Finding Aunt Lottie

Thi is the story of how Aunt Lottie was found and welcomed to the Marks family.

I had found Louis Marks early on, but knew nothing of his siblings, parents etc. As is often the case - Louis was the one who immigrated to America and so his parentage became significantly more difficult to discover. And also was identifying his brothers and sisters. Louis is my great great grandfather.

I began to get some hints and clues that he had a brother Emil. About 5 years ago I had found a newspaper clipping about an Emil Marks, who had been hit by a train and was killed in Oakland, California.





Now I had an inkling that Emil and Louis were brothers. From a naturalization log and their naturalization index cards from 1864, they were suspiciously next to each other in the log, had the same naturalization date and had the same witness at their naturalization "hearing."







And a couple of years later, I found this entry in the 1875 San Francisco City Directory, which discusses a company named "Louis Marks and Bro" and cites both Louis and Emil. Evidence, not proof, but certainly enough for me at that juncture to claim their brotherhood.





So NOW we have brothers Louis and Emil.

A few years later I received an email from Scott Harris, a descendant of Fanny Lust (love that name). He had found a newspaper article that stated that Fanny was suing the railroad company, as she was handling the estate of Emil Marks. Scott had surmised that maybe he and I were related and asked me if I thought that possibly Emil and Fanny were brother and sister. He had heretofore not known anything about Emil or Louis.



So through a bit more research, including California Death Index research, where that index states the name of the deceased's parents as well as the maiden name of the mother - it was discovered that Fanny's maiden name was indeed "Marks" and thus it was likely that Emil and Fanny were brother and sister. Now they could have been cousins as opposed to siblings. Fanny's Death Certificate was acquired by Scott and it showed that her maiden name WAS Marks and that her father's name was Isaac Marks.

We have a lot of clues and what some might call evidence, but nothing really that ties Emil, Louis and Fanny together a little more tightly. Until I found in the past week - an obituary in the newspaper and it was for Emil. 

Now - this obituary confirms the brotherhood of Emil and Louis - but who are Mrs. S Lust and Mrs. I Schudmack, their sisters? Well we know from many types of records that have been accumulated - that Fanny was married to Simon Lust, who coincidentally was also killed by a train. And oh, by the way - Emil and Simon were business partners in the 1860s as we later discovered.

So now Scott Harris and I are definitely cousins! Yippee! But who is Mrs I Schudmack?

The last few days have been filled with research and discoveries about Mrs I Schudmack - is that Lottie Schudmack, who had 7 children, who was married to Isaac Schudmack - and whose children when they died and were cited in the California Death Index had their Mother's maiden name as "Marks"? Oh and the Hebrew inscription on her gravestone translates to her father being named as Isaac Marks?

Yes indeed!

Here is my great great great Aunt Lottie's gravestone, followed by the translation from Hebrew to English.

The translation is as follows:

Here is interred


The woman Leah
the daughter of Reb Aizik
who passed away on the 25th of Adar 2
in the year 5651 from the creation of the world (that's 1891)
May her soul be bound up in the eternal bond of life.

Her Hebrew name was Leah, given name Lottie and father's name Isaac.

Welcome Aunt Lottie Marks Schudmack!

Fanny Lust (What a Name!) is my Great Great Great Aunt! Finally!

Years ago, I was contacted by a gentleman, Scott Harris, who thought that we might be related. He had turned up a newspaper article stating that his ancestor, Fanny Lust (what a name!) was possibly related to Louis Marks, my great great grandfather. You see, his brother Emil was drunk and was run over by a train in Oakland, California in 1889, and Fanny handled his estate. I had already accumulated evidence that Emil and Louis were brothers, but had nothing to show that they were indeed related to Fanny.

Later, Scott produced documents that showed that Fanny's maiden name was "Marks" so we were getting closer.

Years past and nothing new had been discovered - until today.

Today I found the obituary for Emil Marks, and in it is shown that Emil and Louis were indeed brothers, AND that his sisters were Mrs. S. Lust and Mrs. I Schudmack.

Well, sports fans - Fanny was indeed married to Simon Lust who was a colleague of Emil throughout the years.

So... we now "know" that Fanny is indeed Louis and Emil's sister, and even better - we have another sister - Mrs. Schudmack to research!

Here is the obituary for your viewing pleasure.

