Family Photo Album: Joe and Sadie and Their Daughters Irene and Mildred

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Amy

Joe and Sadie and their daughters

Photographs can capture so much—a moment in time, a relationship, the style of an era, a mood, an emotion. Even family snapshots can reveal a lot. These pictures of Joe and Sadie and their daughters capture a family. Thank you to the next generation for sharing these pictures of their mothers and grandparents.

These pictures from the early 1940s of Irene, in her early 20s, and Mildred, a teenager, are so touching. They show two beautiful sisters who seem close to each other and to their parents. They both look like they have so much ahead of them.

Ariela described her mother Irene as very outgoing and social like her father Joe, someone who would strike up conversations with total strangers. Ariela said that Irene loved to dance and ski and sail as a young woman and that she loved jewelry and clothes and other beautiful objects. She loved dressing up and attending parties, and you can see that love of life and people in her face in these pictures of her as a young woman.

Irene 1941 Rockaway Pkwy

Irene, Joe and Mildred 1941

Tragically, Mildred’s life was cut short when she died in 1951 at only 25 years old, leaving behind her young husband and fifteen-month old child. I am hoping to learn more about her, but from these pictures it looks like she was also a young woman who loved life and people and was adored by her sister and her parents.

Mildred

Sadie and Mildred 1942

Mildred 1941

Mildred and friend 1943

Mildred Rosenzweig and Seymour Sundick 1947

Ron and his mother MIldred Sundick at his first birthday, a few months before she died

This is one of my favorite pictures in this group of photos. It shows both Mildred and Irene surrounding a baby carriage. Although we cannot see the baby, the descendants of Mildred and Irene and I thought that it is likely that the baby is Ariela, based on the hairstyles dating it in the 1940s and the adoring look on Irene’s face, looking down at what must be her baby.

Mildred and Irene looking at Ariela 1947

You can also see that same adoring look on Irene’s face many years later as she looks lovingly at her daughter Ariela.

Irene and Ariela

And here is one of Irene with her grandson Aron. Same loving look—on both of their faces.

Aron and his grandmother Irene

Here are some photos of Joe and Sadie in the 1940s:

Here are some from the 1950s and after of Joe, Sadie and Irene:

This photo is of Irene and her husband Leo Kohl with her parents Joe and Sadie.

Leo Joe Sadie and Irene

Ariela told me that her mother was madly in love with Leo and missed him dearly until the day she died. Irene died less than a year and a half ago at age 91.

As I said, photographs capture so much. These capture a family over time, a family where children adored their parents and vice versa, a family that endured a terrible tragedy, but that survived and thrived and found love and joy in their lives again

Family Photo Album: Joe and Sadie Rosenzweig

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Amy

I love photographs. Even blurry black and white snapshots can capture and reveal moments and feelings in ways that words never can. Thanks to the efforts and care of Joe and Sadie’s grandchildren, I can now put faces to the cold hard data that I had found about their grandparents and their mothers. I will also add some of these to the posts I’ve already written, but I thought I would also post them here so that they can be seen all in one place also.

The first one is a favorite of mine because for the first time I can see the faces of three of the Rosenzweig brothers, Abraham, Joseph and Jack (in that order from left to right). It’s remarkable how strong the family resemblance is. Gerry, Abraham’s grandson, said that this photo was taken at a Mason’s Lodge, date unknown. I don’t know very much about the Masons, but it seems that all three Rosenzweig brothers were members as was Frank Elkins. I guess I should learn more about this organization.

Abraham Joseph and John (Jack) Rosenzweig

The rest of the pictures I will try to place in chronological order. First is a picture of Joe as a young man.

Joe Rosenzweig

He looks so handsome and so well-dressed. I wonder what the occasion was for this photo. Was it a wedding picture? Perhaps one of the grandchildren can tell us.

