Our Brody family lived in Ward 2 of Youngstown Ohio, according to the Census and the house number is 36 Hine St. The family had recently arrived from the old country and settled into this space full of hope and promise. Youngstown was an industrial powerhouse in its day.
Not the grandest of locations, there had to have been great smoke and noise pollution with the major railroad exchange and the Republic iron and Steel Company just 2 blocks over. I can’t imagine that there was any bathing in the Mahoning.
This neighborhood is long gone. In 2025 satellite imagery the transformation is evident. The mill works on river’s edge was decimated as the Great Depression precipitated a Rust Belt. Most of the train tracks and all of the row houses have returned to earth.
The 1920 Federal Census shows the Brody family moving North of it all into new surroundings: 227 Fairgreen Lane. Progression. There Arthur Brody and wife Ida shared a duplex with sister Laura Brody Harrison & Max Harrison adjacent. Anna Brody Robins & Sam Robins lived on the other side of the street (231?) and Jacob Brody & wife Jennie obliquely across at the corner. The street view in 2025 depicts an vacant lot where the house once stood. I’m sure the Brody residence was a near copy of the [green] duplex dwelling in the street view next door to the now empty lot.
Even grander, in 1928 the Arthur Brody family moved to a home of their own up on the hill by a few blocks but still near. From meager beginnings in an industrial zone to a warm happy family enclave they’ve done well.
Eventually, Youngstown, for the offspring, was but a memory as surroundings and new opportunities beckoned as we too can visually imagine some of the memory in Youngstown.
Source: Windows Letters to Ayla by Jean Zipp 2014 pg. 7-8 (Memoir)
The name is all that we had. The only intel passed down from 1st generation to the 2nd was this name and that as Fannie M’s first husband he had sired a child and then shortly thereafter became no longer relevant. The parents had divorced early without scuttlebutt.
We will never know the full back story; for everyone with firsthand knowledge has passed on. Family who with meaningful curiosity that asked about their grandfather were either stymied or didn’t press the issue. All had lived happily thereafter with an adoptive loving father/grandfather but as for Abraham Hellman we, in the moment, want to know more. Genealogically speaking, who was this man, our flesh and blood and what happened to him?
Other than his name, the spelling of which isn’t certain, we can surmise that he was of similar age and background as Fannie. Our Nannie Fann (1900-1986) immigrated from the Russian Empire at the age of 6 with her parents Hyman and Dora Morris and younger sister Rose. They settled in Pittsburgh. Hyman Morris died 3 years hence.
19 JUN 1921 Pittsburgh Press (pg. 59)
Our first recorded discovery is a marriage announcement in the society section. Although a good strong start there are vagaries with the Groom. Mr. & Mrs. H Helman of Pittsburgh doesn’t provide much of an investigative lead and Helman is a spelling variation right off the bat. Not that Hellman is a common name, it isn’t unique in the county area, but apart from the news clipping there are no Helmans (with one L) to be found… a quick end to that course of search.
Hellman, Helman, Hellmann, Helmon — the surname takes several forms. Ultimately we amateur genealogists choose the spelling from consensus of available sources and certificates.
Browsing sources for other potentially promising candidates turns up one Abraham Hellman (1898-1956) with vital statistics that fit the scenario e.g. age and locale, save for the spelling and parents, Mr & Mrs. J Hellman that are contrary to the above narrative. Is the wedding plans snippet grossly inaccurate or are we only hoping that our new Abraham find fits the puzzle. A goose chase. Without further corroborating evidence there is not a definitive connection between Fannie M and this Abraham.
The Pittsburgh Press (pg. 1) 31 JAN 1912
Here is Abraham as a lad on a city streetcar making front page story news. If this is our guy he survived the accident. No linkage here, just a remarkable story.
Follows is another published story further along:
The Pittsburgh Press (pg. 8) 9 JAN 1923
Another unfortunate happening 10 years on, Abraham Hellman and business partner Hyman Greenblatt are insolvent. Their National Grocery Company has failed — 2 years into Nannie’s marriage.
Sadly for family but lucky for we researchers this next bit is discovered. A Deed transfer in the borough of Coraopolis Lot No. 115 in a subdivision and within the same month’s timeframe. It’s clear that the business partners have raised funds to pay creditors.
Allegheny County – 22 JAN 1923
The names are telling. We have now linked Fannie M with Abraham by way of Grantors Hyman and Bessie, and Grantee, Jacob Hellman. Jacob Hellman has received their property for $1 OVC. He happens to be Abrahams father. A shared address will confirm this.
We have ordered received a copy of the original marriage certificate from public records. Depending upon the success and speed of bureaucracy we should soon confirm what we think we have discovered.
