Tag: Harold Broida

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Wednesday’s Child: The ‘Missing’ Children of John and Sarah Gitel Broida

 

1900 US Federal Census excerpt for John Broida and family, Denver, CO
1900 US Federal Census excerpt for John Broida and family, Denver, CO. (Click to enlarge.)

➡ Broida Family

A previous post, entitled Samuel Broida- An Unknown Son of John Zelig Broida and Gitel Frank? posed the question of the parents of a young Samuel who is buried in the family plot. At the time of writing that post, I did not go to each of the US Federal Censuses, but should have at least looked at the 1900 census for the family. In that census, Gitel was still alive (she died in 1901) but the census asks “Mother of how many children?” and then “Number of these children living?” While looking for some other information this past week on that census, I noticed that Gitel’s entry states that she was the mother of ten children, with only seven still living. This helps to explain some of the gaps in childbearing.

The 1900 census states that John and Gitel had been married 19 years, so that would put their marriage in 1881. Son Joseph Broida was then born in 1882, Louis Broida in 1884, and Max Broida in 1886. Phillip E. Broida was born in 1887, and Samuel Broida, who likely was their child, in 1889. There was then a gap before Theodore “Dave” Broida’s birth in 1893, and another gap before Morris Broida was born in 1896. Their last son, Harold, was born in 1897, when Gitel was 38 years old. Thus there may have been children born about 1891 and 1894-5, but they didn’t survive. We will need to search for burial information in Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Cemetery, McKees Rocks (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania for these dear little ones.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Previous post about young Samuel Broida: http://heritageramblings.net/2013/11/20/samuel-broida-an-unknown-son-of-john-zelig-broida-and-gitel-frank/

2) 1900 US Federal Census for John Broida, Head of Household, in Denver, Colorado: Year: 1900; Census Place: Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado; Roll: 120; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0126; FHL microfilm: 1240122

 

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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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Matrilineal Monday: Where Were the Children of Sarah Gitel Broida in 1900?

 

Sarah Gitel Frank holding baby- possibly Theodore? Son Philip standing to the right of her, husband John sitting. The other 3 boys are probably Joseph standing, Louis in center, and Max sitting on right.

 

Broida Family (Click to see Family Tree.)

Sometimes our ancestors have big changes in their lives but we cannot easily determine what happened. It may have been between censuses- those 20 years between 1880 and 1900 are especially brutal for finding out family information since most of the 1890 census was lost- or there are no city directories available, or newspapers are hard to come by, or ??? The John and Gitel Broida family, however, made our research somewhat easier by making a big move to Denver, Colorado around 1900. We have found the census as well as city directories for the time, so can piece together a bit of what was going on.

Gitel’s tenth child, Harold Broida, was born in 1897 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where they had lived most of their lives after immigrating from Russia. Gitel developed pulmonary tuberculosis, possibly after Harold’s birth, or the pregnancy may have brought it on or exacerbated the condition. The family decided to move to Denver, Colorado, likely to provide fresh, clean air for Gitel to make her breathing easier. There may also have been clinics or doctors there who specialized in treating tuberculosis, since so many with respiratory problems vacationed in the mountains or moved from the industrialized, polluted cities to the west for their health.

We know that the Broidas were living at 1102 5th Avenue in Pittsburgh in 1899.

By the 1900 US Federal Census, we find John and Gitel in Denver at 1655 Eliot Street, inside the city. Son Joseph J. Broida, age 18, is living with them, and little Harry (Harold) Broida, age 2. These two boys were their oldest and youngest. Why take only two to Denver? Where were the other children?

We know that Gitel was ill while there. There is no proof that they moved there after she got sick, though it makes sense. Instead, they might have moved to Denver and then she became ill. If they did, however, make the move because she already was ill, the less work she had to deal with, in addition to the move, the better. So it is understandable that she would take just the youngest toddler, Harry, of their dependent children. Maybe Joseph went with them to help support the family. He was working as a clerk in a ‘clothing house’ so was bringing income home, as did John who was working in ‘men’s furnishings.’ This time period was the end of the 1893 depression, so it probably took a couple of breadwinners to support a family. (They also had 4 boarders in the home, so that would have added to their income, but possibly increased Gitel’s workload.) The Broidas had been merchants in Pittsburgh too, so another possibility was they were branching out to start a business in Colorado.

The Broidas valued education, as their children were often listed as attending school in the censuses, so moving those of school age would have been disruptive.

We can only imagine how difficult things must have been for Gitel. She had moved from the horrors of anti-Semitism in Lithuania/Russia to the US, possibly leaving most of her family behind, and then struggled to make it as a poor immigrant in the big cities of the US. The hard decisions Gitel may have had to make with the move to Denver for her health may have made her previous troubles pale in comparison, especially if she knew she might die while away from her other sons. How could she chose to go herself? How could she choose which boys to leave?

