Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

John Jacob or Zelig, whose surname originally was Karklinsky, changed his name to Broida after arriving in the United States about 1874. John and his wife Sarah Gitel Frank (1859-1901) were originally born in Lithuania. At that time, Lithuania was a part of Russia, and the town he came from was called Eišiškės (AKA Polish: Ejszyszki, Russian: Эйши́шки/Eishishki, Belarusian: Эйшы́шкі/Eishyshki, Yiddish: אײשישאׇק‎/Eyshishok). The Jews were  the largest percentage of the population until World War II, when the Jews were massacred. Thankfully John and his family had escaped prior to that time.

Gertrude (Broida) Cooper, granddaughter of John Broida through his son Phillip Broida, told the story that John Broida always had a thick Yiddish accent- the family spoke Yiddish at home per a number of censuses- and that he wanted to go be with his own as Palestine became a “national home for the Jewish people.” This was part of the British Mandate for Palestine in the 1920s, after World War I, through the League of Nations. John emigrated around this time, possibly with his second wife, Fannie. (Gitel died in 1901.)

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family oral history.
2. Wikipedia

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Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Morris Broida was born 13 Jul 1896 in Pennsylvania, likely Pittsburgh, as the seventh son of John Zelig Broida and Sarah ‘Gitel’ Frank Broida. When his mother became ill with tuberculosis, the family’s young children were sent to live with family while John and Gitel went to Colorado with their youngest and oldest sons. Sadly, Gitel did not survive despite the clean mountain air and Denver ‘sanitariums’ for tuberculosis patients, and passed away on 14 April 1901 in Denver; Morris was not yet 5 years old.

We believe that Morris and his brother Harold had been sent to live with his father’s cousin Jacob Broida in St. Louis, though we cannot find him/them in a 1900 census. They are listed in the 1910 enumeration with the census noting the relationship of the boys as ‘nephew.’ Their older brother Philip Broida may have lived there as well, but was not enumerated on that census- nor any others that we can find anywhere.

The boys stayed in St. Louis after their mother’s death, we believe- it would have been very difficult for John Broida to raise seven sons alone while trying to earn a living. John did remarry, about 1904, to Fannie Rubenstein.

The tintype picture below is from a portrait about 1908 that included Philip, Morris, and Harold with their father, and may suggest that three of the boys went to St. Louis, since only the three sons are included. (Alternatively, Philip may have accompanied his father to visit them.)

By the 1910 census, Morris and Harold were enumerated in St. Louis with their “Uncle” Jacob, but the other sons were listed in Pittsburgh, living with their father, step-mother, and their ‘sister’ Ethel, who we believe was Fannie’s daughter by a previous marriage. (See previous posts listed below for a discussion of this time period for the Broidas.)

Morris married about 1915, thus the first photo and these following may have been of a honeymoon with his new wife Rose L. __.

Rose’s parents were also born in Lithuania, as were Morris.’ Rose may have been born 13 Dec 1897, and records vary as to whether she was born in Pennsylvania or Russia.

Their daughter Sylvia was born about 1917:

The family was living in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania during the 1920 census enumeration, and Morris was working on his own account as a retail grocer. “Rosie” was listed with her family from Lithuania as well as Morris’ and they spoke “Jewish” at home. Their son Saul was born about 1921, and son Daniel about 1926.

In the 1930 US Federal Census, the Morris Broidas were living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and owned their home that was worth $6,500; they had a radio, too. Morris was listed as a buyer for ladies underwear, and the family spoke Yiddish at home.

The family moved to Coral Gables, Dade, Florida sometime between 1935, when they were still in Philadelphia, and the April, 1940 census. Sylvia was likely married by then? and not enumerated with the family. Morris was working as a buyer in a department store, and had worked 52 weeks of the previous year, making $2500, or about $48 per week, and stated he was working 50 hours per week. He did report income form other sources as well. Son Saul was 19 and after completing 4 years of high school, was working as a stock boy at a department store- possibly the same store as Morris? Saul had worked 26 weeks and made $800 (about $30/week) for his 44 hour weeks. Daniel was 13 and still attending school, in 8th grade. The census notes that both Morris and Rose had completed 7th grade- they definitely provided for their children so that their lives could be even better.

Morris passed away at the young age of 66, in April of 1963 in Dade County, Florida. Rosie survived him by four years, passing away on 8 Feb 1967, also in Dade, FL.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Images are from the Family Treasure Chest of Photos. They may be used freely by family members, but may not be published by others on any commercial website.
2. Death dates are from Florida and Social Security death indexes, and need to be confirmed that these are the correct people.
3. Links to pertinent posts- note name of post within link:
   
   http://heritageramblings.net/2015/05/18/mystery-monday-who-was-ethel-broida-pincus/http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/02/matrilineal-monday-where-were-the-children-of-sarah-gitel-broida-in-1900/http://heritageramblings.net/2015/01/27/tuesdays-tip-broida-family-research-in-denver-colorado-repositories/http://heritageramblings.net/2015/01/29/those-places-thursday-denver-colorado-and-the-broida-family/Use our ‘Search’ function to find other Broida posts.

