Treasure Chest Thursday: Nathan Garber, 1925 Census

Nathan Garber has been a refreshing departure from the great gaggle of immigrant glaziers - or whatever one should call an extraordinarily large gathering of one occupation - in my family. On my father's side of the family, his father Jack, one Garber uncle (Eddie), grandfather Isidore Morris, his uncles Max and Murray Morris, along with every one of his  grandmother's (Sarah Myers Morris) brothers (Myer, Louis, Joseph and Harry Myers). The only ones who were not glaziers were my grandfather's brothers Nathan and Max who were in the dairy (butter and eggs) business.

One often hears that it is good genealogical practice to go back to records in one's possession and look at them with fresh eyes. In deciding which record to include in today's post I initially thought I would cover the 1925 New York State Census enumeration for my great grandfather Abraham Garber. I recalled that he lived in the same tenement building as his eldest son Nathan's family: 230-232 Madison Street, New York, New York. Nathan's family was not enumerated on the same page as Abraham. They are on the previous page. And when I looked at Nathan's information I was surprised to see something I'd not noticed before: his occupation was listed as . . . glass business.

Detail of 1925 New York State Census page for Nathan Garber; full page, below [1]

230-32 Madison Street, New York County, New York
Assembly District 1
Enumeration District 7

Nathan Garber, head of the family, white race, male, age 40, born in Russia, 15 years in the United States, citizen, naturalization info unknown, occupation glass business, own account.

Yetta Garber, wife, white race, female, age 39, born in Russia, 13 years in the US, citizen, naturalization information unknown, occupation housewife.

Ray Garber, daughter, white race, female, age 18, born in Russia, 13 years in the US, alien, occupation ladies wear helper, worker.

Lillie Garber, daughter, white race, female, age 16, born in Russia, 13 years in the IS, alien, in school.

Irving Garber, son, white race, male, age 5, born in the US, citizen.

Nathan was 40 years old and had been in the United States since 18 June 1910.[2] His family (Yetta, Ray and Lillie) arrived with my grandfather Jack on 2 September 1912.[3] Nathan and Yetta's son Irving was born in New York City.

Nathan became a citizen 1 July 1919. [4] So actually, he, Yetta and both Ray and Lillie acquired citizenship status as a result of his naturalization. Ray and Lillie were not aliens as reported on the census page.

Getting back to the odd part: Nathan is enumerated as a glazier. This is the only record I have of him in this profession. He had a butter and egg store at 242 Madison Street for many years. And when his father, Abraham emigrated in 1922, he worked with Nathan selling butter and eggs. 

The New York City directories in Ancestry's collections from 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1922 and 1933 show him selling butter and eggs. The 1925 New York City Directory includes Abram Garber selling butter and eggs at 242 Madison Street, but Nathan is not listed. I have checked in Ancestry's 1926, 1927, 1928, 1931 and 1932 directories - no Nathan. 

The 1915 New York Census and the 1920, 1930, and 1940 U.S. Census all say Nathan was working in the butter and egg business - most of the time in business for himself. His World War I and World War II draft registrations indicated he's in the egg business.

I will likely have to go beyond online records and check other directories to evaluate the Nathan's occupation in the 1925 New York State Census. Not knowing who provided the information to the enumerator, makes it difficult to evaluate how this information was placed on the census form.

Notes:
1. 1925 New York State Census, New York County,New York, population schedule, New York City, Assembly District 1, Enumeration District 7, sheet 21, entries 19-23, Nathan and Yetta Garber family; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 June 2012), citing New York State Archives, Albany, New York.

2. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 7 February 2009), manifest, Uranium, Rotterdam to New York, arriving 18 June 1910, p. 10, line 30, Nuchim Garber; citing National Archives Microfilm Serial T715, Roll 1501.

3. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 7 February 2009), manifest, Birma, Libau to New York, arriving 2 September 1912, p. 4, line 17, Itte Arber; citing National Archives Microfilm Serial T715, Roll 1926.

4. Petition for Naturalization of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1937, for Nathan Garber, 1 July 1919; Microfilm Image, Family History Library, Microfilm 1,451,074; from National Archives microfilm Publication Number M1879.

