Felsőbánya and the Bronx

David & Esther Brecher

Felsőbánya · Nagybánya · Trieste · the Bronx · Monsey · Spring Valley

New research · 27 October 2026

Newly found records

Morris Farkas’s 1942 registration card: born 20 Nov 1887 at Gödényháza, of 274 East 175th Street — naming David Brecher, 1640 Topping Avenue, as the person who would always know his address. Confirmed — WWII draft cards (4th Registration), Bronx (FamilySearch 1:1:F3NG-J2Z)
Solomon Farkas’s 1940 draft card: born 22 Sep 1915 at Szőlős, Hungary, living with his mother Gizella at 888 Fox Street, the Bronx (Confirmed; on the strength of this card he is now Confirmed as Margaret’s brother). Confirmed — NYC draft registration cards 1940–1947 (FamilySearch 1:1:WW4J-263Z)
Aaron Farkas’s First World War draft card, 1918: a tailor at 78 Stanton Street working for Popper Bros., born 18 May 1876 (a variant of 25 May). Likely — WWI draft registration cards, NARA M1509 (FamilySearch 1:1:WZNL-8DPZ)
Jakob Fogel, born at Nagybánya on 14 Sep 1894 to Mihály Fogel and Bella (Berta) Klein — the eldest Fogel child found so far. The same Nagybánya register has “Sara”, daughter of Jakob Klein, born 25 Dec 1886 — very probably Esther herself. Likely — JewishGen Máramaros Vital Records index, Nagybánya Register Book 39, p. 58 row 46 and p. 20 row 44
The birth acts of Samuel Klein’s four children at Felsőbánya — Mathild (18 Apr 1908), Blanka (15 Dec 1909), József (15 Nov 1911) and Sándor (6 Sep 1913) — read from the register: every date on the site agrees; Samuel is a grocer, then merchant; their mother’s name is written Szalavecz. Confirmed — Felsőbánya birth acts 60/1908, 178/1909, 146/1911, 119/1913, Romanian National Archives, Maramureș, MM-F-00743-2-00621
Morris Farkas, Margaret’s father, lies at Beth Moses Cemetery, Section 2, Block 26, Grave 2, in the Sinai Fraternal Order plot — the same society plot as Anne’s brother Kallmann (Charles) Wahrsager; Aaron Farkas lies at Mount Hebron, Flushing, Block 2, Section J. Likely — Find a Grave memorials 253407970 and 77532700
Three more children of Esther’s sister Berta and Mihály Fogel, read from the Felsőbánya civil birth acts: Izrael Áron, born 18 May 1904 (act 91); a son born on 20 January 1906 who died the same day (act 11); and Zoltán, born 21 February 1907 (act 46), who died in May 1907 (death act 76/1907, Likely). Berta’s known children are now Sándor, Móricz, Ferencz, Sámuel, Menyhért, Izrael Áron, the infant of 1906, and Zoltán. Confirmed — Felsőbánya births 1904–1906, acts 91 and 11 (unit MM-FD-00743-1-1-042, images 92 and 395); births 1907–1919, act 46 (unit MM-F-00743-2-00621, image 9); Romanian National Archives, Maramureș
Mária Klein née Cziment was the wife of Herman Klein: her death act at Felsőbánya (she died there on 29 January 1915, aged 65, at Nagybányai utca) names her husband as Herman Klein and her father as Salamon Cziment. That she was his second wife, and so Esther’s stepmother, stays Likely, resting on the dates. Herman Klein’s own death is not in the Felsőbánya deaths 1903–19, the Nagybánya deaths to 1906 or the Kapnik deaths to 1920. Confirmed — Felsőbánya deaths 1915 act 14, registered 30 January 1915 (Romanian National Archives, Maramureș, unit 13914903, image 180)
Two more sons of Esther’s sister Berta and Mihály Fogel, born in Felsőbánya before Izrael Áron and Zoltán: Sándor, 24 November 1896, and Móricz, 18 November 1897, who died in 1898. Mihály was born in Magyarkékes about 1868; Berta is entered as born in Nagysomkút, aged 21 in 1896. Confirmed — JewishGen Máramaros Vital Records, Births: Felsőbánya, Romanian National Archives, Baia Mare branch, Inventory 1371, Book 12, 1896 p. 50 and 1897 p. 211 (JewishGen index)
