Tag Archives: Rothschild

Moses Rothschild, Part I: When Did He Die?

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This summer’s posts up to now have all been devoted to the John Nusbaum photo album, but now it’s time to return to the Blumenfelds and my more traditional genealogy work. When last I wrote about the Blumenfelds back on May 29, 2024, I wrote about Levi Rothschild, the third child of Gelle Blumenfeld Rothschild. To refresh everyone’s recollection (including my own), Gelle was the third child and only daughter of Moses Blumenfeld. And Moses was the older brother of my three-times great-grandmother Breine Blumenfeld Katzenstein. Here’s a chart showing where I am in my research of the Blumenfeld family

But now it’s time to turn to Gelle Blumenfeld Rothschild’s next child, Moses Rothschild, and he has a far different story from those of his other siblings. Unlike his two older brothers Seligmann and Levi, he left Germany as a teenager and came to the United States.

Moses was born on August 30, 1848, in Zimmersrode, Germany. He immigrated to the United States as a young man, but I cannot be certain exactly when because there are two ship manifests for men named Moses Rothschild and both could be the one I am looking for. One manifest has a Moses Rothschild arriving in New York at age fifteen in 1865, meaning he was born in 1850.1  Another Moses Rothschild arrived on July 31, 1868, at twenty-five, meaning he was born in 1843.2 Neither of those two Moses Rothschilds was born in 1848, assuming their ages were accurately reported, but both are pretty close.

I could only find one man named Moses Rothschild living in New York on the 1870 census, and he was 22, so born in 1848 in Germany like “my” Moses Rothschild. He was living on the Lower East Side; unfortunately the census does not provide any occupational information.3 But it seems likely that this was the right Moses Rothschild.

On December 8, 1872, in New York City, Moses Rothschild married Mathilde Seligmann, the daughter of Ludwig Seligmann and Therese Rosenthal.4  Her death record says that she was born on February 19, 1849, in Germany,5, but I have no birth record to back that up. Based on various records including census records and records for her siblings, I believe she was born in Darmstadt, Germany, but I am not certain because some trees claim she was born in Mainz, Germany, and emigrated from there. I have yet to resolve that conflicting information. 

Moses and Mathilde had six children. Their first was Samuel Seligmann Rothschild, born July 21, 1873, in New York, New York.6 Second born was Rudolph Rothschild, born in New York on March 17, 1875.7 The third son was Albert Rothschild, born January 2, 1876, in New York.8 Finally, a daughter was born on August 22, 1878, in New York.9 She is identified as Theresa (presumably for Mathilde’s mother) on almost all records, but on the 1880 census, she is listed as Betsy. I assume that was a mistake on the part of the census enumerator. On February 10, 1880, Moses and Mathilde’s fifth child was born; her name was Grethe, but she was later known as Gertrude.10

In 1880, the family was living at 322 East Third Street on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. In addition to Moses and Mathilde and their five children, two of Mathilde’s brothers, August and Carl were living with the family as well as a servant. Moses was working as a butter dealer, and his brother-in-law August was working as a grocer.

Moses Rothschild 1880 US census, Year: 1880; Census Place: New York City, New York, New York; Roll: 881; Page: 20c; Enumeration District: 307, Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census

One more child was born to Moses and Mathilde after the 1880 census—their son Aron. He was born on August 17, 1881, in New York.11 If the transcribed birth information on Ancestry is correct, it appears that the family had moved from lower Manhattan to 344 East 78th Street uptown when Aron was born.

Trying to find Moses in the New York City directories during the 1880s was tricky because there were multiple men with that same name. For example, in 1880, the year Moses is listed as living at 322 East Third Street in Manhattan in the 1880 census record, there were three men named Moses Rothschild in the NYC directory, none of whom were living at that address: one was an agent living at 340 East 77th Street, closest to where Aron would be born in 1881, one was a milliner living at 622 Fifth Avenue, and one was a “pedlar” living at 284 Third Avenue, almost two miles from 322 East Third Street where the family was in 1880.

There is no 1881 NYC directory, but in 1882 there were now only two men named Moses Rothschild, both “pedlars,” and one was still living at 284 Third Avenue uptown, the other at 25 Rutgers Street all the way downtown.12 The 1883 directory has two men named Moses Rothschild, one an agent, the other a meat dealer at 281 Second Avenue.13 I don’t know if one of those is my Moses.

The 1884 NYC directory is even more confusing. Now there are FOUR men named Moses Rothschild: two meat dealers, one grocer, and one insurance agent.14 I have no way of knowing if any of them were my Moses. And this continues. In 1886 there are three Moses Rothschilds, a driver, an insurance agent, and a meat dealer at 284 Second Avenue.15

I would have thought that my Moses was most likely the meat dealer, who was at 284 Second Avenue. But in the 1888 directory, there is a Matilda Rothschild, listed as the widow of Moses, living at 163 East 104th Street, and there are still three other listings for Moses Rothschilds: the insurance agent, a clerk, and the meat dealer at 284 Second Avenue.16 So either 1) the directory listed my Moses after he was dead or 2) Moses the meat dealer was not my Moses or 3) there were two men named Moses Rothschild married to women named Matilda/Mathilde. Later directories include listings for Matilda, widow of Moses, at various addresses.

The 1900 census does show Mathilde is listed as a widow and Moses is missing from the family, but the children are there, meaning this is the right Rothschild family. They were now living at 49 West 114th Street.

Matilda Rothschild 1900 US census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1154; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0841, Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census

So Moses does seem to have died sometime between 1886 and 1900. But I have not located a death record for Moses. I have searched The New York City Municipal Archives as well as Ancestry and FamilySearch, but with no luck. There is a FindAGrave listing for a Moses Rothschild at Union Field Cemetery in Queens,17 but it has no gravestone photograph nor any dates for birth or death, so I do not know whether that is for my Moses Rothschild, and even if I did, it provides no useful information. It does appear that Mathilde’s brother August was buried at the same cemetery in 1916, however, so perhaps that is a useful bit of circumstantial evidence.18

Because I couldn’t find a death record for Moses, I began to wonder whether Mathilde was not really a widow, but a woman whose husband had abandoned or divorced her. There is, however, other circumstantial evidence suggesting that Moses had died by 1898 and had not divorced or abandoned Mathilde: the names of his grandchildren.

Moses’ third son Albert was the first to marry. On May 4, 1895, he married Rosie Katz, for whom I have little background information except that she was born in Germany in 1875.19Their first daughter, Rachel, was born in New York in March 1896, but more to the point of this post, Albert and Rose named their second child and first son Milton, born on September 26, 1898.20

Moses’ next child to marry was his second oldest child Rudolph. He married Rebecca Schlossberg on April 17, 1898, in New York. Rebecca was born in North Carolina in about 1877 to Max Schlossberg and Fanny Otterbourg.21 Rudolph and Rebecca’s first child was named Mortimer Maxwell Rothschild; he was born on October 28, 1899, in New York.22

Samuel, Moses’ first-born, married Sallye Livingston on September 4, 1898, in Chicago, Illinois.23 Sallye was the daughter of Aaron and Magdalena Livingston, and she was born in Missouri on October 14, 1868.24 Sallye and Samuel’s first son was named Milton Samuel Rothschild. He was born on March 5, 1906.25

Do you see a pattern here? The oldest son of all three of Moses’ oldest three children had names that began with an M. In fact, as we will see, the three younger children of Moses and Mathilde also named their oldest sons with names that start with M. So I am inferring from this that Moses had died before that first M grandson was born on September 26, 1898, and probably died before 1888 when Mathilde is listed as a widow in the NYC directory.

But why is there no death record for Moses? If anyone has any suggestions for where to find it, please let me know.

I will be back with more on the family of Moses Rothschild in September. My children are all arriving today and so I will be focusing on them until Labor Day!

