Morris Leabowitz
Morris Leabowitz
Morris Leabowitz, second child of Wolf Bear (Zev Dur) A.K.A. Colemanand Miriam (maiden name unknown) Lebowitz, was born in 1873according to the obituary that appeared in the Griffin (Georgia) DailyNews. December 25, 1875, however, is the birthdate engraved onthe headstone at Morris Leabowitz's burial place in GreenwoodCemetery, Atlanta, Georgia.It must also be noted that his birthdate isstated as December 20, 1875 on both his Declaration of Intention andPetition for Naturalization.Either of these two dates coincidewith the age (46) stated on Morris's Certificate of Naturalization in April1922, as well as with information found in the 1920 U.S. census.(Onhis death certificate it appears that someone wrote down a date for hisbirth, but then crossed through it. It's impossible to make out the date,even with the aid of a magnifying glass.) I always knew that Russia was the birth country ofmy maternal grandfather.However, until Maynard Abrams published hisfamily history book, The Ancestors of Our Children (and Cousins, Too) in1984, including information on the Leabowitz branch, I had never heardthat Morris and all his siblings might have been born in the town of Balta.Instead, I hadalways been under the impression that they were from the city of Odessa in Ukraine.Through Maynard's findings, I learned much mymother had never told me about the family. (Maynard was married to Gertrude Mendelson Abrams, a Wolf Bear Lebowitz descendant.) In early October 1999, I mailed the required form (G-639) to the U.S.Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, torequest copies of all documents pertaining to my grandfather'sbecoming a naturalized citizen.From the Declaration of Intention and thePetition for Naturalization I hoped to gain important information notincluded on the original Certificate of Naturalization already in mypossession.It took four long months of waiting, but at last, on February11, 2000, I received the copies I had so eagerly wanted to see. There, on a copy of an official document - the Declaration of Intention -the first paper filed in my grandfather's quest to become a citizen of theU.S., I found confirmation of Morris's birthplace as BOLTO, RUSSIA.On this form the information filling in the blank spaces was typewritten,presumably by the deputy clerk of the Supreme Court of Kings County.A signature of the clerk appears at the bottom of the page but isunreadable, due to the extremely poor quality of the copy of thedocument.One of the first things that struck me was that the last name(typed in the very first sentence) was spelled LABOWITZ - a spelling Ihad never seen before in connection with our family!Morris'ssignature farther down the page bears the same spelling. In the Petition the blank spaces were filled in with handwriting.The sentence regarding birthdate and place of origin reads as follows (italics indicate what was written in the blank spaces):"I was born on the 20 day of Dec., anno domini 1875, of Padola (or Podola) Russia."PADOLA signifies the province, so PADOLA, RUSSIA would be the same as saying, "I am from the state of New York in the United States of America."These two documents, then, confirm without question that Morris was born in the town of Balta, in the province (or guberniya) of Podolia, in the country of Russia. Nothing is known specifically about Morris's childhood in Balta.However, I havebeen researching the town and surrounding area and have attempted to provide somebackground on what life was like during his years there.(SeeMore about Wolf Bear Lebowitz and the articles pertaining to Balta in the "Related Files" section of this home page.) For example, we know about the pogroms that began during Passover1881 and swept across southern Russia following the assassination ofTsar Alexander II in March of that year.They spread to more than 100centers in 1881 alone and continued into 1882.Toward the tail end of the1881-1882 pogroms (Russian for riots involving destruction), one tookplace at Balta.Published accounts describe this particular pogrom.One such account is quoted here:
