Broida Family (Click to see family tree)

The real Max Broida, also known as “Buster Brodie” on stage (See “Talented Tuesday- Max Broida-Now Starring as Buster Brodie“), was the third of ten children born to Zelig/John Jacob Broida and his wife, Sarah Gitel Frank Broida. John and Gitel were immigrants, born in Eišiškes, Salcininkai, Lithuania (also known as Eishyshok, Poland or Russia) in the late 1850s. John came to the US in 1874, and Gitel in 1881, the same year they married. (We don’t know if the plan was for John to come first and get established, then bring over Gitel, or if John had traveled back to his homeland and asked her to join him and marry, or if they met in the US.) Max was born 11 October 1885 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Max was brought up in Pittsburgh, which had a flourishing Jewish population.  There were many Russian immigrants too, so they would have had some sense of ‘home.’ John had a very strong Yiddish accent even into the 1930s, per his grand-daughter, so Max probably spoke Yiddish, and maybe knew Hebrew as well. Max’s younger brother Samuel Broida, born in 1889, died in 1891 at the age of 2 years, 9 months; two other siblings died young. By 1897, with the birth of Max’s youngest brother Harold H. Broida, it was a family of seven sons. They seemed to have moved fairly frequently but stayed in Pittsburgh, where the family of nine was living at 1102 Fifth Avenue in 1899.

The year 1900, when Max was 14, was a difficult year. The family had moved to Denver, Colorado by 07 June 1900 when the census was taken- but only part of the family was in Denver. John, Gitel, their oldest son Joseph Jacob Broida, and youngest son, Harold H. “Harry” Broida were with them. There were four boarders in the home, but their other five sons could not be found in the census.

Much research over many years culminated in us learning that Gitel had died of pulmonary tuberculosis in Denver. So dear Max and four of his brothers had been separated from their mother for almost a year, maybe two years, and she likely died tragically without all her children by her side. Her body was returned to Pennsylvania for burial, where all her sons could pay their last respects. (See posts listed in notes below for details.)

But where had Max been during those years? We finally realized that the school-age sons had been placed with relatives while Gitel and John were in Denver. Max, who was enumerated as “Moros” (so we initially thought it was his brother Morris listed, but the age was wrong) and with an earlier birthdate (August 1885) along with his older brother Louis, age 16, were living with their paternal aunt, Kate Broida York, and her family in the Carnegie Borough of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. They were noted as nephews, and their nine cousins, ranging in age from 27 to 3, were living in the household as well. Kate’s husband Joseph York was a dry goods merchant, and his two oldest sons, as well as Louis, may have worked in the store with him. Max and the other children likely helped out at the store when they were done with their schoolday.

In 1910, the John Broida family was enumerated mostly together again. Max, age 24, was living with his father, who had remarried about 1904 to Fannie __, plus an ‘aunt’ Ethel (may not be actually related but was treated like a sister), and his brothers Joseph, Louis, Phillip, and Theodore. Max’s youngest brothers, Morris, age 14, and Harold, 13, had continued living in St. Louis, Missouri with their ‘uncle’ Jacob, who actually was their father’s cousin. There are family stories that some of the boys were not very happy in their temporary homes after Gitel’s move to Denver and her subsequent death. It must have been a very hard time for a close-knit family to be separated.

Max, Phillip, and Theodore were listed as laborers in a shop in the 1910 census, with Louis listed as a clerk in a clothing store, and Joseph a merchant. Their father was the proprietor of a clothing store, so it is possible that some or all of the sons worked for him. They might also have worked for Frank & Seder, a Pittsburgh department store. Their mother’s maiden name was Frank, many Broidas worked in the Frank & Seder stores, and the families socialized together as well.

We do not know what happened next, or when for Max Broida. His oldest brother Joseph married about 1906, Phillip in 1910, brothers Louis and Morris both about 1913, Theodore married in 1916, and Harold about 1918. The above picture is from the wedding portrait of Theodore Broida and Lucy Shatzke in Denver, Colorado, on 20 Aug 1916- perhaps Max was the Best Man?

Max’s father, John/Zelig Broida, and his wife Fannie emigrated to Tel Aviv, Israel, in September of 1920. He did come back to visit at least once, in June of 1937. Hopefully Max was able to see his father at that time. Zelig died in 1938, in Israel.

The obituaries for Max in the Los Angeles Times and in Variety tell us that Buster Brodie, Max’s stage name, was an original ‘Buster Brown,’ and he toured the country advertising Buster Brown shoes, possibly even working in plays as Buster Brown. He also worked in the circus, maybe as a clown (did he run away from home to join the circus?), and vaudeville as well before he began his film career in the mid-1920s. Film was the new medium and Buster Brodie was in silent films and then graduated to the talkies when they began. We know he was in a silent short in 1925, and was still acting in movies in 1947. There are a few years that we do not know what he was in- 1929, 1930, 1936, 1939, and 1948, the year of his death. It is hard to see how he could have supported himself some years, with so little work produced. (The years noted on his filmography are the years the picture was released, so he may have worked more hours than it appears.) Buster/Max may have needed to work a second job, as so many actors must do to pay the bills.