The newspaper’s wedding plans announcement has been verified to be incorrect. The surname is Hellman and not Helman. The parents name is Mr. and Mrs. J Hellman and not Mr. and Mrs. H Helman as printed, Jacob being Abraham’s father’s given name.
Abraham declared his [1921] address to be 136 Wooster St. but the [1920] census records place Abraham on 624 Washington St. (They moved) Subsequent City Directories and Census records place Jacob and Clara in that Wooster household too.
Abraham listed his Mother’s name as Ida. However, all other records only speak of Clara. Clara Hellman’s 1946 obituary calls Abraham, her son. It seems as though Chaya –> Ida was a very common name and many times Ida was dropped for a fashionable name (during peak immigration era) like Clara . Mother or Stepmother? There is more work to be done.
Abraham Hellman — ghost no longer, we have background story and previously unknown [to us] great grandparents newly discovered as well.
Norman J Strombotne (1925-1975) was born at home. Grandmother Strom was assisted by a midwife something that is fairly uncommon in today’s world.
In 2021, midwives attended approximately 12% of all births in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This figure reflects a growing trend in midwife-attended births in recent years, with the majority occurring in hospital settings, though some take place in homes or birth centers. For earlier context, a 2009 study noted that midwives delivered 8.1% of U.S. babies, with 12.1% of vaginal births attended by midwives. State variations are significant, with New Mexico reporting the highest rate in 2009 at 24% of all births.
Original Certificate
Also unusual is Norman’s middle name with the initials J. A. S. — The above form field wasn’t long enough to spell it out.
Middle names were sometimes used to honor additional relatives. For example, a child might be named Jens Peter Hansen to honor both a grandfather (Jens) and another relative (Peter).
Might “J” stand for Johan (Johan Jacob Christophersen – paternal Grandfather) and “A” pay ohmage to Axel (Axel August Randrup – maternal Grandfather) I am at a loss for the letter “S” unless the recorder misunderstood and it was meant to be S as the first initial of the surname.
Compounding the perplexity is the following, an amended certificate in 1943.
Revision 2 (note the corrected spelling for Else)
Norman’s middle name is changed. Who chose it and why? As to the when, the timing coincided with WW II. Norman had become of age (18) and in the 2 months following this fresh document he readily signed up with the Army Air Force to fulfil his service to country. Had the Draft Board balked at the middle name – initials J.A.S.? Too unusual? Wouldn’t fit the government form?
Grandmother Strom by then living in Cheyenne, Wyoming must have gone through some degree of effort to effect this change considering that El Paso, Texas was long in the past and far away. Looks to me that the request came at Norman’s behest. She has highlighted the new middle name “Jay” with a by-hand bold underline as if to say here you go dear, done!
Grandfather Strom (1890-1945) in El Paso, Texas. Uncle Norman was born in this house on 3119 Memphis St. in 1925. Also pictured is Chris Erik and younger sibling Henrik Walter (foreground). A hand written caption on the original photograph says: First Sunday in New Home.
100 years have elapsed. The green grass has withered. Plaster has been added here and there and the porch roof has been altered. An aesthetic enhancement? or perhaps the original design did not have enough slope and the structure was susceptible to water intrusion.
1,207 sq ft and 1 bath, Zillow proclaims “Built in 1930” but we know something they don’t know 😉
Amazingly, a small tidbit of fact revealed much. The information had been in print since 1935 but the hardcopy didn’t circulate because firstly one needs to know that it exists, knows where it is to be found and ultimately, cares to go to the effort to physically access it. The dusty old archive of interest is an inter-office directory that was recently unearthed digitally absolving the barriers of access problem.
Marcella (1915-1945) is family and a person of mystery. People that might have been close to her are long gone and there is no one to recollect. Trying to piece her life experience together is a tough ask. From casual genealogy investigation it is known that she was born in a very small town but not how she managed to strike out on her own.
Speaking to the exposed document; It is fortunate that the family surname happens to be unique and distinct. Being uncommon it is an unfiltered search. Even still, blanket browsing the Archive.org turns up 800+ hits mostly from family that were/are published. Ignoring the obvious exposed an office telephone directory of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) revised August 1, 1935 wherein Marcella’s name is listed. The entry field on page 90 shows a telephone extension and her office address. A sublevel peek was required to learn about the abbreviations from the snippet.
R. & B. Audit translates to: Rental and Benefit Audit Section Office of the Comptroller Division of Finance. In the context of her job description with the AAA, this role would involve auditing financial records and budget allocations, ensuring proper documentation and compliance with the agency’s subsidy programs and administrative expenditures.
