Tag Archives: genealogy

Samuel Spier and Amalie Adler, Part I: A Growing Family

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The first born child of Sarchen Frank and Isaac Spier was their son Samuel, born as we saw on December 18, 1842, in Schrecksbach, Germany. On March 1, 1870, in Langendiebach, Germany, Samuel married Amalie (Malchen) Adler, the daughter of Markus Adler and Dolce Rosenstrauch; she was born in Hintersteinau, Germany, in about 1849. 1

Samuel Spier and Amalie Adler marriage record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW, 365, 515, p. 19

Samuel and Amalie had at least five children. Their first born, Therese, was born on February 18, 1871, in Langendiebach, Germany. (Her marriage record states that she was born in Grosskrotzenburg like some of her later-born siblings so it took some searching to find her actual birthplace and birth record.)

Therese Spier birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 514, S. 6

A second child, Lina, was born on February 24, 1872, in Langendiebach. Her birth record reveals that Samuel was a teacher and religious leader in the community:

Lina Spier birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW, 365, 514, p. 7

Samuel and Amalie must have moved from Langendiebach to Grosskrotzenburg sometime between February 27, 1872, and June 29, 1875, because their third child Leopold Saly was born in Grosskrotzenburg on that date.

Leoopold Saly Spier birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland
Year Range: 1875, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Isidor, their fourth child, was born on August 11, 1880, in Grosskrotzenburg.

Isidore Spier birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland, Year Range: 1880, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Finally, Selma was born on September 3, 1886, in Grosskrotzenburg.

Selma Spier birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland, Year Range: 1886, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Given the rather large gaps between Leopold and Isidor and between Isidor and Selma, I am wondering whether there were other children born in between that I’ve missed or miscarriages. I will continue to search for any children I may have missed. There was a male child with the surname Spier who was stillborn in Grosskrotzenburg on January 5, 1888, who could have been another child of Samuel and Amalie, but I can’t be certain of that.

Male Spier stillbirth jan 5 1888, from JOWBR, JewishGen.org

The oldest of these children, Therese Spier, married Eisemann Adolf Baer on August 31, 1892, in Grosskrotzenburg. Known primarily as Adolf, he was born on November 20, 1863, in Griedel, Germany, to Mayer Baer and Marianna Stern. Therese and Eisemann Adolf would have eight children, as we will see in the next post. In fact, all of the sources for the grandchildren of Samuel and Amalie will be discussed in later posts.

Marriage reocrd of Therese Spier and Eisemann Adolf Baer, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland, Year Range: 1892, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Lina Spier married Ferdinand Gruenwald on March 1, 1898, in Grosskrotzenburg. He was the son of Abraham Gruenwald and Rebekka Schloss and was born in Allendorf, Germany on May 25, 1869. Lina and Ferdinand had one child.

Marriage record of Lina Spier and Ferdinand Gruenwald, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland, Year Range: 1898, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Leopold Saly Spier, known as Saly, married Lina Wrzeszinski in Labischin, Poland, then part of Prussia, allegedly on April 12, 1907. She was born in Labischin on September 18, 1877, to Adolf Wrzeszinski and Ernestine Lewin. I could not find a marriage record for Saly and Lina or Lina’s birth record online, but later immigration documents revealed some of this information. Their marriage date, however, came from another tree that had no sources, and when I asked the tree owner for her source, she could not identify where she got the information. Saly and Lina had two children.2

The youngest sibling, Selma Spier, married Julius Bauer on August 29, 1909, in Grosskrotzenburg. Julius, the son of Jonas Bauer and Fanny Markus, was born in Weilburg, Germany, on February 28, 1881. Selma and Julius had four children.

Selma Spier and Julius Bauer marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 1426, Year Range: 1907, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Samuel Spier died on September 4, 1909, in Grosskrotzenburg, less than a week after his youngest daughter Selma was married. He had lived to see all but his son Isidor marry and lived to see the births of most of his grandchildren. He was 66 years old.

Samuel Spier death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 1460, Year Range: 1907, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

The last child to marry was Isidor. He married Pauline Mayer on December 14, 1920, in Guntersblum, Germany, where she was born on November 12, 1891, to Simon Mayer and Eva Morgenstern. As with Saly and Lina, I could not locate a marriage record or a birth record for Pauline but am relying on later documents. Isidor and Pauline had one child.3

Amalie Adler Spier, the widow of Samuel Spier, died on February 24, 1924, in Weilburg, Germany, where her youngest child Selma had settled after marrying Julius Bauer. She was 75 years old and had lived to see the births of all her grandchildren.

Amalie Adler Spier death record. Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister, Year Range: 1924, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

The stories of those grandchildren and their parents—-Therese, Lina, Saly, Isidor, and Selma—will be told in the posts that follow.

 

 

  1.   According to her death record, Amalie was 75 when she died in 1924. I was unable to find a birth record for her. Amalie Spier, Maiden Name Adler, Gender weiblich (Female) Death Age 75, Birth Date abt 1849, Death Date 24 Feb 1924, Death Place Weilburg, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office Weilburg, Certificate Number 21, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  2. Lina Sara Spier, [Lina Sara Wrzeszinski], Gender Female, Marital Status Widowed, Birth Date 18 de set de 1877 (18 Sep 1877), Birth Place Labischin, Arrival Date 1939, Arrival Place Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Father Adolf Wrzeszinski, Mother Ernestine Levin, Traveling With Children No, FHL Film Number 004921080, Ancestry.com. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965. ↩
  3. Pauline’s birth and marriage information was reported in her naturalization papers, Pauline Spier, Gender Female, Race White, Petition Age 55, Record Type Naturalization Petition, Birth Date 12 Nov 1891, Birth Place Guntersblum, Germany
    Marriage Date 14 Dec 1920, Marriage Place Guntersblum, Germany, Departure Place
    Kobe, Japan, Petition Date 1946, Petition Place California, USA, Naturalization Place USA, Ship ”nitta Maru” Court District Court, Northern District, California: San Francisco, Relation to Head Self (Head), Spouse Irving Isidor Spier, Child Lotta
    Petition Number 87852, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Petitions For Naturalization, 8/6/1903 – 12/29/1911; NAI Number: 605504; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009,
    Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1888-1991. Her birthname and parents’ names came from secondary sources. ↩

Coming Soon! A New Family History Novel: The Women Before Us

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Coming in a few weeks! My latest family history novel, The Women Before Us, will be available in paperback and e-book format on Amazon!

