Tombstone Tuesday: Samuel and Ida Stedman, Beth Moses Cemetery, Pinelawn, New York

I just love this stuff! Often while I am researching one person or couple whose graves are in one of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plots, I find their (previously unknown to me) relatives. Sometimes, as in the case of today's subjects, I find a child who I previously could not locate. Such is the case with Ida Stedman.

STEDMAN

Here lies

Yisrael son of Shlomo Leib

SAMUEL

JAN. 10, 1906

DEC. 7, 1976

BELOVED [...]

Here lies

Chaya Sarah daughter of Yoel

IDA

JULY 4, 1907

SEPT. 10, 1976

Srul Stutman arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on 15 February 1921 with his widowed mother Perla and his brothers Shajka and Lejser.[1] They reported that they had all been born in Labun and has been living in "Palana" (i.e., Polonne) before emigration. 

In 1925, mother Pauline, Sam, Sol, and Louis lived at 236 Madison Street in Manhattan with lodger Samuel Strovsky.[2] Sam "Stateman" was 18 and working as a dress shipper.

Some time before November of that year, when he applied to start the citizenship process, Sam started working as a glazier.[3] He became a citizen on 23 August 1928.

Sam and Ida Schwartz married in Manhattan on 31 August 1929.[4] April 1930 found the newly-weds at 897 Bryant Street in the Bronx.[5] In 1940, they were still in the Bronx, but at 1048 Boynton Avenue.[6] They had two sons: Sheldon and Howard. Sheldon, born on 12 August 1930, passed away on 14 August 2005. His grave is in this same plot at Beth Moses Cemetery.

Sam and Ida's marriage record and Sheldon's Social Security Applications and Claims Index record (i.e. information from processing Social Security claims), indicates that Ida's maiden name had been Schwartz.[7] Her marriage certificate indicates that her father was Sam and her mother Eva Gellman.

Ida's parents names and the information from her gravestone (her father's Hebrew name was Yoel) link her to the Samuel and Eva Kelman Schwartz, members of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association who rest in Montefiore Cemetery. Ida Schwartz's age, as shown in the Schwartz family's 1925 New York State Census enumeration, is within a year or so of Ida Stedman's age, as reported on her gravestone.[8] In addition, Ida is not with the Schwartz family in the 1930 census - as would be expected since Ida and Sam Stedman married in 1929.[9]

Sam and Ida Stedman's graves are located in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot in Beth Moses Cemetery, Maccabee Road, Pinelawn, New York.

Notes:
1. Manifest, S.S. Finland, 21 February 1921, list 24, line 6, Srul Stutman, age 14; images, "Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 April 2017).
2. 1925 New York State Census, New York County, New York, enumeration of inhabitants, Manhattan, assembly district 1, election district 7, p. 25, Sam Stateman; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 April 2017); citing New York State Archives, Albany.
3. Sam Stedman declaration of intention (1925) naturalization file no. 127866, Southern District of New York; images, "New York, Naturalization Records, 1882-1944," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 24 April 2017).
4. New York County, New York, marriage certificate no. 21106 (1929), Samuel Stedman and Ida Schwartz, 31 August 1929; Municipal Archives, New York City.
5. 1939 U.S. Census, Bronx County, New York, population schedule, Bronx, enumeration district 3-368, sheet 24A, dwelling 463, family 463, Sam and Ida Stedman; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 April 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1475.
6. 1940 U.S. Census. Bronx Co., NY, pop. sched., Bronx, E.D. 3-971, p. 11B, household 216, Sam and Ida Stedman family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 April 2017); NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 2485.
7. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 April 2017); entry for Sheldon Leonard Stedman, no. 107-22-1683.
8. 1925 New York State Census, New York County, New York, enumeration of inhabitants, Manhattan, assembly district 12, election district 5, Ida Schwartz; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed  21 April 2015); New York State Archives, Albany.
9. 1930 U.S. Census, New York Co., NY, pop. sched., Manhattan, E.D. 31-580B, sheet 28A, family 504, Samuel and Eva Schwartz family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 April 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1651.

In Memorium: the Moische and Munye Mazewitsky families

In honor of Yom Hashoah. A remembrance of the Mazewitsky family.

