Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Maria Elizabeth Winblad (1895-1987) Freudenberg


Maria Elizabeth Winblad (1895-1987) aka Mae Winblad, was a housewife, and a cleaning and laundry woman. (b. February 16, 1895; 294 West Houston Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York County, New York City, New York, USA - d. March 07, 1987; Christ Hospital, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA) Social Security Number 147188206.

Parents:
Her parents were John Edward Winblad I (1856-1914) aka Johan Edward Winblad, of Sweden; and Salmine Sophia Severine Pedersen (1862-1914) aka Salmina Olsdatter, of Norway. John was the son of Anton Julius Winblad I (1828-1901); and Elsa Maria Elisabeth Näslund (1829-1907) of Ytterlännäs, Sweden. Salmine was the daughter of Ole Mattias Pedersen (1822-1914) and Thea Johanne Torstensdatter (1825-1865) of Farsund, Norway.

Birth:
Maria was born in Greenwich Village in Manhattan on February 16, 1895. The New York City Birth Index incorrectly lists her as "Mary E. Weinblad".

Siblings:
Maria's siblings are: Anton Julius Winblad (1886-1975) aka Anthony Winblad, who married Eva Ariel Lattin (1892-1939) and after her death married Marguerite Van Rensselaer Schuyler (1891-1972) aka Marge Van Rensselaer Schuyler; Theodora Winblad (1888) who died as an infant; Mary Winblad (1889) who died as an infant; Otto Edward Winblad (1892) who died as an infant; John Edward Winblad II (1897-1899) aka Eddie Winblad, who died as a youth from pertussis; and Otto Perry Winblad (1902-1977) who was born in New Jersey and married Helen Louise Hollenbach (1905-1928) and after her death he married Leah Maria Way (1901-1986).

New Jersey:
The family moved out of Manhattan to live in the quiet of New Jersey around 1900. They had a new house built on Wayne Street in Jersey City. Otto Perry Winblad was born in 1902 in Jersey City.

Isle of Pines, Cuba:
In 1910 the family decided that they would move to the Isle of Pines in Cuba. John Winblad had wanted to be a plantation owner, and many other American families moved to the Isle of Pines during this time. Maria spent a year and a half in Cuba, where she rode a horse named "Happy". She said when she arrived in Cuba there was no one there to greet her, and she had to get help to find out how to get to the Isle of Pines from Havana.

Marriage:
She returned from Cuba to Jersey City on March 26, 1912 with her brother Otto. While in Jersey City she met Arthur Oscar Freudenberg I (1891-1968), who was a Sunday School teacher at Waverly Congregation Church. Maria was a very devout Lutheran at Trinity Scandinavian Church in Jersey City. Maria and Arthur married on February 28, 1914 at the Trinity Lutheran Church at 195 Claremont Avenue in Jersey City.

Death of parents:
Maria's father and mother attended her wedding, and then they went to Norway to visit family. Both parents died within a few months of each other in 1914. Otto Winblad was with them in Norway and returned to live with Maria and Arthur in Jersey City on July 6, 1915. On the same day that Otto arrived from Norway, Maria's brother, Anton and his wife Eva returned from Cuba with their two children: Anthony Leroy Winblad and Norman Edward Winblad. They brought with them Eva's two youngest brothers: Theodore Roosevelt Lattin; and Dewey Ernest Lattin. Eva's father and mother stayed in Cuba until 1924 and then settled in Lake Helen in Florida. Otto lived with Maria and Arthur from 1914 until he married in 1927.

Children:
Together Maria and Arthur had the following children: Naida Muriel Freudenberg (1915-1998) who married Burnett Peter Van Deusen (1913-1993) aka Peter Van Deusen; Selma Luise Freudenberg (1921-2009); and Helen Eloise Freudenberg (1928-1989) who had a child with Edward Ganley and later married John Earl Borland I (1924-1986) and later married Albert Brindley.