The Women Before Us was inspired by the stories of my female ancestors and relatives, women who had little power in the outside world and often little power over their own lives. Many of them married and then moved far from their families and friends to start a life with a man they probably hardly knew and in many cases didn’t even choose. Many then gave birth to numerous babies, often losing some of those babies as infants or young children to diseases that today are easily treated or prevented. And many faced painful obstacles—poverty, illness, unhappy marriages—but persisted nevertheless.

And so many of these women then watched their own daughters endure the same kinds of choices and painful decisions and losses.

In The Women Before Us, we see how this pattern plays out in one family, the family of Edna Schwartz, a young woman who falls head over heels in love with a man who lives far from where she and her family live, a man she has known only for a very brief time. Will she marry him and leave her family behind? Will she find happiness? Will she learn from the experiences of her mother and grandmother and the other women before them?

Read my latest book and find out. If you like family history, if you like love stories, and/or if you are interested in stories about the lives of women, you will enjoy this book. It is a work of fiction, but inspired by the people I’ve discovered through my family history research and by the times and places they lived in.

The book will be available on Amazon in multiple formats starting June 20, 2026. More information to come as we approach publication!

Update on Lotte Nathan: Thanks to the Genealogy Village

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Back in late October 2025, I wrote in two blog posts about my attempts to learn more about Bertha Katzenstein, my grandmother’s third cousin. Bertha, as I wrote then, was born in New York on April 23, 1892, and her mother (also named Bertha) died shortly thereafter. Bertha and her father and stepmother moved to Europe, and in 1913, Bertha married Hermann Nathan in Harburg, Germany. They divorced six years later in 1919. For seven years that was all I knew about Bertha.

Then last fall I was contacted by Ines Weber, who had located a second marriage for Bertha. On January 14, 1921, Bertha married Friedrich “Fritz” Wilhelm Langebartels in Hamburg, Germany. They left Germany for the US in 1926, and in 1927 Bertha applied for naturalization.1

Bertha Katzenstein Nathan marriage to Friedrich Wilhelm Langebartels, Landesarchiv Berlin; Berlin, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Heiratsregister, Register Year or Type: 1921 (Erstregister), Ancestry.com. Berlin, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1940

On her naturalization form, I learned that Bertha had had a daughter Lotte during her marriage to Hermann Nathan and that that daughter was still living in Germany. Lotte was born on May 1, 1915.

Bertha Katzenstein Langebartels Weber petition for naturalization, 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: 542
Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944

As I wrote back on October 22, I had and still have had no luck locating Bertha after that 1927 petition for naturalization. But I had more luck locating her daughter Lotte. As I wrote on October 29, 2025, Lotte Nathan married Emil Fischbein, and on September 8, 1936, they left Germany and immigrated to Palestine. Their son Hanan was born on August 11, 1937, in Haifa. I learned from Hanan’s grandson that Lotte left Emil and Hanan when Hanan was a child and went to England with an English soldier. Other records showed that Lotte married Ronald Francis George Buchanan and died in England in 1971.

That was all I knew when I posted Lotte’s story on October 29, 2025. Then a woman named Jutta posted a comment in German on that post on December 7, 2025, saying that her mother was a half-sister to Lotte Nathan. She explained that Hermann Nathan had remarried after he and Bertha Katzenstein divorced in 1919 and that he had two daughters with his second wife, one of whom was Jutta’s mother.

Jutta and I have now emailed numerous times since then, and she has even shared some photographs of Lotte. Here are two photographs:

Lotte’s half sister, her stepmother, Lotte, and her father Hermann Nathan
Courtesy of the family

 

Lotte Nathan (left) and her two half-sisters. Courtesy of the family

Jutta also knew that Lotte had ended up in England where she died in 1971 from multiple sclerosis. Teresa of the Writing My Past blog encouraged me to send away for Lotte’s death certificate, which I did. It confirmed what Jutta said and what I’d seen on other trees: that Lotte Buchanan was born Lotte Nathan on May 1, 1915, in Germany, that she died on November 21, 1971, in Aspley, Nottingham, England. Her cause of death was respiratory failure and “disseminated sclerosis,” which Google tells me is another name for MS.2

From Jutta I learned that her grandfather, Lotte’s father, Hermann Nathan committed suicide in early 1945 rather than be sent by the Nazis to the concentration camps. His second wife and his daughters were Christian so did not feel as endangered by the Nazis, but Jutta said that her grandmother stood by Hermann until his death.

Although I still haven’t found any further evidence as to what happened to Bertha Katzenstein, Lotte’s mother, I feel I do have some closure on Lotte herself, thanks to the genealogy village: Ines, Teresa, Gil, and now Jutta.

 

  1. As that blog post discussed, because she had married a foreign national before 1922, she had forfeited her birthright citizenship. ↩
  2. Unfortunately, I forgot to scan the death certificate before leaving for Florida, so it is home in Massachusetts. I will add it here when I get back home. ↩

Malchen Rothschild, Part I: A Large Family

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Having now completed the stories of the family of Gerson Rothschild and Fanny Kupermann, it is time once again to see where I am in the overall Blumenfeld family. Gerson was the eighth of the eleven children of Gelle Blumenfeld and Simon Rothschild. And Gelle Blumenfeld was the third of the three children of Moses Blumenfeld I and Gidel Loeb. And Moses Blumenfeld was the older brother of my three-times great-grandmother Breine Blumenfeld Katzenstein. So seeing this in a visual format, this is where I am:

Here is a chart of where I am in the descendants of Moses Blumenfeld I:

That looks like a lot of progress, doesn’t it?

