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.

Broida Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

The circus coming to town generated lots of excitement throughout the centuries, even through the first quarter of the 20th century. In times when the major public entertainments were lecturers, singers, some stage theater, and finally silent movies (until 1927 when ‘talkies’ were introduced), the circus brought exotic people, titillating costumes, wild animals, and daring acts to big cities and even small towns throughout the land. The circus parade through town as the people, equipment, and animals were unloaded was a fabulous advertising gimmick to get the town wishing to attend, and ready to rush in to buy tickets and explore the shows.

We know the appeal of the circus affected our wishful ancestors, with at least two of them- Max Broida/Buster Brodie and Jefferson Springsteen- running off to join the circus when young. Max Broida, AKA Buster Brodie in Hollywood, was likely a performer since he later became an actor; he possibly was a clown as he was very short and very bald, even when young. We do not know what Jefferson Springsteen did as a young man in the circus, however. He was a painter later in life, so perhaps he painted signs, backdrops, etc. Jeff was a good rider as a young man- he delivered mail on horseback through the wilds of early Indiana, so possibly he was a part of the trick riders found in most circuses. It would be great to know more about what they did in the circus- their stories of those times must have been amazing!

We had ancestors in Marion, Ohio (Beerbowers)  in 1923, so they would have possibly been a part of this excitement. Those in rural areas would come into town as well, so the circus was a huge community event. Countless more of our ancestors in other towns enjoyed the circus through the years, whether they had seats at a show, crept in under the tent as a wild young boy, wandered through the aisles of the set up circus, or just watched the parade in town.

Old movies show young boys skipping school to go watch the circus set up, but even those children still sitting at their desks likely had their minds elsewhere- and maybe even their teachers did too! So the above 1923 article from the Marion Daily Star in Marion, Ohio, gives us a hint as to how important circus days were to a town.

Apparently there were requests to close down the school on circus parade day, but the school board thought they would instead follow what had occurred in previous years: parents could write a note to excuse their student to attend. (Can you imagine that in today’s world of high-stakes education??) The board was smart though in their decision, as students would likely have more interest in geography and biology after seeing an elephant in person with its exotic Indian trainer, or a tiger jumping through hoops of fire. (Good teachers would have taken advantage of this too.) Persons from around the globe would have been part of the circus, and learning more about a ‘Chinaman’ or African pygmy (terminology of the time used in advertisements) would have been a way to teach students about diversity in a world where little of that existed at that time. (It was probably more of a novelty back then vs. diversity training, however.)

Those who didn’t have the pennies to attend the circus were not forgotten- the schools would be notified when the parade started, and students would be allowed to attend the parade before continuing their studies in the afternoon.

April 25, 1923, must have been a very exciting day for our wishful ancestors in Marion, Ohio!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) School not to be dismissed for the circus. Marion Daily Star, Marion, Ohio, 17 Apr 1923, Vol. XLVII, No. 122, P 12. Used with permission.

2) Max Broida/Buster Brodie and the circus: The Real Max Broida, AKA Buster Brodie at http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/10/the-real-max-broida-aka-buster-brodie/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/10/the-real-max-broida-aka-buster-brodie/

3) Jefferson Springsteen and the circus: There are three parts to the series concerning Jeff’s obituary that includes the circus story- see Wishful Wednesday: Jefferson Springsteen was “Lured by the Sawdust Ring…” at http://heritageramblings.net/2014/10/08/wishful-wednesday-jefferson-springsteen-was-lured-by-the-sawdust-ring/ for the first post.

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

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Samuel Charles Broida was born on 30 March 1879  in Vilna, Lithuania/ Russia, to Morris Karklinsky (?-1893) and Leah Berman Karklinsky (1842-1917). He arrived in the United States somewhere between 1891-1897 per his census records.

Isabel “Bella” Friedberg was born in Russia to unknown parents in June, 1881. Her arrival date in the US varies from 1890-1892 per the censuses.

On 10 Nov 1903, Isabel “Bella” Friedberg and Samuel Charles Broida filed for a marriage license in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which they both also listed as their current residence. Belle did not know the day of the month she was born on when they filled out the paperwork.(Or maybe she was too excited to be able to remember? People did not celebrate birthdays in such a big way back then.)  They were married the next day, on 11 Nov 1903.

Bella and Samuel had 5 children- 2 girls, 3 boys, born from 1905-1921.

By the 1920 census the family had moved to Burgettstown, Washington Co., Pennsylvania, where Samuel worked as a merchant in dry goods. By 1930 they were back in Pittsburgh, with Samuel listed in the US Federal Census as a proprietor of a drugstore.

Bella died 20 January 1945 with Samuel surviving her until 8 November 1958. They are buried together after 41 years of marriage in Westview Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in Section B, Lot 55.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Find A Grave Memorial for Samuel C. Broida
   http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=145116718
   
2. Find A Grave Memorial for Isabella “Bella” Friedberg Broida
   http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=145116635
3. No plagiarism here- I wrote the bios for the memorials, so am adding them to the blog to help make them easier to find.

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

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Sometimes I get the strangest emails…

Tonight’s snippet in the email list was “What do you think about the passed out drunk…”

OK.

Thankfully I knew who the sender was, so clicked to read the rest.

There are some wonderful folks out there who love the Three Stooges and work to document all those who have appeared in films with them, either as the Stooges or when they worked separately. My original blog post on Max Broida/Buster Brodie and a photo I added of Max on his Find A Grave memorial helped two of these folks to contact me for more information, and they shared what they knew as well. That was helpful, as I had been researching Max obsessively for a number of months and had some posts almost done. (You can read all the previous Max/Buster posts just by putting his name in the search box above.)