4 Generations of Fathers to Thank on Fathers Day

I have been blessed with 4 pretty good men to emulate as fathers in the Marks' line of my family tree. Here they are in succession:

This is my Dad, Robert Joseph Marks (1921 - 1992).  He served in the Marines in World War II in the Pacific.  Although he traveled a lot in his business, he was a terrific role model.  He was a great baseball player, created several designs which were patented, loved fishing, always wanted to help people succeed, and was adored by both of his wives.

And this is my Grandfather, Mervyn Raphael Marks (1896 - 1966).  He started the family business and was an extremely hard worker. He was devoted to his wife, my Grandmother.  He had a terrific sense of humor, loved to fish and was one of the kindest men I have ever known.  I never ever saw him get angry.

My great grandfather, Joseph Marks, was born in 1867 and died in 1919.  He was a bit of a dreamer, and ran vaudeville shows, was a stockbroker, and ran a plumbing company. I am not sure, but as a father/husband, let's say that his son Mervyn excelled where Joseph may have not been as attentive. But that is just conjecture

.Great Great Grandfather Louis Marks was the immigrant who started the Marks family in America.  He was born in 1835 and died in 1888. He originally lived in New York City but spent the majority of his life in San Francisco.  He was a gasfitter and was responsible for several interesting inventions and patents.

Thanks to all four of you for setting such a good example of fatherhood and manhood.

Happy Father's Day!

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.

100 Years of Leather and the Tortoise and the Hare

Leather is in my blood.  The family business revolved around leather for approximately one hundred years, manufacturing pocket books, purses, Boston bags, key cases, eyeglass cases and calculator cases, when electronic hand held calculators were first sold en masse starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

My great grandfather, Isidor Heyman started the family business in the 1880s.  In his naturalization papers in 1888, and city directories in the late 1800s and early 1900s in New York, he was identified as a pocket book maker. He received a patent in 1887 for a leather purse:

When he moved his family to Oakland, California in 1910, he started the Bay City Bag Company.  His sons Arthur and Leo worked at the company, and his son-in-law, Mervyn Marks was a salesman for the company.  This company manufactured leather purses.  Arthur learned to sew at his father’s company and later was a clothing designer and a seamster in both World War I and World War II in the Seabees.

Mervyn Marks picked up the family business in the mid-1930s and started the Marks Leather Goods Company.  His sons Robert and Mervyn, Jr. worked at the company. They primarily made key cases in addition to purses.

The company’s big break came during World War II, when it manufactured leather eyeglass cases for Rayban, who was providing sunglasses to the U.S. Air Force.  It was then that the company changed its name to California Optical Leather Company.

The company moved its manufacturing site to Castro Valley, California from Oakland in the late 1940s.  Mervyn Sr and his wife Cele had a home that was attached to the “shop” as it was called.

Robert designed many new eyeglass cases and had several patents, including these:

Mervyn Jr ran the manufacturing facility.  In the late 1950s, the company was bought by the two sons.  Mervyn Jr. left the company in the 1960s and Robert ran and increased the size of the company substantially until it was sold to a non-family member in the 1980s.  Robert was responsible for hundreds of designs.  I would venture a guess that the preponderance of eyeglass cases manufactured in the 1950s through the 1970s were his designs, many times "stolen" by other manufacturers, both domestic and foreign.

There are so many fond memories of the shop, as I worked there during my childhood and teen years.  The smell and feel of leather; operating the massive “clickers’ that stamped metal dies onto the leather and cut the cases, and  the chance to be around my grandparents, Mervyn and Cele every day, as well as  my Uncle Merv and Aunt Jeanne.

But the most important life lesson for me was to learn to be a “tortoise” rather than a “hare.”  As I stood every day at the “shaping” machines next to my grandfather, I always tried to beat him in shaping the most number of cases in an hour.  But like most kids, I fell into the trap of being the “hare,” where for 15 minutes I could out do him, and maybe for a half hour, but at the end of the hour, his production was always greater, as he plodded along, without interruption and without fanfare.

So the smell of leather always produces fond memories of my family.

Batman's Chief O'Hara Eulogy

Actually, the eulogy is for Stafford Repp, the veteran character actor who portrayed Chief O'Hara in the campy 1960's television show and movie. Stafford, who was my father's first cousin, was in hundreds of television and movie roles over his career, and died young in November, 1974.

I remember meeting him just one time.  He lived in the Los Angeles area and our family in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He and my grandfather (Stafford's uncle) Mervyn Raphael Marks were spitting images of one another.

