Broad Street
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Thursday, March 22, 2018
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Trenton Tobacco (Cohen-Carr Family)
My adventures in genealogy and the stories of
the people in my family tree. The tree includes my ancestors (themselves, their
siblings, spouses and in-laws) and my husband's family. Primary names on my
side include Roth, Fried, Grosser, Lieberman, Tepper, and Kandel, and on his
side, Crime, Neumann, Gorman, Ferguson and McCann.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
 |
|
Cover of Mason
Mint magazine (news letter of the Mason Au & Magenheimer Conf.
Mfg. Co. Inc) September 1954 featuring the Trenton Tobacco Co., distributor
of Mason Confectionery products. L-R Harry Carr, Nan Carr, Alvin J.
Carr[1]
|
Nan Lieberman was the youngest daughter of Phillip and Bella Lieberman (more about them here and here). Her exact birth date was always a matter of discussion in the family, and she got younger as the years passed, but she is listed with the family in the 1900 census as having been born in May of the previous year [2]. Her name then was Annie, and she continued as Anne through the 1920 census, when the family lived at 718 S. Beulah St. in a neighborhood of two story brick row houses.[3]
Harry was the son of Louis and Fanny Cohen who had arrived in Philadelphia with their young son Joseph from Romania about 1898 (I haven't found their manifests yet). They quickly had three more children, Harry in 1901, Herman in 1902, and Henrietta in 1909. On his Declaration of Intention to be come a citizen in 1900, Louis said that he was living at 920 S. 5th St. in Philadelphia[4]. Like many recent immigrants, Louis moved often and worked in the garment industry. By 1909 on his Petition for Naturalization, he listed himself as a tailor living at 8021 Suffolk Ave in South Philadelphia[5], and in April 1910 on the census he reported the family living at 1218 North Warnock St. (now part of the Temple University campus) and gave his occupation as operator in a pants manufacturing company[6]. When he registered for the WWI draft he was listed as a self employed tailor again, living at 994 N. 5th St[7].
Around 1918, Louis moved his family to Trenton, NJ where they lived at 495 Logan St. He soon bought Trenton Tobacco Company, a
 |
|
Trenton Tobacco
806 South Broad St.
From Mason Mint Magazine. The building is still there, and you can still see the words Trenton Tobacco Co on the top of the building. |
wholesale business
located at 177 South Broad Street in a three story store front building
with an apartment above where the family lived[8]. Louis, Joseph, and
Harry owned and ran the business together. The business must have
been very successful. In 1921, Louis, Joseph and Harry invested $30,000
in the Salamandra Company, which was incorporating as a brewing business.[9] In
July 1922 Louis, Fanny, and young Henrietta travelled to Europe for six months,
planning to visit Romania and Switzerland to visit relatives, England and
France as tourists, and Germany and Austria-Hungary for business[10]. Also in
1922, Louis and Joseph Cohen bought a building with a storefront and apartments
on South Broad Street for "upward of $50,000"[11]. Trenton
Tobacco moved from the original location to the new location at 205 S.
Broad Street in 1923. By 1923, Louis had acquired a large single family
home at 8 Oak Lane in a newly built Trenton neighborhood where they lived with
their children until each grew up, married, and moved out. [12]
By the time of her wedding in Philadelphia in November, 1923, Annie Lieberman had begun to be called Nan[13]. Harry and Nan returned to Trenton where their son Alvin Joshua was born on August 18, 1924[14]. In 1930 they bought a newly built duplex at 30 Sanhican Drive[15], near Harry's parents where they lived into the 1940s. Harry continued to work as a salesman and then manager of Trenton Tobacco. Joseph married Gertrude Introligator about 1923. Herman became a doctor and married Elizabeth Stein in 1930[16], and Henrietta married Nathan Levine in 1932 and moved to Philadelphia[17]. The ever growing Trenton Tobacco moved again to 806 South Broad St. in about 1938[18].
Alvin (known as "Sonny" within the family, and Al by others)graduated from Trenton Central H.S. in 1942[19], and in January 1944 he enlisted in the U.S. Army[20]. He served overseas in France for seven months and was severely wounded in the leg in April 1945[21]. After his recovery he resumed his studies at Lafayette College and the at University of Minnesota. It was at this time, around 1950 when he wanted to go on to medical school and faced the widespread practice of quotas limiting the number of Jewish students in professional schools, that the family changed their last name from Cohen to the less Jewish sounding Carr[22].
Joseph Cohen had died in 1942, and Louis in 1946[23], leaving Harry as the sole owner of Trenton Tobacco Company after he bought the remaining interest from his widowed sister-in-law[24]. Al joined the firm in 1948. Things were going very well for the Carr family. In 1954 they moved into a custom built home in Yardley PA across the river from Trenton. The home featured 12 rooms, a 20' x 65' recreation room, a pool and cabana, and was decorated with marble [25]. I remember that special accommodations were made to store Nan's growing collection of antique furniture, china, and silver. The raised dining room was secured by an ornate wrought iron gate, behind which one could see her collection of silver tea and coffee services. One room had a full wall of lighted cabinets to store the many full services of antique china she had acquired. She loved to open them up and let me examine everything when I visited a child. She was a regular at high end auctions and estate sales.
At the same time, Trenton Tobacco was growing, too. By 1954 the business had about 1500 retail accounts and carried about 2000 different items, including tobacco and candy products, toys, watches, and shavers. They built a new office and warehouse complex on the edge of town, increasing storage space from 6000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft. The warehouse layout, designed by Al, had the latest innovations in stock management, designed so that filling orders was most efficient. Al said that Nan only paid social visits to the office, but that she was just as interested in the business as his father.[26] I remember going to the grand opening when the display room was filled with candy boxes open for sampling. I was literally a kid in a candy shop!
Harry and Al continued to run Trenton Tobacco together. Al married Rosalie Klinghoffer in 1961. Harry died in 1976[27]. Nan closed up the big house and moved to a newly built condo at 860 Lower Ferry Road in Ewing until she died in 1980[28]. Al sold Trenton Tobacco Company in November of 1980, moving on to other business ventures[29].
1. "Mason Mint", Vol IX, No.4, September, 1954. Mason Au & Magenheimer Conf. Mfg. Co., Inc. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
2.. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1900; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T623_1452; Page 11A; Enumeration District 40. Record for Annie Liverman.
3. Ancestry. com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1920; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T625_1614; Page 3B; Enumeration District 21. Record for Anne Leiberman.
4. Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania, Federal Naturalization Records, 1795-1931 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, I,c., 2011), National Archives; Washington, D.c.; ARC Title: Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795-1930; NAI Number 72; Record Group Number :M1522 Record for Louis Cohen.
5. ibid.
6. Ancestry. com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2006) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1910; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 20, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T624_1394; Page 2A; Enumeration District 0343; FHL microfilm: 1375407. Record for Louis Cohn.
