Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1884-1957)

Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1884-1957) Housewife (b. September 02, 1884, Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA - d. January 23, 1957, 3:30 pm, 60 Krane Avenue, Rutherford, Bergen County, 07070, USA) Social Security Number 068075094.

Birth:
Ada was the second born child and first to live beyond infancy of Maximillian S. Freudenberg (1857-1921) a German immigrant and Eloise Lindauer I (1860-1935) aka Ellie Lindauer, a native of the Oyster Bay area of Long Island, New York.

Marriage:
In 1904 she married Ralph Kohlman (1885-1957) and the two of them lived with her parents until at least 1910. They may have had one child who died at birth, and no others. Ralph was working as a stereotyper in a printing house, and later he would be part owner of the Elliot Matta Printing Company in New York City.

Lyndhurst, New Jersey:
Ada was living at 277 Travers Avenue, in Lyndhurst, New Jersey in 1935 when her mother died, and she rented a summer house at Matavan Beach, near Keansburg in New Jersey. Later she moved to 60 Krane Avenue in Rutherford, New Jersey.

Personal Wealth:
Ada and Ralph were wealthy and the oral family tradition was that Ada would hide money all over the house, and when she died her husband found $90,000 in cash hidden under rugs and in cups in the locked cupboards. This explains why she would never let anyone in the house even to use the bathroom.

Death:
She died January 23, 1957 and her husband died June 05, 1957, just a few months later. Ralph left half of his accumulated wealth to his mistress, Dorothy Rommel and the rest to his best friend, Benjamin Cohen, who owned a hardware store in Jersey City. Arthur Freudenberg, Ada's brother, lamented at the funeral that if they had died the other way around, Ralph would have left his money to Ada and then when she died the Freudenbergs would have inherited the money.

Burial:
Ada and Ralph are both in a mausoleum at lot 448, section 21, East Ridge Lawn Cemetery, 255 Main Avenue, Clifton, Passaic County, New Jersey.

Memories of Ada Freudenberg:
Arthur Oscar Freudenberg II (1929- ) on May 03, 2003 said: "Aunt Ada had a house down the shore, that she rented, near Laurence Harbor. She lived on 60 Krane Avenue in Rutherford, New Jersey. When her husband Ralph Kohlman died, my brother, got $3,000 from his will. Ralph's girlfriend owned a hardware store, Ben Cohen Hardware in Jersey City and he left her $75,000 in his will. He always had a mistress when he was married. He would never let anyone in the house. The house was probably worth about $500,000 when he died. He had a printing business. He got me a job as a messenger carrying the heavy printing plates around from business to business. He had a pool table in the house."

Legacy:
Ada's husband Ralph owned a quality camera and many pictures of them are extant. Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1884-1957) middle name come from: Anna Augusta Kershaw (1841-1931) who was married to Charles Frederick Lindauer (1836-1921). Ada Freudenberg also has a cousin: Adeline (Ada) Lindauer (1882-1962).

Relationship:
Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1884-1957) was the grandaunt of Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ).