Letters from Germany - 1920 - Ailing Theo Begs for Help

Theodor Braunhart was the youngest son of Alexander and Helene Braunhart. Born in 1898 in Schubin, Germany, our earliest evidence of him in adulthood is a postcard sent from the Ukraine, where Theo as he was called, served as a member of the German Army. After his stint in the Army, it appears that he and his brother Phlipp were together in Berlin.

Below is a letter that Theo wrote to his sister Anna, who was living with her husband Harry and daughter Mildred in Brooklyn, New York.

In the letter, written in 1920, Theo states that he has been quite ill for three years, which would suggest that he became ill while serving as a soldier.

Theo, it seems was ill the majority of his life. He spent many years in the Shanghai Ghetto, and later in Palestine. He contracted tuberculosis later in life, and in his return to Germany after World War 2, was unsuccessful in reconnecting with his wife Lucie.

Below are the 4 pages of the original letter, followed by the English translation.

Translation of above letter. Again, thanks to Matthias Steinke for the excellent translation!

Berlin January 20, 1920

Dear sister Anna!

Luckily, I already received the little package, although it was heavily torn, but I have it.

The package contains:
2 cans fat
2 tins of milk
1 glass of fruit
1 package rice
1 package of coffee (torn)
1 can sardines
1 piece of chocolate

All beautiful things I haven’t seen for already 5 years. So a thousand, thousand thanks for everything. I have everything honestly shared with Philly. Now my dear sister I have to tell you that the box is already in Hamburg, already since the 5th of January, as it was reported to me, but I haven’t it yet, although I already wrote 2 times to the Hamburg-America Line. But finally, it will get it.

Unfortunately, the money which Philly and I really need didn't arrive yet.

I hope you, beloved sister, Harry and your little daughter are alright. You see, I can speak English.

Dear sister, as I wrote in my last letter I do not know how to begin. A job is not available and for 250 per month, I can starve due to the situation here. Now comes something that's hard to write for me because you will probably think, I am unashamed, but that’s not the case. It is not easy for me to write it. I thought if it would be possible, that you and Martha loan me a small asset, so that I can start here a small business, as I already had one with my saved money, but my illness in the summer took everything.

Now my dear Sister so help me God, if you help me, I will work and pay every penny back you give me and already had given. If its not possible what I asking for, the I have to go away from Germany, maybe to Russia or Brazil, because such a life like now I can't and won't continue. I would love to go home, again to the beloved parents and siblings. I haven't seen them for so long. If I go, who knows if I see our dear parents again, because they are no longer young and the time does not stand still.

Dear Anna, I'm broken from all the concerns in the past 3 years, with 22 years ill, maybe forever. My nerves are like twines. so thin from the constant fever, and concern for the daily bread. With the money from you, which I now get, I have to pay my debts at the doctor, pharmacist and others, and then I was sick again.

If you can help me, I maybe will recover. Tomorrow I go to Ben ... Bru ....

God knows I do not like begging, but what should I do?

If the 25 dollars arrive, Philly will get half, as you wanted, and then he went home, I cannot, because I have to play Soldier and I got fed with it.

When I get the box and the money I will write to you.

From Cilly I had a letter in which she wrote that she received a letter from you. Carl, Hedwig and the children are well.

So, I don’t know what else to write.

Again many thanks for everything, greetings to Harry, your child, Martha, Bernard and their children, you yourself also receive warm greetings and kisses from you brother

Theo

Don’t be angry because of the letter.

Letters from Germany - 1939 - Philipp Denied Escape

Below is a letter from Philipp Braunhart and his family, wife Else, children Horst, Bernhard, and Gisela, as well as Else's brother Theodor to Philipp's sister Selma Braunhart, who had previously escaped Germany to reside in England. The letter refers to Philipp's escape via the Japanese steamship Kasima Maru, which had a planned voyage from Naples, Italy departing on October 8 of 1939. Apparently, according to the letter, Philipp had booked passage on that ship, which was bound for New York City.