Tombstone Tuesday: Ruth Garber and George Levine

LEVINE

RUTH

BELOVED WIFE & SISTER

AUG. 17, 1915

NOV. 13, 1996

GEORGE

BELOVED HUSBAND

MAR. 17, 1898

AUG. 23, 1987

-------------------------- 

Ruth Garber Levine was the first child of Max and Mary Garber. She was born in New York, New York.[1] [2]

Ruth graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn and then attended the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance at New York University (class of 1935) where she obtained a B.S. in marketing.[3] Today that school is known as the Stern School of Business.

Sometime after 1 April 1940, when Ruth is was enumerated as single and living with the Max and Mary Garber family in the 1940 U.S. Census, she married George Levine.[4] Ruth and George had no children.

Late in life, Ruth and George moved to Florida where they resided until death. The Levines are buried at Menorah Gardens and Funeral Chapels in Southwest Ranches, Florida. [5]

Notes:

1.  1930 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, Enumeration District (ED) 24-1303, sheet 1B, dwelling 17, family 20, Ruth Garber; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 March 2008), citing National Archives microfilm publication T626, roll 1497, Family History Library microfilm 2,341,232.

2. 1940 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, Enumeration District (ED) 24-1836, sheet 4A, household 57, Ruth Garber; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2012), citing National Archives microfilm publication T627, roll 2594.

3. School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, The Violet (New York University: New York 1935), 65; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 September 2012).
4. 1940 U.S. Census, Kings Co., NY, pop. sch., Brooklyn, ED 24-1836, sheet 4A, household 57, Ruth Garber.
5. Special thanks to Menorah Gardens and Funeral Chapels for providing the photograph (17 January 2014).

Treasure Chest Thursday: 1930 Census, Jack Garber & Max Garber Families

Census records are the first cause for excitement of budding genealogists. They provide so much information in one bite. Very satisfying.

The 1930 Census enumeration for my grandparents Jack and Dora Morris Garber finds them at, most likely, the best of times.

1930 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, Enumeration District (ED) 24-1303, sheet 1B, dwelling 18, family 21, Jack Garber; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 January 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T626, roll 1497, Family History Library microfilm 2,341,232.

They had three three children (Leah, 12, Bernard, 11, and Lenny, 6) all in school. They owned their home at East 12th Street, Brooklyn, New York, next door to Jack's brother Max and his family. Jack was a business partner with Phillip Kaplan. The two were glaziers and owned a shop called Kaplan and Garber.

1948 E. 12th Street - family owned home valued at $9000

Garber, Max; Age 40;  married; age married 24; born in Russia; father born in Russia

Garber, Mary; Age 38; married; age married 22; born in Austria; father born in Austria

Garber, Ruth; Age 15; single; born in New York; father born in Russia

Garber, Mildred; Age 13, single; born in New York; father  born in Russia

Garber, Annette; Age 9; single; born in New York; father born in Russia

1950 E. 12th Street - family owned home valued at $9000

Garber, Jack; Age 35; married; age married 21; born in Russia; father born in Russia

Garber, Dora; Age 33; married; age married 19; born in Russia; father born in Russia

Garber, Leah; Age 12; single; born in New York; father born in Russia

Garber, Bernard; Age 11; single; born in New York; father born in Russia

Garber, Leonard; Age 6; single; born in New York; father born in Russia

Garber, Max; mother born in Russia; native language Jewish; immigrated 1906; Alien; speaks English; Dealer in butter and eggs, own business; Not a military veteran.

Garber, Mary; mother born in Austria; native lang. Jewish; immigrated 1901; Alien; speaks English

Garber, Ruth; mother born in Austria; speaks English

Garber, Mildred; mother born in Austria; speaks English

Garber, Annette; mother born in Austria; speaks English

Garber, Jack: mother born in Russia; native lang. Jewish; immigrated 1913; Naturalized; speaks English; Dealer - glass company, own business; Not a military veteran

Garber, Dora; mother born in Russia; native land. Jewish; immigrated 1910; Naturalized; speaks English

Garber, Leah; mother born in Russia; speaks English

Garber, Bernard; mother born in Russia; speaks English

Garber, Leonard; mother born in Russia; speaks English

------------------------------------------------------------

A few things stand out as incorrect in this record. 

