Yet More Kornhauser Data

In the Jefferson Co, OH Naturalizations index I find the following:
- Markus Kornhauser, age 22, from Hungary, court date on 5/8/1875 & 9/19/1877, witness George Poth
- David Kornhauser, from Austria, age 21, court date 10/4/1888 & 7//3/1891

Also, birth record indexes for Jefferson County (same online location as above) show:
- Edgar Kornhauser, born on 3/13/1884 in the Fourth Ward, Steubenville, OH to Markus Kornhauser and Matilda (Fleischman) Kornhauser. Book Birth Records for Jefferson County, Ohio 1879-1894, page 142B, line 495.
- Tillie Kornhauser, born on 7/12/1889 in the Fourth Ward, Steubenville, OH to Markus Kornhauser and Tillie (Fleischman) Kornhauser. Book Birth Records for Jefferson County, Ohio 1879-1894, listed on page 3488, line 685.
- Kornhouser, Walter [note misspelling of last name], born 3/14/1883 in Steubenville 4th Ward, to Markus Kornhouser and Lillie Fleshman [sic]. Book Birth Records for Jefferson County, Ohio 1879-1894, page 1088, line 489.
- Kornhouser, Arthur Wm., no birth date recorded but listed in Birth Records for Jefferson County, Ohio, Vol. 3, 1894-1901, to Marker Kornhouser and Tilley Fleispman [sic]. Page 61C, line 843.


From the 1900 Census as found on FamilySearch Labs:

In Peekskill, New York:
-Lewis Kornhauser, b. May 1866 in Austria, parents b. Austria, married 10 years, Liquor saloon, naturalized 1891, in U.S. 9 years
-Clara (wife), b. Mar 1865 in Austria, parents b. Austria, marr. 10 yrs, mother of 5 children, 4 living
-Rose (daughter), b. Jul 1890 in Austria, in school 9 1/2 months
-Lewis (son), b. June 1895 in New Jersey
-Mary (daughter), b. Jan 1897 in New Jersey
-Lizzie (daughter), b. May 1899 in New Jersey
-Goldberger, Samuel (boarder), b. Mar 1877 in Austria, par. b. Austria, bartender
-Smith, Elizabeth (servant), b. May 1875 in New York, par. b. New York

In New York City, Ward 34, East 134th St. (apparently an apartment building):
- Armin Kornhauser, b. Oct 1869 in Hungaria, par. b. Hungaria, married 2 years, naturalized 1883, in U.S. 17 yrs, clerk
- Yolande (wife), b. Mch 1877 in Hungaria, par. b. Hungaria, marr. 2 yrs., mother of 1 child, 1 living, immigrated 1880, in U.S. 20 yrs.
- Secil (daughter), b. Feb 1899 in New York

In New York City, Ward 27, W. 37th St:
- Joseph Kornhauser, b. May 1864 in Hungary, parents. b. Hungary, married 12 years, naturalized, immigrated 1880, picture framer
- Jennie Kornhauser (wife), b. Jan 1872 in Hungary , mother of 5 children, 1 living, immigrated 1880
- Anna Kornhauser (daugther), b. Aug 1891 in New York, at school 6 months

In Youngstown, Ohio:
- David Kornhauser, a boarder in the Maurice Goodman home, b. May 7, 1870 in Austria, par. b. Austria, immigrated 1888, naturalized, single, Grocer (as is Goodman)


A few excerpts from Ohio Deaths 1908-1953:

- David Kornhauser d. 14 Dec 1951 in Warren, Trumbull, Ohio. Birth date: 15 May 1870 in Austria-Hungary. Widower. Grocer, owns store. Informant: Selma Kornhauser. Parents names unknown. Buried Children of Israel Cemetery, Youngstown, OH.
- Rae Brenner Kornhauser, wife to David, d. 6 Jan 1932 in Youngstown, OH. Born 24 Oct 1878 in New York City. Parents: Jacob Brenner & Hannah Freedman Brenner, both b. Austria-Hungary. Buried Children of Israel Cemetery, Youngstown, OH.
-Harold Kornhauser, d. 15 Jul 1909 in Youngstown, OH. Born 28 Jun 1907. Son of David & Rae above. Buried Children of Israel Cemetery, Youngstown, OH.
- (unnamed) Kornhauser, d. 18 Dec 1910 in Youngstown, OH. Born 30 Nov 1910. Son of David & Rae above. Buried Children of Israel Cemetery, Youngstown, OH.

Civil War Letters of Quincy Plaisted

The latest addition to my website can be found here. The Civil War letters of Quincy Plaisted were a huge find at the National Archives recently. The original letters and a page that was taken out of the family register from the Bible were all in Quincy's Civil War pension paperwork!

He was the brother to my ggg-grandfather, Edward Harmon Plaisted, but I had never heard much about him. My side of the family DID inherit the Bible though, and it has always been a source of great frustration that the family register showing all the births and deaths had been torn out. At least now I know where it is!

Quincy died within days of his disability discharge, and the letters here represent some of the last communications he had with his family. He was only 18 when he died.

Also included is one final letter from Quincy's quartermaster regarding how he disposed of a package sent to Quincy that arrived after his death.

I've transcribed, as usual, to be faithful to the original style. There is also an introduction with additional information on Quincy that I learned from his pension paperwork and sources about his regiment.

More Kornhausers

A follow-up with some more information for those of you who are interested in the name:

Many Kornhausers seem to have fled Europe during or just before the Holocaust. Several families seem to have settled in Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Israel, and the United States. The Central Database of Shoah Victims lists a number of Kornhausers who died in the Holocaust. Many are from Slovakia, Poland, Romania, and Hungary. The ancestorsonboard website lists 7 Kornhausers leaving the United Kingdom in the 1930s and 1940s, all en route to either Argentina or the US.

Bernard, Hermann, and Rosalia Kornhauser were on Schindler's list and there is a 1946 photo of Hermann with Schindler. Andre, Janos, and Tamas Kornhauser are pictured here, with a brief article. Here is an article about Jan Kornhauser who owned a jewelry store in Poland before the war. Pal Kornhauser is pictured here.

The 1869 Hungarian census on JewishGen (which is incomplete) lists 120 Kornhausers, although this is a little misleading as they looked at maiden names as well, and some of these individuals are children of female Kornhausers.

By about 1920, the name was relatively common in the U.S. Based on a quick Ancestry.com search:

• In 1900, 31 individuals were indexed as Kornhausers in the US census (this may be an underreporting, since many indexers have been unable to read the Kornhauser name and/or the original census enumerator misspelled it). All were in either New York or Cleveland, OH.
• By 1910, 79 individuals were indexed as Kornhausers in the US census. Most were still in New York, but a few had moved to other states.
• There were 31 young Kornhauser men who registered for the World War I draft in 1917-8. The majority were in New York. (Almost all men 45 years old or younger had to register for this draft.)
• New York Passenger lists for 1820-1957 list 301 Kornhausers, many of whom are probably duplicates and some of whom are American citizens travelling to/from New York. (For example, there are 4 separate records of Blanche J. Kornhauser traveling.)
• The 1920 US Census lists 133 Kornhausers.
• The 1930 US Census lists 189 Kornhausers.
• 142 Kornhausers are listed in the Social Security Death Index, meaning they probably died between about 1950 and the present. Women are listed under their married names, so some are Kornhausers by marriage, but women with Kornhauser names by birth are not represented.

Ellis Island, which did not open until 1892 lists 74 Kornhauser in the database. As noted above, many times the name was incorrectly spelled so this may be inconsistent with the number of Kornhausers travelling through Ellis Island. Some of these Kornhausers were US citizens.

Castle Garden, the site of an earlier immigration station that operated from 1830 to 1892, lists only 7 Kornhausers. One family, arriving in 1890 from Austria, is headed by Josef & Sali, with their likely son Blondin, age 10. Another, arriving 1888 from Germany, is headed by Heinr. & Doris with their infant Georg. The final traveler, Mali, apparently came over alone in 1889 from Austria.

Many Kornhausers may have come in using other ports, such as coming to Philadelphia, PA, Baltimore, MD, or Boston, MA.

Beginning in 1899, the American Jewish Year Book lists Kornhausers of prominence. 34 entries are included. In 1899, Mrs D.H. Kornhauser of 1428 Wilson Ave. was secretary of the Cleveland Jewish Women's Council. By 1900, she is listed as of 143 Arlington, Cleveland and is listed several additional years with varying addresses. In 1908/9, S.J. Kornhauser (Samuel J.) is listed in Cleveland as a member of The Educational League for the Higher Education of Orphans (the Jewish Orphan Asylum). David E. and Sidney I. Kornhauser make appearances in the 1922/3 list of Jews of prominence. David was a painter and Sidney was a zoologist.

