02 February 2016

Tombstone Tuesday: Louis and Rebecca Reitman, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, NY

Louis Reitman, son of Morris Reitman and Dora Kanchek Reitman and brother of Julius Reitman, was also born in Lubin (Labun, Russian Empire). His father's naturalization petition records Louis' birth date as 3 December 1907.[1] Louis entered the United States in 1921 at the age of 15 as Nojach Chajtman and took the name Louis N. Reitman.[2] 

Here lies
Noach son of Moshe
Died 27 Elul 5714
May his soul be bound in the bonds of the living
LOUIS N.
REITMAN
DIED SEPT. 25, 1954
AGE 46 YEARS
----------
BELOVED HUSBAND
AND FATHER 

His father had left for the United States in 1913, before World War I shut down immigration between Europe and the United States, so Louis, his mother and his siblings lived for many years without their father present. Once in the United States, like so many former Lubin residents, Louis became a glazier in New York City.

On 9 February 1936 Louis married Rebecca Greenberg, daughter of Abraham Greenberg and Ida Goldfarb.[3] They married at the Avenue U Educational Centre at 2066 E. 9th Street in Brooklyn. Cantor Seymour Lerner officiated at this congregation that included many former Lubin residents. In fact, my great uncle, Max Garber, was one of the witnesses to the marriage. The other witness was Louis Sacks, who married Louis Reitman's sister, Fannie, about a year later.[4] 

Here lies
An important and beloved woman
Mrs. Rivka Reisel
daughter of Avraham Shmuel, rest in peace
Died 19 Elul 5709 by the Jewish calendar
May her soul be bound in the bonds of the living
----------
REBECCA
REITMAN
DIED
SEPT. 12, 1949
AGE 33 YEARS
----------
BELOVED WIFE
AND MOTHER 

In the 1940 U.S. census enumeration, Louis and Rebecca lived in Manhattan at 155 Ridge Street with their two year old son Avram.[5] Avram Morris Reitman was born 27 October 1937 and died in San Bernardino County, California on 15 February 1992.[6]

Louis and Rebecca Reitman are both buried in one of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plots in Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, NY: block 89, gate 156N. Louis is buried in line 9R, grave 4 and Rebecca is buried in line 7R, grave 4.

Notes:
1. Morris Reitman petition for naturalization (1925), naturalization file 69471, Southern District of New York; Record Group 21: Records of the District Court of the United States; National Archives - Northeast Region, New York City.
2. Manifest, S.S. Kroonland, 9 August 1921, stamped p. 119, line 10, Nojach Chajtman, age 15; images, "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 December 2010). 
3. Kings County, New York, marriage certificate no. 2324 (9 February 1936), Louis Reitman and Rebecca Greenberg; Municipal Archives, New York City.
4. New York County, New York, marriage certificate no. 2061 (31 January 1937), Louis Sacks and Fannie Reitman; Municipal Archives, New York City.
5. 1940 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Manhattan, enumeration district 31-314, sheet 2B, household 43, Louis and Rebecca Reitman family; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 February 2016); NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 2631. 
6. Avram Morris Reitman, entry in "California, Death Index, 1940-1997," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 February 2016). 
Avram Morris Reitman, entry in "U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 February 2016).