Happy New Year to all my friends, family, and readers! I hope you all had a joyful and safe New Year’s Eve.
My first big news of 2025 is that my newest family history novel will be released at the end of January just thirty days from now. It’s titled Simon’s Story and was inspired by the story of my three-times great-grandfather’s younger brother Simon Goldschmidt. Although Simon’s life was the spark that led me to write this novel, the book itself is fiction wrapped around the skeleton of Simon’s life.
As described on Amazon, “Simon … came to the United States from Germany, a poor Jewish man whose first wife had died, leaving him with young children. After he remarried, he and his new wife and the children came to the United States. But Simon had a secret that he kept from his children. His daughter Hannah struggled all her life to understand her mysterious and aloof father. Why was he so cold, so withdrawn? What made him the way he was?”
The book is available for pre-order on Kindle now and you can find the link here. The paperback version will also be sold on Amazon and will be available on January 31, 2025.
I hope you will consider reading Simon’s Story, and if you enjoy it, please let me know and also please leave a review on Amazon.
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.
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.1Samuel 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.
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
“Ronald Rothschild Succumbs at Home,” The New Rochelle Standard Star, August 11, 1960, p. 2. ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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. ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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
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 ↩
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. ↩
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 ↩
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. ↩
“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. ↩
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. ↩
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. ↩
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. ↩
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 ↩
“Broadway Barred to Alien Actress,” The New York Times, September 26, 1934, p. 17. ↩
“Margot Graheme Replaces Greta Maren in ‘Sexes and Sevens,’ ” The New York Times, October 5, 1934, p. 28 ↩
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 ↩
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. ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
Ancestry.com. U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1 ↩
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. ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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.
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
“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. ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
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 ↩
“Alexander, Albert E.,” Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, September 17, 1994, p. 5. ↩
I want to wish all my family, friends, and readers a happy Thanksgiving. Although it would be easy to focus on all our fears and worries, I am going to try and focus during this holiday on all the things for which I am so grateful—including my family, friends and readers! So thank you to all of you who are reading this blog and who follow along as I continue my genealogy adventures.
In particular, I am grateful that my children, grandchildren, and brother will be traveling to the Cape to be with us for this holiday. We know that traveling on Thanksgiving is a major hassle, and we are deeply appreciative of the efforts they are all making so that we can be together.
And I am so grateful that I get to live in this gorgeous part of the world with the person who is the love of my life.
Thank you to you all! See you next week when I return to regularly scheduled programming.
The 1930s proved to be challenging years for some members of Moses Rothschild’s family. His widow Mathilde died on November 7, 1931, in the Bronx;1 she was 82 years old and had outlived her husband by more than thirty years. She had lived to see the births of all of her grandchildren and even three great-grandchildren.
Most of Moses and Mathilde’s children and grandchildren continued to live in New York in 1930. Their oldest son Samuel and his wife Sallye and their 24-year-old son Milton were living in the Bronx, and Samuel and Milton were salesman for a “private concern.”2 Milton married the following year on October 23, 1931, just two weeks before his grandmother Mathilde died.3 Milton married Blanche Zimmerman, the daughter of Bernard Zimmerman and Gertrude Landan. She was born in the Bronx, New York, on November 4, 1908 or November 4, 1907.4 Milton and Blanche would have two children.
The second old son Rudolph Rothschild and his wife Rebecca (listed as Rae here) were living in Manhattan in 1930, and Rudolph was a jewelry salesman.5Their son Mortimer was living with his wife Amelia and her mother Selma Spiegel in Manhattan. Mortimer was a traveling salesman, and Amelia was a school teacher in 1930.6 They would later have two children.
Rudolph’s younger son Alvin does not appear on the 1930 US census, but according to his entries on the 1940 US census, Alvin was living in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1935.7 And on July 19, 1936, he married Marjorie Breuer in Wilmington, Delaware, where, according to their marriage record, they both were living and where Alvin was working as a store manager.