But this is where I am in the overall family of Abraham Blumenfeld I and Geitel Katz, my 4x-great-grandparents:

So I still have a long, long way to go. (One thing not reflected here is that I have already covered the family and descendants of my three-times great-grandmother Breine Blumenfeld Katzenstein, the third child of Abraham I and Geitel.)

Now I will move on to the ninth of the children of Gelle Blumenfeld and Simon Rothschild, their daughter, Malchen. She was born on March 3, 1857, in Waltersbrueck, Germany.

Malchen Rothschild birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 893, p. 28

On May 12, 1878, Malchen married Daniel Rosenblatt in Waltersbrueck. Daniel, the son of Feist Rosenblatt and Minna Heilbrunn, was born on December 20, 1851, in Beisefoerth, Germany (now known as Malsfeld, Germany).

Malchen Rothschild and Daniel Rosenblatt marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8404, Year Range: 1878, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Malchen and Daniel had seven children.

Their first born was Julchen or Julie Rosenblatt; she was born February 3, 1879, in Beisefoerth.

Julchen Rosenblatt birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 4410, Year Range: 1879, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

The second child was Jette, born February 8, 1880, in Beisefoerth.

Jette Rosenblatt birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW, 365, 66, pp. 76-77

Felix, the third child, was born December 15, 1881, but in Zimmersrode, so the family must have relocated from Beisefoerth by then.

Felix Rosenblatt birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9519, Year Range: 1881, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

The fourth child was Auguste, born in Zimmersrode on February 6, 1883.

Auguste Rosenblatt birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9521, Year Range: 1883, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

The fifth child, another boy, was Juda or Julius Rosenblatt, also born in Zimmersrode, on July 13, 1884.

Juda Rosenblatt birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9522, Year Range: 1884, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

After Juda came Betty Rosenblatt, born January 8, 1887, in Zimmersrode. Sadly, Betty did not make it to her second birthday; she died on October 7, 1888, in Zimmersrode.

Betty Rosenblatt birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9525, Year Range: 1887, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Betty Rosenblatt death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 9603; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1888, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Finally, Malchen gave birth to her seventh child, Siegmund, on November 15, 1889, in Zimmersrode.

Siegmund Rosenblatt birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9527, Year Range: 1889. Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Julchen, Jette, Felix, Auguste, Juda, and Siegmund all survived to adulthood. Finding records for some of their children has proven to be a challenge.

On July 3, 1905, Julchen Rosenblatt married Max Wolf in Zimmersrode. Max, the son of Loeb Bunum Wolf and Bertha Blach, was born on April 11, 1879, in Barchfeld, Germany.

Julchen Rosenblatt and Max Wolf marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9567, Year Range: 1905, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Julchen and Max had one child, Edgar, who died on March 2, 1909, in Kassel, when he was only one year old.

Edgar Wolf death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 5501; Laufende Nummer: 910,  Year Range: 1909, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

As far as I have been able to determine, Julchen and Max did not have any other children.

Jette Rosenblatt, the second child, does not appear to have married or had children.

Felix Rosenblatt, the third child, married Minna Goldwein on March 17, 1914, in Ehrsten, Germany.  Minna was born in Meimbressen, Germany on January 2, 1891, to Jakob Goldwein and Bertha Frankenberg. (Minna is likely very distantly related to Manfred Goldwein, who married my cousin Margaret Sluizer.) I have no primary sources to prove that Felix and Minna had children, just unsourced family trees on Ancestry and on Geneanet and Geni/MyHeritage, but those trees and sites show that Felix and Minna had two children born in Zimmersrode: Siegfried, born January 23, 1915, and Ludwig, born November 15, 1919.

Felix Rosenblatt and Minna Goldwein marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 1808, Year Range: 1914, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Auguste Rosenblatt, the fourth child of Malchen Rothschild and Daniel Rosenblatt, married Samuel Roth on June 13, 1911. Samuel was born February 16, 1883, in Nieder-Ohmen, Germany. He was the son of Jakob Roth and Jettchen Stiebel. Auguste and Samuel had four children born in Breitenbach, Germany, according to various secondary sources, Holocaust documents, and a few primary sources for marriage or death: Irma, born May 26, 1912;1 Friedel, born December 15, 1913;2 Lothar, born January 15, 1915;3 and Gretl, November 12, 1919.4

Auguste Rosenblatt and Samuel Solly Roth marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9573, Year Range: 1911, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Juda Rosenblatt married Julchen Rosenblatt on February 3, 1920. No, not his sister—this Julchen Rosenblatt was his first cousin. Julchen, Juda’s wife, was born on September 10, 1892, in Malsfeld (formerly Beisefoerth), Germany, to Levi Rosenblatt and Dorette Levi. Levi Rosenblatt was Daniel Rosenblatt’s brother.

Juda Rosenblatt and Julchen Rosenblatt marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 4473, Year Range: 1918-1924, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Tragically, Juda died just ten months later on December 15, 1920. He was only thirty-six years old. I believe that Juda and Julie had one child before Juda died: a son Manfred born on August 11, 1920. More on that to come in a subsequent post.

Juda Julius Rosenblatt death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 9635; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1920-1921, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Siegmund Rosenblatt, the youngest sibling, married Else Schwab in Schlitz, Germany, on February 9, 1920, six days after his brother Jude’s wedding. Else was born on November 1, 1896, in Schlitz, Germany, to Abraham Schwab and Franziska Strauss. Once again several unsourced trees and sites list Siegmund and Else with two or three children: Arno and Ruth and Margot. I have no primary sources for those children.

