Max Wosnitzer and Family

Max’s family became “Society” people and were often followed in the newspapers.

Max was born Marcus Dawid, in January 1858 to Jochene and Dobre (Huttner) Wosnitzer. In 1877, he married Lena Kopf in Tarnow. Lena was born Rachel Lea Kopf on October 19, 1857, to Abraham and Neche. Max had a twin sister, Chane Scheindel, who died when she was 9 years and 7 months old.

Their oldest son, Abraham, was born in was born May 30, 1880 in Tarnow. They had another son, Jakub Isak, born in 1881, but he was not mentioned after they immigrated. There was also a son, Benjamin, who was born around 1881. He was not mentioned in the New York census records, either.

In April of 1882, Max immigrated to the US from Hamburg on the steamship Empress. His occupation is listed as a merchant or trader. His jourey on the steamship took him first to Liverpool in England and the on to New York. [1] The Hamburg steanship line actually docked in Hoboken, New Jersey. He would have had to take a ferry to Ellis Island to be processed.

He first went to New York and then to Newark, NJ, where they settled. They lived in the Jewish area of Newark, called the Third Ward. As their family grew up, they mostly settled within a few blocks of each other. 

His younger brother, Joseph, had immigrated to the US in Jan. 9, 1881, and settled in NYC with his wife.  However,  Joseph moved to Newark, NJ, by 1906.

Max started the successful Hudson Hat Company, while his brother, Joseph, was in produce.   (To learn more about his hat business, click on The Hudson Hat Company under the Wosnitzer menu.) However, the family always called the Hudson Hat Company the Nutley Hat Company. Max’s children held different positions in his company throughout the years.  His nephew, from his brother Tobias, also named Irving Wosnitzer, also worked for him.

According to Gertrude’s daughter, who was born in 1938, the above photo must have been taken at about that time, since her parents were only married for one year and both are in the photo.  Max and Lena travelled back and forth to Austria every year during “the season”.  Did they go to vacation, see family, check on the family business, and/or look for fabric and things for the hat factory?  However, at this particular time in history, whatever the reason was, it was a dangerous time to be travelling there.  We will never know if they tried to convince other family members to leave.

They also travelled to Africa.

Max and Lena walking on the Boardwalk after the Nutley Hat Factory fire occurred.

Below are portraits of Max and Lena.

Max’s family was often in the society pages of the newspapers.  I was told “they attended charitable gatherings, went to the best universities, became doctors, had “Attendants” who helped with the household duties, and took their clothes to the laundry instead of doing it themselves…. They were “Society” people.”

Max died in January, 1931, in Newark, NJ, and is buried in the Union Field Cemetery in Newark.  His stone reads: Mordechai David ben Yochanan. Lena died in 1948.

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The Children of Max and Lena

Based on the 1905 US Census, Max and Lena’s family consisted of the following children: Abe, Sadie, Jennie, Isadore, Esther, Ike, Annie, Yettie, and Morris. You can read a little bit about each one below.

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Abe

Abe was born April 15, 1880, in Tarnow at 90 Zawale.  He had blue eyes and dark brown hair. In 1904, he married Anna Dougherty. Anna was born in Newark, NJ. She was christened in St. Joseph Catholic in Jersey City, NJ on Sep. 11, 1877.

They moved around from Newark Ward 3, to Newark Ward 9, to South Orange, to East Orange, back to Newark, and in 1953 to Montclair. He died in July 1968, in East Orange, NJ at age 88 years old. He is buried in B’Nai Abraham Memorial Bark in Union, NJ.

Abe and Anna’s children were:

• Albert H. (b. Oct. 21, 1905) – married 2 times to: Carrie Baum / Lillian Bassin. As a child, Albert had polio which resulted in his left arm being stunted.
  • He had a son, also named Albert, with Carrie
  • He had a daughter, June Ann, with Lillian.

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• Gertrude Jeannette (b. Sep. 28, 1907) – married 3 times to: Barling / Shiffman / Seifer . She eventually moved to CA to be near her daughter, Carolann in the Palos Verdes Peninsula area..

Gertrude and Burton Barling

• Gertrude’s daugther is:
  • Carolann Barling married Harold (Hal) Jennings
    • Robert -died Sept. 30m 2016 at age 55 from a massive heart attack
    • Ken-  married Lisa and has 2 sons
    • Carin – Gabarra   is the women’s soccer coach at the US Naval Academy in Anapolis, MD.  She was on the Women’s US National Soccer team and won the World Cup in 1991.  She was also in the 1996 Olympics, receiving the first women’s olympic Gold Medal.

• Wilbur Raymond (b. Sep. 24, 1910 – Jan. 12, 1998). Bill was a graduate of the Newark Academy and the Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania.  Where there, he was captain of the baseball team. He married Irene Patricia Harris after she graduated from college.  He served in the Navy as a Lt. Commander during WWII.   Wilbur died from a heart attack and is buried in Holy Sepluchre, in East Orange, NJ.  Wilbur and Patricia’s children are:
  • Douglas Andrew
    • was born with Cerebral Palsy and following a lenghty battle with it, he sadly died in his teens
  • Bill
  • Bob
  • John

• Muriel Estrow (b. 1917) . Muriel married Stanley Estrow.  Stanley was a Park Ave, NY, lawyer and publisher. Muriel and Stanley had 2 children:
  • Barbara
  • David

Were there ghosts in Abe and Anna’s home?  Read the article below to find out!