Documenting Max or Buster is difficult in Los Angeles. There was a ‘Max M. Brodie,’ salesman, listed as a Republican and living at 651 W. 42nd Place, in Los Angeles in the 1916 California Voter Registrations. Could this be our Max Broida, working while trying to break into film?

‘Max Buster Brodie’ was listed as a salesman in the 1924 California Voters Register for Los Angeles, living at 1020 W. Pico St., and registered as a Republican. (Note the new middle name.)

Next we find ‘Buster M. Brodie’ at 2603 W. Pico St., working as an actor, and noted as a Republican in the 1928 California Voters Register. Buster/Max was not listed in 1929-1931, but then we find him listed with the same name (‘Buster M. Brodie’) and address in the 1932 Los Angeles City Directory. He was also listed that year in the Voters Register, at 1843 W. 6th St.; he declined to state his political party.

Interestingly, the ‘Max M. Brodie,’ salesman, from 1916 was listed in 1932 at 1043 W. 6th St., and a Republican. He also was listed in years between, and a Mrs. Elizabeth J. Brodie, a housewife and Republican, lived at the same address for many of those years. No one has found evidence that Max ever married. Mrs. Brodie was also listed in the Voter’s Registration book after Buster died in 1948, as was ‘Max M. Brodie.’ Names have sometimes been continued on the voter’s roles after death, or is this evidence that they are not the same man?

Another intriguing bit of information: ‘Max M. Brodie’ lived at 1043 W 6th St in 1932, and ‘Buster M. Brodie lived at 1843. In 1936, Buster M. Brodie, actor, was living at 1043 W 6th St, where Max M. lived 4 years earlier. Is this a joke these guys/this guy is playing on future family historians? One would think the Voter Registration Books would get it correct, but Max was an actor, and who knows how many personas he could have presented? Or perhaps the imagination rambles too far…

Buster M. Brodie, actor, was found in the 1939 Los Angeles City Directory at 5640 Santa Monica Blvd. That is the address of the El Cortez Hotel, where he was a resident for many years. Buster died there on 09 April 1948. His close friend Chester Conklin, himself a comedian, found Buster, who died of a heart attack at age 61. (Chester is an interesting person- his fourth marriage was to a woman he met in the home for elderly actors- he was 79.)

Buster Brodie was buried in Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in Lot 5, Section 7690, Memorial G. He is listed on Find A Grave in the ‘Famous’ section.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

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

2) 1900 US Federal Census for John Broida: 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.

3) Posts that detail more of the Denver story:

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/02/matrilineal-monday-where-were-the-children-of-sarah-gitel-broida-in-1900/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/06/friday-follow-up-death-record-of-sarah-gitel-frank-broida/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/11/wordless-wednesday-mortuary-record-for-sarah-gitel-frank-broida/

4) We have not seen information on any census as to name or sex of the unknown sibling, but the 1900 US Federal Census states that Gitel had borne 10 children.

5) 1900 US Federal Census for Max and Louis Broida, Joseph York, head of household- Year: 1900; Census Place: Carnegie Ward 1, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1366; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0354; FHL microfilm: 1241366. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

6) 1910 US Federal Census for Jacob (John) 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.

7) Los Angeles City Directory, 1939- Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

8) California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 on Ancestry.com.

9) An image of 5640 Santa Monica Blvd.- not a very good part of Los Angeles these days.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.090766,-118.312778,3a,75y,182.9h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sTdOrFA4ii0KG0oLcVNsxPQ!2e 

9) Chester C. Conklin (1886-1971) was a comedian who acted in silent films as well as talkies- over 280 of them. He created a character and broke into vaudeville, then minstrel shows and circuses as a clown. He may have met Buster Brodie in one of these venues, or they may have met out in Hollywood. Conklin became one of Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Keystone Kops’ and they became lifelong friends.  Both Chester and Buster worked in many studios, and both with the Three Stooges (though in separate shorts). Conklin was married four times- his last in 1965 when he was 79, she 65; they both were living at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital. Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Conklin

10) See also “Talented Tuesday: Max Broida-Now Starring as Buster Brodie”- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/07/talented-tuesday-max-broida-now-starring-as-buster-brodie/

11) Again, a special thanks to Frank Reighter, who shared the above obituaries and other information about Buster’s career.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

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.

 

Original content 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.

(click to see family tree)

[NOTE: Edited 04/28/15 to add newly found information.]

