Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

We are not sure just who this Sophie (maiden name unknown) Broida is, nor her husband Max Broida. They are not known to any of the long-time Broida researchers, so if you have any clues, please let us know!

‘Broida’ is a fairly unique name in the United States- if you have it, you are most likely related. The Karklinsky family changed their name when they immigrated to the US, and the lines were very prolific so there are a lot of Broida descendants.

There are some folks who had the name Brode, Brodie, Broido, Broidy, etc., that have sometimes been confused with our Broida name. Not in this case, however, as we have found Sophie’s death certificate, which states her name exactly as in the obituary. It also indicates she was 65 years, 10 months, and 2 days old at her death on 17 February 1940, and she was born in Russia. The names of her parents were unknown but they too were born in Russia.

Sophie’s son Harry Broida of 2164 Dellwood, Jacksonville, FL was the informant on the death certificate. The death certificate also states that she was married to Max Broida- it does not list her as widowed. All this information correlates with the obituary.

Where to look next? A search on Find A Grave brought up a memorial for Sophie, and in the image a headstone for Max was slightly visible to the side. Checking for other Broidas in the cemetery, yes, there was a Max Broida, with his own memorial and stone next to Sophie’s. Sophie’s stone states “Beloved Wife and Mother” so we know she predeceased her husband and had children; the headstone for Max says “Beloved Father.” They were both buried in the Gates of Wisdom section of Shaare Torah Cemetery in Pittsburgh. (Click on the cemetery name in Find A Grave to learn about any old names for the cemetery, exactly where it is located, and contact information. That helped us to know that this was the correct Sophie and Max, even though initially the cemetery name seemed wrong.)

Next step? We now have the date of death- 24 Jan 1948- for this Max Broida, so back to looking for a Pennsylvania Death Certificate. Ancestry.com now has the PA Death Certificates, and here is the pertinent information for Max:

Let’s see what we can learn from the death certificate:

Wife Sophie, and predeceased him? √

Residence 36 Vine in Pittsburgh? √

Birthplace Russia? √

( Lithuania belonged to Russia at various times.)

Informant known to us to have knowledge of the family? √

(Yes, it was their son Jacob Broida, who lived in West Virginia, who we know from Sophie’s obituary.)

And the best thing about this death certificate? It names Max Broida’s father as Abraham. That is a big clue.

Another big clue? The birthplace of Lithuania for both mother and father of Max, and the fact that Max was born there as well- our Broidas came from Lithuania which was also called Russia on many of their documents. There was a famous Rabbi in Lithuania which may be why our ancestors took the Broida name, and this could have been the case with this family as well. Or they could be descendants of the Rabbi, or even related to our Broida lines.

So back to the Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project to find an obituary for this Max Broida:

Again, the obituary corroborates other information we have found, but disappointingly nothing new.

So where do we go from here?

A quick addition of these two persons to Ancestry.com generates some of the famous shaking leaves. In addition to the information already found, there is a 1932 Pittsburgh City Directory entry for them. Maddeningly, it does not list the occupation of Max, but he may have been retired by then. It does list Sophie as his wife, and notes they live at 36 Vine.

The leaves aren’t leading to censuses, so an Ancestry search can help us there. A 1930 census for the family in Pittsburgh shows daughter Florence living with Max and Sophie, but also a 19 year-old son named Albert, who is a salesclerk in a grocery store; Florence is a salesclerk in a department store. Albert is not listed as surviving in either obituary, so he may have died in his 20s. Sophie and Max own their home at 36 Vine which was worth $3,000, and they even had a radio. BUT- they are listed with the last name of “Brodie”- very clearly written, and indexed that way too. Both Sophie and Max spoke Yiddish according to the census, so maybe the two names sounded the same to the census taker, or a neighbor gave the information incorrectly?

So let’s keep on searching- the 1920 census is next as we move back in time. Max and Sophie BRODY are listed in Pittsburgh Ward 3, living at 32 Townsend. Max is listed as a tinner for the electric company, and there are 5 children living with them: Gilbert, Minnie, Harry, Florence, and Abe. (Two- Gilbert and Minnie- that we did not know about. Again, maybe they died as young adults since they are not noted in the obituaries.) The three oldest were born in Russia, with Florence and Abe born in Pennsylvania. Apparently Max immigrated in 1904, and the family followed in 1907; they all became naturalized in 1915.

We can’t find the family in 1910, although they all would have been in the US by then if the 1920 and 1930 censuses are correct.

So where are we with this family? Are they some of the folks who shifted their name from census to census, sometimes using our family name of “Broida,” or sometimes a similar version? Using more census records, city directories, and newspapers would be another way to learn more about this family, and we could possibly even find immigration records.

Focusing on the father of Max would be important- was Abraham related to our Broidas? Did he ever come to the US himself? Maybe following up on the children of Sophie and Max Broida might give us more clues, and maybe cousins. And that is part of the reason this blog was begun: cousin-bait.  Hopefully some of these Broida (we-don’t-think-are-) cousins might find this and help us learn they really are related to us.

Or not– sometimes knowing who is NOT related is important in genealogy too.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Obituary of Sophie Broida who died 23 Februrary 1940 in Pittsburgh, PA used with the kind permission of the American Jewish Outlook, page 13, column 1. Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project, http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/portal/collections/pjn/index.jsp
2. Thanks to Mitch and Ann, as usual, for their thoughts on this family.
3. Intriguingly, there is a partial view of a stone next to that of Max on FAG that has the name of “Max B” showing, and the date of death starts with an “F” (for February?) Only Sophie and Max are noted as Broidas in the cemetery, but it would be interesting to see what the full name is on the adjacent headstone. (Research is like potato chips…)
4. Find A Grave Memorials:
   Max Broida- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=153070616
   Sophie (__) Broida- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=153070616

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family-

The Broida family of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere held regular reunions back in the 1930s-50s. They had a dedicated group of volunteers who planned fun reunions that everyone looked forward to, and some traveled long distances to attend. There were even newsletters produced for all the family- we have already posted the 1937 Broida Reunion News.

Announcements of the reunions were posted in The Jewish Criterion in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and possibly other newspapers. This post includes the three earliest we have found.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) The Pittsburgh Jewish Criterion and other newspapers are available at the Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project, available to search at http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/pjn/index.jsp. The Congregation has kindly given us permission to post articles, and hopes that others will avail themselves of this wonderful resource to give life to their ancestors and their communities. Specific citations are included with images.

2) Sentimental Sunday: 1937 Broida Family Reunion: http://heritageramblings.net/2014/08/17/sentimental-sunday-1937-broida-family-reunion/.

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Report of the Death of an American Citizen- John Broida via Ancestry.com. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C.; General Records of the Department of State; Record Group: RG59-Entry 205; Box Number: 1738; Box Description: 1930-1939 Palestine A – E.

2) Ok, this post is technically not totally wordless, but they are images…

3) This report indicates that John Broida maintained his American citizenship even after he moved to palestine.

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

(Click for Family Tree)

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.

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.