There was an attempt to organize self-defense, but it wassuppressed by the police.My grandfather Morris was about six and one-half years old when this pogrom in Balta occurred.What did he and his siblings see and hear on that terrible day, I wonder.Did any of the immediate family suffer beatings at the hands of the rioting peasants?These beatings didn't discriminate when it came to age or gender.Were any of their friends or neighbors among the killed or severely wounded?Did their parents, Wolf Bear and Miriam, have a shop that was looted?Was their home overrun and furniture broken?If fifteen thousand Jews were "beggared," it seems that everything the rioters could get their hands on was either stolen or destroyed. As with most other information involving dates, we have severalconflicting accounts of when Morris emigrated to the United States.Census reports provide two different years - 1895 and 1898.Morecomplete information is given on the Declaration of Intention, whichstates that Morris's last foreign residence was BOLTO, RUSSIA, that heemigrated from Rotterdam, Holland in December 1892 (no specific dateprovided) and that he arrived at the Port of New York on the ship KDAM(the spelling on the Declaration) or EDAM (the spelling given on the Petition) on or about December 16, 1892.This means that Morris camethrough Ellis Island, since it was opened in January 1892 as animmigration depot. Although the steamship company wasn't mentioned on either document, I felt that it might be the Holland-America Line.Research on the Internet led me to the Holland-America ship index.This is a complete index of all ships in the line since the company's inception.EDAM proved to be the correct spelling for the steamship which took Morris to America.The first Holland-America ship named EDAM was in service only about one year and was destroyed in a collision in 1882.Subsequently a second ship named EDAM (EDAM II) was put into service and this was the one on which Morris crossed the Atlantic at the end of 1892. It seems logical that the Declaration filed in court would contain the mostaccurate information concerning Morris's date of arrival in the United States, etc.If the date is correct, this means thatMorris entered the U.S. approximately two years after his sister SarahFraida and her husband, Jacob Fleet's arrival in 1890 or 1891.It's possible thatMorris and his younger sister, Rose, emigrated from Russia together, butas of2/20/2000 there was no confirmation of this.If she came after Morris,it was sometime between 1893-1895. Their parents followed with the three younger children in 1897.Jacob andSarah Fleet had chosen to settle in Philadelphia because some of Jacob'sfamily were already there, and the Lebowitz family followed suit.(Also see More about Wolf Bear Lebowitz forinformation re: surname change from Schlafrick to Lebowitz after arrivingin the U.S.)
In 1880 most of the 15,000 or so Jews of Philadelphia were German-bornor first generation born-in-America of German-Jewish parents.Many livedin or near an area north of Independence Hall called Northern Liberties.Very fewJews lived in the area just south of Independence Hall that had beenknown as Society Hill during the colonial period.In 1880 the residents ofthe former elite neighborhood of Society Hill were primarily very poordescendants of English pioneers and Irish immigrants. In 1881 the demographics began to change.That year devastating pogroms,orchestrated to begin during the week of Passover, swept across southernRussia.These pogroms acted as the catalyst for a mass exodus toward thewest and across the sea.East European Jewish immigrants began pouringinto the United States in large numbers.Those who came to Philadelphia, firstby way of Castle Gardens in New York followed by a train ride to Philadelphia,and then, the following year, those who began arriving directly by steamshipat the port of Philadelphia,found their way into the once elite, but now poor,dilapidated area of the city south of Independence Hall. In the beginning theysettled around South Street, but as the Jewish population increased, theyspread out.In time the Jews themselves began calling the area the JewishQuarter (in Yiddish).Its boundaries, not marked on any map, were So.2nd (east) to So. 6th (west), Spruce St. (north) to Christian Street (south).It was in the fifty or so square blocks of the Jewish Quarter that Jewish lifewas centered.Here were the sweatshops, synagogues, bathhouses,immigrant banks, markets, the publishers of Jewish newspapers (including the Philadelphiabranch of the Jewish Daily Forward), Yiddish theaters, photographers, andso on. The heaviest influx of east European Jews came during the second periodof immigration, beginning in 1891.It was during this time that our Lebowitzancestors arrived.Until 2/11/2000 I thought grandpa Morris's port of entryinto the U.S. had most likely been Philadelphia, but couldn't be certain.However, his Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization provedthat he had, instead, entered through the Port of New York.How long hestayed in New York City before continuing on to Philadelphia isn't known.It seems reasonable to assume that upon arriving in the city of Philadelphia he livedwith his sister Sarah Fraida and brother-in-law Jacob. It is estimated that Morris met Jennie Atkin (also born in Russia) inPhiladelphia sometime between 1895-1897 andthat they married in 1898or very early 1899.Their first child, Harry, was born November 18, 1899in Philadelphia.