You know how there are those amazing character actors in movies- especially the older, black & white movies- in which you never know the name of the actor, but you recognize them on sight? It’s always a bit part, sometimes playing the villain, sometimes as comedy relief, or sometimes they are the right-hand person of the main character, but never the one in charge. If you like old b&w movies, and are a Broida, you may have seen one of your cousins on the screen, be it a small b&w tv with rabbit ears on top, or today’s fantastic curved digital HD 70+ inch screens in our own homes. That cousin on the screen would be Max Broida, who used the stage name “Buster Brodie.”

In fact, unless you are one of the maybe 3 Americans who has never seen the 1939 version of “The Wizard of Oz” with Judy Garland, you have seen Buster in action- he was a flying monkey.

Comedy appeared to be Buster’s thing- most of the time he was in shorts or films that were completely comedies, or he was the comedy relief in a more serious film.

Max Broida headed to California likely sometime in the 1920s. He had been in the circus, vaudeville, and on the stage, even traveling the country as ‘Buster Brown,’ the comic strip mascot used by Brown Shoes in St. Louis. (‘Buster Brown’ was a young boy with a pageboy hairdo and a fussy little suit who was always getting in trouble. Max was short so could pass as a boy; often midgets/little people acted as Buster Brown in the theatre and advertisements.) Max probably wanted to make it in the then-silent shorts, which came before longer film technology started to become available in the late 1920s. It is estimated that about 1,000 film ‘shorts’ were released each of the years of that decade, and Buster hoped to be in a lot of them!

We don’t know why or when Buster took the stage name, ‘Buster Brodie.’ Buster Keaton was a very popular comedian at the time, and Max may have wanted to trade on that name. Playing Buster Brown may also have been a part of the decision, with kids calling out to him, “Buster! Over here, Buster!” Being a part of a circus was probably frowned upon by his family, and acting may have been as well, so Max might have altered his last name to help ‘protect’ them from gossip. The ‘Broida’ family name was actually relatively new anyway- it was a name some Karklinskys took once they immigrated to the US.

We do know that in 1910, Max Broida was enumerated in the US Federal Census in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a laborer in a shop (possibly his father’s clothing shop). The 1920 census entry for Max/Buster has not yet been found, and the earliest name change we know of was in 1928, when Max Broida registered to vote in California with the name “Buster M. Brodie.’

Max/Buster may have worked in vaudeville with Wheeler & Woolsey, a famous vaudeville comic duo of the time. Wheeler & Woolsey made the film, “Cracked Nuts” in 1931, with Boris Karloff playing a comic villain named, interestingly, “Boris.” (One year later, Karloff would star in his breakthrough, Frankenstein.)  Max played the “Royal Humidor” in this movie. (A humidor is a container for cigars that kept them from drying out too much.) “Cracked Nuts” had W&W, the comic duo, shooting back and forth a conversation about the towns of “What” and “Which”- obviously a precursor to Abbott & Costello’s more refined and comedic, “Who’s on First.” And Buster was a part of that film, with its ground-breaking comedy.

What is ‘funny’ has changed over the years, and some of the jokes may be lost on our generation. Here is a quote from the 1933 RKO Radio Pictures short, “Fits in a Fiddle”:

Pretty Girl: Do you have change for a twenty?

Bobby Clark: Not since 1929.

Knowing history will put this in context- in 1933, our country was in the midst of the Great Depression.

Many silent film stars did not make it into the talkies because they had strange voices, but Buster did have some speaking parts- and a strange voice. It would be interesting to know more about Buster’s career- he must have been in more productions than just those listed, in order to support himself. Note the large number of war-time films. “Hers to Hold” was actually filmed in an aircraft manufacturing plant, and had to be filmed on Sundays in order to avoid disruption of warplane production.

Buster did star with many a Hollywood big name, or big-name-to-be, and was in one genre-defining film, “Island of the Lost Souls,” based on the 1896 (horror) science fiction novel of the same name by H. G. Wells. The makeup used was the beginning of subsequent sophisticated ‘monster’ makeup, and Buster would have experienced it firsthand in his role as the ‘Pig-Man.’

We will tell more of Max’s story in our next post. Check out the notes below to actually see Max in some of his films.

Caution: Please be careful when using these links- they were good at the time of this writing. Also, see note below.

 1925

Half a Hero (a short)

1926

Trimmed in Gold (a short)-Customer in barbershop*

1927

All Aboard

1928

There It Is  (a short)- Fuzz-faced Phantom; silent film comedy with added music score; with Kathryn McGuire and Charlie Bowers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKEtAtjgwTc. See excellent article about Charlie Bowers and note re: Buster Brodie: http://brightlightsfilm.com/forgotten-charleys-i-charley-bowers-silent-comedys-wizard-of-the-bizarre/#.VT9TWjesa-8

Goofy Birds (a short)- Charlie Bowers and Buster Brodie are the only two actors listed for this short

Say Ah-h!  (a short)

1931

Cracked Nuts– Royal Humidor*; with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi. excerpt (without Buster)-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIWWVGsE_Gs. The entire film is also available on video.

