Rose Siegel and Marcus Siegel
A special thanks to my father, Barry Tunkel, who has served as family
historian for many years and who is responsible for the long hours of research
and recordation that brought this Siegel Story to life.
In the Beginning...
The Siegel Story begins with the earliest known anscestor, MAIR SIEGEL.
He had a son MARCU who was born about 1863 in Romania. Marcu lived in an
area of Romania called Moldavia. He supported his family as a cobbler and
made shoes for wealthy women. Other known names for Marcu were Marcus and
Morris. Marcu was married two times. His first wife was BASA MOLLIE
GERSHON (aka Bessie Cohen). Marcu and Basa Mollie had six children who
were born in
Liteni, Romania:
Children
BASA died sometime after 1901 but before 1913. MARCU then married
ROSE BLOOMER of Austria. Her parents were Kers Walter and Brora Cohen.
Uncle Jake-- the First to Arrive
Uncle Jake was the first member of the family to leave for America.
He travelled across Europe and then sailed from Hamburg, Germany to America
on the steamship President Lincoln on October 31, 1912. He landed in New
York City on November 13, 1912. The ship's passenger list shows his occupation
as that of a shoemaker and his place of birth and last residence as "Foltoczeny,
Russia." It could be "Foltocreny, Russia"). Due to the language problems
this could be a mispronunciation of Botosani, Romania. The ship's passenger
list indicates that JAKE came to live with a cousin named Naisna Bloom.
(This could be a cousin
through his step-mother Rose Bloomer.) Uncle JAKE had served in the
Roumanian army or National Guard.
Grandma ROSE and Uncle MAX's Journey
According to our Grandma Rose, she came from Batishan, Romania. She
first went to Austria and from there to America. On June 28, 1913, MAX
and ROSE sailed for America from Rotterdam, Holland aboard the steamship
New Amsterdam of the Holland-America Line. They arrived in New York City
on July 7, 1913. Their occupations according to the ship's passenger
list was tailor and seamstress respectively.
Journey of Marcus, Rose, Dora, and Lena
A few months later, the rest of Marcu's family, except for his daugher SALYA, left their home in Liteni, Romania to join the rest of their family in America. On November 29, 1913, MARCU, his wife Rose, and his daughters DORA and LENA sailed from Rotterdam, Holland on the steamship Noordam. They too arrived in New York City. Traveling with them were MARCU'S niece and nephew CHANA and SAM HAMOVICS.
According to the ship's passenger list, Marcu listed his occuption as
tailor. Rosa was listed as a "housewife," and DORA and LENA as "seamstresses."
At the time of their arrival, Jake was living at 42-44 Rivington Street
in New York City.
Why Did the Family Leave Romania?
A look at Romanian history at that time will answer that question. According
to The Jewish Encyclopedia, "By the early 19th century, the Jews of Botosani
had trade connections with Leipzig and Brody and contributed to the economic
growth of the town. A growing number were engaged in crafts. The Christian
poplulation demanded that the authorities prohibit Jews from these trades.
Despite this opposition, by 1899 more than 75% of the merchants and approximately
68% of the artisans in Botosani were Jewish. There were anti-Jewish riots
in 1870. Anti-Jewish feelings again flared up during the Roumanian peasant
revolt in 1907.
Marcus' Children Get Married
Within a few years of their arrival in America, Marcus' children got
married.
JAKE married Ida Schmukoff (aka Chajke Czumak)
on November 14, 1915 in New York City. (Ida was born on September
25, 1891 in Bar(Bor) Russia).
DORA was married a week later (November 20,
1915) to Samuel Alpert at 108 East 8th Street in New York City.
ROSE (my grandmother) was next to marry.
She married Samuel Schwartz in about 1916.
LENA, Marcus' youngest daughter, married
Samuel Tunkel on August 17, 1918. She was married in her father's home
at 282
South 2nd Street in Brooklyn. Samuel Tunkel
had rented a room from Marcus Siegel, which is where Lena and he met
(Source: Dudy).
MAX Segall was the last child to be married.
He married Rose Toback on January 21, 1921 at 128 Rivington Street in New
York City. She was born in New York State on March
2, 1894 to Jacob Toback and Rachel Gusaraw.
Other Notes on Marcus and Rose
By 1925, when the NY State census was taken, Marcus and Rose were living in an apartment at 282 South 2nd Street in Brooklyn. According to the census record he was retired (at 58 years old). They had a 75 year old boarder living with them named Sarah Habowitz.
Rose Siegel 's Death
During the Great Depression, on November 5, 1929, Marcus' wife Rose died at Bushwick Hospital in Brooklyn due to intestinal obstruction, myocardial insufficiency, and broncho pneumonia. She was buried the next day at Montefiore Cemetery in St. Albans, NY in the section owned by United Hebrew.
Marcus, After Rose's Death
According to Dudy Tunkel, Marcus Siegel was a "lady's man." He wore dapper suits which he insisted on always being pressed. After his second wife Rose died, he moved in with Grandma Rose at 492 Hegeman Avenue, Brooklyn. he lived in the room at the top of the stairs. There he repaired shoes. In Romania, and when he first arrived in the U.S., he made shoes for wealthy people. When he died he left a lot of leather and cobblers tools. Dudy remembers him as being a tall man (6 foot or so), thin, and always looking dapper.
Marcus Siegel's Death
On August 5, 1933, Marcus Siegel died. According to Dad (Leonard Schwartz),
Marcus Siegel died at Beth-El Hospital, which was located near Rockaway
Parkway and Linden Blvd in Brooklyn. He died of stomach cancer. According
to Dudy Tunkel, Marcus' funeral was held in Grandma Rose's house at 492
Hegeman Ave. in Brooklyn. As of the date that Barry Tunkel wrote this family
history (September 22, 1991), he was unable to locate a death certificate
for Marcus from the Board of Health of New York City.
Grandma Rose and Samuel Schwartz
When Grandma ROSE was 10 or 11 years old, she moved to another town and became an apprentice to a hat manufacturer. She worked here for two years and only went home on holidays. She told Barry this story a few months before she died.
As mentioned before, Grandma Rose married SAMUEL SCHWARTZ. At the time she and Sam were married, Sam owned his own home at 492 Hegeman Avenue in Brooklyn. Picture. Before they got married, Sam had living with him his mother Rebecca, his brother Harry, and his sister Tillie.
In 1925, the NY State census showed Sam and Rose as sharing their house with his mother, his sister and two of their children. Their daughter BEATRICE (Bea) was born on October 21, 1917. Their son, LEONARD (my father) was born on February 19, 1921. In 1904 Samuel Schwartz became a citizen. Because Rose married him before 1922, she automatically became a U.S. citizen upon their marriage. [Birth of SOL SCHWARTZ?]
Sam died on March 5, 1948 and was buried at Washington Cemetery located
at Bay Parkway and McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn in a section known as United
Bottashaner.