Margaret Brecher’s graveside service was held on Tuesday 14 January 2020 at 2:30 pm at Lakeside Memorial Park, Miami; the funeral-home pages give her dates as 23 Aug 1920 – 12 Jan 2020 (one listing says 13 Jan). Confirmed — Lakeside Memorial Park / Dignity Memorial obituary 9426010; Tribute Archive 10523943
Margaret Brecher, Mickey’s wife, was born Margit Farkas at Nagyszőllős (Sevlus) in 1920, daughter of Morris and Gizella Farkas; she came to New York with her mother and siblings on the Aquitania in 1929, and in 1940 the Farkases lived at 988 Fox Street, next door to the Brechers. Her brother Solomon died at Albany in 1955; her father’s brother was very probably Aaron Farkas of the Lower East Side, whose 1942 death certificate names his parents Solomon Farkas and Goldie Fuchs. Likely — Aquitania manifest, 6 Sep 1929; 1930 and 1940 census; New York State death indexes 1955 and 1970; NYC death certificate D-K-1942-0022839; New York County naturalization petition, vol. 130 (1913)
Margaret Brecher’s Hebrew name was Mindel bat Moshe (her daughter’s synagogue notice, 2026); her yahrzeit falls on 16 Tevet, which fits her death on 12 January 2020. Her daughter Susan is married to Jack Gluck. Confirmed — Young Israel Congregation (Surfside/Bal Harbour), Shmooze News, Parshas Vayechi, 3 Jan 2026, and 5 Jun 2021 issue
Jenő (Eugene) and Elizabeth Brecher’s four sons in the 1950 census, the Bronx: Gerald, Harvey, Melvin and Benjamin. Confirmed — 1950 U.S. census, Bronx, New York, ED 3-144, sheet 10, lines 19–24 (National Archives)
David Brecher and his father-in-law Yaakov Tzvi Klein are both listed among the Felsőbánya subscribers to the sefer Mevaser Tov in 1915. Likely — Mevaser Tov (Kolozsvár 1915) p. 105, HebrewBooks.org no. 33126
R’ David HaKohen Brecher is named among the supporters of Shem Eliezer, the writings of the Biksader Rav, New York 1954, listed beside the Sigheter Rav — a year before his death. Likely — Shem Eliezer (New York 1954) p. 4, HebrewBooks.org no. 41557
Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher: president of Plus Marketing from 1952; founded Marketing Systems of America, West Palm Beach, in December 1983 and was its chairman and chief executive (annual report for 1990, “Nicholas M. Brecher, 75”). Likely — Marketing Systems of America, Inc., Form 10-K for 1990 (SEC file 0-13385)
Mickey held two U.S. patents for retail packaging (filed 1966 and 1972, granted 1967 and 1974) from 2 Manor Lane, Lawrence, N.Y., and in 1969 registered his “Brevoni” brand for wallets and pocketbooks; later brands from Miami Beach included Preventology and BreathAid (1998–2012). Likely — U.S. Patents 3,307,686 and 3,826,359; Official Gazette, BREVONI reg. 882,347; Companies and Their Brands (1998–2012)
A CBS Miami report of 11 Nov 2010: Mickey, 94, still kept the daily diary he wrote through the war; he served in five campaigns from French Morocco to Italy, carried a wounded soldier to safety in Sicily, and received the Purple Heart and, decades later, the Bronze Star. Confirmed — CBS Miami (CBS4 I-Team), 11 Nov 2010
Eugene (Jenő) Brecher and Elizabeth Zelig: Brooklyn marriage licence no. 3272, 1 March 1938. Eugene born March 1911 in “Baia Sprie” (= Felsőbánya); Elizabeth born 19 June 1918 in Romania, daughter of Israel Zelig. Confirmed — NYC Municipal Archives, Brooklyn 1938 marriage licence no. 3272