I researched that particular voyage, and it did arrive in America on October 16 1939. However all the passengers were Japanese refugees, who were fleeing Europe as the war had already started. Sadly, Philipp was denied boarding on the ship, and as we know and have written about, Philipp was later killed in a Nazi concentration camp at Sachsenhausen.

Below are the three pages from Philipp and family to his sister Selma, followed by the English translation.

The following is the German to English translation. Even in tragically harsh times, the mood seemed happy.

Sammy - Calm Down Before You Kill Somebody

My favorite ancestor, Samuel Braunhart, who was my great great great Uncle, was known for his scrappy, feisty, and often obnoxious behavior. A spokesman for the every man while in the State Senate and State Assembly of California or the Board of Supervisors for San Francisco, he was often getting into trouble with his colleagues.

This demeanor served him well, I guess, in that he was often able to get his principled stances on various issues articulated, but he didn't make too many friends along the way.

He almost got into a physical altercation in more than one instance at a Board of Supervisors meeting and was arrested for perjury in a meeting of the State Assembly. He was exonerated and after three days, returned to his fervent oratories in the assembly hall.

Just recently, while searching old newspapers, my favorite family history research activity, I discovered the article below, which was published in the Sacramento Daily Union newspaper on August 31, 1870. While living in Santa Barbara, California, apparently he got into a dispute with a physician.

The clipping below describes the altercation. Sam, who was not an imposing fellow at all, resorted to pulling a pistol to make his point:

Letters from Germany - 1919 - What Happened to Moritz?

Moritz Braunhart was the oldest child of Alexander Braunhart and Helene Baszynska Braunhart - at least that is what we think. There is no absolute proof that he was the oldest but it sure seems the case.

This is what we do know about Moritz. He was a soldier in the German army in World War 1. When he returned it appears that he was living in Leipzig and we have no reason to believe that he left there and likely lived the rest of his life there. From letters he mentions (or his relatives mention) his wife - although we do not know her name. There is no mention of children. But we have a binder full of untranslated letters from his sister Anna, who immigrated to America in 1909 and lived her life in Brooklyn, New York. So possibly there will be some clues in those letters. Let's hope so!

Furthermore, we know from family stories, that Moritz was a morose individual and likely suffered from depression. In any case, rumor has it that there was a divorce and that he committed suicide. Let's hope that we can present some positive stories about Moritz and that further information can be found.

Below is a gallery of some photos of Moritz - in the army, with his fellow work colleagues, with 2 photos with his wife on vacation (at least we think that it is his wife.) And more importantly, below the photo gallery is a letter that he wrote to his parents in 1919 - the original and the translation.

And very many thanks to my new friend in Germany - Matthias - who was kind enough to translate the letter.

Moritz - Back Row - 3rd from Right - 1917

Moritz - Front Row - 3rd from Right - 1915

Moritz - Front (Above X) - Leipzig - 1921

Mortiz on left - with parents and brother Jacob

Mortiz and wife

Mortiz and wife

Translation of above letter. Again, thanks to Matthias for the excellent translation!

Leipzig, the 17th September 1919

My beloved!

I got your last letter, dated the 8th of this month a few days ago.
To your reassurance I can inform you, that your assumptions
about my well-being are irrelevant. I don’t know, what I have written in my letters
that you came to such conclusions. I am certainly in general
quite well and I am still in my old job at Althoff.

However, I am thinking about a change, because I want to earn more money.
I read also the other information you sent.
I also don’t hear from Berlin very often.
Maybe I'm on business next week in Berlin.

The carpet I acquired for you at that time costs today ......
each M.(Mark) 1000, - and the rugs at least 75, - each.
You can send me a copy of the certificate occasionally
and I will make inquiries then.


On this occasion, get my deepest and most sincere congratulations
for the upcoming change of the year.
May you getting the coming year and everytime only good and enjoyable things.
If it is possible for me, I want to visit you soon, only getting a passport causes many
difficulties.

Write again soon and be heartily greeted.

By your good son and brother


Moritz

So Moritz - we know little of you and we expect you to show yourself soon - either in more letters, documents of your death and marriage, and maybe even a new photo or two.