I have a few relatively rare surnames in my family. And, then, I have Mazewitsky. It's not just rare. It's nearly singular (I have seen a couple of other Mazewitsky family - or similar - USA records, but none that I can tie to my Mazewitskys). My great grandfather, Isidore, changed Mazewitsky to Morris shortly after arrival in New York City in 1906. So, none of his descendants carried the Mazewitsky name in this country.

When I first started my family history journey, my cousin, Hal, the acknowledged Morris family historian, was not aware that any of Isidore's siblings came to the USA. But, he did affirm that my great grandmother Chana Mazewitsky Garber (who died likely before 1922) was Isidore's sister (my paternal grandparents were first cousins). He also told me that Isadore and Chana had two brothers in the old country. He thought their names were Moische and Munye. Isidore's death certificate and tombstone report that his father's name had been Solomon (or, in Hebrew, Shlomo).[1]

1912 Labun Voters List

So far, no vital record or revision lists (similar to census records) have been located for my paternal families' hometown of Labun, Ukraine. A few years ago, however, Alex Dunai, a researcher in Ukraine, located the 1912 Voters' List I sought from the Zhytomyr Archive.[2] Two Mazewitskys are listed:

• 1099 Avrum Matsevitskiy son of Shlemo
• 1101 Moische-Elye Matsevitskiy son of Shimon 

Avrum's father's name matches Isadore's. Moische's first name matches what Hal told me. While Shlomo and Shimon are not the same name, it is possible that one was recorded incorrectly. It is just not possible to know from this record alone.

Neither Avrum nor Moische are listed in Kniga Skorboti or Yad Vashem. 

The following Mazewitskys are listed in Kniga Skorboti [3]:

• David, son of Avrum, b. 1908
• Shmul, son of Avrum, b. 1911
• Leah Weisman, daughter of Monia Mazewsitsky, b. 1895
• Brucha, daughter of Leib
• Ensya, daughter of David, b. 1935
• Tzila, daughter of David, b. 1938

David Weisman, a Shoah survivor and Israeli resident, submitted Pages of Testimony to Yad Vashem in 1999 for three Mazewitsky family members from Labun [4]: 

• Shmulik, son of Monia and Tzipa, husband of Sonya, b. 1915
• Sonya Weisman Mazewitsky, daughter of Leib, married to Shmulik, and 
• Aron, their son, born in 1935 or 1938

Of interest, is a similar listing in Kniga Skorboti. Shmul, married to Sonya and with a preschooler son Aron, is listed as the son of Avrum. It appears that Avrum and Monia were the same person. It is not unusual for Jewish people to have two names - one in the vernacular (often used for legal purposes) and another for religious purposes.

I am not sure who Brucha was. Her entry in Kniga Skorboti says she was a housewife. But, there is no year of  birth, husband's name or maiden name listed.

Actions against Jewish residents of Labun resulted in two mass burials in the forests near Labun (see here and here) in 1941. Some residents were interred in the ghetto established in Polonnoye. Most did not escape death by their captors.

Save for those who left Europe before World War II and came to the United States, I am unaware of any Mazewitskys who survived the Shoah. They were all members of my family. Here is my Mazewitsky family as I currently know it.  

For those whose lives were cut short:

may their memories be a blessing.

Notes:
1. New York County, New York, death certificate no. 12512 (1947), Isidore Morris, 22 December 1947; Municipal Archives, New York City.
2. Labun, Izyaslav Raion, Khmelnitskiy Oblast, Ukraine, 1912 Voter List; State Archive of Zhitomir, Fond 502.
   A short note on Voters' Lists in the Russian Empire (this summary is taken from Harry Boonin's Belarus Special Interest Group post). In response to increasing unrest, the Czar allowed creation of the Duma - a parliament. Duma Voters' Lists, showing those eligible to vote, were published in newspapers. Basic criteria for voting eligibility was males who were at least 24 years old. Additional criteria included payment of taxes and guild and professional membership.
3. Kniga Skorboti Ukraine, Khmelnitsky Oblast, volume 2 (Khmelnitsky, 2003).
   The multi-volume Kniga Skorboti [Book of Sorrows] used Ukrainian archival records to build lists of Shoah victims. Volume 2, which includes communities in the Kh'melnitskyy oblast, contains long lists of Labun and Polonnoye residents murdered during Nazi occupation.
4. Pages of Testimony for Mazewitsky from Labun, "The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names," Yad Vashem (http://www/yadvashem.org : accessed January 2011).
From the pages submitted by David Weissman, it appears he was Sonya Weisman Mazewitsky's nephew (her brother's son).