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Sadie

Sadie, aka Sarah, was born in Nov. 1886 in NJ.  In 1909 she married Adolph Karph.  They lived in Newark until 1940, then the census says they lived in East Orange.  They had 4 children:

• Norman
• Sidney
• Florence
• Dorothy

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Jennie

Jennie, also known as Jamie and Jeanette was born in April, 1888 in NJ.  She married Louis Weintraub. In 1920, they lived in Newark Ward 5.  

They lived at 25 Van Velson Place in Newark. It was a large apartment building and her sisters her Henrietta Gross, Esther Rothenbrug, and her brother, Morris’ ‘widow, and their families also lived in the same apartment building.

She died in Oct. 1973 in Sarasota, FL.

Jennie and Louis had 2 children:

• Roslyn
• Victor

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Isidore / Irving

Isidore, later known as Irving, was born in Feb. 1890, in NJ. On March 30, 1913, he married Jessie V. Rich. For a while, they lived in NY, but travelled to NJ regularly to visit family and also to Albany.  Was there a factor there?  He died on Oct. 21, 1938, and is buried in Union Field Cemetery, Newark, NJ in Row 01 #13L.

Irving and Jessie had 2 children:

• Mortimore married Victoria Meth.  He eventually became the owner of the Hat Factory. Morty died at age 55 from a massive heart attack while sitting in his car.
• Bluma (Sissy).  Bluma married Irving Goldstein. Bluma owned a woman’s clothing boutizue in Scarsdale, NY for several decades up unitl 1916 when she finally retired. The extended family (children, grandchildren and great-children) still like to continue the annual family gathering in the Hamptons.  Irving and Bluma’s children were:
  • Eileen -retired
  • Paul – a surgeon at NYU
  • Bobby – took over his father’s business
  • Note: One of Bluma’s son changed his name from Wosnitzer to Warren to sound more Americanized

                                 

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Esther

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In the 1950 Federal Census, she is living in her home and her brother, Ira, is living with her. The 1950 Census was found on Ancestry.com. Her apartment was at 2524 Van Velsor in Newark, New Jersey. It was a large apartment building and her sister Jennie Weintraub, her sister Henrietta Gross, and her brother, Morris, and their families also lived in the same apartment building.

Esther died on April 10, 1973, in Springfield, New Jersey. She is buried in Congregation B’Nai Jeshurun Cemetery, in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Her niece, Carolann recalls:

“I clearly remember Aunt Esther, my Poppy’s (Abe) sister. On Sunday mornings while their mother, Lena , was still alive, we would visit at their apartment across from a large park . (According to Josh, great-grandson of Esther, the apartment was at 5 Pomona Ave, right across from Weequahic Park.)

The two widowed sisters and Uncle Ira lived with Lena. Aunt Esther was a very pretty, small lady with blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. She would serve me ginger ale and honey cake .

Such a sweet family!”

Photo of the Rothenberg cemetery plot was found on FindAGrave.com.

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Ike Aaron

Ike, later known as Ira, Jan. 10, 1896 in NJ. He was a bachelor and lived with his parents.  His fiancé died in a tragic accident and he never married. He was described as having gray eyes and blonde hair.

In 1927, he arrived in NYC on the Robert. E. Lee which sailed from Havana.

From family stories we learn that Ira liked to be part of the Broadway social circles and dated and “wooed” some actresses. In the 1950s, he moved in with his widowed sister, Esther Rothenberg. Two of his other sisters, Jennie and Henrietta, and his brother, Morris’ widow, and their families, also lived in the same building.

He died June 25, 1957 in NJ.

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Annie

Annie was born in Sep. 1897 in NJ.

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Yettie

Yettie was born in March, 1898 in NJ. Could this be Henrietta? If so, she married Seymour Gross. They lived at 25 Van Velson Place in Newark. It was a large apartment building and her sisters Jennie Weintraub, Henrietta Gross, Esther Rothenberg and her brother, Morris’ widow, and their families also lived in the same apartment building.

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Morris

Morris was born in April, 1899, in NJ, and died on Oct. 12, 1948 in Manhattan. On his Draft Card, he is described as having gray eyes and brown hair. He married Ethel L. Saltzman and became an attorney.

Ethel continued to live at 25 Van Velson Place in Newark. It was a large apartment building and Morris’ sisters Jennie Weintraub, Henrietta Gross, Esther Rothenberg and their families also lived in the same apartment building.

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Sources:

• [1] Steamship record for Max from DetailStaatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII B 1 Band 049; Page: 564; Microfilm No.: S_13139 TitleHamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934Author Staatsarchiv Hamburg PublisherAncestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2008
• Newark Directory Listings
• US Census
• Family members’ recollections

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Outstanding Questions:

• Who is Ida Wosnitzer?  Did one of the girls change their names or was she another relative?  In 1922, she is working for Max in the hat factory.