  1. Moses Rothschild, ship manifest, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897; Microfilm Serial or NAID: M237; RG Title: Records of the U.S. Customs Service; RG: 36, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
  2. Moses Rothschild, ship manifest, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897; Microfilm Serial or NAID: M237; RG Title: Records of the U.S. Customs Service; RG: 36, Description Ship or Roll Number: Ariel, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
  3. Moses Rothschild, 1870 US census, Year: 1870; Census Place: New York Ward 11 District 23 (2nd Enum), New York, New York; Roll: M593_1028; Page:  787B, Description Township: New York Ward 11 District 23 (2nd Enum), Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census ↩
  4. “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CN-VN8G : Fri Mar 08 21:51:45 UTC 2024), Entry for Moses Rothschild and Matilda Seligmann, 8 December 1872. ↩
  5. Mathilda Rothschild, [Mathilda Selizmann], 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 Cemetery, Occupation House Wife, Father’s Birth Place Germany, Mother’s Birth Place Germany, Father Louis Selizmann, Mother Theresa Selizmann, 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 ↩
  6. Samuel Rothschild birth record, “New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27BV-JW5 : 11 February 2018), Samuel Rothschild, 21 Jul 1873; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 114503 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,322,065. ↩
  7. Rudolph Rothschild birth record, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1875, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909; Rudolph Rothschild, Birth Date 17 Mar 1875, Birth Place New York, Claim Date 3 Apr 1940, SSN 111071339, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  8. Albert Rothschild birth record, Gender Male, Race White, Birth Date 2 Jan 1876
    Birth Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, USA, Residence Address 7th Street 256, Certificate Number 198376, Father Moses Rothchild, Mother Mathilda Rathchild, Mother Maiden Name Seligman, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1876, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909 ↩
  9. Theresa Rothschild birth record, Teresa Rothschild, Gender Female, Race White
    Birth Date 22 Aug 1878, Birth Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, USA, Residence Address 7 Street 244, Certificate Number 239687, Father Moses Rothschild, Mother Matilda Deligman Rothschild, Mother Maiden Name Seligman, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1878, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909 ↩
  10. Grethe Rothschild birth record, Grethe Rothschild, Gender Female, Race White
    Birth Date 10 Feb 1880, Birth Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, USA, Residence Address E. 5 Street 622, Certificate Number 277695, Father Moses Rothschild, Mother Matilda Seligman Rothschild, Mother Maiden Name Seligman, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1880, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909 ↩
  11. Aron Rothchild, Gender Male, Race White, Birth Date 17 Aug 1881, Birth Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, USA, Residence Address E. 78th St. New York 344, Certificate Number 318749, Father Moses Rothchild, Mother Matilda Rothchild, Mother Maiden Name Seligmann, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1881, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909 ↩
  12.  New York, New York, City Directory, 1882, Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, p. 1385. ↩
  13.  New York, New York, City Directory, 1883, Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 ↩
  14.  New York, New York, City Directory, 1884, Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, p. 1523. ↩
  15.  New York, New York, City Directory, 1886, Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, p. 868. ↩
  16.  New York, New York, City Directory, 1888, Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, p. 1706. ↩
  17. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131249188/moses-rothschild: accessed August 17, 2024), memorial page for Moses Rothschild (unknown–unknown), Find a Grave Memorial ID 131249188, citing Union Field Cemetery, Ridgewood, Queens County, New York, USA; Maintained by Athanatos (contributor 46907585). ↩
  18. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/127067956/august-seligmann: accessed August 17, 2024), memorial page for August Seligmann (unknown–1916), Find a Grave Memorial ID 127067956, citing Union Field Cemetery, Ridgewood, Queens County, New York, USA; Maintained by Athanatos (contributor 46907585). As we will see in later posts, Mathilde and several of their children are buried elsewhere. ↩
  19. Albert Rothschild and Rosie Katz marriage record, “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CN-Q2R3 : Sun Mar 10 19:42:31 UTC 2024), Entry for Albert Rothschild and Rosie Katz, 4 May 1895. ↩
  20. Milton Rothschild birth record, Milton Rothschild, Gender Male, Race White
    Birth Date 26 Sep 1898, Birth Place Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, USA, Residence Address Third Avenue 2068, Certificate Number 40264, Father
    Albert Rothschild, Mother Rosie Rothschild Mother Maiden Name Katz, New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates; Borough: Manhattan; Year: 1898, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909 ↩
  21. Rudolph Rothschild and Rebecca Schlossberg marriage record, “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24ZZ-QWH : Tue Feb 20 21:40:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Rudolph Rothschild and Rebecca Schlossberg, 17 Apr 1898. ↩
  22. Mortimer Rothschild, World War I draft registration, Mortimer Maxwell Rothschild
    Birth Date 28 Oct 1899, Residence Date 1917-1918, Street Address 645 W 160st St
    Residence Place Manhattan, New York, USA, Draft Board 147, Relative Rudolph Rothschild, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 ↩
  23. Samuel Rothschild and Sallye Livingston marriage record, Samuel S. Rothschild
    Age 25, Gender Male, Birth Year abt 1873, Marriage Type Marriage, Marriage Date 4 Sep 1898, Marriage Place Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Spouse Name Sallie Livingston
    Spouse Age 24, Spouse Gender Female, FHL Film Number 1030288, Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, U.S., Marriages Index, 1871-1920 ↩
  24. Sallye Rothschild death record, 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 ↩
  25. Milton Rothschild birth record, Milton Rothschild, Birth Date 5 Mar 1906
    Birth Place Manhattan, New York, USA, Certificate Number 28041, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Birth Index, 1878-1909 ↩

Levi Rothschild’s Daughters Thekla Rothschild Weinberg and Frieda Rothschild Phillipsohn: One Survived, One Did Not

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This is the story of the last two children of Levi Rothschild and Clara Jacob who lived to adulthood, their daughters Thekla and Frieda. Both have heartbreaking stories though Thekla survived and Frieda did not.

The fifth child of Levi and Clara, their daughter Thekla, married Manuel Edward Weinberg on August 19, 1907, in Borken. Manuel was born in Lichenroth, Germany, to Lazarus Weinberg and Karoline Oppenheimer on October 11, 1880.

Thekla Rothschild and Manuel Weinberg marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 843, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Thekla and Manuel had a son Hans Herbert Weinberg born in Frankfurt, Germany, on November 2, 1908.1

After Kristallnacht in November 1938, Manuel Weinberg was imprisoned at Buchenwald for a short time,2 and that may have motivated the family to leave Germany. By 1940 if not before, the family had left Germany for France, and according to Yad Vashem, Thekla’s husband Manuel was deported in 1940 to the internment camp near Toulouse, France known as the Recebedou camp.3

According to one website, the camp of Recebedou was created in July 1940 to receive refugees and those who had been evacuated. It was turned into a hospital camp in February 1941. But conditions in the camp deteriorated over time due to the lack of adequate medical care and a shortage of food. By late 1941, there were 739 interns, many of whom were over 60 and ill; 118 of them died in the winter of 1941-1942. Manuel Weinberg was one of those who died; he died on March 4, 1942.4

I don’t know for certain whether Thekla or their son Herbert, as he came to be known, were also interned at Recebedou because there are no documents I can find that indicate that they were. However, I do know that they must have been in France because Herbert and his wife, Edith Seckbach, had a daughter Yvonne born in Toulouse, France sometime in 1943.5  I could not find a marriage record for Herbert and Edith, but according to other records, Edith was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in about 1918. 6

Wherever they were in France, somehow Thekla, Herbert, Edith, and their baby daughter survived. A document on Ancestry’s collection of Munich, Vienna and Barcelona Jewish Displaced Persons and Refugee Cards, 1943-1959 (JDC) indicates that as of November 1942, Thekla, Herbert, Edith, and Yvonne were in Vigo, Spain, which is almost seven hundred miles from Toulouse, France. How they got there in the midst of the war is a story I do not know.

Ancestry.com. Munich, Vienna and Barcelona Jewish Displaced Persons and Refugee Cards, 1943-1959 (JDC)

From Vigo they went to Madrid as of December 26, 1943. The Refugee Card lists two people as the “parents,” which I assume really means sponsors in this situation. One was Walter Hirschmann, Thekla’s nephew, the son of her sister Betti Rothschild Hirschmann.7 The other, Jacob Bleibtreu, was a banker and later a governor of the New York Stock Exchange who had immigrated to the US from Germany as a young man in 1909. He also was on the Greater New York Army and Navy Committee of the Jewish Welfare Board. Perhaps he knew Walter from the banking and broker business and agreed to help rescue his aunt and other family members.8

On March 23, 1944, Thekla, Herbert, Edith, and Yvonne all arrived in Philadelphia after sailing from Lisbon, Portugal. The ship manifest shows that they all had last been residing in Madrid, Spain, and were heading to Montreal, Canada under the sponsorship of the Joint Distribution Committee. Herbert reported that he was a chemist by occupation.

Thekla Weinberg and family passenger manifest, The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; NAI Number: 4492386; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series: T840; Roll: 177, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1798-1962

Herbert’s wife Edith must not have lived very long after their voyage from Portugal to Philadelphia because on September 8, 1946, Herbert married his second wife, Anna or Anya Grodzky, in Hochelaga, Quebec, Canada. Anna was born in Russia on June 18, 1910, and was a beautician. Herbert is listed as a widower on their marriage record and as a chemist by trade.

Hans Herbert Weinberg marriage to Anna Grodsky, Marriage Sep 8 1946 Westmount, Québec, Canada, Groom Herbert Hans Weinberg, Groom’s birth 1908 Germany, Bride Anna Goodsky, Certificate number upd46-128967, Quebec Marriage Returns, 1926-1997, found at https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10723-1831907/herbert-hans-weinberg-and-anna-goodsky-in-quebec-marriage-returns

The family all settled in Montreal, where Thekla died on March 11, 1962, at the age of 76.9 Herbert lost his second wife Anna on July 9, 1976.10 He died February 12, 2001, at the age of 92, and was survived by his third wife Sally Lazoff Bailen.11

I have not found any further information about Herbert’s daughter Yvonne despite searching everywhere I could and receiving help from members of Tracing the Tribe. I don’t know whether she died, married, or moved from Canada and changed her name. There just is no trace of her after a mention in her stepmother Anna’s obituary in 1976. She is not mentioned in her father’s obituary in 2001.12

Although Thekla Rothschild Weinberg survived the Holocaust, she lost her husband, her homeland, and, as we will now see, her sister Frieda to the Holocaust.

Frieda was born May 31, 1993, in Borken, Germany.  As we saw, she first married Leonard Marxsohn and was widowed and then married Paul Phillipsohn, with whom she had a daughter Hannelore, born December 3, 1926.

Unfortunately, I have no happy ending for Frieda, Paul, or Hannelore. On June 11, 1942, they were all deported to Theriesenstadt. None of them survived. According to Yad Vashem, Paul died on December 20, 1942. I have no exact dates for Frieda or Hannelore, only that they also died in about 1942.13

Thus ends the story of Levi Rothschild’s family. Although most of them survived the Holocaust and made it to the US, Israel, or Canada, they were scattered across the globe, and their lives were all forever changed. The family members who were killed must have left holes in their hearts forever.