Here are some additional records of Kornhausers that I found interesting.

NY Times Archives
February 5, 1903, Thursday; Page 16
Fanny Kornauser, age 9, of 54 East Third St, witness to shop murder of Mrs. Mary Fleischer, age 52, by Mary's brother Adolph Gross, age 38. Nathan and Harry Moskowitz, ages 13 and 11 of 57 Second Ave , were also in the store. Mary and Adolph spoke Hungarian; at least Nathan Moskowitz, and possibly all three children, did as well. Adolph shot himself following the incident. Mary's husband was Joseph Fleischer, a tailor at Broadway and 22nd St. The couple had three children.

NY Times Archives
July 11, 1902, Friday Page 14,
Charles Kornhauser, newsboy, witness to the death of another newsboy, Harry Ripkin, who was hit by an oncoming electric car

In 1911, the Madison, WI City Directory lists an Alexander Kornhauser and his wife Ethel. He is the proprietor of a dry goods store, milliner, dressmaking, etc. This is the same Alexander Kornhauser & wife Ethel who are listed as buyers in August 1906 in New York City by the New York Tribune.

The 1900 Cleveland, OH City Directory lists Albert Kornhauser, trav. agt. This is my gg-grandfather.

The Palo Alto, CA City Directory for 1926 lists Mrs. Kath Kornhauser.

The Elizabeth, NJ City Directory for 1921 lists Irving Kornhauser, a grocer, who resided in Newark.

Also, of note, in 1859 there were NO Kornhausers listed in the New York City Directory.

1900 Census, Manhattan
Series: T623 Roll: 1113 Page: 66
Joseph Kornhauser, age 36, married 12 years, b. May 1864 in Hungary, Picture Framer, immigrated 1880; of 5 children had with his wife Jennie (b. Jan 1872, age 28, b. Hungary), only 1 survives: Anna, b. 1891 in NY.

Joseph is mentioned in a variety of other records for NYC, including real estate transfers noted in the NY Times, the NY Tribune, and city directories.

This is also probably the same Joseph referenced in the New-York tribune (New York [N.Y.]): January 27, 1909, p. 10. He was being sued along with his wife and several others by the Woodhulls in the Supreme Court of New York.


A Few Patent Searches:

• Louis Kornhauser of Cleveland, OH invented in 1924 "an adjustable sphins attachment for closet seats", apparently a kind of hinge related to toilet seats.
• Max Kornhauser, of New York, NY, invented a certain kind of pocket in 1954.
• Daniel W. Kornhauser of Beachwold, OH invented an apparatus and method for template cutting
• Murray Kornhauser invented a car bumper in 1971.
• Sidney I. Kornhauser, co-inventor in 1923 of a dissecting table that converted into a humidor for human anatomy labs.

Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser was an artist. Arthur Kornhauser was a sociologist. Both wrote a number of books. Janos Kornai, a prominent Hungarian economist (who also taught at Harvard for a while), was born a Kornhauser and changed his name at age 17. Many other Kornhausers have gone into academia.

Some old pictures of Kornhauser families may be viewed at this website.

Here's another Kornhauser genealogy site by Henry Kornhauser.

Sigmund Freud apparently had a Hungarian son-in-law, Adolf Kornhauser who may have been a counterfeiter.

Kornhauser Family

I recently wrote out for my mother what I've been able to learn about the Kornhausers in the U.S. I am actively searching this line, so please comment or contact me if you know more!

First, the name Kornhauser doesn't seem to appear in the U.S. until about the 1860s. It's a tricky name to find, because most indexers and/or original records creators couldn't spell it properly and you have to try any number of variations.

Many Kornhauser families lived in Cleveland early on. Later families seem to have clustered in the NYC area. All appear to be Jewish except for our branch down from Sidney. There is a Kornhaus family in Illinois, who have been in the U.S. for a long time and are almost certainly unrelated.

The Kornhausers in the early years often report their origins as Hungary or Germany or Austria. Hungary had massively shifting borders, so it is uncertain where people are referring when they say "Hungary".

With regards to our Kornhauser family, I can say this:

Albert Kornhauser was born about Apr 1851 in Hungary to parents Josef and Zeni (Gluck) Kornhauser.

His brother Dewitt Henry Kornhauser was born on 10 Mar 1857. His birth place variously mentioned as in Sebish or Karacsonymeza, Hungary. I suspect that Dewitt is an Americanization of "David". Dewitt is listed as David in the Hamburg passenger lists. "Sebish" may actually be "Szepes" a former Hungarian county that is now in the Spiš region in Slovakia. Karacsonymezo was in Saros county in 1913, district of Giralti, and is now in Slovakia. The Slovak spelling would be Kracunovce. The mention of Sebish is from his death certificate, which he didn't complete obviously, so I would guess that the Karacsonymezo is more accurate (it's from his passport applications). That said, I suspect that he probably spent some of his life living in Sebish, which is where his children had the reference. Szepes and Saros are adjacent. Here are some 1910 maps of the two counties.

Albert & Dewitt had a sister Resi born probably in Hungary. Her birth date is listed at death as 1 May 1861, but I am more inclined to believe the census reports which consistently indicate a birth date of June 1852 (probably early June based on the age changes).

There was probably one other child in the family, but I have no additional information on this yet. It's based on the fact that Zeni reported in 1900 that she was the mother of 4 living children.

As far as Josef and Zeni go, they were definitely Jewish, and at least Zeni was likely born in Hungary, though possibly in Germany as reported in the 1900 census. Josef may have been born in either Hungary or Germany. He is reported by Dewitt as having spoken German and being born there. Zeni came to the US in about 1880 and in 1910 was living with Resi in Cleveland. She is listed as Jennie, aged 68, widowed, and b. May 1832 in this census. Zeni probably died between 1900 and 1910. According to the census, she did not read, write, or speak English.

In 1871, Albert was naturalized in Cuyahoga Co, OH (in Cleveland). He probably arrived in the US that same year. Dewitt arrived 27 November 1872 on the S.S. Westphalia from Hamburg, but say he wasn't naturalized until October 3, 1883 in the District Court of Cleveland, OH. Resi may have come over with one of her brothers or with her mother about 1880 (she reports 1880 as does her mother in 1900, but in 1920, Resi reports an immigration date of 1875 and a naturalization date of 1884). I'm uncertain right now whether Josef or the remaining sibling immigrated as well.

Albert married Henrietta Goldberg in Rochester, NY on 9 Dec 1874. She was the Pennsylvania-born daughter of Sampson and Jeanette (David) Goldberg. Albert and Henrietta had at least 5 children, with possibly one additional child dying very young:
- Esther, b. NY in Apr 1876
- Samuel Jacob, b. 4 Dec 1879 in Parma, OH (just outside of Cleveland)
- Caroline, b. 28 Jan 1882 in Parma, OH
- David Emanuel, b. 15 Feb 1884 in Parma, OH
- Sidney Isaac, b. 3 Nov 1887 in Cleveland, OH
The family lived in Cleveland for most of the children's youth, but moved to Pittsburgh between 1900 and 1910. Albert died on 8 May 1920 in Pittsburgh and Henrietta d. 18 Dec 1921.

Dewitt Henry married Ida Lowenstein on 18 Jun 1895 in Manhattan, NY. Ida was born in NYC on Feb 22, 1873. I am still trying to determine who their children might have been (if any). They lived in NY and OH all their married lives, apparently concurrently. Dewitt had several passports that show him taking a pleasure trip to Calcutta in 1915, China, Japan, Korea, Phillipines, & Hawaii in 1917, and Cuba in 1920. They also describe him (and have photos) as 5'5", high forehead, grey eyes, straight or Roman nose, medium mouth with mustache, round chin, brown hair (but bald), fair or ruddy complexion, oval face, with a mole on his forehead. Dewitt d. on 26 Jan 1921 in Cleveland, OH of pneumonia. Ida d. 14 Jan 1956. At Dewitt's death in 1921 he had lived in the US in Ohio for 40 years. He was an insurance salesman for State Mental Ins. Co. He was buried at Mayfield Cemetery, Cleveland Hgts, OH.

Resi married Moritz Greenbaum on 18 Nov 1884 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. They had 5 children:
- Gertrude b. Dec 1885 in Ohio
- Joseph E. b. Dec 1885 OH
- Hermine b. Aug 1890 OH
- Jerome I. b. Feb 1893 OH
- Selma b. abt 1901 OH
He died between 1900 and 1910, probably in Ohio. She d. 30 Aug 1942 in Shaker Heights, OH (near Cleveland) of a heart attack. In her obituary, she is listed as the mother of Mrs. Gertrude Kendis, Joseph E. Greenbaum (deceased), Mrs. Hermine Harmel, Mr. Jerome I. Greenbaum, Mrs. Selma Kane, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was buried at Mayfield Cemetery, Cleveland Hgts, OH.