Alvin Rothschild marriage certificate, Ancestry.com. Delaware, U.S., Marriage Records, 1750-1954
According to their wedding announcement in the Wilmington News-Journal, Alvin was working for Neisner Brothers, Inc. Marjorie was the daughter of Charles Breuer and Mariann Gold and was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on April 29, 1914.8
“Breuer-Rothschild,” The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, July 18, 1936, p. 4
Alvin appears to have been one of the first of the descendants of Moses Rothschild to move out of New York City. Could the Depression have forced him to seek opportunities elsewhere? Alvin and Marjorie would later have three children.
As for the family of Albert, the third son of Moses and Mathilde Rothschild, his widow Rose and their youngest daughter Dorothy (17) were living in the Bronx in 1930; Dorothy was working as a clerk in the film industry.9 Albert and Rose’s oldest daughter Rae, like her cousin Alvin, had left New York City by 1930 and was living with her husband Gerald Jordan and daughter Alberta (8) in Buffalo, New York, where Gerald was the manager of a clothing store.10 I again wonder whether economic conditions forced Gerald to move out of New York City.
Josephine, the second oldest daughter of Albert and Rose, was living with her husband Charles Hall in 1930 in Manhattan, and she was working as a secretary and Charles as an electrician.11The third daughter Theresa was living in the Bronx with her husband Arnold Blumenfeld and their two young children; Arnold was an insurance agent.12 I could not locate Theresa’s sister Lillian and her husband Max Blumenfeld (Arnold’s brother) on the 1930 census.
On January 31, 1932, Albert and Rose’s youngest daughter Dorothy married Sidney Spiegel in the Bronx.13 When I saw the surname Spiegel, I wondered if Sidney was related to Amelia Spiegel, who had married Dorothy’s cousin, Mortimer Rothschild, son of Rudolph Rothschild. But Sidney’s parents, Benjamin and Frieda Spiegel, were born in Galicia whereas Amelia’s parents Adolph and Ida Spiegel were born in Germany. Sidney was born in New York on September 28, 1911.
The year after Dorothy’s wedding, Rae, Josephine, Theresa, Lillian, and Dorothy lost their mother Rose when she died on March 7, 1933, in New York.14 Rose had had many challenges in her life; she’d lost her only son Milton when he was not yet two years old. She’d lost her husband Albert in 1915 when she was only 39, and she’d had to raise her five daughters alone, including Dorothy who was just a year old at the time. Rose was survived by those five daughters and by her grandchildren.
My next set of posts will cover the families of Moses and Mathilde’s younger three children Theresa, Gertrude, and Aron during the 1930s.
Mathilda Rothschild, Gender Female, Race White, Marital Status Widowed, Age 82
Birth Date 19 Feb 1849, Birth Place Germany, Years in US 63 Years, Death Date 7 Nov 1931, Death Street Address 2033 Morris Ave, Death Place New York City, Bronx, New York, USA, Cause of Death Chronic Myocarditis and Nephritis, Arterial Hypertension
Burial Date 9 Nov 1931, Burial Place Mount Carmel Cemt, Occupation House Wife
Father’s Birth Place Germany, Mother’s Birth Place Germany Father Louis Selizmann [sic] Mother Theresa Selizmann [sic], Executor Sam Rothschild, Executor Relationship Son, Certificate Number 9230, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Death Certificates; Borough: Bronx; Year: 1931, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Death Certificates, 1862-1948 ↩
Samuel Rothschild and family, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Bronx, Bronx, New York; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0200; FHL microfilm: 2341204, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
Milton Rothschild, Gender Male, Marriage License Date 23 Oct 1931, Marriage License Place Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, Spouse Blanche Zimmerman
License Number 8578, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Bronx, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018; Milton S Rothschild Gender Male Marriage Date 29 Oct 1931 Marriage Place Manhattan, New York, USA Certificate Number 25564, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937. ↩
Blanche Zimmerman, Gender Female Race White Birth Date 4 Nov 1908
