Mystery Monday ~ Max and Gussie Levitt's First Child

Way back in the early days of this blog, I shared census records for my husband's great-grandparents, Max Levitt and Golda Segal in Woodbine, New Jersey. (See Mystery Monday ~ Levitts in Woodbine.)

Specifically, in the 1900 U. S. Federal Census for Dennis Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, I found the family of Max Levitt.

1900 U.S. Federal Census, Dennis Township, Cape May County, New Jersey; Roll: T623_960; Page: 18B;
Enumeration District: 113. Record for Max Levitt.

Max Levitt is listed as born in August 1868 in Australia (should be 1857-58 in Austria) and has been married for three years to wife, Rebecca (should be Gussie), who, in this census, was reportedly born in Russia in May 1877. (Her passenger list reports a birth year of 1869.)

The children living with them were Minnie (age 12), Rebecca (age 11), Davis (age 10), and Daniel (age 1, b. Dec 1898). The census indicates that the wife had given birth to one child, who was still living. It is logical that the wife's one child is Daniel and that the three older children were Max's from an earlier marriage.

My mother-in-law doesn't recognize Minnie or Daniel as siblings or half-siblings of her mother, Rose (not born until 1902), but perhaps Daniel died as an infant, so even Rose may not have known about him. (Minnie is still a mystery.) As I have shared previously, in the 1910 census, the family reports that Gussie had given birth to four children, and all four were living, so that makes one-year-old Daniel in the 1900 census even more mysterious.

Since George, the known oldest brother in the family, was not born until November 1900, this 1-year-old boy couldn't be him.

I recently found the New Jersey index to records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1848-1900 online at FamilySearch.org and I think I have partially solved this mystery. (Note that you do need to be at a Family History Center to view the images for births and deaths.)

Mystery Monday ~ Who Was the Father?

I have been researching my husband's paternal grandmother's family in Hungary, where the records have been microfilmed by the Family History Library. His grandmother's mother, Anna Honevald, was from Hőgyész, one of eleven children of Jacob Honevald and Marie Weisz.

Anna had an older sister, Betti. The last entry in the following image of 1878 birth records is a birth record for a child born out of wedlock:

Hőgyész, Tolna, Hungary, "Registers of Jewish births, marriages and deaths for Hőgyész (1842-1895)"
Birth no. 935. Salomon Honevald. February 20, 1878; Family History Library microfilm #642928.

Salomon was born on February 20. The mark in the column after the Hebrew indicates the baby is male. The following two columns indicate whether the birth is (ehelich) in wedlock or (unehelich) out of wedlock. You can see that Salomon has a mark in the "out of wedlock" column and the column for a father's name is blank.

The mother's name is Betti Honevald, of Hőgyész. The midwife was Regina Wimmer and the bris was 27 February.

The interesting thing about these birth records is that if a child died soon after its birth, the death date was recorded in the birth record. Salomon died on July 21, 1878.

I am able to confirm his death in this volume of 1878 death records on the same microfilm.

Hőgyész, Tolna, Hungary, "Registers of Jewish births, marriages and deaths for Hőgyész (1842-1895)"
Death no. 495. Salomon Honevald. July 21, 1878; Family History Library microfilm #642928.

The bottom entry here notes that Salomon Honevald died on July 21, 1878. The next marks note that he is male and unmarried. I'm not a reader of German or Hungarian, but I'm guessing the word in the next column (Unnfelich) means unknown or unnamed. Betti Honevald is the mother, living in Hőgyész.

Salomon died of Schwindsucht, which translates to Consumption. He was five months old, and was buried in Hőgyész cemetery.

Betti later went on to marry and have children, but there will always be a mystery as to who was the father of her firstborn son.

Mystery Monday ~ Different Names-Same Person?

My husband's great grandmother on his father's side is somewhat of a mystery, especially since I have found several different names for her. I think they all refer to the same person. This post is to share the several sources I have for her name.

