Here is another of those mystery pictures…
It was found in with photos of the Philip Broida and Bess Dorothy Green families.
Please contact us if you know who she is!
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Broida-Green family papers and photographs. Grandmother, parents did not know who she was.
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Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Thanksgiving was not a holiday when our ancestors took photos- at least, not until small personal cameras were readily available and film and developing it inexpensive. So despite having a large family photo collection, I have no Thanksgiving photos from days long past. This photo, originally thought to be a family reunion, is like a Thanksgiving get-together: lots of loved ones, lots of food, lots of fun, lots of laughter. Stories are exchanged, children run and play with cousins, and all feel the same fullness of belly and soul after a big day together. Family reunions, like holiday get-togethers, help us to know our place within the family tree, and within time and place.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Frank & Seder picnic in the Frank’s yard. Frank & Seder was a clothing store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, plus they had branches in other cities. Many Broidas worked at the Pittsburgh store, and Mr. Seder was a cousin, so their get-togethers had some hints of a family reunion. The man standing in the back in the suit, looking at the camera is John Broida. His oldest son Joseph Broida is on his right, with Joseph’s elbow resting on his brother Philip Broida’s shoulder. The second woman to John’s left, in the dark dress, is Bess Dorothy (Green) Broida (Philip’s wife). Fanny Broida is on Bessie’s left- we think she is John’s second wife, but there are a lot of women named Fanny in the family. The time period may have been the late 1920s or early 1930s.
2) Frank & Seder store information, plus photographs: Seder Family Photographs, c. 1900-1940, PSS#31, Rauh Jewish Archives, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/images/pittsburgh/seder.html. Accessed 11-27-2013.
3) Family oral and written history notes.
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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.
➡ Broida Family
Phillip Broida
(Zelig) Broida and Gertrude (Gitel) Frank had seven sons that were known in the family, and there is a wonderful photo of them all with their father when they were grown men. (Another post…) A recent query of FamilySearch, however, revealed this death record for a Samuel Broida who was unknown by Broida researchers. It states the parents were J. Broida and G. Broida, and the child was buried at McKees Rock, which had a Jewish Cemetery where other Broidas are buried. Samuel was just 2 yrs, 9 months old at his death on 02 Oct 1891, so would have been born about January, 1889. There is a break in the years of the births of Zelig and Gitel’s sons- one of the known sons, Philip, was born in 1887; the next documented was born in 1893, so this makes Samuel as another child plausible. Is this a preponderance of evidence? Probably not yet. New memorials on Find A Grave may help to solve the mystery, as photos have been requested and may give us more clues.
This record adds another story to the Broida family…how sad to have a child die young, and to watch helplessly as it happens. Samuel died of “membranous croup.” Any of this current generation who has been up all night with a child with the croup- that includes me- will know the terror that stabs at the heart with that first hint of a soft barking cough – that soft cough is a living nightmare that can wake up a parent in the midst of a deep sleep. You know the croup is coming- how can you minimize it? You know, if the cold damp outside air or running a shower does not work, that you can go to the emergency room where medications and oxygen can help your child live through it, though not all do, even today. How horrible for previous generations who did not have the drugs, and must hold their ill child close, rocking and cooing, trying to soothe a precious child, and knowing that the odds are not good that the child will survive.
These types of stories connect us closer to our ancestors, and make them more than just names, dates, and places- these family stories become written in our hearts.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Find A Grave Memorial #120538146, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-
2) “Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905,” index and images, FamilySearch: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-16552-15367-0?cc=1810412&wc=M94D-86Y:1999585304. Accessed 18 Nov 2013.
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Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm/jrw.
Harold “Harry” Broida was the last of eight sons born to John (Zelig) Broida (1857-1938) and Gittel (Gertrude) Frank (1859-1898). Born December 25, 1897 in Pennsylvania, his mother passed away the next year, and he was living with his Uncle Jacob Broida, and Jacob’s wife Annie, in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1910 US Federal census. His brother Morris was living there too.
[Correction 12/2/13: Harold/ Harry and his brother Morris were not living with their Uncle Jacob, even though the 1910 census states they were nephews of the head of household. Jacob was actually the cousin of their father, John. John’s father was Joseph, and Joseph’s brother Theodore was the father of this Jacob (1857-1932, lived in St. Louis after he immigrated to US in 1886). This solves a mystery that Hilda, grand-daughter of Morris who was the son of Peter, always had- she wanted to know who “Yankel” (Hebrew for ‘Harold’) was that lived with Jacob. Thanks to AG for the correction- and the 2 nice chats on the phone.]
Leah Schreiber immigrated to the United States in 1906 from Russia when she was just 5 years old. Her parents are unknown. She was working at Frank & Seder, a clothing store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when she was just 15, as a clerk. In the 1917 Pittsburgh City Directory she was listed as a Stock Girl at Frank & Seder. She may have met Harold Broida there, as he was the Head Stockman in September, 1918, per his World War I Draft Registration. Harold married Leah Schreiber about 1917-1918- he was 20, she just 16.
Harold’s World War I draft card completed 12 Sep 1918 lists him as being short with a medium build, and brown hair and eyes. He stated Leah Broida was his next of kin, and they were living at 114 Wooster Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was just 20 years old, so it is surprising that he was not drafted for World War I.
Harold and Leah lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the remainder of their married life. In 1932 they were living at 418 Highland Ave S, Apt. 610 in Pittsburgh, and in 1946 were living at “The Frontenac Apartments.” The 1940 US Federal Census noted that he was working 45 hours per week as a buyer, and made $5,000+ – only 2 others on that census page made that amount, and most neighbors made much less. Harold and Leah never had children.
Harold died in 1953 at the age of 55.
Leah lived another 18 years, with her death occurring in 1971.
Notes, Sources, and References: 1) Family oral history 2) 1910 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: St Louis Ward 4, Saint Louis City, Missouri; Roll: T624_812; Page: 23A; Enumeration District: 0064; FHL microfilm: 1374825. Ancestry.com, accessed 15 Nov 2013. Living at 1448 N. 11th St. 3) World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918: Source Citation: Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Allegheny; Roll: 1908016; Draft Board: 4. Ancestry.com, accessed 15 Nov 2013. 4) 1932, 1946 Pittsburgh, PA City Directories: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed 15 Nov 2013. 5) 1940 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1940; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T627_3655; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 69-166. Ancestry.com, accessed 15 Nov 2013. 6) The Jewish Criterion, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, 27 Feb 1953, p21, c4. 7) Find A Grave: Harold H. Broida Memorial # 79579417, and Leah S. Broida Memorial # 79579467. Headstone photographs used with permission of photographer. Accessed 15 Nov 2013. Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