Letters from Germany - 1919 - Before Forced Emigration

The following is a letter from Alexander Braunhart, living in Schubin, Germany to his daughter Anna, who had immigrated to America in 1909 and at the time of the letter was living in Brooklyn, New York. It was just a short time after this letter that the last Braunhart and their entire family was forced out of their ancestral home in Schubin to live in Berlin.

Alexander Braunhart

Anna Braunhart

The handwritten German version is presented first, followed by the letter translated from German to English.  The translation is limited due to the poor handwriting in Alexanders' original letter.

Original Letter from Alexander Braunhart 23 September 1919 Page 1

Original Letter from Alexander Braunhart 23 September 1919 Page 2

English Translation of Letter from Alexander Braunhart 23 September 1919

It is obvious from this letter, that conditions in Schubin had diminished to the extent, that living there was no longer an option for the remainder of the Braunhart family.

The Most Courageous Ancestor

Philipp Braunhart was the fifth son of Alexander Braunhart and Helene Baszynzka Braunhart.  He was born in Schubin, Germany on December 19, 1891.  It is highly likely that his given name when he was young was Bernhard.  In a family photo taken in 1903 or 1904 he was labeled with the name Bernhard.   This can be seen here on the left in the young man in the back center of the family photo. Also, in his Uncle Samuel's will, there is no Philipp, but a nephew Bernhard who was left part of Samuel's estate. Alexander and Samuel's brother Bernhard Braunhart died in 1890, about a year and a half prior to Philipp's birth and it is possible that he was named after his uncle.



Not much is known of Philipp's childhood.  He married Else Schmalenbach, possibly in 1924.  His first child, a son, was born in October, 1925.  Both Philipp and Else were tailors.  When Philipp presented Else to his parents, they were not pleased, as Else was not Jewish as were the Braunhart family.  It is not known whether Philipp and Else were married in Schubin or Berlin.  Most of the Braunhart family had moved to Berlin in the 1920s or had immigrated to America.


In November, 1938, Philpp and Else's tailor shop windows were destroyed during the  Reichskristallnacht  like so many other Jewish businesses.



Philipp's greatest act of courage came a few short years later. There is much written about the Nuremberg Laws, which attempted to define who was a Jew and who wasn't.  Furthermore, there is much ambiguity about forced divorce between German non-Jews and German Jews.  Else, of course was not Jewish and Philipp was. Their children were classified as Mischling, or mixed-blood.

When confronted by the Gestapo, they were informed that if they did not divorce, then Philipp and all three of their children were to be taken to the camps. Philipp made the decision to save his children and agreed to a divorce from Else.  It is not known as to custom, whether Philipp or Else was the person agreeing to the divorce.  In either case, the decision would have been the most traumatic decision of either of their lives.

Else subsequently married Heinz Helwig, a nice and warm person, who thus took the responsibility of raising the children.  Else lived to the age of 81, passing on November 23, 1983.

Philipp and Else's courageous act tragically meant a death sentence for Philipp.  He was taken from Berlin to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, where he was murdered on July 6, 1942.  He has a burial gravestone at  Weissensee Jewish Cemetery in Berlin.

A Party for Lewin Jacob Braunhart

Our patriarch Lewin Jacob Braunhart had a long and illustrious career.  He was honored by his colleagues and friends along with his wife Wilhelmine Zadek Braunhart on the occasion of their 65th wedding anniversary, commonly known as the iron anniversary.

Below is a newspaper article written in the Die Deborah newspaper, which was the most important German-Jewish newspaper in its time.  The newspaper existed from 1855 through 1902.

This article about the Braunharts was published in January, 1901.

An English translation has just been done. In essence, the article states:

"The former teacher Braunhart, born on the 4th of February 1806 in Schubin, celebrated with his wife, who is  only a few years younger,  the rare event of the iron wedding anniversary. Friends and well-wishers formed a committee to organize a tribute for the couple. The evening of  the ceremony to honor their marriage was intended to be as nice as possible, as the couple themselves live a rather simple life. Mr. Braunhart, who initially wanted to become a rabbi, did study in Berlin for some time, where he enjoyed classes with Bunz, Eduard Gans and Heinrich Heine as a student of the Institute for the Study of Culture and Science. After some years in London, Liverpool and Bordeaux, he returned to his homeland and city of his birth, graduated as a teacher, and started to work at the Jewish school of Schubin in the year 1835. For his 50th jubilee as a teacher, he was awarded the royal eagle medal. The old man is relatively healthy, despite being completely blind for eight years."

