Obituary ~ Anita Goldstein Handler (1927-2024)

Anita Handler, photo taken by her son, Steven

HANDLER, ANITA (GOLDSTEIN) - age 97, passed away on September 11 at home in Northfield, New Jersey. Anita was born in Manhattan, New York, on February 23, 1927. Her family moved to Woodbine, Cape May County, New Jersey, when she was a baby. After graduating from Millville High School, she worked as a bookkeeper and dry cleaner in Woodbine.

In 1951, she went to a dance at the Jewish Community Center in Atlantic City and it was there that she met the love of her life, Harry Handler. They were married on January 27, 1952, at the brand-new Breakers Hotel in Atlantic City.

As was customary in Anita's generation, she became a homemaker. Taking care of her four boys was the joy of her life. She had plenty of help raising the boys: Bubbie Rose and Pop-Pop Morris sold their house in Woodbine and moved into their daughter's house in Ventnor, New Jersey.

After her children were grown, she worked for the State of New Jersey at the Unemployment Office in Atlantic City. She had in abundance what was needed: a love for her fellow human being and extraordinary compassion. Anita knew the complicated system well and told the applicants in simple, step-by-step terms how to navigate the frustrating red tape of government.

Anita was predeceased by her parents Morris and Rose Goldstein, husband Harry Handler (64 years married), brother Stanley Goldstein, and sister-in-law Betty Goldstein.

Surviving are sons Joseph Handler (Jodi), Mark Handler (Linda), Alan Handler (Michelle), Steven Handler (Elizabeth); grandchildren Melanie Handler Caruso (Chris), Kenneth Handler (Sarah), Rachel Handler (Grant), Jesse Handler (Lea), Daniel Handler, David Handler, Matthew Handler (Allie); and two great grandchildren.

Graveside services were held on September 12 at the Woodbine Brotherhood Cemetery, in Woodbine, New Jersey.

Stories From the Census ~ One Goldstein Family in 1950

My husband's mother and grandparents were relatively easy to find in the recently-released 1950 U.S. census because I knew exactly where they lived: Woodbine, Cape May County, New Jersey.

They had been living there since just before 1930 and I have previously shared this family's 1930 and 1940 census records.

The Goldstein family lived at 517 Jackson Avenue in Woodbine. Morris was 53 years old, born in Romania and was a naturalized citizen. His occupation was "Examining Coats" at a Mens Garment Factory.  He spent 40 hours working during the prior week.

Rose, age 48 and born in New Jersey, reported that in the last week, most of her work was "H" indicating housekeeping. The following columns tell us that she didn't work outside the home in the prior week, but she was looking for work and her usual occupation was "Trims hats" in a Hat Factory.

23-year-old Anita, born in New York, had worked 40 hours the previous week as a Bookkeeper in a Hat Factory, which is a story she has shared with the family.

1950 U.S. census, Cape May County, New Jersey, Woodbine, ED 5-49, sheet 25, lines 11-13, household 223 (Morris Goldstein family); U.S. National Archives, 1950 Census (https://1950census.archives.gov/search/).

You might notice numerical codes written in on the right-hand-columns. These were added later. The Steve Morse website has a page, Deciphering Occupation Codes, which can help you determine what these numbers mean. (If the occupation or industry is illegible, this tactic might help you identify what your relative did for work!) 

For both Rose and Morris:

Occupation Code of 690 represented "Operatives and kindred workers (n.e.c.)" [not elsewhere classified]

Industry Code of 448 represented "Apparel and accessories"

Class Code of 1 represented "Working for private employer (P)"

For Anita, who worked as a Bookkeeper in a Hat Factory, her Occupation Code of 310 represented "Bookkeepers".

Rose was asked additional sample questions. As the third respondent on this page to be asked the supplemental questions, hers are the third response below. She reported that both her parents were born in Russia and that she completed 8th grade.