 

 

  1. Hans Herbert Kaufmann Weinberg, Gender männlich (Male), Record Type Inventory, Birth Date 02 Nov 1908 (2 Nov 1908), Birth Place Frankfurt am Main,
    Last Residence Frankfurt am Main, Residence Place Frankfurt am Main, Father
    Edmund Weinberg, Mother Thekla Weinberg, Spouse Edith Seckbach, Notes Inventories of personal estates of foreigners and especially German Jews
    Reference Number 02010101 oS, Document ID 70370883, 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 ↩
  2. Arolsen Archives, 1 Incarceration Documents / 1.1 Camps and Ghettos / 1.1.5 Buchenwald Concentration Camp / 1.1.5.3 Individual Documents male Buchenwald / Individual Files (male) – Concentration Camp Buchenwald / Files with names from SYS and further sub-structure / Files with names from WECK /, Personal file of WEINBERG, EMANEL, born on 11-Oct-1880, Reference Code, 01010503 002.042.476, Number of documents, 1, found at https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/document/7388346 ↩
  3. Yad Vashem entries for Manuel Weinberg, found at  https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/names/13545516 and at https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/names/3229127 ↩
  4. See Note 3, supra. ↩
  5. Yvonne Miriam Weinberg, passenger manifest, The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; NAI Number: 4492386; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series: T840; Roll: 177, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1798-1962 ↩
  6. Edith Weinberg, passenger manifest, The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; NAI Number: 4492386; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series: T840; Roll: 177, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1798-1962. See also Edith Weinberg geb. Seckbach, 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 ↩
  7. It was Walter’s name on this card that led me to discover that he was the child of Betti and Emanuel Hirschmann. ↩
  8. “Jacob Bleibtreu, Former Governor of New York Stock Exchange, 90,” The New York Times, December 6, 1976. ↩
  9. Thekla Weinberg death notice, The Montreal Star, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mon, Mar 12, 1962, Page 16. ↩
  10. Anna (Anya) Weinberg death notice, The Montreal Star, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Sat, Jul 10, 1976, Page 10. ↩
  11. Marriage of Herbert Weinberg to Sally Lazoff, Nov 15 1980, Côte St Luc, Québec, Canada, Groom Herbert Weinberg, Groom’s birth Nov 5 1908, Germany, Groom’s age 72, Bride Sally Lazoff, Bride’s birth Aug 15 1917, Québec, Canada, Bride’s age 63, Groom’s father Manuel Weinberg, Groom’s father’s birth Germany, Groom’s mother Thekla Rothschild, Groom’s mother’s birth Germany, Bride’s father Gedaliah Lazoff
    Bride’s father’s birth Russia, Bride’s mother Telia Brasgold, Bride’s mother’s birth Russia
    Certificate number upd80-141452, Quebec Marriage Returns, 1926-1997, found at https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10723-2419633/herbert-weinberg-and-sally-lazoff-in-quebec-marriage-returns. Herbert Weinberg death notice, The Gazette
    Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mon, Feb 12, 2001, Page 35. ↩
  12. Anna (Anya) Weinberg death notice, The Montreal Star, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Sat, Jul 10, 1976, Page 10. Herbert Weinberg death notice, The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mon, Feb 12, 2001, Page 35. ↩
  13. See Yad Vashem entries at https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/names/11607287 for Frieda, https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/names/14969310 for Paul, and https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/names/11607287 for Hannelore. ↩

Mathilde Rosenbaum Rothschild: Why Didn’t She Leave Germany?

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Several readers asked me whether I could learn more about why Mathilde Rosenbaum Rothschild did not go with her husband Hirsch Rothschild and their children to the United States in the 1930s, but stayed in Germany. Tragically Mathilde was eventually killed by the Nazis whereas her husband and children all survived.

I decided to dig a little deeper into Mathilde’s family to see if perhaps she’d stayed to care for elderly parents, but both of her parents died long before the Nazi era.1  Mathilde also had numerous siblings, including one who was killed at Auschwitz, but others escaped—to Israel, to the US, and to South Africa. In fact, this review of my research allowed me to realize something I had not noticed before. Mathilde’s sister Fanni Rosenbaum had married Hirsch Rothschild’s older brother Sigmund. They had escaped to South Africa.

I couldn’t trace all of her siblings, but given that her family was from Schluechtern and that Schluechtern is over 250 miles from Bremen, the city Hirsch listed as his wife’s residence on the passenger manifest, I don’t think that Mathilde was in Bremen to help with a family member.

I looked more closely at the address that had been added to Hirsch’s passenger manifest—Bahnhofsplatz 16, in Bremen, thinking that perhaps it was the address of a hospital where Mathilde might have been getting treatment.

Hirsch Rothschild, passenger manifest, p. 2, The National Archives At Washington, D.c.; Washington, D.c.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At Miami, Florida; NAI Number: 2788508; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 – 2004; Record Group Number: 85 Description Roll Number: 086 Source Information Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1898-1963

But “Bahnhofsplatz” means a plaza or square where the train station is located, and as best I can tell, in the late 1930s there was no hospital located near there. Rather, it was a place where there were hotels for those traveling to Bremen, an indoor swimming pool facility, and other public and private buildings. Although I can’t be certain, Banhofsplatz 16 may have been the address for a hotel in the 1930s.

Bahnhofsplatz-1928 Bremen Germany

Why would Mathilde be living in a hotel in Bremen? When Hirsch left Germany in the late 1930s, he listed his last permanent residence as Delmenhorst, a village about ten miles from Bremen.  It’s possible that Hirsch and Mathilde had been forced out of their home in Delmenhorst by then either by force or for better opportunities and had moved into a hotel in Bremen. As a  Jewish doctor, by 1938-1939, Hirsch would only have been allowed to treat Jewish patients, and Bremen had a larger Jewish population than Delmenhorst.  Although the passenger manifest indicates that Hirsch’s last permanent residence was Delmenhorst, not Bremen, I would think that staying in a hotel near the train station would not be considered a “permanent” residence so Delmenhorst would still have been more accurate.

I still don’t know why Hirsch left without Mathilde. Maybe he thought he’d go first and settle in and then send for her. I also don’t know when Hirsch left Germany because the ship manifest listing his arrival in Florida on December 18, 1939, was for a ship arriving from Havana, Cuba. I searched the Bremen passenger manifests and found two of his children on them—Edith and Edmund—but not Hirsch. And I don’t know how long Hirsch was in Cuba before being allowed to sail to the US. So…anything I write is total speculation on my part.

The only way I’ll be able to find an answer to these questions would be to ask one of Mathilde’s grandchildren. I have located a few of them but have not yet contacted them. Somehow it just feels intrusive to ask them why their grandmother was left behind. For now I am letting this sit as an unanswered question.

  1. Her mother died in 1913. Jeanette Rosenbaum, Maiden Name Sondheimer, Gender weiblich (Female), Death Age 72, Birth Date abt 1841, Death Date 23 Okt 1913 (23 Oct 1913), Death Place Schluechtern (Schlüchtern), Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office Schluechtern, Father Moses Sondheimer, Mother
    Marianne Sondheimer, Spouse Salomon Rosenbaum, Certificate Number 47, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 5999, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958. Her father died in 1925. Salomon Rosenbaum, Gender männlich (Male), Death Age 83
    Birth Date abt 1842, Death Date 14 Juli 1925, Death Place Schluechtern (Schlüchtern), Hessen (Hesse), Deutschland (Germany), Civil Registration Office Schluechtern, Spouse Johannatta Certificate Number 40, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 6011, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩

Levi Rothschild’s son Hirsch: Leaving Germany with a Heavy Heart

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Levi Rothschild’s fourth child, Hirsch (also known as Harry) and his three children Gertrude, Edith, and Edmund all managed to leave Germany in time to survive the Holocaust. His wife and their mother Mathilde Rosenbaum, however, did not.

Gertrude, Hirsch’s oldest child, was the first member of the family to come to the US although her husband preceded her. She had married Gustav Rosbasch sometime before 1933, the year their first child was born. Gustav was born in Kremenchug, Russia (maybe now Ukraine?) on August 12, 1901. Gustav, a surgeon, came to the US on October 10, 1934, listing his last residence as Delmenhorst, Germany, a town in the Saxony state of Germany.  He reported his wife Gertrude as the person he had left behind in Delmenhorst, and his uncle Phillip Rosbasch of Rochester, New York, as the person he was going to in the US. 1

Gertrude arrived almost a year later with their two-year-old daughter. They arrived on September 8, 1935, listing their prior residence as Delmenhorst and listing “G. Rosbasch” in Rochester as the person they were going to; “H. Rothschild,” Gertrud’s father, was listed as the person they had left behind in Delmenhorst.2 Gustav and Gertrude had a second child in Rochester a few years after Gertrude’s arrival.

The next member of the family to escape to the US was Edith, Gertrude’s younger sister. She arrived in New York on May 28, 1937, listing her destination as Rochester, New York, where her sister Gertrude was living, and listing her father, “Dr. Rothschild” as the person she’d left behind in Delmenhorst, her prior residence.3

Edith and Gertrud’s brother Edmund arrived a year after Edith on June 24, 1938, in New York with his destination being New York City where his uncle Karl Rosenbaum, his mother’s brother, was living. Edmund identified his occupation as a physician, like his father and his brother-in-law Gustav, and listed his father “Dr. Harry Rothschild” of Delmenhorst as the person he left behind, but Edmund gave his last residence as Basel, Switzerland, not Delmenhorst.4

Thus, the three children of Hirsch and Mathilde Rothschild had all arrived before Kristallnacht in November 1938. Their father Hirsch did not arrive for over another year. His ship sailed from Havana, Cuba, and arrived in Miami on December 17, 1939, three months after World War II had begun. Hirsch listed his occupation as a physician and the person he was going to as his son “Edw. Rothschild” in Rochester, New York. He also listed his last residence as Delmenhorst.

Hirsch Rothschild passenger manifest, The National Archives At Washington, D.c.; Washington, D.c.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At Miami, Florida; NAI Number: 2788508; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 – 2004; Record Group Number: 85, Roll Number: 086, Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1898-1963

There is a notation on Hirsch’s line on the passenger manifest that reads, “Admitted on appeal 1-3-40.”  Also for the section listing the person left behind in the prior country, where the word None had been typed, someone added in handwriting, “Wife Mathilde Rothschild” living in Bremen, Germany. Another handwritten change indicates that his son had paid his passage; “self” was crossed out.

Were these additions of Mathilde’s name and the fact that his son was paying his way what helped Hirsch win his appeal? Why wouldn’t he have listed Mathilde before? Why was she living in Bremen, not Delmenhorst? When did Hirsch actually leave for Germany? How long had he been in Cuba before sailing from Havana to Miami in December 1939?

These are questions for which I currently do not have answers, just some speculation. Was Mathilde ill and hospitalized in Bremen? Is that why she hadn’t come with Hirsch to the US?

I don’t know, but we do know that by early 1940, Hirsch and his three children and his son-in-law and granddaughter were all safely in the US. Gustav and Gertrude and their two children were living in Rochester, New York, where Gustav was a doctor.5 Edith was also in Rochester, working as a housekeeper for another family.6 Edmund was working as a doctor at the Monroe County (New York) Infirmary and Home for the Aged in Brighton, New York, only four miles from Rochester.7 I could not locate Hirsch/Harry on the 1940 US census, but on April 25, 1942, when he registered for the World War II draft, he was at that time living in Rochester with Gertrude and Gustav and unemployed.