(Many, many years later Harry told his niece Marilynthat Morris was engaged to another girl when he met Jennie and laterbroke that engagement.) Sometimes fascinating bits of history turn up in one's own home.Among my mother's mementos, found after her death, was a photograph of my maternal grandmother, Jennie, taken sometime around the turn of the 20th century.It may have been her engagement photo.If I had seen this photo earlier, at any time during the years, I had certainly never paid close attention to it.That is, until I began working on genealogy in earnest. The picture itself is mounted on a rather heavy cardboard backing.The size of the photo (including the mounting) is about 4 - 1/8 inches by 5 - 7/8 inches.In addition to my interest in studying my grandmother's face and what she is wearing, I am captivated by the artwork on the back.There may be a more accurate term for what appears there, but for lack of knowledge I simply call it line art.There are branches and leaves and elaborate designs drawn with lots of swirls.Against this backdrop is a circle with both an easel and a palette inside the circle.On the easel is a painting (done in line art, too) of a mountain, a lake, etc.It seems that a thousandfinely drawn spirals, squiggly lines, and other designs are packed in a space of approximately three by four inches to make up this artistic rendering.In fact, the lines are so tightly drawn that in order to really see what they look like a magnifying glass is necessary. The main purpose of all this is to identify the photographer and call attention to the artistry of his work.At the top left above the line art is printed in florid lettering, "INSTANTANEOUS Process used exclusively."(What was the process - could it have been the "Polaroid" of its time?)Within the artwork is a scroll on which appears the name "M. Pomerantz," and below that, "ART PHOTOGRAPHY."At the bottom is the address:500 South Street, PHILADELPHIA, PA.This address provides a frame of reference for my grandmother.When I first saw it, I knew she had been in that specific place in Philadelphia to be photographed.This was thrilling to me. 500 South Street happened to be in the old Jewish quarter of Philadelphia.However, when I first looked at the back of that photo and for a long time afterward, I didn't know about the Jewish Quarter. Then in late 1999 I came across information about a recently published book, The Jewish Quarter of Philadelphia, subtitled A History and Guide1881-1930.This covered the years of major immigration of east European Jews to the United States, including the years our Lebowitz ancestors came to this country.This was one book I knew I had to have. I ordered over the Internet and when the book arrived I found within its pages information about Max Pomerantz, photographer, located at 700 S. 5th Street (southwest corner of S. 5th and Bainbridge streets).How exciting!Although the back of my grandmother's photo indicated a different address than the one in the book, I feltconfident that this was the same photographer.He probably started out on South Street, then moved his business to larger quarters on S. 5th.Plat maps of the Jewish Quarter revealed that these two locations are just two blocks apart.The book also indicates that in 1907 Max Pomerantz made extensive improvements and built a third story addition at the S. 5th Street store. (Harry D. Boonin, The Jewish Quarter of Philadelphia, A History and Guide 1881-1939, Jewish Walking Tours of Philadelphia, Inc., P.O. Box 52160, Philadelphia, PA 19115, 1999, p. 139.) In Harry Boonin's book, two photos show the areas where 500 South Street and 700 S. 5th Street were located.Both are includedcourtesy of the Philadelphia City Archives; the first is also courtesy of Steven Kujolic.With this one it appears that the photographer stood in the middle of So. 5th looking east on South Street as he took the picture.The southwest corner, where M. Pomerantz's studio stood at 500 South Street, isn't visible in the photo.It was to the right of, and slightly behind, the photographer.However, the view one would have had standing in front of the store is visible. This particular photo dates to 1930, many years after Jennie visited M. Pomerantz's studio that particular day, twenty years after Morris and Jennie moved away from Philadelphia.It shows that in 1930 South was a one-way street, with automobiles parked on both sidesfacing west.There was room for only one lane of traffic traveling in the middle of the street, where the old trolley car tracks still lay.The three-story buildings on both sides were probably the same ones that were there in 1900; some may have once been colonial homes.Many people were shown walking along the wide sidewalks, some in the process of crossing the street. It's easy to look at the photo described above and imagine pushcarts along the curbstones of South Street in earlier days instead of automobiles.The trolley tracks crisscrossing the intersection of South and S. 5th streets tell me that my grandmother may have come to Pomerantz's studio by trolley, unless she lived close enough to walk.On the day in question, did someone accompany grandma Jennie? In the sepia-toned photograph, Jennie looks so young.Her auburn hair is parted in the middle and pulled back.Long braids are hanging down her back, although you can't see them.