Siegmund Rosenblatt and Else Schwab marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 921; Laufende Nummer: 902, Year Range: 1915-1925, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Thus, as you can see, my research of many of the grandchildren of Malchen Rothschild and Daniel Rosenblatt rests largely on unsourced trees and websites. I am not sure where I could find more reliable information since the birth records for the towns and years where and when these grandchildren were born are not available online. But I will keep searching.

Sadly, Malchen Rothschild Rosenblatt died before any of those grandchildren had reached their teenage years. She was 65 when she died on January 11, 1923, in Kassel, Germany.5 She was survived by her husband Daniel, five of her seven children, and her grandchildren.

“Rosenblatt, Malchen née Rothschild (1923) – Haarhausen,” in: Jewish Gravesites <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/2330&gt; (accessed June 5, 2012)

Her gravestone reads:

Here rests

a capable housewife for her husband and children.

This is Malchen, daughter of Simon,

Wife of Gedaliah, son of Uri.

She died on Thursday, 23 Tevet,

and was buried on the 25th of the same [5] 683

after the small count.

Her soul is bound in the bond of life.

(German inscription below:)

Here rests

Malchen Rosenblatt

from Zimmersrode

born March 3, 1857, died January 11, 1923

Her husband Daniel Rosenblatt lived long enough to experience Nazi persecution and the beginning of World War II. He died on April 5, 1940, in Zimmersrode.

Daniel Rosenblatt death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 9655; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1940, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Notice that his death record has his name as Daniel “Israel” Rosenblatt, reflecting the Nazi requirement that all Jewish men add Israel as their middle name. He was 88 years old and died of a stroke.6

Malchen and Daniel were spared seeing what would happen to their three daughters and their families during the Holocaust.

 

 

  1. Irma Roth marriage record, Landesarchiv Berlin; Berlin, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Heiratsregister, Ancestry.com. Berlin, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1940 ↩
  2. Friedel Roth death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 598; Laufende Nummer: 926, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  3. Lothar or Lotario Roth burial record on JewishGen, JOWBR database, found at https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/cemetery/jowbr.php?rec=J_ARGENTIN_0200287&#160;↩
  4. Gretel Roth, Arolsen Archives; Bad Arolsen, Germany; Record Group 1 Incarceration Documents; Reference: 1.2.1.1, Ancestry.com. Germany, Incarceration Documents, 1933-1945 ↩
  5. “Rosenblatt, Malchen née Rothschild (1923) – Haarhausen,” in: Jewish Gravesites <https://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/juf/id/2330&gt; (accessed June 5, 2012) ↩
  6. Daniel Rosenblatt, Arolsen Archives, Digital Archive; Bad Arolsen, Germany; Lists of Persecutees 2.1.1.1, Description Reference Code: 02010101 oS, Ancestry.com. Free Access: Europe, Registration of Foreigners and German Persecutees, 1939-1947 ↩

Another update: Alfred Meyer Survived The Holocaust

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Almost five years ago I wrote about Alfred Meyer, son of Regina Goldschmidt and Aaron Meyer and my third cousin, twice removed. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 16, 1875, and that was almost all I knew about him. The only other records I could find for Alfred were two Holocaust era records on file at the Arolsen Archives. Both indicated that Alfred had left Germany for France on April 24, 1939, and was still there as of November 3, 1939. I couldn’t find any other records for him.

Had he ever married? Did he have children? I didn’t know. Had he died in the Holocaust? There were no records for him at Yad Vashem or at the US Holocaust Memorial and Museum. I was left without any further information.

Until, that is, a few weeks ago when I received an email from another researcher named Ofra Karo. Ofra and I had been in touch over a year ago about a different branch of my tree, but now she was writing to say that she had found additional information about Alfred Meyer. For one thing, she had found a marriage record for Alfred indicating that he had married Augustine Marguerite K/Brat in Paris, France on August 11, 1911.

Alfred Meyer marriage record, Archives de Paris; Paris, France; État-Civil 1792-1902, Certificate Number: 0553-0836, Paris, France, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1555-1929

At first I was skeptical. What was Alfred doing in France in 1911 if he was in Frankfurt in 1939? Was this the same Alfred Meyer? But after studying the marriage record and relying on my rusty high school French, I saw that this was indeed the same man—-son of Regina Goldschmidt and Aaron Meyer, born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 16, 1875. And he was at that time residing in Paris. Given that Alfred was a grandson of Jacob Goldschmidt, whose family owned the international art and antiques business, it wasn’t really surprising that Alfred was living in Paris in 1911, perhaps working for the family’s business.

Ofra also directed me to a death record for Alfred. He had not died in the Holocaust, but had lived long enough to die after World War II. He died on January 27, 1947, in Gennevilliers, France, and had been residing in Clichy, France, a suburb of Paris just a few miles from where he died. He was 71 and a widower at the time of his death. No occupation was listed.1

Unfortunately, I have no other sources at this time for Alfred. Ofra found a tree on Ancestry that appears to be created by Alfred’s granddaughter and has many photos of family members. I tried to contact that tree owner through Ancestry without success, and I have looked to see if I could find her outside of Ancestry without success. Because I cannot confirm the information in that tree, I am not comfortable relying on it. If it is accurate, it does appear that Alfred had a son and has living descendants, but I cannot confirm that at this time.

At any rate, I do now know that Alfred did not die in the Holocaust. How he survived remains a mystery.

  1. There are two men named Alfred Meyer on this page—same age, same day of death, both with spouses with the first name Augustine. Ofra suggested that the one on Line 14 is a correction of the one on Line 8. That seems a reasonable assumption. ↩

Two Updates: Why Didn’t Mathilde Rothschild Leave Germany With Her Family? And How did Albert Alexander Meet His Wife?