The Surreal Photo of the Braunhart and Brunn Wedding

With complete reverence and respect for the participants in this wedding, especially Frieda Braunhart and Salo Brunn, the bride and groom, I have to say that this is quite the surreal wedding photo.  The photo was taken at their wedding in Berlin, Germany on May 12, 1926.

It reminds me somewhat if one can use their imagination, of the album cover for the Beatles' famous Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.  It almost looks like some of the photos were pasted in, as in the album cover.

Hopefully some of the activities of the day created some happiness, as the participants do not look like they are having a great time. 

So let's identify who we can.  The bride is easy to pinpoint and she is of course Frieda Braunhart.  Next to her is her groom Salo Brunn. All the way to the left is the infant Horst Braunhart, in the lap of his mother Else Schmalenbach Braunhart, and behind Else her husband Philipp Braunhart.   In the middle of the photo (next to the bald man with his eyes closed, and behind the bride), is Frieda's older sister Selma Braunhart.  The bald man with his eyes closed is Frieda's brother Carl Braunhart, and next to him is his wife Hedwig Bukofzer Braunhart.  Directly behind Hedwig is another of Frieda's brothers, Theodor Braunhart.  The gentleman who is to the left of Selma Braunhart is Salo's brother Leo Brunn, and the gentleman way to the right who also has a bowtie on is another of Salo's brothers, Maurice Brunn.  Finally, next to Salo is his mother Frieda Brunn.


With appreciation to Miriam Brunn Matranga for providing this photo, and to Stuart Matranga for scanning it.

Izzie Invented What? A Tribute to Isidore Heyman

Isidore went to his room and didn't reappear to the family for THREE days.  At that time in the late 1940s he was living with his daughter Mynette Heyman and her husband Henry Pound and their son Clyde.  When Isidor came out of his room with a huge grin on his face, he displayed for the family a necktie with an exchangeable knot that could be easily changed out as the wearer wished.  The clip-on tie was invented in Clinton, Iowa in 1928 - but this may have been the first exchangeable knot-based tie.  Who knows?

Isidore Heyman was my great grandfather. He was the only one of my great grandparents who was alive when I was. I do not remember him at all, except for a vague memory that he smelled funny. He died when I was only eight years old.

For some reason, for the past few years as I have been researching his history and stories, I have come to call him "Izzie," so as a nickname that he probably either never heard or didn't like, I will use that moniker fondly throughout his story.

Izzie was born in Posen, Prussia in 1866. Unfortunately I have not been able to pinpoint the exact city or town of his birth.  According to a marriage record, his father's name was Hyman Heyman, and his mother was Caroline. The marriage record states that her last name was "Bufsky" but I believe that it was a phonetic spelling. For some reason, yet to be proven, I suspect that her last name was Jacobowsky.

He immigrated to America in 1882 as a 16 year old young man. There is a very fuzzy story that his family were furriers, but there is no evidence of that as yet.

Ernestine Bernstein became Izzie's wife on July 19, 1893 in Manhattan.  Ernestine was the very first female Braunhart to have immigrated to America. She did so at age 17, unaccompanied and unmet at the Port of New York, in 1888.

Ernestine and Izzie had six children - Robert, for whom my father is named, died as a youngster from tuberculosis prior to 1910. Celia Heyman, my grandmother, was the oldest, followed by Martha, Arthur, Leo and Wilhelmine (who changed her name to Mynette because she hated her first name - and wasn't too fond of Minnie either).

Izzie was a very creative sort and had many interesting occupations. Early in his life in New York, he was a pocketbook manufacturer and registered a patent in 1887 for a leather coin purse. Throughout his life he was involved with leather goods manufacturing.