(In later pictures the braids are wound around her head.)Wisps of shorter, curly hair have escaped about her face.She is wearing what appears to be her best dress - high-necked, with several rows of ruffled white lace below, and then a wide collar that overlaps the long puffed sleeves.Around her neck is a heart-shaped locket on a gold or silver chain.She is also wearing her pendant watch on a very long, rope-type chain.The watch is pulled up and pinned to the collar of her dress. What stories old photos tell.Max Pomerantz must have been a very popular photographer in the Jewish quarter of Philadelphia.Surely there were others among our immigrant Philadelphia ancestors who had their pictures taken in his studio.I wonder who else has a Pomerantz photo among treasured mementos from his or her grandparents' past.I would love to know! As of January 1, 2000 efforts to find Morris and Jennie in the 1900national census had thus far been unsuccessful.Morris couldn't belocated under his own name as head of a household.Athough itseemed possible that he and Jennie were living with his parents, theywere not enumerated under the parents' names, either.Also, noinformation had turned up that they might have been living withJennie's father, Rachmiel (Raymond) Itkis (Atkin).I wondered if theymight have been renting rooms at that time and could possibly havebeen enumerated as boarders under the listing for the unknown ownersof the house. For years I had been aware that Morris and Jennie's first four children - Harry, Bessie, Reba, and Sam - were born in Philadelphia.January 2,2000 I learned from my cousin's notes (taken during a long-agoconversation with our uncle Harry) that the family lived in a three-story house at 712 McKean Street in Philadelphia.Whether they were already living there at the time of Harry's birth in November 1899,or as of the date the 1900 U.S. census was enumerated, isn't known.However, it is where Harry remembered living until sometime after his tenth birthday, (November 18, 1909.)According to my cousin's notes,the family was downstairs.Presumably this means they occupied a downstairs apartment in the house.An Internet search 1/7/2000 revealed that 712 McKean Street was still there.As of that date the street intersected with, and the address was 2 blocks west of, S. 5th.The zip code was 19148-2428. As listed in the 1900 U.S. census, Morris's parents, Wolf Bear and Miriam, lived at915 So. 5th St. in Philadelphia (with daughter Sarah, son-in-law Jacob Fleet, and their children).Jennie's father, Rachmiel Itkis, his 4th wife Bekie, and daughter Fannie (by the third marriage) were also located on So. 5th, at #937.This was two blocks south of the densely populated Jewish Quarter.Thanks to Harry's information and mapping directions obtained on the Internet, we also know that Morris and Jennie lived one mile farther south, within walking distance of both sets of parents. Son Harry said that Morris, his sister Rose, and brother-in-law JacobFleet (sister Sarah's husband) did contract work in Philadelphia andthat they made uniforms for the U.S. Navy.I knew that had to be duringthe period before 1903, the year I believed the Fleets moved to Florida.Harry also stated that his uncle Jake was the boss of the family duringthe Philadelphia years.This seemed to indicate that Jacob Fleetassumed the role of head of the family when the older childrenimmigrated to America ahead of their parents.I didn't know, however,if he also meant "boss"in an economic way.It was unclear whetherJacob Fleet held the contract with the government and Morris and Roseworked for him, or whether all three worked for someone else whoemployed immigrants to sew the uniforms for the Navy.It alsoseemed possible that they worked in a sweatshop. In a letter dated February 2, 1978 Sam Fleet, son of Jacob and SarahLeibowitz Fleet, wrote the following to his cousin Marilyn Loeb Feingold,who at that time was seeking information about family history:
If everything Sam Fleet wrote was accurate, it confirmed several things -that Morris arrived in the U.S. no later than 1895, for example, asstated on one of the conflicting census reports.(From Morris'sDeclaration of Intention and Petitition for Naturalization, however,weknow that he arrived in December 1892.)Sam's letter also indicated thatMorris indeed worked for his brother-in-law Jacob, who had immigrated in1890 or 1891 and had already started his own business.It would appearthat this was Morris's first job in America, but as of 2/7/2000 there wasstill no documentation to that effect. The Spanish-American War occurred in 1898 and the fightinglasted only ten weeks, from May 1-July 17.According to Sam Fleet,however, Jacob had his shop at least from the middle of 1895.It'spossible that he was making uniforms for the U.S. Navy prior to theSpanish-American War, that he then sold some pants to the U.S. armyand later to the public. In the Philadelphia city directory for 1901 a Morris Leibowitz was listed at 251 N. 2nd Street (we don't know whether this was a home or business address) - occupation grocer.Although this could very well have been my grandfather, we can't be certain.There couldhave been another Morris Leibowitz in Philadelphia at that time.Also, we have information that my grandfather lived on McKean Street, in the area south ofIndependence Hall about one mile outside the southern boundary of the JewishQuarter.However, we are not sure when he moved to the McKean Street address.If he and the family were living on McKean in 1901, it seems unlikely that he would have had a businesssuch a distance away, in the area north of Independence Hall.Possible, but unlikely. In the 1908 Philadelphia city directory a Morris Leibowitz was listed at 316 Poplar Street - occupation grocer.Here again, we can't be certain this was my grandfather.According to the notes my cousin Marilyn took of her conversation with our uncle Harry Loeb in the 1970s, the family was definitely living at 712 McKean Street in 1908.It's possible, though, that Morris was working at a grocery story on Poplar. At some point after Jacob Fleet and his family moved to Florida, Morrisand Max Schwartz (husband of his wife's half-sister Fannie) went to Canadato buy baskets made of sweetgrass, which they brought back to sell.Asdescribed by Morris's son Harry, these baskets gave the house a fragrantodor. Fannie and Max Schwartz were married in May 1907 and their first child, Milton, wasborn in New Jersey September 7, 1908.Sometime after his birth (exactlywhen is not known)the Schwartzes moved to Philadelphia, where theirsecond child, Aaron,was born in 1912.This indicates that Morris andMax sold the sweetgrass baskets between September 1908 and the timeMorris and his family moved to Brooklyn, New York.Morris's son Harrysaid that business died down because they started painting the baskets.Perhaps the paint affected the fragrance of the sweetgrass, making thebaskets less attractive to buyers.
Before the end of 1909 or possibly early in 1910,Morris moved the family toBrownsville, an area of Brooklyn,New York that was home to thousands of East European Jewish immigrants.It was here in New York City that the two younger children, Nathan (Nat)and William (Willie) were born. Unfortunately, finding Morris in the 1910 federal census was impossible.There is no Soundex (index) to the 1910 census in the state ofNew York.(Note: Depending on what month they moved, perhaps the familywas enumerated in Philadelphia.) In the early 1900s Brownsville was known as "the Jerusalem of America."The Leabowitz family belonged to the Stone Avenue Congregation,one of numerous orthodox synagogues in the area.We don't know whetherthis was actually the name of the synagogue, or simply designated itslocation.According to Morris and Jennie's son Harry, the olderboys attended cheder here to prepare for their Bar Mitzvahs.Beautiful BarMitzvah photos were taken of Harry and Sam. Many years ago (during the late 1970s), in a conversation with his niece Marilyn, Harryreminisced about his childhood in Brooklyn.She took notes while hetalked, and January 2, 2000 she read them to me over the phone.Thistime it was I who took notes as she read. According to Marilyn's notes, one of Harry's priceless memories was of shabbos.He spoke of the bigshabbos meal the family shared every Friday night.He described openwindows facing a courtyard and singing in the tenements.With thewindows open, the Leabowitz family would sing traditional shabbos melodies, aswould all the other Jewish families.The sounds of welcoming the sabbath with song could be heard from one apartment to another, all across the courtyard.Harry also said that Morris had a nice voice and led the family in singing.I used to wonder at what age my mother (Harry's sister), who hadsuch a beautiful voice, began singing - shenever told me.Now I realize that she must have joined in at a fairly early age . Harry told Marilyn that his father worked hard.He said that Morris would always buy them (the children and their mother) the best of clothes and shoes and that they were always well-dressed.From what she wrote in her notes, apparently Harry also said that his father was hunchbacked.