• Max actually arrived in New York on 29 December 1907[1]; and 
• Jack arrived on 3 September 1912.[2]

(I have not located Mary's manifest, so I do not know when she arrived from the Austrian Empire.)

Jack was a citizen by 1930. having completed the naturalization process 26 June 1924. 

• Dora, however, did not complete the citizenship process until 17 August 1943.[3]

Notes:
1. “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 February 2009), manifest, S.S. Pretoria, Hamburg, Germany to New York, arriving 29 December 1907, list 10, line 5, Motel Garber; citing National Archives microfilm publication T715, roll 1067.
2. “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 February 2009), manifest, S.S. Birma, Libau, Latvia to New York, arriving 2 September 1912, list 26, line 8, Jankel Arber; citing National Archives microfilm publication T715, roll 1926.  
3. Dora Garber Petition for Naturalization (1943), naturalization file no. 378602, Eastern District of New York, Recordds of the District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21, National Archives - Northeast region, New York City.

Jewish Surnames Re-explained*

From Wikipedia

Mozaic Magazine has published a wonderful article by Dara Horn, "Jewish Surnames [Supposedly] Explained," responding to the poorly researched Jewish surnames article, "Jewish Surnames Explained," that took the Internet (by storm) on Slate on 8 January 2014 (the article originally appeared in Jewish Currents on 12 November 2012).

Perhaps not as entertaining, but definitely enlightening, is the JewishGen InfoFile on the origin of Jewish surnames, "The Names of Jews."

The Ellis Island they-changed-my-name story (a small, but telling, part of the Slate article) seems to have the staying power of a louse - persisting despite numerous attempts to eradicate it. There is obviously something endearing about people have little or no control of their lives - this, in spite of the fact that those who emigrated from Eastern Europe were, in no uncertain terms, taking control of their lives.

I've written about this media phenomenon before, but I'm still amazed by the staying power of these sort of myths.

* [update, 31 January 2014] I am very pleased to note that the original article
has been corrected by author Bennett Muraskin and posted on Slate. In my experience, journalists rarely pen such corrections and Bennett is to be congratulated for owning up to misstatements and correcting them.

Tombstone Tuesday: Mildred and Paul Palmer

PALMER 

MILDRED

JUNE 12, 1917-JULY 22, 2007

BELOVED WIFE

PAUL
APRIL 8, 1911-APRIL 12, 2007

BELOVED HUSBAND

DEVOTED PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS

Mildred "Minnie" Garber Palmer was the second child and second daughter of Max and Mary Garber (my great aunt and uncle). She was born in New York, New York. 

Minnie graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn.

Paul Palmer was an engineering graduate from Ohio University. Due to the Depression, jobs were hard to come by and Max Garber hired Paul to work in Max's dairy business. Paul and Minnie met, fell in love and married on 19 June 1938. [1]

Shortly after their marriage, Paul and Minnie moved upstate to Auburn, New York where Paul and his childhood friend and partner Sol Pinchuk opened a branch of Strauss Stores. Strauss Stores was a hardware/auto supply concern.

Paul and Minnie had four children: Michael, Carol (1 May 1944-December 2011), Frances and Nancy (1951-1979).

Minnie was active in Auburn in the PTA and in the Sisterhood of B'nai Israel Congregation. Paul was an avid golfer.

In 1972 they retired to Florida.

Paul and Mildred Palmer are buried at Menorah Gardens and Funeral Chapels in Southwest Ranches, Florida. [2]

Notes:
1. I am indebted to Mike Palmer for much of this information about his parents.
2. Special thanks to Menorah Gardens and Funeral Chapels for providing the photograph (17 January 2014).

Treasure Chest Thursday: Leah and Minnie Garber Photo, ca. 1930

I received this photograph about a two years ago courtesy of my second cousin Mike Palmer. It features my aunt Leah Garber Eisenberg (daughter of Jack and Dora Garber) in the center (seated) and her first cousin Mildred Garber Palmer (Mike's mother and daughter of Max and Mary Garber) seated on the right.

We believe this is Hebrew School class photo (confirmation class?) and we cannot identify the others in the photo.

