Wordless Wednesday ~ Margaret Handler Levine 1913-2012

My husband's Aunt Margaret in the early 1940's, in Akron, Ohio, before the brothers went to war.

Louis, Margaret, and Alfred Handler

And Aunt Margaret at a family wedding in 1991:

Always with a smile on her face.

Sympathy Saturday ~ Remembering Aunt Margaret

My husband's aunt, Margaret (Handler) Levine, passed away a year ago. She had lived a long life and was cherished by those who knew her. I only got to meet her a couple of times and could see why everyone loved her.

She had been a widow for over 30 years and had no children, but I wanted to share a bit about her to ensure she will be remembered.

Margaret Handler was the second child of Joseph Handler and Lena (Hollander) Handler, and the first of their children to be born in America. I wrote about the passenger lists that showed Joseph's arrival in America in 1910, Lena's arrival in 1911, and Lena's return arrival in 1916 with their two children, Arpad (Arthur) and Margaret, after having gone back to Hungary for a visit.

I have also written about Joseph Handler's naturalization, which includes birth information for his children. This indicates that Margaret was born August 26, 1914, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Margaret contracted polio as a young child, supposedly on the return trip from Hungary in 1916. She survived, but had a limp for the rest of her life.

Margaret married Meyer Levine on June 23, 1947, in Akron, Ohio. As you can see from the marriage record below, Margaret and Meyer were neighbors on Rhodes Avenue. The marriage record notes that "Margaret Handler is 33 years of age on the 26 day of August 1946," implying that she was born on August 26, 1913, a discrepancy with the birth date noted above. August 26, 1913, is also the birth date recognized in the Social Security Death Index.

Ancestry.com, Summit County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 1840-1980 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), www.ancestry.com online database. Record for Meyer Levine and Margaret Handler

Aunt Margaret (known as Aunt Marge) and Uncle Meyer lived in Akron their entire lives. Uncle Meyer died in 1977.

Cousin Edward Nappen of Atlantic City

If you've been following my posts about the Napadensky / Nappen family, you'll know that Edward Nappen was the son of Barnett and Hannah (Segal) Nappen. Hannah is sister to Rachel (Segal) Siegel, and to my husband's great-great-grandmother, Golda (Segal) Levitt. Therefore, Edward is first cousin to Rose (Levitt) Goldstein.

Edward Nappen married Anna Braudy in about 1922 and was living in Atlantic City by 1926, when their second son was born.

As I shared last week, in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, his widowed mother, Anna (Hannah) was living with his family. Following is the rest of the census line for Edward.

Detail from 1940 U.S. Census for Edward Nappen in Atlantic City, New Jersey

His occupation is Magistrate, working for Atlantic County. He worked all 52 weeks of the prior year and made $8,000.

I find the Nappen family in city directories for Atlantic City from the 1920's to the 1950's. Following is from the 1956 Atlantic City Directory and all the Nappens listed are from the same family.

1956 Atlantic City, NJ directory from Ancestry.com U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989

• Bernard is Edward's second son. Joyce is his wife. It looks like he is a teacher and lives in Ventnor (indicated by the V after the address).
• Edward (wife Anna) is listed as a clerk for the County Detective Bureau. Note that he still lives at 15 S. Florida Ave.
• Enoch is his youngest son and was likely in college at this time.
• Hannah (widow of Barnett) is still living with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson.
• Mortimer, Edward's oldest son, is a detective for the City Police Department, and also lives in Ventnor.

Before the HBO TV series, was the book, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, by Nelson Johnson (Medford, NJ: Plexus Publishing, Inc. 2002). This is the story of Atlantic City from its earliest days as a beach village providing affordable vacations to those coming by train from Philadelphia, through the 20th century, detailing all the politics and corruption that has made Atlantic City the resort town that it is today. (We happen to own a copy of this book and have read it. If you're from the area, it is a must-read to learn about the island's history.)

Napadensky Family becomes Nappen Family

Last week, I wrote about the early married life of Hannah (Segal) Napadensky. Originally, I knew the surname as Nappen, so it was interesting to work backwards and find that the name was originally Napadensky.

By 1920, the family had "Americanized" their last name to Nappen and they had moved to Philadelphia. The children of Barnett and Anna Nappen in the 1920 US Census household are listed as Edward (age 24), Abraham (age 17), Agusta (age 12), and Zelda (age 8).

1920 U.S. Census, Philadelphia Ward 24, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1627; Page 10A;
Lines 33-38; Record for family of Barnett Nappen.

The year of immigration for Barnett and Anna is now listed for both of them as 1882. According to this census record, he became a naturalized citizen in 1897 and she in 1892. Here, Barnett's occupation is listed as Retail Cigar Store. The three youngest children are listed as attending school, though Abraham was also listed with an occupation of apprentice in a machine shop. Edward's occupation is salesman for wholesale confectionary.

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In 1930, Barnett and Anna were still living in Philadelphia with children Albert, Augusta, and Zelda, and Barnett has returned to the tailoring business where he is a Presser.