Rose worked 15 weeks during 1949 and made $500. In response to "how much money did he receive from interest, dividends, veteran's allowances, pensions, rents or other income," it looks like she reported something, then reported "None." However, I believe that Rose owned additional property in Woodbine and collected rents. Perhaps she didn't want to share that information with the census taker.

In 1949, the relatives in this household earned $2,500 working for wages or salary. I'm sure it helped that Anita was working full-time.

Wedding Wednesday ~ Morris Goldstein and Rose Levitt in 1922

I requested some vital records from the New Jersey Archives earlier this year for some of my ancestors and decided that I should request my husband's maternal grandparents' marriage license. It did take over two months, but that was fine with me.

New Jersey Bureau of Vital Statistics, Marriage Certificate no. 786 (26 August 1922) for Morris Goldstein and Rose Levitt; New Jersey Archives, Trenton, NJ.

Morris Goldstein and Rose Levitt married on 26 August 1922, in Woodbine, Cape May County, New Jersey... at 10 P.M. (A perpetual calendar tells me that August 26 that year was a Saturday, Shabbat, so they had to wait until after sundown to marry. However, Wolfram Alpha tells me that sunset was at 7:40 P.M. that day, so it's interesting that they married so late in the evening.)

The Groom's information was entered where the Bride's information was supposed to be entered and vice-versa, so I'm not transcribing this exactly as written:

The bride lived in Woodbine, New Jersey and was born there 21 years before. Her father was Max (Levitt) and her mother was named as Gertrude Segal. (I have found record for her under the names Golda, Goldie, Golde, and Gussie, but never Gertrude; my mother-in-law had never heard that name for her grandmother before.)

The groom lived in New York City (I think that says #9 2nd Ave). He was born 24 years before, in Yosse (Iași), Romania. His parents were Isaac Goldstein and Shary (?) Moskowitz. (Two other records I have give her name as Scheiba and Sarah; my mother-in-law remembers her name as Sheva.)

D. Sussman was Don Sussman, the Rabbi at the synagogue (1920 U.S. census for Woodbine) who officiated at the ceremony.

I think there are two witnesses: H. Jaffe was Harris Joffe in the 1920 U.S. census and I can't read the other name - let me know if you can!

Morris's parents never came to America; can you imagine having to send a letter home to Romania letting your family know about your marriage? So different from today.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Four Children in Atlantic City

Here are the four children from last week's family group photograph. This is how I knew last week's photo was taken in Atlantic City.

The front of the rolling chair has an Atlantic City banner across it, and underneath, the name GARRETT.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Unknown Family in Atlantic City

Another photograph from my mother-in-law's collection. We have no idea who this family might be.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday ~ Unknown Child

This photograph came to me from my mother-in-law. She thinks it might be one of her mother's Litwin cousins. There is nothing written on the back. I love the bell being used as a prop to keep the child occupied during the photography session!

Could this be a child of Samuel Litwin and Sophie (Levitas) Litwin of Newark, New Jersey? Their children were David Litwin (b. May 1896), Moses Litwin (b. 1907), and Jeanette Litwin (b. 1910).

I have written about the Litwins at:
Sunday's Obituary ~ Samuel Litwin, 1935
Workday Wednesday ~ Assemblyman David Litwin

M. Olesky, the mark of the photographer, is likely Morris Olesky, found in the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Federal Census with occupation of photographer, but not found in the Newark, New Jersey, city directories for this period of time. Too bad the lower right hand corner has broken off; I wonder if there was additional information there.

If you know who this child is or if you descend from Samuel and Sophie Litwin of Newark, New Jersey, please contact me at elizhandler -at- gmail.com.

Segal Family in the New Jersey, State Census, 1905

As I was writing about the Segal / Siegel / Seigle family in New Jersey, I realized that I had never looked for Simche Segal's family in the 1905 state census for New Jersey. State censuses were taken in New Jersey every ten years from 1855 to 1915, and Ancestry recently made more of these records available. Most are also available on FamilySearch.org (a free website). This is great for finding families who may have moved between the federal censuses taken every ten years in years ending in 0.

In 1895 (see Census Searching) and in 1900 (see More on Simche Segal Family), the family was in Dennis, Cape May County, New Jersey. In 1903, the Borough of Woodbine was incorporated, so the 1905 New Jersey State Census shows that the family lived in Woodbine.

I recently spent some time exploring the 1905 New Jersey state census in Woodbine for my husband's relatives. (These records can be found at both FamilySearch and at Ancestry, though Ancestry had mis-indexed the county for Woodbine - it's Cape May, which was totally missing, not Camden. Yes, I reported this error to Ancestry.)

1905 New Jersey State Census, Cape May County, population schedule, Borough of Woodbine, p. 3B, dwelling 40, family 53, Sam Segal; digital images, FamilySearch.org (https:www.familysearch.org : accessed 10 February 2018).

I don't know if it was due to a language barrier, but I found many discrepancies between what the 1905 census reported for ages (and some names) and other records.

Analyzing a DNA Match ~ Who is the Common Ancestor

Once I decided that I should be able to determine the common ancestor (also known as the MRCA: Most Recent Common Ancestor) of my husband and Mr. K. (see previous post: Analyzing a DNA Match), I clicked on the envelope icon next to the name of the match and sent an email. In the email I noted that she and my husband had a match in common with the surname Seigle, and I provided my husband's Segal ancestry (which can be seen at Surname Saturday ~ Segal of Ukraine and New Jersey).

H.K. initially replied to my email noting that she had relatives in Wildwood (New Jersey, where Simche Segal died) and a few days later, she emailed again, while at a family barbecue, and was able to tell me that Lena Segal was her great grandmother on her father's side. She also mentioned her grandmother's maiden name as Sylvia Dlugatch.

I then replied to H.K. the following:

Aha! This confirms a theory that I had worked on a couple of years ago. Lena Segal was the daughter of Simche Segal and his second wife, Rebecca (Blume) Katz. It appears that you and my husband are third cousins and your father and my mother-in-law are second cousins.

I find that a family tree diagram helps place distant family members' relationships.

My theory came from finding Lena (Segal) Dlugatch enumerated twice in the 1910 U.S. Census, which confused me and made me unsure if I had the right person.

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.)

Tuesday's Tip ~ Spelling Doesn't Count

I recently visited a Family History Center in order to view some images from FamilySearch.org that are not available to me at home.

The images I viewed were from the New Jersey index to records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1848-1900. Some were for my family in northern New Jersey, and some were for my husband's family in Cape May County, in the southern part of the state. (See the image at right from Wikimedia Commons for the location of Cape May County.)

Two years ago, I shared an image of the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) for my husband's great-grandparents, Max Levitt and Golda Segal. The Hebrew date translated to 26 October 1898.

Although these records are indexed at FamilySearch.org, I had not found the marriage record of Max and Golda in the index because their names were not what I expected. I had to browse the marriages year-by-year, looking for Cape May County, which, being sparsely populated at the time, made it not too painful.

Following is the page for the Index Register of Marriages in Cape May County, 1898-99:

Division of Archives and Record Management, New Jersey Department of State, Trenton. New Jersey index to records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1848-1900 (Salt Lake City, UT, USA, FamilySearch.org, 2017). Family History Library microfilm, #589818, Marriages Atlantic-Hudson v. 36 1898-1899, image 137 of 372. p. 124, line 59, Maik Levin-Lossie Siegel marriage, 26 October 1898.

The marriage of my husband's great-grandparents is the last one on this page, with a date of 26 October 1898.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Harry Handler

My father-in-law died in March (I previously shared the obituary) and a few weeks ago, the family gathered again at Woodbine Brotherhood Cemetery in Woodbine, New Jersey for the unveiling of the gravestone.