Here are some of the records I've turned up about early Kornhausers in our family and in as yet unlinked Kornhausers:

Civil War
A Henry Kornhauer served in the Regular Army as a private. Absolutely no further information on him, so perhaps this is an indexing error.

Ship Records
Ship records will be incomplete for a variety of reasons, and contain various amounts of detail. Here are some of the Kornhausers I've identified from early ship records, however:
- Michael Kornhauser, arrived NYC in 1880, age 25
- Alphous Kornhauser arrived NYC on 25 Sep 1865 on board the ship Mercury which sailed from Le Havre, France. He was aged 23, b. about 1842.
- Armin Kornhauser arrived NYC on 28 Nov 1883 on board the ship Lessing which sailed from Hamburg, Germany & Le Havre, France. He was about age 9, b. about 1874, origins listed as Hungary. [an Armin Kornhauser later married a Yolande Adler in NYC in 1898]
- Cene Kornhauser arrived NYC on 16 Jan 1882 on board the ship Silesia which sailed from Hamburg, Germany and Le Havre, France. He was age 18, b. about 1864, origins Hungary.
- Fanny Kornhauser arrived 3 Nov 1880 in NYC.
- Hanora Kornhauser came to NYC before 1870
- David Kornhauser (almost certainly our Dewitt), age 18, arr. 27 Nov 1872 on ship Westphalia to NY (FHL film 0,472,904, page 1480)
I've not seen most of these Kornhausers in later records, so they may have changed names.

1870 Census
The earliest census records of Kornhausers in the U.S. begin about 1870. I find an Emanuel Kornhauser, age 22, clerk in store boarding with the Leary family in Penn, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He was born in Hungary, as was Rebecca Leary, age 29 (the wife of the head of household). This could possibly be a brother/cousin.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY OHIO - Probate Court Naturalizations
From http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/oh/cuyahoga/probate/naturalizations/fr2le.txt
Natin Surname First_Name Middle_Name Name_Of_Vol Vol# Page# Country Date_Of_Arr Date_Of_Dec Date_Of_Natrlzn Problem
19409 Kornhauser Albert DOA 9 373 Hungary 5/1871 10/6/1883
19410 Kornhauser Albert NB 20 339 Hungary 10/9/1885
Transcription of Photocopied Records:
Probate Court in and for the County of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio
I, Albert Kornhauser, an alien and native of Hungary being duly sworn, depose and say that I first arrived in teh United States in the month of May A.D. 1871 and that it is bona fide my intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever, all allegiance and fidelity to every Foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly all allegiance and fidelity to Francis Joseph King whose subject I am.
Albert Kornhauser
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 6 day of Oct AD 1883
H.A. Schwab, Deputy Clerk

In the Probate Court, Cuyahoga County, O.
October 9, 1885
This day came Albert Kornhauser an alien and a native of Hungary and proved to the satisfaction of the Court that he made in the Probate Court for Cuyahoga County Ohio more than two years ago, the requisite Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States: Thereupon the Court order that the oath of the person seeking to be Naturalized, and the affadavit of the person testifying in his behalf be taken, and the same is done accordingly, in the words and figures following, to wit:
Oath of Applicant
The State of Ohio
Cuyahoga County, ss
I, Albert Kornhauser do make solemn oath that I will support the consitution of the United States, and that I do absolutely and entirely renouce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every Foreign Prince, Potentate, State of Sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly all allegiance and fidelity to Francis Joseph King whose subject I am.
A Kornhauser
Oath of Witness
The State of Ohio
Cuyahoga County, ss
I L. Salzer residing at No. 909 Pearl Stree, Cleveland, in said County, being duly sworn, depose and say that I am well acquainted with the above names A. Kornhauser that he has resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for five years last past, and for one year last past within the State of Ohio, and that during the same period he has behaved himself as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same.
L. Salzer
Subscribed in my presence and sworn to by said A Kornhauser Applicant and said L. Salzer Witness before me in open court this 9 day of Oct 1885.
Dan R. Tildew Probate Judge
Whereupon is was ordered by the Court that a Certificate of Citizenship be issued said Albert Kornhauser on payment of the costs of this application and the same is done accordingly.

Jefferson Co, OH Naturalizations
Two Kornhausers listed, apparently unrelated (?) to ours:
- Markus Kornhauser, age 22, from Hungary, court date on 5/8/1875 & 9/19/1877, witness George Poth
- David Kornhauser, from Austria, age 21, court date 10/4/1888 & 7//3/1891

1874 Rochester City Directory
Albert Kornhauser, clerk, 17 State, bds 34 Clinton Place

1880 Census
In 1880, Albert was a farm laborer in Parma, Cayahoga Co., Ohio, living with his father in law Sampson Goldberg. (US Census, page 304C).

I can't locate Dewitt in this census.

Marcus "Cornhauser" b. Hungary, age 29, appears in Steubenville, Ohio in 1880. He appears to be living alone. Dry goods and notions dealer. Probably same Marcus as naturalized above.

Maurice "Cornhauser" age 33, b. Hungary, liquor merchant is living in Chicago, IL with wife Jennie age 25 b. Hungary; children Henry age 6, Solomon age 4, Fannie age 3, Sarah age eight months, all b. IL. Also, brother (prob. in law) Maurice Roth age 23 b. Hungary, brother Benjamin Cornhauser age 22, b. Hungary.

1890 NYC City Directory
- Dewitt H. Kornhauser, shirts, 41 White, h. O. [means that his home was in Ohio]
- Joseph, frames, 452 Sixth av
- Martin, tailor, h 84 Sheriff
- Samuel, artist, h 237 Sixth

The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 23 Oct 1894:
"Hotel Arrivals: Coming and Going of Fort Wayne Hotel Visitors"
Al Kornhauser, Cleveland

1900 Census
In 1900, Albert, age 49, lived in Cleveland, OH and gives his birth as Apr 1851 in Hungary. Immigrated in 1871, naturalized. Occupation illegible. Owns a mortgaged house. Listed are wife Yetta (noted as the mother of 6 children, 5 of whom are living indicating a child of theirs died and hasn't yet been identified), and children: Esther, Samuel J., Carrie, David E., and Sidney I. Also, sister-in-law Lina Goldberg. Esther was b. in NY, others b. in OH.

Rosa Greenbaum, age 38, b. Germany, is living in Cleveland, OH with husband Morris and children: Gertrude age 14, Joseph age 12, Hermine age 9, Jerome age 5. Married 15 years. Rose is mother of 4 children, all living. Jennie Kornhauser (Rosa's mother), age 68, b. Germany, widowed, b. May 1832, mother of 4 children all living is in the same household.

1902 Cleveland Business Directory
A D.H. Kornhauser (clothing manufacturer and wholesaler) is listed in the 1902 Cleveland Business Directory. Brother to Albert. Also, an Emanuel Kornhauser (age 22, b. Hungary, store clerk) is listed in the 1870 Census for Penn, Westmoreland, PA. Another possible brother?

The Chicago blue book of selected names of Chicago and suburban towns : containing the names and addresses of prominent residents, arranged alphabetically and numerically by streets, also ladies' shopping guide, street directory, and other valuable information.
Chicago: Chicago Directory Co., 1905
- Mr & Mrs. Maurice Cornhauser, 149 42nd Place
- Solomon Cornhauser 149 42nd Place

1907 Voter Registration, Cleveland, OH
- Dewitt H. 1877 E 75th
- Samuel J, 5621 Scoville
- Samuel J. 5000 Woodland

Ellis Island, 1909
Sydney Kornhauser (US Citizen, probably Albert's son) arrived in Ellis Island on Aug 5, 1909 from Hamilton, Bermuda on ship Bermudian. He was age 22.

David E. Kornhauser (US Citizen, probably Albert's son) arrived in Ellis Island on Sept 17, 1909 from Naples, Italy on ship Cretic. He was age 28.

1910 Census
Albert is in US 1910 census, Allegheny, PA, ED 0419, visit 44. He is age 58, white, born Hungary, a wholesale grocery salesman. Living with him are Yetta and children Carrie, David E., and Sidney S., and sister in law Lina Goldberg.

Esther has married Adolph Marx and is living with him next door to her parents. Two children: Jeannette I. and Richard I. Marx.

Rose Greenbaum, age 49, b. Aust.-Bohemia, is living in Cleveland, OH with husband Morris and children: Joseph age 21, Hermine age 19, Jerome age 15, and Selma age 9. Married 25 years, first marriage for both. Rose is mother of 5 children, all living.

