The 1940 Census: Reading Between the Lines

As you may have heard, the 1940 United States census records were released to the public earlier this month. It probably isn’t surprising that this new information is exciting for historians, but lots of other people are curious too: two million users tried to access the census records on the first day they were available, crashing the National Archives web site.

Although our historic tenement at 97 Orchard Street was closed to residents in 1935, the release of the 1940 census still means a lot to us, since it reveals so much about the history of 103 Orchard Street, the site of our new Visitor and Education Center. The upper floors of 103 Orchard have been continuously occupied by residential tenants since the building was completed in 1888. We have a lot to learn about the people who have lived there: What did they do? How big were their families? What languages did they speak?

In 1940, Americans were still feeling the impact of the Great Depression, with national unemployment at 16.8 percent. Given this, it makes sense that there were more questions about employment in this census than in those of previous years. Anyone over the age of 14 was asked whether they worked, and specifically whether they were employed by one of three government-sponsored programs: the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Projects Administration, or the National Youth Administration.

A "Test Census" Enumerator at work in 1939; Image courtesy Life Magazine

At 103 Orchard Street, almost half of the heads of household reported that they were employed as proprietors of businesses – things like retail men’s hats, retail men’s clothing, and printing. We know that two of these businesses--Feltly Hats and The Orchard Street Printing Company--were located at 97 Orchard Street in 1940. They were owned by the Hafter and Solomon Families, respectively.

There are other connections between our two buildings: two families residing at 103 Orchard, the Hafters and the Rosenthals, were former residents of 97 Orchard who moved down the block when the building was condemned in 1935. Samuel Rosenthal was once known as Samuel Rogarshevsky; we tell his family’s story on our “Sweatshop Workers” tour.

Sam Rogarshevsky (Rosenthal) in the backyard at 97 Orchard Street
on his wedding day in 1919.

Though he was once an aspiring boxer who nicknamed himself Rocky, by 1940 Samuel Rosenthal reported that we was working as a chauffeur for a mortician, which probably meant he drove a hearse. His wife, Lillian, worked as a “squad leader” for the Dept of Commerce. Their 20 year old son Albert worked as a clerk in a candy store.

We’ve just begun to delve into the amazing wealth of information in the 1940 census, so we’ll have a lot more to share in the months to come!

-- Posted by Director of Curatorial Affairs David Favaloro and Public Relations Manager Kira Garcia

A Broken Ankle and a Twist of Fate: Uncovering the Stories of 103 Orchard

Adina Langer completed an internship at the Tenement Museum in 2008. Below is an excerpt of her final report, which details one of the most interesting stories she discovered in researching the past residents of 103 Orchard Street.

When I started my work on the residents of 103 Orchard Street, I immediately appreciated the foundations laid by my predecessor. Thanks to her work, I already knew that 103 Orchard encompassed what had once been 103, 105 and 107 Orchard as well as 81-83 Delancey street. She had found enlistment records for Italian-born men who were residents of the building in 1942, and Chinese men who lived in the building in the 60s and 70s. But I was especially fascinated by the results of her research into the Surrogate's Court plaintiff records. These records revealed that in 1910, 81 Delancey Street resident Bessie Gold sued the building owner, Joseph Marcus, and his lessee Samuel Appel for negligent upkeep of the building's stairs. Gold contended that their negligence caused her to slip down the stairs and break her ankle, preventing her from dancing in the theater. This resulted in her demotion to the role of a singer, reducing her income.

 Dancers Miriam Carson and Florence Williams were Bessie Gold's contemporaries

Bessie Gold's story immediately fascinated me. Here was a young Jewish woman who lived with her mother Lena in a tenement apartment. Her occupation was listed in the 1910 federal census as “dancer and singer in the theater.” Her mother was a “wardrobe lady.” In 1910, Bessie Gold was 24. She was born in England and immigrated to the United States with her mother in 1887 when she was only 1 year old. By 1910, she was established enough in her new home to try her luck in the city court system and her suit was moderately successful. She recovered a few thousand dollars in damages.

Even before I delved into the surrogate's court records, Bessie and Lena Gold's story sent my mind into fits of wild speculation. Bessie was born in London. Had Lena been an actress in London? What drove her to leave for America without her husband? Bessie spoke English, but Yiddish was her mother's native tongue. Where did Bessie perform? Was it the Yiddish theater? Smalltime Vaudeville? If she hadn’t broken her ankle, would she have played the Palace one day?

