This is a timeline of major known events in the life of Samuel “Sam” Rothman, husband of Sprinze (Markowitz) Rothman and father of Morris Rothman.

I don’t have a lot of concrete, detailed information as yet on Sam. There were an incredible number of Rothmans in New York City around the time of his arrival and that of his family in the early 1900s. What I do have documentation of is that at least one version of his original given name, as indicated by his wife on her passenger list information, was “Schmiel.” When he emigrated from Russian Poland via Glasgow aboard the S.S. Caledonia (arriving in New York City on 22 July 1906), he himself provided his name as “Smuel” and listed his destination as being his son-in-law, Max Wattenberg (or “Vatenburg”). He also listed his surname as “Rotman” rather than “Rothman.”

Further research identified Max’s wife as being “Molly ” (who would be Sam’s daughter), and they had been in the US only a year or two before Sam arrived. Rose, Molly’s slightly younger sister, seems to have also preceded her parents and accompanied Molly to the USA. I have yet to determine if Molly and Max were married in the USA or prior to leaving Russian Poland, so it’s been difficult to locate the passenger manifests just yet. Census records have varied wildly as to the year, so for now that’s a back-burner issue for me.

The 1910 U.S Federal Census shows that Sam’s wife, Sprinze, reported having given birth to 15 children, but only five were living at that time. I have identified four of those five living children in the USA. Molly (1885-1968) was the eldest, followed by Rose (abt. 1889-1959), then our direct ancestor Morris (1889-abt. 1971 – still trying to pin his death date down), and then Rachel “Ray” (1891-?). It is possible the fifth living child may have been older and elected to remain in Russian Poland rather than emigrating, since when Sam and Sprinze left the country, they were already in their 40s. That would make sense, given the ages of the couple, and the deceased children were also all likely born and buried in Russian Poland. Again, should I come across additional information to confirm these suppositions, I will be updating accordingly.

As mentioned in the Milgrom discussions, people often listed the nearest large city or well-known region as their place of birth on documents or in conversation when in fact they may have been born in a shtetl (small village, usually one or just a few families strong). I have not seen any documentation for either Sam, his wife Sprinze, or their children that states any other birth location for any of them other than Lodz. “Grodno” is mentioned at least once (in some of the documentation for Rose), but that refers to something more akin to a county/province/regional government designation rather than a town or city. Lodz was, at that time, located with the Grodno region. Neither Sam nor Sprinze were ever naturalized as American citizens, although Henry was and by extension, so was his wife Mary. Both Sam and Sprinze’s son Morris (our direct ancestor) did naturalize, as did Henry and Mary’s daughter, Beatrice.

Sam arrived in the USA on 22 July 1906, and his wife and daughter Rachel arrived 16 May 1907 on the S. S. Potsdam, sailing from the port of Rotterdam. Morris had already arrived separately (15 Oct 1906 on the S. S. Nieuw Amsterdam out of Rotterdam), not long after his father. Sam seems to have had a number of occupations, mostly in textiles/leather (cutting pieces for pocketbooks is listed on the 1910 census, and similar on his passenger manifest for occupation) but also in sales (per the 1920 census).

In the 1915 New York State Census, Sam is listed as married and father-in-law to the head of household (Hymen Cohen, married to Sam’s daughter Rose). I have not located Sprinze yet, as she was not with Sam on that record, but her death certificate index states she died at the Beth Abraham Home. At that time, the Beth Abraham Home was more of an institution than a hospital. Information on the history of the Beth Abraham Home located on their website shows that in the early 1900s, the Beth Abraham Home was known as the “Beth Abraham Home for Incurables.” It is pure speculation on my part, but I can’t help but think perhaps Sprintze had developed a condition such as early-onset Alzheimer’s or something else of significance, and was moved there or somewhere else for care between the 1910 federal census (she was with Sam in their home there) and the 1915 census. Sam’s residence with his daughter and her husband was located not too far from where the Beth Abraham Home for Incurables was situated, which would mean it would have been easy for him (and Rose, perhaps) to visit Sprinze relatively often. Sprinze was 68 years old when she passed away in 1926 there.

I have not yet ordered the death certificates for either Sam or Sprinze. Having ordered the death certificate for Mary (Wolkowitz) Milgrom, who died in 1924, I know that formal death certificates of the type we are used to now were really relatively new at that time. Sprinze died in 1926. Because New York City is so large, it is much easier and quicker to receive vital records if you have the actual certificate number. If you do, it can be simply located, pulled, copied or scanned, and that’s that (after receiving payment, of course). I have heard of people who have paid for certificates of various kinds without the number, and paid money for a fruitless search. One of the genealogical societies to which I belong is the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, which is one of (if not THE) oldest such societies in the USA. The NYG&BS keeps members up to date on scanning and archiving progress, among other things, so although I do not yet have the death certificate numbers for Sam or Sprinze, I do have the death dates and burial information. I am watching to see when the index with certificate numbers will pop up, and I will be ordering their death certificates at that time.

Samuel “Sam” Rothman died on 23 July 1930 and is buried in the Mount Hebron Cemetery, located in Flushing (Queens), New York. He and his wife, “Sprintza” are both buried there, in the section sponsored by the Lodzer True Brothers society. I do not have information at this time regarding Sam’s parents’ names, but I hope that will change in the near future.