The Hebrew reads: Tzvi Hersh son of Joseph the Levite and Lena

The family plot is mostly relatives of my mother-in-law and Handler was added to the plot stone.

See other gravestones at this plot here and here. My mother-in-law's grandparents' stones can be seen here.

USCIS C-File for Morris Goldstein

About a year ago, I shared the Certificate of Citizenship for my husband's grandfather, Morris Goldstein. It was a re-issued certificate for one that had been lost. I was confused because there were several facts on this certificate that conflicted with what I already knew about Morris.

Emily Garber of (going) the Extra Yad asked if I had applied for Morris' file with the USCIS genealogy program. I decided this was a good idea and started the process a few weeks after that blog post.

A C-File is a Certificate File, which documents an individual's naturalization. C-Files contain copies of records that show the granting of naturalized U.S. citizenship by courts between 1906 and 1956.

The first place to go is USCIS / Genealogy.

I first requested an index search in case there was more than one file number. It turns out that the number on the Certificate of Citizenship was the one file number that was returned: 984234. It took a little over three months to get this.

A little more than four months after submitting the request for the C-File, I received the twelve photocopied pages in the mail. I scanned the images and did my best to transcribe them.

It confirmed for me that yes, this Morris Goldstein (known as Pop-pop to his grandchildren) was mixed up with another Morris Goldstein of Rhode Island.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Rebecca Katz

A wonderful Find A Grave volunteer set up several memorials in the Beth Kehillah Cemetery in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, where I found Rebecca (Blume) and Benjamin Katz.

Courtesy FindAGrave volunteer, Carol Chakurda

Although the tombstone only has the year of death, the Hebrew tells me the date of death. I used the Deciphering Hebrew Tombstone Dates at the Steve Morse website to figure out what the Hebrew said (and then received confirmation from members of the Tracing the Tribe Facebook Group):

Benjamin:
Binyamin son of Mr. Meir, who went to his eternal rest on 23 Nisan 5712 (April 17-18, 1952).

Rebecca:
Bluma daughter of Mr. Eliezer, who went to her eternal rest on 2 Sivan 5714 (June 2-3, 1954).

I still need to find additional confirmation of the secular date of death. Hebrew dates start at sundown.

Blume (or Rebecca) Katz Siegel Katz

The first wife of my husband's second great grandfather, Simche Siegel (believed to be named Rose), died before Simche immigrated to America. His second wife appears named as Rebecca, Bertha or Blume, depending on the record. Also depending on the record, she was born anywhere between 1865 (passenger list) and 1879 (the 1930 U.S. Census). Considering her first child was born about 1891, it's not possible for her to have been born in 1879!

The extended Siegel family arrived in New York City on December 15, 1891, on the Circassia. I shared the passenger list at Thankful Thursday ~ International Passenger Lists. Simche's wife is listed as Blume Siegel. Where does Katz come from? Keep reading for the explanation for the title of this post.

By 1895, the family was living in Dennis, Cape May County, New Jersey. I shared this New Jersey State Census record at Census Searching ~ Listen to All Family Stories. It is in this census that I first find Rebecca's name.

Simche became a naturalized citizen in 1899 which made his wife a citizen too, though she is not named in this document. In 1900, the family (56-year-old "Samuel" and 26-year-old "Bertha" have two children: Lena and Louis) is again in Dennis Township.

Blume/Rebecca had three children with Simche:
Lena (born about 1891), who arrived as an infant with them from Russia.
Lewis (born 1899 in New Jersey), who went by Seigle.
Edward (born 1903 as Israel in New Jersey), who also went by Seigle.

By 1910, the family was living in Holly Beach, which became part of Wildwood in 1912.

1910 U.S. Federal Census, Holly Beach, Cape May County, New Jersey; Roll: T624_870;
Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 90; Record for Samuel Segal.

