Genealogy Tales

Wrong assumptions

August 9, 2011

For the last 15+ years I’ve been working on family history/genealogy, I’ve been under the mistaken belief that my grandfather I. C. Friedman’s father had never come to the United States and never lived in Chicago.

I thought this because I never found I. C. (Isadore) or his brother Barney on a census with their father. Barney was living with his brother-in-law and sister, Henry and Ethel Krakow, in 1910. In 1920, both Isadore and Barney were living with Mr. and Mrs. Krakow. I wondered where I. C. was in 1910, but had not found him.

Recently, on FamilySearch. org, I found a Charles Friedman in the Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths 1916-1947 database:

Name: Charles Friedman
Death Date: 13 Oct 1940
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Gender: Male
Age: 77
Estimated Birth Year: 1863
Birthplace: Kishinev, Russia
Father: Abraham Friedman
Father’s Birth Place: Russia
Mother: Bessie
Mother’s Birth Place: Russia
Occupation: butcher
Residence: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Spouse: Frieda
Burial Date: 14 Oct 1940
Burial Place: Chicago, Cook, Ill
Cemetery: Rosemont Park
Digital Folder Number: 4205874
Image Number: 1247
Film Number: 1953584
Volume/Page/Certificate Number: rn 28604

It said his wife’s name was Frieda and that he was born in Kishinev. Could this Charles have been I. C.’s and Barney’s father?

To find out, I went to the Cook County Clerk’s Office – Genealogy Online to search for the Charles Friedman (there were 14) who died on 13 Oct 1940. I then purchased that death certificate and downloaded it from the site.

The death certificate not only gave the same information as above in the database, but gave the informant’s name as B. C. Friedman, whose address was 6633 S. Troy St. Could B. C. Friedman have been Granduncle Barney? The address 6633 S. Troy St. rang a bell. Looking through my database, I saw it was Grampa Izzy’s address on the 1930 census. The death certificate also told me that Charles Friedman was a butcher, he died of a coronary thrombosis, his parents were Abraham and Bessie, and he was buried in Rosemont Park.

I found Charles and his second wife Fannie Friedman on the 1910 and 1930 censuses. In 1910, they had 3 children living with them: Myer Kushner, Celia Kushner, children from Fannie’s first marriage, and Isie Friedman, Charles’ son. Bingo! Isie was “I. C.” Charles was a butcher. In 1930, Charles and Fannie were living alone. Charles was a butcher with his own meat market.

I also found a census for a Charles Friedman and wife “Jannie” in 1920. It said this Charles was a salesman with his own store. The ages are correct, though, so they are probably our Charles and Fannie.

Each census, unfortunately, gives a different year of arrival in the U.S., one saying 1904, one 1908, and another 1910. Each say that naturalization is pending, but I’ve searched for Charles’ naturalization card and haven’t found it.

I’d hoped to find the naturalization card to get a more exact birth date. He was too old for both World War I and World War II draft registrations, which also could have given a birth date. He did not have a Social Security number.

With this new information, I reassessed the birth for Ovshiya Friedman that I found on JewishGen.org. The birthdate there is 1865 and the parents are Srul and Golda, which, as far as I know, are not names that translate into Abraham and Bessie. Even though Charles’ name was Shaya or Ovshiya or Osias, I don’t think this is the same guy.

I’m hoping some Chicago relatives might locate some old photos of Charles and maybe some photos of I. C., Barney, or even their siblings Ethel, Mollie, and Blema (Belle).

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I also did more research through The Sentinel, where I found a couple of beautiful photos of brides. One of them is now in the database. It is of Lois Levine Marc.

I’ve added more to the database about the Wolach family as well.

Filed under: Jewish ancestors