City Lights– Bald guest at party*; with Charlie Chaplin.  http://www.hulu.com/watch/215794, excerpts-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_vqnySNhQ0

1932

Island of Lost Souls– Pig Man- a Little Beast*

1933

Fits in a Fiddle (a short)- Orchestra member*

Kickin’ the Crown Around (a short)- Page for the King*

1934

The Big Idea– Little Bald Man (with Ted Healy & His Stooges)

Babes in Toyland– Jack in the Box* with Laurel & Hardy (there are numerous versions so check the date)

Strikes and Spares (a short)- Little bald man* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK8hkWRnhD8. He is the amateur first seen at 3:00- with hair! Definitely racial stereotyping sadly consistent with the times and sexist too.

1935

Kentucky Blue Streak– Jockey* Online at http://free-classic-movies.com/movies-03b/03b-1935-05-01-Kentucky-Blue-Streak/index.php. Buster is a jockey in this film- see 51:23-51:37- always the comedy relief with his funny voice. Also, as an “Easter Egg” (a hidden joke or reference), at 52:34, the rider for the horse “Time Out” is announced as “Buster Brodie.”

1937

Mountain Music– Hillbilly*; with Martha Raye, Gabby Hayes

A Doctor’s Diary– Bald man* See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028793/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm, clip- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvLWOxyiah0

1939

The Wizard of Oz– Flying monkey; with Judy Garland. Flying (Winged) Monkeys scene from the 1939 film”The Wizard of Oz”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SESI19h4wDo

1940

Dance, Girl, Dance– Spectator at Burlesque House*

The Grapes of Wrath– Migrant*; with Henry Fonda

1941

Miss Polly– Bald townsman*; with Kathleen Howard. “Miss Polly” also online at http://free-classic-movies.com/movies-04e/04e-1941-11-14-Miss-Polly/index.php At 33:15, Buster is the bald man with checked shirt and tie sitting on the aisle at the town meeting; Miss Polly taps him on the head.

1942

Tales of Manhattan– Call Boy in the Laughton sequence*; with Charles Laughton, Buster Keaton, Rita Hayworth, Ginger Rogers, Henry Fonda, etc.

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch*

Baby Face Morgan– Curly, a messenger at racetrack*

1943

Nearly Eighteen– Little bald man*; with Gale Storm

Hers to Hold– Popcorn man*; with Deanna Durbin and Joseph Cotten

1944

Lady in the Dark– Clown*; with Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland

Crazy Knights– Baldy; with Shemp Howard from the 3 Stooges

Firebrands of Arizona– Musician*

Step Lively– Bald man*; with Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven

Ghost Catchers– Little bald man in nightclub*; excerpt (but without Buster)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6CrXrj01GA

Show Business– Bald man*; with Eddie Cantor, George Murphy. Original trailer (no Buster)- http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/135165/Show-Business-Original-Trailer-.html. “Show Business” online at http://flixcube.com/watch-show-business-1944-movie-online. Clips of soundtrack: http://tunes.zone/movie-show-business-soundtracks-109030#/play/109030/89330/list_base

Cassanova in Burlesque– Bald man in box*; with Dale Evans, Joe E. Brown

Action in Arabia– Bald man* Original trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W4fcn9KwjQ

Patrick the Great– Bellboy. Musical, with Donald O’Connor. Not found on US websites, but on an Irish film history website, likely because of Donald O’Connor being in the film: http://www.tcd.ie/irishfilm/showfilm.php?fid=58531

Groovie Movie (a short)- Piano Player.* Available on YouTube. It is a funny jitterbug instructional video that is less than 10 minutes- watch til the end to see each appearance of Max, and take a look at his shoes… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaNYWkQYYA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaNYWkQYYA

Action in Arabia– Bald man* Original trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W4fcn9KwjQ

Patrick the Great– Bellboy. Musical, with Donald O’Connor. Found on an Irish film history website, likely because of Donald O’Connor being in the film: http://www.tcd.ie/irishfilm/showfilm.php?fid=58531

1945

George White’s 1945 Scandals– Box gag man (Buster was famous for this bit.)

Beyond the Pecos– Baldy*

Hit the Hay– Bald man*

Bells of Rosarita– Circus Clown*; with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans- http://free-classic-movies.com/movies-04c/04c-1945-Bells-of-Rosarita/index.php. Hard to tell which clown is Buster- may be at beginning of parade, possibly at 1:07, the clown on the right who lays down on ground at end. Not a very good copy, but this is also available on DVD.

