Rosalyn was the only child of Isadore and Anna to be born in the United States. She was born on June 17, 1910 and named Rosie.
Her birth was announced in The News (Paterson, New Jersey) on July 22, 1910, Friday, Page 12.
Newspapers were like the Facebook of their day, and from them, we learn about some of Rosalyn’s activities. In May of 1923, she was confirmed, [1] and in June of 1923, she was a sunbeam in a concert at School No. 4. [2]
In 1925, she produced the English version of a Purim Play for the Barnert Memorial Hebrew Free School. [3]
In August, Roslyn married Reuben A. Spitz. [4] (To learn more about Reuben and his family, see below.)
First, however, Roslyn was the guest of honor at a shower in her honor given by Miss Minna Spitz. [5]
Rosalyn and Reuben moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, where they raised two children. In 1943, she an an officer of the Obed chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. [6]
In 1946, the Rothman siblings attended the wedding of Paul’s wife’s brother, Bill Kirsch to Florence Wiegan.
Back row: The Kirsch Siblings: Lakey and Sidney Kirsch, Abe and Helen Warren, Paul and Lillian Rothman
Front row: The Rothman Siblings: Reuben and Rosalyn Spitz, Leo and Ruth Germain, Freida and Milton Berkowitz
She was still living in New York, when her brother, Paul, died in 1955.
At some point after that, they moved out to the Los Angeles, California, area where she died in 1984. She was 74 years old. [7]
Reuben Oliver Spitz
Reuben was the youngest son of Toby Namkin and David Spitz. According to the 1910 Federal Census, David’s parents, Solomon and Esther, also lived with them at 10a Marshall Street in Paterson, New Jersey.
Note that Reuben is listed as Ralph on the Census. His older siblings were Minnie and Morris, ages 11 and 10 respectively. [8]
Reuben’s grandmother died in 1913 and his grandfather in 1925. They are buried in the Silk City Benevolent Association Cemetery in Woodland Park, Passaic County, New Jersey. From their headstones we learn the names of Solomon’s and Esther’s fathers, who were Reuben’s great-grandfathers.
Solomon Ber’s Hebrew name was Shlomo Yissachar Dov son of Elizer Menachem and Esther’s Hebrew name was Shima Ester son of Reuven.
Their headstones were found on FindAGrave.com,and thanks to volunteers on the Facebook group Tracing The Tribe for the translations.
We can learn a lot about the family from David’s obituary. [9] He died in 1950. Sadly, Reuben’s mother also died in 1950. David and Toby are buried next to each other in the Silk City Benevolent Association Cemetery in Woodland Park, Passaic County, New Jersey. [10]
On June 1, 1930, Reuben married Rosalyn Rothman. They raised their children in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1940, he registered for the draft for World War II. From his draft card, we learn that he was 5′ 7″ tall and weighed 160 pounds. We also learn that he was born in Alexinitz, Russia, in 1905. [11]
According to the 1940 Federal Census, he completed 4 years of college, was naturalized, was working as a manager and had one son. [12] By the 1950 Federal Census, he had 2 children and owned his own clothing store. [13]
Reuben died in March of 1985 in Los Angeles, California. [14]
Morris Solomon Spitz
Morris was Reuben’s older brother. He never married and lived at home with his parents, and his sister and her husband throughout his life.
In 1929, Morris helped his Y.M.C.A. wrestling team win 2 state titles. [15]
Morris registered for the WWII draft in February of 1940. From that we learn that he was 5′ 2 1/2″ tall and weighed 125 lbs. He listed his father as his next of kin. [16]
When he left for active duty, it was announced in the paper on November 12, 1942. Family stories say that he was a medic during the war.
From his draft card, we can see that he was discharged on October 5, 1945. [17]
From the 1950 Census, we can see that he lives at home and is working as a pharmicist. [18]
Morris died on June 4, 1981. We learn more about his life from his obituary. [19] He is buried in the Silk City Benevolent Association Cemetery in Woodland Park, Passaic County, New Jersey. [20]
Minnie / Marcia Spitz
Minnie was the oldest child born to David and Toby Namkin Spitz.
She married Yeshayohn Finkelstein in 1945 when she was about 45 years old. When she appied for her marriage license, she was already going by Marcia instead of Minnie. [21]
They moved in with her parents and her brother, Morris. We can see this in the 1950 Federal Census. She was working as a bookkeeper while her husband was a navigating officer for the U.S.M.M.