7. Ancestry.com, U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2005) Registration Sate: Pennsylvania; Registration County; Philadelphia; Roll 1907612; Draft Board :10. Record for Louis Cohen.
8. There are several sources for this information. The description of the building is from "O'Neill Property Sold for $35,000" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, February 15, 1920 p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com. The family being resident there is from Joseph Cohen's WWI draft registration Card: Ancestry.com U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2005) Registration State: New Jersey; Registration County: Mercer; Roll 175444; Draft Board 3. Record for Joseph W. Cohen., and well as Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Ancestry.com, Trenton, NJ Record for Louis Cohen, manager of Trenton Tobacco.
9. "Variety of Purposes for New Companies" Trenton Evening Times, June 22, 1921. p 6. Source: NewspaperArchives.com
10. Ancestry.com, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007) www.ancestry.com, database online. Record for Louis Cohen.
11. "Tobacco Company Takes New Home" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, November 12, 1922. p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
12. The 1923 date is extrapolated for several sources. In his application for a passport cited above in 1922, Louis gives his address as 177 South Broad St. An article about the trip gives the same address. "Will Travel Abroad for Six months"Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday July 18, 1922. p. 8. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. Another article in early January 1924 gives the Oak Lane address for Henrietta. "Miss Cohen Honors Miss Fay Bookman" Trenton Evening Times. Saturday, January 5, 1924 p. 14. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. It is unlikely that Henrietta would have entertained in the first week of January 1924 if they had just moved into a new house that week. Finally, The City Directory of Trenton in 1925 gives Louis' address as 8 Oak Lane. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com, Record for Louis Cohen. That Louis and Fanny lived there until their deaths is attested to by their obituaries. " Mrs. Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), Wednesday July 6, 1943 p. 11, and "Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. p. 10 both Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
13. Ancestry.com, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885-1951 (Provo, UT. USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Record for Nan Lieberman.
14. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), www.ancestry.com, Database online, Number: Issue State: New Jersey; Issue Date: Before 1951. Record for Alvin J. Carr.
15. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2002) www. ancestry.com, Database online, Year: 1930; Census Place: Trenton, Mercer, New Jersey; Roll:1365; Page 13B; Enumeration District : 71; Image: 929.0. Record for Nan L. Cohen.
16. "Miss Elizabeth Stein Becomes the Bride of Dr Cohen at Pretty Ceremony Yesterday at Belmar - Interesting Notes of Various Women's Organizations" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday , July 7, 1830 p. 11. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
17. " Lavine-Cohen Nuptials" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday, August 29, 1932 p. 14.
Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
18. "Tobacco Company Negotiates Lease" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, December 11, 1938 p.22 Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
19. Ancestry.com, U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com, Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
20. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc.) Ancestry.com, Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
21.Ancestry.com, AJHS WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, 19-42-1947 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. ), www.ancestry.com. Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
22. Personal e-mail. "RE: Long Time No Hear". Alvin J. Carr (ALCARR@compuserve.com) to Mary-Jane Roth. Wed. 30 Jul 1997. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
23. Obituaries. " Rites Held Today for Joseph Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Friday July 17, 1942. page 16. and "Louis Cohen", Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. page 10. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
24. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. p2.
25. "Lower Makefield is Proud of its People and Homes" Levittown Times (Levittown, PA.) January 28, 1957. p 11.
Source NewspaperArchive.com
26. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. pp. 3-5
27. " Obituary Harry N. Carr at 75, Trenton Businessman" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday, May 18, 1976. p 32. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
28. Obituary "Nan Lieberman Carr" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Wednesday, December 24, 1980. p 23. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
29. "Buyers Exchange under new owners" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, July 9, 1981. p 37. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
By the time of her wedding in Philadelphia in November, 1923, Annie Lieberman had begun to be called Nan[13]. Harry and Nan returned to Trenton where their son Alvin Joshua was born on August 18, 1924[14]. In 1930 they bought a newly built duplex at 30 Sanhican Drive[15], near Harry's parents where they lived into the 1940s. Harry continued to work as a salesman and then manager of Trenton Tobacco. Joseph married Gertrude Introligator about 1923. Herman became a doctor and married Elizabeth Stein in 1930[16], and Henrietta married Nathan Levine in 1932 and moved to Philadelphia[17]. The ever growing Trenton Tobacco moved again to 806 South Broad St. in about 1938[18].
Alvin (known as "Sonny" within the family, and Al by others)graduated from Trenton Central H.S. in 1942[19], and in January 1944 he enlisted in the U.S. Army[20]. He served overseas in France for seven months and was severely wounded in the leg in April 1945[21]. After his recovery he resumed his studies at Lafayette College and the at University of Minnesota. It was at this time, around 1950 when he wanted to go on to medical school and faced the widespread practice of quotas limiting the number of Jewish students in professional schools, that the family changed their last name from Cohen to the less Jewish sounding Carr[22].
Joseph Cohen had died in 1942, and Louis in 1946[23], leaving Harry as the sole owner of Trenton Tobacco Company after he bought the remaining interest from his widowed sister-in-law[24]. Al joined the firm in 1948. Things were going very well for the Carr family. In 1954 they moved into a custom built home in Yardley PA across the river from Trenton. The home featured 12 rooms, a 20' x 65' recreation room, a pool and cabana, and was decorated with marble [25]. I remember that special accommodations were made to store Nan's growing collection of antique furniture, china, and silver. The raised dining room was secured by an ornate wrought iron gate, behind which one could see her collection of silver tea and coffee services. One room had a full wall of lighted cabinets to store the many full services of antique china she had acquired. She loved to open them up and let me examine everything when I visited a child. She was a regular at high end auctions and estate sales.
At the same time, Trenton Tobacco was growing, too. By 1954 the business had about 1500 retail accounts and carried about 2000 different items, including tobacco and candy products, toys, watches, and shavers. They built a new office and warehouse complex on the edge of town, increasing storage space from 6000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft. The warehouse layout, designed by Al, had the latest innovations in stock management, designed so that filling orders was most efficient. Al said that Nan only paid social visits to the office, but that she was just as interested in the business as his father.[26] I remember going to the grand opening when the display room was filled with candy boxes open for sampling. I was literally a kid in a candy shop!
Harry and Al continued to run Trenton Tobacco together. Al married Rosalie Klinghoffer in 1961. Harry died in 1976[27]. Nan closed up the big house and moved to a newly built condo at 860 Lower Ferry Road in Ewing until she died in 1980[28]. Al sold Trenton Tobacco Company in November of 1980, moving on to other business ventures[29].
1. "Mason Mint", Vol IX, No.4, September, 1954. Mason Au & Magenheimer Conf. Mfg. Co., Inc. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
2.. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1900; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T623_1452; Page 11A; Enumeration District 40. Record for Annie Liverman.
3. Ancestry. com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1920; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T625_1614; Page 3B; Enumeration District 21. Record for Anne Leiberman.
4. Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania, Federal Naturalization Records, 1795-1931 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, I,c., 2011), National Archives; Washington, D.c.; ARC Title: Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795-1930; NAI Number 72; Record Group Number :M1522 Record for Louis Cohen.
5. ibid.
6. Ancestry. com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2006) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1910; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 20, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T624_1394; Page 2A; Enumeration District 0343; FHL microfilm: 1375407. Record for Louis Cohn.
7. Ancestry.com, U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2005) Registration Sate: Pennsylvania; Registration County; Philadelphia; Roll 1907612; Draft Board :10. Record for Louis Cohen.
8. There are several sources for this information. The description of the building is from "O'Neill Property Sold for $35,000" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, February 15, 1920 p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com. The family being resident there is from Joseph Cohen's WWI draft registration Card: Ancestry.com U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2005) Registration State: New Jersey; Registration County: Mercer; Roll 175444; Draft Board 3. Record for Joseph W. Cohen., and well as Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Ancestry.com, Trenton, NJ Record for Louis Cohen, manager of Trenton Tobacco.
9. "Variety of Purposes for New Companies" Trenton Evening Times, June 22, 1921. p 6. Source: NewspaperArchives.com
10. Ancestry.com, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007) www.ancestry.com, database online. Record for Louis Cohen.
11. "Tobacco Company Takes New Home" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, November 12, 1922. p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
12. The 1923 date is extrapolated for several sources. In his application for a passport cited above in 1922, Louis gives his address as 177 South Broad St. An article about the trip gives the same address. "Will Travel Abroad for Six months"Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday July 18, 1922. p. 8. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. Another article in early January 1924 gives the Oak Lane address for Henrietta. "Miss Cohen Honors Miss Fay Bookman" Trenton Evening Times. Saturday, January 5, 1924 p. 14. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. It is unlikely that Henrietta would have entertained in the first week of January 1924 if they had just moved into a new house that week. Finally, The City Directory of Trenton in 1925 gives Louis' address as 8 Oak Lane. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com, Record for Louis Cohen. That Louis and Fanny lived there until their deaths is attested to by their obituaries. " Mrs. Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), Wednesday July 6, 1943 p. 11, and "Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. p. 10 both Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
13. Ancestry.com, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885-1951 (Provo, UT. USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Record for Nan Lieberman.
14. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), www.ancestry.com, Database online, Number: Issue State: New Jersey; Issue Date: Before 1951. Record for Alvin J. Carr.
15. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2002) www. ancestry.com, Database online, Year: 1930; Census Place: Trenton, Mercer, New Jersey; Roll:1365; Page 13B; Enumeration District : 71; Image: 929.0. Record for Nan L. Cohen.
16. "Miss Elizabeth Stein Becomes the Bride of Dr Cohen at Pretty Ceremony Yesterday at Belmar - Interesting Notes of Various Women's Organizations" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday , July 7, 1830 p. 11. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
17. " Lavine-Cohen Nuptials" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday, August 29, 1932 p. 14.
Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
18. "Tobacco Company Negotiates Lease" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, December 11, 1938 p.22 Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
19. Ancestry.com, U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com, Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
20. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc.) Ancestry.com, Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
21.Ancestry.com, AJHS WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, 19-42-1947 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. ), www.ancestry.com. Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
22. Personal e-mail. "RE: Long Time No Hear". Alvin J. Carr (ALCARR@compuserve.com) to Mary-Jane Roth. Wed. 30 Jul 1997. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
23. Obituaries. " Rites Held Today for Joseph Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Friday July 17, 1942. page 16. and "Louis Cohen", Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. page 10. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
24. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. p2.
25. "Lower Makefield is Proud of its People and Homes" Levittown Times (Levittown, PA.) January 28, 1957. p 11.
Source NewspaperArchive.com
26. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. pp. 3-5
27. " Obituary Harry N. Carr at 75, Trenton Businessman" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday, May 18, 1976. p 32. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
28. Obituary "Nan Lieberman Carr" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Wednesday, December 24, 1980. p 23. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
29. "Buyers Exchange under new owners" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, July 9, 1981. p 37. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
http://memorykeepersnotebook.blogspot.com/2016/09/nan-lieberman-and-harry-carr.html?spref=fb
My adventures in genealogy and the stories of
the people in my family tree. The tree includes my ancestors (themselves, their
siblings, spouses and in-laws) and my husband's family. Primary names on my
side include Roth, Fried, Grosser, Lieberman, Tepper, and Kandel, and on his
side, Crime, Neumann, Gorman, Ferguson and McCann.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
 |
|
Cover of Mason
Mint magazine (news letter of the Mason Au & Magenheimer Conf.
Mfg. Co. Inc) September 1954 featuring the Trenton Tobacco Co., distributor
of Mason Confectionery products. L-R Harry Carr, Nan Carr, Alvin J.
Carr[1]
|
Nan Lieberman was the youngest daughter of Phillip and Bella Lieberman (more about them here and here). Her exact birth date was always a matter of discussion in the family, and she got younger as the years passed, but she is listed with the family in the 1900 census as having been born in May of the previous year [2]. Her name then was Annie, and she continued as Anne through the 1920 census, when the family lived at 718 S. Beulah St. in a neighborhood of two story brick row houses.[3]
Harry was the son of Louis and Fanny Cohen who had arrived in Philadelphia with their young son Joseph from Romania about 1898 (I haven't found their manifests yet). They quickly had three more children, Harry in 1901, Herman in 1902, and Henrietta in 1909. On his Declaration of Intention to be come a citizen in 1900, Louis said that he was living at 920 S. 5th St. in Philadelphia[4]. Like many recent immigrants, Louis moved often and worked in the garment industry. By 1909 on his Petition for Naturalization, he listed himself as a tailor living at 8021 Suffolk Ave in South Philadelphia[5], and in April 1910 on the census he reported the family living at 1218 North Warnock St. (now part of the Temple University campus) and gave his occupation as operator in a pants manufacturing company[6]. When he registered for the WWI draft he was listed as a self employed tailor again, living at 994 N. 5th St[7].
Around 1918, Louis moved his family to Trenton, NJ where they lived at 495 Logan St. He soon bought Trenton Tobacco Company, a
|
|
|
Trenton Tobacco
806 South Broad St.
From Mason Mint Magazine. The building is still there, and you can still see the words Trenton Tobacco Co on the top of the building. |
wholesale business
located at 177 South Broad Street in a three story store front building
with an apartment above where the family lived[8]. Louis, Joseph, and
Harry owned and ran the business together. The business must have
been very successful. In 1921, Louis, Joseph and Harry invested $30,000
in the Salamandra Company, which was incorporating as a brewing business.[9] In
July 1922 Louis, Fanny, and young Henrietta travelled to Europe for six months,
planning to visit Romania and Switzerland to visit relatives, England and
France as tourists, and Germany and Austria-Hungary for business[10]. Also in
1922, Louis and Joseph Cohen bought a building with a storefront and apartments
on South Broad Street for "upward of $50,000"[11]. Trenton
Tobacco moved from the original location to the new location at 205 S.