He sued the Eastern Brewing Company in 1898. He drove their horse drawn "beer wagons," and stopped another beer wagon with its horses out of control from running over a family. He was dragged for quite a distance and suffered many scratches and scrapes, as well as needing surgery on his skull. He carried the large indent in his head for the rest of his life.

Various other occupations included owning and operating a fish market, as well as operating a nickelodeon theater, where his daughter played the piano during the screening of silent movies.

The Heyman family moved to Oakland, California in 1910. Ernestine's mother, Sara Braunhart Bernstein, and Ernestine's brother Max had previously moved to California in 1906, shortly after the death of Samuel Braunhart, the politician.

Izzie owned a pool hall initially after moving to California, and then his creativity took over. He invented the metal stairs that came out of the trains as steps for passengers to embark or disembark. Unfortunately, he was not a great businessman and after showing his invention to Southern Pacific, they promptly had someone else manufacture them, and Izzie received nothing.

Back to his roots, Izzie formed the Bay Cities Bag Company. He invented the valise hinge that was used in doctor's bags, and was also used for many years in men's grooming kits. Below is a photo of the hinge, patented in 1921:

Izzie ran the Bay Cities Bag Company for nearly two decades, manufacturing leather purses, Boston bags and other miscellaneous leather items. He retired in the late 1930s and his leather goods business soon became a new business founded by his son-in-law Mervyn Marks. That company, California Optical Leather Company, existed for another 40 years under the tutelage of my grandfather Mervyn and his two sons, Robert and Merv Jr.

Izzie's sweet wife Ernestine died in 1944.  Izzie became an excellent whist card player and probably spent the last 11 years of his life dreaming up new ideas.

The Memorable Seventeen

The Braunhart family patriarch and matriarch Lewin Jacob Braunhart and Wilhelmine Zadek Braunhart had four children, Bernhard, Samuel, Sara and Alexander. Between these four - twenty one grandchildren were born, and 17 lived to adulthood.

What are some facts about the 17?

• One lived his life in a mental institution
• One committed suicide
• One was nearly murdered at his business
• One escaped the Nazis by traveling to Shanghai and Palestine
• One escaped the Nazis by traveling to England
• One was born in California
• Two were murdered in Nazi concentration camps
• Two were in the German army in World War I
• One was in the American army in World War I
• 11 immigrated to America
• Two never married
• Two were tailors
• One owned a hardware store
• One owned a barber shop
• One owned a bicycle shop in Germany and America
• One was a gambler
• One was a cook in a convalescent home
• One owned a dry cleaners
• Only one stayed in Germany after World War II
• The first to immigrate to America was a seventeen year old girl - all by herself with no one to meet her at her destination.

Every one of these 17 had a story.

Their names, in order of birth date (from 1870 to 1902):

• Ernestine Bernstein
• Max Bernstein
• Amalie Bernstein
• Cecelia Bernstein
• Hedwig Bernstein
• Moritz Braunhart
• Jacob Braunhart
• Martha Braunhart
• Julius Braunhart
• Harry Braunhart
• Carl Braunhart
• Cecelia Braunhart
• Anna Braunhart
• Philipp Braunhart
• Sara Selma Braunhart
• Theodor Braunhart
• Frieda Braunhart

Every one of these 17 matters.  Every one of these 17 deserves to be remembered. 

Documenting their lives and their stories is why family history research is so important - in EVERY family.  If we don't, who will?

A Tribute to Lilly

I have never met any of my Braunhart ancestors.  The only person older than my grandmother Celia Heyman Marks who I met, was Celia's father Isidor Heyman, who was married to a "Braunhart" - Ernestine Bernstein. Ernestine died in 1944, two years before I was born. She was the granddaughter of the Braunhart patriarch and matriarch Lewin Braunhart and Wilhelmine Zadek Braunhart. I was too young to make much sense of what Isidor had to say and I didn't see enough of him to develop much of a relationship.

All I know about these ancestors are the stories that have been told and the letters that are nearly a hundred years old that we have had translated.

I have posted often about my great great great uncle Samuel Braunhart, who was beyond feisty, and his convictions coupled with his "loud mouth" often got him in trouble. But he was an honorable man who cared for the "little people." If anyone happened to know both Sam and myself, it would be quite easy to make a connection between our two personalities.  So I am quite drawn to his story and his exploits.

