IGNATZ & MARY'S GROVE INN - Ignatz and Mary Lafnitzegger

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DID HE GET AWAY WITH MURDER? - Thomas Maloy

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HE TRIED TO CLEAN UP THE UNION BUT INSTEAD PAID WITH HIS LIFE - Jack Kaufman

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TO RECORD THE GRIEF OF HIS BEREAVED PARENTS AND ONLY SISTER - James Thomas Cairns

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HIS EMPLOYEES FURNISHED HIS TOMBSTONE - Thomas H. Jewell

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CHICAGO'S MATZOH KING - Levy Wittenberg

As I have mentioned before, Jewish Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois has many beautiful and distinctive monuments.  I have featured some of the more interesting monuments in this blog, but Waldheim has its share of unusual monuments as well.  Such is the case at Gate 45 - Kovner. Wandering around on a bleak winter day in February of 2012 fulfilling Find a Grave photo requests I happened upon this unusual monument:

As you can see, there is a bust of a solemn looking man at the top. Below that it says:

Levy Wittenberg

Died June 12, 1907

Donated

From

L. Wittenberg

to the

Congregation

Auel Jacob

1899

I had a feeling that there might be an interesting story here and I was right.  Let's see what we can "dig up" about Levy (also spelled "Levi") Wittenberg, Chicago's matzoh king.

Levy Wittenberg was born in Kolnich, Russia in February of 1850 to Israel Wittenberg and Sara, nee Cohen.  We know that Levy had at least two siblings, Abraham (1865-1934) and Isaac (1880-1937) because they sued Levy for libel in 1903 - but more on that later.  Levy Wittenberg came to the United States in 1880 and settled first in New York and then finally in Chicago.  

While still living in Russia, Levi Wittenberg married Gitel (Katie) nee Newman (1850-1940) circa 1870 while both were twenty years old. Katie told the census taker in 1900 that she had given birth to seven children, and all seven were still alive at that time.  Here they are:

Louis (1870-1915), born in Russia
Hyman (1873-1911), born in Russia
Leah (1875-1945), born in Russia

Ida (1879-1912), born in New York

Levi/Harry (1885-1979), born in New York

Moses/Morry (1888-1975), born in Chicago

Alexander (1889-1941), born in Chicago.  Alexander used the surname "Witte"

In later years Levy said that he had moved to Chicago in 1883 but that is unlikely unless he came out to Chicago ahead of the rest of his family.

Levy Wittenberg became a naturalized US citizen on October 17, 1890.

No matter when he actually arrived, Levi quickly established himself as one of the top Jewish bakers in Chicagoland.  Here is a photo of Wittenberg's bakery, circa 1900:

Levi Wittenberg was not without his share of controversy.  The following article appeared in the Chicago Daily Tribune on June 30, 1903:

TWO BROTHERS SUE A THIRD

Charge Him With Libel in Issuing Circulars Attacking Their Business Integrity.

Three brothers are complainants and defendant in a libel case brought before Justice Richardson yesterday.  Abraham and Isaac Wittenberg, bakers at 529 Jefferson street, charging Levy Wittenberg with libel. The trouble started shortly before the Passover feast in April.  The matzos for the feast were bought from Abraham and Isaac Wittenberg, at a reduced price.  Then, it is charged, Levy Wittenberg issued circulars of a libelous character, attacking the quality of the food sold by his brothers.  One circular stated:

"Do not buy from them what are called matzos, while in fact when you open the bundle you find the broken fragments of various food articles."

According to the complainants, the circulars were intended to attack their honest.  Justice Richardson continued the case until July 9th.

It is not recorded how the case turned out, but Levy Wittenberg's bakery was still producing and selling matzoh long after the founder was gone:

Now what about the monument that piqued my interest in the first place?

As I mentioned, at the top is a bust of a stern faced man.  Lower down it says "Levy Wittenberg, Died June 12, 1907" and then "Donated From L. Wittenberg to the Congregation Auel Jacob 1899."

Is the bust at the top a bust of Levy Wittenberg?  Here's his photo, and a closeup of the bust - judge for yourself:

I'm afraid that my research has hit a brick wall here.  I could not find anything about the Congregation Auel Jacob, past or present, nor could I find anything about Levy Wittenberg donating a monument or a bust of anyone.

Levy Wittenberg did die on June 12, 1907 at home, 580 N. Canal Street, from lobar pneumonia complicated by diabetes.  According to his death certificate he was fifty-eight years old:

As I mentioned above, he was buried at Jewish Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois at Gate 45 - Kovner.  In addition to the imposing monument, his grave is also marked with a more conventional tombstone:

So the mystery of the monument "Donated from L. Wittenberg to the Congregation Auel Jacob in 1899" will have to remain a mystery for now.  Maybe one of my readers will have some information that will solve the mystery for us.  One of the frustrating parts of genealogical research is that there are some mysteries that never are solved; some questions that are never answered. But that's what makes it so much fun, as well.

Levy Wittenberg, Chicago's Matzoh King - may he rest in peace.  

