a lot of confusion—especially for me while researching this family. Moses’ son had the same name as Moses’ father, so I will refer to the son as Abraham II. Moses’ wife Gidel has essentially the same name as Moses’ mother Geidel. I am using the alternative spelling to help keep them separate. And there will be more repeating names as I proceed.

Moses and Gidel had three children for whom there are records. Abraham Blumenfeld II was born on September 11, 1811.1 Isaak was born two years later on December 18, 1813.2 Gelle was born in about 1820.3 All three children were born in Momberg.

Abraham II, like his father Moses, became a cattle dealer and a butcher.4  Like his father and his grandfather, he married a woman named Giedel (also spelled Gidel, Geidel, Geitel, Gitel). His wife was Giedel Strauss, daughter of Hahne Strauss and Dusel Loewenstein. She was born on June 19, 1815, in Amoeneburg, Germany. Abraham II and Geidel were married on February 5, 1840.5 They would have seven children to be discussed in posts to come.

Marriage record of Abraham Blumenfed II and Geidel Strauss, Lagis-Hessen Archives. HHStAW Fonds 365 No 629, p. 6

Isaak was also a cattle dealer and butcher like his father and brother.6 He married twice. His first wife was Frommet Kugelmann, daughter of Ezekiel Kugelmann and Knentel Adorn.7 Frommet was born in Wohra, Germany, in about 1821, as her marriage record reports that she was twenty when she married Isaak on August 2, 1841.

Isaak Blumenfeld and Frommet Kugelmann marriage record, Lagis Hessen Archives, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 629, S. 6

Frommet gave birth to their first child, named Abraham Blumenfeld like his uncle and great-grandfather, on March 13, 1842 in Momberg. I will refer to him as Abraham Blumenfeld III.

Abraham Blumenfeld III birth record, Lagis Hessen Archive, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 628, S. 12

Then tragically Frommet died five days later on March 18, 1842. Her death record reports that she was only 19 when she died, which is contrary to the marriage record’s report that she was 20 when she married.

Frommet Kugelmann Blumenfeld death record, Lagis Hessen Archive, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 630, S. 8

Isaak, left with his infant son Abraham III, married a second time on January 10, 1843. His second wife was Gelle Strauss, the sister of his sister-in-law Giedel Strauss, his brother Abraham II’s wife. Gelle, also a daughter of Hahne Strauss and Dusel Loewenstein, was born November 6, 1819, in Amoeneburg.8 Isaak and Gelle had six children together, to be discussed in a later post.

Marriage record of Isaak Blumenfeld and Gelle Strauss, Lagis Hessen Archive, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 629, S. 6

Gelle Blumenfeld (not to be confused with her sister-in-law Gelle Strauss Blumenfeld) married Simon Rothschild on November 15, 1842, when she was reportedly 20. But her death record indicated that she was 67 when she died in 1887,9 which would mean she was born in 1820 and 22 when she married Simon. There is no birth record available to resolve that conflict.

Marriage record of Gelle Blumenfeld and Simon Rothschild, Lagis Hessen Archives, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 629, S. 6

Simon Rothschild was a 29 year old merchant when he married Gelle. He was born in Waltersbrueck on June 22, 1813, to Seligmann Rothschild and Terz Gutheim.10 Simon and Gelle had nine children together, to be discussed in a later post.

Thus, Moses Blumenfeld and Gidel Katz Loeb had two dozen grandchildren from their three children. Gidel died on December 1, 1843, in Momberg; she was 61.

Death record of Gidel Blumenfeld, Lagis Hessen Archives, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 630, S. 9

Blumenfeld, Gietel nee Katz or Löb (1843) – Neustadt (near Marburg)”, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5423&gt; (Status: 5.6.2012)

Her headstone inscription is translated as:

Here lies

the much vaunted woman,

Mrs. Gitel, wife of the Lord

Moses ha-Kohen from Mom (mountain).

She died on Holy Shabbat, and was buried on

Sunday the 10th of the month of Kislev

of the year [5] AD 602 ​​(= 11/22/1841).[^11] And her soul

be bound in the covenant of life until she is raised at the resurrection of the dead,

Amen.

Moses Blumenfeld died three years later on November 20, 1846. He was 68. They are both buried in Momberg. They were survived by their three children and twenty-four grandchildren.

Blumenfeld, Moses (1846) – Neustadt (near Marburg)”, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5289&gt; (status: 5.6 .2012)

Moses’ headstone is translated as:

And he was the priest of the Most High God (Genesis 14:18).

This is the grave monument

the sincere man, the venerable

Lord Moses, son of Abraham

ha-Kohen. He died in good

Call on the 2nd Kislev of the year

[5] 607 ndkZ (= 11/21/1846). May his soul be bound in the covenant of life until he is raised at the resurrection of the dead,

Amen.

Two dozen grandchildren for just one of Breine’s siblings! And each of those grandchildren had children and grandchildren. Where do I begin? How do I organize my blog posts so that I don’t lose track of all those descendants?

In my next set of posts I will explore the family of Abraham Blumenfeld II, the oldest child of Moses and Gidel. He had seven children, as stated. Do I tell the story of each of those children separately? And then return to Abraham’s siblings? I guess so. Whew. This could take a while.

  1. Lagis-Hessen Archives, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 631 p 18. ↩
  2.  Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 915; Laufende Nummer: 6559. Description, Year Range: 1892, Source Information
    Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  3. Rothschild, Gelle geborene Blumenfeld (1887) – Haarhausen“, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/2291&gt; (Stand: 5.6.2012). Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8464, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  4. Blumenfeld, Abraham (I) (1900) – Neustadt (near Marburg)”, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5332&gt; ( Status: 5.6.2012) ↩
  5. Blumenfeld, Giedel nee Strauss (1890) – Neustadt (near Marburg)”, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5333&gt; (status no : 5.6.2012) ↩
  6. Blumenfeld, Isaak (I) (1892) – Neustadt (bei Marburg)“, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5353&gt; (Stand: 5.6.2012) ↩
  7. Blumenfeld, Frommet geborene Kugelmann (1842) – Neustadt (bei Marburg)“, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5294&gt; (Stand: 5.6.2012) ↩
  8. Blumenfeld, Gelle nee Strauss (1886) – Neustadt (near Marburg)”, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/4499&gt; (status no : 5.6.2012) ↩
  9.  Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8464,
    Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  10. Rothschild, Simon (II) (1895) – Haarhausen”, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/2213&gt; (Status: 5.6. 2012) ↩

Introducing the Blumenfelds

Posted on by
17

I am back! It was great to spend days with my family and then to start the research on my next project, and now I am ready to dive into that project.

It’s been wonderful to focus on my mother’s side of the family tree these last few months and to discover so many wonderful new Goldfarb and Hecht cousins. There are far fewer long limbs on my mother’s side of the tree because despite years of trying, I cannot get beyond the names of her great- grandparents on either her maternal or paternal side. The records just don’t exist, and those still living have no more information than what I’ve already found. So while I can get as far back as a sixth great-grandparent on some of my father’s lines, my mother’s tree ends with her great-grandparents, about whom I know nothing other than their names.

And so now I return to my father’s side of the tree once again, and I am climbing on one of those longer limbs—the Blumenfelds. Breine Blumenfeld was my three-times great-grandmother. She was born in Momberg in about 1783 and married Scholem Katzenstein of Jesberg in 1808. Their son Gerson was my great-great-grandfather, and he and his wife Eva Goldschmidt immigrated to the US in 1856 and settled in Pennsylvania where my great-grandmother Hilda Katzenstein was born. Hilda married Isidor Schoenthal, and their daughter Eva was my paternal grandmother. I’ve already written extensively about Breine Blumenfeld’s descendants and relatives by writing about Scholem Katzenstein’s family and Eva Goldschmidt’s family and Isidor Schoenthal’s family, and so now it is time to return to Breine’s family of origin—her parents and her siblings.

Unfortunately, I have no primary sources for Breine’s parents. Instead I’ve had to rely on secondary sources—primarily the work of Alfred Schneider, “Die Juedischen Familien im ehemaligen Kreise Kirchain.” In addition, I’ve relied on pages written by Rev. Wilhelm Bach sometime in the 19th century and shared with me by Barbara Greve. There is also information on the Lagis-Hessen site for Jewish gravestones. I also looked at numerous trees on Ancestry, but they also do not have sources for my early Blumenfeld ancestors, and thus I have no idea how reliable they are.

With those disclaimers up front, let me share what these sources reveal about Breine Blumenfeld’s family. Her father was Abraham Katz, born in about 1750 and only 57 when he died in Neustadt bei Marburg, Germany, on December 21, 1807. Breine’s mother was Geidel (or Judith according to Rev. Bach), daughter of Gerson Moses and Fradchen Haas, according to some trees on Ancestry. 1 Geidel2 was about eighty years old when she died in Momberg on July 19, 1834, so born in about 1754. Abraham and Geidel were my four-times great-grandparents, and Geidel’s parents Gerson Moses and Fradchen Haas were my five-times great-grandparents.

I was able to locate Geidel’s gravestone online and learned from that site that it was not until after Abraham died in 1807 that she and her children adopted the surname Blumenfeld as required by the government. (Jews generally did not have surnames before the early 1800s—they used patronymics. Then European countries began requiring Jews to take surnames so they could identify them for tax and other purposes.)

Blumenfeld, Giedel nee Gerson Moses (1834) – Neustadt (near Marburg)”, in: Jüdische Grabstätten <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/5281&gt; ( Status: 5.6.2012)

The inscription is translated as “Here rests Geidel, wife of venerable Abraham ha-Kohen. she died on Sunday the 13th of Tamus, and was buried on Monday of the year [5] 594 AD (= July 20, 1834). Her soul is part of the bond of life.”

My four-times great-grandparents Abraham and Geidel Blumenfeld had six children, all born in Momberg, Germany: Moses (c. 1778), Sprinz (c. 1783), Hanna (c. 1788),  Breine (c. 1784), Maier (c. 1795), and Jakob (c. 1800).2 Given the gaps between many of these births, I wonder whether there were other children born who did not survive and for whom there are no records; alternatively, perhaps Geidel suffered multiple miscarriages. These six children are the only ones for whom I can find any sources, primary or otherwise.

UPDATE: Thank you so much to Jason Hallgarten of the JEKKES group on Facebook for finding Hanna Blumenfeld, a child I had missed in my search.

As noted, Breine’s story has already been told, and thus the posts to follow will focus on her four siblings and their descendants, starting with Moses Blumenfeld, my four-times great-uncle.

  1. There is no actual record of Abraham’s birth, marriage, or death. This information comes from Schneider, p. 129, and from the entry on the Lagis-Hessen gravestone site for Abraham’s wife Geidel. It also appears in numerous Ancestry trees as does the information about Geidel’s parents. The Strauss Family Tree at https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/113124712/person/240106312930/facts seems to be the tree upon which all the other trees relied to come up with these names and dates. ↩
  2. Citations and images to follow for birth dates. ↩ ↩