Yet, there is one more Braunhart (of many) that I would loved to have met - and that is Lilly Braunhart.  Lilly was the daughter of Julius Braunhart and his wife Dorka Asch Braunhart. Julius has been identified as brilliant, but also a gambler who deserted his family. Dorka, Lilly, and Lilly's younger brother Lothar, escaped from Germany and were refugees in Shanghai. After ten years, they left Shanghai, then spent part of their time in New York City, but soon moved to San Francisco, the place of my birth.  The unfortunate thing is that I was alive for over 20 years that Lilly and I were both in the San Francisco area.  And we never met, since I didn't know anything about the Braunhart family.

Lilly was a very smart lady.  She left New York City, because her relatives did not understand that she wanted to use her brain in any chosen vocation. I do not know if her brother Lothar and her mother Doris (as she was known) were already in San Francisco when Lilly moved there but they lived together until Lilly married her second husband.

Lilly was married twice - first to a journalist, Alexander Hoorin, who was in Shanghai with her, until Alexander was captured by the Japanese during World War II. Nothing is known about the circumstances of their divorce, but it appears that they were married less than five years. Lilly was also not married for very long to her second husband Jack Rains - it appears that it was less than three years.

Lilly was quite involved with the group of Shanghai survivors who met often. She was educated as a statistician, a rare occupation for a woman in the 1950s. She worked primarily for non-profit and charity organizations, such as the Jewish Relief organization and the United Bay Area Crusade (a precursor to the United Way). From a letter that Lilly wrote in 1984 about her career - "I was able to always make a good living in my field of statistical analysis. That is with the exception of the time after I arrived in New York, when several of my relatives pushed me into jobs which were underpaid. When I started out in San Francisco, my first salary was more than double of the one with which I ended up in New York. Aside from good money, these jobs I held (there were only two over a period of 23 years) offered prestige. Well, the time I lived in New York wasn't one I like to think about. Being an independent person, I hated to be told what to do, but some of the relatives never gave up to do just that."

Lilly was one of the few "Braunharts" that kept in touch with Theodor's widow Lucie Braunhart, who remained in Germany after the war and after her husband died in 1951. From a letter that Lilly wrote in 1983 - "As to Aunt Lucie, I am truly the only one who seems to care about her. Aunt Selma had been the other one. The rest of the family behaved badly and never showed any appreciation for the many sacrifices she made on behalf of the old father and all the Jewish relatives who stayed and later were killed in Germany. She was separated from her husband for 10 years, so that someone stayed behind to look after the old father. When he died, she could no longer leave Germany.  This is quite a story and cannot be told in a letter."

She owned a home quite near the ocean near the Presidio and lived there until she passed in 1997. Lilly was a smart, independent woman, who lived her own life.  Definitely a woman I would have loved to have known.

I Traveled to America - and Didn't Stay

Why didn't Alexander Braunhart stay in America? Alexander traveled to New York City from his home in Schubin, Germany twice! His first trip was May of 1881 and the second was February of 1882.

His brothers Samuel and Bernhard were living in California at the time, Samuel in San Francisco and Bernhard in San Bernardino. Is it possible that they didn't travel to New York and Alexander was alone? He had no other relatives to meet him at the port.

He had his wife Helene and sons Moritz and Jacob at home in Schubin. Was he scoping out America to possibly have his family immigrate? Perhaps we will never know.

Another Braunhart who visited and did not stay was Theodor's widow Lucie Braunhart. Theodor had escaped to Shanghai in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Theodor was of course Jewish, but Lucie was not. Lucie stayed in Berlin to take care of Alexander during the Nazi reign. She hid the old man from the Nazis until he died in 1941. Because of the Japanese blockade, Theodor traveled from Shanghai to Palestine and unfortunately contracted tuberculosis and suffered from malnutrition. After the war, he returned to Germany to find Lucie. Because of his poor health, Theodor finally succumbed in 1951.

Lucie stayed in Berlin for the rest of her life. As of this posting, we do not know her date of death, but she regularly corresponded with her niece Lilly and the last correspondence was dated in 1984.