Leah was born 12 September 1917 in New York City and Mildred (aka Minnie) 12 June 1917. About 1930 (approximately when this photo would have been taken), Leah and Minnie's families lived next door to each other at 1950 and 1948 E. 12th Street, Brooklyn, New York. [1]

The family attended the Avenue U Educational Center located at 2066 E. Ninth Street, Brooklyn. The Orthodox synagogue's Rabbi Charles Kahane was a well known scholar and a leader in the Revisionist Zionist movement. He was installed as Rabbi of the synagogue in 1928. [2]

His career, however, was eclipsed by his son, Martin, who later became known as Meir Kahane (1932-1990): Rabbi, radical and firebrand.

Notes:

1. 1930 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule,  Enumeration District 24-1303, Assembly District 2, sheet 1B, Family number 21, Jack Garber; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 march 2008), citing Family History Library Microfilm 2,341,232.

2. "Installed as Rabbi," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York), 21 May 1928, page 20, column 7; digital image, Old Fulton New York Post Cards (http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 18 March 2010).

ItalianGen and Ancestry make a match

New agreements and partnerships between commercial and non-profit genealogy organizations seem to be coming to light weekly. The latest popped up on Ancestry.com yesterday. Ancestry has placed ItalianGen.org's New York City vital record indices on Ancestry's website.

Last September I extolled the virtues of improvements ItalianGen had made in their search functions and look. Now, however, Ancestry has placed the same index online and one may search it with their tools. This is a good thing.

Back in the dark ages of my research when I was searching for my grandparents' marriage certificate, I had trouble finding it. Turns out, my grandfather's name, Joseph Wilson, had been written on the certificate and indexed for Italiangen as "Jos Wilson." When I searched on Joseph, those with the first name Jos did not appear in the results. When I searched on J Wilson, there were too many results.

Enter Ancestry whose search engine recognizes that if one enters "Joseph," it should also consider results for "Jos." It also allows one to search on both spouses names in the same query. Italiangen does not provide that option.

Ancestry's search form for NYC marriage certificates

Being able to match spouses would have saved me a great deal of effort. On Italiangen I had to going through results, clicking each spouse button to see if an indexed record was from my Joseph Wilson.

ItalianGen's search results for NYC marriage certificates

Ancestry's results include a well-placed link to the New York City Department of Records to order a copy of the certificate.

Of course, those who are familiar with Steve Morse's plethora of search options know that one may also search the ItalianGen indices via his site. While Morse does not provide a tool to search on both spouses at the same time and does not provide a link to the NYC Department of Records, he does provide a link to FamilySearch.org microfilm numbers. And, armed with that information, names of the couple, date of marriage and certificate number, one may choose to order a copy of the record via the FamilySearch Photoduplication Department.

Tombstone Tuesday: Mary Morgenstein Garber

Photo by author, 7 September 2008

Here Lies

Miriam bat Melech

BELOVED MOTHER

AND GRANDMOTHER

MARY

GARBER

DIED DEC. 28, 1973

AGED 82 YEARS

------------ 

According to her husband Max Garber's naturalization papers, Mary Morgenstein Garber was born 15 March 1882 in the Austria-Hungarian Empire. [1] Her obituary published in the hometown newspaper of her daughter, Mildred Garber Palmer, indicates that she died at age 81. [2] If the birth date in the naturalization and the obituary are to be believed, then Mary's tombstone is incorrect. [3]  

Mary was the daughter of Max Morgenstein and Rose Rosenblatt and emigrated to the United States in about 1901. [4]

She and Max Garber (my grandfather Jack's brother) married in Manhattan on 11 June 1914. [5] Her age on the marriage certificate (22) is consistent with birth in March 1892.

Mary and Max purchased a home in Brooklyn in the early 1920s and by the 1925 New York State Census are living at 1948 East 12th Street, next door to Jack and Dora Garber and their family (at 1950 E. 12th Street). [6] [7]

Mary and Max had five daughters: Ruth Garber Levine (17 August 1915 - 13 November 1996), Mildred (Minnie) Garber Palmer (12 June 1917 - 22 July 2007), Annette Garber (26 May 1921 - 19 October 1996), Harriet Garber (2 August 1927 - 5 October 1929), and Joan Garber Goldman (1931 -  ).