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Before I continue the stories of the children of Gerson Rothschild and Fanny Kugelmann, I have three updates to earlier posts that I’d like to share. All three are possible because other researchers and family members found this blog and contacted me. These are true gifts from the genealogy village. I am so grateful.

Some of you may recall that back in May 2024, I wrote about my relative Hirsch “Harry” Rothschild and his three children, all of whom escaped from Nazi Germany to the United States before World War II started. But unfortunately Harry’s wife Mathilde did not escape with her family and was ultimately murdered by the Nazis.

In my blog post about this family I wondered why Mathilde had not come with Harry and her children when they left Germany. Was she ill, I speculated? I had no answers.

Now I have more information about the family of Harry Rothschild. A man named Fredo Behrens recently contacted me after seeing my blog post. He lives in Oldenburg, Germany, and as he told me in his email, he worked for the “Nordwestdeutsches Museum für Industriekultur” in Delmenhorst for several years 25 years ago, where his area of responsibility was museum education, exhibitions and a regional “Topography of the Nazi Era.” He also is on the board of the “Friends and Supporters of the Jewish Community of Delmenhorst,” and heads the Delmenhorst City History Working Group. More specifically, he has done research into the history of the Jewish people of Delmenhorst, including the Rothschild family.1

Fredo told me about a monograph by Dr. Enno Meyer from 1985 entitled “Die Geschichte der Delmenhorster Juden 1695-1945”, or the History of the Jews of Delmenhorst 1695-1945. Dr. Meyer was the head of “Gesellschaft für christlich-jüdische Zusammenarbeit” (Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation) for at least 30 years, according to Fredo. Fredo sent me both a copy of Dr. Meyer’s monograph (in German) and also a copy of an article that Fredo himself wrote about the Jews of Delmenhorst that excerpts parts of Meyer’s monograph and adds to it.2 I was able to use DeepL to translate Fredo’s work and learn more about the Rothschild family’s life in Delmenhorst.

According to the works of Meyer and Behrens, Dr. Harry Rothschild came to Delmenhorst from Hesse in 1914 and was the first Jewish doctor to practice in that town. By 1925, he was one of the top two taxpayers in the town. Harry was not active in the organized Jewish community, however, until after the Nazis came to power.3 According to Fredo’s research, the growing antisemitism in the early 1930s prompted Harry to become more involved. By 1933 he was chairman of the local Zionist organization and on the Jewish community board.

When the Nuremberg Laws were adopted and Jews were no longer allowed to employ Aryans, Harry and his Aryan cleaning woman petitioned the mayor for permission to continue their employment relationship, but their petition was rejected.4

Fredo kindly shared with me this photograph showing the street where the Rothschild family lived in Delmenhorst in 1930. The arrow points to where Harry Rothschild practiced medicine and lived before he left Germany in 1939.

Rothschild house and office in Delmenhorst, 1930, courtesy of Fredo Behrens: Jüdisches Leben in der Langen Straße nach 1933. In: Die Lange Straße in Delmenhorst : Biographie einer alten Straße ; Begleitveröffentlichung zur Ausstellung in den Museen der Stadt Delmenhorst auf der Nordwolle vom 24.6. – 2.9.2001. Hg. vom Stadtmuseum Delmenhorst. Isensee, Oldenburg 2001, p. 60

Then on October 10, 1937, Harry and a number of other Jewish residents of Delmenhorst were arrested by the Gestapo without warning or warrants. According to the observations of a fellow prisoner who became Harry’s cellmate, Harry was particularly humiliated by this experience and was called a “dirty stinking Jew” by one of the Gestapo agents. Harry and his cellmate were in solitary confinement, and Harry remained in prison until the spring of 1938. Harry’s condition had deteriorated greatly during his imprisonment.5

On November 10, 1938 in the aftermath of Kristallnacht, Harry was again arrested and was one of fourteen Jewish men who were arrested and sent to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen.6

By that time all three of Harry and Mathilde’s children had left Germany for the United States. Harry left in the spring of 1939 and went to Cuba, and he was finally able to join his children in the US in December 1939.

But as we know, Mathilde did not come with him, and she was eventually deported to Minsk and died there. Dr. Meyer shed some light on this in his monograph, also quoted in Fredo Behren’s work. On page 85 of his history of the Delmenhorst Jews, Enno Meyer wrote that Mathilde had stayed behind to try and sell the family house; then when the war started in September 1939, she was trapped in Germany and could not leave.7

If only Mathilde had left with Harry and had not tried to sell the family’s home, this family’s story would have had a much happier ending. There may be more to this story that we will never know, but if this account is accurate, it shows how one decision affected an entire family’s fate during the Holocaust.

I want to thank Fredo Behrens again for providing me with the information and the photograph used in this post and for the work he does to preserve the Jewish history of Delmenhorst.

The second update came from two newly found cousins—my fifth cousin Charles Alexander and his daughter Kate. They also found me through my blog. Charles is the grandson of Theresa Rothschild Alexander, and I wrote about that family here. Check out the update there and learn how Charles’ parents, Albert Alexander and Mary Jane Deiches, actually met. My original speculation proved to be incorrect.

Also, I’ve added to that post a photo Charles gave me from his father’s yearbook. I am also adding it here since I could not place it properly in the original post.

Finally, the third update will have to wait until next week.

