John Broida Obituary. “The Jewish Criterion” 18 Nov 1938, Vol. 93, No. 2, Page 25. Courtesy of “Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project,” http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/pjn/index.jsp (Click to enlarge.)
John Broida Obituary. “The American Jewish Outlook” 18 Nov 1938, Vol. 8, No. 24, Page 15. Courtesy of “Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project,” http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/pjn/index.jsp (Click to enlarge.)
Today is a good opportunity to thank the individuals and organizations who so generously share their resources with others. The above obituaries are available as part of the Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project found at http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/pjn/index.jsp.
Although these periodicals are no longer published, these articles are still under copyright, since they were published after 1923. A reply to my email to Carnegie Mellon University concerning permission to publish let me know that CMU just ‘facilitate[s] electronic access’, and she forwarded information about Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, the copyright holder. Their archivist thanked me for asking permission- we all know so many do not- and gave me the right to publish these newspaper clips to help tell the story of our family. She also said,
“We would like as many people as possible to discover, as you have, this rich resource, which includes information applicable to areas way beyond Western PA.”
(She did ask me to cite the articles with at least the name of the project and link as above, which many genealogists do not, sadly.)
What a wonderful mission for an organization! Knowledge should be free for all. While I do recognize the costs of archiving, digitizing, developing and maintaining websites, etc., and thus do not mind paying for a website to aggregate large amounts of data for easy searching, such as Ancestry.com, free use of old material is a refreshing concept. It will help us learn more about our past, and thus help us navigate our future.
Thank you, Rodef Shalom Congregation, CMU, and all the other organizations who freely share their treasures!
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) See citation on image.
2) Email correspondence 04/02/2015 and 04/07/2015.
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.
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 Broida, circa 1894? Cropped from family portrait. (Click to enlarge.)
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.
Max Broida at the wedding of his brother, Theodore “Dave” Broida on 20 Aug 1916 in Denver, Colorado. (Click to enlarge.)
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/Max Broida obituary in the Los Angeles Times, 09 Apr 1948. (Click to enlarge.)
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.
Buster Brodie/Max Broida obituary in Variety, 14 Apr 1948. (Click to enlarge.)
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.
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.
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
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.
[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.
Possibly Buster Brodie as a ‘winged monkey’ in the MGM 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz.”
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.
Buster Brodie in, “The Big Idea,” MGM’s 1934 film with Ted Healy and His Stooges, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard.
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.’
Buster Brodie as the piano player in “A Groovie Movie” a 1944 MGM short. Buster Brodie as the smiling piano player in “A Groovie Movie” a 1944 MGM short.Buster Brodie as the smiling piano player in “A Groovie Movie” a 1944 MGM short.
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.
“Buster Brodie”, AKA Max Broida, in Charlie Bowers’, “There It Is” 1928 short. Buster played the ‘Fuzz-Faced Phantom.’
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.’
Buster Brodie (Max Broida) as Pig Man in Paramount’s 1932 film, “Island of Lost Souls.”
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
Headstone of Ebenezer Peters in Marion Cemetery, Marion, Marion Co., Ohio. Posted with kind permission of Find A Grave photographer. Year of death is 1884. (Click to enlarge.)
Beerbower Family, Peters Family-
What originally was to be sorting my Beerbower family in Marion County, Ohio turned out to be more of sorting the Peters family, who married into the Beerbower family. We are, however, very grateful that Gale Martin of the Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society (MCHS) has been so generous and shared scans of documents, images, and a family bible in their possession, plus her incredible knowledge of the area and its history. Another Marion County resident, Mike Brewer, has kindly allowed us to use photographs he has taken for Find A Grave, and has helped us locate and document more of the Peters and Beerbower lines that are ‘quietly resting’ in the Marion Cemetery. Even better is that both are allowing us to post the information online so that all can have easy access! It has been a much bigger project than planned to sort and learn more about each of these families, but it is hoped that these ancestors can live on for future generations by having their story told here.
We will be adding a Peters family tree to our pages, but we need to finish sorting first.
Please do post a comment or send an email through our contact form if you have additions, corrections, more stories, etc. And if this post, and some of those upcoming, look familiar, yes, it is copied (and expanded) from Find A Grave. It is not plagiarism, though- the author of that bio and this post are one and the same.
On to Capt. Ebenezer Peters…
The youngest of 13 children born to Samuel Peters (1772-1829) of Philadelphia, PA, and Mary Stevenson Peters of Manchester, MD (1773-1861), Ebenezer was 22 years younger than his eldest brother. He grew up on the family farm in Fairfield County, Ohio, where he was born. After attending the local District School, he matriculated at Granville Baptist College.
Ebenezer migrated to Marion, Ohio in 1832, stayed about one year, then returned to Fairfield County to teach and study at Fairfield Amanda University for one year. He then taught for two years, and returned to Marion, Ohio in 1838. (What a privilege to get a college education in the 1830s! It still is a privilege today, actually.)
Ebenezer, along with his oldest brother Henry Peters, formed a Marion mercantile business called “H. & E. Peters”. The partnership lasted three years, then he became the sole proprietor for another two. He then took in a different partner and the business was called “E. Peters & Co.” for two years. Ebenezer became the sole owner of the business again, and continued in that manner until he retired in 1850. Ebenezer extended his sphere of trade to other areas of Ohio plus Illinois, and continued in this business until the Civil War. He also owned 600 acres of farmland, with the 1850 US Federal Census listing him as a farmer with $16,000 in real estate. The 1860 census stated that he had $14,000 in real estate and $4,000 in personal estate value; they had a farm laborer and an Irish domestic living with them that year. Ebenezer and family raised Spanish Merino sheep and Durham cattle, and exhibited regularly at the county fair.