(Perhaps he had scoliosis?) Morris spoke some English, according to son Harry, but could only read and write his name.He read Yiddish and both he and Jennie read the Jewish Forward newspaper in Yiddish. We know that between September 19, 1910 and March 5, 1915 the familyresided at the following five addresses in Brooklyn: 1894 Douglas Street This information is documented in a letter received by Morris's daughterReba from school officials in Brooklyn in 1959, in response to her request for school records. As of June 5, 1914 the family lived at 914 Blake Ave. in Brooklyn.Although this address didn't show up on Reba's school records, it was provided by Morris on his Declaration of Intention to become an American citizen, which he filed on the above date. He gave his occupation at that time as grocer. Reba's school records also show that in February 1918 the family addresswas 417 Hinsdale Street in Brooklyn, the same address that is given on the1920 census. According to my cousin Marilyn's notes, Harry told her that Morris bought a grocery store at Barbey Street and Blake, lived over the store and wrote home.He also said that someone owned a grocery store at Barbey and Blake until he (Harry?) was 20 years old.As Marilyn read the notes to me on 1/2/2000, I wrote down that Morris owned a grocery store at that location until Harry was 20 years old, but later I was not sure this was exactly what the notes meant. Then on 2/11/2000, I received copies of Morris's naturalization documents. On the Declaration of Intention, signed and sworn to in the Supreme Court of Kings County June 5, 1914, Morris gave the family address as 914 Blake Ave. and his occupation as grocer. This seemed to fit in with what Harry had said. Making use of the Mapquest website on the Internet, I plotted 550 Barbey and 914 Blake and found them to be only two short blocks from each other. (I could find no evidence of a Blakely Street in Brooklyn.) This doesn't tell us exactly when Morris became a grocer and whether he remained in that business until after his son Harry's 20th birthday (Nov. 18, 1919), but it gives us part of the story.From Harry we know that at one time Morris also worked as a superintendent in an apartment building in Brooklyn. We don't know when this might have been. Harry also mentioned that during the years in Brooklyn someone (Morris?)owned a tailor shop on New Utrecht Ave. and also provided a clothes-pressing service for his customers.It's interesting to note that during the same period of time Morris's brother Israel owned a tailor shop in Baltimore, Maryland in which he made skirts to order.He also did cleaning, dyeing, and pressing. Piecing together a chronology of all the Brooklyn addresses for the family is a somewhat confusing task.Perhaps Morris went to Brooklyn by himself early in 1910, bought the grocery store at Barbey and Blake, lived above the store until he later brought the family to Brooklyn and periodically wrote home, as Harry said.(There is a contradiction here with other information that indicates that Morris couldn't write.)By September 19, 1910 the whole family was in Brooklyn, because that was the first date given in school records for Morris's daughter Reba.At that time, it would seem that Morris still had the grocery store but had moved the family to one of the five addresses that appeared in the 1959 letter from school officials cited above.We also know that on September 11, 1913 the family lived at 550 Barbey Street because that's the address given on Wolf Bear Lebowitz's death certificate.Then on June 5, 1914 we have the address 914 Blake Street, as indicated on Morris's Declaration of Intention.This would have been just two blocks from the store.The next date we can fix in time is 417 Hinsdale, from Reba's school records in February 1918 and from the 1920 census.In April 1922, when Morris received his Certificate of Citizenship, the family lived at 398 Sutter Ave.All of these, and other addresses not specifically dated, are within a relatively small area of Brooklyn, just blocks from each other.If, as recorded in Marilyn Loeb Feingold's notes, Morris had the grocery store until after son Harry's 20th birthday in November 1919, this could explain why. Harry said that his father went to Rhode Island and Connecticut in thesummer(s) to see rich people.Why did he go, I wonder,and who couldthose rich people have been?Was he visiting someone in the family,or could he have gone for business reasons?At any rate, according tohis oldest son he left Jennie and the children in Brotmonsville, NewJersey while he was gone.We're not certain, either, whether theseexcursions took place while the family was still living in Philadelphia,after they moved to Brooklyn, or both.I wondered why, in particular,Morris chose to leave his family in Brotmonsville.It turned out