Tombstone Tuesday: Samuel and Eva Neuman, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York

Samuel and Eva Neuman are one of those all-too-familiar couples whose family was affected by interruption of immigration during World War I. They lived apart for eight years before Eva was able to travel with their daughter Molly and join Sam in Chicago.

Samuel was the son of Eliya Neuman and was born in Shumsk, Kremenets Uyezd, Volhynia Gubernia, Russian Empire.[1] Only one record located, thus far, identifies his date of birth: 15 July 1881.[2] His passenger manifest listed him as a joiner. He became a carpenter in the United States.

Here lies

Simche son of Eliye

Died 16 Nisan 5711

May his soul be bound in the bonds of the living

SAMUEL

NEUMAN

DIED APR. 22, 1951

AGE 69 YEARS

----------

BELOVED HUSBAND

DEAR FATHER

After arriving in Baltimore on 12 March 1913, Simche headed to Chicago to join his cousin R. Greenberg. Eva, at that time called Rivka Leie, was in Labun, presumably staying with family.

Here lies

Our important and righteous mother

Rivka Leie daughter of Yisrael

Died 8 Av 5725

May her soul be bound in the bonds of the living

EVA 

NEUMAN

DIED JULY 25, 1966

AGE 81 YEARS

BELOVED MOTHER

GRANDMOTHER

GREAT GRANDMOTHER  

Rivka and her daughter Mania, age 9, arrived in New York City on the S.S. Lapland on 14 August 1921.[3] Before emigrating, Rivka and Mania had continued to live in Labun. Rivka reported that she left her mother Ruchla Szwacapol [Schwartzcapol] in Labun. She and her daughter, who was also born in Labun, were heading to Chicago to join Sam Neuman at 1922 W. Madison Street.

I have not located any additional record for the family in Chicago, but by the 1930 census enumeration, they lived in Brooklyn at 44 Boerum Street.[4] Molly, formerly Mania, was 19. Israel Neuman was 7 and had been born in New York.

In 1940, Sam, Eva, and Israel lived at 647 Sheffield Avenue, Brooklyn with Mollie, her husband Simon (or Sol) Smith and their two sons, Stanley R. and Herbert Smith.[5] Mollie and Sol married in November 1932.[6] 

Samuel's and Eva's graves are located in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot in block 89, gate 156N in Montefiore Cemetery. Sam's grave is in line 9R, grave 2 and Eva's is in line 9L, grave 3.

Notes:

1. Manifest, S.S. Hannover, 13 March 1913, list 17, line 13, Simche Neumann, age 31; images, "Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1964," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 April 2017).

2. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Aril 2017), card for Sam Neuman, serial no. U 966, Brooklyn, New York; NARA Record Group 147.

3. Manifest, S.S. Lapland, 14 August 1921, list 21, lines 11-12, Rywka Neiman, age 32, and Mania Neiman, age 9; images, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 April 2011).

4. 1930 U.S. census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, enumeration district 24-178, sheet 1B, dwelling 2, family 20, Sam and Eva Neuman family; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 November 2010); NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1518.
5. 1940 U.S. census, Kings Co., NY, pop. sched., Brooklyn, e.d. 24-70, sheet 5A, household 79, Samuel and Eva Neuman family; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 April 2017); NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 2548.
6. Kings County, New York, marriage certificate no. 16902 (1932), Sol Smith and Mollie Neuman, 27 November 1932; Municipal Archives, New York City.

Tombstone Tuesday: Emil and Rozalia Berla, Beth Moses Cemetery, Pinelawn, NY

Nearly everyone I have previously profiled in my Tombstone Tuesday posts for the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association burial plots have a demonstrable tie to the town of Lubin (aka Labun and, now, Yurovshchina, Ukraine). They were either born and/or raised there or were descended or related to someone who was. But, I do not yet understand why Emil and Rozalia Berla wound up in this landsmanshaft plot in Beth Moses Cemetery. [Update: I have had email communication with Emil and Rozalia's grandson and he reports that Rozalia's maternal uncle was Abe Krakowsky - a big macher in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association.]

FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS

Freidel Chaye daughter of Berel

May her soul be bound in the bonds of the living

ROZALIA BERLA

BELOVED WIFE

MOTHER

GRANDMOTHER

JUNE 13, 1924

DECEMBER 13, 2001

Manaim son of Yisrael

May his soul be bound in the bonds of the living

EMIL BERLA

BELOVED HUSBAND

FATHER

GRANDFATHER

DEC. 5, 1907

APR. 22, 1980

Both Emil and Rozalia survived the Holocaust. 

Emil was born in Halmeu, Satu Mari, Romania to Israel Berla and Loti Goldstein. During the war, Emil was imprisoned at Gross Rosen, Silesia (now Rogoznica, Poland) and Flossenburg - a forced labor camp in Bavaria.[1] His first wife and young daughter died. His parents were lost in Auschwitz in 1944.[2]

Rozalia was born in Cluj, Romania to Bernard Urbinder and Berta Wersberger.[3] Her parents and brother, Sol, died in Auschwitz. Her brother, Herschel, was reported missing in action while serving in the Hungarian Army. Rozalia held out hope, but never heard from him again.[4]

In 1971, when Emil was naturalized, they lived at 1565 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY.[5] 

In 1991, when Rozalia filed Pages of Testimony with Yad Vashem, she lived at 1448 E. 96th Street, Brooklyn, NY.

In Googling their names, I found that Emil and Rozalia's grandson, an attorney, has established a scholarship in their names at Stony Brook University. The scholarship benefits a student who has shown excellence in history, especially history of the Holocaust.

Emil's and Rozalia's graves are located in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot, block 24, Maccabee Road, Beth Moses Cemetery, Pinelawn, New York.   

Notes:
1. "Gross Rosen Lists," entry for Emil Berla, born 5 December 1907; index, JewishGen (http://www.jewishgen.org : accessed 11 April 2017).
  "Flossenburg Prisoner Lists," entry for Emil Berla, born 5 December 1907; index, JewishGen (http://www.jewishgen.org : accessed 11 April 2017).
2. Edith Rosenbaum, Page of Testimony for Israel Berla, submitted 8 October 2010; images, Yad Vashem (http://www.yadvashem.org/ : accessed 11 April 2017).
3. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," entry for Rozalia Urbinder Berla; index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 December 2016).
4. Rosz Berla, Pages of Testimony for Bernard Urbinder, Berta Urbinder, Sol Urbinder and Herschel Urbinder, submitted 13 June 1991; images, Yad Vashem (http://www.yadvashem.org/ : accessed 11 April 2017). 
5. "New York, Index to Petitions for Naturalization Filed in New York City, 1792-1989," entry for Emil Berla, naturalization file no. 797839, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 December 2016).

Tombstone Tuesday: Alex Schwartz and Mollie Markowitz Schwartz, Beth Moses Cemetery, Pinelawn, New York

I love that the person who ordered a tombstone for Mollie Schwartz decided to honor her maiden name on her stone - a genealogist's dream come true. Having this bit of information made it possible to locate their marriage record (and parents' names). This additional information made identifying records for Mollie and her husband Alex Schwartz a bit easier.

SCHWARTZ

Malka daughter of Avraham Yitzchak

MOLLIE

DEARLY BELOVED

WIFE - MOTHER

GRANDMOTHER

OCT. 23, 1889

MARCH 27, 1961

NEE MARKOWITZ

Eliyahu son of Moshe Chaim

ALEX

DEARLY BELOVED

HUSBAND - FATHER

GRANDFATHER

APRIL 14, 1889

OCT. 23, 1958

May their souls be bound in the bonds of the living

Mollie was born in Buhusi, Romania (likely Buhuşi) to Abraham and Bessie Markowitz and, according to her naturalization petition, arrived in New York in October 1900. I have been unable, thus far, to find her on a passenger manifest.[1]

Alex Schwartz was born in Labun to Morris and Sophie Bresner. He reported that he arrived in New York from Hamburg on the S.S. Batavia in October 1905.[2] Thus far, I have not been able to locate his passenger manifest record either. No Batavia voyage landed in New York in October 1905. I have also checked manifests for arrivals on 29 September and 18 November 1905 and Hamburg manifests. I have not seen a candidate passenger who may have been Alex Schwartz. I suppose records manifest from 1904 and 1906 will be next on the list to check. [I would not be surprised if his surname upon arrival was not Schwartz at all! (Update, 31 July 2017, I believe his surname has previously been Schames)].