1910-1920
In 1917, the Pittsburgh Jewish Community Book lists the following Kornhausers:
- Mrs. Albert living 5717 Pocusset St
- Miss Carrie, living 5715 Pocusset St
- Edgar S. living 5639 Wilkins Ave
- Mrs. T living 815 Hastings St. (probably Mrs. Tillie Kornhauser)
- Alter H. living Eldridge St (almost certainly a typo, meaning Walter... all others are alphabetical)

Also in this time period, David E. & Sidney registered for the WWI draft. Samuel J. and Sidney graduated from Harvard U. programs.

1920 Census
In 1920, Albert lived with his son-in-law, Adolf Marx (married to Albert's dau. Esther), in Pittsburgh, PA. Albert, age 68, came to the US in 1860 from Hungary where his parents also were born. He was naturalized in 1875. He could read and write and speak English, though his native tongue was Hungarian. He was apparently retired. Also living with the Marx family are Albert 's wife Yetta, age 64, b. in PA; Albert's dau Carrie, age 34, b. in OH; & Albert's sister-in-law Lina Goldberg, age 58 (widowed), b. in PA. This is according to the census of that area, Enumeration District: 489, Sheet: 7

Another Kornhauser family in Pittsburgh is the family of Tillie Kornhauser, a widow, age 63. She has three children: Edgar age 35, Blanch age 30, and Henrietta age 25, all born in PA. Unclear if or how they are related.

David E. Kornhauser (Albert's son) was living with wife Mary and son David H. in Camden, NJ.

Samuel J. Kornhauser (Albert's son) was living with wife Minnie and children Joseph W., Daniel W., and Betty J. in Cleveland Heights, OH.

Sidney I. Kornhauser was living with wife Anna M. and son Albert E. and mother in law Eolia K. Marshall in Granville, OH.

Dewitt H. Kornhauser (Albert's brother) was living in a large boarding house in Cleveland with his wife Ida (Loewenstein). Dewitt was age 62, born Hungary, immigrated 1873, naturalized in 1883. He lists his father's place of birth as Frankfurt, Germany and his mother tongue as German; mother's place of birth as Hungary, mother tongue Magyar, Hungarian. He is in insurance.

Jewish Independent
May 21, 1920
Vol. 29, No. 14, pg 6
"Albert Kornhauser, aged sixty- nine, died May 8 in his home on Pocusset street, Pittsburg. He was born in Hungary andcame to this country when a young man. He moved to Pittsburg from Cleveland twenty years ago. He was a member of Rodelph Shalom congregation. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Yetta Kornhauser; three sons, Samuel J., David E. and Sidney I. Kornhauser; two daughters, Mr. A. J. Marx, and Miss Carrie Kornhauser; one brother D. Henry Kornhauser; one sister Mrs. R. Greenbaum, and eight grandchildren."

Dewitt Henry dies
death certificate lists date of death as 1/26/1921.

Interesting quotation re: Sidney
Cradles of Conscience: Ohio's Independent Colleges By James A. Hodges, John William Oliver, James H. O'Donnell; Published 2003; Kent State University Press
page 153
"In the spring of 1922 dissatisfaction [with President of Denison University, Chamberlain] erupted into open opposition over the dismissal of Sidney I. Kornhauser, a popular professor of biology who was Jewish. Kornhauser had replaced a professor going on leave in 1919. He was a capable zoologist and a popular instructor in an era when many religious and political conservatives were coming to attack the teaching of evolution. When he refused to resign quietly in 1922, Chamberlain dismissed him, citing the trustees' declaration of 1913 that Denison was a denominational college and that its instructors "should not only be proficient in their departments, but... should also be men of the highest Christian character." Ironically, that declaration had probably been adopted back in 1913 to reassure the Denison constituency that the appointment of a scientist (Chamberlain) as president did not mean a departure from the college's commitment to piety as well as learning. But its use against Kornhauser touched off a controversy that would not subside for years."

More Sidney Kornhauser info/links:
Stazione Zoologica Napoli, Italy - History: http://www.szn.it/

Professor Locy @ Northwestern Univ.

Marine Biological Lab @ Woods Hole, MA Archives

Biological Stain Commission

Obituary from R.D. Lillie in Journal of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry

Cytology of the Seaside Earwig by Sidney I. Kornhauser (1921)

Two papers presented at a conference in 1920 when at Denison University

Kornhauser offered admission bribes

Family History Woes

The Genealogue recently pointed me to this interesting story. Apparently, a family historian named Delia published to her blog a quotation from her grandmother's diary and is now being sued by other family members for copyright infringements and defamation.

The story raises interesting questions, particularly for those of us who have published letters and documents to the web or in other formats. However, I think that there is still hope for us.

To begin with, you can almost always publish a portion of a work under the "fair use" clause to the copyright law. Otherwise, critics, teachers and others would never be able to use quotations from works they cite. The exact amount that can be used has never been precisely defined, but based on the fact that Delia apparently only used a paragraph, she's probably okay.

I haven't just published a portion of these works, however. In general, I've published the entirety of the letters, diaries and so forth. Which brings me to my next thought, one that applies to what I've published, but not to what Delia published.

In general, genealogists are discouraged from publishing any information about the living, particularly online. For privacy reasons, it seems apparent why birth dates, maiden names, etc. shouldn't be easy to find online.

However, it seems to me that we should also be extremely careful about what we publish that involves the living: anything written by someone living obviously and anything written ABOUT someone living. This is particularly true if what was written might be controversial. What Delia published was a quotation from her grandmother that applied to a living individual, and which was not terribly favorable to that individual. You can see how that would rankle (whether or not there is a legal case).

In general, I have made it my practice to leave out anything on my site that was written by someone living or that is about someone living. Sometimes this has been hard. Still, the closest I have gotten to knowingly publishing about the living is publishing The Letter from Mother which includes some not-very-flattering portraits of "recently" departed family members (recently in this case meaning that some people in my family still remember them).

In terms of other copyright laws, I hope that I haven't broken them. I always volunteer to take down information if the copyright holder asks (no one ever has). Just contact me!

Did Penicillin Kill Him?

My grandfather, Henry Irving Baker, Jr. died in 1949 when my father was a young boy and before his sister was even born. For many years, members of the family gave various reports of his final illness. Several years ago, I decided that a careful family history study could actually help pinpoint the reasons for his death.

My first stop was his death certificate. H.I. Baker, Jr. died on September 10, 1949 at his home on 26 Holmes St, Poughkeepsie, NY. He was age 31 years, 10 months, and 28 days. Cause of death is listed as angioneurotic edema of larynx (12 hours) due to infective sinusitis and pharyngitis (1 week). His physician was Raymond McFarlin.

A translation of the medico-lese is that H.I. Baker Jr. died when his throat swelled shut over the course of 12 hours as the result of a cold he'd had for a week. This is essentially what my father remembers the adults telling him, but he was so young that it is difficult to entirely know what of his memories to trust and whether adults told him the whole story.

I next contacted the Dutchess County Medical Examiner's Office, but no autopsy was performed. According to current policy, an autopsy is only necessary for:

"any death resulting from homicidal violence, criminal negligence, suicide, fire, asphyxia, vehicular and other accidents, drug or chemical overdose, when a death is unexplained, when a death occurs in police custody or legal detention, and whenever an autopsy is deemed necessary in the interests of public health and safety. The need for an autopsy in the evaluation of a sudden, unexpected death apparently due to natural disease is decided on an individual basis."

That last sentence appears to cover this case and it seems that an autopsy was not conducted.

My next step was to consult the obituary. From Poughkeepsie New Yorker, September 10, 1949:

Henry I. Baker Jr., Dies Unexpectedly at His Home

Henry I. Baker Jr., 31-year-old attorney, died unexpectedly at his home at 26 Holmes street shortly before 12:30 o'clock this morning.

According to police, Mr. Baker suffered a severe bronchial spasm and Glottal edema yesterday noon and he was attended at home by a physician. At 12:17 a.m. today, Mr. Baker's wife telephoned police and requested a pulmotor [an artificial respirator].

The Fire department emergency squad in the charge of Captain Shelly and a doctor were sent to the Baker home. Mr. Baker was pronounced dead on arrival of the doctor.

Mr. Baker first became ill on Tuesday while serving as an inspector at the polls in the Sixth ward for the Primary elections.

Born here, Oct. 18, 1917, Mr. Baker was the son of Henry I. and Edith Bell Kimlin Baker. He was educated in local schools and was graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1935, from Bard college in 1939 and from Columbia Law school in 1941. He was admitted to the Bar in October, 1941. He practiced for a year in New York City prior to his enlistment in the United States Army Signal corps. He returned to this city after his Army discharge in January 1946. He maintained his law office at 3 Catherine street.