WHAT HOPES LIE BURIED HERE - Willie Omohundro

The office where I work closed early on July 3rd to allow everyone to start enjoying the 4th of July holiday early.  So, I used this opportunity to drive out to the South Side of Chicago to Oakwoods Cemetery to photograph some graves for a Find a Grave friend.  It was a beautiful Chicago summer day and Oakwoods is such an interesting and historic cemetery.  I only wish it was a little closer to where I live and frankly in a better neighborhood.  I have never had any problems in the cemetery, but the neighborhood that surrounds it is rough, to put it kindly.  

Anyway, I found the graves I wanted to photograph in Ravinia Section B4 and snapped the photos. I photographed the individual stones as I usually do, and then I stepped back for a shot of the gravesite in the area where it sits, to give the requestor some idea of what that section of the cemetery looks like.  Here's the photo I snapped:

After taking the photos that were requested I stopped to take a look around.  Oakwoods is similar to Rosehill in that every where you look you see history.  What caught my eye here was a zinc monument directly behind the stones I had photographed:

The front of the monument said:

WILLIE.

only son of

Wm. R and Bessie C.

Omohundro.

Died

September 11, 1887.

Aged

3 Years, 5 Mos.

What Hopes Lie Buried Here

Let's see what we can "dig up" about the short life of Willie Omohundro.

William Nathanial Omohundro was born April 20, 1884 in Chicago to William Rainey Omohundro (1861-1900) and Bessie nee Hurdle (1865-1927).

William Rainey Omohundro was born July 8, 1861 in Richmond, Virginia to Silas Omohundro (1807-1864) and Corinna, nee Clark (1820-????). The origin of the name Omohundro has been lost in the mists of time. There are several Omohundro websites that put forth numerous conjectures about the origin of the name, but they all agree that the Omohundro line started in England in the Middle Ages.  The Omohundro family in the United States was said to be descended from original settlers who left England to escape religious persecution. William Rainey Omohundro (and his son William) are direct descendants of Richard Omohundro who fought in the American Revolution in the Virginia Militia.

 

William Rainey Omohundro's father Silas was a "trader" according to what he told the census taker.  As was the case with many in Virginia at that time, Silas owned slaves.  In the 1850 US Federal Census Slave Schedule, Silas Omohundro listed forty-six different slaves that he owned.  William Omohundro was a lawyer by trade.

Interestingly, in 1776 William Omohundro was one of the signers of the famous "Ten Thousand Name Petition" wherein ten thousand Virginians petitioned for the dis-establishment of the Church of England and the freedom to choose one's own religion.  

In 1882, twenty one year old William Omohundro married seventeen year old Miss Bessie C. Hurdle of the District of Columbia.  She was the daughter of Samuel Vincent Hurdle (1828-1880), also of Washington, DC and his wife Grace Minerva, nee Calvert (????-1897).  Samuel Hurdle was a bricklayer by trade (or as he put it a "brick mason.")

After their marriage, the newlyweds moved to Chicago where William began practicing law.  The Chicago City Directories for the late 1800s show that William R. Omohundro was a patent attorney with his offices at 225 Dearborn Street in Chicago.

On the home front, their first child, a son, named William Nathanial Omohundro was born April 20, 1884 in Chicago. 

Cook County, Illinois, Birth Certificates Index, 1871-1922 about William Nathanial Omohundro

Name: William Nathanial Omohundro Birth Date: 20 Apr 1884 Birth Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois Gender: Male Father Name: William Rainey Omohundro Mother Name: Bessie Hurdle FHL Film Number: 1287838

Tragically, little Willie Omohundro died on September 11, 1887 of capillary bronchitis.  He was three years and four months old.  He had only been ill for three weeks.

At the time of Willie's death, the Omohundro family was renting a house at 4400 Lake Avenue in Hyde Park (under the old address system). Living on the south side, a natural choice for a cemetery was Oakwoods, and after little Willie's funeral, they erected the beautiful zinc monument that caught my attention 127 years later:

(I know alot of people don't like zinc monuments but I love them - and they hold up surprisingly well in Chicago's harsh and ever-changing climate.)

Death came again to the Omoundro family again in 1900 when William Rainey Omohundro died suddenly from an attack of appendicitis.  Here is his obituary from the Chicago Daily Tribune of October 15, 1900:

William Omohundro's widow Bessie went on to remarry.  On December 30, 1909, she married Willliam M. Hopkins (1868-1919), who was also an attorney.  Bessie Hurdle Omohundro Hopkins died in Chicago on June 3, 1927 at the age of sixty-two.  

It was not all sorrow for the Omohundro family - they had a daughter, Bessie (later called Betty), born on February 16, 1889 in Chicago. Bessie Omohundro went on to marry Van Vechten Lain in 1909 and died in Chicago in 1977.  Van V. Lain was chairman of the Lain Funeral Homes - at one time, one of the largest undertakers in Chicagoland.

One more item of note:  Bessie Omohundro Lain and her husband Van had a son in 1912.  They named him (you guessed it) William. 

Little Willie Omohundro - may he rest in peace.