  1. Email from Fredo Behrens, March 25, 2025. ↩
  2. Fredo Behrens, “Jüdisches Leben in der Langen Straße nach 1933. In: Die Lange Straße in Delmenhorst : Biographie einer alten Straße; Begleitveröffentlichung zur Ausstellung in den Museen der Stadt Delmenhorst auf der Nordwolle vom 24.6. – 2.9.2001. Hg. vom Stadtmuseum Delmenhorst. Isensee, Oldenburg 2001. ↩
  3. Enno Meyer, “Die Geschichte der Delmenhorster Juden 1695-1945,” (1985), pp. 48, 55, 60, as cited in Behrens,  Note 2, supra. ↩
  4. Behrens, Note 2, supra, citing a letter dated November 14, 1936, response from the mayor dated December 3, 1936. Exhibition “Delmenhorst in National Socialism.   based on a letter dated September 24, 1955, affidavit from Wilhelm Schroers for Dr. Rothschild. Exhibition “Delmenhorst under National Socialism.” ↩
  5. Letter dated September 24, 1955, affidavit from Wilhelm Schroers for Dr. Rothschild. Exhibition “Delmenhorst under National Socialism.” as quoted in Behrens, Note 2, supra. ↩
  6. Behrens, Note 2, supra. ↩
  7. Enno Meyer, “Die Geschichte der Delmenhorster Juden 1695-1945,” (1985), p. 85, as cited in Behrens, Note 2, supra. ↩

Gerson and Fanny Rothschild’s Children: From A Large Family to Small Families

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Gerson Rothschild’s wife Fanny gave birth to eleven children between 1883 and 1901, but three of those babies did not survive. Two died at birth, and one died at seven weeks. That left eight surviving children: Siegmund (1884), Katchen (1885), Max (1886), Auguste (1888), Jenny (1890), Clara (1891), Rosa (1893), and Amalie (1901). Two sons, six daughters.

But from such a large family, only one of those eight surviving children would have more than two children, and they all married at a later age than was typical of those times. They almost all married in their thirties. It made me wonder why these siblings delayed marriage and had so few children after coming from such a large family. Were they so close to each other that they didn’t want to leave home? Were the older ones helping to care for the younger ones? Did the fact that three babies did not survive make them wary of having more that one or two children? Or was it simply a matter of economics or the trend in the 1920s in Germany? I don’t know, but here are the facts.

Siegmund, the first born, was 35 when he married Elise Olga Block on December 22, 1919, in Frankfurt. Elise, the daughter of Max Block and Fanny Schaefer, was born in Ratiburg, Germany, on April 4, 1892.

Siegmund Rothschild and Elsa Block marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903, Year Range: 1919, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Siegmund and Elise had two sons: Ernst, born March 1, 1922,1 and Werner, who is still living as far as I’ve been able to determine. Both were born in Frankfurt.

Katchen Rothschild was 28 when she married Adolf Hirshberg on April 23, 1914, in Zimmersrode. Adolf was born July 6, 1889, in Bad Zwesten, Germany, to Levi Hirshberg and Braunchen Levi.

Katchen Rothschild and Adolf Hirschberg marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9576, Year Range: 1914, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Katchen and Adolf had one child, a son Ludwig, born in Kassel, Germany, on February 1, 1920.2

Max Rothschild was 32 when he married Johanna Katz in Zimmersrode on October 19, 1919. Johanna was the daughter of Jacob Katz and Karoline Rosenblatt, and she was born Neuenhain, Germany, on May 1, 1892.

Max Rothschild and Johanna Katz marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9581, Year Range: 1919-1920, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Max and Johanna had two sons: Erich, supposedly born on May 13, 1921, and Richard, supposedly born October 24, 1922, both in Zimmersrode.3

Auguste Rothschild was thirty when she married Wolf Feldheim on March 18, 1919, in Zimmersrode. Wolf was born April 4, 1875 in Graudenz, then part of Prussia, now part of Poland. His parents were Aron Feldheim and Lena London. Wolf had been previously married and had four young children when he married Auguste.

Auguste Rothschild and Wolf Feldheim marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9581, Year Range: 1919-1920, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Auguste and Wolf had one son, Bruno, according to several trees, but I am still looking for a record that ties Bruno to Auguste and Wolf. I did find records for a Bruno Feldheim born in Fulda, Germany, on November 12, 1921, but those records do not identify Bruno as the son of Auguste and Wolf.4

Jenny Rothschild was thirty when she married Salomon Abraham on November 11, 1920, in Zimmersrode. Salomon was born in Durboslar, Germany, on August 14, 1891. I am still looking for a record to confirm the names of his parents.

Jeanette Rothschild and Salomon Abraham marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9582, Year Range: 1920-1921, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Jenny and Salomon had two children, Walter, born September 13, 1921, in Zimmersrode5 and Herta, born August 26, 1928, born in Kassel.6

Clara Rothschild was thirty when she married Moritz Katz in Zimmersrode on November 1, 1921. Moritz was born on November 4, 1894, in Neuenhain, Germany. He was the son of Jakob Katz and Karoline Rosenblatt and the younger brother of Johanna Katz, who had married Clara’s brother Max.

Clara Rothschild and Moritz Katz marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9582 Description Year Range: 1920-1921 Source Information Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Clara and Moritz had three children: Otto, born September 5, 1922, in Neuenhain;7 Helmut (later Harold) born in Neuenhain in 1924,8 and Ilse, born on May 19, 1928, in Kassel, Germany.9 Since Harold may still be living, I will not report on his exact birth date.

The last two children of Gerson Rothschild and Fanny Kugelmann, their daughters Rosa and Amalie, married after 1930 and had children after Hitler came to power.  I will write about their husbands and children in a subsequent post.

Isn’t it interesting how late these eight children married and how few children they had after being from such a large family? I’d love to know more about their decisions, but alas, all I have is speculation.

Their father Gerson Rothschild passed away on April 17, 1930, at the age of 74.

Gerson Rothschild death record, LAGIS Hessen Archives, HStAMR Best. 920 Nr. 9644 Standesamt Zimmersrode Sterbenebenregister 1930, S. 6

Gerson had lived to see all eight of his surviving children reach adulthood, and before he died, he saw the six oldest of those children marry and have children of their own. As of his death, Gerson had ten grandchildren. His daughter Rosa would later have one child and his daughter Amalie two, meaning that Gerson and Fanny at one time had thirteen grandchildren from their eight surviving children.

Gerson may have been blessed to die before Hitler came to power and before he would know what would happen to so many of those children and grandchildren.