The eulogy was written by Stafford's only sibling, his sister, Elisabeth Repp Cooper, and it is beautifully written:

IN MEMORIAM

Stafford was unique. No one else was quite like him. He had many talents - a gifted actor, a fine singer, and a wit, but most of all, he had a gift for friendship. Like Will Rogers, he never met a person he didn't like or who didn't like him. He was never heard to say an unkind word about anyone. Where most of us see only the faults, he was blind to these and saw only the virtues. His friends were many and from all walks of life - from race track gamblers to TV stars, the most ordinary and the most famous, to him they were all the same, his friends.

He was generous to a fault and never refused to help when help was asked. He was gentle and kind, compassionate as few men are.

He was human, of course, with human faults and virtues, but his virtues were many and his faults few. His temper was short but quick. His explosions of anger were brief and his contrition long.

Stafford loved life. He ate and drank and worked and played with gusto. As Chief O'Hara in "Batman", his face was familiar to children all over the world, and that was as it should be because there was so much of the child in him - the happiness he found in the smallest pleasures, the total honesty, the innocent trust.

He was a loving son, a devoted brother, an adoring uncle, a good husband.

The last day of his life was perhaps one of the fullest. He had what an actor always hopes for, a good role. This one in "Mannix" was a physical and emotional challenge. And like the good trouper he was, he finished the job that very day. And a rare occurrence, his wife was on the set watching the filming. It was their fourth anniversary.

Then, later, he was at the place he always loved, Hollywood Park. And there he died the way he always said he wanted to - at the track with a winning ticket in his pocket. God tapped him on the shoulder and in Stafford's own words, "It was post time at the big race track in the sky."

We should not weep for him. His life was not as long as we would have wished, but it was full with success, with fun, with friendship, with love. We weep for ourselves for the loss of a friend, an uncle, a brother, a husband. We weep for the void he has left in our lives. But we also remember how he brightened each life that he touched, and we will cherish that memory forever.

Did Grandpa Lie To Get Out Of World War I?

I have always wondered about the World War I draft card for my grandfather Mervyn Raphael Marks.  There have always been two things that bothered me about it.

The first bothersome entry was that he identified himself as a "farmer."  The second was that he had sole support of his mother, Mollie Raphael Marks.

Let's take a look at these two "facts."  First, below are the two pages of his draft card:

I'm sorry, but unless I am terribly mistaken, my grandfather was not a farmer.  He was a salesman.  And although his parents according to the 1910 census were not living together (I could not find his father anywhere), I do believe that they were together in 1917 (his father Joseph Marks, died in 1919).

In reviewing the rules for deferment for World War I, about 50% of the men who registered in the first registration (men 21 to 31 years old), received deferments, and sole support of a parent and critical agriculture employment were two factors in receiving a deferment.

So did Grandpa lie to get out of the draft? His son is still alive, but I don't think this would be something that one would be proud to admit to one's son. On the other hand, maybe his parents were separated and he did work on a farm - but I doubt it. I don't think I will ever know. 

Grandma's So Fast She Broke The Typewriter

My grandmother, Celia Heyman Marks, was a whiz at the typewriter.  Because she mostly used manual typewriters all her life (she was born in 1894), she had incredibly strong fingers and hands.

The story goes that at the New York World's Fair in the early 1900s, she broke one of the first electric typewriters (which were first mass produced in 1902) because she typed so fast. On a manual typewriter, I know she exceeded 125 words per minute for an extended period.  I believe the world record is 147 wpm for an hour.

There was much more to my grandmother - she was smart as a whip and loved word games.

Here she is and below her photo is a photo of her typing medal in 1909 from the Wood's Brooklyn School of Business and Shorthand.

On Mother's Day - My Mom - The Heartbreaker!

My Mom, Muriel Williams, would have been 91 this year had she still been alive. This post is for you.

I have 3 newspaper articles from her days at Oakland Tech High School.  Apparently she was a heartbreaker!.

First a photo of her at 17, then the 3 articles:

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  We still miss you.

Is This Louis and Emil's Sister Fanny Marks?

Thanks to my new friend Scott, he provided the photo of the gravestone for Fanny Marks Lust. Now for the $64,000 question - is she the sister of brothers Louis and Emil Marks?  As written in a previous post, Emil lived at her house after her husband  (and Emil's good friend) Simon died.  And Fanny issued a claim to Emil's estate after Emil died.

Hopefully some day we can find proof.

Give em Hell, Dad

My father, Robert Joseph Marks, had a terrific sense of humor.  When faced with an adversary, his motto was "kill them with kindness". He took pleasure in combining humor with getting a dig at someone who was giving him a bad time.