Studying the surrogate's court records raised additional questions. Marcus and Appel's counter arguments challenge the severity of Bessie’s ankle injury prompting Bessie to describe her convalescence in detail in the court records. She was confined to her apartment for 15 weeks-- 9 of those weeks spent entirely in bed. Doctor's visits and bills were costly (although she was able somehow to pay them). Gold wore a plaster cast for 16 weeks and after the cast was removed, she bathed the leg and foot in sea salt twice daily and a masseuse came to massage the foot. Nevertheless, her doctor contended that the injury would be permanent. Bessie would never dance in the theater again.

This court case raises interesting questions about common medical practices, resources for small-time actors who lived on the Lower East Side and the spread of knowledge about the American legal system through the immigrant community.

After her modest court settlement, Bessie Gold left the theater permanently and moved out of the building. At the municipal archives, I learned that she married Henry Reissman in 1910. He was a furrier who owned his own business. Together, they had three children, Sidonia, Seymour and Myron. By 1920 they owned a home in Brooklyn-- Lena lived with them. But the 1930 census revealed a family hit by the great depression. Bessie was working as a laborer and Henry as an “errand boy.” Lena wasn’t mentioned. Fortunately, they still owned their home in Brooklyn. Bessie died suddenly of a head injury in 1942. Research into her last will and testament revealed that upon her death, her husband and daughter were still living in Brooklyn but her two sons were on army bases in the South. Seymour was part of the 753rd Tank Battalion in Virgina. Perhaps Myron had inherited his mother's musical talent--he was listed as being part of the NATTO band, based in Memphis Tennessee.

Bessie Gold's family's stories continue after her death. The New York Times revealed that Sidonia was engaged to marry a Private named Rosen later in 1942. Ancestry.com revealed possible death dates and locations for Seymour Reissman and Sidonia Rosen. The researcher who follows me will likely search for Seymour's will in the Nassau County surrogate's courthouse. Sidonia Rosen may have died in Rockville Maryland in 2007. If living descendants are found, the Tenement Museum will make every effort to contact them.

When Gold gave up any dreams of fame in vaudeville, would she ever have dreamed she would become a social historian's subject in 2008? Most likely not. But exactly that quality that makes her story both ordinary and unique gives me hope that she will be woven into future interpretive plans at the Tenement Museum.

--Posted by Adina Langer

Out Harvey Wang's Window

The Tenement Museum differs from most museums in that our collection is displayed in  re-created apartments, rather than galleries. While we've presented temporary visual art exhibits in our storefront windows (and even in the apartments at 97 Orchard Street, back in our early days), the Museum hasn't had a purpose-build gallery space until this fall. This gives us an exciting new opportunity to present new perspectives on immigration, New York City history, architecture and other themes.

We're inaugurating our new exhibition space within the Visitor Center at 103 Orchard Street with "Out Harvey Wang's Window", an exhibition of Lower East Side photographs by Harvey Wang. Below, Tenement staffer Alana Rosen reflects on Harvey's work and our unusual curatorial process.

Harvey Wang, Mr. Wong's Kitchen, 1980

Harvey Wang, a New York photographer and filmmaker, took photographs of the Lower East Side for many years. In our exhibit, we focus on the black and white pictures he took in the 1970's and 80's.  The images feature storefronts and local businesses, activities unfolding in the streets, and portraits of Lower East Side residents.  The pictures aptly represent the diversity, energy, and uniqueness of the LES during that time.  Although the neighborhood has vastly changed over the past 30 years, there is still a deep sense of history, culture, and vigor. 

Harvey Wang, Essex Street, 1979

After I saw the photographs and learned that the staff was developing a gallery guide for the exhibit, I knew I wanted to be part of the project. The exhibit was developed in a very democratic way--staff members from every department voted to decide which photographs would be included. We also answered questions about our reactions to the photos and how we felt they related to the Museum and its mission. These short texts are included in the Gallery Guide we've created for visitors. It was fascinating to hear what my co-workers had to say. I love piecing together the history of those who lived and worked in the Lower East Side, and becoming part of the neighborhood's history myself.

Harvey Wang, Cleveland Place, 1980

The Doors Are Open at 103 Orchard Street!

Today's the big day! We've opened the doors and welcomed the first members of the public to our new Visitor and Education Center at the corner of Orchard and Delancey. The Center gives us 10,000 square feet of additional space, including classrooms, a screening room and our first purpose-built gallery space.

Tenement Staffers Katie Barnard and Rachael Grygorcewicz unlocked the door at 10 a.m., making it official. 

