Tombstone Tuesday ~ Sam and Sadie Handler

Photo credit Alan Simon

Shalom son of Aaron (I think; at least that's what it should read).
Sam Handler
Husband - Father
1887 - 1954

See his Find A Grave Memorial with additional pictures and links to family members. His death certificate names his father as Arthur.

Photo credit Alan Simon

And his wife, Sadie, who outlived Sam by over 30 years. Link to her Find A Grave Memorial.

A Second Cousin Contacted Me!

Just a few days ago, a second cousin of my husband's found my blog and contacted me. He is a grandson of Sam and Sadie Handler. We spent over an hour on the phone talking about the Handler family. How exciting to find a relative who has as much interest in family history as I do!

He is interested in finding out more about the Electura Water and Beverage company that his grandfather founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1920's and likely found this Workday Wednesday post I wrote about Sam because I mention the Electura Water and Beverage Company and the Sante Beverage Company which he founded after Electura. I had found mention of these companies in Cleveland City Directories under his name.

Sam and Sadie

He also noticed the photograph I shared of Sam and Sadie because he has a copy of the same picture.

He has written about growing up in California with his grandparents at The Simon Story where you will see the same photograph.

This second cousin has shared quite a bit with me and I will share some of this in future blog posts.

Thank you Alan!

Amanuensis Monday ~ Sam Handler's Death Certificate

During this past summer, I learned a lot about my husband's great uncle, Sam Handler. I discovered that he was a successful businessman in Cleveland, Ohio, and that along with his wife, Sadie, daughter, Esther, and son-in-law, David Simon, he moved to California, where he died in June 1954.

His obituary noted that he died at his residence, Sherman Oaks, California, on June 8, 1954. It was very easy to download a form at the website for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and send away for his death certificate.

Closeup of the certificate is below:

Sunday's Obituary ~ Sam Handler, 1954

I've been writing about the Sam Handler family and recently wondered where Sam and Sadie died. I searched for Sam Handler on Archives.com and found a Sam Handler in the death index in Los Angeles, California that possibly fit. When I asked my husband if he remembered any relatives going to California, he did! He remembered a meeting a Simon (which was David Simon, who married Sam and Sadie's daughter, Esther) at a Handler cousin wedding in Ohio in 1988. When I found Sadie Handler in the California death index in 1988 with mother's maiden name of Hershkowitz, that confirmed that I found them.

I noted this in an email to the reader in Ohio who has taken an interest in this research and once again I must thank him for directing me to another Cleveland, Ohio, research source - the Cleveland Public Library website.

The Cleveland Public Library has a Research page with information about how to search for Death Notices, Obituaries and Death Certificates. One section is the Cleveland Necrology File. From the initial search page is the following description:

The Cleveland Necrology File was produced from a microfilmed copy of an alphabetical card file containing local cemetery records and newspaper death notices gathered by the staff of the Cleveland Public Library. 

The database includes paid death notices published in the following newspapers:

• The Cleveland Plain Dealer - 1850-1975
• The Cleveland Herald - 1833, 1847-1848, 1876, 1878-1879
• The Cleveland Press - 1941-1975

Searching for Sam Handler, I find the following:

Id#: 0534346
Name: Handler, Sam
Date: Jun 14 1954
Source: Cleveland Press;  Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #115.
Notes: Handler, Sam, formerly of Cleveland, passed away June 8 at his residence, Sherman Oaks, Calif., beloved husband of Sadie, dearly devoted father of Arthur Handley [sic] of Cleveland and Mrs. Esther Simon of Sherman Oaks, Calif., dear brother of Mrs. Regina Solomon of Cleveland, and dear grandfather. Services and interment were held on June 9, at Los Angeles, Calif.

Note that the obituary doesn't indicate that he was predeceased by an older brother, Joseph Handler.

Update: See his death certificate.