Birth Place Bronx, New York City, Bronx, New York, USA Residence Address E 138th St Bronx 639 Certificate Number 194 Father Benjamin Zimmerman Mother Gertrude Zimmerman Mother Maiden Name Landan, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Bronx; Year: 1908, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909. But another record shows she was born November 4, 1907: “New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W84-31S : 11 February 2018), Blanche Zimmerman, 04 Nov 1907; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 194 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 2,023,224. I do not know which is correct. ↩
Rudolph Rothschild, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 0485; FHL microfilm: 2341294, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
Mortimer Rothschild, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 0485; FHL microfilm: 2341294, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
Alvin Rothschild, 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 ↩
Marjorie Breuer Rothschild, Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 29 Apr 1914
Birth Place Wilmington, Delaware, 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. ↩
Rose Rothschild, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Bronx, Bronx, New York; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0327; FHL microfilm: 2341208, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
Gerald Jordan and family, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Buffalo, Erie, New York; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0294; FHL microfilm: 2341167, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
Charles Hall and family, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 1167; FHL microfilm: 2341316,
Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
Arnold Blumenfeld and family, 1930 US census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 1167; FHL microfilm: 2341316, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census ↩
Dorothy Rothschild, Gender Female, Marriage Date 31 Jan 1932, Marriage Place Bronx, New York, USA, Spouse Sidney Spiegel Certificate Number 936, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 ↩
Rose Rothschild, Age 56, Birth Year abt 1877, Death Date 7 Mar 1933, Death Place Manhattan, New York, USA, Certificate Number 6002, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948 ↩
For the family of Moses and Mathilde Rothschild, the Roaring Twenties began with the birth of their first great-grandchild, Alberta Jordan, daughter of Rae Rothschild and Gerald Jordan, on April 18, 1921, in the Bronx, New York. Alberta was the granddaughter of Albert Rothschild and Rose Katz and was presumably named for her grandfather, who had died in 1915.
The next major family event came on September 22, 1923, when Albert and Rose’s daughter Theresa, just seventeen years old, married Arnold Blumenfeld,1 a son of Elias Blumenfeld2 and Celia Finkelstein3 Arnold was born what is now Poland in the town of Czestchowa, on December 9, 1899,4 and immigrated to the US with his family on November 1, 1909.5 Arnold was working as a scaling clerk in a slaughterhouse when he registered for the World War I draft and was living in Manhattan with his family in 1920.6 Theresa and Arnold would have two children, Albert, born September 8, 1926, in the Bronx,7 and presumably named for Theresa’s father Albert Rothschild, and a daughter who may still be living.
Arnold Blumenfeld World War I draft registration, Registration State: New York; Registration County: New York, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Following Theresa’s marriage in September, 1923, her older sister Josephine married Charles H. Hall on October 14, 1924.8 He was the son of Joseph Hall and Minnie Golden and was born in Glen Cove, New York, on December 7, 1899.9 On his World War I draft registration, Charles reported that he was an apprentice electrician and living in the Bronx with his family.
Charles Harding Hall World War I draft registration, Registration State: New York; Registration County: Bronx, Draft Card: H, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
That brings us up to 1925 and the 1925 New York State census records for this family. In 1925 Mathilde Rothschild was living in the same building (maybe the same apartment?) in the Bronx as her daughter Theresa and Theresa’s husband Max Alexander and their three children, Frances (19), Herbert (15), and Albert (9), as well as Max’s sister Estelle. Max continued to work in the real estate business.