The Horn Blows at Midnight– Little bald man at carnival*; with Jack Benny

Shadows of Death– Bald man getting haircut*; with Buster Crabbe. Max is in a barbershop bit at about 22:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXVomV1nuyE or free movie online at http://www.ovguide.com/shadows-of-death-9202a8c04000641f800000000f14a8ce

Patrick the Great– Bellboy*; with Donald O’Connor

1946

So You Want to Keep Your Hair– Little bald man.* B&W, 11 min. One of a series of 62 shorts entitled “So You Want To…” or “So You Think…” produced in the 40’s-50s by Warner Brothers. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10301820

1947

Yankee Fakir– Bald man*

Buckaroo from Powder River– Bald customer

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Rotten Tomatoes Bio- Buster Brodie- http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/buster_brodie/

2) A page for Buster- in Czech! http://www.osobnosti.cz/buster-brodie.php

3) Three Stooges website: http://www.threestooges.net/cast/actor/826

4) International Movie DataBase- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110886/

5) Turner Classic movies (TCM) page for Buster Brodie: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/22744%7C25165/Buster-Brodie/

6) “Whatever happened to Buster Brown shoes?” http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2839/whatever-happened-to-buster-brown-shoes

7) Some of Buster Brodie’s videos are still available.

“The Wizard of Oz” is of course on tv, DVD, and online.

“There It Is” may be found on YouTube in its 18 minute entirety. It was some of the first stop-motion animation and had some ‘special effects.’ Max/Buster got  good billing in it, and is seen throughout as the short, fuzzy-faced phantom with the big glasses. The original had music added to it in the movie houses; the YouTube version has contemporary music that does seem to fit well. It is worth the time to watch to see what was funny in 1928, to see how short Max really was and what he looked like, and it is just charming- watch til the very end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKEtAtjgwTc. The great-great-great nieces and nephews will get a hoot out of it.

The two shorts “There It Is” and “Say Ah-h” may also be found on the DVD “Charley Bowers. The Rediscovery of an American Comic Genius.” (Note: One Amazon reviewer states “There It Is” is not included but this video does come up with an Amazon search for “Buster Brodie,” though it may be because there is another film on the disc in which Buster Brodie appears. It is listed as included in the French, “Charley Bowers Collection (17 Films)” which cannot be played on American DVD players.)

The following movies are available on DVD, VHS, or live streaming:

The 1934 version of “Babes in Toyland” AKA “March of the Wooden Soldiers” with Laurel & Hardy

“Cracked Nuts”

“George White’s 1945 Scandals”

“Tales of Manhattan”

“The Grapes of Wrath”

“City Lights” with Charlie Chaplin- considered Chaplin’s greatest film.

“Island of Lost Souls” (the genre-defining horror film- to this day- with Bela Lugosi)

 

There have been multiple films made at different dates of some of these stories, so make sure to check the date before you order if you want to see Buster Brodie. Also, be careful with downloading from unknown websites- while researching one site locked up my computer, with a message that I had a Trojan virus and had to call a number to unlock. Thankfully I was able to reboot and everything was ok, but I do have a Mac… So make sure you have a current backup in case anything does go wrong, and be wary of websites that look out of the mainstream.

 

8) America’s Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, by Daniel Eagan, 1910. See p. 135-6 for “There It Is” which lists Buster Brodie as the “fuzz-faced phantom.” https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC&pg=PA135&lpg=PA135&dq=%22Buster+Brodie%22+vaudeville&source=bl&ots=cY8qNdcvd_&sig=yXbbOzYcvIFRicgAI5fRXbo4DIg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tkQjVc3HI8PfsAX4rICwCw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Buster%20Brodie%22%20vaudeville&f=false

9) A very special thanks to Frank Reighter, who documents actors who worked with the Three Stooges and shared what he had learned about Buster Brodie. He got me motivated to finish up this post I have been working on for many months, and added to the information we have about Buster’s career.

 

 

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.

 

Beerbower Family, Broida Family, Payne Family

Consumption. Phthisis. Scrofula. Pott’s Disease. The White Plague.

These are all names that were used for tuberculosis (TB), the deadliest disease for many centuries- even for thousands of years. Tuberculosis was described and found in ancient Egypt, and Hippocrates wrote that it was the most prevalent cause of death in Greece. TB has even been found in Neolithic bone 9,000 years old! Closer in time, for 200 years in Europe it was “The White Plague” and killed hundreds of thousands, and more than 30% of Europeans died of TB in the 1800s. Some think that in the industrialized cities, 100% of the poverty-stricken working class was infected with TB. It is estimated that at least 40% of deaths in this group were caused by tuberculosis.