Mary's grave is located in one of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plots at Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York: Block 5, Gate 567W, Line 4L, Grave 3.

Notes:
1. "Petitions for Naturalization of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1937," digital image, Footnote.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 3 April 2010), Max Garber Petition for Naturalization number 209101 (28 October 1935), volume 722, citing National Archives and Records Administration, Microfilm series M1879.
The manifest indicates that Mary was born in "Beginon, Poland," but I have been unable to determine the actual (accurate and contemporary) name for the community.
2. "Mrs. Mary Garber, 81, dies in Brooklyn," Citizen Advertiser (Auburn, New York), 2 January 1974, page 3, column 6; digital images, Old Fulton New York Postcards (http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 18 March 2010).
3. I have not ordered Mary's Social Security application form (SS-5) or her death certificate from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygeine. Those two documents might shed some light on this issue as well as possibly provide more information the town where she was born. 
4. I have been unable to locate her manifest and while it does not appear that she naturalized by the 1940 Census, I have thus far, been unable to find her in an alien registration index.
5. New York County, New York, Certificate and Record of Marriage number 15344 (11 June 1914), Max Garber and Mary Morgenstein, New York City Municipal Archives, New York.
6. 1925 New York States Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Enumeration District 16, Assembly District 2, sheet 22, numbers 31-36, Max & Mary Garber family; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 June 2012), New York State Archives: Albany, New York. 
7. 1925 New York States Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Enumeration District 16, Assembly District 2, sheet 19, numbers 3-8, Jacob and Thora Garvin [sic] [Jacob and Dora Garber family]; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 August 2012), New York State Archives: Albany, New York. 

Treasure Chest Thursday: Louis Liebross' 1895 Passenger Manifest

When I'd first located the 1897 passenger manifest for Louis Liebross (my great grandfather), I almost stopped looking for others. Somehow I found this second one - or should I say earlier one from 1895. [1] This manifest provided yet another creative spelling of Liebross: Liberos.

On 16 May 1895 Leser Liberos landed in New York Harbor on the S.S. Lahn. The Lahn had traveled from Bremen, Germany.

Detail of left side of manifest.

No.: 320
Ticket No.: 553
Name in Full: Leser Liberos
Age: 35
Sex: m
Married or Single: m
Calling or occupation: laborer
Country of which they are Citizens: [blank]

Detail of right side of manifest.

Native Country: Austria
Intended Destination or Location, State or Territory: Brooklyn, NY
State of Passengers other than Cabin, whether Citizens of the United States: -
Transient, In Transit or intending protracted sojourn: NY
Location of Compartment or Space occupied forward amidships or alt.: Steerage Comps 3
Number of pieces of baggage: [check mark]
Prt of Embarkation: Bremen
Date and Cause of Death: 1-0 [marking likely unrelated to this passenger entry]

How can I be sure this was, indeed, my Leiser Liebross? The proof is somewhat circumstantial. My Leiser arriving in 1897 indicated he was 37 years old. This Leser in 1895 (two years earlier) shows an age of 35. 

We know that Leiser's brother Simon was in Brooklyn as early as 1892: at that time living at 26 Moore Street. In an 1893-4 Brooklyn city directory, Simon is living at 203 Boerum, Brooklyn. [2] In an 1897-8 city directory, he is at 244 Boerum, Brooklyn. [3] On this 1895 manifest, Leser states he is going to Brooklyn. No other Liebrosses are listed in any directories in Brooklyn (or in New York City, for that matter).

The 1897 Leiser indicates that he is a merchant. The 1895 Leser says he's a laborer. There is a chance he changed his profession between 1895 and 1897, but, no one was likely to check the occupations claimed by immigrants. And there are studies indicating that the quality of immigrants' occupational reporting was low. [4] At this point, I have no way to evaluate the two responses to the occupation question or resolve the conflict.

My hunch is that this 1895 trip was a visit by Leiser to the United States either in advance of making a decision to move the family or in preparation for such a move.