Harry Hirsch Rothschild, World War II draft registraiton, The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the State of New York; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 522, Name Range: Rosser, Roscoe – Rought, Walter, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

But not long after that Hirsch/Harry must have moved to New Rochelle, New York, 350 miles from his children in Rochester, where he found work as the house physician for the Jewish Home for the Aged in New Rochelle. Harry died on April 18, 1945, in New Rochelle; he was 64. Heartbreakingly, his obituary revealed that as of that date with Germany’s surrender just a few weeks away, Harry and his children did not yet know what had happened to Mathilde, their wife and mother. The obituary states that Harry’s wife Mathilde “remained in Germany when Dr. Rothschild left the country. Relatives here have been trying through the Red Cross to learn her fate.”

“Death Claims Ex-Physician to Aged Jews,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, April 14, 1945, p. 17

Yad Vashem, however, reveals what had happened to Mathilde. On November 18, 1941, she had been deported to the Minsk ghetto in Belarus where she was murdered on July 28, 1942. She was 57 years old. It must have been devastating for the family to learn this.8

But Mathilde and Harry were survived by all three of their children and by their grandchildren. Their daughter Gertrude and her husband Gustav remained in Rochester, New York, for the rest of their lives, where Gustav continued to practice medicine. He died on January 7, 1992, at the age of 90.9 Gertrude outlived him by five and a half years; she died on July 4, 1997; she was 86 years old.10 They were survived by their children and grandchildren.

Gertrud’s sister Edith married Abram Solomon (Jalomek) in 1943.11 As far as I can tell, they did not have children as none are listed in either of their obituaries. Edith died July 28, 2003, in Rochester, at the age of 92;12 her husband Abram died many years before on June 9, 1971, in Rochester.13

Edmund Rothschild, the youngest child of Hirsch and Mathilde, had registered for the draft on October 16, 1940.

Edmund 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, Name Range: Roth, Cletus-Rotonde, Nicholas
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

He married Helene Lois Brown on August 17, 1941, in Buffalo, New York.  She was the daughter of David Brown and Lucile Manheim.14 Edmund and Helene would have two children. Edmund served in the US Army during World War II from August 27, 1943, until March 11, 1946.15 Edmund and his family then settled in Springville, New York, where he continued to practice medicine.16

Later Edmund and Helene retired to Fort Myers, Florida, where Helene died at age 71 on April 24, 1993.17 Edmund died in Cleveland, Ohio, almost exactly a year later on April 21, 1994; he was 81.18 According to his obituary in the Springville Journal, Edmund “was an old-fashioned family physician [who] cared not only for his patients but also for their families and their community. His home was always equipped to see patients after hours and house calls were made often.” The obituary also noted that he was a gifted artist. Edmund and Helene are survived by their children and grandchildren.19

The story of the family of Hirsch Rothschild and his family reminds me of how much the US gained when Germany’s persecution of the Jews forced so many to come here. Hirsch, his son Edmund, and his son-in-law Gustav were all doctors educated and trained in Europe. They came to this country as refugees, and Americans benefited from those skills and that education and dedication. But Mathilde Rosenbaum Rothschild’s death at the hands of the Nazis must remind us that the gifts we Americans may have received from those refugees were not given by them without enduring terrible heartbreak and loss on their part.

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Gustav Rosbasch, 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; Gustav Rosbasch, passenger 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, Ship or Roll Number: Scythia, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
  2. Gertrude Rosbasch, passenger 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 ↩
  3. Edith Rothschild, passenger 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, Ship or Roll Number: New York, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
  4. Edmund Rothschild, passenger 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, Ship or Roll Number: New York, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
  5. Gustav Rosbasch and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Rochester, Monroe, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02848; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 65-232, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  6. Edith Rothschild, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Rochester, Monroe, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02842; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 65-22, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  7. Edmund Rothschild, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Brighton, Monroe, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02678; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 28-9, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  8. Yad Vashem entry found at https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/names/11619667 ↩
  9. Gustav Rosbasch, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩
  10. Gertrude Rosbasch, [Gertrude Rothschild], Gender Female, Birth Date 3 Sep 1910, Birth Place Gudensberg, Death Date 4 Jul 1997, Claim Date 17 May 1973
    Father Harry Rothschild, Mother Mathilde Rosenbaum, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  11. “Marriage Licenses,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, October 26, 1943, p. 12 ↩
  12. Edith Miriam Solomon, [Edith Miriam Rothschild], Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 4 Jul 1911, Birth Place Gudensberg, Federal Republic of Germany, Death Date 28 Jul 2003, Claim Date 19 Jan 1976, Father Harry Rothschild, Mother Mathilde Rosenbaum, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
  13. Abram Solomon, Social Security Number 128-09-6834, Birth Date 18 Nov 1899,
    Issue year Before 1951, Issue State New York, Last Residence 14617, Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA, Death Date Jun 1971, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File,  Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩
  14. “Dr. Edward [sic] Rothschild to be Married Soon,” Bradford Evening Star and The Bradford Daily Record, Bradford, Pennsylvania · Friday, August 01, 1941, p. 5; Helene Brown Rothschild, Gender Female, Birth Date 30 Jul 1921, Birth Place Minneapolis, Minnesota, Death Date 24 Apr 1993, Father David Brown, Mother Lucile S Manheim,
    SSN 057382510, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
  15. Edmund S Rothschild, Birth Date 30 Jul 1912, Death Date 21 Apr 1994, Cause of Death Natural, SSN 114342498, Enlistment Branch ARMY, Enlistment Date 27 Aug 1943, Discharge Date 11 Mar 1946, Page number 1, Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010. ↩
  16. “Founder of Medical Group Dies,” Springville Journal, Springville, New York · Thursday, May 05, 1994, p. 6. ↩
  17. “Helene L. Brown Rothschild,” News-Press, Fort Myers, Florida · Tuesday, April 27, 1993, p. 19; Helene Brown Rothschild, Gender Female, Birth Date 30 Jul 1921, Birth Place Minneapolis, Minnesota, Death Date 24 Apr 1993, Father David Brown, Mother Lucile S Manheim, SSN 057382510, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
  18. See Notes 15 and 16, supra. ↩
  19. See Note 16, supra. ↩

Levi Rothschild’s Children Part III: Escaping The Holocaust to South Africa, New York, and Palestine/Israel

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Of the six children of Levi Rothschild and Clara Jacob who lived to adulthood in Germany, amazingly all but one escaped from Germany in time to avoid being killed by the Nazis. Only the youngest sibling Frieda was not as fortunate. But that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t suffering and loss endured by the other five. This post will focus on the three oldest children: Sigmund, Betti, and Moses.

Sigmund Rothschild and his wife Fanny Rosenbaum escaped to South Africa. I don’t know when or how they immigrated there, but Fanny died there on August 20, 1942, in Capetown at the age of  62.

Fanny Rosenbaum Rothschild death record, Municipality or Municipality Range: Cape Town
Ancestry.com. Cape Province, South Africa, Civil Deaths, 1895-1972

Her husband Sigmund died in Capetown three years later on December 23, 1945; he was 71.

Sigmund Rothschild death record, Municipality or Municipality Range: Cape Town
Ancestry.com. Cape Province, South Africa, Civil Deaths, 1895-1972

As for Sigmund and Fanny’s son Kurt, I have very little information. An entry in the England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index on Ancestry shows that he died in Lancaster, England, and that the death was registered in September 1997.1 A FindAGrave entry shows his gravestone with the date of death as August 30, 1997.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/81923216/kurt-rothschild: accessed April 19, 2024), memorial page for Kurt Rothschild (1910–3 Sep 1997), Find a Grave Memorial ID 81923216, citing Lytham Park Cemetery and Crematorium, Lytham Saint Annes, Fylde Borough, Lancashire, England; Maintained by ProgBase (contributor 47278889).

The Ancestry tree that appears to have been created by Kurt’s daughter-in-law shows that Kurt married Erna Erdmann and had one child, who is the home person on that tree. I have not been able to find a marriage record for Kurt and Erna Erdmann or a birth record for their child, so I am hoping that the owner of that tree will respond to the message I sent to help me find out what happened to Kurt Rothschild and his family. But since it’s been well over two months at this point, I am not optimistic that I will hear from her anytime soon.

The second child of Levi and Klara, their daughter Betti, lost her husband Emanuel Hirschmann on November 4, 1932. He died in Fulda, Germany, and was 64.

Emanuel Hirschmann death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 2470, Year Range: 1932, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Their son Walter had married Gertrud Hirschmann on August 6, 1924, in Hanau, Germany. Gertrud was born in Hanau on March 28, 1904, according to their marriage record, but that record does not include her parents’ names. It would appear that Gertrud was likely a relative given the surname and her birth place, but so far I’ve not found any way to connect her to Walter’s Hirschmann relatives.

Walter Hirschmann and Gertrude Hirschmann marriage record, LAGIS Hessen Archives, Standesamt Hanau Heiratsnebenregister 1924 (HStAMR Best. 913 Nr. 1894)AutorHessisches Staatsarchiv MarburgErscheinungsortHanauErscheinungsjahr1924, p. 328

Walter Hirschmann and Gertrude Hirschmann marriage record, p. 2

Walter and Gertrud and their twelve year old daughter immigrated to the US on a December 15, 1938. Walter listed his occupation as a banker and their last residence as Frankfurt, Germany, where his mother “B. Hirschmann” was still residing. They were heading to a friend, L. Schwarzchild, in New York.2

Walter’s mother Betti Rothschild Hirschmann immigrated to the US on March 25, 1939, with a cousin of her husband, Emil Hirschmann, and his wife Paula.

Betti Rothschild passenger 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, Ship or Roll Number: Veendam, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957

On the 1940 census, Betti was living as a lodger in the household of Helena Pessel in New York City, but in the same building as her son Walter and his family at 670 Riverside Drive in New York City. Walter was employed as a salesman.3

On his World War II draft registration, Walter identified his employer as Herbert E. Stern & Company. From his obituary I learned that Herbert E. Stern was also a refugee from Nazi Germany and an investment banker.4

Walter Hirschmann 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, Name Range: Hirsch, Walfgang-Hobbs, Robert, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

In 1950 Betti was still living in the same building as her son Walter and his family. Walter was still working as a broker and banker. I am very grateful to Eric Ald of Tracing the Tribe who found the 1950 census record for Betti and also a listing on Ancestry in the New York, New York Death Index for a Betty Hirschmann who died on February 15, 1956.5

Walter Hirschmann and Betty Hirschmann, 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: 6203; Page: 75; Enumeration District: 31-1900, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census

Her son Walter Hirschmann died on June 24, 1977, at the age of 77.6 He had been predeceased by his wife Gertrud, who died in December 1966 7 and was survived by their daughter and grandchildren.