The next image is not actually a photograph, but a page from a Dallas, TX, telephone directory from 1934. One of the grandchildren had mentioned to me that Joe and Sadie lived in Texas for a while during the Depression. I had previously seen this directory come up on a search, but had no idea why Joe and Sadie from Brooklyn would be in Texas, so dismissed it as a different couple. Obviously, this is the same Joe and Sadie Rosenzweig. I would love to know what Russian-born Sadie and Brooklyn-born Joe thought of Dallas. They must really have been fish out of water.

Dallas Phone Directory 1934

The next image is a photo, but from a page from the 1942 Tilden High School yearbook. The photo is of Mildred Rosenzweig, Joe and Sadie’s younger daughter. It’s a lovely photo, but what is really poignant here is the text beside her picture. Mildred was active in many school organizations, including Arista, the NYC Honor Society. She saw herself becoming a vocalist. And the quote reads in part, “Some day we’ll say…’we knew her when.’” Knowing that Mildred died less than ten years later, leaving behind her young husband and toddler son, makes that comment particularly bittersweet.

Tilden High School 1942 Mildred Rosenzweig

Here is a photo from around the same era of Sadie with their older daughter, Irene. Irene is dressed in her uniform. She was a member of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps, as you can see from the card below.

Sadie and Irene Rosenzweig

Irene Rosenzweig Nursing Corps

In 1947, Mildred Rosenzweig married Seymour Sundick. Here is their wedding picture as well as a picture of Joe taken at the wedding. Obviously he had a very good time at the wedding!

Mildred Rosenzweig and Seymour Sundick 1947

Here’s is another picture of Mildred from around the same period, looking very happy.

Mildred

And finally here are a few pictures from some later years. First, another picture of Sadie with her daughter Irene. And then finally a picture of Joe and a picture of Sadie with Ron, their grandson, Mildred’s son.

Sadie and Irene

Joe Sadie and Ron

I never met any of these people (though I do hope to meet Ron someday soon), but looking at these pictures helps me to understand why Joe and Sadie were so well loved by their entire family.

The Rosenzweig Brothers: A Family Portrait

One Mystery (Sort of) Solved and Another Started

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Amy

About a week ago I posted several mystery photos-–pictures that included people I could not identify, including this one:

What I did not know was that on the back of this photo were two inscriptions in Yiddish, depicted below:

I tried to decipher it, but had no luck (especially since I don’t know Yiddish and have trouble reading Hebrew cursive!). I sent it to a friend who knows Yiddish, and he was able to translate much of it, but could not decipher the names.

I then sent it to a service provided by the Jewishgen.org website called Viewmate. You can post text or even photos and ask others to help translate or identify the subjects in the photograph. Within a few hours, I received a response from a volunteer named Sara. She told me that the inscriptions translated to read,

“”By my right hand is Yitzhak’s son.” “By my left hand is Chaimke’s son.”

Joseph’s granddaughter Ariela believed that the picture was of Abraham’s wife Rebecca with her two grandsons, and that is consistent with the translation of the inscriptions. Abraham and Rebecca had two sons, Max H. and Irving. My guess is that “Chaimke,” a nickname for Chaim, is Max H., the H presumably for Hyman or Harry or some other H name standing in for Chaim; “Yitzhak” likely refers to Irving.

But what are the names of the two grandsons in the photograph? That I still do not know. I am now searching for the children of Max and Irving so that I can fully solve the mystery of who is in the photo.

One door opens as another closes…

The Story behind the Photograph

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Amy

Florence Goldschlager Cohen

A while back I posted about this photograph of my mother, a photograph I’d never seen before. My cousin Robin had sent it to me, but neither of us knew when it was taken. It looked like a professional photograph, and I could not figure out who took it or why my mother was sitting for a formal photograph.

I finally got around to asking my mother about the photo a few weeks ago. At first she could not recall when it was taken. What she remembered was that she had purchased the sweater while visiting her brother and sister-in-law in West Hartford. My Aunt Lynn had taken her shopping, and my mother remembered what a good time they had and how much she enjoyed visiting with them for a long weekend. She thought that perhaps the photograph was taken by my Uncle Maurice.