Broad Street in 1923. By 1923, Louis had acquired a large single family
home at 8 Oak Lane in a newly built Trenton neighborhood where they lived with
their children until each grew up, married, and moved out. [12]
By the time of her wedding in Philadelphia in November, 1923, Annie Lieberman had begun to be called Nan[13]. Harry and Nan returned to Trenton where their son Alvin Joshua was born on August 18, 1924[14]. In 1930 they bought a newly built duplex at 30 Sanhican Drive[15], near Harry's parents where they lived into the 1940s. Harry continued to work as a salesman and then manager of Trenton Tobacco. Joseph married Gertrude Introligator about 1923. Herman became a doctor and married Elizabeth Stein in 1930[16], and Henrietta married Nathan Levine in 1932 and moved to Philadelphia[17]. The ever growing Trenton Tobacco moved again to 806 South Broad St. in about 1938[18].
Alvin (known as "Sonny" within the family, and Al by others)graduated from Trenton Central H.S. in 1942[19], and in January 1944 he enlisted in the U.S. Army[20]. He served overseas in France for seven months and was severely wounded in the leg in April 1945[21]. After his recovery he resumed his studies at Lafayette College and the at University of Minnesota. It was at this time, around 1950 when he wanted to go on to medical school and faced the widespread practice of quotas limiting the number of Jewish students in professional schools, that the family changed their last name from Cohen to the less Jewish sounding Carr[22].
Joseph Cohen had died in 1942, and Louis in 1946[23], leaving Harry as the sole owner of Trenton Tobacco Company after he bought the remaining interest from his widowed sister-in-law[24]. Al joined the firm in 1948. Things were going very well for the Carr family. In 1954 they moved into a custom built home in Yardley PA across the river from Trenton. The home featured 12 rooms, a 20' x 65' recreation room, a pool and cabana, and was decorated with marble [25]. I remember that special accommodations were made to store Nan's growing collection of antique furniture, china, and silver. The raised dining room was secured by an ornate wrought iron gate, behind which one could see her collection of silver tea and coffee services. One room had a full wall of lighted cabinets to store the many full services of antique china she had acquired. She loved to open them up and let me examine everything when I visited a child. She was a regular at high end auctions and estate sales.
At the same time, Trenton Tobacco was growing, too. By 1954 the business had about 1500 retail accounts and carried about 2000 different items, including tobacco and candy products, toys, watches, and shavers. They built a new office and warehouse complex on the edge of town, increasing storage space from 6000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft. The warehouse layout, designed by Al, had the latest innovations in stock management, designed so that filling orders was most efficient. Al said that Nan only paid social visits to the office, but that she was just as interested in the business as his father.[26] I remember going to the grand opening when the display room was filled with candy boxes open for sampling. I was literally a kid in a candy shop!
Harry and Al continued to run Trenton Tobacco together. Al married Rosalie Klinghoffer in 1961. Harry died in 1976[27]. Nan closed up the big house and moved to a newly built condo at 860 Lower Ferry Road in Ewing until she died in 1980[28]. Al sold Trenton Tobacco Company in November of 1980, moving on to other business ventures[29].
1. "Mason Mint", Vol IX, No.4, September, 1954. Mason Au & Magenheimer Conf. Mfg. Co., Inc. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
2.. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1900; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T623_1452; Page 11A; Enumeration District 40. Record for Annie Liverman.
3. Ancestry. com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1920; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T625_1614; Page 3B; Enumeration District 21. Record for Anne Leiberman.
4. Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania, Federal Naturalization Records, 1795-1931 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, I,c., 2011), National Archives; Washington, D.c.; ARC Title: Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795-1930; NAI Number 72; Record Group Number :M1522 Record for Louis Cohen.
5. ibid.
6. Ancestry. com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2006) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1910; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 20, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T624_1394; Page 2A; Enumeration District 0343; FHL microfilm: 1375407. Record for Louis Cohn.
7. Ancestry.com, U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2005) Registration Sate: Pennsylvania; Registration County; Philadelphia; Roll 1907612; Draft Board :10. Record for Louis Cohen.
8. There are several sources for this information. The description of the building is from "O'Neill Property Sold for $35,000" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, February 15, 1920 p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com. The family being resident there is from Joseph Cohen's WWI draft registration Card: Ancestry.com U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2005) Registration State: New Jersey; Registration County: Mercer; Roll 175444; Draft Board 3. Record for Joseph W. Cohen., and well as Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Ancestry.com, Trenton, NJ Record for Louis Cohen, manager of Trenton Tobacco.
9. "Variety of Purposes for New Companies" Trenton Evening Times, June 22, 1921. p 6. Source: NewspaperArchives.com
10. Ancestry.com, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007) www.ancestry.com, database online. Record for Louis Cohen.
11. "Tobacco Company Takes New Home" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, November 12, 1922. p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
12. The 1923 date is extrapolated for several sources. In his application for a passport cited above in 1922, Louis gives his address as 177 South Broad St. An article about the trip gives the same address. "Will Travel Abroad for Six months"Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday July 18, 1922. p. 8. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. Another article in early January 1924 gives the Oak Lane address for Henrietta. "Miss Cohen Honors Miss Fay Bookman" Trenton Evening Times. Saturday, January 5, 1924 p. 14. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. It is unlikely that Henrietta would have entertained in the first week of January 1924 if they had just moved into a new house that week. Finally, The City Directory of Trenton in 1925 gives Louis' address as 8 Oak Lane. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com, Record for Louis Cohen. That Louis and Fanny lived there until their deaths is attested to by their obituaries. " Mrs. Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), Wednesday July 6, 1943 p. 11, and "Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. p. 10 both Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
13. Ancestry.com, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885-1951 (Provo, UT. USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Record for Nan Lieberman.
14. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), www.ancestry.com, Database online, Number: Issue State: New Jersey; Issue Date: Before 1951. Record for Alvin J. Carr.
15. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2002) www. ancestry.com, Database online, Year: 1930; Census Place: Trenton, Mercer, New Jersey; Roll:1365; Page 13B; Enumeration District : 71; Image: 929.0. Record for Nan L. Cohen.
16. "Miss Elizabeth Stein Becomes the Bride of Dr Cohen at Pretty Ceremony Yesterday at Belmar - Interesting Notes of Various Women's Organizations" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday , July 7, 1830 p. 11. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
17. " Lavine-Cohen Nuptials" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday, August 29, 1932 p. 14.
Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
18. "Tobacco Company Negotiates Lease" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, December 11, 1938 p.22 Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
19. Ancestry.com, U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com, Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
20. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc.) Ancestry.com, Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
21.Ancestry.com, AJHS WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, 19-42-1947 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. ), www.ancestry.com. Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
22. Personal e-mail. "RE: Long Time No Hear". Alvin J. Carr (ALCARR@compuserve.com) to Mary-Jane Roth. Wed. 30 Jul 1997. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
23. Obituaries. " Rites Held Today for Joseph Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Friday July 17, 1942. page 16. and "Louis Cohen", Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. page 10. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
24. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. p2.