Sigmund and Betti’s brother Moses/Moritz Rothschild and his wife Margarete David ended up in Israel/Palestine in the 1930s along with their two children, Ruth, born October 8, 1914, in Magdeburg, Germany, and Herbert (later Yehuda), born December 10, 1921, in Magdeburg. The documents below are immigration documents showing that Moritz and Margarete were in Jerusalem by June 30, 1939; these and the others that follow were found at the Israel Genealogy Research Association website.

Registration form for Margarete David Rothschild reporting to the German Embassy Legation at the German Consulate General Consulate Bizekonsult in Jerusalem, A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1459. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), and found at the IGRA website.

Registration form for Margarete David Rothschild reporting to the German Embassy Legation at the German Consulate General Consulate Bizekonsult in Jerusalem, A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1459. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), and found at the IGRA website.

Registration form for Moses Moritz Rothschild, This record comes from the Meldeblaetter: A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1462. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), and found at the IGRA website.

Registration form for Moses Moritz Rothschild, This record comes from the Meldeblaetter: A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1462. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), and found at the IGRA website.

Their daughter Ruth had arrived by September 29, 1938.

Registration form for Ruth Rothschild reporting to the German Embassy Legation at the German Consulate General Consulate Bizekonsult in Jerusalem, A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1465. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), as found at the IGRA website.

Registration form for Ruth Rothschild reporting to the German Embassy Legation at the German Consulate General Consulate Bizekonsult in Jerusalem, A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1465. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), as found at the IGRA website.

Although I was unable to find a comparable record for Herbert/Yehuda, I found a record showing that he and his father Moritz were on the voter registration list and living at Kfar Yedidya in 1942:

Moritz and Yehuda Rothschild on 1942 Knesset register, This record comes from the Voters List Knesset Israel 1942 (פנקס הבוגרים של כנסת ישראל תש”ב), part of the Voters Knesset Israel 1942 (בוגרים של כנסת ישראל 1942) database, system number 001mush, document number 119, line 59, IGRA number 1107. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), and was found at the IGRA website.

Yehuda married Ruth Hesin, daughter of Avraham and Hava, on April 17, 1949, in Haifa, Israel. She was 22 years old, he was 27.

Yehuda Rothschild marriage record, Marriage/Divorce Certificates (תעודות נישואין / גירושין), part of the Marriages and Divorces 1921-1948 Palestine British (נישואין וגירושין 1948-1921 ארץ ישראל) database, document number 91714, IGRA number 507. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), and was found at the IGRA website.

At this time I have no further records for this family, but we know that at least they escaped from Germany in time to survive the Holocaust.

Thus, the first three children of Levi Rothschild and Clara Jacob all escaped from Nazi Germany in time, but look at what they lost. They were all spread across the globe: Sigmund in South Africa, Betti in the United States, and Moses in Palestine/Israel.

The fourth child of Levi and Klara, their son Hirsch Rothschild, also escaped. He and his wife Mathilde Rosenbaum and their three children Gertrude, Edith, and Edmund ended up, like Betti, in the US. I will write about Hirsch and his family in my next post.

  1. Kurt Rothschild, Death Age 87, Birth Date 30 Mar 1910, Registration Date Sep 1997, Registration district Lancaster, Inferred County Lancashire, Register Number A58B, District and Subdistrict 5871A, Entry Number 166, General Register Office; United Kingdom, Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 ↩
  2. Walter Hirschmann and family, passenger 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 ↩
  3. Betti Hirschmann, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02671; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 31-1929, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census. Walter Hirschmann and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02671; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 31-1929, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  4. “Herbert E. Stern Dead, An Investment Banker,” The New York Times, August 6, 1973, p. 32. ↩
  5. Betty Hirschmann, Age 75, Birth Date abt 1881, Death Date 15 Feb 1956, Death Place Manhattan, New York, New York, USA, Certificate Number 3638, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Death Index, 1949-1965. Although there is a listing for Betti on the SSCAI with her Social Security Number, there is no listing on the SSDI for her under that number or under that date or under her name. Betty Sara Hirschmann, [Betty Sara Rohserild], Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 14 Sep 1876, Birth Place Borken Hesse, Federal Republic of Germany, Father Levi Rohserild
    Mother, Clara Jacob, SSN 057200860, Notes Feb 1943: Name listed as BETTY SARA HIRSCHMANN, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
  6. Walter Hirschmann death notice, The New York Times, June 27, 1977, p, 30. Walter Hirschmann, Social Security Number 092-14-5701, Birth Date 30 Dec 1899
    Issue year Before 1951, Issue State New York, Last Residence 10023, New York, New York, New York, USA, Death Date Jun 1977 Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File,  Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩
  7. Gertrud Hirschmann death notice, The New York Times, December 16, 1966, p. 47. ↩

Levi Rothschild, Part II: His Children Marry and Have Children

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Levi Rothschild’s wife Clara Jacob had given birth to nine babies, but only six of those children survived to adulthood: Sigmund, Betty, Moses, Hirsch, Thekla, and Frieda. All six of them married and had children.

Sigmund Rothschild, their oldest child, married Fanni Rosenbaum on May 28, 1906, in Schluechtern, Germany. She was born on December 21, 1879, in Schluechtern to Salomon Rosenbaum and Jeannette Sondheimer.1

Sigmund Rothschild and Fanni Rosenbaum marriage record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 766, p. 101

According to an Ancestry tree that appears to belong to their granddaughter-in-law, Sigmund and Fanny had at least one child, a son Kurt Rothschild, and although I have no birth record for him because the Borken birth records online do not go up to 1910, that tree reports that he was born on March 30, 1910, in Borken. I have reached out to the tree owner and hope to get more information if she gets back to me. So far after two months I’ve gotten no response. I am not optimistic, but people have found my messages even years after I’ve sent them through Ancestry, so you never know.

Sigmund’s sister Betti Rothschild married Emanuel Hirschmann on December 21, 1898, in Borken. He was born to Loeb Hirschmann and Malchen Strauss on April 12, 1868, in Gross Krotzenburg, Germany.

Betti Rothschild and Emanuel Hirschmann marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 834, Year Range: 1898, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

For many weeks I could not find records of any children born to Betti and Emanuel. And then I found the name “Walter Hirschman” as a sponsor on an immigration record for one of Betti’s siblings, Thekla, and I thought, “Maybe Walter Hirschman was related to Betti Rothschild and Emanuel Hirschmann?”

Ancestry.com. Munich, Vienna and Barcelona Jewish Displaced Persons and Refugee Cards, 1943-1959 (JDC)

Several clicks through the Hesse files and thirty minutes later I found this birth record for Walter, son of Emanuel and Betti, born in Hanau, Germany, on December 30, 1899.

Walter Hirschmann birth record, LAGIS Hessen Archives, Standesamt Hanau Geburtsnebenregister 1899 (HStAMR Best. 913 Nr. 1780)AutorHessisches Staatsarchiv MarburgErscheinungsortHanauErscheinungsjahr1899, p.323

That made me wonder whether Betti and Emanuel had had other children. Unfortunately, the Hanau birth records online only go up through 1900, and I did not find any other birth records for that couple in that year. If there were children born after 1900, I have not found any other evidence of such children.

The third child of Levi and Clara, Moses or Moritz Rothschild, married Margarete David. I don’t have a marriage record for Moritz and Margarete nor do I have birth records for their children from Germany, but I was able to track down records on the Israel Genealogical Research Association website that helped to fill in those gaps. Margarete was born in Hagen, Germany, on May 27, 1889, to Louis David and  Alwine Harff David.2 Moritz and Margarete had two children, Ruth, born October 8, 1914,3 and Herbert (later Yehuda), born December 10, 1921, in Magdeburg, Germany.4

Hirsch (also known as Harry) Rothschild, the fourth child of Levi Rothschild and Clara Jakob, married Malli (also known as Mathilda) Rosenbaum on November 29, 1909, in Schluechtern, Germany. She was the daughter of Salomon Rosenbaum and Jeanette Sondheimer and was born in Schluechtern on July 20, 1885.5

Hirsch Rothschild and Malli Rosenbaum marriage record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 766, p. 104

Harry Hirsch Rothschild and Malli Rosenbaum had three children. Gertrude was born September 3, 1910, in Gudensberg, Germany.6 Her sister Edith was born there on July 4, 1911,7 and their brother Edmund Siegfried was born one year later on July 30, 1912.8

The fifth child of Levi and Clara, their daughter Thekla, married Manuel Edward Weinberg on August 19, 1907, in Borken. Manuel was born in Lichenroth, Germany, to Lazarus Weinberg and Karoline Oppenheimer on October 11, 1880.

Thekla Rothschild and Manuel Weinberg marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 843, Year Range: 1907, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Thekla and Manuel had a son Hans Herbert Weinberg born in Frankfurt, Germany, on November 2, 1908.9

Finally, the last born of Levi and Clara’s children, their daughter Frieda, married Leopold Marxsohn on November 25, 1920, in Frankfurt. He was born on June 21, 1883, in Koenigstadten, Germany, to Abraham Marxsohn and Emilie Stern.

Frieda Rothschild Leopold Marxsohn marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903, Year Range: 1920, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

It appears that Leopold died before November 25, 1925, because on that date Frieda married Paul Phillipsohn in Frankfurt, and she is identified as a widow on their marriage record. I cannot find any death record for Leopold, however, and none of the other trees or other secondary sources have a date for his death. There is a FindAGrave entry for a Leopold Marxsohn who died in 1919 and is buried in Frankfurt,10 but that can’t be the same man unless the date on FindAGrave is incorrect. And there is a Leopold Marxsohn listed in the 1925 Frankfurt directory,11 but that also could be a different man. More exploration is necessary.

In any event, Frieda remarried as noted on November 25, 1925, and her second husband was Paul Phillipsohn. Paul was born on October 15, 1885, in Gandersheim, Germany. I have not yet found the names of his parents.