 

  1. Ernest Simon Rothschild, Race White, Age 23, Birth Date 1 Mar 1922, Birth Place Frankfort, Germany, Registration Date 30 Jun 1945, Registration Place New York City, New York, Employer Hugo Brand, Next of Kin Siegmund Rothschild,  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 ↩
  2. Ludwig Hirschberg J., Gender männlich (Male), Nationality Deutsch Juden
    Record Type Miscellaneous, Birth Date 01 Feb 1920 (1 Feb 1920), Birth Place Kassel
    Residence Place Kassel, Kassel, Notes Lists of judicial and official files concerning foreigners and German Jews, Reference Number 02010101 oS, Document ID 70443311, Arolsen Archives, Digital Archive; Bad Arolsen, Germany; Lists of Persecutees 2.1.1.1, Ancestry.com. Free Access: Europe, Registration of Foreigners and German Persecutees, 1939-1947 ↩
  3. I could not find any actual birth records for Erich Rothschild or Richard Rothschild. There are no online birth records for Zimmersrode for 1921 or 1922. These dates, however, appear on numerous trees on Ancestry. I do not know how reliable that specific information is. I am still searching for birth records for these two sons, but I do have other records for them that place their birthdates as approximately in 1921 and 1922. I will discuss those other records in a later post. In addition, one tree included a third son, Fritz Simon Rothschild, but I have no records that support the existence of that son. ↩
  4. Bruno Feldheim, Palestine Immigration file, found at the Israel State Archives website at https://search.archives.gov.il/&#160;↩
  5. Walter Abraham, Birth Date 13 Sept 1921, Birth Place Zimmerrode, Residence Street Address 26 Johann-Georg-Strasse, Residence Place Berlin, [Halensee]
    Occupation Bãcker [Baker], Description Deportationen, URL https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/de/document/127213170 , Arolsen Archives; Bad Arolsen, Germany; Record Group 1 Incarceration Documents; Reference: 1.2.1.1, Ancestry.com. Germany, Incarceration Documents, 1933-1945 ↩
  6. Herta Abraham, Birth Date 26 Aug 1926, Birth Place Kassel, Residence Kassel
    Camp Riga/Stutthof, Ancestry.com. Poland, German Jews at Stutthof Concentration Camp, 1940-1945 ↩
  7. Otto Katz, Race White, Age 19, Birth Date 5 Sep 1922, Birth Place Neuenhaus [sic], Germany, Registration Date, 15 Feb 1942, Registration Place, New York City, New York, Employer Kenneth Miller, Next of Kin Clara Katz, 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, Name Range: Katz, Bernard-Katz, Sam, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 ↩
  8. Helmut Katz [Harold Katz] Race White Age 18 Birth Date …1924, Birth Place Neuenhain, Germany, Registration Date 19 Dec 1942, Registration Place New York City, New York, Employer Student, Next of Kin Clara Katz, 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 ↩
  9. This date came from Dennis Aron’s Ancestry tree, and Dennis obtained his information from Ilse’s brother, Harold Katz. I have no other source for this, but given that it came from her brother, for now I assume it is accurate. ↩

Eleven Babies in Eighteen Years

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My cousin Gerson Rothschild’s wife Fanny Kugelmann gave birth to eleven children, starting in 1883 with the last one born eighteen years later in 1901. It is impossible for me to imagine what that was like.

Unfortunately, the first baby, a girl, died at birth (or was stillborn) on March 28, 1883:

Stillborn female child, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 8460; Laufende Nummer: 920
Year Range: 1883, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

The note on the death/birth record was translated by my cousin Richard Bloomfield and reads:

Mrs. Fanni Rothschild née Kugelmann of Jewish religion in the apartment of her husband, the merchant Gerson Rothschild of Jewish religion at Waltersbrück in house no. 2 on the eighth and twentieth of March this year in the afternoon at five o’clock birthed a child of female sex and that this child died in childbirth. Mrs. Waßmuth explained that she had been present at the confinement of Mrs. Fanni Rothschild.

A second child, Siegmund Rothschild, was born less than one year later on March 4, 1884, in Waltersbrueck:

Siegmund Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8386, Year Range: 1884, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Sixteen months after Siegmund’s arrival, Fanny gave birth to Katchen Rothschild on July 5, 1885, also in Waltersbrueck:

Katchen Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8387, Year Range: 1885, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Sixteen months after Katchen came another son, Max, born November 22, 1886, in Waltersbrueck:

Max Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8388, Year Range: 1886, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Then Fanny gave birth to another daughter,  Guste or Auguste, in Waltersbrueck on September 11, 1888. Imagine that—-a gap of almost two years after Max. I wonder whether Fanny had miscarried at some point in between Max and Auguste.

Auguste Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8390, Year Range: 1888, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Johanette (“Jenny”) Rothschild, Gerson and Fanny’s sixth child, was born on February 13, 1890, also in Waltersbrueck, seventeen months after Auguste:

Johannette Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8392, Year Range: 1890, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Their seventh child Clara was born on July 15, 1891, in Waltersbrueck, seventeen months after Jenny:

Clara Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8393, Year Range: 1891, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Number eight arrived May 16, 1893, almost two years after Clara; her name was Rosa. She was born in Zimmersrode where the family was now residing. Zimmersrode is a larger town about a mile and a half from Waltersbrueck.

Rosa Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9531, Year Range: 1893, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Gerson and Fanny’s ninth child Thoni only lived seven weeks; she was born on April 27, 1895, in Zimmersrode, and died there on June 20, 1895:

Thoni Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 9533, Year Range: 1895, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Thoni Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 9610; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1895, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Sadly, their tenth child, like their first child, died at childbirth, this time a boy. Richard also translated the note on this death record for me.