25. "Lower Makefield is Proud of its People and Homes" Levittown Times (Levittown, PA.) January 28, 1957. p 11.
Source NewspaperArchive.com
26. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. pp. 3-5
27. " Obituary Harry N. Carr at 75, Trenton Businessman" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday, May 18, 1976. p 32. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
28. Obituary "Nan Lieberman Carr" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Wednesday, December 24, 1980. p 23. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
29. "Buyers Exchange under new owners" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, July 9, 1981. p 37. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
By the time of her wedding in Philadelphia in November, 1923, Annie Lieberman had begun to be called Nan[13]. Harry and Nan returned to Trenton where their son Alvin Joshua was born on August 18, 1924[14]. In 1930 they bought a newly built duplex at 30 Sanhican Drive[15], near Harry's parents where they lived into the 1940s. Harry continued to work as a salesman and then manager of Trenton Tobacco. Joseph married Gertrude Introligator about 1923. Herman became a doctor and married Elizabeth Stein in 1930[16], and Henrietta married Nathan Levine in 1932 and moved to Philadelphia[17]. The ever growing Trenton Tobacco moved again to 806 South Broad St. in about 1938[18].
Alvin (known as "Sonny" within the family, and Al by others)graduated from Trenton Central H.S. in 1942[19], and in January 1944 he enlisted in the U.S. Army[20]. He served overseas in France for seven months and was severely wounded in the leg in April 1945[21]. After his recovery he resumed his studies at Lafayette College and the at University of Minnesota. It was at this time, around 1950 when he wanted to go on to medical school and faced the widespread practice of quotas limiting the number of Jewish students in professional schools, that the family changed their last name from Cohen to the less Jewish sounding Carr[22].
Joseph Cohen had died in 1942, and Louis in 1946[23], leaving Harry as the sole owner of Trenton Tobacco Company after he bought the remaining interest from his widowed sister-in-law[24]. Al joined the firm in 1948. Things were going very well for the Carr family. In 1954 they moved into a custom built home in Yardley PA across the river from Trenton. The home featured 12 rooms, a 20' x 65' recreation room, a pool and cabana, and was decorated with marble [25]. I remember that special accommodations were made to store Nan's growing collection of antique furniture, china, and silver. The raised dining room was secured by an ornate wrought iron gate, behind which one could see her collection of silver tea and coffee services. One room had a full wall of lighted cabinets to store the many full services of antique china she had acquired. She loved to open them up and let me examine everything when I visited a child. She was a regular at high end auctions and estate sales.
At the same time, Trenton Tobacco was growing, too. By 1954 the business had about 1500 retail accounts and carried about 2000 different items, including tobacco and candy products, toys, watches, and shavers. They built a new office and warehouse complex on the edge of town, increasing storage space from 6000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft. The warehouse layout, designed by Al, had the latest innovations in stock management, designed so that filling orders was most efficient. Al said that Nan only paid social visits to the office, but that she was just as interested in the business as his father.[26] I remember going to the grand opening when the display room was filled with candy boxes open for sampling. I was literally a kid in a candy shop!
Harry and Al continued to run Trenton Tobacco together. Al married Rosalie Klinghoffer in 1961. Harry died in 1976[27]. Nan closed up the big house and moved to a newly built condo at 860 Lower Ferry Road in Ewing until she died in 1980[28]. Al sold Trenton Tobacco Company in November of 1980, moving on to other business ventures[29].
1. "Mason Mint", Vol IX, No.4, September, 1954. Mason Au & Magenheimer Conf. Mfg. Co., Inc. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
2.. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1900; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T623_1452; Page 11A; Enumeration District 40. Record for Annie Liverman.
3. Ancestry. com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2004) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1920; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T625_1614; Page 3B; Enumeration District 21. Record for Anne Leiberman.
4. Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania, Federal Naturalization Records, 1795-1931 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, I,c., 2011), National Archives; Washington, D.c.; ARC Title: Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795-1930; NAI Number 72; Record Group Number :M1522 Record for Louis Cohen.
5. ibid.
6. Ancestry. com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2006) www/ ancestry.com, Database online. Year 1910; Census place; Philadelphia Ward 20, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:T624_1394; Page 2A; Enumeration District 0343; FHL microfilm: 1375407. Record for Louis Cohn.
7. Ancestry.com, U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA,Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2005) Registration Sate: Pennsylvania; Registration County; Philadelphia; Roll 1907612; Draft Board :10. Record for Louis Cohen.
8. There are several sources for this information. The description of the building is from "O'Neill Property Sold for $35,000" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, February 15, 1920 p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com. The family being resident there is from Joseph Cohen's WWI draft registration Card: Ancestry.com U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2005) Registration State: New Jersey; Registration County: Mercer; Roll 175444; Draft Board 3. Record for Joseph W. Cohen., and well as Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Ancestry.com, Trenton, NJ Record for Louis Cohen, manager of Trenton Tobacco.
9. "Variety of Purposes for New Companies" Trenton Evening Times, June 22, 1921. p 6. Source: NewspaperArchives.com
10. Ancestry.com, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007) www.ancestry.com, database online. Record for Louis Cohen.
11. "Tobacco Company Takes New Home" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, November 12, 1922. p. 7. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
12. The 1923 date is extrapolated for several sources. In his application for a passport cited above in 1922, Louis gives his address as 177 South Broad St. An article about the trip gives the same address. "Will Travel Abroad for Six months"Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday July 18, 1922. p. 8. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. Another article in early January 1924 gives the Oak Lane address for Henrietta. "Miss Cohen Honors Miss Fay Bookman" Trenton Evening Times. Saturday, January 5, 1924 p. 14. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com. It is unlikely that Henrietta would have entertained in the first week of January 1924 if they had just moved into a new house that week. Finally, The City Directory of Trenton in 1925 gives Louis' address as 8 Oak Lane. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com, Record for Louis Cohen. That Louis and Fanny lived there until their deaths is attested to by their obituaries. " Mrs. Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), Wednesday July 6, 1943 p. 11, and "Louis Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. p. 10 both Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
13. Ancestry.com, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885-1951 (Provo, UT. USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011) Record for Nan Lieberman.
14. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), www.ancestry.com, Database online, Number: Issue State: New Jersey; Issue Date: Before 1951. Record for Alvin J. Carr.
15. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2002) www. ancestry.com, Database online, Year: 1930; Census Place: Trenton, Mercer, New Jersey; Roll:1365; Page 13B; Enumeration District : 71; Image: 929.0. Record for Nan L. Cohen.
16. "Miss Elizabeth Stein Becomes the Bride of Dr Cohen at Pretty Ceremony Yesterday at Belmar - Interesting Notes of Various Women's Organizations" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday , July 7, 1830 p. 11. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
17. " Lavine-Cohen Nuptials" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Monday, August 29, 1932 p. 14.
Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source GenealogyBank.com.
18. "Tobacco Company Negotiates Lease" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Sunday, December 11, 1938 p.22 Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
19. Ancestry.com, U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com, Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
20. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc.) Ancestry.com, Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
21.Ancestry.com, AJHS WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, 19-42-1947 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. ), www.ancestry.com. Database on-line. Record for Alvin J. Cohen.
22. Personal e-mail. "RE: Long Time No Hear". Alvin J. Carr (ALCARR@compuserve.com) to Mary-Jane Roth. Wed. 30 Jul 1997. Copy held by Mary-Jane Roth.
23. Obituaries. " Rites Held Today for Joseph Cohen" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Friday July 17, 1942. page 16. and "Louis Cohen", Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, June 6, 1946. page 10. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
24. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. p2.
25. "Lower Makefield is Proud of its People and Homes" Levittown Times (Levittown, PA.) January 28, 1957. p 11.
Source NewspaperArchive.com
26. "Mason Mint" Op. Cit. pp. 3-5
27. " Obituary Harry N. Carr at 75, Trenton Businessman" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Tuesday, May 18, 1976. p 32. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
28. Obituary "Nan Lieberman Carr" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Wednesday, December 24, 1980. p 23. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
29. "Buyers Exchange under new owners" Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) Thursday, July 9, 1981. p 37. Copyright NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com.
http://memorykeepersnotebook.blogspot.com/2016/09/nan-lieberman-and-harry-carr.html?spref=fb
Growing Up Jewish in Trenton, NJ during the 1920’s and 30’s
Growing Up Jewish in Trenton,
NJ during the 1920’s and 30’s
By Ruth Richmond
Adams
Edited by Jordan Antebi
When I was very young, Trenton was the bustling capital of New Jersey,
living up to the slogan displayed on the bridge to Morrisville, Pennsylvania:
"Trenton Makes, The World Takes."
During the nineteenth century, many European Jews settled in Trenton,
attracted by the industries. Several department stores were founded by Jewish
families including Goldberg's.
Swern's and Cohen's. Roebling Brothers had a factory there, which
supplied the steel for the Brooklyn Bridge. There were also several chinaware
companies, including Lenox. Farms in the area supplied produce to cities
nearby. The Trenton Times, a daily newspaper, was widely read.
I believe that the most important aspect in my life has been my
relationships. My religious education at Har Sinai Temple in Trenton had a
great influence on me. Rabbi [Abraham] Holzberg
taught us that “religion is the relationship of person to person, and through
that relationship one finds God.”
I had wonderful parents, Evelyn and Israel Richmond, who lived this
belief and who also helped me to see the
necessity of caring about the needs of others. My parents were instrumental
in starting the Council of Human
Relations in Trenton during the depression and they helped many people of all races to find jobs. They were
active in Zionist causes and raised money for the Youth Aliyah project of Hadassah to rescue
children from Germany and relocate them to what
was then called Palestine. My sister, Estelle, and her husband, Dr.
Irving Robinson, carried on this work in the name of our parents. They upheld
the same traditions.
My Mother, Evelyn Richmond
Mother and Dad met when they were vacationing at the Breakers Hotel in
Atlantic City. They were both older (for that time) when they married. Mother
was 28 and Dad was 36. He had been quite
the ladies’ man, himself. He had his suits made to order, and was once praised
in the local paper as one of the best dressed men in Trenton. My mother told me that
when she first met him, she found love letters from many ladies. She promptly
threw them out.
Mother’s background was similar to Dad’s. She grew up in Malawa,
Poland, which was under Russian rule.
The Cossacks were very cruel, especially to the Jews. Her father had a
hardware store. I heard stories about my
maternal grandmother from my mother. Her name was Anna, and she was supposed to
have a singing voice “as beautiful as a bird’s”. There were six children when
my grandmother became pregnant with the seventh, I believe that a midwife tried
to help her to abort and she died.
Mother was told to take care of all of the children, even though she had an older sister
My mother spent her life taking care of people. During the Depression,
she and my father helped many people who could not find work. Some of the
homeless lived in our parking garage (which
I will describe later) on Willow Street during the depression. My
parents found odd jobs for them.
Mother and Dad could also not understand why black people were kept out
of the unions. They belonged to the Council for Human Relations and worked hard
to get black men admitted into the unions. One such person was a man named John
Mack from the West Indies. He was highly intelligent as well as a skilled
electrician. They worked hard to get him admitted to the union. Finally, he
was.
My mother was an ardent Zionist and she helped found the Trenton
Chapter of Hadassah. My father also believed in the creation of a Jewish State.
Her interest in Israel began when she was a
young girl in Poland. We have a picture of her and her brother, Isadore,
with a group of young Zionists. In the United States, she worked hard for the Hadassah
Hospital and the Jewish National Fund.
During the Hitler years, Mother’s idol was Henrietta Szold, founder of
Youth Aliyah. Mother immersed herself in
the Youth Aliyah project and helped save many children from the gas chambers in
Germany and Poland. She started the annual Youth Aliyah dinner in Trenton,
New Jersey, to raise funds. Many
important speakers came to those dinners such as Mrs. Morgenthau, wife of the Secretary of the Treasury and
Meyer Levin, the author of the Diary of Anne Frank. It cost $250 paid to the Palestinian authorities
to admit one child to what was then Palestine under British control My job was to help solicit monies for this purpose. She
also worked to raise funds for the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
My father was a member of the Zionist Organization of America and the
B’nai Brith. He helped my mother in all
these projects and was proud of her. They also helped raise money for the Jewish National Fund.
Sadly, Mother never did get to go to Israel. My first trip in 1979 was
dedicated to her memory. I saw the list
of people who had worked to make the Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus a reality.
My Father, Israel Richmond
My father belonged to many clubs in Trenton, New Jersey, in the 20’s
and 30’s. One was the Masons. Most of
the clubs were those at which he could play cards. One was called the In and Out
Club. He also belonged to the Press Club where newsmen (no women at that time)
gathered.
One of my earliest memories was that on each Election Day, he would go
around to the houses on our street and
make sure that everyone voted. He did not electioneer for any one party but told them that voting was something they had
to do as Americans. We were the only Jewish
family living on that street. Some of the neighbors were unfriendly,
but that did not stop him from ringing
the bell.
Dad liked to attend court proceedings. When the New Jersey legislature
was in session, he sat and listened to
the laws being enacted. He liked to talk to people about politics and business.
Through these associations, he was admitted to the Press Club. During
the Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial, he
got a press pass and attended the court sessions. This was the way he educated himself. He supplemented these
activities by reading the newspaper. He did not know how to read many of the words, but he was too
proud to ask his children.
My father believed in education and saw to it that I applied to
Radcliffe College, which, he was informed, was “the finest college in the
land.” That experience gave me a great start. I went on to get my master’s degree at City College of NYC
and my Ph.D. at New York University.