Abandoned by husband:
Around 1928 Arthur abandoned Maria, although he appears as the head of household in the 1930 census. The oral family tradition has been that Arthur ran off with a burlesque stripper. At the height of the depression, Maria lived on Claremont Avenue in Jersey City and raised her three children earning money by being the superintendent of a four-unit rental property owned by someone else. She took in laundry, scrubbed floors, and prepared meals for other families. She did all that she could to keep the family housed and fed. Arthur never provided any money and lived with his mistress. Maria wore her wedding ring for the rest of her life.

Middle years:
When Maria's children got married she split her time between them, living at their houses. She lived in Paramus for a number of years and also spent time with Pete and Naida at their home.

Broken hip:
In the late 1970s she broke her hip in Paramus and was confined to the Lutheran nursing home in Jersey City.

Death:
She died in 1987 of a heart attack at age 92 at Christ Hospital.

Burial:
She was buried in Bayview Cemetery. In the same plot are the ashes of her daughter, Helen; and her brother who died as an infant, John Edward Winblad II.

Archive:
Many of her letters are extant and archived.

Memories of Maria Elizabeth Winblad:
Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) wrote on February 20, 2011. When my parents moved to Paramus, Maria lived with us for several years. She did the cooking and used to wash me in the kitchen sink. It is one of my earliest memories about her. Everyone called her "Nanny". She could read and speak Norwegian and had a Norwegian bible. She was very religious and would go to church events during the week and never miss a Sunday sermon at the Lutheran church. She was a very good cook and once told me that she cooked professionally at one time. She would make Swedish meatballs in gravy and would never buy ground beef, she would buy whole cuts and grind the meat herself. She also made excellent desserts, apple pies and lemon meringue pies. If I asked her what was going to be for desert she would tease me and say "apple sauce". Another dish she made that I enjoyed was Harvard beets, its beets in a sweet and vinegary sauce. I am not sure of the year she broke her hip but I was there when it happened, she was standing in the doorway to my room and talking to me while I was in bed when she just leaned against the doorway and collapsed, her hip had fractured and could no longer hold her weight. After the hospital she moved into the Lutheran Home in Jersey City and I would visit her. The home was a terrible place, but she was happy there, because she had volunteered there was she was younger and she still would visit other rooms in her wheelchair and share whatever cookies or candies I brought her. The home had a mix of demented patients and the infirmed. Some of the demented patients would be screaming or crying continuously. She had a heart attack in 1987 and was moved to Christ Hospital and I visited her the night she died.

Eulogy:
Her eulogy reads as follows: "Mae Freudenberg was born Saturday, February 16, 1895 in New York City. Her parents were members of the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church in downtown Jersey City. Mae was a member of Trinity for most of her life, and her children were all baptized there also many of her grandchildren. She taught Sunday School and was a member of Glad Tjeneste. On the 95th anniversary of Trinity, Mae received a certificate of recognition for her years of faithful service to the church. For about fifteen years, Mae was a volunteer of services to the Lutheran Home on Nelson Avenue in Jersey City."

Source:
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) for Findagrave starting on June 16, 2003.

Update:
Updated by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) on February 20, 2011 with minor fixes.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Last night before bedtime I discovered a whole new side of the Norton family in Boston, Massachusetts

Last night before bedtime I discovered a whole new side of the Norton family in Boston, Massachusetts.

I was going through Familysearch on Monday, July 18, 2011. Familysearch is the Mormon website, they have lots of data but the absolute worst user interface. For the ten years I had been searching in it, the database would not allow me to search for the junction between two last names. They finally allowed those searches sometime this year. Last night I searched in the database for any Mulligan - Norton children or marriages and the result was James T. Norton (1849-1898) and Catherine A. Norton (1851-1913) Murphy of Boston, Massachusetts. The dates fit perfectly as a sibling of Patrick Norton. Patrick came from Boston and was naturalized in Boston according to a photocopy of a naturalization record that was passed down in the family. The connection to my Michael Norton (c1825-?) and Bridget Mulligan (c1825-?) is still tentative but all the given names exist in my side of the family too. There is no document that ties James T. Norton and Catherine A. Norton (1851-1913) Murphy to my Patrick J. Norton, but I may find a funeral notice that mentions the family in New Jersey. The only evidence so far is the name of the parents. I called the cemetery on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 and the said Catherine A. Norton (1851-1913) Murphy was buried with John Murphy, age 14, who died on March 25, 1895; and Thomas Murphy who died on March 12, 1969 at age 84.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Tombstone of Ralph Freudenberg (1903-1980) and Nora Belle Conklin (1902-1963)