11/11/11 has been appropriately lucky for the Tenement Museum so far, as we've had a smooth transition to 103 Orchard Street.

We think it's a very good sign that everyone felt right at home immediately. Visitors enjoyed leisurely browsing our expanded bookshop, as well as the new gallery space featuring the exhibit "Out Harvey Wang's Window".

Out with the chalkboard, in with technology! Our new ticketing screens show up-to-date tour information and are easier to read, making the check-in process much clearer.

Jennifer Flowers and John Matchett were among the first to pick up tickets at 103 Orchard this morning. Jennifer is a frequent Tenement visitor who loves history. She says the Museum gives a "perfect flavor of New York", so with John in town from Virginia she suggested a visit. He said he'd read about the Museum and it "didn't take much convicing!"

Thanks so much to everyone on staff and of course our wonderful visitors, members and supporters for helping make this beautiful new home a reality. We hope you'll visit us soon!

Our New Face on Delancey Street

Things are busier than ever at the Tenement Museum this fall, so we're dressing up for company: early Monday morning, we put a finishing touch on our new Visitor Center at 103 Orchard Street.

This painted Tenement Museum logo is even legible from the windows of cabs rushing by on Delancey, which should help visitors find their way to us much more easily. It's the icing on the cake for our beautiful new home!

So Much to Celebrate at 103 Orchard Street!

After a year and a half of construction and many more years of planning, we were absolutely thrilled to host our first event at the Sadie Samuelson Levy Immigrant Heritage Center yesterday. Local elected officials, staff and friends of the museum gathered to celebrate a major milestone as we inaugurated the building with a naturalization ceremony for 18 New Yorkers from 16 different nations.

New citizen Istvan Becze with his son; Photo by Mario Tama, Getty Images


The ceremony was officiated by Judge Robert A. Katzmann, who is the son of a refugee from Nazi Germany and the grandson of immigrants from Russia.

District Director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Andrea J. Quarantillo acted as M.C. As she recited the list of nationalities represented in the group (from Ecuador and India to Italy and China), she remarked "16 Nations! That's America, but that's also New York!"  Indeed, it was a wonderful "only in New York" moment.


New citizens pose with their certificates

 

Swedish-born Jonas Malmsten (second from left) with his girlfriend Delethia Ridley and friends Alice Tan Ridley Sidibe and Sean Ridley 

We were joined by New York State Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin, City Council Member Margaret Chin and Controller John Liu, as well as many other supporters and friends who helped make our new Visitor and Education Center a reality.

When the Center opens to the public next month, we'll have an amazing array of new offerings including a new original film about the Museum, an exhibition of photographs by Harvey Wang, a demonstration kitchen and state-of-the-art classrooms. We hope you'll visit our new home soon!

Tenement Museum President Morris Vogel with Museum Founder Ruth Abram

 



Tenement staff members celebrate

 





The New Center at 103 Orchard Makes Room for Our Youngest Visitors

What’s the best way to make a child really, really antsy? We know: Put them outside a store with toys and a bowl of free candy but bar them entry. Watch as the children press up against the store’s windows, licking their lips and hopping up and down on one foot.

This, alas, has been the state of affairs at the Tenement Museum for years. Our Visitors’ Center is too small and crowded for much more than staff and visitors on our public tours. All those school groups we cater to throughout the year have to wait outside, no matter what the weather.

This is why we’re so excited about the opening of our new Visitors and Education Center at 103 Orchard Street! Now schoolchildren get treated with the respect they deserve. They have their own private entrance leading up to the second floor, where they’ll sit in climate-controlled comfort before heading to their tours.

Schoolkids visit the Baldizzi apartment

And down in the basement level: bathrooms. Lots of bathrooms. Enough to satisfy a stadium full of drunk football fans. (Well, maybe not, but still – it’s a lot more than we use to have!) These facilities aren’t the most glamorous aspect of our new home, but they’re awfully important when you’re a third grade teacher presiding over twenty kids who polished off their juice boxes on the bus.

But wait, there’s more! The second floor isn’t a waiting room for kids – it’s a home for our three modern “smart” classrooms. Here the kids can study maps and primary resources projected onto a screen. The classrooms even have Internet access, allowing us to quickly update our activities with the newest research and draw parallels to current events.

We never forget our educational mission, or the needs of the thousands of children who visit us every year. And now, thanks to 103 Orchard Street, we can engage their minds and take care of their basic needs. We’re thrilled – and we know the schoolchildren will be thrilled, too.