Ebenezer had married Elizabeth Raichley (or Rightly) in July, 1846, and two children were born to them: Erwin Peters in 1848 and and Ella Peters in 1850; Elizabeth died in 1851. He remarried, to Elvira Gardner in October of 1853, but she passed away in August of 1854. He married third Narcissus D. Holmes on 25 Dec 1855.
Ebenezer was active in his community, being County Auditor 1851-2, a State Legislator 1854-5, School Board President for 8 years, and President of the Agricultural Society for 8 years as well. He voted Republican.
Battle of Mission [i.e., Missionary] Ridge, Nov. 25th, 1863 / Cosack & Co. lith., Buffalo & Chicago. For McCormick Harvesting. Public domain. (Click to enlarge.)At age 44 Ebenezer felt the call to preserve the Union in the Civil War, and enlisted in the 121st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving as their Quartermaster General for two years. He was engaged at Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Shelbyville, Lookut Mountain, and was promoted to Captain in October of 1863. It was at the Battle of Mission Ridge on 25 Nov. 1863 that he began to have spinal problems, and he never fully recovered. After his discharge on May 1864, he received a $20 pension due to his severe disability- his ability to do physical work was greatly diminished.
Ebenezer Peters became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) after the war.
The 1870 US Federal Census lists Ebenezer’s occupation as “Grader”- likely he was grading papers since he had been a teacher and could no longer work as a farmer. His wife Narcissus and son Erwin were living in his household, and Erwin was listed as a farmer. A music teacher and young boy, likely the music teacher’s son, lived with them as well.
Ebenezer, Narcissus, and Erwin were living together still in the 1880 census, with Ebenezer listed as a farmer, and his son Erwin noted as “works on farm.” Ralph Bain, age 15, was “at school” and listed as Ebenezer’s adopted son. (There were a lot of Bains in the area- finding more on this story might be interesting.)
Narcissus died in October of 1881, and sadly Ebenezer’s two children both died before 1883, when The History of Marion County was published. They were fairly young: Erwin no more than 35, Ella no more than 33. (We have not yet found more information about Erwin and Ella, and they are not buried in the Marion Cemetery as far as we can tell.)
Ebenezer passed away on 27 May 1884, and is buried in the Marion Cemetery, Marion, Marion County, Ohio. He shares a large headstone with his wife Narcissus and adopted son Ralph Bain.
2) 1850 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1850; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M432_708; Page: 67A; Image: 141. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
3) 1860 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1860; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M653_1006; Page: 424; Image: 320; Family History Library Film: 805006. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
4) 1870 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1870; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M593_1240; Page: 110A; Image: 230; Family History Library Film: 552739. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
5) 1880 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1880; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: 1046; Family History Film: 1255046; Page: 86B; Enumeration District: 092; Image: 0498. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Olive Beerbower death notice. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 5, 1879, Volume II, Number 125, (Whole Number 435), Page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use only.Beerbower Family-
The sad news of the death of dear Ollie Beerbower at the young age of 23 must have been devastating to the family.
It is understandable that the family would have wanted to take her back to Marion, Ohio to be buried with her ancestors, and so the family could congregate and share their grief as well as their happy memories. No parent should have to watch their child die, and they would need the loving embrace of family to help them get through the early days of their loss.
Olive Beerbower death notice. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 7, 1879, Volume II, Number 127, (Whole Number 437), Page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use only. (Click to enlarge.)Ollie’s father Samuel Beerbower took ill suddenly after her death, so the family decided not to travel to Marion, Ohio for Ollie’s funeral. Nancy Jane Huggins Beerbower, Ollie’s mother, must have had a very difficult time with the loss of her child and her husband so ill. We do not know if any of the Marion or Indianapolis family attended the Winterset funeral, as the newspapers for Winterset are not yet online, but we have found no mention in the Marion papers of the family traveling to Iowa.
Ollie had been ill for just a brief time, with the cause of death listed as “a low-type of fever” and “nervous prostration.” One definition of ‘nervous prostration’ is “An emotional disorder that leaves you exhausted and unable to work.” With having a fever as well, there would have been issues other than just emotional- one type of typhoid causes a ‘derangement of the nervous system’ as well as fever, and there are many types of fevers that can be lethal, especially in the days before antibiotics.
Ollie’s obituary was carried in the Marion, Ohio newspapers due to all the family she had there, and the friends she would have made growing up in Marion.
Olive Beerbower obituary. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 20, 1879, Volume II, Number 138, (Whole Number 448), Page 2. Posted with kind permission. (Click to enlarge.)It is always nice to know a bit about the personality of a relative, and Ollie’s final tribute informs us of her kindness and her “gentle and true nature.” The family did lose a family treasure.
The sympathy of the community was not limited to Winterset, Iowa- those in Marion also expressed their sorrow and support to Samuel T. Beerbower’s family. (Ollie’s grandparents had already passed on.) Olive passed away on 04 March 1879, and, in addition to the food and cards that probably were provided very soon after that date, about 3 weeks later the community “surrounded” the family, and gave them an opportunity to enjoy themselves and begin to move on after the untimely death of a loved one.
Samuel T. Beerbower- support of the community. Marion Daily Star,March 28, 1879, vol. II, no. 145, whole number 455, page 4, via Ancestry.com. (Click to enlarge.)
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) There is a wonderful article on the emotional toll of the loss of a loved one post-Civil War in JSTOR Daily, called “Forgetting Abraham Lincoln.” Martha Hodes is the author, and it was published 25 March 2015. It may be read here:
3) Marion Daily Star article citations in captions.
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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.
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