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.