A Building With a Past: the Many Lives of 103 Orchard

If you’ve been following the construction of our new visitor and education center at 103 Orchard Street, then you know the interesting history of the building and some of its past tenants. It seems like everything in the Lower East Side has a back story, and 103 Orchard is no exception!

With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that the building has significantly changed over time, evolving from 3 independent old law tenement buildings positioned in the middle of the block into one corner building. Through it all, 103 Orchard Street has witnessed the ongoing transformation of the neighborhood for well over a century, through cycles of boom and bust, expansion and contraction.

What is now 103 Orchard was originally built in 1888 as 103, 105, and 107 Orchard Street. These buildings were located in the center of block, sandwiched between others on each side.

103, 105 and 107 Orchard circa 1888

When Delancey Street was widened in 1903 to create a larger thoroughfare for traffic to the new Williamsburg Bridge, 109, 111, and 113 Orchard Street were demolished, making 107 Orchard Street the corner building.

103, 105 and 107 Orchard circa 1903

The most significant change came between 1913 and 1916 when the front halves of 103, 105, and 107 Orchard Street were combined to create one tenement building. At the same time, the rear halves of all three were demolished, clearing space for a new building to house a branch of the Bank of the United States facing Delancey Street at the rear of the merged lots.

103, 105 and 107 Orchard circa 1913-1916

When Allen Street was widened between 1930 and 1934, the tenements on the other side of the bank were removed, exposing the side wall of the bank and effectively changing the entire neighborhood.

103, 105 and 107 Orchard circa 1930-1934

Once again, 103 Orchard Street is changing, and so is the neighborhood. In July the Tenement Museum’s new Visitor and Education Center will officially open to the public, representing the historical memory of 103 Orchard Street and the ongoing evolution that makes the Lower East Side such an exciting place to be.

A Rendering of the new Visitor Center at 103 Orchard

Update from 103 Orchard: New Technology for Accessibility

At the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, we’re accustomed to peeling back plaster and lath to inspect and date the pipes and wires we find inside. But this month, we’re the ones leaving clues for future urban archeologists.

Threading induction loops through the ceiling at 103 Orchard Street

In preparing our new Visitors Center at 103 Orchard Street, we’re adding all sorts of wires for new technologies. We’ll have “smart classrooms” on the second floor and a high-tech projector in our new cinema space. Most recently, we added several induction loops that will assist visitors who wear hearing aides.

Induction Loops are a technology that uses a loop—really a wire surrounding an area—to create a magnetic signal that hearing aid wearers can “pick up” wirelessly. This signal helps clear up the interference of a busy or crowded room such as our shop and Visitors Center by transmitting sound directly from an audio source to a person’s hearing aid by way of a telecoil or “t-coil” receiver.

In our current Visitors Center, we have induction loops installed at our ticketing and retail counters. In our new space, we will have a loop around the cinema where our film about Lower East Side history plays. A fourth loop will encircle the area where evening Tenement Talks are held. The system is complex, but its result is beautifully simple: vastly improved experiences for every visitor who uses a hearing aide.

At the Tenement Museum, we’re always looking for new ways to improve accessibility and open our ongoing dialogue to as many visitors as possible. To learn more about induction loops, and where else you can find them in New York, e-mail Sarah Litvin, our Education Associate in charge of Access.

An Update on Our New Home at 103 Orchard

Dedicated readers may remember that we posted pictures of the groundbreaking ceremony for our new Visitor and Education Center at 103 Orchard Street last year--on March 30, 2010, to be precise. So how are things progressing exactly one year later? Well, major structural work is now completed, and the interior spaces are beginning to take shape. We’ve uncovered some interesting evidence of the building’s past, including the stories of its residents (to read some of them, click on the “103 Orchard St.” label on the righthand column). And thanks to our talented architects and contractors, we’re excited to say that we expect to open our doors to the public in July!

If you’ve been following the project, you know that our new home will be located directly across the street from our current visitor center. It will have a lot to offer—a demonstration kitchen for culinary programs, a theater, dedicated classroom and gallery space and of course our ticket counter and book shop.

Lana Bortolot from the Wall Street Journal recently toured the new space. Her article discusses the renovation of the building from an architectural perspective, while also explaining the importance of the project for us and the neighborhood as a whole. Click here to read the story.

A vintage sign uncovered during the renovation of 103 Orchard Street will be preserved.