During his tour of duty overseas, Mr. Baker was engaged in communications liaison work in joint amphibious operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and participated in the invasions of Sicily and Southern France. After his return from overseas, Mr. Baker was assigned to the communications center of the Army General staff in the Pentagon building, Washington, DC. Mr. Baker was one of a small group of the Eighty Amphibious force, all members of which received commendation for meritorious service in the amphibious assault landing in Southern France.

A member of Christ church, Mr. Baker was a past president of the Young Adult Supper club of the church. He also was a member of the Young Republican club and of Poughkeepsie lodge, Free and Accepted Masons and of the Dutchess County and New York State Bar associations. He served as captain of the professional division for the lawyers in the 1949 Fund Drive of the Dutchess County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Surviving, in addition to his parents are his wife, Mrs. Ruth Abercrombie Baker, formerly of East Derry, N.H.; a son [...] and a sister, Miss Edith Bell Baker, here.

Funeral services will be conducted at the Schoonmaker chapel, 73 South Hamilton street, at 2 o'clock Monday. Burial will be in Poughkeepsie Rural cemetery.

Services of Poughkeepsie lodge of Masons wil be conducted at the chapel at 7:30 o'clock tomorrow night. Friends may call at the chapel between 7 and 9 o'clock tomorrow night.

While the obituary does give more information, it still leaves me dissatisfied. Certainly, it tells me that Henry Baker died of his airway closing and being unable to get enough oxygen. It does not tell me why.

Henry Baker was a previously healthy man. He trained as a lawyer just before WWII, an occupation he returned to after the war. He was a military veteran of the Signal Corps in WWII, specializing in cryptography. Health records from his enlistment note that he had a six-inch appendectomy scar from 1937, was just over 6 feet tall, and 145 pounds. He had blue eyes and blond hair. At enlistment, he was single, but had married before war's end and soon after fathered a child. His wife was pregnant again at his death, although she may not have known that yet. My aunt was born exactly 8 months after his death.

Several possibilities exist for his sudden death, but they fall into two basic categories -- bacterial or viral and anaphylaxis.

The first option is that he contracted a bacteria or virus that closed his airway. There aren't many options for common illnesses that will do this, especially in adults.

Croup is an example of one well-known disease that can do this. Croup is caused by a virus (often parainfluenza or influenza) that manifests most prominently as a cold, but can close the airway such that patients develop a barking cough and possibly stridor (whistling breathing). It can be fatal. However, most cases of croup occur in children, as is true of the other diseases that are most likely. Recent case reports, however, have indicated that croup in adults is much more severe that that in children. In 1949, it is entirely possible that a case of adult croup would not have been taken seriously and/or that there would not have been effective mechanisms to treat it.

Epiglottitis is another example of a disease that can close the airway in adults (and children). Epiglottitis is usually caused by the H influenzae type B bacteria which is now preventable by vaccine (it is also sometimes caused by other bacteria or viruses). It apparently caused George Washington's death and can be fatal to adults. The primary early symptom is a sore throat. However, the described progression of the disease is rarely as long as a week, usually only a few days at most. Epiglottitis is often confused with pharyngitis, however, which is listed on the death certificate.

Another option, however, is anaphylaxis, possibly due to a penicillin allergy. After a week-long cold, it is entirely possible that the doctor who treated Henry Baker at noon on the day of his death would have offered him penicillin. If he had a strep throat (which incidentally could have caused epiglottitis), antibiotics would absolutely have been the way to go. Penicillin would probably have cleared up the disease with no problems. That is, unless he had an allergy.

Penicillin, the first antibiotic to fight infections, was first discovered in 1929 and research on its use continued into the 1930s, but it was not used in civilian populations until the mid-1940s. Prior to this, it had been used with some success on soldiers in WWII. Penicillin, in fact, so revolutionized the medical field that it is difficult to overstate its effects.

Early on, penicillin had to be given by injection and was rare enough and passed through the body quickly enough, that it had to be collected from the urine of patients to be reused. Nonetheless, its effects on diseases and injuries that had previously been incurable and often fatal was heralded as major progress.

In 1944, in a presentation to the American Philosophical Society, Chester S. Keefer (a professor from Boston University) states unequivocally that penicillin is non-toxic. He does mention a few "side-reactions following its use that require comment", including "nausea, headache, tingling of the hands and feet, thrombophlebitis [blood clots in the vessels causing inflammation], urticaria [hives], fever, or chills and fever".

The first anaphylactic reaction to penicillin was described in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. George Waldbott in May of 1949 (just months before Henry's death). By the early 1950s, several studies had been published bearing out Waldbott's conclusions. Researchers noted that severe reactions were infrequent in the first nine years of penicillin's use and that over time allergic reactions to penicillins were becoming more frequent and more severe as exposed patients were more likely to develop hypersensitivity. Allergic patients are described as dying almost immediately of anoxia [lack of air] unless treated with antihistamines.

Penicillin allergy is now a widely recognized problem, and is the most common drug allergy, causing a fatality about 1 out of every 7.5 million uses. Actual allergic and anaphylactic reactions are much more common, since quick treatment with epinephrine can usually prevent fatality even in anaphylactic cases. This treatment would probably have been available in the 1940s if penicillin allergy had been recognized and a physician was readily available. Epinephrine was approved by the FDA in 1939.

Patient information on the allergy lists anaphylaxis as the symptom for 2-4% of all allergic reactions to penicillin. Anaphylaxis includes the potentially deadly swelling of the throat and/or tongue as well as some more generalized symptoms. Less severe reactions include rashes or hives. These sound like infinitesimally small numbers, but do actually affect a large number of people each year. Between 300 and 500 people a year die from penicillin allergies.

Quite possibly, I will never know how Henry I. Baker actually died. Really, any of the above are options. It was a fluke that he caught the cold that he did, and quite unusual that he reacted the way he did. I lean toward epiglottitis as the most likely scenario, and will continue to explore for further information. Knowing this part of my family's history is not simply idle curiosity, but actually comes up regularly whenever a physician asks me about my family medical history.

American Colonization Society

An interesting find in Google Books this evening. Abram Brewer is one of Jess's ancestors and I know from other research that he lived in Greenwood, Indiana, so this is likely to be him. Here is an image from The African Repository By American Colonization Society that shows he donated $2.00 (a relatively sizeable sum) in 1847 to the Greenwood (Indiana) Col. Society.



The Greenwood Colonization Society was a chapter of the American Colonization Society that was dedicated to the resettlement of free American blacks in Liberia. Providing land and an opportunity to resettle freed slaves and free African-Americans into a self-governing society, Liberia was supposed to be an idealized society. It was founded by the American Colonization Society in 1820 on the west coast of Africa.

In 1832, the following goals of the American Colonization Society were noted:

I. To rescue the free coloured people from the disqualifications, the degradation, and the proscription to which they are exposed in the United States.

II. To place them in a country where they may enjoy the benefits of free government, with all the blessings which it brings in its train.

III. To avert the dangers of a dreadful collision at a future day of the two castes, which must inevitably be objects of mutual jealousy to each other.

IV. To spread civilization, sound morals and religion throughout the vast continent of Africa, at present sunk in the lowest and most hideous state of barbarism.

V. And though last, not least, to afford slave owners who are conscientiously scrupulous about holding human beings in bondage, an asylum to which they may send their manumitted slaves.

The idea of creating such segregation through a process of deportation now seems very racist, but the idea was then seen by many abolitionists as a progressive solution to slavery. Many people believed that it would be impossible for blacks to live in liberty and improve their situations given the inequality and oppression inherent in American society:

"It is taken for granted, that, in present circumstances, any effort to produce a general and thorough amelioration in the character and condition of the Free People of Colour must be, to a great extent, fruitless. In every part of the United States there is a broad and impassable line of demarcation between every man who has one drop of African blood in his veins, and every other class in the community. The habits, the feelings, all the prejudices of society--prejudices which neither refinement, nor argument, nor education, nor religion itself can subdue--mark the People of Colour, whether bond or free, as the subjects of degradation,inevitable and incurable. The African in this country belongs, by birth, to the very lowest station in society; and from that station be can never rise, be his talents, his enterprise, his virtues, what they may. They constitute a class by themselves--a class out of which no individual can be elevated, and below which none can be depressed. And this is the difficulty, the invariable and insuperable difficulty, in the way of every scheme for their benefit. Much can be done for them--much has been done; but still they are, and in this country always must be, a depressed and abject race."--Address from the Connecticut Colonization Society, 1828

Rather than make changes to the American laws around slavery and free blacks and changes to the prejudices of the American public, colonization was proposed. Integration of society was seen as an impossible goal. In 1859, John Latrobe stated about freed African-Americans:

The free...without an especial protector, dependant upon himself alone, living, as the bills of mortality seem to shew, a shorter life than the slave, and made to feel in a thousand ways his social and political inferiority, either frets away existence in aspirations, which, here, can never be realized, or, yielding hopelessly to circumstances, falls with benumbed faculties into a condition that is little better than the slave's.