Despite misspellings, this federal census tells me a lot: 66-year-old Samuel Segal, head of household and his (second) wife, 38-year-old Rebecca, have been married 20 years and were born in "Rushia." Daughter Lena, is married with a child (but no husband or child listed here), Louis (age 10, born in New Jersey), and "Isereal" (age 7, born in New Jersey). Also listed is a Benjiman Levin, a brother-in-law: is he a brother of Rebecca or possibly of Simche's first wife, Rose?

Surname Saturday ~ Segal (or Siegel) of Ukraine and New Jersey

I am using the Surname Saturday prompt to review the ancestral lines for my husband's family.

The surname Segal is another name that is spelled in many different ways in different records. I have found Segal, Segel, Siegel, Seigel, and Seigle (which some descendants still use today). To make it easier, I will use just Segal in this post.

The earliest ancestor I know the name of is Israel Segal, which is the name listed on his son's death certificate. The Hebrew on his son's tombstone (image below) at Tifereth Israel Cemetery in Woodbine, New Jersey, lists his name as Yehuda.

All I know of Yehuda / Israel is that he had a son, Simche, and a daughter, Henda. (See Connecting With a Segal Cousin for that information!)

Wedding Wednesday ~ 1898 Ketubah

A ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract between husband and wife. It is traditionally all in Hebrew, though more recently, a ketubah will have English on the left side and Hebrew on the right.

My brother-in-law recently found a ketubah among family papers and thought it was for his grandparents, Rose and Morris, who were married in 1922. He had it framed and when I said I would try to get a translation of the handwritten entries, he took a photograph and emailed it to me.

Surname Saturday ~ Levitas of Galicia and Levitt of New Jersey

I am using the Surname Saturday prompt to review the ancestral lines for my husband's family.

The earliest ancestor I've found appears to be Moses Leiser Lewites because of the help I received from a fellow genealogist. Just last year, I discovered the community where Max Levitt came from: Husiatyn, Galicia, Austrian Empire.

See Levitas = Lewites from Austria for the little bit of information I know about Moses Leiser Lewites. His wife was Gittel Jorisha, and they had several children between 1854 and 1871 in Husyatyn, according to the records I found at JRI-Poland.

I know of three of their children who immigrated to America:
Max, who changed his name from Levitas to Levitt and settled in Woodbine, New Jersey (see below).
Emanual, who became a successful garter manufacturer in New York, along with his wife, Sarah.
Sosie or Sophie, who married Samuel Litwin and settled in Newark, New Jersey.

Generation 2: Model Lewites was born on May 6, 1857, in Husiatyn, Galicia, as I found in the JRI-Poland databases. I previously shared this at Levitas = Lewites from Austria.

He married in the early 1880s and had at least three or four children. By the time he immigrated to America, in late 1894, he was a widower. Unfortunately, I have not had luck finding his passenger list, though I did find his naturalization papers. Max Levitt became a citizen in Cape May County, New Jersey, on September 30, 1903.

Although it is not officially stated in these papers that he wished to change his name to Max Levitt, all United States records that I have found for him have him as Max Levitt. The only reason I knew to look for siblings Emanual and Sophie was because of my mother-in-law's wonderful memory.

From 1900-1930, he is living in Woodbine, New Jersey. See the family's census records at Mystery Monday ~ Levitts in Woodbine.

At some point in the late 1890s (I haven't found a marriage record), Max married Golda Segal, most likely in Woodbine. They had four known children: George, Rose, Morton, and Edward. There was possibly one earlier child: as I noted in the Mystery Monday post, there was a one-year-old Daniel Levitt listed with the family in the 1900 U.S. Census, but I have found no other information for this him. Perhaps he died young and was never mentioned again?

Max died on May 3, 1935. I shared his death certificate here. His son Morton was the informant and knew his grandfather's name as Moses L., but he did not know his grandmother's name.