Sanitation in the 1800s, or the lack thereof, was thought by some to be the cause. Sanatoriums were hoped to be a cure in the mid- and late-1800s, by getting patients out of the polluted, closely-packed, dirty cities. Fresh air, along with the prescribed good nutrition and exercise, did some good- consumptives (persons with TB, also called “TBs” or “Lungers”) sometimes actually did improve, and some claimed, were cured. In the United States, moving west to the Rockies or California helped many, including some of our ancestors. Unfortunately, a ‘better’ climate did not help all, including some of our ancestors as well.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne bacterial disease, but that fact was not common knowledge until Robert Koch delivered a paper on his discovery of the bacterium on 24 March 1882- hence, ‘World Tuberculosis Day’ today. The use of x-rays in the early 1900s helped with diagnosis of the disease, but until the discovery in the 1940s of antibiotics that could treat TB, there was no hope of a true cure, but only possible remission, which did sometimes occur.

The most common symptom of TB is a cough, often with bloody sputum; night sweats, a general malaise, fever, and exhaustion may also occur. It is a slow disease, eating away from the inside, and sometimes the outside too, even affecting parts of the body other than the lungs.

A century or two ago, some felt that consumptives were more sensitive, artistic, etc.-  Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Louis Stevenson, Anton Checkov, Thoreau, the Bronte sisters, Chopin, Stephen Crane, Robert Heinlein, Franz Kafka, D.H. Lawrence, George Orwell, Sarah Bernhardt, Edvard Munch, and many more died of TB. It became fashionable for women to paint their faces almost white to get that pale, delicate complexion seen in consumptives after wasting away for many years.

Tuberculosis is spread when persons carrying the bacterium cough, sneeze, speak, or sing; the bacterium can stay in the air for many hours and infect someone else when that air is breathed in. A carrier may have the bacterium for many years and not know it, but something, such as immune suppression or pregnancy, can trigger the disease into an active state. For some, it may take 15 years or more to waste away with the disease.

Spittoons have a place in this discussion- men spit tobacco everywhere back in the day, and that actually spread TB. Using spittoons helped to corral the infection into those brass vessels instead of all over where it could travel via shoes, long dresses, etc. Wonder if the people who cleaned spittoons had a higher rate of the disease?

Pasteurization of milk also helped decrease the disease in developed countries, as the bovine (cow) form of tuberculosis can be spread to humans. This is a real problem today in India and Africa.

TB is not just a disease of the third world these days- with antibiotic resistance increasing and the number of persons immigrating to western countries carrying Mycobacterium tuberculosis, plus illnesses like HIV and drugs that suppress the immune system (such as some of the new anti-inflamatories), TB is on the rise, even in the US.

Our ancestors would be disappointed to see this trend, as TB would have been something terrible they coped with throughout their lifetime, or with family or friends. They most probably would have thought that it would be curable and then eradicated by the year 2015.

We have had at least 3 ancestors appear unexpectedly out west- two were very puzzling, as the reason for their move was not evident, until one sees the cause of death on the death certificate: tuberculosis. They had gone west in pursuit of golden health, not the gold in the ground.

Robert Warson Beerbower, son of Edgar Peter Beerbower and Anna Missouri Springsteen, was enumerated in the 01 Jun 1900 US Federal Census in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, with his wife of just two years, Josephine Reiffel Beerbower. He was working as a railroad clerk, and they were living with his wife’s parents. The couple was expecting their first child. Robert’s job was probably not very strenuous as a clerk, however he was sick. Robert traveled to Denver, Colorado, likely alone, and likely leaving his pregnant wife in Indianapolis. They would have known he had TB, but there were no antibiotics to cure it at that time. He died of tuberculosis on 12 Sep 1900 in Denver, and his body was returned to Indianapolis, Indiana for burial. Robert was only 26 years old. “Rob’s little baby,” Roberta Pearl Beerbower, was born just a month later and named after her father.

Sarah Gitel Frank Broida was born in Lithuania and immigrated to the United States about 1881. She was the mother of nine children, with seven surviving childhood. The family were poor immigrants, living in industrial, polluted Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, working as ‘rag pickers’ initially. Their son Harold Broida was born 25 Dec 1897, and the 1899 City Directory places the family living at 1102 Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh. By 07 June 1900, Gitel, her husband John (or Zelig) Broida, oldest son Joseph, and youngest son Harold were living in Denver, Colorado; the other sons were staying with scattered family back east. This was very puzzling- the Broidas were city folk, and it was hard to imagine them in the still somewhat wild west of 1900. Family oral history, however, stated that Gitel had died of tuberculosis, so their move to the sanitariums there or just the more favorable climate and cleaner air made sense, especially since antibiotics to cure TB would not be available for another 40 years. Perhaps one of Gitel’s many pregnancies had triggered the infection possibly picked up years before, maybe from contaminated rags from their early days in the US, or the disease could have been newly acquired. Gitel died in Denver on 14 April 1901 at the age of 41. Her mortuary record verifies that she died of tuberculosis. (Unfortunately the state of Colorado won’t share her  114 year old death certificate- but they took the money paid for it. Apparently a great-grandchild is not closely related enough to view it, despite the certificate previously being online.)