Frieda Rothschild Marxsohn and Paul Phillipsohn marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 903, Year Range: 1925, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Frieda and Paul had one child, a daughter Hannelore, born in Frankfurt on November 3, 1926.12

Thus, by late 1926, when Hannelore Phillipsohn was born, there were eight living grandchildren of Levi Rothschild and Clara Jacob. Sadly, Levi did not live to see all of them born as he had died on October 15, 1913, in Borken at the age of 67.

Levi Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 902; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1913
Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

His wife Clara Jacob, however, lived to see all eight of those grandchildren born. She died on November 24, 1929, in Borken when she was 78 years old.

Clara Jacob Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 913; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1929, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

That brings us to the decade of the 1930s, and as you may expect, the lives of all six of Levi and Clara’s children, their spouses, and their children were drastically changed during that decade and the one that followed.

 

 

  1. Fanni Rosenbaum birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 913; Signatur: 5881, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901 ↩
  2. Margarete Sara Rothschild, [Margarete Sara David], Birth Date 27 Mai 1889 (27 May 1889), Birth Place Hagen, Last Residence Magdeburg, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Name Index of Jews Whose German Nationality Was Annulled by the Nazi Regime (Berlin Documents Center); Record Group: 242, National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675 – 1958; Record Group ARC ID: 569; Publication Number: T355; Roll: 7, Mosbacher, Eduard – Schafranek, Bruno, Ancestry.com. Germany, Index of Jews Whose German Nationality was Annulled by Nazi Regime, 1935-1944. Also, Registration form for Margarete David Rothschild reporting to the German Embassy Legation at the German Consulate General Consulate Bizekonsult in Jerusalem, A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1459. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), and found at the IGRA website. See also this Wikipedia article about Margarete’s brother Ferdinand and his life. ↩
  3. Registration form for Ruth Rothschild reporting to the German Embassy Legation at the German Consulate General Consulate Bizekonsult in Jerusalem, A-B (טפסי הרשמה: A-B), part of the Residents 1938-1939 (תושבים 1938-1939) database, system number פ-500/5, IGRA number 1465. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), as found at the IGRA website. ↩
  4.  Yehuda Rothschild marriage record, Marriage/Divorce Certificates (תעודות נישואין / גירושין), part of the Marriages and Divorces 1921-1948 Palestine British (נישואין וגירושין 1948-1921 ארץ ישראל) database, document number 91714, IGRA number 507. The original records are from Israel State Archives (ארכיון המדינה), as found at the IGRA website. ↩
  5. Malli Rosenbaum birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 913; Signatur: 5887, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901 ↩
  6. Gertrude Rosbasch, [Gertrude Rothschild], Gender Female, Birth Date 3 Sep 1910, Birth Place Gudensberg, Death Date 4 Jul 1997, Claim Date 17 May 1973, Father
    Harry Rothschild, Mother Mathilde Rosenbaum, SSN 054385223, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
  7. Edith Miriam Solomon, [Edith Miriam Rothschild], Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 4 Jul 1911, Birth Place Gudensberg, Federal Republic of Germany, Death Date 28 Jul 2003, Claim Date 19 Jan 1976, Father Harry Rothschild, Mother Mathilde Rosenbaum, SSN 071180622, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
  8. Edmund Siegfried Rothschild, Gender Male, Race White, Birth Date 30 Jul 1912
    Birth Place Gudensberg, Federal Republic of Germany, Death Date 21 Apr 1994
    Father Harry Rothschild, Mother Mathilda Rosenbaum, SSN 114342498, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. ↩
  9. Hans Herbert Weinberg, Gender männlich (Male), Record Type Inventory, Birth Date 02 Nov 1908 (2 Nov 1908), Birth Place Frankfurt am Main, Last Residence Frankfurt am Main, Residence Place Frankfurt am Main, Father Edmund Weinberg
    Mother Thekla Weinberg, Spouse Edith Seckbach, 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 ↩
  10. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130472657/leopold-marxsohn: accessed April 8, 2024), memorial page for Leopold Marxsohn (unknown–1919), Find a Grave Memorial ID 130472657, citing Alter Jüdischer Friedhof, Frankfurt am Main, Stadtkreis Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany; Maintained by Athanatos (contributor 46907585). ↩
  11.  Deutsche National Bibliothek; Leipzig, Deutschland; Publisher: Scherl; Signatur: ZC 811; Laufende Nummer: 1, Ancestry.com. Germany and Surrounding Areas, Address Books, 1815-1974 ↩
  12.  Arolsen Archives, Digital Archive; Bad Arolsen, Germany; Lists of Persecutees 2.1.1.1, Reference Code: 02010101 oS, Ancestry.com. Free Access: Europe, Registration of Foreigners and German Persecutees, 1939-1947; Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109408821/hannelore-philippsohn: accessed April 8, 2024), memorial page for Hannelore Philippsohn (3 Nov 1926–unknown), Find a Grave Memorial ID 109408821; Burial Details Unknown; Maintained by IWPP Custodial Account (contributor 48586138). ↩

Levi Rothschild and His Family: Only Six of Nine Children Survived Childhood

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Because I have no records other than those already mentioned for the two other sons of Seligmann Rothschild (Leopold and Hugo), I am moving on to the next child of Gelle Blumenfeld and Simon Rothschild, their son Levi.

Levi was born on August 23, 1846, in Walterbrueck, Germany.

Levi Rothschild birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hesse, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 893, p. 18

Although I cannot find a marriage record, I can infer from various records related to his children and his wife that he married Clara (sometimes spelled Klara) Jacob. Clara was born on December 1, 1850, in Breitbarten, Germany, to Meir Jacob and Frommet Handel.

Clara Jacob birth record, Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, Geburtsregister der Juden von Breitenbach am Herzberg 1838-1906 (HHStAW Abt. 365 Nr. 85)AutorHessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, WiesbadenErscheinungsjahr1838-1906

Levi and Clara must have married by early 1874 because their first child Sigmund Rothschild was born on December 19, 1874, in Borken, Germany. Although I do not have a birth record for Sigmund, his birthdate appears on his marriage record.1

For Levi and Clara’s second child, Betti, I was able to locate a birth record. She was born in Borken on September 14, 1876.

Betti Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 788, Year Range: 1876, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Their third child Moses (or Moritz) was born on February 12, 1879, in Borken.

Moses Moritz Rothschild birth record, LAGIS Hessen Archives, Standesamt Borken (Hessen) Geburtsnebenregister 1879 (HStAMR Best. 920 Nr. 791)AputorHessisches Staatsarchiv MarburgErscheinungsortBorken (Hessen)Erscheinungsjahr1879, p. 13

Hirsch, their fourth child, was born on April 9, 1881, in Borken.

Hirsch Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 793, Year Range: 1881, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Their fifth child and second daughter Thekla was born on January 29, 1886, in Borken.

Thekla Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 798, Year Range: 1886, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

She was followed by another daughter, Genni, born May 11, 1888, in Borken. Unfortunately, Genni died before her first birthday on January 28, 1889, in Borken.

Genni Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 800, Year Range: 1888, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Genni Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 878; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1889, 
Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

A seventh child was born on December 12, 1889, in Borken. Thank you to Cathy Meder-Dempsey for translating the side note for me; it states that “on the 12th of December of this year, a female child was born at 1 o’clock in the afternoon and that this child was lost at birth.” I am not sure whether this means the baby was stillborn or died shortly after birth.

unnamed female child of Levi and Clara Rothschild, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 878; Laufende Nummer: 920
Year Range: 1889, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Julius, their eighth child, was born in Borken on October 29, 1890, but did not make it to his second birthday. He died March 5, 1892, in Borken.

Julius Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 802, Year Range: 1890, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Julius Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 881; Laufende Nummer: 920, Year Range: 1892
Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

And finally, Levi and Klara’s last child Frieda was born on May 31, 1893, in Borken.

Frieda Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 920; Laufende Nummer: 805, Year Range: 1893, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Thus, of the nine children to whom Clara gave birth, only six survived past childhood. And given the five-year gap between Hirsch and Thekla, I wonder whether there were other pregnancies that did not result in a live birth.

The stories of the six who survived will continue in my next post.

 

  1. See marriage record for Sigmund Rothschild at Arcinsys Archives of Hessen, HHStAW Fonds 365 No 766, p. 101. ↩

Irma and Hilde: The Power of Love

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In my last post, I shared the story of my cousin Erwin Rothschild and his wife Irma Simon. As we saw, Erwin died from typhoid fever at Bergen-Belsen, but Irma survived. Erwin had done everything he could to keep Irma, her sister Hilde, and Hilde’s husband Simon Eisenmann alive, but in the end only Hilde and Irma survived. They were two young widows in their thirties as the war drew to a close in Europe.

As recounted by Irma in her moving testimony for the Shoah Foundation,1 in the spring of 1945 Irma and Hilde and about 2200 other prisoners at Bergen-Belsen were put on cattle trains by the Nazis with nothing to eat but one turnip each and taken on a long and twisting trip through Germany. When they saw the planes of the Allies flying overhead, they hung white shirts out the window, trying to save themselves from being bombed. As the train neared Frankfurt an der Oder near the Polish border, the Nazi guards abandoned the train, and the Russians came to liberate the people on the train on April 23, 1945. The Russians told the prisoners that they should go to a nearby village called Trobitz, which had been emptied of its residents and would be safe for the survivors.2

They had to walk to the village, but Hilde, who weighed only 70 pounds, was too weak to walk. So Irma and another woman found a wheelbarrow and pushed Hilde to the village. They settled into the village where there was shelter and food. One man died from eating too much food too quickly. Many others—about 600 people—died while living in Trobitz. But Irma and Hilde survived.

Memorial listing the names of those from the Lost Train who died in Trobitz, LutzBruno, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The people living in Trobitz were taken later by the Allies to Leipzig for a week and then they were allowed to go “home.” Irma and Hilde went back to the southern part of the Netherlands, where Hilde, a Dutch citizen by marriage, lived in a cloister and Irma was interned in a school. They could not return to Amsterdam because northern Holland had not yet been liberated. Once the war ended, the sisters moved to Amsterdam and then immigrated to the US in 1947 with the help of their brother Julius, who lived in Philadelphia. They traveled on the Queen Elizabeth and were able to get kosher food on the ship. Irma and Hilde settled in Washington Heights in New York, and Irma continued her career as a kindergarten teacher.