As an alternative to integration, many believed resettlement in a far-away land that was to be self-governed would provide greater opportunities for black success, economically, politically, and personally.

Resettlement was also supported by those who didn't entirely believe in the abolition of slavery. The presence of free blacks in a community was believed to be an inducement to slave rebellion, for slaveholders an omnipresent threat. As slaves outnumbered whites in most slaveholding communities, any possibility of rebellion created a crisis. In some places, freed blacks were forced to leave the area or were severely restricted.

The presence of free blacks in any location could also create economic pressure for whites who were competing for jobs. This made the deportation of free blacks attractive to many working-class whites who were not abolitionists. The increases in numbers of free African-Americans were often cited in speeches encouraging support of the colonization scheme.

Further, the presence of African-Americans in Africa was presumed to be a way of spreading the Christian religion into the interior of Africa, and so supported by many religious people. Ironically, while the American Colonization Society encouraged this rationale for colonization, many members also decried the poor morals of free black citizens of the United States, assigning them every sort of vice.

There was opposition to the colonization scheme from the British and from American abolitionists. Perhaps most prominently, William Lloyd Garrison wrote in the 1830s:

If I must become a colonizationist, I insist upon being consistent: there must be no disagreement between my creed and practice. I must be able to give a reason why all our tall citizens should not conspire to remove their more diminutive brethren, and all the corpulent to remove the lean and lank, and all the strong to remove the weak, and all the educated to remove the ignorant, and all the rich to remove the poor, as readily as for the removal of those whose skin is 'not colored like my own;' for Nature has sinned as culpably in diversifying the size as the complexion of her progeny, and Fortune in the distribution of her gifts has been equally fickle. I cannot perceive that I am more excusable in desiring the banishment of my neighbor, because his skin is darker than mine, than I should be in desiring his banishment, because he is a smaller or feebler man than myself.

Emigrants supposedly had to agree to moving to Liberia before they embarked, but probably many emigrants had little real sense of what life would be like in the distant country. Many slaves were emancipated on the condition that they emigrate to Liberia, and opponents to the colonization often claimed that some had been forced to embark. Despite positive reports to the members of the American Colonization Society, life was hard for emigrants. The death rate for early colonists was especially high. Still, few negative reports of the colony seem to survive.

The American black community was split on the organization with some eager to move to a land where life would be easier and others distressed by the implications of deportation of free, black Americans. In 1849, Frederick Douglass, himself free and black, wrote:

We are of the opinion that the free colored people generally mean to live in America, and not in Africa; and to appropriate a large sum for our removal, would merely be a waste of the public money. We do not mean to go to Liberia. Our minds are made up to live here if we can, or die here if we must; so every attempt to remove us will be, as it ought to be, labor lost. Here we are, and here we shall remain. While our brethren are in bondage on these shores, it is idle to think of inducing any considerable number of the free colored people to quit this for a foreign land.

Still, by 1867, about 13,000 immigrants had moved to Liberia.

Liberia was initially governed by the American Colonization Society, but achieved independence in 1847. It existed until 1980, when the government was overthrown. Ironically, the free blacks that governed Liberia had oppressed the native Africans, taking their lands and occasionally impressing them into servitude.

Abram Brewer was 17 at the time of his donation to the Greenwood Colonization Society. D.A. Brewer who donated 25 cents may have been either Abram's brother Daniel or David.

It is impossible to know the motivations behind Abram's donation. Looking at census information, however, it was probably not the increased presence of free blacks locally. According to the statistical information, only a handful of free blacks were enumerated in Johnson County, IN from 1820 to 1850. The high for free "colored" persons was in 1840 with 20 persons, 13 of whom were free colored males, out of a total population of 9,352. Neighboring Marion County, where Indianapolis is located had 625 free colored persons in 1850, but still had a proportionately small number of blacks to whites since the total population was 24,103. No slaves were ever enumerated in Johnson or Marion Counties, Indiana. Abram would not likely have been in competition with free blacks for employment or lands, especially as he was a farmer all his life.

Indiana, however, was a strong proponent of the colonization efforts. In 1851, a law was passed that proposed moving the entire free black population of the state to Liberia and forbade any new free black settlement in the state.

Still, the only possible connection I can make between Abram and anyone of color is that a Caroline Hodges, age 22 and black, lived in Pleasant Township in 1850. She had $800 worth of personal estate, and resided with the George Noble family. Next door was a David Brewer, quite possibly some relation to Abram (maybe his brother?).

The Library of Congress has a collection from the American Colonization Society that provides much information about the immigrants and the society. There is also a timeline that can provide a useful summary of key events and documents. The University of Virginia also has materials related to the colonization, including letters from Liberia. A history of Indiana and the colonization effort can be found here.

Faith & Betrayal, Part II

(go to Part I here)

As I mentioned, Faith & Betrayal was particularly interesting to me because of a family connection. While researching my father's line, I made contact with a very distant cousin, who has provided me with additional information regarding the Walsh family, some of which is included below.

James Walsh was born on July 31, 1806 in Over Darwen, Blackburn, Lancashire, England. This area is known for its textile production, an occupation that James Walsh and other family members pursued as well. Typically, the textiles would have been cotton or calico.

Born as the golden age for handweavers was ending, James Walsh would probably have spent most or all of his career in factories, even if he had started in a handweaving family. By the 1830s, steam power had made large-scale industrialization of textile factories possible, largely destroying the handweaving industry. Working and living conditions for these workers were typically abysmal, but a large-scale work force was needed and readily available in the young who had been pushed out of other more agrarian pursuits.

Of the Walsh hometown in Blackburn, I found this piece of information regarding the handweavers:

"The 1830s were a miserable time for the handloom weavers as more types of cloth were woven by power looms, and this caused a reduction in the handloom price for the same type of cloth; there was also a general downward trend over the decade and in 1837, wages were reduced 25% in a single year. There was widespread distress among the handloom weavers in Blackburn.

In the winter of 1841 to 1842 a Committee was formed to administer relief, and their report issued in December 1841 makes gloomy reading. 7,000 people in Blackburn were having to exist off 2s. 8d per week. The section of the Report on Lammack states : 'Most of the cottages in this district are handloom weavers. They were, consequently, found generally employed, but receiving very scanty remuneration for their labour, and the scanty pittance exhibiting an almost weekly reduction. The majority of persons visited were found to be hardworking, clean, managing and patient under their many and great privations. Their principal food is oatmeal porridge, with either churned or sweet milk, and potatoes stewed with a little water, salt and an onion or two for dinner'."

By 1841, we find James Walsh, age 30, married to Elizabeth (Betty) Cranshaw (m. 18 Jan 1828 in Blackburn) and the father of six young children: Richard (b. 1829), Thomas (b. 1831), Elizabeth (b. 1833), Mary Ann (b. 1835), Sarah (b. 1838), and Ellen (b. 1840). They lived in the lower end of Tottington Mills, parish of St. Anne's Church of England.

It is entirely possible that the Walsh family moved to Tottington as a result of the poverty affecting handweavers in Blackburn. Tottington was experiencing a population explosion as the cotton factories expanded production. This website notes that Tottington-Lower End had a "population in 1801 of 4,314, which in 1841 had increased to 9,929, and in 1851 to 10,685 souls".

James Walsh and his family are again mentioned in Tottington-Lower End in 1851. By this time, nine children are living at home, in addition to James and Betty. Since the last census, the family has been enlarged by Susannah (b. 1842), Emma (b. 1845), Joseph Cornelius (b. 1847), and James (b. 1849). Hannah Marie would be born later that year, and Betty's final child Amelia Jane would be born in 1853. Mary Ann is not living at home.

In both the 1841 and 1851 censuses, James is listed as a "machine printer". In all probability, this means that he worked with calicos, using an automated process to apply the colors or dyes to the cloth. It is quite likely that this was done using a roller or cylinder machine, such as the one discussed here. In 1851, several of James' sons are also listed as working as "machine engravers". This was a relatively skilled job, so the family may have been slightly better off than many.

In 1861, the family is still in Tottington. James, age 53, is a calico machine printer. Betty died in 1855, and James had married Sarah Penwright. James and Betty's youngest daughter Amelia Jane also died in 1858. She and Betty were buried in Tottington, Lancashire, England. Seven other children are still living at home, as is Betty's father, Richard Cranshaw, who at age 83 is still working in the mills as a madder dyer. Joseph, age 14, is also working in the mills. For the first time, the girls are also employed. The family seems to have more economic concerns than in years past, based on these factors.

