Wednesday, February 8, 2017

1925 New York State Census ~ Morris Goldstein

Genealogists are familiar with the United State Federal Census, which has been taken every ten years since 1790. The most recent federal census in which we can find our ancestors is the 1940 U.S. Census.

Many states also took censuses in between the federal censuses, and New York is one state where we can find state census records for several years in between federal censuses.

Here is the New York State census record for my husband's grandparents and uncle in 1925. It is the first census record where I find Morris Goldstein. (No luck in the 1915 New York State Census or in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census.)

 New York State Census, 1925, digital images. Ancestry.com.
New York, New York, A.D. 2, E.D. 24. Page 63, line 33, Record for Morris Goldstein.

This census reports that Morris Goldstein is 27 years old, born in Russia, and has been in the United States for 12 years. (Actually he was born in Romania, and immigrated in 1914.) He is listed as an alien (non-citizen), though he supposedly became a citizen after serving in WWI. (Click here to see his C-File.) His occupation is a tailor of pants.
Wife is 23-year-old Rosa (should be Rose) Goldstein, born in the U.S. with occupation House Wife. However, I believe she did tailoring work of some sort for much of her young life.
And here is 1-year-old Uncle Stanley.
(Their daughter, my mother-in-law, was born a couple of years later.)

Some interesting observations:
There are eleven men named Morris Goldstein with wife Rose or Rosa living in New York City or Brooklyn in 1925.
There are 48 people living at number 7 Second Avenue. The birthplaces are U.S., Russia, Italy, and Poland.

We visited New York City last August and found that 7 Second Avenue is still standing.


Forty eight people lived in this five story building at the corner of Second and Houston in 1925. We visited the Tenement Museum when we visited New York and got a taste of how the Goldsteins lived.

It is also a good idea when exploring your relative's census record to scroll back and ahead a couple of pages. In this case, I learned that in 1925 there was a number 5 Second Avenue, a number 3 Second Avenue, and a number 1 1/2 Second Avenue.  East Houston was a much narrower street in 1925 than it is now.


By the 1930 U.S. Census, the family was living in Woodbine, New Jersey.

4 comments:

  1. Amazing that this small apartment building is still standing all these years later. Great photos! Makes me think about what it was like living in these fairly small rooms, just as my ancestors did in the Lower East Side and other areas.

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    1. Yes, I knew it was still standing because my husband had visited it years ago. If you ever get the chance to visit the Tenement Museum, go - you learn all about these tenements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

      Thanks for commenting!

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  2. Great suggestions to look at who else was living in the same building. I am always so focused on the family I am researching that I forget to do that.

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    1. I'm looking for other relatives of the Goldsteins and, after having visited the tenement museum (and read books about the immigrant experience), I'm curious to see the birthplaces of the neighbors.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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