Image Courtesy the Wall Street Journal 

Yu-Hwa Lin of Perkins Eastman Architecture, who previously worked on the rear yard exhibit at 97 Orchard Street, is the Project Architect. He shared some thoughts on the project with us recently.

We develop individual design concepts and strategies for every project at the museum, so the special needs of each one can be fulfilled. I think there is one constant, which is to find and define the very delicate balance between the past and present.

This project has been a personal challenge for me. As a new immigrant to New York who grew up overseas with modern architectural training, I knew almost nothing about early American history and life in New York. I started by learning about the lives of early immigrants so I could put myself in their shoes while planning the space.

103 Orchard was originally three individual adjacent buildings in the middle of the block back in 1880. Over time, the facade of the building was altered and the structure was modified to combine three buildings into one. The design team wanted to create a space that reveals the past, in keeping with the Museum’s mission. We plan to show the evolving history of the building, bearing in mind that what we do today will become part of its history in the future.

Typically, museum design requires very fine detail and material, but that’s not the case in this project. That’s not to say that we don’t want to do the best we can, but the nature of this project requires certain amount of roughness to be revealed so visitors can feel the spirit of the building.

By replacing the existing rundown storefront with floor-to-ceiling windows, we’ll open up the space to create a welcoming atmosphere for visitors. Our goal is that the Center will merge with neighborhood itself, emphasizing that the museum’s work is deeply rooted in its location.

Wijnanda Deroo at Robert Mann Gallery

We just noticed that photographer Wijnanda Deroo has an exhibition entitled "Inside New York Eateries" at the Robert Mann Gallery. You can view some of her photographs here. The gallery show runs through January 29.

Ms. Deroo came to take photographs of the long-abandoned interior at 97 Orchard Street in the late 1980s. We have dozens of her haunting images in our collection - all of which you can see here, in the online photo database. Some favorites are below.

(In our collection we also have some of her images from around the neighborhood, including some of the bathhouse at 133 Allen Street that's now Church of Grace to Fujianese, and several of Becker Locksmith, located in what's now our own 103 Orchard Street, our new visitor center. Our charming handyman, exhibit installer, and jack-of-all-trades Bob, who's lived in the neighborhood for almost 40 years, got his first live-in girlfriend a key to his place there.)

- Posted by Kate

Photograph by Wijnanda Deroo. Collection of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (c) 2010.

Photograph by Wijnanda Deroo. Collection of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (c) 2010.

Photograph by Wijnanda Deroo. Collection of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (c) 2010.

Photograph by Wijnanda Deroo. Collection of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (c) 2010.

Photograph by Wijnanda Deroo. Collection of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (c) 2010.

Don't Block the Box

We at the Tenement Museum have come across a lot of cool artifacts while building our new Visitors & Education Center at 103 Orchard Street. Recently, we found this intimidating relic of old New York:

A probable orphan of Delancey Street directly next to our construction site, the "Gridlock Busters" warning sign carries a cautionary message most of us still have memorized. Still, you'd be hardpressed to find a sign like this on our busy streets today. Perhaps unfortunate, considering how often our intersection at Orchard and Delancey is clogged with cars - maybe we're in need of a mean mascot!

Likely from the late '70s or early '80s when the citywide "Don't Block the Box" program was first implemented, the warning sign was designed to stop drivers from blocking interesections during a red light, just as similar (less menacing) signs do today. Stylized and scary, we can only wonder what motorists feared more: the fine of two points on their licenses or the jagged teeth threatening to chomp down on them.

As the construction process continues, you never know what great, strange time capsules we'll discover next. Make sure to check back to find out!

-Posted by Joe Klarl

Under Construction

Curious what’s going on behind our construction shed at the corner of Orchard and Delancey? Take a look inside:

We hope you are as excited to see the final product as we are!

An Update on the New Visitors & Education Center

Construction continues at 103 Orchard Street, which will house our new visitors' center, education spaces, and auditorium. Through the summer and autumn, the basement and first and second floors will be transformed from this…

 …and this…

…to this:

We will be documenting the construction process, so be sure to check back for updates!

- Posted by Penny

Lost Shoe Found in 103 Orchard

On Thursday, the Tenement Museum’s collection acquired a new object: a worn leather boot found inside of 103 Orchard Street.

The boot was found in the basement by workmen who are renovating the space for our new Visitors & Education Center. The boot, a leftie, is leather and features a zipper on the inside of the shoe.