Mathilde Rothschild, Max Alexander and family 1925 NYS census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 16; Assembly District: 08; City: New York; County: Bronx; Page: 35, District: A·D· 08 E·D· 16, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1925
Samuel Rothschild was also living in the Bronx with his wife Sallye and son Milton; he was in the novelties business.10 His brother Rudolph Rothschild was living in Manhattan with his wife Rebecca and sons Mortimer (25) and Alvin (21). Rudolph and Mortimer were salesmen, and Alvin was working in advertising.11
Gertrude Rothschild Lancelot (the family now having shortened the surname from Lancelotti, it appears) and her husband Charles and their children Milton (16) and Estelle (14) were living in Manhattan, and Charles continued to work as an artist for an engraving company.12
As for Rose Katz Rothschild, widow of Albert Rothschild, as I wrote earlier, I could not find Rose on the 1925 NYS census nor could I find her two youngest daughters, Lillian and Dorothy, on that census. But I did find Rose and Albert’s three oldest daughters on that census. Two of them, Rae Rothschild Jordan and Theresa Rothschild Blumenfeld, were living next door to each other in the same apartment building in the Bronx with their respective husbands and Rae’s daughter Alberta. Rae’s husband Gerald Jordan was working as a “manager.” Theresa’s husband Arnold Blumenfeld was in the insurance business. Their sister Josephine Rothschild Hall and her husband Charles Harding Hall were living in the Bronx also; Charles was an electrician, Josephine a stenographer.13
Gerald Jordan and family, Arnold Blumenfeld and family 1925 US census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 54; Assembly District: 08; City: New York; County: Bronx; Page: 20, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1925
Aron Rothschild, the youngest child of Moses and Mathilde, posed more challenges for me when it came to the 1925 NYS census. I could not find him or his wife Martha or son Melville anywhere on that census. Like his sister-in-law Rose Katz Rothschild and her two youngest daughters Lillian and Dorothy, Aron and his family all seem to have somehow evaded the enumerator.
The following years saw another marriage in the family when Rudolph Rothschild’s son Mortimer Maxwell Rothschild married Amelia Spiegel on April 14, 1927, in New York City. Amelia was born in New York on August 13, 1905, to Adolph Spiegel and Ida Jaffa.14
Also, Lillian Rothschild, Albert and Rose’s daughter, married Max Blumenfeld on June 29, 1929, in the Bronx.15 Max was the younger brother of Arnold Blumenfeld, Lillian’s brother-in-law and the husband of her older sister Theresa. Max was born on February 18, 1904, in Poland.16
Thus, the family was expanding throughout the 1920s. Next time we will see how they fared through the Depression of the 1930s.
Theresa Rothschild, Gender Female, Marriage Date 22 Sep 1923, Marriage Place Manhattan, New York, USA, Spouse, Arnold Blumenfeld, Certificate Number 33859, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 ↩
Eliasz Dawid Blumenfeld, Birth Date 1862, Birth Place Czestochowa, Film 875329
Line 123, JRI-Poland Shtetl CO-OP Volunteers, comp. Poland, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, Births, 1550-1993. When I first saw “Blumenfeld,” I wondered if Arnold was a cousin, but once I realized his family was from Poland, not Germany, I knew there was no familial connection. ↩
Celia Blumenfeld, [Celia Finkenstein], Gender Female, Race White, Marital Status Widowed, Age 75, Birth Date abt 1865, Birth Place Russia, Residence Street Address 1748 Washington Av, Residence Place New York, Years in US 30, Death Date 15 Aug 1940, Hospital Morrisania, Death Place New York City, Bronx, New York, USA, Cause of Death Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease Conestive Heart Failure, Burial Date 16 Aug 1940
Burial Place Beth David Cemetery, Occupation Hwife, Father’s Birth Place Russia, Mother’s Birth Place Russia, Father, Aaron Finkenstein, Mother Sarah Finkenstein, Child, Aaron Blumenfeld, Informant Aaron Blumenfeld, Informant Gender Male, Informant Relationship Son, Executor Aaron Blumenfeld, Executor Relationship Son
Certificate Number 7791, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Death Certificates; Borough: Bronx; Year: 1940, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Death Certificates, 1862-1948 ↩
Arnold Blumenfeld 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, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
Arnold Blumenfeld, 1920 US census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Manhattan Assembly District 17, New York, New York; Roll: T625_1217; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 1205, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census ↩
