Samuel, Sam Feldman was the 7th child born to Esther and Morris Feldman. He was born at home on July 27, 1902 in Brooklyn, NY.
At 3 years old, he was living at 306 Bushwick Ave. with his family and a boarder named Sam Sterenoz (perhaps his mother’s brother).
about 5 years old
At age 7, he was living with his family on Beaver Street.
His mother, Esther, died in 1911 when he was 9 years old. His father kept the family together and his older sister, Ida, helped raise him. His family continued to move from place to place.
In 1915, his family lived at 1855 Prospect Street in Brooklyn and he attended school.
In 1920 he was working as a soda dispenser and served as a witness for his Uncle Israel Mandelblatt’s naturalization. (see petition). However, in the 1920 census, he is listed as a towel deliverer for a Towel Supply Co. He was 17 years old and had not attended school at all that year. He was, however, living with his family on Vermont Street.
In 1925, at age 22, he was still living with his family at 1925 Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn. His sister, Ida, was also living there with her husband, Isadore Rosenberg, and her 2 daughters, Estelle, age 3, and Shirley, age 1.
In 1930, at age 27, he was a clerk in his Uncle Isador’s stationary store. He no longer lived at home, but lived with his Uncle Isador and Aunt Ida and their family at 21 Lefferts Avenue in Brooklyn.
Sam married later in life. His first marriage lasted only a short time because his wife, Mildred died in 1942. Estelle Eisler, Ida Rosenberg’s daughter, has some memories of this. She says: “I remember she had some sort of illness. She was slender and nice looking and they seemed happy. She wanted to give me one of her furs but I declined.”
When he registered for the draft and and Mildred were still married. Note that it shows that he had brown eyes, a ruddy complexion and gray hair. He was 5′ 91/2″ tall and weighed 175 lbs.
Sam did remarry in 1945. Ruth Lipman Eiss was his second wife. Ruth was divorced from Solomon Eiss. .Although he never had children of his own, he raised his Ruth’s son, Ralph.
Later in life, Sam and Ruth lived in Century Village in Delray Beach, FL. David Ockman, Birdy Feldman Wissner’s grandson, remembers meeting him. David thought of him as an “old” man who smoked cigars all the time. Sam visited David’s family, and David remembers going to Sam’s condo in Century Village.
Estelle Eisler visited Ruth and Sam when she took a trip to Florida in the 80’s. They took her to lunch to a Jewish deli in Miami.
Sam died May 30, 1988, at age 86, in Hollywood, FL, but was buried in New York City.
Sources
- Sam’s Draft Card citation
New York, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C341-8364-S?view=explore : Jan 17, 2026), image 927 of 1048; Ancestry.com. Image Group Number: 106196986 - Sam’s marriage record was found on The NYC Historical Vital Records Project webpage
Outstanding Questions
- Where is Sam buried?
- What was the maiden name of Sam’s first wife?