Her son, Sam, married on March 10, 1909, in Cleveland, Ohio. See Sam and Sadie's marriage license where the groom's father is Adolf and his mother is Sali Handler.

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Her son, Josef, married on March 10, 1909, in Bonyhád, Tolna, Hungary. See Josef and Lena's marriage record where the groom's father is Aron Handler and his mother is Szoli or Száli Handler.

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Several Handler family members arrived in New York City on May 25, 1911. See Handler Family passenger lists where she is listed as Roza Handler.

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Her daughter, Regina, who arrived in New York City with her in May 1911, married in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 13, 1914 to Jacob Solomon. Regina's marriage license lists her father as Adolf and her mother as Rozalia Handler.

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In the 1920 U.S. Federal Census, the household of Regina (Handler) and Jacob Solomon includes a 60-year-old Rose Goodman, listed as mother and having immigrated in 1911. This may be Regina's mother, as Jacob's mother's name is Anna (as listed on their marriage license). Why she is listed here with the surname of Goodman is a mystery, assuming this is Regina's mother.

The biggest mystery is that I don't know when or where Rozalia (Roza, Rose, Szali, Sali) died, and I cannot find Regina and Jacob Solomon in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census to see if Rose Goodman is still living with them. My next task is to explore Cleveland, Ohio, City Directories.

Son, Sam Handler, died in 1952. His death certificate lists his mother as Sally Handler-Yugoslavia

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However, she is listed as "Don't Know" on her son Joseph's death certificate in 1947 where his father is remembered as Aaron.

I have not found the Hungarian record for her marriage or her birth. (In fact, I'm not sure where in Hungary she was born, possibly Ilok, which is now in Croatia.) Until I find additional records, I am going to suppose that her name was Rozalia, and she was recorded as Roza, Szoli, Sali, or Sally, depending on the source.

December 10, 2012 update: I found a death certificate for Rosie Goodman and a burial record at JewishGen Online Burial Registry for Sally Handler who I believe is the same person.

Mystery Monday ~ Where was Morris Goldstein in 1920?

Morris Goldstein immigrated from Romania to New York in July 1914. I have posted about Morris Goldstein's marriage in 1922 and that he is found in Woodbine, Cape May County, New Jersey in the 1930 Federal census.

For years I have tried to find "my" Morris Goldstein in the New York City 1920 Federal census in various census indexes, and using various census search strategies, but have had no luck. I know that he was born in 1897, lived in the lower East Side, and worked as a tailor. In fact, his World War I draft card indicates all this and that he was living with and working for his brother, Max Goldstein, at 138 Forsyth. However, it looks like they both had moved by the time of the 1920 U.S. Census.

Mystery Monday ~ Levitts in Woodbine

The Levitt home on Jackson Avenue,
Woodbine, New Jersey, photographed in 2003.

As I wrote about in Those Places Thursday ~ Woodbine, New Jersey, the family of Max Levitt moved from New York City to Woodbine soon after arriving in the U.S.

In good genealogical fashion, I will work backwards from what I know to share the history of this Levitt family in Woodbine.

In the 1930 U.S. Federal Census, I find my husband's great grandparents, Max Levitt and his wife Gussie, on Jackson Avenue in Woodbine.

1930 U.S. Federal Census, Woodbine, Cape May County, New Jersey; Roll: 1325; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 28; Record for Max Levitt.

He owns his home, worth $1,500. Max is 73 (born about 1857) and Gussie is 60 (born about 1870). They and their parents are all listed as having been born in Poland. First mystery about this family: His age at first marriage is 34 (married in about 1891) and her age at first marriage is 21 (married in about 1891). That would seem logical, except that based on family stories and earlier census records (see below), Max was married and fathered at least three children before he married Gussie. The language spoken before they came to the U.S. was Yiddish. Max immigrated in 1891; Gussie immigrated in 1890 and they are both naturalized citizens. One son lives with them, Israel [a.k.a. Eddie], born about 1910 in New Jersey, and he is a radio salesman. Another mystery is that this son sold radios, but the household did not own one.