Treasure Chest Thursday: Nina Wilson & Max Herman Marriage

Nina Wilson Herman (born Nechame Wilensky) was my maternal grandfather's elder sister. She married Max Herman in New York on 26 May 1910.[1] This was one of the early records that confirmed the village of birth of my grandfather and his siblings: Kasan, Russia (now known as Kozyany, Belarus). Kasan or Kazan was the Yiddish name for the community.

Groom: Max Herman
Groom's Residence: Max Herman
Age: twenty two
Color: white
Single, Widowed or Divorced: single
Occupation: Corset business
Birth Place: Riga, Russia
Father's Name: Mowsha Herman
Mother's Maiden Name: Aster Harif
Number of Groom's Marriage: First

Bride: Mina Wilson
Bride's Residence: Mina Wilson
Age: thirty two
Color: white
Single, Widowed or Divorced: single
Maiden Name, if a Widow: ----------
Birth Place: Kasan Russia
Father's name: Saul Wilson
Mother's Maiden Name: Hoda Epstein
Number of Bride's Marriage: Kosan Russia

I hereby certify that the above-named groom and bride were joined in Marriage by me, in accordance with the Laws of the State of New York, at 184 1/2 E. 7th Street, in the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, this 26th of May, 1910.
          Signature of person performing the ceremony Chona P [?]
          Official Station: 184 1/2 E. 7th Street
          Residence: 184 1/2 E. 7th Street

Witnesses to the Marriage: M [?] T [?]
                                        Jake Rubin

Sometimes the records clearly indicate that there were immigrants involved in record creation for whom English was not quite grasped. There are several mistakes in this record.

First, Nina's name. It was not Mina. Nina actually pronounced her name Nynuh, with the emphasis on the first syllable.

The second line for both groom and bride should have been their addresses (from a genealogical standpoint, an opportunity missed to acquire some additional data - drat!).

Nina and Max's ages are switched. Nina was actually born, according to her death certificate, on 6 January 1888.[2] Max was said to be 52 when he died in 1935.[3]

This was first marriage for both Max and Nina. The Rabbi wrote Nina's town of birth, once again, in the "Number of bride's marriage" spot.

The Rabbi's name and the name of one of the witnesses is pretty much unintelligible. The first witness' name almost looks to me as if he is writing at least part of his name in Cyrillic script.

This marriage certificate found the couple in happier times. This happiness, unfortunately, was not destined to last long-term. Nina died in the Influenza Epidemic in 1919, leaving a seven year old daughter, Winnie, and a two month old son, Victor. Since Max could not care for the children and continue to work, his children were taken in by Nina's parents, Saul and Hoda Wilson. In 1935, Max, a pedestrian, was hit by a car and died.

My mother, Norma, was always proud that she had been named after her aunt Nina and shared the same Hebrew name. To me that is one of the aspects of Ashkenazi Judaism that is particularly nice: that lives cut short may be recalled and honored with another chance at life.

Notes:

1. New York County, New York, Certificate and Record of Marriage no. 11661 (26 May 1910), Max Herman and Nina Wilson, New York City Municipal Archives, New York.
2. New York County, New York, Certificate of Death no. 1585 (11 January 1919), Nina Herman, Municipal Archives, New York, New York.
3. Bronx County, New York, Certificate of Death no. 7919 (2 September 1935), Max Herman, Municipal Archives, New York, New York.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Nina Wilson Herman's Death Certificate

New York County, New York, Certificate of Death no. 1585 (11 January 1919), Nina Herman, New York City Municipal Archives, New York.

Nina Wilson Herman passed away due to bronchial pneumonia on 11 January 1919. She had been living with her family at 1663 Madison Avenue, the same location as her husband Max Herman's glove and corset store.

Bronchial pneumonia is often triggered in those whose immune systems have been weakened by diseases such as influenza. Nina's case occurred during the 1918-1920 flu pandemic in New York. According to Wikipedia, this influenza strain was particularly deadly to young adults between 20 and 40 and death often came, in fast moving cases, from pneumonia.

The main portion New York City's epidemic ran from about 15 September 1918 to 16 November. It continued, to a lesser extent, for several months. During that time, 147,000 cases of influenza and pneumonia were reported and 20,608 adults died.

Tombstone Tuesday: Nina Wilson Herman

Tombstones in the shape of a cut tree trunk are a common symbol in Jewish cemeteries and usually used for those who passed on before their time. Nina (pronounced Nynah) Wilson Herman, unfortunately, exemplified that circumstance, dying in the influenza epidemic in New York City.

Nina (born Nechama Wilensky) was the eldest child of Saul and Hoda Wilson. She was born 25 January 1888 and died 11 January 1919, just shy of her 31st birthday. She left behind her husband, Max Herman, and two children: her daughter Winifred Herman Green (3 September 1911 - November 2005) and her two month old infant son, Victor (9 November 1918 - 24 March 1974). 

Since the text of several of the lines were not standard tombstone fare, in March 2010 I uploaded an image of this tombstone to the ViewMate application on JewishGen. Two volunteers (David Rosen and Joe Slater) translated the text for me (thank you). They mentioned that sometimes these sort of poetic statements are difficult to adequately translate. They also noted that the fifth through eighth lines start with an acrostic of Nina's Hebrew name, Nechama ( נחמﬣ ).

Here lies

Nechama daughter of Zelig Chaim

died

Tenth of Shevat 5679

                    She was her husband's comfort;

                    Her children's protector and joy;

                    The light of her parents' eyes;

                    Woe, that these virtues have been buried.

May her soul be bound in the bonds of eternal life
Our Beloved
Nina Herman
Born Jan. 25, 1888
Died Jan 11,
1919

  

Nina came to the United States with her mother and two younger brothers in 1897.[1] They settled in Hudson, New York until 1905-6 when they moved for one year to Albany and then, finally, to New York City.

On 26 May 1910, Nina married Max Herman (ca. 1878 - 1935), a merchant who sold gloves and corsets. [2] After Nina died, the children lived with their grandparents and aunt, Saul and Hoda Wilson and Esther Wilson.

My mother, Norma Wilson Garber, born in 1921, was named after her late aunt Nina. Her Hebrew name was also Nechama. 

Nina's grave is located in the United Hebrew Community section of Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Queens, New York: Block F, Section 6, Subsection 4, Line 2, Grave 33.

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

One thing I am curious about are the circles with the diagonal lines through them located at each corner of the tombstone marker. I suppose they might be just decorations, but I've never before seen them on a marker. If any readers have any ideas about what these may signify (if anything), please comment, below. Thank you.

Notes:

1. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 September 2009), manifest, Pisa, Hamburg to New York, arriving 1 June 1897, list 7, Nachame Wilensky; citing National Archives Microfilm Serial M237, Microfilm Roll 579.
2. New York County, New York, Certificate and Record of Marriage no. 11661 (26 May 1910), Max Herman and Nina Wilson, New York City Municipal Archives, New York.