AAA was a New Deal agency established in 1933 under the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address the agricultural crisis during the Great Depression. Its primary goal was to stabilize farm prices and incomes by reducing agricultural surpluses, which were driving down prices. The AAA paid farmers subsidies to reduce production of certain crops and livestock, aiming to balance supply and demand. It was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s broader efforts to revive the economy. The agency faced legal challenges, notably being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936 (United States v. Butler), but its core ideas were rescued in later legislation like the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938.
O. P. O. from the descriptive line refers to Old Post Office building in Washington, DC
The Old Post Office building still stands today. Located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, it was constructed between 1892 and 1899 and served as the main post office for Washington, DC, until 1914. After that, it housed various federal offices, including those of the AAA in the 1930s. The building faced demolition threats in the 1970s but was preserved due to public outcry and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It underwent renovations and was repurposed over the years, most recently operating as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC hotel since 2022, though the clock tower remains accessible to the public and is managed by the National Park Service for visitors to enjoy views from its observation deck.
Marcella appears to be a Local Girl Makes Good story with a very solid career move. Revealing, but now creating more questions than answers. Imagine transplanting from small town life in Watertown, South Dakota to a Megalopolis. What facilitated the move? Did Marcella get on?
What happened next? To complete that picture, we will have to continue mining digital records like the one obscured in plain sight, having greater understanding along the way.
Cataloging a collection of books saved from my childhood home; it is interesting to peak at the cover pages. Within, it is quite common to witness a name, date or address or to see a remembrance scripted from long ago. One such book revealed so much more. It had belonged to Grandmother.
This unassuming Third Grade Reader from 1931 — “Good stories from Everywhere Out-of-Doors stories Old tales Big and Little Workers Fairy Tales Festival Stories Hero Stories” was a bit of an oddity.
The pages had no such content. The pages were blank as finished. It was defective from the publisher. Perfectly bound but devoid of author’s work.
The unique but quite useless book likely found itself on some flea-market shelf and this is where Grandmother acquired it. She was thrifty that way.
Actually, I believe she bought it second hand. The first dozen or so pages had been torn out after the previous owner scribbled upon them and then had given up interest, so extra bargain points there. This was circa 1963 and for the next decade and a half (until her death) she spoke of early childhood in the old country. She wrote of admiration for her loving family, and remaining loyal to her faith throughout, of the trials and tribulations that accompany life.
Addressed to: Dear Friend, it offers insight into her declining years which she makes the best of nonetheless with positive thinking and future hopefulness. I’m glad to have found this old book, inconspicuous in the dusty library stack. I read every word.
Our 19th century Norwegian relatives were rooted to land that was and still is scattered with small farms. Rural areas of Nordland and and also the fjords provided for them. Published records give ideas on life events — comings and goings.
Within Nordland is the Hemnes municipality and following is a map overlay of the original farms of old.
The farms of interest in this family are 87 Tybækken and 89 Straumbotn. The linked farms displayed with arrows show particular origins of pedigree e.g. from the farm Overleir came Anna Nilsd.
Mons Pedersøn (1671-1734) the oldest trace in the farm migration chain recorded. He settled at Straumbotn but the farm of his birth is not known. Not to be confused by the term farm migrants these folks might migrate once — twice sometimes if a husband passed away and they were looking to remarry.
For perspective the straight-line travel distance was at most 25 km. A 6-Ring work boat with sail (Seksringsbåt) would have been a conveyance of choice. They didn’t migrate too far at all. You’d think that from limited geography that finding a mate (who wasn’t related) might be a challenge. Uh oh…
Best I can tell the bloodlines of siblings of my 6th great-grandparents carried to Tybækken rendering my great grandparents 4th cousins in marriage. What does this mean. Beyond the 3rd or 4th, the genetic relationship becomes quite distant. A study showed that less than half of 4th cousins share IBD segments of identical by descentDNA.
By the turn of the century and with small farms unable to sustain large families there were changes happening. Many moved away seeking to renew prosperity and as we know, made the exceptional migration all the way to the USA and so after this lookback, here we are here.
Christopher Olai, my 2nd great-grandfather lived his life on a small farm in Norway. Local parish ledgers recorded in longhand document births, christenings , marriages and deaths. These have been digitized and transcribed. There are also population Census but to drill down even further there are Farm Books (Gård og Slekt). These were created by local historians and genealogists in the 20th century and document the history of individual farms and the families who lived on them over time. These are a trove of information but can be rather cryptic with abbreviations and of course it’s foreign [to me] . Handy is a Table of Common Abbreviations in Bygdebøker
5) Christopher Johannessen (1816?31,10.1914), sønn av f.br., fikk bbr. mot kår til foreldrene, dat. 12.2.1842, tl. 21.6.?43. Han var også smed og rokkedreier. G. 1842 m. Berit Pedersd. (1819?19.12.?90) fra 40 Myrvik bnr. 1.