Albert Blumenfeld, Gender Male, Race White, Birth Date 9 Sep 1926, Birth Place NY Bx, New York, Death Date 19 Oct 1989, Father Arnold Blumenfeld, Mother Theresa Rothschild, SSN 054200492, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
Charles H Hall, Gender Male, Marriage Date 14 Oct 1924, Marriage Place Manhattan, New York, USA, Certificate Number 27615, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937; Charles H Hall, Gender Male
Marriage License Date 14 Oct 1924, Marriage License Place Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, Spouse Josephine F Rothschild, License Number 5830, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Bronx, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 ↩
Joseph Hall, 1900 US census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York; Roll: 1079; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 0726, Description
Enumeration District: 0726; Description: Oyster Bay Town; Election District 8, Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census; Minnie I Golden, Gender Female
Marriage Date 14 Sep 1896, Marriage Place Glen Cove, New York, USA, Spouse
Joseph H Hall, Certificate Number 16959, New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index, Ancestry.com. New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967. ↩
Samuel Rothschild and family, 1925 NYS census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 72; Assembly District: 02; City: New York; County: Bronx; Page: 17, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1925 ↩
Rudolph Rothschild and family, 1925 NYS census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 01; Assembly District: 11; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 11, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1925 ↩
Charles Lancelot and family, 1925 NYS census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 18; Assembly District: 23; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 3, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1925 ↩
Charles Hall and family, 1925 NYS census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 69; Assembly District: 08; City: New York; County: Bronx; Page: 5, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1925 ↩
New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938″, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24WQ-H78 : Tue Feb 20 22:32:18 UTC 2024), Entry for Mortimer Rottschild and Amelie Spiegel, 14 Apr 1927. ↩
Lillian Rothchild, Gender Female, Marriage Date 29 Jun 1929, Marriage Place Bronx, New York, USA, Spouse, Max Blumenfeld, Certificate Number 4938, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 ↩
Elias Blumenfeld and family, 1910 US census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York; Roll: T624_1020; Page: 3a; Enumeration District: 0474; FHL microfilm: 1375033, Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census; Max Blumenfeld 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, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957; Max Blumenfeld, Social Security Number 056-09-6623, Birth Date 18 Feb 1904, Issue year Before 1951, Issue State New York, Last Residence 11367, Flushing, Queens, New York, USA, Death Date Apr 1971, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014; “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CJ-G79S : Sat Mar 09 14:13:28 UTC 2024), Entry for Max Blumenfeld and Lillian Rothchild, 29 June 1929. ↩
I had a blog post ready for today, but right now that all seems irrelevant. Who cares about the past when the present and the future feel so dark? I know that my parents, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents would be horrified by what has happened to their country. The country I was taught to love, to honor, to respect.
So forgive me if right now I sound angry. I am angry. I guess I am in that stage of grief. I went through denial last night until I heard Pennsylvania had gone for Trump. Pennsylvania—where I wrote over a hundred letters to voters. Pennsylvania—where my father was born and raised, as was his father and his grandfather, and where my ancestors Jacob Cohen and John Nusbaum came in the 1840s to find new opportunities and freedom from oppression. How could Pennsylvania betray us all?
And yes, this is the grief speaking. I have lost a loved one—that loved one is my long-held belief that Americans are basically good, smart, caring people who believe in freedom, justice, and democracy. I am angry with my fellow Americans who betrayed those ideals by voting for Trump. Maybe I will eventually move on to the bargaining stage. But not right now.
Right now these feelings are too raw, too new. I need to sit shiva for this painful loss before I can move on. So please—don’t tell me to accept and move on. Would you say that to someone sitting shiva for a parent or spouse? Would you tell them to move on in those seven days after the funeral? No. You wouldn’t.
