97 Orchard Street

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Baldizzi Family >> Glockner Family >> Gumpertz Family >> Levine Family >> Moore Family >> Rogarshevsky Family >> 97 Orchard Street

Levine Family
In 1890, Harris and Jennie Levine came to the United States from Plonsk, in what is today Poland, approximately 35 miles northwest of Warsaw. Family lore reported that the couple arrived on their honeymoon. Harris Levine listed himself as a dressmaker and living in 97 Orchard Street in the City Directory from 1892 to 1904. According to the Annual Reports of the Factory Inspectors of the State of New York, Levine's contracting shop was investigated first in 1892 and again in 1895, when he was ordered to post the Factory Inspection law in his shop, an order with which he complied.

According to the 1900 census, Harris and Jennie had their first child in 1892, a girl named Pauline. Museum researchers have yet to find her birth certificate. Hyman (known as Herman) was born three years later in 1895, and his brother Solie (known as Max) was born on November 30, 1897. It is right after this birth that the Museum has chosen to recreate the Levine apartment. A midwife named Esther Kalmonofsky assisted in the births of both Herman and Max. Jennie Levine gave birth to another daughter, Eva in 1901 and her last child, Fay in 1904.

In 1905, Harris Levine's name disappeared from the Manhattan City Directory. He moved his family and his business to the East Williamsburg / Bushwick section of Brooklyn. The 1905 state census listed five members of the family at 133 Harrison Avenue in Brooklyn: Harris, Jennie, Pauline, Hyman, and Max. For some reason the two youngest daughters, Eva and Fanny, were not included. By compiling information in the Brooklyn City Directory and in the censuses, we learned that the Levine family had at least four different residences in Brooklyn between 1905 and 1925. Harris Levine continued to be listed as a dressmaker and ladies' tailor at all of these addresses. We have been unable to determine whether he owned a separate shop outside of his home at any time.

In 1913, Pauline Levine married Meyer Herskowitz. After tracing the family in the 1920 census, we learned that Pauline gave birth to Miriam in 1914 and Martin in 1916. We hoped that these two children would still be alive to tell us about their grandfather. Unfortunately, at that point, we could not locate a Martin or Miriam Herskowitz related to Harris Levine.

Just before moving out of 97 Orchard Street, Harris Levine declared his intention to become a citizen in 1904. The two witnesses to the naturalization were Jacob Vogelman and Gedalia Scheinbaum. According to the naturalization, the Levines immigrated to the United States in 1890, however we have found no ship manifest to verify their entry date. Harris Levine's naturalization petition confirms that he was born in Plonsk, Poland and Jennie Levine's death certificate indicates the same. Both are buried in Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn. Cemetery records show that a benevolent association named the Wisdom of Man Society paid for both Levine burials. Harris Levine died in 1929 while living in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. Jennie Levine's will from 1946 provided us with updated addresses for the family's five children. Both wills were overflowing with clues for additional research. Hyman and Max Levine changed their names to Herman B. and Mack S. Lehman, Eva married an Engelmann, and Pauline Herskowitz became Pauline Hirsch.

At this point, Museum researchers wrote letters to possible relatives of the Levine family, a process that had proven effective for the Museum in the past. The internet proved most helpful in this regard. Many different websites, including www.anywho.com and www.yahoo.com, furnish comprehensive nationwide telephone and address listings for any name. We searched on these sites for the last name of Engelmann, and sent letters to each of the individuals listed in the New York metropolitan area. Harold Engelmann of Brooklyn received our letter and phone call and agreed to meet with us to talk about his grandfather. Harold put us in touch with his cousins, including two Florida residents: Martin Hirsch, Pauline's son and Paula Schimmel, Pauline's granddaughter, as well as Jeanne Lereau from New Jersey.

Mr. Engelmann was named for his grandfather when he was born in 1931, two years after Harris Levine's death. Unfortunately, he heard little about his family's life and work on the Lower East Side during his childhood. He remembers his grandmother Jennie, however, as a kind and caring woman. Mr. Engelmann also gave us the address of his cousin, Martin Hirsch, who is older and better able to remember his grandparents' life stories. We contacted Mr. Hirsch, who told us that he remembered his grandfather as a very religious man, who always observed the Sabbath. He said that before he died, Harris Levine worked as a tailor, altering clothing for women in Brooklyn.

Harris Levine's two sons, Herman B. and Mack S., both changed their names to Lehman and became businessmen. Herman B. Lehman was president of H.B. Lehman-Connor, an upholstery company in Manhattan. The County Clerk keeps lists and records of all New York City companies. We looked at H.B. Lehman-Connor's business papers to trace the company's history, finding that H.B. Lehman-Connor had moved to Long Island in 1971 and had changed its name to Decorators Walk.

Mack S. Lehman, Harris Levine's second son, worked for Kay Chemical Company in the 1920s. After retiring, he moved to Florida where he died in Broward County, in 1982. He is survived by three daughters