This excerpt is an outline summary of the fifth (5) Tennent in the history of the farm Bnr 2 (lnr.276b) STRAUMBOTN and as the abbr. table states Bnr stands for small farm number (bruksnummer). The abbreviation lnr. is serial number, parcel number (løpenummer). Straumbotn is the name of the farm as a whole.
In-between the abbr. is more Norwegian puzzle that Google Translate can’t crack. Make sense of: sønn av f.br., fikk bbr. mot kår til foreldrene, dat. 12.2.1842, tl. 21.6.?43
AI makes quick easy work of it:
“Son of born tenant, received lease against retirement provisions for the parents, dated 12.2.1842, transferred 21.6.1843.” – xI Grok beta
“Son of the farm owner, received a lease with care provisions for the parents, dated 12 February 1842, and took over on 21 June 1843.” – ChatGPT
Claude 3.5 Sonnet was more detailed albeit less conversational. A Google translation, old school (not AI), was weak and worthless:
“son of a brother, received a brother against the will of his parents, date 12.2.1842, tl. 21.6.?43“
Regarde the complete record for 089 Straumbotn and what at superficial glance looks all Greek to me can be found in translation with the aforementioned tools at hand. I’m a bit closer to Great Great Grandfather’s life on the farm.
4 teenage girls and a 21 year old take his buggy out for a sunny church Sunday afternoon joyride. What could happen!?
To condense the report from the Marshalltown Iowa Times-Republican: Mr. Dawson drove up with his buggy, to which was hitched a pony. The young ladies thought they would fancy a ride, and the four, with Dawson started up the road for a short distance. The wind caught the hat of Miss Drury, who was driving, and the horse frightened, turning suddenly. To make matters worse, the road had just been worked and was rough and furrowed. The buggy began to tip, and Miss Drury was thrown out. Dawson tried to reach the reins, and in so doing knocked Miss Lora Specht out...
Everyone survived more or less. Poor Mr. Dawson was deemed unlucky as in his final act of picking up the reins the horse kicked him cutting a bad gash on his head and breaking his arm.
In the responsible party’s defense it should be known that these were not city folk. Being accustomed to farm life, would it be unusual for a country girl to occasionally operate a Buggy with the close supervision of a man? He would be accountable and right there beside her to coach. Tragically, for his effort, he failed to procure favor with any of the girls; of that I’m sure.
Preceded by the wayward hat and the ensuing shrieking when the horse bolted, there was an element of surprise which was compounded by the unforgivable chaotic reaction of dropping the reins. This was an element of panic — and certainly for the Pony.
These animals are easily spooked by such things and a ladies straw hat passing peripherally would do the deed. (blinders for the beast?) This suggests that there was a breeze coming from behind. I don’t think that they were reckless. Had they been speeding (before the event) the unsecured hat would have disappeared aft rather than in the direction of the stead.
The seating configuration of the buggy is not known but since the story does not reference a carriage model we can assume that there was only one bench style seat on which they all lined up abreast.
Having all 5 aboard could have been unwise. Realize that there wasn’t much to grasp onto. Seat belts? Nope. Max Seating Capacity placard non-existent. Fault or negligence would have been reasoned by the families as opposed to insurance companies or lawyers. These were simpler times…
No Police report, just the recounting in the newspaper story of peril and what could possibly go wrong!
Whilst browsing publicly available military records for male relatives of the era I was bemused as to why there were so many, seemingly beyond physical fighting years, that were registered for WW II. Initially rationalized in my mind as patriotism, I noted that some of these men had registration cards for WW I – the Great War, both. That would have made a very patriotic statement! Max Boris Harrison was 25 when he enlisted in September of 1918 and here he is signed up in 1942.
Investigation reveals that the Selective Service Act for WW 2 as of 1940 considered all men between the ages of 21 and 36. Following the attack on Hawaii in late 1941 the age range was quickly expanded raising the age to 45 but by 1943 the Draft was revised yet again to 64 years of age.
Those of 45-64 weren’t eligible for actual military service but were registered for potential civilian mobilization and civil defense needs. The expanded draft helped the government closely monitor the national workforce and manpower resources to best support the war effort on both the military and home front. Toward War’s end the age limit was lowered back down to 45 as the nation’s military manpower needs became less acute.
Witnessing all of the yellow draft cards, it seems that everyone fulfilled their civic duty and now I have a second reasoning for the why.
