Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Yesterday’s “Mystery Monday: Leonard Broida Artwork” post told some of the story of Leonard and his family, and his beautiful architectural drawings that have recently come back to the family. Today, we are going to share what might be Leonard’s most enduring legacy to family: the Broida Family Tree.

Leonard was very active in the Broida Family and their reunions through the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and served as family historian.

He also served as President, and his wife Anita (Meyer) Broida was the Broida Newsletter editor.

He spent an unbelievable number of hours and years interviewing and contacting people- in the days before cheap phone calls and the internet- to develop the incredible Broida Family Tree. I wonder how many SASEs he sent out over those years??

We are so thankful that Leonard was so dedicated, as he had known the earlier generations, who were children and grandchildren of the earliest documented; they held the memories passed down through the years. So much would have been lost to time without the work of Leonard Broida.

The last iteration we have of Leonard’s tree is from 1954, 62 years ago. Two-three more generations have been born since then!

We have learned in these days of online records that some of the tree is not quite accurate, and there are some confusing spots that need a bit of work to sort out.

It doesn’t matter- what a labor of love! Mitch Gooze is the current keeper of the Broida tree, and though his is electronic and thus not quite as decorative, the tree is now up to date as far as we know. I hope that this blog is also a way of keeping the family history alive- how I wish we had recorded interviews and the letters from Leonard’s correspondence! We have so many people who have contributed so much to the knowledge of the Broida family ancestors, and hope that trough the blog, social media, websites like Ancestry.com and Find A grave, we will learn much more.

I think that Leonard would be proud that the family has carried on his work, and so honored our ancestors.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. SASE= self-addressed, stamped envelope. For our younger generations, old-time genealogy consisted of writing a note with pen and paper or typing it on a manual or electric typewriter, then sending that note in an actual paper envelope. One always included a SASE, since asking for the favor of a reply with information. One would not burden the letter recipient with having to buy an envelope or stamp, nor take the time to address an envelope.
2. “Mystery Monday: Leonard Broida Artwork“-   http://heritageramblings.net/2016/04/04/mystery-monday-leonard-broida-artwork/

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Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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.

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.

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.

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

 ➡ 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

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.

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.

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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

➡ Broida Family Ancestor

So much for a quick check of my email…

An email from GeneaBloggers Daily reported that Family Tree Magazine had listed the “75 Best Genealogy Websites for USA Research.” So of course I cruised onto the FTM website despite my meticulous list of all the things I needed to do today that did not include genealogy. I was excited to see that the article was titled, “75 Best Genealogy Websites for U. S. States in 2014.” There, in a state-by-state listing, were state repositories, rather than general lists that covered the whole country. It was exactly what I needed.

Gittel Frank Broida is one of our family brick walls. We were elated this past year to learn that her maiden name was Frank, and that a cousin had found her death certificate in Colorado, even though she was buried in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately the link no longer took us right to the certificate, as it might in many states. Since the time of finding the link, Colorado has apparently deemed it an invasion of privacy to put online a death certificate that is 114 years old. So I paid my money and sent lots of information, including a driver’s license image and a notarized statement that my husband wrote that he was requesting the death certificate of his g-g-grandmother. After a few weeks I finally got a message back that he was not eligible to receive the death certificate, as he had to be within 2 generations of the deceased, and the money I sent was taken as research fees. Sadly there is no one around 114 years later that fits the requirement of only 1-2 generations from the ancestor, so no death certificate for us. (A good reminder- save/make copies of what you find online- it may be even more ephemeral than paper!)

Seeing that there were two repositories listed for Colorado in the Family Tree Magazine article, I knew I had to do the searches. The Colorado State Archives was the first search, with 3 hits for “Broida”:

BROIDA, Sarah Gasse,  ID 195474, Death Record, Archive Location R90, County of Denver, and the date was 1901-APR-14

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

CORONATION EMBROIDAY HOOP Co., ID 816923, Incorporation records, Archive Location S500, (no county listed), 1903-MAY-28

It took me a minute to realize why that third search result was in there- my mind read “Embroidery” but it was spelled differently and the name “Broida” was right in the middle.

The other two hits were great though.

I had forgotten that Gittel was listed with ‘Sarah’ as her first name in some of the burial records, but I have not heard the name ‘Gasse.’ Her maiden name was Frank, so it will be interesting to see where ‘Gasse’ came from, with further research. The death date and place were correct, however, so this is most likely our Gittel.

Years ago we were surprised to find Gittel and John in Denver, Colorado in the 1900 US Federal Census- initially thought it was a mistake, as they had lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for most of their lives after age 20 or so when they migrated to the US from Russian Lithuania. At first we assumed that the census taker found them in Denver during an extended visit with their son, but then realized John was employed and a number of people lived in the home. More recent research, however, told us that Gittel acquired ‘pulmonary tuberculosis,’ so they had probably moved to Denver in hopes of the cleaner mountain air helping her to breathe easier. Sadly, that was not to be, and she passed away 14 April 1901.  She was buried in Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Cemetery in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. (See the previous post, “Mystery Monday-Gitel/Gertrude (Frank) Broida.”)

Looking back at my ‘Mystery Monday’ post on Gitel (always review your previous research!), the light bulb went on- the name “Gasse” might be explained by the way Gitel was enumerated in the 1900 census- as “Gussie.” Gitel and John’s granddaughter, Gertude Broida Cooper, remembered her immigrant grandfather as having a very thick accent (she never knew her paternal grandmother)- Gitel probably did as well. So that may explain the names. One more mystery- SOLVED.

The next step was to get the record for Gittel from the Colorado State Archives, so I contacted the Archives via email. More on that later, and Theodore Broida, too.

Oh yes- I got so excited about what I found that I didn’t really mention a Tuesday’s Tip. Not sure if it should be:

1) Read a lot of genealogy blogs and follow up on the resources they mention; OR

2) Check out state repositories every now and then to see what new items are online; OR

3) Review your research at later times- something you just learned may make something else ‘click’; OR

4) Just ignore the “dumb-stuff-ya-gotta-do” and do genealogy as it comes to you.

My “Tuesday’s Tip” should probably be all of the above. I wish 4) could happen more often.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) GeneaBloggers Daily. 22 Jan 2015. http://paper.li/geneabloggers/1306385546?edition_id=24394720-a2a3-11e4-8c49-0cc47a0d1605&utm_campaign=paper_sub&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscription#!technology

2) Crume, Rick.  75 Best Genealogy Websites for US States in 2014. 20 Jan 2015.  Family Tree Magazine/FW Media. http://familytreemagazine.com/article/2014-best-state-genealogy-websites

3) Colorado State Archives: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/archives/archives-search

4) See my 25 Nov 2013 post, “Mystery Monday- Gitel/Gertrude (Frank) Broida at http://heritageramblings.net/2013/11/25/mystery-monday-gitelgertude-frank-broida/.

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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.