Friday Follow-Up: Death Record of Sarah Gitel Frank Broida

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Sarah Gitel Gasse Frank BROIDA- Death Record, Colorado State Archives.
Sarah Gitel Gasse Frank BROIDA- Death Record, Colorado State Archives. Posted with permission for non-commercial use.

Broida Family

The Colorado State Archives was great to work with! I completed their online general request form and submitted it. Within hours I had an email reply from an archivist. She explained the fee structure was $20 for research plus other fees for copies, and listed a phone number. I gave her a call and my credit card number over the phone, and had a copy of the above document in my inbox within about 10 minutes. (She had already pulled the film before she sent the email in order to assess the fees.) She had also looked for any other documents for Sarah G. Frank Broida before sending, but found no others in their finding aids.

This record verifies many items:

1) Address from city directories.

2) Cause of death was tuberculosis.

3) She died in Denver.

4) She was buried in Pittsburgh.

5) The undertaker was I. N. Rogers & Son, and I found her name in the records of the Rogers & Nash Mortuary Records held at the Denver Public Library. We are awaiting their reply for copies.

This record lists her age as 40 at her death on 14 Apr 1901. The 1900 US Federal Census, and JewishGen Online Burial Registry notes her birth as Nov 1859, which would make her 41 at death. Gitel’s granddaughter, Gertrude Broida Cooper, said that she had died at the age of 39 of tuberculosis. These are all close enough for most genealogy, especially since her birth goes so far back, and people did not always keep track of birthdays as we do today.

 

As one who started my genealogy researching with SASE (self-addressed stamped envelopes) and waiting weeks or months, the turn-around from the State Archives was fabulous!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Denver, CO death record for Sarah Gasse Broida, Colorado State Archives. Denver County, Archive Location R90, 14 Apr 1901.

 

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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
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Wednesday’s Child: The ‘Missing’ Children of John and Sarah Gitel Broida

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1900 US Federal Census excerpt for John Broida and family, Denver, CO
1900 US Federal Census excerpt for John Broida and family, Denver, CO. (Click to enlarge.)

Broida Family

A previous post, entitled Samuel Broida- An Unknown Son of John Zelig Broida and Gitel Frank? posed the question of the parents of a young Samuel who is buried in the family plot. At the time of writing that post, I did not go to each of the US Federal Censuses, but should have at least looked at the 1900 census for the family. In that census, Gitel was still alive (she died in 1901) but the census asks “Mother of how many children?” and then “Number of these children living?” While looking for some other information this past week on that census, I noticed that Gitel’s entry states that she was the mother of ten children, with only seven still living. This helps to explain some of the gaps in childbearing.

The 1900 census states that John and Gitel had been married 19 years, so that would put their marriage in 1881. Son Joseph Broida was then born in 1882, Louis Broida in 1884, and Max Broida in 1886. Phillip E. Broida was born in 1887, and Samuel Broida, who likely was their child, in 1889. There was then a gap before Theodore “Dave” Broida’s birth in 1893, and another gap before Morris Broida was born in 1896. Their last son, Harold, was born in 1897, when Gitel was 38 years old. Thus there may have been children born about 1891 and 1894-5, but they didn’t survive. We will need to search for burial information in Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Cemetery, McKees Rocks (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania for these dear little ones.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Previous post about young Samuel Broida: http://heritageramblings.net/2013/11/20/samuel-broida-an-unknown-son-of-john-zelig-broida-and-gitel-frank/

2) 1900 US Federal Census for John Broida, Head of Household, in Denver, Colorado: Year: 1900; Census Place: Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado; Roll: 120; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0126; FHL microfilm: 1240122

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
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Matrilineal Monday: Where Were the Children of Sarah Gitel Broida in 1900?

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Sarah Gitel Frank holding baby- possibly Theodore? Son Philip standing to the right of her, husband John sitting. The other 3 boys are probably Joseph standing, Louis in center, and Max sitting on right.

 

Broida Family (Click to see Family Tree.)

Sometimes our ancestors have big changes in their lives but we cannot easily determine what happened. It may have been between censuses- those 20 years between 1880 and 1900 are especially brutal for finding out family information since most of the 1890 census was lost- or there are no city directories available, or newspapers are hard to come by, or ??? The John and Gitel Broida family, however, made our research somewhat easier by making a big move to Denver, Colorado around 1900. We have found the census as well as city directories for the time, so can piece together a bit of what was going on.