Bill Fiset, the columnist for over 35 years at the Oakland Tribune, who regularly wrote human interest stories, memorialized my father's interaction with the Sequoyah Country Club and Castlewood Country Club in the following story:

Isaac and Carrie Marks Gravestone Found

Thanks to another one of my extended "family" researchers, we have a gravestone photo of my great great uncle Isaac Marks and his wife Carrie Samuels Marks.  It is located at the Hills Of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, California. Scott, who is my connection, got in contact about six months ago after he had found that my great great grandfather, Louis Marks, possibly had a sister name Fanny.

In an earlier post , "New Marks Found - Is Fanny Related?", I discuss that Louis' brother Emil had lived at the home of Fanny Marks Lust and was a close friend to Fanny's husband Simon.  Scott is a descendant of Fanny and Simon, so we are working together to try and prove a connection between Fanny and Louis and Emil.

Scott likes to browse in cemeteries, so was kind enough to look for the Marks family at the Hills of Eternity Cemetery and found Isaac and Carrie's gravestone, took a photo and here it is:

Thank you Scott!

New Marks Found - How is Fanny Related?

I have been in touch over the last 24 hours with a gentleman from Santa Cruz, California. He is the great great grandson of Fanny Marks.  How is she related?  We suspect strongly that she is, but do not know exactly.

Here's the story:

My great great grandfather Louis Marks had a brother Emil Marks.  They were naturalized on the same day in 1864 in San Francisco and died 3 months apart - Louis in December, 1888, and Emil in a train accident in March, 1889.  While researching Emil, I found him in the 1880 census living with a widow, Fanny Lust and her children.  Fanny had been married to Simon Lust, who had died before the 1880 census.  Emil was listed in that census as a Lodger.  Now Emil was found in the 1860 census in San Francisco as a lodger and employed as a cap maker..  Next to him in that census was Simon Lust, also a cap maker.

There is a newspaper article in The Daily Alta California newspaper dated April 17, 1889, published shortly after his death that states that a Fanny Lusk (sp) was attempting to administer Emil's estate, so one would assume that they were related in some way.

Benjamin Lust was one of Fanny Lust's sons. In his mortuary record, it states that his mother's maiden name was "Marks".  Also, one of Fanny's daughters - Carrie, has her mother's maiden name identified as "Marks" in the California Death Index.

So with this evidence, it appears that Fanny and Emil (and Louis) were brothers and sister.  But then again, they just might be cousins.

The search continues!

A Tribute to Mom on Mother's Day

My Mom (Muriel Williams Marks) would have been 90 this year.  I think of her often.  She was friendly to everyone and I think everyone who knew her liked her.  She had no enemies.

Happy Birthday Grandfather

In Oakland, California, on April 1, 1896 my grandfather Mervyn Raphael Marks was born.  A gentle and loving man, I never ever saw him get angry.  Devoted to his wife Celia Heyman, they were married for 48 years until his death in 1966.  He started California Optical Leather Company in the 1930s and it was in the family for about 50 years.  The company still exists today.

I remember working beside him in the "shop" as it was called, doing the same factory job.  I always tried to be faster than him.  Unfortunately I was the hare and he was the tortoise.  His steady style always won out.

Always great memories of my Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Dad and Cousin

Both Robert Joseph Marks (my father) and Linda Crump Platt (my first cousin) were born today on January 27th, in 1921 and 1948 respectively.  Both passed far too early, Dad at age 71 and Linda at age 23 (along with two of her little boys - Gregory and Ralph, and our Great Aunt Ann Lutgens Brodahl - in a house fire.

Happy Birthday to both of you on this day that we remember you fondly.

Joseph Marks Treatment Doesn't Work

My great grandfather - Joseph Marks, died 91 years ago on Sunday  (December 26, 1919) of gastric issues.  Apparently the remedy that he promoted in the advertisement below didn't work.

Christmas 1952

Linda Crump, Judy Crump, Uncle Ed (Santa), John Marks, Kenneth Marks - Santa flashing Judy - nice going Uncle Ed!

Christmas 55 Years Ago

At least Judy is happy!!!

December 7, 1941

Sixty nine years ago today, the US joined the war.  My father, Robert Joseph Marks, joined the Marines a few months later and served in the South Pacific.  As a tribute to him and the millions who were in that war, below is a photo of him at a lighter time during his service.

(Click to enlarge)