A Family Yarn

I am a huge fan of writer/cartoonist/knitter/photographer Franklin Habit. And when he wrote a piece on a family company, Lion Yarn (now Lion Brand Yarn), mentioning the company's origins and the fact that the fifth generation of the company's founder is now working there, I was inspired to look up the family's genealogy.

So I had a few starting points. Franklin mentioned in the article that Lion Yarn was founded in 1878 in New York by Reuben Blumenthal. The company's "About Us" page also gives an 1878 founding and mentions the Blumenthal family. Franklin says that the current CEO is David Blumenthal, a direct fourth-generation descendant of Reuben.

More information about the Blumenthal family as relates to Lion Yarn comes from various notices of the death of Isidor Blumenthal on December 9, 2003. According to these, he was about to turn 94 the next day, and had been married 67 years to his wife Ann (maiden name Chanchy). His children were Reuben, who married a woman named Beth; Deborah, who married Rabbi Marvin Bash; and David, who married a woman named Barbara. He had seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren at the time of his death. His siblings were Bernard, who married a woman named May; Sam, who married a woman named Melanie; George, who married a woman named Rose; Murray; Molly, who married a man with the surname Levine; Solomon; and Rosalind, who married a man with the surname Elbaum. He was born in 1909 in Ansonia, Connecticut. He was the longtime president of the Lion Brand Yarn and Orchard Yarn and Thread, and was a "third-generation merchant of yarns and notions". He took over the family business in 1958. Two brothers, two sons and three nephews joined him in the business. He appointed his son David as COO in 1991, although he was nominally still president. He lived in Far Rockaway, New York.

Isidor Blumenthal is extremely easy to find in the census record. In 1940, he's living on Benson Avenue in Kings, New York:

• Blumenthal, Isidore, head, male, white, 30, married, b Connecticut, secretary, thread co
• Blumenthal, Anne, wife, female, white, 28, married, b New York,
• Blumenthal, Rubin, son, male, white, 3, single, b New York
• Blumenthal, Deborah, daughter, female, white, 1/12, single, b New York

Clearly, his son David, the current president of Lion Brand Yarn, was born last.

There is a marriage record in the NYC vital records index for an Isidor Blumenthal to an Ann, on June 4 1936 in Kings, but the bride's surname is given as Seleran, not Chanchy. In fact, there is no Ann/Anne/Annie/Anna/etc. Chancy in the index, so perhaps we are looking at a typo, or her family changed their name. The index for births finishes too far back to be able to find Isidore and Anne's children in it.

Moving backwards in time, from 1930 onwards, Isidore is found living with his parents. In 1930, they're on 21st Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings, New York:

• Blumenthal, Joseph, head, male, white, 45, married, age 22 at first marriage, b Russia, parents b Russia, speaks "Jewish", notions, wholesale
• Blumenthal, Gussie, wife, female, white, 46, married, age 23 at first marriage, b Russia, parents b Russia, speaks "Jewish", housewife
• Blumenthal, Isadore, son, male, white, 20, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, speaks English,
• Blumenthal, Sadie, daughter, female, white, 17, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, speaks English, office work, store
• Blumenthal, Agusta, daughter, female, white, 16, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, speaks English
• Blumenthal, Mollie, daughter, female, white, 13, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, speaks English
• Blumenthal, Bernard, son, male, white, 11, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, speaks English
• Blumenthal, George, son, male, white, 8, single, b NY, parents b Russia, speaks English
• Blumenthal, Samuel, son, male, white, 6, single, b NY, parents b Russia, speaks English
• Blumenthal, Rosylyn, daughter, female, white, 3, single, b NY, parents b Russia, speaks English

This matches up with the information in Isidore's obituaries very well. We see Bernard, George, Molly, and Rosalind. Missing are Murray and Solomon, and we have additional siblings Sadie, Agusta and Samuel.

In 1925 (state census), the family is living at 440 Georgia Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings, New York:

• Blumenthal, Joe, head, white, male, 40, b Russia, in the US 20 years, alien, store helper
• Blumenthal, Gussie, wife, white, female, 40, b Russia, in the US 18 years, alien, housewife
• Blumenthal, Isidor, son, white, male, 15, b US, school
• Blumenthal, Sadie, daughter, white, female, 13, b New York, school
• Blumenthal, Augusta, daughter, white, female, 11, b New York, school
• Blumenthal, Mollie, daughter, white, female, 8, b New York, school
• Blumenthal, Bernard, son, white, male, 6, b New York, school
• Blumenthal, Georgie, son, white, male, 3, b New York, home
• Blumenthal, Samuel, son, white, male, 1, b New York, home

In 1920, the family is, oddly, listed twice. Both times they're living on Georgia Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings, New York. First listing:

• Blumenthal, Joseph, head, male, white, 38, married, arrived in US 1904, alien, b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish, parents b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish, salesman, wool
• Blumenthal, Gussie, wife, female, white, 36, married, arrived in US 1907, alien, b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish, parents b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish
• Blumenthal, Isidor, son, male, white, 10, single, b New York, parents b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish
• Blumenthal, Sadie, daughter, female, white, 7 9/12, single, b New York, parents b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish
• Blumenthal, Augusta, daughter, female, white, 5 10/12, single, b New York, parents b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish
• Blumenthal, Mollie, daughter, female, white, 3 2/12, single, b New York, parents b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish
• Blumenthal, Bernard, son, male, white, 7/12, single, b New York, parents b Russia, mother tongue Yiddish

Second listing:

• Blumenthal, Joe, head, male, white, 36, married, arrived in US 1906, alien, b Russia, mother tongue Russian, parents b Russia, mother tongue Russian, retail salesman - store
• Blumenthal, Gussie, wife, female, white, 36, married, arrived in US 1908, alien, b Russia, mother tongue Russian, parents b Russia, mother tongue Russian
• Blumenthal, Isadore, son, male, white, 10, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, mother tongue Russian
• Blumenthal, Sadie, daughter, female, white, 7, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, mother tongue Russian
• Blumenthal, Augusta, daughter, female, white, 5 10/12, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, mother tongue Russian
• Blumenthal, Molly, daughter, female, white, 3 4/12, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, mother tongue Russian
• Blumenthal, Bernard, son, male, white, 6/12, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russia, mother tongue Russian

They can't be found on the New York state census in 1915, which makes sense, since the probably hadn't moved from Connecticut yet at that point. In 1910, the family is living on Central Street, Ansonia, New Haven, Connecticut:

• Blumenthal, Joseph, head, male, white, 28, on first marriage, married 3 years, b Rus - Polish, parents b Russ - Polish, arrived in US 1907, speaks Polish, peddler, iron (old)
• Blumenthal, Gussie, wife, female, white, 23, on first marriage, married 3 years, 2 children, 2 living, b Russ - Polish, parents b Russ - Polish, arrived in US 1908, speaks Polish
• Blumenthal, Issore, male, white, 5/12, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russ - Polish
• Blumenthal, Edward, son, male, white, 1, single, b Connecticut, parents b Russ - Polish

Here we have another child of Joseph and Gussie that we didn't previously know about: Edward.

The census record tells us that Isidore's father Joseph (who is clearly a second-generation Lion Yarn Blumenthal) arrived in the United States 1904-1907ish. Therefore, we can't expect to find him on the 1900 census.

So if the current president of Lion Brand Yarn is David, and David is a direct descendant of the founder, Reuben; and if David's father was Isidore and Isidore's father was Joseph, then Reuben must be Joseph's father. But here's the weird thing - Joseph, in record after record, is clearly listed as having been born around 1885 in Russia.

How does a guy whose son was born in Russia in 1885 found a business in the United States in 1878?

Now, I know that immigrants did sometimes go back to the old country - one of my great-grandfathers on my mother's side bopped back and forth at least once between Lebanon (then Syria) and Canada during the process of getting his whole family to emigrate. And a great-great-grandfather on my father's side apparently went back to Russia after his family had already emigrated to England (and then died there in a pogrom). But it seems odd that you would leave a business that you had founded in the US to go back to Russia? Moreover, I cannot find evidence of Reuben Blumenthal anywhere in the census record or anywhere else. He doesn't have a death record in the NYC index - the only Rubin Blumenthal died in 1912 at the age of 34; not old enough to father Joseph (and anyway, census searches for that Rubin Blumenthal show that he was a dentist).

To additionally muddy the waters, the February 16 1956 issue of the Long Island Star Journal has this obituary in it:

Jacob H. Slutzkin. Yarn Manufacturer Funeral services for Jacob H. Slutzkin of 111-23 76th road, Forest Hills, who died Tuesday of a heart attack in Miami, Fla., will be conducted at 10 A.M. tomorrow 1 nthe funeral home at 76th street and Amsterdam avenue in Manhattan C o m p l e t e arrangemerrts awaited the arrival of the family members from Florida today. Until his retirement four years ago, Mr. Slutzkin, who was 74, had been president of the Lion Yarn Company of Manchester, N. H., and Manhattan. He also had been the president of the Amoskeag Mohair Spinning Company of Manchester. He is survived by hte widow, Mrs. Anne Kaplan Slutzkin, a son, Jerome P. Sloane; a daughter, Mrs. Alfred Berger, three brothers, two sisters and four grandchildren.

Here's a (supposed) president of Lion Yarn who was not a Blumenthal. What happened? And who headed up the company from 1952 (when Jacob Slutzkin apparently retired) and 1958 (when Isidore took over)?

Clearly there is more research to do, avenues of clues to follow, resources to tap, and questions to answer. But this initial research makes it clear that the Blumenthal/Lion Yarn history is an interesting one!