Gitel’s tenth child, Harold Broida, was born in 1897 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where they had lived most of their lives after immigrating from Russia. Gitel developed pulmonary tuberculosis, possibly after Harold’s birth, or the pregnancy may have brought it on or exacerbated the condition. The family decided to move to Denver, Colorado, likely to provide fresh, clean air for Gitel to make her breathing easier. There may also have been clinics or doctors there who specialized in treating tuberculosis, since so many with respiratory problems vacationed in the mountains or moved from the industrialized, polluted cities to the west for their health.

We know that the Broidas were living at 1102 5th Avenue in Pittsburgh in 1899.

By the 1900 US Federal Census, we find John and Gitel in Denver at 1655 Eliot Street, inside the city. Son Joseph J. Broida, age 18, is living with them, and little Harry (Harold) Broida, age 2. These two boys were their oldest and youngest. Why take only two to Denver? Where were the other children?

We know that Gitel was ill while there. There is no proof that they moved there after she got sick, though it makes sense. Instead, they might have moved to Denver and then she became ill. If they did, however, make the move because she already was ill, the less work she had to deal with, in addition to the move, the better. So it is understandable that she would take just the youngest toddler, Harry, of their dependent children. Maybe Joseph went with them to help support the family. He was working as a clerk in a ‘clothing house’ so was bringing income home, as did John who was working in ‘men’s furnishings.’ This time period was the end of the 1893 depression, so it probably took a couple of breadwinners to support a family. (They also had 4 boarders in the home, so that would have added to their income, but possibly increased Gitel’s workload.) The Broidas had been merchants in Pittsburgh too, so another possibility was they were branching out to start a business in Colorado.

The Broidas valued education, as their children were often listed as attending school in the censuses, so moving those of school age would have been disruptive.

We can only imagine how difficult things must have been for Gitel. She had moved from the horrors of anti-Semitism in Lithuania/Russia to the US, possibly leaving most of her family behind, and then struggled to make it as a poor immigrant in the big cities of the US. The hard decisions Gitel may have had to make with the move to Denver for her health may have made her previous troubles pale in comparison, especially if she knew she might die while away from her other sons. How could she chose to go herself? How could she choose which boys to leave?

Thankfully, the family was very close, and immigrants were used to taking care of their nieces and nephews while parents were in the process of moving to a new country or state to get established.

So what happened to the other boys?

Louis, who was 16 in 1900, and his brother Max (written as “Moros” on census), age 15, were living with their paternal aunt, Kate “Kaile” (Broida) York (1855-1938) and her husband, Joseph York, and their nine children in Carnegie Ward 1, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Uncle Joseph was a dry goods merchant, and two of his sons, born in Russia as he and Kate were, were clerks in a dry goods business- possibly his? Nephew Louie also worked as a dry goods clerk, while Morris attended school. The family employed a live-in servant- probably much needed with 13 other people living in the household!

NOTE: It would have to be Max living in this household, not Morris. “Moros” is the name on the census sheet (Is that ‘Max’ with a Yiddish accent?), and age 15, Aug 1885 birthdate listed; attending school. Max Broida was born 11 Oct 1886 and would be attending school, but Morris was only four, being born in 1896.

Son Theodore “Dave” Broida, age 7 in 1900, was living in Pittsburgh with his maternal uncle, Jacob Frank, his Aunt Maud, and their three children: Mortimer “Morty” Frank, Hilda Frank, and Bessie Frank, plus a servant. With “David Brody” listed as the nephew of Jacob Frank, it answered another question we had asked for years- how were the Broidas related to the Frank & Seder store? Recently a cousin told us that Gitel’s maiden name was Frank, and this 1900 census told us that her brother was Jacob Frank, who took his wholesale business into the retail sphere and became an important name in Pittsburgh and other cities.