Lucie traveled to New York City in October of 1956. No one alive today in America remembers her visit. She is remembered by Philipp Braunhart's granddaughters in Berlin as a woman with a great sense of humor and that she was well-liked.

Perhaps someday we will know why Alexander and Lucie traveled to America and why they returned home. For Alexander, it was likely especially difficult to have half of his children in America and half in Germany.

Heck of a Job - Sammy (The Landlubber Port Warden)

Remember right after Hurricane Katrina hit and leveled New Orleans in 2005?  Michael Brown was in charge of FEMA and was complimented with the phrase "Heck of a job, Brownie" by President Bush.  Formerly Mr. Brown was the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association.

It was obvious at that time that Mr. Brown was unqualified to be placed in charge of FEMA.  But this happens all the time in politics.  Politicians feel that they owe favors to those who are their cronies, or who have helped them in the past.

This happened in my own family. Samuel Braunhart, my great great great uncle - who was also the venerable politician from San Francisco, was appointed Port Warden of the Port of San Francisco by then Governor Budd.  There were three Port Wardens on the Board and two of the three were supposed to be Master Mariners.

Samuel Braunhart was NOT a master mariner, or a junior mariner or a mariner of any shape or form.  In fact, I believe that the only time that Sammy was on a ship or boat was in the early 1860s when he immigrated to America, definitely a challenging voyage, but not one as a passenger that qualified him for any political appointment relating to shipping.

As evidenced by the article below, it is obvious that Sammy was a landlubber.

Surprise Ending After Pool Hall Shooter Almost Kills Uncle Max

Max Bernstein, my great great uncle, had a number of mishaps in his life.  Born in Schubin, Germany in 1873, he came to America in 1890 and settled in New York City.  After his uncle Samuel Braunhart, the San Francisco politician, died shortly after being injured in the Great Earthquake and Fire, he moved, along with his mother Sara Braunhart Bernstein to California.

First of all, Max, who was one of the two executors of his Uncle Samuel's will, was so eager to take charge of his uncle's body, that he forgot to check if Sam was indeed....dead!  The newspaper article below describes the embarrassing situation:

After settling in Oakland (actually in what today is Emeryville), Max bought a pool hall and ran it for several years.  His first brush with trouble was in 1913, when he was arrested for allowing underage boys to partake in the entertainment found in early 1900s pool halls.

Although trained as a barber, Max hung in there with his pool hall until he decided to sell it in 1916. The new owners ended up not being too happy with the terms of the sale, as the wife of the new owner took matters into her own hands and attempted to murder Max.

This is where the surprise ending comes into this story. The woman, Ellen Stewart, shot at Max four times and wounded him.  When the Police chased her, she then took a vial of poison in the street and dropped dead on the spot.  Here's the article describing the traumatic events of the day - but keep reading.  Wait until the husband finds out!

When the husband, Horatio Stewart found out about the goings on, he, with great deliberation and planning, took his own life the next day.

Max retired to his barbering, lived with his mother Sara until her death in 1930, and passed away suddenly in  Lakeport, California in 1932.  He never married.  And so ends Max's saga.

Braunhart's Tropical Sauce Doesn't Prevent Suicide

Bernhard Braunhart, the very first Braunhart to come to America (in 1857), settled in Southern California in San Bernardino.  He married Rosa Levison in San Francisco in 1884.  They had one son, Harry Braunhart, born in 1885.  Unfortunately Harry was committed to a state hospital for the mentally incompetent for most of his adult life.

Ben, as Bernhard was called, had several businesses, including saloons and grocery stores in San Bernardino.  He created an elixir called "Braunhart's Tropical Sauce" and won an award at the very first San Bernardino County Fair in 1880.

This sauce was sold by him in his stores and after his death in 1890, it continued to be manufactured and sold in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego for over 25 years:

Unfortunately for Ben, sales of his"Tropical Sauce"and business failures led to marital problems and ultimately to his death by suicide in 1890.

It is surmised that my great great great Uncle suffered from depression and possibly his mental woes were passed on to his son.  Perhaps we will never know.