Thankfully, the family was very close, and immigrants were used to taking care of their nieces and nephews while parents were in the process of moving to a new country or state to get established.

So what happened to the other boys?

Louis, who was 16 in 1900, and his brother Max (written as “Moros” on census), age 15, were living with their paternal aunt, Kate “Kaile” (Broida) York (1855-1938) and her husband, Joseph York, and their nine children in Carnegie Ward 1, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Uncle Joseph was a dry goods merchant, and two of his sons, born in Russia as he and Kate were, were clerks in a dry goods business- possibly his? Nephew Louie also worked as a dry goods clerk, while Morris attended school. The family employed a live-in servant- probably much needed with 13 other people living in the household!

NOTE: It would have to be Max living in this household, not Morris. “Moros” is the name on the census sheet (Is that ‘Max’ with a Yiddish accent?), and age 15, Aug 1885 birthdate listed; attending school. Max Broida was born 11 Oct 1886 and would be attending school, but Morris was only four, being born in 1896.

Son Theodore “Dave” Broida, age 7 in 1900, was living in Pittsburgh with his maternal uncle, Jacob Frank, his Aunt Maud, and their three children: Mortimer “Morty” Frank, Hilda Frank, and Bessie Frank, plus a servant. With “David Brody” listed as the nephew of Jacob Frank, it answered another question we had asked for years- how were the Broidas related to the Frank & Seder store? Recently a cousin told us that Gitel’s maiden name was Frank, and this 1900 census told us that her brother was Jacob Frank, who took his wholesale business into the retail sphere and became an important name in Pittsburgh and other cities.

Phillip Broida, age 13, cannot be found in the 1900 census, neither on Ancestry.com nor FamilySearch. We also don’t know where young Morris, age four, was staying in 1900. Please let us know if you have any more information as to who might have been caring for these boys while their mother, her husband, and two siblings were out in Denver, desperately hoping that Gitel would regain her health, but that was not to be.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

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

2) See related posts below, plus posts the remainder of this week:

Mystery Monday- Gitel/Gertrude (Frank) Broida: http://heritageramblings.net/2013/11/25/mystery-monday-gitelgertude-frank-broida/

Tuesday’s Tip: Broida Family Research in Denver Colorado Repositories: http://heritageramblings.net/2015/01/27/tuesdays-tip-broida-family-research-in-denver-colorado-repositories/

Those Places Thursday: Denver Colorado and the Broida Family: http://heritageramblings.net/2015/01/29/those-places-thursday-denver-colorado-and-the-broida-family/

3) 1900 US Federal Census for Louis and Morris Broida with Joseph York as Head of Household:Year: 1900; Census Place: Carnegie Ward 1, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1366; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0354; FHL microfilm: 1241366

4) 1900 US Federal census for David Brody with Jacob Frank as Head of Household: Year: 1900; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 6, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1358; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0117; FHL microfilm: 1241358

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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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Harold Broida and Leah (Schreiber) Broida- A Correction

Harold Broida as a young man.
Harold Broida as a young man.

Please visit my previous post about Harold Broida and his wife Leah (Schreiber) Broida to see corrected information.

http://heritageramblings.net/2013/11/16/harold-broida-and-leah-schreiber-broida/

The 1910 US Federal Census used as a source was incorrect in stating that Harold and Morris were nephews of Jacob Broida, the head of household. The old hand-drawn Broida Family Tree and two good chats with a family member with encyclopedic knowledge of this family helped to correct this information- thanks, AG!

It sure would have been nice if the census had been more accurate (but we’re still grateful to have it). Terms like ‘nephew,’ ‘niece,’ ‘cousin,’ and even ‘daughter’ and ‘son’ are not always the relationship we expect when we are reviewing old documents, even those of the last 50 years. They are not always blood relationships, either. Using multiple resources and searching for a ‘preponderance of evidence’ will always help to make our genealogical research more accurate.

And as another family member said, it would have also been nice if this family had used more than about seven names for all their sons…

 

Collaboration- and a blog- really work in family history research!

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family oral history.

2) Broida Family Tree drawn in the 1950s.

 

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Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Mystery Monday- Gitel/Gertude (Frank) Broida

Sarah Gitel Frank holding baby- possibly Theodore? Son Philip standing to the right of her, husband John sitting. The other 3 boys are probably Joseph standing, Louis in center, and Max sitting on right.
Sarah Gitel Frank holding baby- possibly Theodore? Son Philip standing to the right of her, husband John sitting. The other 3 boys are probably Joseph standing, Louis in center, and Max sitting on right.

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.