Phillip Broida, age 13, cannot be found in the 1900 census, neither on Ancestry.com nor FamilySearch. We also don’t know where young Morris, age four, was staying in 1900. Please let us know if you have any more information as to who might have been caring for these boys while their mother, her husband, and two siblings were out in Denver, desperately hoping that Gitel would regain her health, but that was not to be.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) 1899 City Directory for John Broida: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

2) See related posts below, plus posts the remainder of this week:

Mystery Monday- Gitel/Gertrude (Frank) Broida: http://heritageramblings.net/2013/11/25/mystery-monday-gitelgertude-frank-broida/

Tuesday’s Tip: Broida Family Research in Denver Colorado Repositories: http://heritageramblings.net/2015/01/27/tuesdays-tip-broida-family-research-in-denver-colorado-repositories/

Those Places Thursday: Denver Colorado and the Broida Family: http://heritageramblings.net/2015/01/29/those-places-thursday-denver-colorado-and-the-broida-family/

3) 1900 US Federal Census for Louis and Morris Broida with Joseph York as Head of Household:Year: 1900; Census Place: Carnegie Ward 1, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1366; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0354; FHL microfilm: 1241366

4) 1900 US Federal census for David Brody with Jacob Frank as Head of Household: Year: 1900; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 6, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1358; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0117; FHL microfilm: 1241358

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
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Those Places Thursday: Denver Colorado and the Broida Family

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John Broida in 1901 Denver City Directory
John Broida in 1901 Denver City Directory

➡ Broida Family

Today we will be looking at search results from the Denver Public Library, with a few additional sources to verify and render the picture more complete.

John Broida

In 1900, John Broida was listed as living at 1655 Eliot per the Denver City Directory.

The 1900 US Federal Census listed John, Gussie/Gitel, and two sons at 1655 Eliot Street: Joseph J. Broida, age 18, working as a clerk in a clothing house, and little Harry (Harold), just two years old. John was listed as a Dry Goods Merchant.

The Broidas rented their home, but also had four boarders living with them- a husband and wife with their two children. The boarders were born in Russia with their children born in New York. Samuel Bobresky, age 28, had immigrated to the US just three years before, and was a tailor- appropriate since John worked in men’s furnishings (clothing, accessories).

Ancestry.com’s city directories list John Broida in 1901 at the same address, with his occupation, which meant men’s clothing.

John Broida in 1901 Denver City Directory
John Broida in 1901 Denver City Directory

 

Theodore “Dave” Broida

In 1920, Corbett & Ballenger’s 48th Annual Denver City Directory listed “Broida & Eisen Furniture Co.” at 1860 Stout under the heading, “Furniture.” Dave Broida was partners with S. Eisen Jr.

Broida & Eisen Furniture and Theodore Broida in 1920 Denver City Directory
Broida & Eisen Furniture and Theodore Broida in 1920 Denver City Directory

Dave and Lucy were residing at 1746 Geneva in Aurora. The 1920 US Federal Census indicates they were living with Lucy’s parents, Joseph and Sarah Shatzke, and had an almost two year old son, Gerald Broida.

In 1923, Dave and Lucy Broida were residing at 2620 West 23rd Avenue in Denver, and their business of second hand goods was located at 1959 Champa.

TD Broida's Second-Hand Goods Store listed in businesses in 1923 Denver City Directory
TD Broida’s Second-Hand Goods Store listed in businesses in 1923 Denver City Directory

The above was a listing under “Second-Hand Goods,” on p. 402, in the 1923 Corbett & Ballenger’s 51st Annual Denver City Directory; they were also listed in the residence section:

Theodore "Dave" Broida and wife Lucy M listed in 1923 Denver City Directory
Theodore “Dave” Broida and wife Lucy M listed in 1923 Denver City Directory

Interestingly, in 1923 on p. 402 under Second-Hand Goods,  S. Eisen Jr is listed at 1860 Stout. The joint venture, ‘Broida & Eisen Furniture Co,’ in 1920, apparently had dissolved by 1923. (And I was reminded to not just glean only the exact information one is looking for- perusing other parts of the page may reveal some gems like this!)