Dad had a meager education in Russia, and difficulty with reading
English. He had to struggle to learn
everything that was in the book the Masons gave him. I still remember him,
behind the closed door of his bedroom,
repeating the words repeatedly. He even tried to enroll for
a degree in the night school at Rider College to improve his English. I
do not know this for a fact, but, I believe they found out that he never
finished grade school in Russia and rejected him.
Today, he would be called a reading disability but the teachers in his
early schools called him “stupid”.
His sister, Fanny, told us that when he was a boy in Russia, he hid
under the porch of their home, so he
would not have to go to school. The schoolmaster beat him because he could not
read Russian and then, when he went to
religious school, he was beaten because he could not read Hebrew.(Many years later, when my son became
bar mitzvothed, he was called to the bima to
read from the Holy Scriptures and he did very well). When his mother
died, his new stepmother punished him as
well and told him he was a disgrace to his father. His father was a grain merchant who took his youngest son with him when he conducted business,
but this stopped when his father
remarried. All of this must have made the young boy extremely unhappy.
When Israel was fifteen, he ran away from home and made his way to
America to join his sister, Fanny who had married her first cousin, Samuel
Richmond. They were living in Trenton and operated a grocery store. Their
children were frequent visitors to our home when I was growing up. Morris,
Tillie and Celia told us stories of our father, and how they loved him when
they were young. His older brother,
Benjamin, also was married and living in Trenton. Israel and Ben opened a haberdashery shop as partners.
Dad, early on, had set about becoming an American citizen as soon as he
arrived from Ellis Island, and he was so
proud when he got his final papers. When his father came to take him home to Russia, Israel would not go. He was
an American.
One of my favorite stories about Dad’s early days in Trenton was about
his friendship with a doctor who made house calls in his horse and buggy. This
doctor was quite the ladies’ man. Dad said
that after the doctor’s medical visits the horse knew just where to take him to
see the ladies.
He served in World War I at Fort Dix, New Jersey. I don’t believe he
ever got any veterans’ benefits. After
the war, he started the hat business with his brother Ben. I have a cherished picture
of them standing in front of their store.
Before that, Israel, the pioneer, started a charge account business
with the cooperation of the local bank.
People would charge items in the stores to my father, and he and the bank
would collect. He also had the first
Nickelodeon in Trenton. Reportedly, he allowed all children to enter free.
Building a Business: Tires and Buses
My father, when he married my mother, was already in the tire business.
He saw that cars were getting popular, so he went into the business of
supplying people with tires. In fact, when my
sister, Estelle, was born, sales soared because of a new “balloon tire”
named Bergunian. Dad
wanted to give that name to his new daughter, but that idea was voted
down quickly by my mother. My sister was named for my mother’s favorite cousin,
Esther, but she was called Estelle.
Dad later was the first to sell Michelin tires. By this time, my mother
became the bookkeeper at the tire shop
on Hanover Street. I have a plaque on my wall from the Pennsylvania Rubber Company, celebrating a twenty-year
association with the Richmond Tire Company.
It was the Pennsylvania Rubber Company that cooperated with my parents,
so that they could submit a low bid to
sell tires to the agencies and institutions of the State of New Jersey. The contract
gave them money to send both of us to college.
By that time, my parents moved the tire shop from Hanover Street to a
large building on Willow Street. This building, which they rented, had a
parking garage and space for customers to have
their tires mounted. The depression in the 30’s caused my family to lose
the building on Hanover Street, which they had bought. The bank foreclosed, and they had to
move. My mother then took a more active role in the business. It took many
years to pay off all the debts after they moved the business to Willow
Street.
In the late thirties, my parents started the Richmond Bus Lines that
ran between Trenton, Morrisville and Yardley in Pennsylvania. They had to get
an interstate commerce license to do this. Still, they were the pioneers with
vision. When the bus line started, there were few houses in the areas that the
bus route covered. People laughed and said, “If you want to be alone like
Greta Garbo, ride a Richmond bus.”
However, during World War II, gas rationing led to increased bus riding. Also, a big steel mill opened in that
area, so my parents were not so dumb after all. The bus line was successful for
many years.
Adventures with Estelle
At home, my sister Estelle and I had a happy childhood. Our parents
doted on us and thought we were
wonderful. Mother made us matching dresses on her Singer Sewing Machine. They
were silk: blue for me and red for Estelle with beautiful embroidery across the
top.
During those years [1920s-30s] we belonged to the Har Sinai Temple in
Trenton. Estelle, and I went to Sunday school and attended services with our
parents on Friday nights. I sang in the children’s choir on Saturdays. Later, I
was confirmed and married in the temple. It was a large part of our lives. Yet,
my mother was at odds with the Rabbi [Holtzberg], since he did not share her
belief in a homeland for the Jewish people in what was then Palestine. During
the Holocaust and World War II, I
believe he changed. When Israel became a state in 1948, he celebrated with Mother.
We were always dressed up when we went visiting on Sundays. We visited
the elderly who lived alone. We always
got a few coins to put in our pocketbooks over Mother’s protests.
Summers we would go to Atlantic City to stay at the Breakers or the
President.
Peggy Compton
When Mother went to the tire shop each day, we hired Peggy Compton as a
housekeeper. The going salary then was
seven dollars a week. She was our housekeeper for fourteen years. She came from Johnstown, Pa. and told us all
about the flood when she was a girl. She bought a new dress each week. She was very pretty. Estelle
and I used to watch her as she put her make-up on before going home each day.
In those days, we did not have a washing machine. Peggy washed the
clothes in a basin in the cellar using a
scrubbing board. The sheets and shirts were sent out to the laundry. We
always used a laundry that bought tires
for their trucks from us: Blakely’s, and later, The Home laundry. On Tuesdays. Peggy ironed.
Izzy Lubow
One of [Ben Richmond’s] daughters, Celia Richmond, married Izzy Lubow.
They came upon hard times during the
depression of the late twenties and early thirties. Izzy lost his job and
went to beauty school. He practiced on
me while my mother watched nervously.
Izzy Lubow was one of the most learned men I ever knew. He came from
the Bronx. His father died and he had to
drop out of school to support his family. He saw that his sisters continued
in school and they became teachers.
Izzy, himself, was self-taught. He read and listened as my father did.
He said that Herbert Hoover would lead us out of the depression.
(Later, my Dad did vote for Roosevelt.).
Later in life, Izzy Lubow became a union leader in the printing
industry, and he changed his mind about
politics. He said that the workers did not want to learn, that they were bigots
as well. He was bitter about this.
Izzy and Celia loved my sister and me. They took us to our first
Broadway show in New York. It was Dead
End. Izzy took us to our first baseball game (he was a Yankee and a Giant fan)
on ladies’ days. He even took us to see
the Dodgers play although he said they were cheap and did not have ladies’
days. When I took piano lessons, he bought me a book of all the Gilbert
and Sullivan operettas, and we played
and sang together. I loved him and missed him when he died.