thatJennie's sister Fannie and her husband, Max Schwartz, lived inBrotmonsville when their first child was born in 1908.Also, Max'sparents and brothers lived there.The strange thing is that as of2/19/2000 I have not been able to locate Brotmonsville on any map ofNew Jersey, nor have I found any reference to this town on the Internet.Perhaps the name was changed years ago. In the Soundex for the 1920 census, Morris and his family were listedtwice! (once under the spelling "Liebowitz"and once under "Leibowitz").They were enumerated by two different census-takers and listed in twoseparate enumeration districts, although the address on both records wasidentical.This researcher knew that it was the same family because therewere only minor discrepancies in the two records. As it turned out, though, the family wasn't counted twice in the census itself.(One has to wonder how often such mistakes are made and not caught.)Examination of the full census records revealed that on the Leibowitz listingevery line was crossed out and across the top of the page was written "AllLines Void."On the right side of the page "Sheet No. 28" had been circled,the word "void" written and "5A" written in its place.The sheet for thecounted listing, under the spelling "Liebowitz",was numbered "5B." In the 1920 census Morris's occupation was given as traveling salesmanof skirts - working on his "own account", the census term for self-employed.(Should it possibly have been "salesman of shirts," as in men's shirts,rather than women's skirts?) On sheet 5A of the census report, Morris's mother tongue was given asYiddish, on sheet 5B as Russian.While he undoubtedly knew the Russianlanguage, certainly at home he spoke Yiddish most of the time, as his familyalways had in the old country.Sheet 5A indicated that Morris could speak,read, and write English, while on 5B he was cited as speaking, but not ableto read or write.Of course he did read and write Yiddish. Year of immigration:Sheet 5A - 1895 given for Morris; sheet 5B - 1898.(From Morris's Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization,however, we learned that Morris entered the U.S. in 1892.) Conclusion:As with all genealogical research, there are discrepancies incertain facts.Some of the information on sheet 5A was more accurate,while on other questions 5B was correct.In at least one instance,apparently both 5A and 5B were incorrect.
Morris moved his family from Brooklyn to Lake City, Florida in 1923 andopened a dry goods store there.The oldest son, Harry, had gone toFlorida in 1920 and worked at jobs in several different locations in the statebefore his parents and siblings arrived.In 1928 Harry joined the family inLake City, where he and his sister Reba opened a ladies' dress shop.However, they operated the store for a fairly short time, probably less thana year.About 1929 the family moved to Griffin, Georgia.Morris operateda dry goods store there, also, under the name "Morris Department Store." Morris died November 1, 1933 in Griffin, Georgia at 1:15 a.m.At the time ofMorris's death, he and the family lived on 8th Street at Oak.His granddaughter Fayeremembers (or was told the story so often she believed it to be a consciousmemory) that she was taken into the bedroom where Morris lay and was placedon the bed.He had asked to see his oldest grandchild before he died.Fayewas only three and one-half years old at the time.From her small-childperspective her grandfather seemed very tall.Only many years later, whenher parents had died and she found his naturalization certificate among theirpossessions, did she see the description of him.What a surprise to learn thathe was such a short man. On the death certificate, his length of residence in Griffin was stated as 4years.This means that Morris, his wife, and the children still living at homemoved from Lake City, Florida to Griffin sometime between his daughterReba's marriage to David Torn January 20, 1929 and October 31, 1929.Theprincipal cause of death is given as angina pectoris, with a contributory causeof importance as curative myocarditis.The informant, or one who suppliedpersonal information, was Morris's son Harry, who evidently was also living inGriffin.The attending physician, Augustus H. Fry (sp?), indicated that he hadtreated Morris from October 25, 1933 to the date of his death, also that thetest(s) confirming the diagnosis of his illness had been both laboratory andclinical. Morris was buried November 1, 1933, the same day he died.On the deathcertificate the undertaker's name is stated as Sam R. Greenberg & Company.The place of Morris' burial is given as Greenwood Cemetery (Old ShevithSynagogue section), Atlanta, Georgia.Could the name of the cemetery beGreenlawn, instead of Greenwood?Morris's son Sam is buried in GreenlawnCemetery in Atlanta.Possibly these are the same. |