The Denver Public Library also houses Denver Household Directories and Street Guides, which are organized by address and indicate who was living there or the name of the business at that address. In those directories, a search for “Broida” shows us the addresses and sometimes even the occupations of Theodore “Dave” Broida and his wife, Lucy M. Shatzke Broida:

1926: grocer, living at 1661 Williams (p. 626)

1927-29: still living at 1661 Williams

1931: 4042 Clay

1933: 3901 Clay

1934: 4439 Zuni

1937: still at 4439 Zuni

If one Googles the address, 4439 Zuni comes up with a map and street view of their Craftsman bungalow. One can also check zillow.com or trulia.com to learn more about the house, including current number of bedrooms, baths, square footage, etc. Zillow states the Zuni house was built in 1907, so basically it is the same house that Dave and Lucy lived in 78 years ago. (They would be very surprised that it sold for over $322,00!) One can look at their two residences on Clay (4042 built in 1926, 3901 built 1923) and still see those houses, but 1661 Williams has apparently been razed and an apartment building and parking lot placed where their house had been.

The home of John and Gitel Broida in 1900, at 1655 Eliot St., no longer exists- it is now a part of the Mile High Stadium complex.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) 1900 Corbett & Ballenger’s 28th Annual Denver City Directory, p. 237: http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16079coll28/id/33385/rec/2

After doing a search on the website, a tab will be above the reduced-size document with your search term and how many hits were found in the document. Use the scroll box for the pages of the book that is on the right side of the screen. As you scroll, pages with hits for your search term will have a red, “1 found” (or more) listed after it; just click on that page to go to it. I have not figured out how to get rid of the red highlighting, unfortunately.

2) 1900 US Federal Census for John Broida, Head of Household, in Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado: Year: 1900; Census Place: Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado; Roll: 120; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0126; FHL microfilm: 1240122

3) 1901 Denver City Directory entry for John Broida: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

4) 1920 Corbett & Ballenger’s 48th Annual Denver City Directory, p. 270, 717 for Broida & Eisen Furniture: http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16079coll28/id/25728/rec/3

5) 1920 US Federal Census for Joseph Shatzke, Head of Household: Year: 1920; Census Place: Aurora, Adams, Colorado; Roll: T625_155; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 8; Image: 207

6) 1923 Corbett & Ballenger’s 51st Annual Denver City Directory, p. 402 for Theodore “Dave” Broida: rary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16079coll28/id/28024/rec/1

7) No financial interest, etc. in any of the commercial sites listed- I just like using them to see our ancestor’s homes! One can also save an image of the house to compare to photos that you may have but not know where they were taken. Of course, houses change over 70-100+ years, but you might still be able to tell if it is the same house as what is on Zillow or Trulia, or even on Google.

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
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Wedding Wednesday: Theodore “Dave” Broida and Lucy M. Shatzke, 1916

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Wedding portrait of Lucy M. Shatzke and Theodore "Dave" Broida, 20 Aug 1916.
Wedding portrait of Lucy M. Shatzke and Theodore “Dave” Broida, 20 Aug 1916.

 

 ➡ Broida Family Ancestor

Continuing the discussion (see yesterday’s post) of what might be found in The Colorado State Archives, we received the following search result:

BROIDA, Theodore D., ID 1248579, Marriage License, (no county listed), 1916-Aug 20

Wedding portrait of Lucy M. Shatzke and Theodore "Dave" Broida, 20 Aug 1916.
Wedding portrait of Lucy M. Shatzke and Theodore “Dave” Broida, 20 Aug 1916.

Theodore D. “Dave” Broida was the sixth of Gittel and John Broida’s eight sons, and married Lucy M. Shatzke on 20 Aug 1916. The search results verified what we already knew, although, if we order the marriage license, we might find the actual place of the marriage. We previously knew the marriage took place in Colorado, and this search result verified that too, but a city or county would be nice to know.

Wedding portrait of Lucy M. Shatzke and Theodore "Dave" Broida, 20 Aug 1916.
Wedding portrait of Lucy M. Shatzke (second woman from right) and Theodore “Dave” Broida (on Lucy’s left), 20 Aug 1916. Dave’s brother Max Broida is to Lucy’s right, but the other persons are unknown. (Click to enlarge.)

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Photos from the Family Treasure Chest.

2) Lucy M. Shatzke was the daughter of Joseph S. and Sarah Shatzke, both born in Russia as were Dave’s parents.

3) Max Broida was an actor known as “Buster Brodie.” He appeared in many movies, mostly in bit parts. More to come about Max in a future post.

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.