But I pointed out to her that it looked like a professional photograph. I asked her when she had cut her hair short since I knew that it was long when she graduated from high school in 1948 and short by the time she married my father three years later. She could not remember the exact year, but said that she had cut it after an interview with the Barbizon School of Modeling. The people there had suggested that she cut her hair, and so my mother did, much to my grandmother’s dismay. She recalled that she must have visited my aunt and uncle shortly thereafter and purchased the sweater then. She then went back to the Barbizon School to have a professional photograph taken. Although she never pursued a modeling career, that photograph certainly is evidence that she could have.

Mystery Photos

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Amy

I love when people send me photos, especially photos of people I’ve researched but never met. Sometimes they send me photos that include people who they themselves cannot identify. Today I have a number of these mystery photos, and I am hoping maybe someone else—in the family or outside of the family— can identify these people.

First is a photo I received from David Strolowitz Adler’s grandson Ira. It’s a photo of his grandparents David and Bertha Adler, but he cannot identify the other three women in this photograph. I sent it to Leah Adler’s granddaughter Jean, and she showed it to her mother Teddy, but neither of them could identify the other women either. Perhaps they are Bertha’s sisters?

The second photograph I received from Ron, Joe Rosenzweig’s grandson. The photo includes Joe and Sadie Rosenzweig, but Ron and his cousin Ariela were not able to identify the other two couples.

Ron also sent me this third photograph, which Ariela thinks might be Rebecca, Abraham Rosenzweig’s wife, and their two sons Max and Irving.

If anyone recognizes any of these people, please let me know.

Family resemblance?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Amy

I know that often the mind plays tricks, and you see things that aren’t there but that you hope are there. When a baby is born, some people will say, “Oh, he looks just like his mother, ” and others will say, “Oh, he looks just like his father.” Since we all have certain common physical traits–two eyes, a nose and a mouth, it’s not that hard to find a similarity with anyone if you look hard enough for it and want to see it badly enough.

So I need some help from objective eyes. Here are two photographs, one of my great-grandmother Ghitla Rosenzweig Goldschlager, and the other of Gustave Rosenzweig, who I believe to be her brother. The more I look at these two faces, the more I am struck by the similarity—in particular, the shape and deep-seatedness of the eyes and the nose. What do you think?

Ghitla Rosenzweig Goldschlager

Gustave Rosenzweig

I also find the same eyes in my grandfather, Ghitla’s son, and in Murray Leonard, her great-nephew, and in David Adler, her nephew, Tillie’s son:

Isadore Goldschlager

David Adler and his wife Bertha

Murray Leonard

So it is just me? Or do the Rosenzweig descendants share this common trait of deep-set, down-turned eyes? Do you see that trait in your family if you also are a descendant of Tillie, Ghitla, Zusi or Gustav?

Another new relative: Gustave Rosenzweig

Mystery photos

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Amy

A small diversion for a day when I am not up to staring at the computer screen for more than about 30 seconds: mystery photos. These are all photos of my Aunt Elaine with unidentified others. I don’t know when these were taken, where they were taken, or who took them. I assume these are her friends, but perhaps these are cousins, family members? If any of these people look familiar to you, please let me know.

The Family Album continued

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Amy

For those who love old photographs, here are a few more to enjoy.

First, this is a photograph of my two big cousins, Jeff Lehrbaum and Beth Goldschlager. They are younger here than I would remember them. (I was probably younger than two when this was taken.) I don’t know where this was taken, but I love how young and innocent they both look. Beth and I used to compete for Jeff’s attention; she would point out that she was closer to him in age, but I would respond that I lived closer by and saw him more often. Here I see how those extra two years gave her a headstart.

Jeff and Beth c. 1954

Here is one of Barry and Karyn Kenner with their father Irving. According to Barry, this was taken when they were visiting their grandmother, Betty Goldschlager Feuerstein, at her home in Levittown, New York. I love that I get a sneak peak into her home and its furnishings as well as a picture of my newly-found second cousins as children.