And don’t tell me that I need to mend fences and reach out to those who didn’t vote for Harris. Would you tell a mourner to forgive the person who murdered their loved one? Certainly not while they are sitting shiva. No. That would be cruel.
And I certainly do not want to hear from anyone, family or friend or stranger, who voted for Trump or who didn’t vote at all. I can’t forgive you right now, and hearing from you will only increase my pain. I will delete any comments that say anything in defense of your opinion, your vote.
Right now I am in pain. And I feel nothing but despair and anger and grief. I am in mourning. And like any mourner, I only want support, empathy, and understanding of my grief.
The third son of Moses and Matilda Rothschild, Albert, was the first to die, and he died far too young.
On August 25, 1915, Albert, while a patient at Lloyd’s Sanitarium in New York City, drew up his last will and testament. According to this website, Lloyd’s Sanitarium was created by Dr. Henry William Lloyd in 1909 as a private hospital for the well-to-do.
Dr Lloyds Sanitarium from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York
Albert’s will1 provides evidence that Albert was at least financially comfortable although perhaps not wealthy. In it he provided for a $500 trust to be created for his mother, Mathilde. In 1915 $500 would be worth over $15,000 in today’s money—not a fortune, but still a generous bequest. The will also provided that his wife Rose would receive “a third of her dower rights” or alternatively $50 to $60 a month, or about $1500 a month or $18,000 a year in today’s money. Again, hardly a fortune. Albert named Rose as well as his brothers Samuel and Rudolph to be the executors of his estate. The will documents reveal that Rose and the children were living at 964 Simpson Street in the Bronx in 1915 (although they are not listed there on the 1915 New York State census).
Albert Rothschild Last Will and Testament
Albert Rothschild notice of probate
Albert Rothschild probate order
Albert died a month later on September 29, 1915, in Amityville, New York, out on Long Island, presumably at a hospital there.2 I do not know what the cause of death was (and ordering a copy of the certificate from Vital Records is prohibitively expensive), but it would certainly appear that Albert knew he was gravely ill a month earlier when he wrote his will. He was only 38 years old and left behind not only his widow Rose, but their five daughters, Rachael, then 19, Josephine (13), Theresa (9), Lillian (6), and Dorothy, only one year old.
In this way Albert was following in the footsteps of his father Moses, who also died in his thirties and left behind six children who were all quite young. Was it the same cause of death? Was Moses’ cause of death really general paresis or was there a genetic cause of death for both Albert and Moses? I don’t know.
As for Albert’s widow Rose and their five daughters, their lives continued. Rose remarried in 1917, in New York;3 her second husband was Craig Powis, born in New York on October 27, 1874, to Charles Powis and Jennie Armstrong.4 On his 1918 World War I draft registration, Craig’s occupation was reported as an engineer at the army base in Brooklyn, and he and Rose were living in Brooklyn.
Craig Powis World War I draft registration, Registration State: New York; Registration County: Kings, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
But two years later in 1920, Rose was living with four of her daughters in the Bronx. Although she was using the last name Powis and reported her marital status as married, Craig was not listed as living with her. Rose was working as a salesperson in a dry goods store. Perhaps Craig was living on the army base in Brooklyn. Perhaps the marriage had failed.