Tombstone of Ralph Freudenberg (1903-1980) and Nora Belle Conklin (1902-1963) taken on July 15, 2011 at Hillside Cemetery, Lyndhurst, Bergen County, NJ, USA. Image by Lucy (#47342948) via Findagrave.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Siegmund Freudenberg (1828-1908)

Siegmund Freudenberg (1828-1908) aka Sigmund Freudenberg was a worker at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York and Philadelphia. (b. 1828, possibly Berlin, Germany - March 23, 1908, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, USA)

Birth:
He was born in 1828 in Berlin where his children were born. He listed "Prussia" in the 1870 census as his place of birth.

Religion:
Sigmund Freudenberg was Jewish.

First marriage:
Sigmund married Clara Horwitz (1835-c1861) on January 3, 1856 in Eisleben, Germany. Eisleben was the hometown of Martin Luther. The wedding was Jewish and Sigmund and Clara were listed as Jewish. Clara was transcribed as "Anna". Sigmund Freudenberg was working as a "kaufmann", or tradesman. The full text in German is as follows: "1857. Laut Verhandlung vom 22. Dezember 1856, (Vol I, fol. 258, den Akten der Beglaubigungen der Heiraten unter den Juden betreffend) haben der Kaufmann Siegmund Freudenberg zu Berlin und die Jungfrau Clara Harwitz, Tochter des verstorbenen Kaufmanns Aronn Harwitz, zu Eisleben geboren, am vierten März 1832, welche zu der jüdischen Glaubensgemeinschaft zugehören, erklärt, daß sie fortan als ehelich miteinander verbunden betrachten wollen. Eisleben, am dritten Januar eintausend achthundert siebenundfünfzig. Schnorbusch Protokollführer." Translated into English it reads: "1857. According to law of December 22, 1856, (Volume I, folio 258, the files of the legalization of marriages among Jews) have the merchant Siegmund Freudenberg of Berlin and the virgin Clara Horwitz, daughter of the late businessman Aronne Horwitz of Eisleben, born on the March 4, 1832, which belong to the Jewish community, declared that henceforth it will consider as legitimate linked. Eisleben, January 3, 1857. Schnorbusch, secretary."

Berlin:
By 1858 he was living in Berlin where his children were born. The first clue that the family was from Berlin came from the World War I draft registration of Richard F. Freudenberg (1896-1988) in 1918. Richard was his grandson.

Children:
Maximillian S. Freudenberg I (1858-1921) who was born in Berlin, Germany; Alfred Freudenberg (1859–?); and Gertrude Freudenberg (1867–1940) who married Martin Schoenwald (1861-1941). All the children were born in Berlin. That information comes from the 1870 census.

Death of first wife:
Clara most likely died in childbirth in Germany or when she arrived in the US between 1861 and 1863.

Emigration:
Sigmund and his children came to the United States around 1863-1865 and they appear in the 1870 US census.

Second marriage:
He married Augusta Hermann (1835-1904) between 1865 and 1868. Augusta was from Walldorf, Saxon, Germany according to the 1870 census.

Children:
Kate Freudenberg (1869–bef1880); Carry Hildise Freudenberg (1871–bef1880); Harriette Freudenberg (1871–bef1880); and Jennie Freudenberg (1872–1943) who married an Eidelman. All were born in Manhattan.