The Walsh family was among the first wave of Britons to be exposed to the Latter Day Saints missionaries. The first LDS missionaries didn't even enter England until 1837. However, they converted many in a short time; by 1852, more than 30 thousand had converted in the United Kingdom alone. James Walsh and his family were among this early wave.

James was ordained Teacher on July 8, 1841/2 in Tottington, Lancashire, just 4 years after LDS missionaries arrived in England. He was ordained Priest (a fully functional LDS church member) on 7 May 1848. He was also president of the Bury District [LDS Church] for a time. Other family members, including the Cranshaws, also joined the church and held positions of authority.

The cotton industry was once again struck a severe economic blow in the 1860s:

"The American Civil War from 1861-65 dealt all the cotton industry a severe blow. It almost decimated the handloom branch, cutting off the market in the rest of America as well as cotton supplies from the South."

In addition to this economic blow, the Walsh family had suffered a personal one, when James lost his leg in the mills in the early 1860s. While not uncommon for mill workers, this disability would have been economically devastating for the family.

James emigrated to the U.S. in 1863. Both religious persecution and economic concerns may have played a role. James brought his wife Sarah and children, Mary Ann 26, Ellen 21, Susannah 19, Emma 16, Joseph 14, James 12, Hannah 10. James was 49 and Sarah was 44.

They sailed on the ship "Antarctic" the 23 May 1863 and arrived the 10 Jul 1863 in New York. They resided on the "Poop" deck as they sailed the ocean. Other friends sailed with them, including John Snowcroft who later became successful in Ogden and Duckworth Grimshaw who was also successful in the valley. Their sons, Richard and Thomas, came to America in 1853/4 and were living in Brooklyn, NY when the rest of the family immigrated. Elizabeth never came to the US.

It is unclear if the Walsh family took advantage of the revolving fund that enabled new Mormon immigrants to come to the United States. If so, they would have had to repay these funds.

The story is told that the Walshes were persuaded to stay on the east coast rather than coming west. James is found in the 1864-92 Directories for Lawrence, MA.

Lawrence, MA also has a strong history of textile industry, being one of the first locations to industrialize textile production in the U.S. Although the area has a stronger connection to wool than cotton, calico printing did apparently exist in the city and the textile factories did well into the 1900s.

It seems plausible that the Walsh family opted to stay in Lawrence, at least in part, due to the economic opportunities. This, in conjunction with the rising disillusionment with the Mormon church by both converts and the general public, may have induced the Walshes to remain in the east.

Disillusionment with the church may also have played a role, however. None of the Walsh children who remained in the East seem to have been in the LDS Church at the time of their deaths. So complete was the erasure of this period of time that I was, in fact, completely unaware of its existence until relatively recently. Certainly, therefore, the Walsh children and future descendants did not mention religion as a reason for immigration, possibly because they were ashamed of their conversion.

Regardless of the reasons, James Walsh did stay in Lawrence, MA until his death. City Directories for Lawrence list James Walsh:

• 1864 printer, house Sutton, near Turnpike s.s.
• 1866 printer h 45 Pacific corp.
• 1868 house 207 Lowell
• 1871-1878 207 Lowell
• 1879-1892 B.S. appears 207 Lowell
• 1892 James B.S. died March 19, 1892
• 1892 Sarah, widow of James B.S. house 207 Lowell
• 1894-1898 Sarah, widow, house 126 Broadway

By the 1870 Census, James was 60 and seems to have retired, being listed with no occupation. The value of his real estate was $3,000. Sarah was 49 & keeping house. In the 1880 Census, James was 73 years old, a printer, and crippled. Sarah was 59 and keeping house.

James died at age 85 years, 2 months, 25 days of General Debility and Paralysis. His obituary on 19 Mar 1892 read:

"James Walsh died last night at his residence, 207 Lowell Street, aged 86 years. Deceased was born in Darwin, Lancashire, England and came to this country in 1862. Deceased was one of the oldest calico printers in this country. He was the father of 13 [12 is the accurate number] children. One of whom, A.G. [Alonzo was a grandson] was president of the Lowell Common Council and another, Thomas, is manager of the Hamilton print works, Lowell. In 1860, he lost his leg while at work on a calico printing machine. "

Faith & Betrayal

I was wandering through the library recently, and passed a book that made me stop. It had an old photo of a woman on the front. Being a fan of history of all sorts, I picked it up and checked it out with very little perusal. As it turns out, it was quite an enjoyable read -- and as I will blog in a future post -- relevant to my family history as well.

Faith and Betrayal by Sally Denton (Vintage Books, New York, 2005) is an intriguing look into the life of Denton's gg-grandmother, Jean Rio Griffiths Baker Pearce. To briefly summarize, Jean Rio was born in England and married and had children there. Upon the death of her husband, she decided to immigrate to the United States with the Latter Day Saints Church (the Mormons). Her children accompanied her on the journey and many individuals can trace their lineage back to her (one son alone had 23 children).

Faith and Betrayal examines Jean Rio's family life, journey from England to Utah and then to California, and religious experiences, but has a broader scope than just her individual life. The book is one that would be interesting to individuals with: Mormon ancestors, U.S. western pioneer ancestors, English emigrant ancestors, female ancestors... aah, yes, that about covers it.

The LDS Church was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith; Jean Rio was converted in England and immigrated to (what was to become) Utah in 1851. She was among the wave of foreign immigrants who were converted by missionaries abroad and talked into immigrating and moving west with the LDS Church. Utah was at this time not even a part of the United States, and the LDS Church members had moved there very recently as a result of attacks on their members in states further east. It was intended to be a heaven on earth where the church ruled supreme.

Using quotations from letters and Jean's diary throughout, the book references other histories and records to paint a complete picture of what life would have been like for Jean Rio Baker at each stage of her journey. Here's a sample paragraph taken entirely at random that discusses Jean's arrival in New Orleans after her travel from England (page 67):

"With two parlors, two bedrooms, and an outhouse 'answering all the purposes of kitchen and washhouse,' the temporary residence was a welcome respite after months on the water. 'The next discovery I made.' Jean Rio wrote 'was that I wanted a cooking stove, which I purchased with all the utensils belonging for fourteen dollars.' Her children immediately scouted the neighborhood for playmates, enjoying themselves, 'finely in their rambles about the town and the open country beyond.' She stocked her kitchen from the many markets that opened at four a.m. every day. 'All kinds of meat, poultry, and fish are very cheap. The fresh meat is good, but not so large and fat as in the English markets. Vegetables and fruit are abundant and of great variety.'"

As demonstrated by this passage, Denton does an excellent job of weaving details such as cost, supplies, and typical daily activities into her narrative. These details are ones that, while providing information about Jean Rio's life, can also offer insight into what other women, pioneers, Mormons, etc. might have felt, seen, or done.

Historical information about daily life for women, childbirth, life aboard ship and on the wagon train, general descriptions of cities, and so forth all help to provide a better understanding not just of Jean Rio's life, but also of the lives of other similar women/immigrants/Mormons.

Nonetheless, Jean Rio's descendants, Denton included, are unable to preserve an unbiased look at the life of their ancestor. Even within the book, Denton bestows lavish praise on Jean Rio, including these phrases (all taken at random from the same page, 128):

• "Still, the hardship could not erode Jean Rio's essential goodness."
• "generosity prevailed"
• "her high-spirited and curious mind was seductive and comforting"
• "All her grown sons had reputations for showing tenderness in a harsh environment"
• "A love of children and of dogs"
• "Jean Rio rose to the challenge"
• "she cultivated her aptitude"
• "her quick mind"
  

Clearly, the book was written as a tribute to Jean Rio and she was indubitably a remarkable woman. Nonetheless, this does seem to go a little overboard for my tastes. Denton's failure to curb her own and other's hyperbole in relation to Jean Rio leaves one wishing for a more objective source to look at. (It reminds me of that joke about Remus Starr, horse thief.)

Probably the most controversial part of the book, however, is the end. Denton spends some time at the end of the book discussing Jean Rio's later life, after her move from Salt Lake City, Utah to Ogden, Utah, and finally to California. Denton claims this is a time when she gave up her beliefs in the LDS church. However, the diary upon which Denton was able to draw, ends abruptly upon Jean Rio's settlement in Ogden, Utah.

Denton claims that Jean Rio Baker was disillusioned by the church that she had loved, primarily because of the principle of multiple marriages (polygamy) then practiced by male members of the church (including Jean Rio's own son). Denton also claims that the practice of "consecration" (an enforced sharing of wealth with the church) is what lost Jean Rio her beloved piano to the LDS church. She implies that the practice may have cost Jean Rio much of her wealth, although she does not provide any good evidence of this.