Alex and Mollie married on 2 April 1911 in Manhattan.[3] 

By January 1920, the next record on which I have located the couple, they lived at either 1473 Second Avenue, in Manhattan.[4] Alexander Schwartz, a glazier, owned his own glass store. He and Molly had three daughters: Helen, Pearl and Adele.

In June 1925 they lived at 1447 2nd Avenue.[5]

Molly naturalized on 19 December 1927.[6] Alex became a citizen on 12 May 1930.[7]  

By April 1930, the family lived at 1491 Shakespeare Avenue in the Bronx.[8] And in 1940, the remained in the Bronx at 1161 Jerome Avenue.[9] By that time, their eldest daughter had married Elias Klein. Helen, Elias, and their son Arthur resided with family.

In 1942, Alex reported that his store was located at 1875 Straus Street in Brooklyn.[10]

There is a possibility that Alex was the brother of another glazier from  Labun, Samuel Schwartz (who was married to Eva). Both Sam's and Alex's tombstones indicate that their father's name was Moshe Chaim. While Sam's death certificate (informed by his daughter Ruth Schwartz Brown) shows his father as Morris and his mother as Shirley Simon, Alex's indexed marriage cert on FamilySearch indicates that  his father was Morris and his mother Sophie Bresner (It is always better to work from an original record, so a copy of Alex's marriage certificate has been ordered). As both the fathers' and mothers' names have likely been Anglicized without those named people ever living in the USA, the differences may be irrelevant. Mothers' last names, however, would require further work. It is possible that:

• their fathers' same names is a coincidence; 
• that they had the same father and different mother's, or 
• that Ruth Brown was misinformed about her grandmother's maiden name.

The graves of Alex Schwartz and Mollie Markowitz Schwartz are located in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot in Beth Moses Cemetery, block 24, Maccabee Road, Pinelawn, Suffolk County, New York 

Notes:
1. Mollie Schwartz, petition for naturalization no. 92460 (1927), Southern District of New York; images, "New York, Naturalization Records, 1882-1944," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2017).
2. Alexander Schwartz, petition for naturalization no. 157964 (1930), Southern District of New York; images, "New York, Naturalization Records, 1882-1944," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2017).
3. "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," online index, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 2 April 2017); Alexander Schwartz and Mollie Markawitz, certificate no. 7591, 2 April 1911. [Copy of original record has been ordered from the NYC Municipal Archives.]
4. 1920 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Manhattan, enumeration district 1034, dwelling 2, family 113, Alexander and Molly [indexed as Miolly] Schwartz family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2017); NARA microfilm publication T 625, roll 1211.
5. 1925 New York State Census, New York County, New York, enumeration of inhabitants, Manhattan, assembly district 14, election district 36, p. 40, entries 31-38, Alex and Molly Schwartz family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2017); citing New York State Archives, Albany.
6. Mollie Schwartz, petition for naturalization no. 92460 (1927), Southern District of New York.
7. Alexander Schwartz, petition for naturalization no. 157964 (1930), Southern District of New Yor.
8. 1930 U.S. Census, Bronx County, NY, pop. sched., the Bronx, e.d. 3-168, sheet 2A, dwell. 10, fam. 43, Alex and Molly Schwartz family; images, Ancestry; NARA microfilm pub. T626, roll 1468.
9. 1940 U.S. Census, Bronx County, NY, pop. sched., the Bronx, e.d. 3-248B, sheet 2B, household 32, Alex and Molly Schwartz family; images, Ancestry; NARA microfilm pub. T627, roll 2466.
10. "U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2017); entry for Alexander Schwartz, Serial number U-357, Bronx, NY; citing NARA Record Group 147.