Isadore Kirsch’s Siblings

Isadore was born to Meyer and Ettel (Ethel / Ida) Kirsch circa 1888 in the Lodz area of Galicia in Austria, later to become part of Poland and Russia. In the 1905 NY State Census, you can see the names of Isador’s siblings. [1] According to the 1910 United States Federal Census Record for his mother, Ida, he had six living siblings. She indicated she gave birth to 11 children with 7 of them surviving. [2]

1905 Census for the Meyer Kirsch Family
1910 Census for Meyer and Ethel

What happened to them? We can only account for four of them besides Isadore. Did the other 2 emigrate separately, or were they older and already settled in their own lives in Galicia?

Meyer emigrated before his wife. On his ship manifest, it stated he was going to his son, Morris in New York City. [3]

Meyer Kirsch Ship Manifest - 1903

In 1903, his two oldest children still at home, Mendel and Malka, arrived. They sailed on the steamship S.S. Rotterdam, which departed from Rotterdam in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. They set sail on Octobert 24, and arrived at the docks in Hoboken, New Jersey, on November 4, 1903. From Hoboken they had to take a ferry or barge to Ellis Island to be processed. On their ship manifest they are listed as brother and sister and as going to their father, M. Kirsch in New York. (Note that the address is the same as the address Meyer was going to on his ship manifest.) However, they were detained waiting for their father to arrive. On the ship manifest, it states that Mendel was a tailor. His father was also a tailor. [4] [5]

Mendel and Malka's ship manifest 1903
Mendel and Malka's Ship Manifest Detained record 1903

In 1904, Ettel emigrated with her two younger children, Itze and Leie. [6]

Ida Kirsch Ship Manifest, 1904

Adding to the confusion of trying to trace Isadore’s siblings is the fact they they changed names over time. It appears that:

  • Mendel became Max
  • Itze became Isadore then Isaac
  • Malka became Minnie
  • Leie became Lily then Leah.

Below is the little we know about Isadore’s siblings at this time.

  • Morris
    • We know that Morris lived in New York City and emigrated to the United States before his parents. We also know that his father said he was going to Morris’ house on arrival in the United States.
    • There is a Morris Kirsch living on DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn. That is the same street that Meyer was living on. This Morris was married to Gussie. According to their 1920 Census [11], Morris was a tailor. He and Gussie had 8 children: Samuel, Louis, William, Pauline, Sadie, Esther, Irving and Sidney.
    • By 1930, he lived in Deal, Monmouth County, New Jersey, with his wife and the youngest 3 of their children? Irving, Esther, and Sidney. Morris now went by the name Maurice and was working in cleaning and drying. Gussie was a proprietor of a cigar store. Irving and Esther were clerks in the store. [12]
  • Mendel (aka Max)
    • We know from his ship manifest that Mendel was a tailor. We find him listed as a tailor in the 1929 Paterson City Directory. We know that his parents and Isadore were also living in Paterson. [7]
    • In 1910, he married Tina Goldstein in New Jersey. They had four children. [8] Interestingly, three of their children had the same names as Isadore’s children (Leah, William, Sidney).
    • There is a listing for a Max Kirsch in Zion Camp 06 Cemetery in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. This Max died in 1940. On his grave he is listed Mendel, son of Meir Halevi. We did find a grave listing for Meyer (Meir) also with the symbols of a Levite. [9] [10]
Mendel Tailor 1929 LIsting
Max Kirsch gravestone - 1940
  • Malka / Minnie
    • At this time we have no further information about her
  • Leie / Lily / Leah
    • We know that Leah arrived with her mother and brother, Isadore, in 1904. At that time, they were headed to the 19 Rutger’s Street address in New York City.
    • By 1910, though, she was living in a tenement on Rivington Street with her brother, Isadore, and his new wife, Katie, and their newborn daughter, Leah. She was working as an operator at a “Ladies Waist” factory. Luckily, her name is not on the list of victims from the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911. However, we still can’t find any other infomation about her after 1910.

Sources

  • [1] 1905 NY State Census – New York, State Census, 1905 Author Ancestry.com
  • [2] 1910 United States Census – Federal Census – Year: 1910; Census Place: Paterson Ward 1, Passaic, New Jersey; Roll: T624_905; Page: 17a; Enumeration District: 0086; FHL microfilm: 1374918 Title1910 United States Federal CensusAuthorAncestry.com
  • [3] Ship Manifest for Meyer Kirsch – The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at and Departing from Ogdensburg, New York, 5/27/1948 – 11/28/1972; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715, 1897-1957Edit sourceTitle New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 Author Ancestry.com
  • [4] Ship Manifest for Mendel and Malka – The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at and Departing from Ogdensburg, New York, 5/27/1948 – 11/28/1972; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715, 1897-1957 Title New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820 – 1957 Author Ancestry.com
  • [5] List of Detainees – Mendal and Malka – The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at and Departing from Ogdensburg, New York, 5/27/1948 – 11/28/1972; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715, 1897-1957 Title New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 Author Ancestry.com
  • [6] Ettel / Ida’s Ship Manifest – The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at and Departing from Ogdensburg, New York, 5/27/1948 – 11/28/1972; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715, 1897-195 Title New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957Author Ancestry.com
  • [7] 1929 Paterson, NJ, city directory for Max Kirsch – 1929 US CIty Directory for Paterson, NJ – U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 Author Ancestry.com
  • [8] New Jersey Marriage Index for Max and Tina – New Jersey State Archives; Trenton, New Jersey; Marriage Indexes; Index Type: Bride; Year Range: 1910-1914; Surname Range: D – G
  • [9] Gravestone for Max Kirsch on FindaAGrave.com
  • [10] Translation of Max Kirsch’s Gravestone –  volunteers on Tracing the Tribe Facebook Group
  • [11] 1920 Federal Census for Morris Kirsch and Family – Year: 1920; Census Place: Brooklyn Assembly District 6, Kings, New York; Roll: T625_1153; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 330 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
  • [12] 1930 Federal Census for Morris Kirsch and Family – Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Deal, Monmouth, New Jersey; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0033; FHL microfilm: 2341105 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.