While sparse documentary evidence does back up the assertion that Jean Rio was not a member of the LDS church when she died and that she was discouraged by her Utah experiences with the LDS church, it is impossible to say that Jean Rio was as completely disillusioned as Denton claims or to claim the reasons for it. Without the diary as a primary source, it is impossible to truly know what Jean Rio's experiences were in these later years. Denton, herself admits as much, saying, "much of her life remains shrouded. I reassembled her story from untold shattered pieces" (178).

Denton is also the author of American Massacre which examined the horrible murders of an entire wagon train party in southern Utah by Mormon pioneers (itself a highly controversial book). Faith and Betrayal, which is a family history, retains a slight anti-LDS Church feel toward the end. Without the strength of the primary sources, the reader is left to feel as though Denton is trying too hard to convey her perspective. Certainly, documentary evidence that exists could support Denton's point of view. However, it is sketchy enough that we can't be entirely sure what Jean Rio's later perspectives really were.

Certainly, Denton's perspective on her family is different from another member of her family who is quoted in the book speaking of Jean Rio's son:

"Plucked from the lap of luxury and set down in a frontier land of staggering toil and comfortless surroundings... he tackled his job and made good without excuses or regrets. His brothers couldn't stand the privations and hardships and moved to California where life was not so hard. But William stayed with the religion he had embraced as a boy." (174)

This quote again, shows the bias that flows throughout the book (and which is acknowledged by Denton in this instance).

However, this book illustrates very clearly the value of primary sources in examining the life of an ancestor and how secondary sources can help supplement one's understanding of those writings.

Denton's success in the book was to create a well-written narrative of Jean Rio's life, to interweave primary and secondary sources, and to look at her daily life in addition to the standard genealogical dates, etc. Her weaknesses were in allowing her own biases in relation to her family and the LDS Church to flavor her narrative. A good reminder to those of us engaged in writing family histories!

Early Postcards

I've scanned in a few of the early postcards that I have in my collection and added them to my Family Documents. You can see a brief slideshow of the postcards here.

As noted on the page, the postcards date from January 1905 to January 1913. Some are black and white illustrations or photos; many are in color. All but one were mailed, and they are identified by publisher (when noted), postmark date and place, as well as by title. Most of these come from the Scott girls to one another and to their grandmother, Rachel Aber Plaisted.

Many of the postcards are postmarked both from where they were mailed and "rec'd" at the post office to which they were mailed. I've only noted the "from" date and location, but can tell you that the recipient usually received the postcard the next day. Pretty fast!



One cent stamps were used on all the postcards. Three different stamps were used: two of Benjamin Franklin (one a profile and one straight-ahead) and one of the profile of George Washington. The Benjamin Franklin straight-ahead was issued by the USPS in 1903, and was used on my postcards from 1905 through 1908. The profile of Franklin was introduced in 1908, and the Washington profile in 1912. Only the last postcard I have uses the Washington stamp. All of these stamps are quite common, but could have been helpful in dating the postcards. (Information on stamps from the excellent website: 1847USA)

There are a few postcards from other locations (the earliest is from Pikes Peak, CO), but most come from upstate New York. Many are from where the Scott girls went to college, so several normal schools (training schools for teachers) are represented, including Keuka College, Geneseo Normal School and (NY) State Normal School at Oneonta. Syracuse University and the town also figure in several postcards. Greenwood, New York is where Rachel Aber Plaisted lived. Some seem to be vacation postcards.

The postcard seems to have been invented in Hungary in the 1870s. In the U.S., advertising cards were quite popular for collecting and trading throughout the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, and although not exactly "postcards" in the modern sense since they weren't mailed, did give a hint of what was to come. I have many of these in my collection as well, and will be scanning them into another album at some point in the future.

The first modern postcard, prestamped with a one-cent stamp, appeared in the U.S. in 1873 released by the US Postal Service. Not until 1898 were private firms allowed to create the postcards, and even then postcards were not allowed to have writing on the address side. This wasn't allowed until 1907, when a divided back was created. After this, the use of postcards exploded. Only two of my cards pre-date the divided back era. These cards were sent from Pike's Peak, Colorado in 1905 and Keuka College in NY (probably 1905-6).

Germany is where many of my cards were printed, and apparently was the site of most postcard printing in the world. At the time, Germany had they finest printing techniques for working with colors. With the onset of World War I, therefore, postcards became more difficult to obtain in the U.S. until American companies began building their own printing technologies.

(Most of the postcard history derives from here.)

Is Big Brother Archiving?

Recent news reports such as the one where 2.3 million financial records were stolen and where the government collected phone records, have made me wonder more about record management these days and in the recent past.

Obviously, the federal government is archiving most of its materials, as they always have, much of it presumably to become public information long after our deaths. Some of these materials will be of interest to future descendants, including passport and Social Security Applications, military service and pension records, and IRS tax information. I believe it is unknown whether the NSA phone records will be archived or eventually become part of the public record.

Certainly, current trends seem to be pushing for more classified information. According to a 2006 AP survey (referenced here), 616 laws restricting access to public government records and meetings have been passed since 9/11. Only 283 were passed to loosen access.

Vital records are among those discussed as not public information. Some genealogists are fighting these restrictions. News agencies reported that the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Act of 2004 has a clause that "requires minimum standards for the use of birth certificates by Federal agencies for official purposes." The federal government was attempting to restrict access to the certificates since they can be used as identification, possibly by terrorists. Most states were considering restricting access to the records, and some states have done so, though most seem to have a clause that opens them to the public long after we are all dead.

Some states (such as Colorado) have responded to the federal law by restricting genealogical access to vital records. Or at least, I assume that's what is meant by: "genealogists representing family members with appropriate credentials". I'm not sure what a 'family member with appropriate credentials' would be, and assume that the second clause is misplaced: that the genealogist is supposed to have the credentials. The COGenBlog reported that one searcher was told, "genealogy database printouts, research documents, family letters, genealogy society membership cards, etc., which show proof of genealogy research work related to that person will meet the requirement." The Wandering Author mentions the genealogy community controversy over restricting access to just professionals in a recent post.

But back to our subject.... of far more interest than these government documents (assuming basic facts are established), would be looking at credit card records and search terms. I mean, what better way to figure out what is driving a person? Just ask the advertising companies!

The trouble is that many of these documents are kept by private businesses. Some businesses do maintain archives. There is a listing of some of them here. However, most businesses probably go into and out of existence or through mergers too quickly. Also, I'm not aware of what most of these businesses keep in archives, but I suspect that data on the individual is not high on the list. Financial records for the agency, possibly a list of customers, but probably not your monthly credit card bills.

Still, thinking about all the information about me that is out there... utility and phone records, search information, driver's licenses, magazine subscriptions, credit card and bank statements... wouldn't that be a gold mine for some future descendant! I mean wouldn't you love to know who great-Grandma talked to on the phone, what she bought (and for how much), have a photo (even if it was a license photo), know what she read and what her hobbies were, and if she defaulted on her loans?

Hoax Letters, W.C. Fields, and a Giant Mystery

I have a family documents conundrum which just gets more and more interesting the more I learn. It began with a family letter from 1939 that couldn't be attached to any relatives, despite the salutation "Dear cousin". This spring, I posted the text of the letter on-line, and within a few weeks had been contacted by someone entirely unrelated who had a very similar letter.

Now I have discovered that W.C. Fields, the famous comedian, also had a letter like this, which has been posthumously credited to a niece.

I am baffled. The letter is very humorous, and I have to think it must be a hoax. But its origins are still mysterious. What is the history of "chain letters" and "spam" before the Internet? Could this have been some kind of propaganda?

Please read the whole story, and if you know more (or if you have a similar letter), please contact me!

Sweet & Low

I'm reading Sweet & Low by Rich Cohen (New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2006) right now. It's interesting to read as a family history buff. For all intents and purposes, that's what the book is. It takes a family story and family characters and blends that information with history and context. It does this extremely well.

Although most of the people that Cohen is writing about are still alive, he is distanced from many of them, both emotionally and physically (he grew up in IL, while they lived in NYC). In this way, he is your typical family historian.

Cohen uses the tools of all family historians: wills, newspapers and court documents, but also has the luxury of interviews with living family members. The story he creates is an excellent read. In an article for Slate.com, Cohen writes that he "would write as if everyone had died long ago." In fact, this is sometimes how it feels.

As the son of the daughter who was disinherited from the family fortune, however, he is far from neutral. So although he uses primary sources and interviews, there is a decided slant to his writing that leaves you wondering what the other side might be. At times, he ascribes motives to his family characters or describes them from childhood memories that leave you squirming; who can tell what others are really thinking or meaning from such limited information? Unfortunately, I haven't yet turned up any rebuttals or corrections from other family members (so maybe it's all true).

All in all, though, I would recommend the book as an interesting read, particularly for those of us writing family history stories. If nothing else, it is a good reminder that even primary sources and people may sometimes skew our glimpses into the past.