(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.

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

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

Broida Family (Click to see family tree)

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 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.

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 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.

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.

3) Posts that detail more of the Denver story:

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/02/matrilineal-monday-where-were-the-children-of-sarah-gitel-broida-in-1900/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/06/friday-follow-up-death-record-of-sarah-gitel-frank-broida/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/11/wordless-wednesday-mortuary-record-for-sarah-gitel-frank-broida/

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.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.090766,-118.312778,3a,75y,182.9h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sTdOrFA4ii0KG0oLcVNsxPQ!2e 

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

10) See also “Talented Tuesday: Max Broida-Now Starring as Buster Brodie”- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/07/talented-tuesday-max-broida-now-starring-as-buster-brodie/

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.

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

➡ 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.

(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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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

One of our readers, and an excellent Broida researcher, asks a question about who the Rogow family is, and how they are related to the Broidas we are researching. Following is an engagement announcement he found in the 27 Jun 1924 issue of The Jewish Criterion from Pittsburgh, PA:

Krieger—Rogow

Mrs. Goldie Krieger, of Shermaiv Avenue, North Side, announces the engagement of her daughter, Eva, to I. Rogow, of New Kensington, Pa.

Also, the 30 Sep 1927 issue of The Jewish Criterion states that they have a son named Bernard.

Anyone know more about this family and their connection to the Broidas?

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family oral history.

2) A special thanks to Jim Whitener for his conversations with Gertrude (Broida) Cooper asking her to identify many of these old photos, and for writing it down and sharing.

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.