Rose Powis and family 1920 US census, ear: 1920; Census Place: Bronx Assembly District 1, Bronx, New York; Roll: T625_1130; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 42, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census
It’s hard to know because I cannot find Craig on the 1920 census nor can I find either Rose or Craig on the 1925 NYS census. However, it does appear that Craig may have married again because on the index of his death record on FamilySearch, it says that he died on July 14, 1926, in the Bronx and that his surviving spouse was named Anna. Of course, the index could be an incorrect transcription of the death certificate or it could just be a mistake. But in any event it does not appear that Craig was living with Rose in 1920.5
Living with their mother Rose in the Bronx in 1920 were her four younger daughters: Josephine (17), Theresa (14), Lillian (10), and Dorothy (5). Josephine was working as a billing clerk for a lumber company. The other three were still in school.6
Albert and Rose’s oldest daughter Rachael (now using Rae) was not living with her mother and sisters because she had married Gerald L. Jordan on July 17, 1919, in Brooklyn, New York. Gerald was born in Charleston, West Virginia, on June 9, 1892, to Louis Jordan and Bertha Schmitz.7 On his June 1917 World War I draft registration, Gerald was living in New York City and was the secretary and salesman for the David Cohen Sales Company. He claimed an exemption from military service because of “heart trouble.” I could not find Rae and Gerald on the 1920 census. They had a daughter born on April 18, 1921, in the Bronx, named Alberta.8 She was Moses and Mathilde Rothschild’s first great-grandchild, and I assume she was named for Rae’s father Albert Rothschild.
Gerald Jordan World War I draft registration, Registration State: New York; Registration County: New York, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
The rest of the story of Albert Rothschild’s family will follow in subsequent posts.
Albert Rothschild, Probate Date 25 Aug 1915, Probate Place Bronx, New York, USA, Inferred Death Date 1915, Item Description Probate Administration Records, #0335-0343, Mary Vander Roest-Charles V Schüll, 1915-1916, New York, Bronx Probate Administration Records; Author: New York. Surrogate’s Court (Bronx County); Probate Place: Bronx, New York, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999 ↩
Albert Rotohschild [sic], Event Type Death, Event Date 29 September 1915, Event Place Amityville, Babylon, Suffolk, New York, United States. Event Place (Original) Amityville, New York, Entry Number 55476, “New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG2W-Y243 : Fri Mar 08 01:04:50 UTC 2024), Entry for Albert Rotohschild, 29 Sep 1915. ↩
Rose Rothschild, Gender Female, Marriage License Date 1 Mar 1917, Marriage License Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, Spouse Craig Powis
License Number 6232, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 3, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 ↩
Craig A. Powis., Sex Male, Age 52, Birth Year (Estimated) 1874, Marital Status Unknown, Father’s Name Charles, Father’s Sex Male, Mother’s Name Armstrong
Mother’s Sex Female, Spouse’s Name Anna Powis, Event Type Death, Event Date 14 Jul 1926, Event Place The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States, Event Place (Original) Bronx, New York, New York, United States, Record Type death, Certificate Number cn 5497, “New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WG3-NVM : 13 May 2022), Craig A. Powis, 1926. ↩
Gerald Lewis Jordan, Sex Male, Age 25 years, Birth Year (Estimated) 1892, Father’s Name Louis, Father’s Sex Male, Mother’s Name Bertha Schmitz
Mother’s Sex Female, Spouse’s Name Rae Rotschild, Spouse’s Sex Female
Spouse’s Age 21 years, Spouse’s Birth Year (Estimated) 1896, Spouse’s Father’s Name Albert, Spouse’s Father’s Sex Male, Spouse’s Mother’s Name Rose Katz, Event Type Marriage, Event Date 10 July 1917, Event Place Kings, New York, United States
Source Details 10399, “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CK-YV93 : Sat Mar 09 05:09:54 UTC 2024), Entry for Gerald Lewis Jordan and Rae Rotschild, 10 July 1917. Gerald L. Jordan Sex Male Father’s Name Louis Jordan Mother’s Name Bertha Schmitz Event Type Birth Event Date 9 Jun 1892 Event Place Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia, United States, “West Virginia Births and Christenings, 1853-1928”, , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X556-8BP : 12 December 2019), Gerald L. Jordan, 1892. ↩
Alberta L Jordan, Birth Date 15 Apr 1921, Birth Place Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965 ↩
Brotmanblog: A Family Journey 