Edward B. Payne had worked in the tenements of Chicago around 1872, and in the mill towns of Massachusetts and New Hampshire with the poor during the 1880s. He had been called to a position in Berkeley, California, between those years, but had returned to visit family and decided to stay in New England. Edward apparently acquired tuberculosis sometime in the 1880s, if not before; it may possibly have worsened by 1890 or so. In 1892 the family chose to go back to California, in hope that it would improve his health, plus provide him more of what he wished for in his professional and spiritual life. (He was a minister.) The climate must have helped, as Edward lived another 31 years, to age 76, without the cure of antibiotics. He did spend a lot of time outdoors as was recommended for those with tuberculosis, and became a convert to some of the ‘newest’ healthy foods, like whole grain breads, so those treatments may have helped him survive the disease.

 

Other family members, like the Lees and Aikens, traveled frequently to Colorado. We do know that for the Lees it was due to respiratory problems- plus they loved the mountains- but know of no one that definitely had tuberculosis.

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Tuberculosis References :

http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/general/tb.htm

http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/tuberculosis.html

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/infections/tuberculosis_and_leprosy/tuberculosis.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tuberculosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tuberculosis_cases

2) Robert Warson Beerbower- see other posts:

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/01/04/beerbower-family-bible-deaths/

(Robert’s death and “Rob’s little baby” entry for Roberta’s birth.)

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/12/treasure-chest-thursday-roberta-p-beerbower-wertz/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/03/01/sentimental-sunday-at-home-with-robert-warson-beerbower-and-his-wife-josephine-reiffel-beerbower/

 

3) Sarah Gitel Frank Broida- see the following posts:

http://heritageramblings.net/2013/11/25/mystery-monday-gitelgertude-frank-broida/

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/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/06/friday-follow-up-death-record-of-sarah-gitel-frank-broida/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/11/wordless-wednesday-mortuary-record-for-sarah-gitel-frank-broida/

 

4) There are no posts yet about this time period in Edward B. Payne’s life- those are in the works.

 

 

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➡ Broida Family

I am very thankful for the kind people who spend their valuable time creating memorials on Find A Grave (FAG) for the cemeteries they visit. A number of Broida family members have recently been transferred to me (without the hassle from some FAG members who are just into amassing empires of memorials, even though they are not related). So I got to work to quickly get more information on each of the memorials.

These are family lines that I am not as familiar with as they are not as closely related. Cousin Mitch has a great Broida tree on Ancestry, and I have done further research to create what I hope are accurate biographies. (Please do let us know if here are any parts that should be clarified or revised.)

Here are the new Broida FAG biographies:

Harry H Broida

Birth:	1882, Lithuania
Death:	Jun. 6, 1908 Pittsburgh Allegheny County Pennsylvania, USA
Harry Broida was born in 1882 in Russia, likely in Lithuania. He immigrated to the United States in 1892, per the 1900 US Federal Census.In 1900, Harry was living with his parents, 5 siblings, and two boarders (also b. Russia) at 38 Federal Street, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. He was working as a shoe salesman, and had not been unemployed recently. (The crash of 1893 caused a big depression but by 1900 more people were working.) He could read write, and speak English. Sadly, Harry passed away at the young age of 24 or so on 06 Jun 1908. (His birth year varies by sources.) He had been living with his father in his last days at 65 Miller St. in Pittsburgh, PA. Parents: Michel Lazer Broida (1846 – 1926) Anna Horowitz Broida (1848 – 1916) Inscription: Beloved Son and Brother
Burial: Beth Hamedrash Hagodal Cemetery McKees Rocks Allegheny County Pennsylvania, USA
Find A Grave Memorial# 96657462

(An image of his headstone has been requested but we will probably need to wait for the snow to melt.)