Morris and Rose, 1941

Generation 3: Rose Levitt, the second child of Max and Golda, was born on October 12, 1902, in Woodbine, New Jersey. She married Morris Goldstein on August 26, 1922, in Woodbine, New Jersey. The lived in the lower East Side of Manhattan for a few years, where their two children were born, but returned to Woodbine, where they lived for over 30 years.

I knew Rose, who died on December 26, 1995. She had several stories about her life and about her family, and she was thrilled when I came along and was interested enough in her stories that I brought along a pad of paper and a pen to write them down when we visited. Of course, since I have done a great deal more research on the family, there are many more questions I wish I had asked her.

Generation 4: My mother-in-law.

Generation 5: My husband.

Surname Saturday ~ Goldstein of Romania and New Jersey

I am using the Surname Saturday prompt to review the ancestral lines for my husband's family.

The earliest Goldstein whose name I know may not have even been a Goldstein!

Isaac lived in Iasi, Romania. Family lore said that his surname was Yancu and that the name was changed to Goldstein at Ellis Island. However, (1) names were never changed at Ellis Island, and (2) I found Moische Goldstein on a passenger list with the surname Goldstein AND referencing his father in Iasi, Romania, as Itzik Goldstein. Moische Goldstein arrived in New York on August 3, 1914. This is the second page of his passenger list record.

The name and complete address of nearest relative or friend
in country whence alien came:
father: Itzik Goldstein
Strada Ruksanska Yassy

Isaac Yancu was married to Sheva Moskowitz (listed as Scheiba on her daughter's death certificate). I have one photograph of her. They had six sons and one daughter. I'm not sure of the birth order and don't have much primary source information for the following:

• Max (1892-1956) - lived in New York City and was the first to emigrate to America. I have written about him and his family.
• Anna (1895-1918) - emigrated with Morris in 1914 and died in New York. I shared her death certificate here.
• Moische / Morris (1897-1965) - see below.
• Mendel - maybe emigrated to Israel; maybe remained in Romania (dying young?)
• Shmuel-Leib Yancu - emigrated to Israel. See a photograph of him here and here.
• Pineu Goldstein - remained in Romania. See his photograph here, though my mother-in-law always thought that this photograph was of the youngest brother.
• Usher - is remembered as the youngest and he emigrated to Israel.

Son Morris' gravestone has the inscription: Moshe Hersh bar Yitzchak Halevi, which indicates his father, a Levite, was named Yitzchak. I'm still waiting on FindAGrave photo requests for sister, Anna, and brother, Max, of Morris (buried at Mount Judah Cemetery, Ridgewood, Queens) in order to see what the Hebrew on their gravestones is.

Based on my mother-in-law's memories, I believe Sheva died in the mid-1930s and Isaac died in the late 1930s, both in Romania. Although there is a story that Sheva came to America and was sent back to Romania for health reasons, I have not found any evidence of this.

Certificate of Citizenship for Morris Goldstein

In April, when we visited my parents-in-law for Passover, my mother-in-law remembered that she had found something that she wanted me to have: her father's certificate of citizenship!

It turns out that this is a replacement for one that must have been "lost, mutilated, or destroyed."

Finding New Jersey County Naturalization Records

My mother-in-law's family arrived in Woodbine, New Jersey, soon after its founding in 1891. I have written about the naturalization of her father, Max Levitt, and her great-grandfather, Simche Siegel, both in Cape May County, New Jersey.

An ongoing project is to clean up my source citations in Family Tree Maker. I had found another naturalization record, for Simche's son-in-law, Wolff (or William) Siegel, at FamilySearch.org in the New Jersey, Cape May County, New Jersey, County Naturalization Records, 1749-1986 and wanted to make sure my source citations were consistent for these three. I then realized that I had received Simche Siegel's records from a Seigle/Segal cousin, and had used a different (not very complete) citation. In order to make these citations consistent, I explored FamilySearch's Cape May County Naturalizations again, looking for Simche.