Manhattan and Philadelphia:
In 1870 he was living in Manhattan, New York City, New York and was listed as "Siegmund Freudenberg". He was an agent for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. He resided in Ward 15, District 12 in Manhattan. In 1880 he was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 51. Siegmund resided at 935 North 6th Street. His occupation was listed as "life insurance". In 1905 he was living in Manhattan, New York City, New York and was listed as the retired father-in-law of Joseph Eidelman.

Death:
He died on March 23, 1908 at 2 East 116th Street in Harlem in Manhattan. His death certificate was number "9795" and he died of asthma with chronic bronchitis.

Burial:
Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Relationship:
Sigmund Freudenberg (1828-1908) was the second great-grandfather of Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ).

Source:
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) for Findagrave starting on September 10, 2003.

Updates:
"Siegmund Freudenberg" (1830-1908) who died on March 23, 1908 in Manhattan was a suspect for being our Sigmund but there was no evidence. The family oral tradition was the Max came alone as crew on a ship and stayed on in the US illegally by "jumping ship". Sigmund never appeared in the 1880 or 1900 census with other family members and he was not buried with the other family members in Cypress Hill Cemetery in Brooklyn; or in Flower Hill Cemetery in North Bergen, New Jersey. On June 6, 2011, Kevin Borland discovered more information on Sigmund Freudenberg from the 1870 census that contained both Max and Sigmund together. The information was improperly transcribed at Ancestry.com but was correctly transcribed at Familysearch.com. This let him connect the Sigmund that died in 1908 to our Sigmund. He wrote: "I also found Sigmund Freudenburg's second wife Augusta, after Clara died. Sigmund had a [daughter] Gertrude, and a [daughter] Jennie, hence the origin of the name Jenny Gertrude. We'll have to search Philadelphia records to prove it's the same family, but I think it is, because Max is in the household in 1870 when they lived in New York, before Sigmund shows up in Philadelphia 1880. Sigmund sold life insurance. His office was across the street from the US Mint. Siegmund Freudenberg died March 23, 1908 in Manhattan. Up until then, he was living with his daughter Jennie (Freudenberg) Eidelman." Kevin then found him in the 1880 census and the 1905 census and found the names of the children from his second wife. On June 8, 2011, I found the marriage online and found that Max and Clara were married in a Jewish ceremony. I also found the death date for his second wife, Augusta. The information makes sense since Max ended up working at the same company as Sigmund, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The name Sigmund Freudenberg is very rare so that the odds of two of them born around the the same time being confused is remote.

Augusta Hermann (1835-1904) Freudenberg

Augusta Hermann (1835-1904) Freudenberg (b. 1835; Walldorf, Saxon, Germany - d. November 22, 1904; Manhattan, New York, USA)

Parents:
Simon Hermann and Golda Hermann according to her death certificate.

Birth:
She was born in Walldorf, Saxon, Germany. The information came from the 1870 US census for Manhattan.

Religion:
Augusta Hermann was Jewish.

Hoboken, New Jersey:
There is an Augusta Hermann in the 1860 census in Hoboken, New Jersey who may be our Augusta.

Marriage:
She married Siegmund Freudenberg around 1868.

Children:
Kate Freudenberg (1869–before 1880); Carry Hildise Freudenberg (1871–before 1880); Harriette Freudenberg (1871–before 1880); and Jennie Freudenberg (1872–1943) Eidelman.

Death:
She died on November 22, 1904 at age 69 in Manhattan. Her death certificate number was "38196". She died under the name "Augusta Freudenberg". She had been hospitalized from September 6, 1904 to November 22, 1904. The cause of death was "carcinoma of stomach" with "mitral regurgitation".

Burial:
Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. It is a Jewish cemetery.

Schoenwalds in Washington Cemetery

Schoenwalds in Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York

Martin Schoenwald (1868-1941), died on July 23, 1941

Gertrude Freudenberg (1868-1940) Schoenwald , died on July 27, 1940

Joseph Schoenwald, August 29, 1936

Philip Schoenwald, August 15, 1907

Rosa Schoenwald, no information

Frieda Schoenwald, August 11, 1941

Harry Schoenwald, April 13, 1906

Stephen Schoenwald, August 12, 1917, age 3