Notes: 
1. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 September 2009), manifest, Lahn, Bremen to New York, arriving 16 May 1895, Liberos, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial: M237; Microfilm Roll: 641; Line: 5; Page Number: G.
2. Lain's Brooklyn City Directory, 1893-1894 (Brooklyn, New York: Lain and Healy, 1894), 747, entry for "Liebross Sam'l"; digital image, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 3 April 2010).
3. Lain's Brooklyn City Directory, 1897-1898 (Brooklyn, New York: Lain and Healy, 1898), 908, entry for "Liebros Simon"; digital image, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 24 July 2010).

4. Joel Perlmann (1996), "Selective Migration as a Basis for Upward Mobility? The Occupations of the Jewish Immigrants to the United States, ca. 1900," Levy Economic Institute, Working Paper No. 172.

Tombstone Tuesday: Irving Garber

Photo by author, 17 July 2001

 
GARBER

Yonah

IRVING

CHERISHED HUSBAND

FATHER

AND GRANDFATHER

JAN.26, 1920

NOV.20, 2000

ETERNAL LOVE

Irving Garber was the fourth child and only son of Nathan and Yetta Garber. He was born ten days after the Census taker recorded the family at 230 Madison Street, Manhattan, New York - a few doors down from Nathan's butter and egg business at 242 Madison. [1] [2]

Irving attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York and graduated in 1937.

In the 1940 Census he lives with parents and sister Lillie and is listed as a blouse salesman. [3] Later he and his sisters ran a stock brokerage firm for a short time.

Irving Garber enlisted in the Army on 7 April 1942. He was released from service on 14 October 1945. [4] 

Irving married Ruth Schwartz (12 January 1922 - 26 January 2012), likely in the Spring of 1948. Early in their marriage Irving owned a hardware store in Brooklyn. Later, he was a successful saleman for Borden's ice cream. After that he and Ruth opened a luggage store in Franklin Square, Long Island, New York. Irving enjoyed selling items at flea markets and continued that into his 70s.

Irving and Ruth had two children (Leslie and Ellyn) and made their home in Franklin Square, New York.

This tombstone photo was captured in July 2011 when Ruth was still living. Her place of burial is not yet engraved on the tombstone. Irving and Ruth are buried in Beth Moses Cemetery, Farmingdale, New York, in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot, Block 24, Maccabee Road.

Notes:
1. 1920 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule,  Enumeration District 16, Assembly District 1, sheet 17A, Family number 304, Nathan Garber; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 march 2008), citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 1183.  
2. R. L. Polk & Co.'s 1920-21 Trow's New York City Directory (New York City, New York: R.L. Polk & Co., 1920), 744, entry for "Garber Nathan"; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 December 2013).
3. 1940 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, Enumeration District (ED) 24-388, sheet 1B, household 17, Nathan Garber; digital image, MyHeritage.com (http://www.myheritage.com : accessed 4 April 2012).
4. "U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 January 2014), entry for Irving Garber; citing Department of Veterans Affairs Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem.
I do not know where he was stationed during his time in the military. I have some queries out regarding his activities and whereabouts.

Heading to Florida!

Thank goodness I'm taking the southern route! The weather outside is frightful, but I'm heading Florida. At the invitation of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County, I will be speaking at the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Florida this coming Wednesday, 8 January 2014 at 1:00 P.M. I will be presenting an up-to-date version of my application of the Genealogical Proof Standard and my exhaustive search into the location of my father's family's shtetl - known to us as Lubin: "Beyond the Manifest: Methods for Confirming One's Ancestral Origins."

If you are in the Florida area and are not already a member of the JGSPBC, admission is only $5 (free to members). I'd love to see you there.

I'm looking forward to connecting with family members and meeting the awesome members of the JGSPBC.

IAJGS 2014 Conference: Regstration is Open

The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies announced a few days ago that the 2014 conference is now open for registration. The conference, which moves to a different location each year, will be held this year in Salt Lake City, Utah. [1]

Start conference registration via this link. If you are planning to submit a presentation proposal, hold off on conference registration until you hear whether your proposal has been accepted (you will be notified on 31 March 2014).

Reservation procedures at the conference hotel, the Hilton Salt Lake City Center may be accessed here. Reservations at the Conference rate are open until 22 June 2014. The Conference rate will be good from 22 July through 7 August 2014, depending on room availability (thank you to the conference organizers for making the logistics of planning Family History Library research time that much easier).