Both Irma and Hilde remarried in the 1950s, Irma to Nathan Haas, and Hilde to Nathan Meyer, both also German Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. Neither had children. They lived in adjoining apartments in Washington Heights. In 1967 the two couples moved to one house together in Englewood, New Jersey. They all became active in the Orthodox Jewish community there. Their second husbands both died in the 1970s, but Irma and Hilde continued to live together for the rest of their lives.

As reported by Joseph Berger in The New York Times on December 29, 2004,3 Irma and Hilde decided when they were 97 and 94, respectively, that they wanted to live the rest of their lives in Israel in a home for senior citizens in Jerusalem called Beit Barth. Berger described their special relationship and recounted their long lives together during and after the Holocaust:

The two sisters were inseparable….[He then described much of what I’ve reported earlier about their lives during the Holocaust.]

They came to the United States together and lived with their second husbands in adjoining apartment buildings in Washington Heights. … As if that were not close enough, they moved in 1967 into a single suburban ranch house in Englewood, N.J., which they continued to share after their husbands died.

Until yesterday. That was when Irma Haas, 97, and Hilde Meyer, 94, set off from Kennedy International Airport for Israel to spend the remainder of their lives in the same residence for the elderly in Jerusalem.

… With canes across their laps, they sat next to each other in wheelchairs as El Al security hurriedly examined their passports and put them through the requisite grilling about who had packed their bags and whether they had received any gifts. Much of the time, Hilde, looking frightened, clutched Irma’s left arm with her right hand.

“She cannot let go of me,” Irma said, mentioning their wartime terror. “She is afraid she would be brought somewhere and I would not come.”

…Both sisters are slight of build and wear gray shaytls, or wigs. Irma is hardier, Hilde more easily rattled. They were born in Londorf, a town in Hessen, a German state where their family’s roots stretch back hundreds of years. …Irma promised her mother that she would always take care of the more delicate Hilde….

Judy Marcus, their second cousin, who accompanied them on the flight, said the two sisters seemed to have eluded the arrows of sibling rivalry. “They were never jealous of each other,” she said. “They were always happy whatever the other one had.”

About two years ago, Hilde was briefly hospitalized and pleaded that Irma remain at her side. Mrs. Marcus said she told a hospital official: “They are Holocaust survivors. They can’t be separated.”

“They made a special dispensation to allow Irma to sleep in Hilde’s room,” Mrs. Marcus recalled. “But Irma would not have left anyway, even if it meant sitting up in a chair all night.”

Only death separated these two amazing sisters. Hilde died first on May 8, 2005;4 she was 94 and had been in Israel for only five months. Irma Simon Rothschild Haas, who had done so much to care for her younger sister and whose strength got them through the camps, liberation, and immigration to the US, died on April 17, 2009, just six months before she would have turned 102.5 She had outlived her parents, all her siblings, and two husbands. Neither Irma nor Hilde had had children, so there are no direct descendants to remember these two remarkable women. But I will forever, and I hope that you will also.

I wish I had some photos of Irma and Hilde I could share. All I found is this one small photo from the New York Times in 2004 when they moved to Israel. But If you haven’t already, please watch Irma’s Shoah Foundation testimony—if for no other reason than to see Irma with Hilde together near the end of that testimony. I guarantee it will both bring you to tears and lift you up with joy. The power of their love was immeasurable.

 

 

  1. Haas, Irma. Interview 32295. Interview by Miriam Horowitz. Visual History Archive, USC Shoah Foundation, 04 August 1997. https://vha.usc.edu/testimony/32295. Accessed 18 Jan 2024. Almost all of the information in this post came from Irma’s testimony, except where noted. ↩
  2. You can read more about the “lost train” from Bergen-Belsen to Trobitz here, here, and here. ↩
  3. Joseph Berger, “A Bond the Holocaust and Time Couldn’t Break,” The New York Times, December 29, 2004, page B1. See also “Holocaust Survivors from Englewood Begin Their New Lives in Jerusalem,” The Hackensack Record, December 31, 2004, p. A5. ↩
  4. Hilde Meyer, Gender Female, Birth Date 30 Sep 1910, Death Date 8 May 2005,
    Claim Date 13 Jul 1972, SSN 081242610, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  5. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/254917717/irma-haas: accessed 18 January 2024), memorial page for Irma Simon Haas (9 Oct 1907–17 Apr 2009), Find a Grave Memorial ID 254917717, citing Har HaMenuchot Cemetery, Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel; Maintained by DTWer (contributor 47953179). ↩

Moses Max Rothschild and His Family: One Daughter Escaped to America

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Returning now to the family of Gelle Blumenfeld, what do I know for certain about the life of her grandson Moses Max Rothschild after his marriage in 1897 and the births of his children in the years that followed? As you may recall, the records for this family were quite limited and trees provided few or no sources. So I know very little for sure about Moses Max Rothschild, but more about two of his children.

I know that his wife Helene Hoechster died on December 26, 1921, at the age of 51, and that she is buried in the Alsfeld Jewish cemetery.

Helene Hoechster Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Bestand: 34; Laufende Nummer: 921
Year Range: 1921-1925, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172987583/helene-rothschild: accessed 11 January 2024), memorial page for Helene Höchster Rothschild (3 Sep 1870–26 Dec 1921), Find a Grave Memorial ID 172987583, citing Alsfeld Jewish Cemetery, Alsfeld, Vogelsbergkreis, Hessen, Germany; Maintained by Looking For Loved Ones (contributor 50883347).

Geneanet says that Moses died in 1938, but I have no source for that despite searching in the online records for both Alsfeld and Nordeck. There is no entry for Moses on FindAGrave at the Alsfeld Jewish cemetery, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t buried there, just that no one has added a listing for his gravesite on FindAGrave.

As for the children of Moses and Helene, as noted in my prior post, although some trees show five children, I only have records for three of them that tie them to Moses and Helene: Gertrude, Erna, and Erwin. According to Geneanet, Gertrude married Eric Voos and ended up in Israel where she died in about 1980. But I found no records for them at the Israel Genealogy Research Association website, and sadly the Israel State Archives was the subject of a cyberattack and their records are not online at this time. So I have no sources for Gertrude after her birth record.

For her sister Erna, however, I have had better success. On February 25, 1930, in Berlin, she married Rabbi Moritz Winter. He was born on November 9, 1886, in Magdeburg, Germany, to Salomon Winter and Hulda Abraham.1

Erna Rothschild and Moritz Winter marriage record, Landesarchiv Berlin; Berlin, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Heiratsregister, Register Year or Type: 1930 (Erstregister), Ancestry.com. Berlin, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1936

Moritz Winter had been previously married to Ernestine Abraham, who died on November 8, 1929, in Berlin.2 Four months later he married Erna Rothschild. Moritz had a son Salomon Fritz Winter with his first wife; he was born on December 11, 1914, in Konigsberg, Germany.3 Moritz and Erna then had their own child, Walter Theodor Winter, born on April 3, 1931, in Berlin.4

Fortunately, Erna, Moritz, and Walter all left Germany early enough to survive the Holocaust. According to one article, they left after Kristallnacht when Moritz’s synagogue was burned. They first escaped to Shanghai, China, but then immigrated to the US, arriving in San Francisco on October 27, 1939.5

Moritz Winter and family ship manifest, The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At San Francisco, California; NAI Number: 4498993; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85, NARA Roll Number: 358, Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1959

Meanwhile, Erna’s stepson Salomon Fritz Winter immigrated to Uruguay where he was, like his father, a rabbi. He was interviewed by the Shoah Foundation, but his interview is in Spanish, so I need to find someone who can translate it for me.6

Erna, Moritz, and Walter settled in San Francisco, where they are listed on the 1940 US census, Moritz’s occupation being described as a rabbi at a “Jewish church.” 7 On April 26, 1942, Moritz registered for the World War II draft and listed his address in Santa Cruz, California, and his employer as the Jewish Community Center there.

Moritz Winter, World War II draft registration, The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147, Name Range: Franceschini, Francesco – Woehl, Charles, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

By 1947, Moritz was working at the Oakland, California, Jewish Community Center, where he was an instructor in Hebrew studies, customs, and rituals. In 1950 the family was living in Oakland, and Moritz was a Hebrew teacher and librarian at the Jewish Community Center.8

Their son Walter went to the local Oakland schools and then to the City College of San Francisco and Golden Gate University School of Law; he passed the California bar exam in 1957. Walter became a highly successful divorce lawyer, litigating thousands of cases. If you Google “Walter T Winter,” you will see many cases where he is listed as one of the lawyers. Walter also wrote three books on divorce law. He also served in the US Marines.9

His mother Erna Rothschild Winter died on June 29, 1969, in Oakland. She was 69 years old.10 Her husband Rabbi Moritz Winter died in Oakland two years later on July 14, 1971; he was 84.11 They are buried next to each other at the Home of Peace cemetery in Oakland.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159031124/moritz-winter: accessed 11 January 2024), memorial page for Dr Moritz Winter (9 Nov 1886–14 Jul 1971), Find a Grave Memorial ID 159031124, citing Home of Peace Cemetery, Oakland, Alameda County, California, USA; Maintained by Stephen C. Miller (contributor 47963213).

Their son Walter did not live a long life. He died on April 15, 1985, when he was only 54.12 He was survived by his two children and his half-brother Rabbi Salomon Fritz Winter in Uruguay.

The third child of Moses Max Rothschild and Helene Hoechster for whom I have records was their son Erwin, and I do have information on Erwin’s life and death. I will tell his story in my next post.

