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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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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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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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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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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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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Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Although the Jefferson and Anna Connor Springsteen family had moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, before the date of this ad, there were likely other brewers in Brooklyn, New York that offered the same beverage when they resided in Brooklyn. Jefferson ran a restaurant at the Fulton Market as well, so he may have stocked this or other ales.

Water was not always safe to drink, even that coming out of city pipes. Children were given beer from very early on to reduce their risk of parasites and infections from local water. “Family ales” would have had a lower alcohol content, but the alcohol and the heating during the brewing process would have killed off much of the disease-inducing microorganisms found in drinking water. Even Puritan children drank beer!

Benjamin Franklin loved beer. In fact, his quote that, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” can be found on t-shirts in pubs today. The advertisement notes that the ale listed is “…strongly recommended by Medical men…” and “…calculated to strengthen and invigorate the system…” This ad is persuasion as to what a smart purchase this would be for a family in 1857.

Since the Springsteen family probably was originally from Germany, and Anna Connor from Ireland, plus Jeff had lived in frontier areas, the chances were high that ales/beer were a part of their larder.

 

See? What’s old is new again- “Craft Brews” in 1857!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. See reference with image.

 

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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.

 

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.

 

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McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Kingsley Abner “K. A.” Burnell was an evangelist- but not of the “tele-” type since he lived from 1824-1905. K. A. had to be there in person to minister to his flock, and to add to it. (He did extend his evangelic reach through his writings- more on that in future posts.)

“Travel Tuesday” was not much of a concept back then- you could not leave Illinois and be in California later that day. Travel took many days, even weeks. If a person wanted to go from the midwest or east to the Pacific Coast, there were three time-consuming, generally unpleasant choices, after taking a train to get to the departure point:

1. Overland, via wagon train to California, which could take from 3-7 months and required crossing deserts and mountains, dealing with hostile Native Americans, diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, mountain fever, pneumonia, etc; 3,000 miles but generally least expensive.
2. Take a ship to Panama in Central America, cross through a jungle with poisonous snakes, insects that carried deadly fevers, etc., then try to get a ship to California once on the Pacific Coast. This route could take from 2-3 months to many more, depending on when one could catch a ship. At about 7,000 miles, it was more expensive than the longer all-ocean route.
3. Take a ship around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America. Rough storms and huge waves, frigid weather, lack of fresh food, “more bugs than beans” in food, and 3-8 months on board ship in a very small room would be a part of this choice. At about 15,000 miles, the advantages of the Panama Canal, completed in 1914, are obvious.

A much better option presented itself in 1869.

On 10 May 1869, the “Golden Spike” was driven into the rails at Promontory Point, Utah Territory, completing the first transcontinental railway. This limited the overland trip to 1,907 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Francisco Bay, California. For an itinerant preacher, who had likely travelled many a railway mile, this must have been a very exciting time- the west was now readily open to his ministry.

Being an adventurous man, deeply committed to his preaching, K.A. of course had to travel the new railroad- he even planned for it as the construction of the railroad progressed. He would have taken a passenger train to Omaha, Nebraska, and then, in less than four days (!), he would arrive in San Francisco, “… avoiding the Dangers of the Sea!” as the poster promises.

The route must have been incredibly beautiful. K.A. most probably felt even closer to his maker as he travelled across the unique lands of the west that he had only seen in engravings in books, or painted and framed on a wall.

The railroad opened on 10 May, 1869. K. A. later wrote, in August of 1869,  “… I determined to spend this summer in Christian work in Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California…”, and he did. We know that K.A. was in Aurora, Illinois in April of 1869, then Leavenworth, Kansas on 11 June 1869. He wrote from Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, on 5 July 1869 where he made a ten-day stop to study the Mormon faith. (he was an open-minded man!) San Francisco, California welcomed him by the second week of July, just 2 months after the opening of the railroad.

K.A. returned east after his summer of evangelizing in the west, and was in Cleveland, Ohio on 11 Sep 1869 at the union prayer meeting at the YMCA in that city. He made “…eight round-trips to California… three trips to Central California, three to the Puget Sound region, and two to the orange groves of the southwest Pacific” before 1888, per the Biographical and Historical Record of Kane County, Illinois.

K. A. Burnell and his second wife, Helen M. (Merrill) [Beckett] Burnell eventually made the west their home. By 1901, they were living in the Los Angeles area. K.A. died 7 Sep 1905 in South Pasadena, and Helen followed him on 2 Mar 1933. Their bodies made their last cross-country trip home, likely over some of those same rails, to graves in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Routes to California: http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/Pioneer/pages/classrooms/FourthGrade/4thGradeGold/pages/Sea.htmlhttp://goldrushofcalifornia.weebly.com/travel-routes.html
2. Images per citations in captions.
3. “Behind the Scenes: The Artists Who Worked for Currier & Ives”- http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/8aa/8aa119.htm
4. Biographical and Historical Record of Kane County, Illinois, Beers, Leggett & Co, 1888, p.712.

 

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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.

 

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.

 

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