Morris was the son of Raphael Dov Feldman and Braine Burdman. We do not know how many children they had.
We do know from various family members’ memories that Morris had at least one brother who also immigrated to the United States. Through research I now know that he had a brother, Frank, who settled in Milwaukee, WI. From census records, we guess that Frank was about 10 years older that Morris.
One of Frank’s daughters, Henrietta (Hattie) Feldman Sasuly, moved to Brooklyn, NY, with her family. We believe that Frank travelled from Milwaukee to Brooklyn to visit his daughter and while there, also visited with his brother.
To get to Brooklyn, he would have taken a train from Milwaukee, WI, to Chicago, ILL, and then transferred to a train going to New York City. It would have been an overnight trip taking from 1 to 1.5 days.
Estelle Rosenberg Eisler remembers one day when she was a little girl, her grandfather’s brother came to visit her grandfather, Morris. She remembers how Morris fondly embraced him. She inferred that they had not seen each other in a long time.
Although the photo is not dated, based on his clothes and the fact that he died in 1928, we can assume it was taken around 1925.
Frank Feldman
Frank, aka Falik Yehoshua, married Ida (Chaie) Schechter in “Russia” around 1873. They had six children before he emigrated to the United States.
According to the 1900 Federal Census, Frank arrived in the United States around 1890. He was a peddler and could not speak English. He arrived alone and sent for his family about two years later.
Ida traveled to the United States with her six children. Below is the ship manifest for Ida and the children.
They had two more children in Milwaukee.
By 1905, not all of the children were living at home.
As their children grew up, the settled outside of Milwaukee. Their son, Joseph, moved out west. One of their daughters moved to Chicago with her husband, while Hattie moved to Chicago and then to Brooklyn, NY, with her family.
Their son, Peter, fought and died in WWI. He died of lobar pneumonia on December 18, 1918. The pneumonia was probably due to the Spanish Flu which was spreading like wildfire amongst the troops overseas. At first he was buried in France, but his body arrived home in April of 1921 and was buried in Second Home Cemetery, Greenfield, Milwaukee, WI.
Before the Army, Peter was attending law school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
According to FindAGrave.com, the inscription reads: Pinchas Reuven son of Yeoshua Falik. The full transcription comes from Tracing the Tribe, a Facebook Group, February 3, 2026:
. . . It’s written in a not-quite-standard Hebrew and attempts to rhyme in an AABBCC format. I’m not entirely sure of the meaning of the third to last line but this is in the ballpark.
Here is buried a young man without sin / His life extended to his 29th year / On the 15th of Tevet in the year 5685 / In battle for which he was assigned and had trained / He had excelled in his studies but his life was cut short / Pinchas Reuven son of Yehoshua Falik / Feldman may his soul be bound in the bond of life
Frank died in 1928 and is also buried in the Second Home Cemetery in Milwaukee, WI.
It states he is the son of Raphael Ber (Dov and Ber are equivalent and that is how I knew he was the brother of Morris). May his soul be bound up in the bonds of (eternal) life.
It further states that he was a regular, and active, at the גחש״א Society. My guess is that that is Gemilat Chesed Shel Emet which might be a burial society or some other charitable community organization.
The last two lines say: “passed away 16 Sivan, 5688, may his soul be bound in the bond of life” (16th of Sivan, 5688=4 June 1928)
In 1936, Ida was presented with a Gold Star in memory of her son, Peter.
Ida died in 1941 and is buried next to her son and family in Second Home Cemetery. From her obituary, and her newspaper articles, we learn that she was active in the community, and well-respected, and where her three surviving children lived.
Sources
- Chat GPT, 5.2, 02/02/2026 with help dating the photo
- Perplexity, 02-02/2026, help with dating the photo.
- Train Travel Maps
- Gold Star Mother Article appeared in the Wisconsin Chronicle (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Friday, October 2, 1936, on Page 6. It was downloaded from Newspapers.com on Jan. 31, 2023
- Members of Tracing the Tribe, on Facebook, for translating Frank’s stone.
- FindAGrave.com for image of Frank’s stone
- FindAGrave.com for images of Peter’s stones
- FindAGrave.com for image of Ida’s stone
- Peter’s law school picture: “U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012″; School Name: George Washington University; Year: 1913” hosted by Ancestry.com since 2010
- 1900 Federal Census: Year: 1900; Census Place: Milwaukee Ward 2, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Roll: 1800; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 0016, hosted by Ancestry.com since 2004
- 1910 Federal Census: Year: 1910; Census Place: Milwaukee Ward 2, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Roll: T624_1722; Page: 5a; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1375735, hosted on Ancestry.com since 2006
- 1905 Wisconsin State Census: Wisconsin Historical Society; Madison, Wisconsin; Census Year: 1905, hosted on Ancestry.com since 2007