Notes:
1. The IAJGS website indicates locations for future conferences: 2015 - Jerusalem, Israel; 2016 - Seattle, Washington.

IAJGS 2014 Conference: Presentation Proposal Deadline Change

These deadlines for presentation proposals at conferences always seem to creep up on us. [1] For those of us who work best under pressure, the "bad" news is that the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies 2014 conference proposal deadline has crept back a bit. 

We now have an extra two weeks to submit our proposal(s) for the 27 July - 1 August 2014 IAJGS conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The due date for submitting proposals online has been changed to Friday, 31 January 2014 (it was previously 15 January 2014).

As a result of that change, the proposal notification deadline has also moved back two weeks - to 31 March 2014.

Notes:
1. For example the National Genealogical Society is now advertising that they are accepting presentation proposals for their 2015(!) conference through 1 April 2014. Their 2015 conference in St. Charles, Missouri will run from 13-16 May 2015.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Louis Liebross' 1897 Passenger Manifest

When I started my research several years ago, the first manifest I located was for the Liebross family: Bertha and her children on arriving in New York Harbor on 1 July 1898. [1] The surname was written as "Libros" and the manifest was mostly eaten by insects. I discussed this manifest in a prior post. On that manifest Briendel Libros  (later Bertha Liebross), my great grandmother, noted that she and her children would be joining her husband (and their father) in New York City. It was at that point that I started my search for Leiser (later Louis) Liebross, who had arrived in the United States sometime earlier than his family.

I located Louis indexed (on Ancestry.com) as "Lewer Lebros." I read the name entry as "Leiser Lebros." [2] On 4 December 1897, Leiser departed Bremen, Germany on the Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse and arrived at Ellis Island on 15 December 1897.

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 September 2009), manifest, Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse, Bremen to New York, arriving 15 December 1897, Libros, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 115; Line: 4; Page Number: 107.

 Here is a detail of the left side of the manifest. 

Name in Full: Leiser Lebros
Age: 37
Sex: m
Married or Single: m
Calling or Occupation: merch [merchant]
Able to Read:   /    Able to Write:  /  [marks indicate yes]
Nationality: Austrian
Last Residence: Radincz [Ellis Island Foundation indexed it as Rahnicz. It likely should have been the town Radautz (today, Radauti, Romania).]
Seaport for Landing in the United States: N.Y.
Final Destination in the United States (State, City or Town): Bklyn NY [Brooklyn, New York]

We sometimes hear that it is best to view originals rather than images of documents. In most cases views of digital images will not provide any less information that originals and may, with enhancements, provide more information. This manifest, however, is a case where there are pencil markings likely correcting information provided in the occupation and reading/writing columns. The pencil markings are not readily readable on the black and white manifest image. I have not yet tried enhancing these digitally to see if that would help.

The right half of the passenger record: 

Whether having a ticket to such final destination: - [indicates yes]
By whom was passage paid: self  
Whether in possession of money. If so, whether more than $30 and how much if $30 or less: 100 
Whether ever before in the United States, and if so, when and where: " [indicating no]  
Whether going to join a relative, and if so, what relative, their name and address: brother NY
Ever in Prison or Almshouse or supported by charity. If yes, state which. no
Whether a polygamist. no
Whether under Contract, express or implied, to labor in the United States. no
Condition of Health, Mental and Physical. good
Deformed or Crippled. Nature and Cause. no

It was the indication of "brother" under "Whether going to join a relative..." that started me on my search for another, previously unknown to me, male Liebross lurking around Brooklyn in 1897. That's when I was able to locate Simon Liebross. When I asked my mother's first cousin Stanford Liebross if he'd ever heard of Simon, he told me that he'd been named after him. Bingo!


Notes:
1. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 May 2009), manifest, Britannic, Liverpool to New York, arriving 1 July 1898, Libros, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 25; Lines: 20-28; Page Number: 2.
2. I sent Ancestry a correction on the transcription. It is always a good idea to enter a correction for Ancestry's index when one finds a faulty transcription. Ancestry will not changed their entry, but will, once reviewed, add yours and make it also searchable. So, one does oneself and future researchers a favor by taking a few moments to correct transcriptions and make indices more accurate.  
The Ellis Island Foundation website has Louis indexed correctly as Leiser.