Barry, Irving and Karyn Kenner

And here’s one of my aunt and uncle, Elaine and Phil Lehrbaum, canoeing somewhere, perhaps on their honeymoon. My aunt always would talk about how athletic Phil and his family all were, skating, swimming, biking, and, it seems, canoeing. She would tell funny stories of her attempts to compete with the Lehrbaums —or more accurately, her inability to compete. I think this photo captures that—she seems to be holding that paddle as if she had no idea of what to do with it and with no intention of using it.

Phil and Elaine Lehrbaum

Finally, one that’s of more recent vintage—probably around 1987—of three little cousins, my daughters Maddy and Rebecca surrounding their second cousin, Mark, Jody and Joel’s son. May they remain connected and always part of each other’s lives.

Maddy, Mark and Rebecca

Thanks to Barry, Jody and Robin for these pictures.

More Family Photos

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Amy

Another day of “new” old family photos to enjoy.

First, some from the Goldschlager side: Robyn, Estelle Feuerstein Kenner’s daughter, sent me these two wonderful photos of her mother Estelle.

Estelle Feuerstein, Betty’s daughter

You can see why my grandfather described her as a princess—what an adorable little girl. Here she is an adult:

Estelle

I love the hat! I wonder what the occasion was and what year this was taken. So elegant. I also see something of my mother in her eyes here.

Now one for the Brotman side. Jody found this picture of Sam Brotman as a young man:

Sam Brotman

He looks like a teenager here. Can you imagine a teenage boy today dressing up like this for a studio photograph? Well, maybe if it was his bar mitzvah. Hmm, maybe this IS a bar mitzvah picture. Why else would my great-grandmother have spent money for a fancy picture of her son?

Finally, here is one of two young women who share both Goldschlager and Brotman genes—my mother and her big sister, my Aunt Elaine. As you can see, they both had a sense of style. I love how they both have the large buttons and a scarf like attachment to their sweater/coat. And you can’t miss those Bessie Brotman cheekbones!

Florence and Elaine Goldschlager

That’s it for today. I’d love more photos so if you have any old pictures of your parents or grandparents or aunts and uncles, please scan and send them, and I will share them here with everyone. Thanks!

Family pictures

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Amy

While I am waiting to receive further documentation for my genealogy research, I thought I would share some more of the photographs that I received from my cousin Robin and also some that my cousin Jody sent me last week. These are almost all pictures I’d never seen before and that I found very touching. Today I want to post some new (to me) photographs of my grandparents, Gussie Brotman and Isadore Goldschlager.

I would love to know more about this photograph. My grandfather is the young (and short) man standing in the center of the rear row in this picture, but I have no idea who these other young people are or where or when this picture was taken. Isadore looks like a teenager, but could be in his early 20s, so perhaps this was in Iasi, perhaps in New York City. Since he was 16 when he came to New York, my guess is that this is in New York City. But who are these people? Could any of them be his Strolowitz/Adler cousins? Or Nathan Mintz? I don’t see anyone who could be Betty or David. Maybe these are just his friends. I wish I knew.

Isadore Goldschlager and unknown others

Here are two more of my grandfather, one alone and one with my grandmother:

Isadore

Gussie and Isadore

And here are several of my grandmother with her grandchildren. The first one is of her holding Jeffrey, her first grandchild. I don’t think I have ever seen a photograph of her looking so happy.

Gussie and Jeff 1946

The remaining photographs are pictures of my grandmother with her West Hartford grandchildren:

Gussie and Beth 1954

Gussie with Robin Sue and Beth c. 1958

Lynn, Robin and Gussie 1958

Gussie and Robin 1958

Thank you to Robin and to Jody for sharing these. More to come in the days ahead.

Brotmanblog: A Family Journey

Adventures in Genealogy

Tag Archives: Photography

Family Photo Album: Joe and Sadie and Their Daughters Irene and Mildred

Family Photo Album: Joe and Sadie Rosenzweig

One Mystery (Sort of) Solved and Another Started

The Story behind the Photograph

Mystery Photos

Family resemblance?

Mystery photos

The Family Album continued

More Family Photos

Family pictures

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