Today we have a mystery from these wonderful Stooge-film-o-philes:

Is Buster Brodie the drunk lying down on the stairs or by the bar?

Bit players and extras were not always credited in films, and Max is not listed as part of the cast in this 1948 short from Columbia Pictures Corporation entitled, “Crime on Their Hands.” The character of the drunk does look somewhat like Max.

The film was made in September of 1947, and released in 1948. Max died of a heart attack on 9 April 1948, at the young age of 62. We have not found any images of him in his last years except the film images in our other posts. Strangely, we know of no family pictures of Max other than what we have shared- that seems odd to have no pictures when there was a family member “in pictures”!

Let us know what you think in the comments section. Could those be Buster’s ears sticking out under the hat in the stairway scene? Looks to be a match, but if the hat is pushed down, they could be just ‘normal’ ears. How about the chin? Looks similar to me. The man in black in the bar scene, however, looks a bit tall, I think- the bartender is 5’6″ per the notes from the Stooge group. (We have tried to find a WWI or II Draft Registration for Max to learn his actual height, but those are still elusive.) Family stories are that he was less than 5′ tall, and the image of Buster with the “Little People” shows that he could not have been much taller than that, especially since he played a ‘Flying Monkey’ in “The Wizard of Oz.” This actor looks slimmer than other images I have seen of Max, but since he was possibly having health problems at that point, he might have been losing weight. Buster had no eyebrows or eyelashes, so if we could enlarge the images enough yet retain clarity, we might be able to tell. (The makeup department could have altered that though.)

It would be interesting to learn if there were letters from Max written back to Pennsylvania, to his father and many brothers. Wonder who ended up with his personal effects after he passed away? He probably had very little, since he was working at a racetrack to try to make ends meet- always a struggling actor. But we might learn just a bit more about Max, if we could find some artifacts in the back of a closet to tell more of his story.

In the meantime, doubtless Max would be very pleased that Buster Brodie lives on to make people laugh, and is remembered. Thank you, family. Thank you, dear Stooge-film-o-philes, AKA the ThreeStooges Fan Club.

Here is a bit more information about the Three Stooges researchers who have helped us get to know Max Broida as Buster Brodie a bit better:

OUR MISSION

To collect, preserve and interpret historically or culturally significant pieces of Stoogeabilia in order to further the enjoyment and appreciation of the Three Stooges and to maintain the legacy of their comedy for future generations.

Containing close to 100,000 pieces of Stoogeabilia, the Stoogeum (rhymes with museum) offers fans a chance to view a vast array of artifacts which celebrate the legacy of this legendary comedy team. The 10,000 square-foot, 3-story building houses anything and everything Stooge. Artifacts from 1918 to the present are on exhibit, including several interactive displays. The Stoogeum also contains a research library, a 16MM film storage vault and an 85-seat theater used for film screenings, lectures, and special presentations. The Stoogeum is also the headquarters of the ThreeStooges Fan Club, one of the nation’s oldest and largest fan clubs with 2,000 members world-wide. An annual meeting of the fan club brings together Stooges relatives, supporting actors, impersonators and fans with the Stoogeum at the hub of the event. The Stoogeum is located at 904 Sheble Lane, Ambler, PA 19002

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Buster Brodie/Max Broida memorial on Find A Grave- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7472866
   Unfortunately his memorial is listed as one for a ‘famous’ person, so FAG administers it rather than family. I did send them edits which they made so that he could be properly linked to family.
2. Buster Brodie page on “The Three Stooges Online Filmography”- http://threestooges.net/cast/actor/826/
3. “The Three Stooges Journal”- http://threestooges.net/journal
   (As a science and history person, I never thought I would put those four words together. But I will admit, as a kid I did ROFL on Saturday mornings at their antics, though even back then, I hated the way they treated women.)
4. “Three Stooges Lost Players” blog- http://stoogesplayers.blogspot.com
5. The Stoogeum- ThreeStooges Fan Club or http://stoogeum.com. (They have a ‘Contact Us’ link if you are interested in joining the fan club or just nyuck nyucking around.)

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

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

The second eldest surviving child of John “Zelig” Jacob (Karklinsky) Broida and Sarah Gitel Frank Broida, Louis was born in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania on 7 January 1884. The family lived in Pittsburgh, with his father a merchant there.

When Louis’ mother, Gitel, became ill with tuberculosis and moved to Denver for her health around 1900, Louis, then 16, and his younger brother Max (listed as ‘Moros’ in census) went to live with their paternal aunt, Kate Broida York, and her family of 11. In 1910 Louis was living in his brother Joseph J. Broida’s household.

Lilian Bildhauer was born on 2 July 1892, possibly in Pittsburgh. One of three daughters and a son of Robert Bildhauer (b. Feb 1860-Germany) and Bina ___ (b. Nov 1861-Germany), Lillian Bildhauer grew up in Pittsburgh, where her father was a butcher.

Louis and Lillian married about 1913 estimated from birth of their first child. He was a merchant, primarily in haberdashery. He was also a manager of “The Hub” in 1934 in Pittsburgh, but we have been unable to determine what type of business that was.

Their three daughters were born in 1914, 1920, and 1925, and they lived in Pittsburgh until Louis’ death 18 July 1941.

Lillian survived Louis by 30 years and died 28 March 1971 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Find A Grave Memorial for Lillian Bildhauer Broida- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=147689184
2. Find A Grave Memorial for Louis Broida- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=145116591
3. Family photos. These may be used freely by related family but may not be posted on any commercial websites by others.

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