Michael Lazer Broida

Birth:	Mar., 1846, Lithuania
Death:	Nov. 9, 1926 Pittsburgh Allegheny County Pennsylvania, USA
Michael Lazer Broida (also ‘Michel Lazear,’ ‘Michael Lazaris,’ or Michael Lazario’) was born in Esiskes, Lithuania, which was under Russian control time and again throughout history. (Thus birthplace is sometimes listed as Russia.) His parents were Joseph and Chaneh “Jennie” Broida, both b. abt 1820. It is not known if his parents immigrated to the US also. Michael was one of their 9 children who came to the US.Michael married Emma/Anna/Hannah Horowitz in 1863, likely in Lithuania. Their first seven children were also born there. Children: Jennie “Shaina” Broida, 1867-1937, marr. David Shaeffer, d. Louisiana Joseph J. Broida, 1868-1934, marr. Mary Elpern, d. Pittsburgh Lillie S. Broida, 1871-1927, marr. Joseph L. Hirsch, d. Miami FL Samuel Broida, 1876-1960, marr. Bertha Gilberg, d. Louisiana Anna R. Broida, 1880-1947, marr Benjamin Silken, later __Hoffenberg, d. CA Katie L Broida, 1883-1978, marr. Harry Benjamin Elpern, d. Pittsburgh Jacob Broida, 1885-1928, never marr., d. Pittsburgh Bessie D. Broida, 1892-1966, b. in Pittsburgh, marr. Louis R. Fields, d.Ohio Michael immigrated to the US in 1887, after son Jacob was born, and it is presumed Hannah immigrated around then too. He filed his ‘First Paper’ or Declaration of Intention to become a citizen on 25 Sep 1890, and his Petition for Naturalization was signed on 3 Jan 1902. In 1900, Michael and his wife of 37 years are found in the US Federal Census at 38 Federal St. in Pittsburgh, PA, with their 3 daughters and 3 sons; they also have 2 married boarders living with them. Michael was a ‘Peddler [of] Dry Goods.’ In 1908 their son Harry died, and Michael was the informant on the death certificate; they were living at 65 Miller St. in Pittsburgh. The family was still in Pittsburgh in 1910, with Michael listed as a peddler “on road” but they owned their home and had a mortgage. He could read and write. Anna/Hannah/Emma (Horwitz) Broida died 05 Dec 1916, leaving Michael a widower. His son Joseph’s family lived with him in the Miller Street house and Joseph was listed as the Head of Household in the 1920 census. Michael died six years later, on 09 Nov. 1926.
Burial: Beth Hamedrash Hagodal Cemetery McKees Rocks Allegheny County Pennsylvania, USA
Find A Grave Memorial# 108660454

 Anna Horowitz Broida

Birth:	Apr., 1848, Lithuania
Death:	Dec. 6, 1916 Pittsburgh Allegheny County Pennsylvania, USA
The parents of Emma/Anna/Hannah Horowitz are unknown.

[The remainder of Anna’s memorial is the same as her husband Michael’s.]

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Harry H. Broida FAG Memorial: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=96657462

2) Michael Lazer Broida FAG Memorial: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=108660454

3) Anna Horowitz Broida FAG Memorials: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=108660520

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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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:arrow: Broida Family

Samuel A. (Karklinsky) Broida was born in Eišiškes, Salcininkai, Lithuania on 01 August 1887. His parents were Jacob Zev Karklinsky Broida (1857-1932) and Anna (Sonya) ___ (1857-194).

Sam immigrated to the US in 1905 at age 18. He married Ida Leah Deborah Oscherwitz (1888-1975) in Cincinnati, Ohio on 03 April 1910. When the 1910 US Federal Census was enumerated on 04 May 1910 in St. Louis, Missouri, Sam was in St. Louis, living with his parents but noted as married for 0 years; his wife is not enumerated with the family. Sam is listed as a peddler of dry goods, working on his own account. The same occupation is given for his brother Max and his father.

Sam and his younger brother, Max Broida, became partners in Broida Brothers Dry Goods in St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1920 US Federal Census, Sam was living with wife Ida and their 4 children and a servant in St. Louis, Missouri. Sam is listed as owning his own dry goods store. In the same census, brother Max was also listed as a dry goods merchant, working on his own account.

By 1930, Samuel and family had moved to Chicago to run the Oscherwitz family business, Best Kosher Meat Company. Max remained in St. Louis, and in the 1940 US Federal Census he is listed as President of the Broida Brothers, a wholesale dress jobber.

Thus the above photos were taken sometime after the 1910 census, but before the 1930 census. A check of St. Louis City Directories would help to narrow down the time period of the beginnings of the partnership.

In the first photo, note the old phone, name of company on window, and the still-lit cigar on the chair, waiting for the photo to be taken so it can again be enjoyed.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Thanks to Cousin Mitch for sharing this photo and information on his Broida line, and Cousin Jane for her photo above that was posted on Ancestry.com.

2) 1910 US Federal Census, Jacob Broida Head of Household: Year: 1910; Census Place: St Louis Ward 4, Saint Louis City, Missouri; Roll: T624_812; Page: 22B; Enumeration District: 0064; FHL microfilm: 1374825, Lines 98-100 and family continued on following page.

3) 1920 US Federal Census for Samuel Broida: Year: 1920; Census Place: St Louis Ward 22, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Roll: T625_959; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 423; Image: 55, Lines 91-97.

4) 1920 US Federal Census for Max Broida: Year: 1920; Census Place: St Louis Ward 23, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Roll: T625_959; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 457; Image: 1015.

5) 1940 US Federal Census for Max Broida: Year: 1940; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis City, Missouri; Roll: T627_2207; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 96-635

 

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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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