Male Child stillborn of Gerson Rothschild, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 9614; Laufende Nummer: 920
Year Range: 1899, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Today the personally known tradesman Gerson Rothschild, residing in Zimmersrode, appeared before the undersigned registrar and reported that

The wife of the reporting person of Jewish religion, Fanny Rothschild, née Kugelmann, also of the Jewish religion, gave birth to a male child at two o’clock in the morning on March 28th of this year in the home of the reporting party, and that the child died during birth.

Read, approved and signed

Gerson Rothschild

In a rather creepy coincidence, this baby was delivered on March 28, 1899, exactly sixteen years to the day after Fanny lost her first child in childbirth on March 28, 1883.

Fortunately, Fanny had better fortune with her eleventh and final baby, Amalie Rothschild, born in Zimmersrode on April 26, 1901. I do not have a birth record for Amalie but found her birth date on records from the Nazi era.1

Fanny Kugelmann Rothschild was 43 years old when she gave birth to Amalie, her last child. She had been either pregnant or nursing a baby for almost twenty years. She had suffered losing two of those babies at birth and one at only seven weeks old. But her other eight children survived to adulthood—-until the rise of the Nazis.

Here’s a timeline showing the birth dates of Fanny and Gerson’s eleven babies:

March 28, 1883—March 4, 1884—July 5, 1885—November 22, 1886—September 11, 1888—February 13, 1890—July 15, 1891—May 16, 1893—April 27, 1895—March 28, 1899—April 26, 1901

More on this family in the posts to come.

 

 

 

 

  1. Amalie Rothschild Stiefel, Arolsen Archives, Digital Archive; Bad Arolsen, Germany; Lists of Persecutees 2.1.1.1, Ancestry.com. Free Access: Europe, Registration of Foreigners and German Persecutees, 1939-1947 ↩

The Blumenfeld-Rothschild Brain Teaser

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Here’s a good brain teaser for those of you who like puzzles, especially genealogy relationship puzzles:

Gerson Rothschild was the eighth child born to Gelle Blumenfeld and Simon Rothschild. He was born on May 1, 1855, in Waltersbrueck, Germany.

Gerson Rothschild birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hesse, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 893, p. 27

Gerson married Frommet “Fanny” Kugelmann on September 13, 1881, in Waltersbrueck. She was born in Wohra, Germany, on September 11, 1857.

Gerson Rothschild marriage to Frommet Kugelmann, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 8407, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

When I saw Frommet Kugelmann’s name, it rang a bell, but I wasn’t sure why. I searched my tree, and sure enough, I had a Frommet Kugelmann already on my tree. I wrote about her here. She had married Isaac Blumenfeld I, Gelle Blumenfeld’s older brother, and had died March 18, 1842, five days after giving birth to her son Abraham Blumenfeld III. She was about twenty years old when she died.

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

But was there a connection between the Frommet Kugelmann who had married Isaac Blumenfeld I and the Frommet Kugelmann who married Isaac’s nephew Gerson Rothschild, Gelle’s son? That was not immediately obvious.

From the marriage record for Gerson and his Frommet (to be referred to hereinafter as Fanny to keep them distinct), I knew that Fanny’s parents were Joseph Kugelmann and Male Katten. After searching for more information about Joseph Kugelmann, I learned that he was the son of Hiskias Kugelmann and Knentel Adorn.1 Flipping back to Isaac Blumenfeld’s wife Frommet, I saw that her parents were also Hiskias Kugelmann and Knentel Adorn.2 In other words, Joseph Kugelmann had named his daughter Frommet Fanny Kugelmann for his deceased sister Frommet Kugelmann, Isaac Blumenfeld’s wife.

Gerson and Fanny were thus related through the marriage of Gerson’s uncle Isaac to Fanny’s aunt and namesake, Frommet Kugelmann.

Gerson and Fanny would have eleven children, though two died at birth and one as an infant.

Here’s the brain teaser.

How were the children of Gerson Rothschild and Fanny Kugelmann related to Abraham Blumenfeld III, the son of Isaac Blumenfeld I and his first wife Frommet Kugelmann?

[Jeopardy! Music plays for thirty seconds…]

 

 

 

Here’s the answer:

They were his first cousins, once removed, on the Kugelmann side because their mother Fanny was Abraham III’s first cousin; Abraham III’s mother Frommet Kugelmann and Fanny’s father Joseph Kugelmann were siblings.

Here’s a chart showing that relationship, using one of Gerson and Fanny’s children (Max Rothschild) as an example:

But they were also related to Abraham III through the Blumenfeld side since Abraham’s father Isaac Blumenfeld I and Gerson’s mother Gelle Blumenfeld Rothschild were siblings, making Abraham and Gerson first cousins, thus making Max Rothschild and  Gerson and Fanny’s other children first cousins, once removed, to Abraham Blumenfeld III through that connection.

There is a third connection through Abraham Blumenfeld III’s marriage to Friedericke Rothschild—-but I will spare you that one.

OK, since you insist, here’s a chart for that one…

So once again, the family tree twists and groans from the weight of its interconnected branches, twigs, and leaves.

Coming up…the stories of the eleven children of Gerson and Fanny.

 

 

  1. Joseph Kugelmann death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 9981; Laufende Nummer: 915, Description Year Range: 1900, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  2. Frommet Kugelmann Blumenfeld death record, Sterberegister der Juden von Neustadt 1824-1875 (HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 630), p. 8. Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, at https://arcinsys.hessen.de/arcinsys/digitalisatViewer.action?detailid=v1900007&selectId=45915616&#160;↩

Gelle Blumenfeld Rothschild’s Middle Children: Isaak, Gitel, and Betty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

  1. Isaak Rösenblatt, [Isaak Rosenblatt] Death Age 69, Birth Date abt 1847,
    Death Date 13 Nov 1916, Death Place Kassel, Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office Kassel I, Father Meier Rösenblatt Mother
    Hannihan Rösenblatt Certificate Number 1490, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 5546; Laufende Nummer: 910, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