She died on August 28, 1987, in Clifton, New Jersey. [22]
Sources
- [1] Rosalyn gets Confirmed appeared in in The News (Paterson, New Jersey), May 25, 1923, Friday, Page 14
- [2] Rosalyn in a school concert described in The News (Paterson, New Jersey), June 7, 1923, Thursday, Page 2
- [3] Rosalyn produces a Purim Play found in The Morning Call (Paterson, New Jersey), March 17, 1925, Tuesday, Page 8
- [4] Rosalyn’s wedding announcent appeared in The Morning Call (Paterson, New Jersey), August 11, 1930, Monday, Page 16
- [5] Rosalyn’s kitchen shower found in The Morning Call (Paterson, New Jersey), July 28, 1930, Monday, Page 16
- [6] Rosalyn officer position found in the Poughkeepsie Journal (Poughkeepsie, New York) November 8, 1943, Monday, Page 7
- [7] Rosalyn’s death record, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, found on Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014.
- [8] 1910 Federal Census for David Spitz family – Title 1910 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com PublisherAncestry.com Operations Inc Publisher date 2006
- [9] David Spitz obituary – The Morning Call, Paterson, New Jersey, Monday, April 17, 1950 from Newspapers.com
- [10] FindAGrave.com for David and Toby Spitz
- [11] Reuben Spitz WWII Draft Card –
- National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147 Source information Title U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 Author Ancestry.com Notepa href=”##SearchUrlPrefix##/search/dbextra.aspx?dbid=2238″ target=”_blank”View Sources/a./pPublisherAncestry.com Operations, Inc.Publisher date2011
- [12] 1940 Federal Census for Reuben Spitz –
- Year: 1940; Census Place: Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02523; Page: 24A; Enumeration District: 14-48 Source information Title 1940 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com Publisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2012
- [13] 1950 Federal Census for Reuben Spitz – National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York; Roll: 4557; Page: 9 of 21; Enumeration District: 14-119 Source information Title 1950 United States Federal Census AuthorAncestry.com Note Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. 1913-1/1/1972. iPopulation Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 – 1950/i. Washington, DC: National Archives at Washington, DC. piPopulation Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 – 1950/i. NAID: a href=”https://catalog.archives.gov/id/43290879″ target=”_blank”43290879/a. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, Record Group 29. National Archives at Washington, DC., Washington, DC./pPublisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2022
- [14] Death Record for Reuben Spitz –
- Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File Source information Title U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Ancestry.com Operations Inc Publisher date 2014
- [15] Morris – Wresting Champ – The Morning Call, Apr 1, 1929, Page 19, from Newspapers.com
- [16] Morris WWII Draft Card –
- National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New Jersey, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 628 Source information Title U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 Author Ancestry.com Notepa href=”##SearchUrlPrefix##/search/dbextra.aspx?dbid=2238″ target=”_blank”View Sources/a./pPublisherAncestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2011
- [17] Morris joins the Navy – The News, Wyckoff, New Jersey, Thursday, November, 12, 1942, from Newspapers.com
- [18] 1950 Census for Morris –
- National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; Roll: 6155; Page: 10-25; Enumeration District: 32-97 Source information Title 1950 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com Note Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. 1913-1/1/1972. iPopulation Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 – 1950/i. Washington, DC: National Archives at Washington, DC. piPopulation Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 – 1950/i. NAID: a href=”https://catalog.archives.gov/id/43290879″ target=”_blank”43290879/a. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, Record Group 29. National Archives at Washington, DC., Washington, DC./pPublisherAncestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2022
- [19] Morris’ obituary – The news, Paterson, New Jersey, Saturday, June 6, 1981, Page 26, from Newspapers.com
- [20] Morris gravestone picture on FindAGrave.com
- [21] Marcia’s Marriage License Index – New Jersey State Archives; Trenton, New Jersey; Marriage Indexes; Index Type: Bride; Year Range: 1945; Surname Range: A – Z Web address https://vitalrecords.egov.com/CDC.VitalRecordsMVC.Web/Wizard/NJ/Municipality/SelectMunicipalitySource information Title New Jersey, U.S., Marriage Index, 1901-2016 AuthorAncestry.com Note Marriage Indexes. New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey. PublisherAncestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2016
- [22] Marcia’s obituary, The News, Paterson, New Jersey, Monday, August 31, 1987, Page 11 from Newspapers.com