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Sibling Saturday: Joseph Jacob Broida

Joseph Broida, unknown date.
Joseph Broida, unknown date. (Click to enlarge.)

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Joseph J. Broida was the oldest surviving son of ten children born to John Broida and Sarah Gitel Frank Broida, both immigrants from Lithuania. Joseph grew up in Pittsburgh, living at various addresses in the 1880s-90s, with his father a merchant at ‘Broida & Yourkansky.’

In 1900, Joseph is found with his parents and youngest brother in Denver, Colorado, working as a clerk in a clothing house. Joseph was probably with them so that he could help earn a living; the family also had boarders in the home- a husband who was a tailor, his wife, and their two children, with the parents from Russia, as were Joseph’s parents. Joseph’s mother was ill with tuberculosis, and likely they went to Denver hoping for a cure. Sadly that was not to happen, and Gitel died in 1901.

The family moved back to Pittsburgh, but still were not all together, as some of the boys who had gone to St. Louis (instead of Denver) stayed there after their mother’s death. Joseph and some of his brothers were enumerated in their father’s household in 1910, along with their step-mother. Interestingly, the census also lists Joseph and his wife of 4 years, Fannie Glick, with their 3-1/2 yr old son Gilbert plus his brother Philip, Philip’s new wife Bessie, and brothers Theodore and Louis in Joseph’s household on 15 Apr 1910 at 228 Center Ave. So they were enumerated twice. (There is no date on the enumeration in John’s household.) Joseph was working as a bookkeeper in a wholesale store per the census with him as head of household; he was noted as a machinist in the other 1910 census, which does not seem correct from all the other information known about Joseph.

[Edited 05/05/15: indexing error and hard to read, but most probably is “merchant” instead of “machinist.”]

In September of 1918, Joseph registered for the World War I draft. He was 36 years old and described as short, medium build, with brown eyes. ‘Color of Hair’ was listed as Bald, Brown. He was a Purchasing Agent for Frank & Seder, a department store in Pittsburgh. (There were family ties to Mr. Frank, as Joseph’s mother Gitel was a Frank.)

By 1920, Joseph had his wife and two children enumerated with him, plus his sister-in-law Sadie Glick. He was a buyer in a department store, likely Frank & Seder. The household was similar in 1930, with the addition of one more child, son Donald. Sadie Glick still lived with them.

Joseph Jacob Broida, c1930. Cropped from a family portrait.
Joseph Jacob Broida, c1930. Cropped from a family portrait.

When their father John Broida died in Israel in 1938, both Joe and his brother Louis were listed as living at 6306 Forward Ave. in Pittsburgh per the official “Report of death of an American citizen.”

In the 1940 census, Joseph was listed as divorced. Two of his children, Irene and Donald, were living with him, plus a servant; Gilbert was married and in his own household by 1940. Joe was a purchasing agent in a department store, and daughter Irene worked in a department store as a saleslady. No occupation was listed for 18 year-old Donald, but he probably was in school, as he had completed 2 years of college by then, and he later became an officer in the military, which required a four-year degree. Irene had completed 4 years of high school, and her father had completed 1 year of college, so education was valued in the family.

Joseph Jacob Broida- WWI Draft Registration Card, Part 1.
Joseph Jacob Broida- WWI Draft Registration Card, Part 1. (Click to enlarge.)

The ‘War to end all wars’ did not, and Joe Broida registered for the World War II Draft in 1942. He was 59 years old, still working at Frank & Seder, and living at 6306 Forward Ave. in Pittsburgh, PA. His description stated he was 5’6″ tall, 140 lbs, with gray eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion.

Joe Broida died on 18 December 1958 in Pittsburgh, PA, at the age of 76, and is buried in Beth Shalom Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

Joseph Jacob Broida- Obituary
Joseph Jacob Broida- Obituary.” The Jewish Criterion” Vol. 133, No. 12, Page 20. Posted courtesy of “Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project,” http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/pjn         (Click to enlarge.)

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) 1900 US Federal Census- Year: 1900; Census Place: Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado; Roll: 120; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0126; FHL microfilm: 1240122. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

2) 1910 US Federal Census, [John] Jacob Broida head of household- Year: 1910; Census Place: East Pittsburgh Ward 3, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1293; Page: 21A; Enumeration District: 0064; FHL microfilm: 1375306. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

3) 1910 US Federal Census, Joseph J. Broida head of household- Year: 1910; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 5, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1300; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0335; FHL microfilm: 1375313. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

4) 1920 US Federal Census, Joseph J. Broida Head of Household- Year: 1920; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 13, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1522; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 525; Image: 211. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

5) 1930 US Federal Census, Joe J. Broida Head of Household- Year: 1930; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1978; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0235; Image: 287.0; FHL microfilm: 2341713. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.

6) 1940 US Federal Census, Joe J. Broida Head of Household- Year: 1940; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T627_3663; Page: 63A; Enumeration District: 69-403. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

7) World War I Draft Registration Card for Joseph Jacob Broida- Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Allegheny; Roll: 1908758; Draft Board: 10. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

8) World War II Draft Registration Card for Joseph Jacob Broida- The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II draft cards (Fourth Registration) for the State of Pennsylvania; State Headquarters: Pennsylvania; Microfilm Series: M1951; Microfilm Roll: 34. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

9) Most of this information has been posted on the Find A Grave memorial for Joseph Jacob Broida- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=144823565

10) Family treasure chest of photos.

 

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