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

(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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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family-

The lack of knowledge concerning the death date, place, and final resting place of  a woman who bore 10 children and now has countless great-great-grandchildren has always puzzled me. Gitel, as she was called by the family, seemed to have just faded away. I have searched on and off through the years, hoping that more would be available to help find this dear woman. Finally, there is, though not all questions are answered- yet.

One big clue was a transcription from The Jewish Criterion of 1 May 1936, page 22:

J. J. Broida for two sets Chumoshim and Machseirim in memory of his mother,

Sarah Gitel Broida and wife, Fannie Broida.

“J. J.” would be Joseph Jacob Broida (1882-1958), who married Fannie Glick. This notice told me that Gitel’s formal first name was “Sarah.”

Then I started thinking about information I had found for a ‘Sarah G. Broida”- I had not known who that was until I started comparing what I knew about Gitel and what I was seeing about Sarah. They were the same person!

Family oral history was that Gitel died at age 39 of tuberculosis, so I had surmised her death year as being 1898. We knew she had passed away sometime between the birth of their last son, Harold (25 Dec 1897), and the time that John “Zelig” remarried in 1904. The date given for Sarah G’s death on JewishGen.org was 14 Apr 1901, so it fit within the parameters. Sarah G. was buried in Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Cemetery in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, as was the Broida’s little son Samuel who died at just 2 years of age. (See Samuel Broida- An Unknown Son of John (Zelig) Broida and Gitel Frank?) Hmmm, the evidence is increasing…

A most intriguing part of this search was that we found “Gussie”, John, their oldest son Joseph J., and youngest son Harold (See Harold and Leah (Schreiber) Broida of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), in Denver Colorado for the 07 Jun 1900 US Federal Census. They were not just visiting, as John was employed as a merchant in dry goods, and Joseph was working as a clerk in a clothing house; they also had a husband, his wife, and the couple’s two children boarding with them in their rented home. As John’s wife was listed as “Gussie,” I initially thought maybe he had already remarried. Checking the census entry further revealed that he had been married to his wife “Gussie” for 19 years, so the woman had to be Gitel. The census also listed that “Gussie” had borne 10 children but only 7 were still living, which lends credence to the find about baby Samuel. The family was listed as living at 1655 Eliot in the 1900 Denver City Directory, and again in 1901, same residence, but John was working in men’s furnishing goods at a business at 1628 Latimer.

Why were they in Denver, Colorado??? John and family had always worked in the clothing business, and had lived in or near the city. As one family member put it, “… I can’t picture Zelig out on the wild frontier.” But cool, pure mountain air was considered a cure-all at the turn of the 20th century. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, hundreds of ‘sanitariums’ and hospitals were started in the mountains, touting all sort sof health benefits in their advertising throughout newspapers and magazines. Maybe Zelig and Gitel had moved out to Colorado to ‘find the cure’ for the cough that Gitel had that eventually became tuberculosis. They would probably have taken their oldest son to help the family with income and caring for the youngest son and Gitel, if she was already ill.

Did Gitel die in Colorado? Death certificates were not required in Colorado until 1900, but that was not enforced until 1925. Denver was in Arapahoe County until 1902, so if Gitel died in 1901, her death may be recorded in Arapahoe rather than Denver County; I have a query out to the Vital Records Department. Or did she choose to go home to see her other children, once she knew she was not getting better in Colorado, and then die in Pittsburgh? Pittsburgh did not start recording deaths until 1906, so we cannot learn the answer there. Jewish customs dictate that it is important to honor the dead by burying them as quickly as possible, so this seems to me the more likely scenario. What do you think? Any cousins out there who can help us answer these remaining questions?

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) 1900 US Federal census for Gussie and John Broida: Source Citation: 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. Accessed 11-19-2013.

2) Denver, CO City Directory, 1900 and 1910: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

3) Lest one think that genealogy is just a matter of entering a few names and shaky leaves will tell you everything else, here is just a partial list of records reviewed in one afternoon of searching for Gitel’s death date and burial place (Indexes & websites searched for Gitel’s grave, all accessed 11-25-2013.):

Find A Grave: findagrave.com

Denver Obituary Indexes 1900-2000

Denver Area cemeteries: http://history.denverlibrary.org/research/denver_cemeteries.html

Riverside in Denver: http://www.block12riverside.com and http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~coadams/riverside/b.htm

All Adams Co. Cemeteries listed at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~coadams/index.html#query (contains a portion of Riverside cem, and was part of Arapahoe Co. prior to 1902)

Fairmount Cemetery @ http://www.fairmount-cemetery.com. Removals from the Hebrew Burying and Prayer Ground were re-interred in the Emanuel Sections of Fairmount. Their website does not indicate any Broidas buried there, but I have a query out to them.

Denver Public Library Digital Collections: http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/search

4) PA Dept of Health death Indices: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1085804&mode=2

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Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.