 

 

 

  1. Moritz Winter birth record, Ancestry.com. Magdeburg, Germany, Births, 1874-1903 ↩
  2. Ernestine Abraham Winter death record, Landesarchiv Berlin; Berlin, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister, Registration Year or Type: 1929 (Erstregister), Ancestry.com. Berlin, Germany, Deaths, 1874-1955 ↩
  3. Salomon Fritz Winter, Gender Male, Marital Status Married,Birth Date 11 de dez de 1914 (11 Dec 1914), Birth Place Konigsberg, Arrival Date 1961, Arrival Place Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Father Moritz Winter, Mother Ernestine Abraham, Traveling With Children No, FHL Film Number 004920148, Ancestry.com. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965 ↩
  4. Walter Winter, Gender Male, Race White, Birth Date 3 Apr 1931, Birth Place Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, Death Date Apr 1985, Father Moritz Winter, Mother Erna Rothschild, SSN 550383707, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  5. “Rites Held for Erna Winter, 69,” Oakland (CA) Tribune, July 2, 1969, p. 22. ↩
  6. Rabbi Fritz Salomon Winter, [Rabbi Rav ben Moshe Winter], [Rabbi Shlomo Winter], Gender Male, Birth Date 11 Dec 1914, Birth Place Königsberg, Germany
    Interview Date 9 Jun 1997, Interview Place Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
    Relationship Self (Head), Role Interviewee, USC Shoah Foundation; Los Angeles, California; Visual History Archive: The Holocaust, Free Access: USC Shoah Foundation, Holocaust – Jewish Survivor Interviews ↩
  7. Moritz Winter and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Roll: m-t0627-00319; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 38-522, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  8. “Summer Program of ‘Fun’ Camp to be Previewed,” Oakland (CA) Tribune, 26 Jun 1947, Thu ·Page 7. ↩
  9. “Walter Winter,” The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California , Fri, Apr 19, 1985, Page 27 ↩
  10. Erna Winter, Social Security # 567300066, Gender Female, Birth Date 25 Nov 1899, Death Date 29 Jun 1969, Death Place Alameda, Mother’s Maiden Name Hoechster, Place: Alameda; Date: 29 Jun 1969; Social Security: 567300066, Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 ↩
  11. Moritz Winter, Gender Male, Birth Date 9 Nov 1886, Death Date 14 Jul 1971, Death Place Alameda, Place: Alameda; Date: 14 Jul 1971, Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 ↩
  12. Walter Theodor Winter, Gender Male, Birth Date 3 Apr 1931, Birth Place Other Country, Death Date 15 Apr 1985, Death Place Marin, Mother’s Maiden Name Rothschild, Place: Marin; Date: 15 Apr 1985, Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997. See also Note 9, supra. ↩

Seligmann Rothschild’s Sons: The Challenges of Trees without Sources

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When he died at age 40 in 1884, Seligmann Rothschild was survived by his four sons and his second wife, Emma Rothschild.  Just nine years later, his son Emil died when he was just eighteen, leaving the three other sons: Moses Max, Leopold, and Hugo. These three sons had suffered so many losses in such a short time; for Moses, his mother when he was two; for all three of them, their father when they were all ten or younger; then their brother Emil, and then their grandparents Gelle Blumenfeld and Simon Rothschild.

Unfortunately, I have hit many a brick wall in trying to research the lives of Moses, Leopold, and Hugo. There are lots of trees on Ancestry, MyHeritage, Geni, etc., for this family, but very few have any sources, and I have not yet been able to find the sources to back up the information on those trees. Because I try not to include unsourced information on the blog, I am reluctant to share the information included on all those trees. I will keep searching, but for now this is a post that should have a big asterisk next to it, warning readers that some of the information here may not be correct. I will indicate below where there are places that are not yet verified by records or at least some direct family confirmation of the facts.

Moses Max Rothschild, Seligmann’s oldest son, married Helene Hoechster on July 8, 1897, in Nordeck, Germany. Helene was born in Nordeck on September 3, 1870, and she was the daughter of Salomon Hoechster and Jette Loew.

Moses Rothschild and Helene Hoechster marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 905; Laufende Nummer: 1070, Year Range: 1889-1899, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

I have been able to find records for three children of Moses and Helene: Gertrude, born June 23, 1898, in Nordeck, Erna, born November 25, 1899, in Nordeck, and Erwin, born December 4, 1904, in Nordeck.1

Gertrude Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 905; Laufende Nummer: 1068, Year Range: 1888-1899, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Erna Rothschild birth record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: 905; Laufende Nummer: 1068, Year Range: 1888-1899, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Births, 1851-1901

Several unsourced trees include three other children born to Moses and Helene, but the online records for Nordeck do not include the birth records for the years of the births of those other children. For two of these children, there are records that show that they were born in Nordeck, but nothing that ties them to Moses and Helene.

For example, there is a death record for a Siegfried Rothschild who was born in Nordeck on April 8, 1901, and died on January 15, 1936, in Hanau, Germany.2 But that record does not include his parents’ names. Could this be a son of Moses and Helene? Certainly. But is this record reliable evidence of that? No.

Similarly, there is a Holocaust era record for a Fritz Rothschild, born in Nordeck on June 1, 1906.3 Could this be a son of Moses and Helene? Sure. But this record in no way establishes that connection.

Then there is another son included on these trees, Walter, born July 6, 1903, and there is no record at all for this person or even a reference to his birthplace, let alone his parentage.

These children—Siegfried, Fritz, and Walter—could indeed be children of Moses and Helene Rothschild, but on Ancestry, the trees that include them all cite Geneanet as a source (as well as other Ancestry trees). The listing on Geneanet for this family has no actual sources either. I wrote to the person who submitted the information on Geneanet, and he said he had no sources and had just taken the information off other trees. So it’s like going in a circle—each tree relies on another tree that relies on another tree, and none have any real sources.

I also have sent a message through Geni to a profile manager there for this family. I am hoping that person will respond because they seem to be family members. Maybe they can help me break through this brick wall not only for Moses and his family, but also for his two half-brothers, Leopold and Hugo. But it’s now been well over a month, and I’ve heard nothing.

Leopold Rothschild, the second surviving son of Seligmann Rothschild, married Zipporah Birkenruth on September 28, 1906, in Fulda, Germany. Zipporah was the daughter of Josef Birkenruth and Roschen Grief and was born in Wehrda, Germany, on January 5, 1876.

Leopold Rothschild and Zipporah Birkenruth marriage record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Signatur: 2363, Year Range: 1906, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930

Leopold and Zipporah had one child for whom I have a record with a birth date, but no reference to his parents: Siegfried, born on September 13, 1907, in Halberstadt, Germany.4 Although there is no specific official record tying Siegfried to Leopold and Zipporah, there are some secondary sources that have convinced me that he was their son.

A story on Yad Vashem mentions that Leopold and his family moved in 1913 from Halberstadt to Dinslaken, Germany, to run an orphanage there. The story refers to and quotes a son Pinchas, who was six when the family moved to Dinslaken, thus born in 1907. I assume that Pinchas was the Hebrew name of Siegfried, who was born in 1907, as noted above. And I have found a Shoah Foundation interview with Pinchas Rothschild. Unfortunately, it is in Hebrew, so I am waiting for a cousin to translate it for me. But the index for this interview on Ancestry identified his father as Leopold Rothschild and his mother as Zipporah Birkenruth. 5

According to other unsourced trees, Leopold and Zipporah had three other children, Judith, Naftali, and Mirjam, but I have no records for those three. Until I can verify the birth dates for these three, I have nothing more I can add.

As for Hugo Rothschild, the third surviving son of Seligmann Rothschild, several unsourced trees list his spouse as Hannah Adler. I did find Hugo Rothschild, married to Hannah Adler, on a citizen register for the city of Lubeck, Germany. The birth date and birthplace match that of our Hugo Rothschild, so I see this as fairly reliable evidence that Hugo did marry a woman named Hannah Adler. The register also indicates that they had two female children at that time. But what I can’t determine is when this register was created. It says that Hugo became a citizen on June 24, 1911, but is that necessarily the date that Hugo was listed on the register? Does it mean that as of June 24, 1911, he was married to Hannah and had two female children? Or does it only mean that that was his family status as of the time he was listed in the register—which could have been years after June 24, 1911?

Hugo Rothschild Lubeck register, general_subcollection: Verzeichnis der in den Lübeckischen Staatsverband Aufgenommenen, 1903 (Mai)-1919, Ancestry.com. Lübeck, Germany, Citizenship Register, 1591-1919

The reason that this is important is that those unsourced trees for Hugo have conflicting dates for when Hugo married Hannah; some say 1908 in Baden-Baden, some say December 14, 1918, in Nordrach, Germany. I am inclined to think that the 1908 date makes more sense, especially since those trees also list four children for Hugo and Hannah born between 1907 and 1917. But alas, none of these trees includes a marriage record, nor have I found one.

As for those four children, two were allegedly born before June 24, 1911: a daughter Judith in 1907, making me wonder about a 1908 marriage, and a son Eli born in 1909. The register, however, says that Hugo had two daughters. So something is not right either on the register or on those trees. The unsourced trees list two more children for Hugo and Hannah: Chava, born in 1914, and Naomi, born in 1917, both in Lubeck. But again, no records support any of this information. A profile on Geni lists a descendant of Hugo and Hannah, and I have sent a message to that person and am hoping for a response. But again, it’s been over a month, and I’ve gotten no response.

So where do I stand? Frustrated for sure. I will move on to finish what I can of the stories of Seligmann Rothschild’s sons and their families based on the records I have, and if later I can find more sources, I will update the information with later posts.

  1. Erwin Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 135; Laufende Nummer: 926, Year Range: 1951, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  2. Siegfried Rothschild death record, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Signatur: 2100, Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Deaths, 1851-1958 ↩
  3. See National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Name Index of Jews Whose German Nationality Was Annulled by the Nazi Regime (Berlin Documents Center); Record Group: 242, National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675 – 1958; Record Group ARC ID: 569; Publication Number: T355; Roll: 7, Mosbacher, Eduard – Schafranek, Bruno, Ancestry.com. Germany, Index of Jews Whose German Nationality was Annulled by Nazi Regime, 1935-1944 ↩
  4. Siegfried Rothschild, Gender Male, Birth Date 13 Sep 1907, Arrival Date 25 Oct 1943, Nationality I Deutschland, Nationality II Deutschland, Ancestry.com. Switzerland, Jewish Arrivals, 1938-1945 ↩
  5. Dr. Pinḥas Zigfrid Roṭshild, Birth Date 13 Sep 1907, Birth Place Halberstadt, Germany, Interview Date 5 Oct 1995, Interview Place Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
    Relationship Self (Head), Role Interviewee, USC Shoah Foundation; Los Angeles, California; Visual History Archive: The Holocaust, Free Access: USC Shoah Foundation, Holocaust – Jewish Survivor Interviews ↩