Shoemakers began to introduce zippers on their products after the technology was patented in 1917. The shoe’s owner could have been involved in one of the commercial businesses located in the first and/or ground floors of the building after that year. (After 1913, no residential units existed on the first or ground floors of 103 Orchard Street.)

While an exciting acquisition for the Museum’s collection, I continue to wonder ‘what happened to the right boot?’

- Posted by Alana

Our Construction Shed Is Up...

You may have noticed a bulky new addition to the corner of Orchard and Delancey Street. Having begun work on our new visitor center, we recently installed a construction shed around the lower floor of the building, which allows work to be completed safely.

But blue plywood is awfully boring. We thought we'd spruce it up a bit. Below - photos from our collection, images of the Lower East Side, and other colorful graphics. Enjoy!

Groundbreaking at Visitors & Education Center

We're so pleased to have formally started construction on the Tenement Museum's new visitors and education center, the Sadie Samuelson Levy Immigrant Heritage Center.

This Center marks a huge step forward for the Museum, allowing us to provide new classrooms for our school groups, an enlarged gathering space for public visitors, a demonstration kitchen, and a larger museum shop. Furthermore, we'll be out of a rental space and into our own building for the first time. That means our visitors and education center should remain at 103 Orchard Street for a long time to come. We couldn't be more excited to start the next chapter.

At the groundbreaking ceremony last Thursday, we were joined by members of the Leon Levy family, who were representing his Foundation; the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs; Museum trustees; and Borough President Scott Stringer. The speakers made remarks about how meaningful our immigration culture and heritage are to New York City. We look forward to having everyone back at our opening ceremonies this fall!

Breaking ground (or wall).

The Borough President makes remarks.

Museum co-founder, trustees, and staff.

The Begecher Family History, Part 3

The story of the Begecher Family, who lived at 103 Orchard Street in the early 20th century, continues below. Read parts one and two. Research and writing by Alan Kurtz. Special thanks to Bowery Boogie.

On December 14th of 1904, five years after his arrival (the minimum time required by law), Marcus became an American citizen, taking the oath at the United States Eastern District Court. His Petition for Naturalization described him as a peddler living at 103 Orchard Street and noted that he could not read or write English but could “read and write the Hebrew language intelligently.” It wasn’t until 1906 that prospective citizens were required to know English.

 

Marcus Begecher’s Petition for Naturalization: his address is 103 Orchard Street

Though much of the 1905 New York State Census has been lost, a hand-copied facsimile dating to the 1940s records the family as Max, Sarah, Ida, Lena, Rosa, Mendel, Sam, and Jackel Bulchecher. Max listed his occupation as peddler, Ida and Lena worked in “ladies wear,” while Sam and Jackel attended elementary school. Rosa and Mandel’s given occupations are not legible.

Five years later, at the time of the 1910 Federal Census, the family still resided on Orchard Street and were enumerated on April 16th under the names Marcus, Sabra, Ida, Max, Rose, Samuel, and Jacob Buchacher. Lilly was living elsewhere. Marcus was recorded as a salesman in a dry goods store, Ida and Rose as operators in a tailor shop, Max as a truck driver, and Sam an office boy. Unfortunately, their apartment number was not recorded. Whether Marcus, Ida, and Rose were still working for their more well-off Bralower relations is not known.

1910 Federal Census record for 103 Orchard Street; the family is listed in the middle.

Two months later, on June 8, 1910 Ida Buchesser, age 23, married Max Katz, a 30 year old widower with a young son, and moved to the far reaches of the Bronx.

At some juncture during the early to mid 1910s, possibly when the building underwent extensive renovation in 1913, the family moved from 103 Orchard Street around the corner to 247 Broome Street. The family surname continued to evolve: Sam would retain the name Begecher, Max and Lilly would adopt the name Schesser, while Jack would somehow morph into Jack Schwartz.

Jack and Lilly

Marcus and Sarah died within one year of each other: Marcus on May 22, 1923 and Sarah on May 12, 1924. They are buried in Acacia Cemetery in Ozone Park, Queens. Though their Death Certificates carry the surname of "Schesser," their headstones are inscribed "Betchesser."

Ida Begecher Katz died on January 24, 1961, having outlived her husband Max by almost 28 years.

Eventually all surviving family members would leave the Lower East Side.

My wife is the granddaughter of Ida Begecher Katz and great-granddaughter of Marcus and Sarah Begecher.

Do you have any information about 103 or 97 Orchard Street? Any memories of the people who lived there? Share them with us! Email press-inquiry (at) tenement . org.

- Posted by Kate