‘Grandpop’ Abraham Rothman, and the Neighbors
When Mother and Dad bought the house on Eastfield Ave. in 1921, our
grandfather, Abraham Rothman, lived with
us a great deal of the time. Sometimes, he would live with mother’s
sister, Frances Somers and her family,
in Philadelphia. I imagine it was a shock to the neighbors to see our religious grandfather in his tall derby hat and long black coat. I
remember walks with him in the snow. He drew pictures for me in the snow of his
home in Poland. Every morning he went down
into our basement to pray because he did not want to wake us up.
The saddest event of our childhood was when my mother went down to see
what took him so long. She found him dead of a heart attack. Estelle was with
her, and she got the brunt of the shock, hearing my mother scream. Estelle had
a bad reaction to this, and never wanted to leave her mother’s side for the
next few months.
The neighbors were helpful when Grandpop died, but I do not think they
ever fully accepted us, except for Mrs. Rees, who lived across the street. I
remember that she kept a diary. If you wanted
to know the weather or events for any day in the past, you could ask
Mrs. Rees. She was a kind person. When my son, David, was three years old, she sat with him in
our car and played “going to
California.” She let David pretend to drive.
In the summertime, the Rees family would sit in the “summerhouse” at
the end of the street, which looked out on the [water power] canal and the
Delaware River. It was owned by other neighbors, the Coleman’s. You had to be
invited to join them on summer evenings. We never were. My mother (sour grapes?) said that all
they did was swat mosquitoes.
Anti-Semitism in Trenton
In 1924, our family bought a
house on Eastfield Avenue in West Trenton.
We soon learned that although several Jewish families, including the
Grosses and Cohens, lived on West State Street at the corner, there were no Jewish families on
our street.
Our grandfather, Abraham Rothman, lived with us, and it must have been
a shock to the neighbors to see him in
his long coat and yarmulke.
The only neighbor who welcomed us was Miss Eva Dean. Miss Dean lived in
a large "farm-style" house that had belonged to her family since the
time of the French and Indian War. In fact, Dean Ave, next to us, was the
center of that property, and Eastfield and Westfield Avenues, both north and
south, were named for the adjoining areas. Eva was the last surviving member of
Dean family. She used to invite Estelle and me over to see her family heirlooms
(now in the [State] Museum). There was a sword used in one of the wars and many
colonial dolls with
1 Note: Adams cites both 1921 and 1924 as the year her
parents moved to Eastfield Avenue.
which we were even allowed to
play with. She had an English sheepdog named Laddie. Many of our other
neighbors were of German descent. This was my first taste of
anti-Semitism.
One neighbor told us that we could not roller skate on his sidewalk
because we were Jews. My father, all of
five feet, two inches, faced that neighbor and told him that if he or his sons
touched us, he would call the police.
Our next-door neighbor seemed friendly but showed their prejudice one
day when Mother, Estelle and I were
shopping downtown. We saw our neighbor with a friend and, of course, we greeted her. When we got home that neighbor
came over and told Mother that she did not want her friend to know that she
associated with Jews.
During the early Hitler years, we realized that one of our neighbor's
sons went off to Germany to fight for
the "fatherland." After that,
my father said that even their dog was a Nazi. Several of the German children
in my class in school called me the "little Jew."
My most bitter memory, however, was of two of our neighbor's children
with whom we had played for several
years. One night they came running over to our house crying. When their parents
came for them, we found out that they were moving to Teaneck , New Jersey to
join the Nazi [German-American] Bund.
During those years in the 30's I had nightmares of being
grabbed and put in a concentration camp.
These feelings intensified when, in 1936, I was ready for college. My
father and mother went to Trenton High
School to ask the principal which was the best school for their daughter who
was graduating with honors. She said "Radcliffe" but added that they
had a Jewish quota and she did not think
they would accept me.
My father said that I was going to apply. I was very worried, but we
always did what he said. Later, when I
was admitted and realized that this was a college with many Jewish students,
I went back to my high school and
informed the principal that she was mistaken.
Har Sinai
My parents wisely decided that their children should get a Jewish
education in the face of this [anti-Semitism
during the inter-war period]. They decided to join Har Sinai Temple,
located nearby on Bellevue Avenue.
German Jews had arrived in Trenton before the Civil War, and the
congregation had existed in smaller
structures across the city. In 1930 Har Sinai, whose name stands for
"mountain of God,” moved into a new home on Bellevue Avenue. A few German
Jewish families had supported the congregation. Because most members were of German ancestry, all
services were in that language, as well
as Hebrew.
When Mother took us to see the new temple we were awed by the sanctuary
with the ten commandments emblazoned
across the Ark. We saw the organ loft, the social hall and the Sunday school
classrooms. We met the Rabbi, Abraham Holtzberg, who said Har Sinai was
the first and only Reform congregation
in Trenton.
The issue was, however, that we were not German Jews. My mother could
speak German since her town in Poland
was across a bridge from Germany, but this did not suffice. Yet my father was
determined that my sister and I attended Sunday school there. It was the
Depression and the temple was trying to pay off its mortgage. I assume that was why it
eventually decided to accept us as
non-German Jewish members. And so, that began my lifelong affiliation with Har
Sinai, where I was confirmed and
married.
As children, every Friday night we attended services. On Saturdays, we
attended the children’s service and Sundays we went to Sunday School. Later, I
sang in the choir next to the beautiful sanctuary
organ. Rabbi Holtzberg became my mentor in many ways. One Christmas season,
when I asked him if I should sing the carols in school, he said,
"you must have respect for their religion
and expect that they will have respect for yours."
The definition of religion that we learned at Har Sinai was that
religion is based on the relationship of person to person, and through that
relationship, one finds God.
During my life, I have had many high points such as my marriage to Jim
Adams, whom I met during my sophomore at
Radcliffe; the lifelong friends I made while at college; my children, grandchildren and great granddaughter;
obtaining a PhD at New York University; or, becoming a professor and an Associate Dean at City College of New York. Yet, I
always think about being that little
Jewish girl in Trenton.
“Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end.” But they
did. My father died in 1959, and my
mother in 1961. They had the pleasure of seeing me graduate from Radcliffe College, and my sister Estelle from Cornell
University. They saw Estelle and me marry, have successful careers, and have
children to whom they gave the same love they gave us.
Narrative adapted from:
Adams, Ruth Richmond. “Immigrant Pioneers.” The Jewish Magazine, May
2011. <http://www.jewishmag.com/154mag/immigrant_pioneers/immig>
---. “Growing Up Jewish before
World War II.” The Jewish Magazine, August 2012.
<http://www.jewishmag.com/167mag/growing_up_jewish/growing_up_jewish.htm>
---. Memoir in “Class of 1959.” City College Fund.
<http://www.citycollegefund.org/pdf/WhoWho/1959.pdf>
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