Samuel (Sámuel) Klein was born 22 July 1877 at Nagysomkút, son of Hermann Klein and the late Háni Ferencz (1902 act). Esther Klein was born at Felsőbánya and lived at Nagy Ilonda before her 1906 marriage; David Brecher was then at Huszt, and Meir Brecher an innkeeper at Kapnikbánya. Johanna (Háni) Ferencz stays Likely as Esther’s mother. Confirmed — Felsőbánya civil marriages, acts 8 (1902) and 38 (1906), Romanian National Archives, Maramureș
Nicholas (Mickey) and Margaret Brecher’s children in the Bronx in April 1950: Susan, Marylin and Kenneth. Confirmed — 1950 U.S. census, the Bronx (FamilySearch 1:1:6XYS-VKS2, 1:1:6XYS-VKSV, 1:1:6XYS-VKSK)
Shuva Yisrael II (Monsey 1958), p. 157, re-read on the page: the Monsey list, under the synagogue Beit Yisrael, reads “ר׳ יוסף הכהן ברעכער, ר׳ שמשון הכהן ברעכער, … ר׳ פנחס שלום פרידמאן” — R’ Yosef HaKohen Brecher, R’ Shimshon HaKohen Brecher, … R’ Pinchas Shalom Friedman. Pinchas Shalom was the Hebrew name of Paul Friedman, husband of Shimshon’s sister Lucy; that this subscriber is Paul is Likely. Likely — Shuva Yisrael II (Monsey 1958) p. 157, HebrewBooks.org no. 2943
Esther had another brother: Jenő (Yehuda Yekutiel) Klein, a painter born at Felsőbánya in 1882 (c. 1884 by his ages in the civil acts), married to Szeréna Róth and later of Szatmár; 1944 (date only). His son David called Samuel and Shimon Klein his uncles. Their daughter Ilona was born at Felsőbánya on 18 April 1914 (birth act, Confirmed). Pages in the gallery. Likely — Holocaust memorial records, items 8124167, 8124170, 8124171; Baia Sprie births 1914 act 42 and 1918 act 55 (Romanian National Archives, Maramureș)
Samuel Klein’s son Miklós (Nicolas) survived; in a recorded interview (USC Shoah Foundation) he named his parents Samuel and Józefa, his grandfather Moses Szalavitz, and his sisters and brothers. From it: Róza (b. 1904) was married as Herschowitz, and Róza, Margit, József and Sándor, as well as Samuel and Józefa, are named among those who died in 1944. The earlier memorial-record listing of Miklós among the dead was wrong. Likely — USC Shoah Foundation interview index via JewishGen, record USCINTERV_0034291; Baia Sprie births 1919
Three more children of Esther’s sister Berta and Mihály Fogel, from their Felsőbánya birth acts: Ferencz (18 June 1899), Sámuel (1 May 1901) and Menyhért (13 February 1903; he survived the war and lived in Budapest, Likely). Mihály was admitted to the Felsőbánya town community in 1904; after Berta’s death he married Paula Davidovics and he died at Felsőbánya on 25 May 1915. Pages in the gallery. Confirmed — Felsőbánya births 1899 act 101, 1901 act 62, 1903 act 31; deaths 1915 act 51 (Romanian National Archives, Maramureș); Felsőbányai Hírlap, 22 Jun 1904, p. 49 (Hungaricana)
Mickey (Nicholas) Brecher married Margaret Farkas on 26 August 1941 in a civil ceremony at the Borough Hall, Bronx, licence no. 8896 (taken out 20 August). The licence confirms her maiden name Farkas and names her parents Morris Farkas and Gizella Weiss; she was 20, born 23 August 1920 in Czechoslovakia, a bookkeeper. Licence, certificate and the City Clerk’s index pages in the gallery. Confirmed — NYC Municipal Archives, Historical Vital Records, Marriage Licenses, Bronx 1941, no. 8896 (L-B-1941-0008896); City Clerk’s Index to Marriage Licenses, Bronx 1941 (Reclaim The Records / Internet Archive)
Eugene (Jenő) Brecher became an American citizen on 22 May 1944 (petition 379085, sworn 14 May 1941). His witnesses were his father-in-law Israel Zelig, a grocer, and his brother-in-law Paul Friedman, a jeweler. Page 2 of the petition is in the gallery. Confirmed — SDNY naturalization petition 379085, p. 2 (NARA M1972, roll 1321), via FamilySearch
The 1940 census: Eugene and Elizabeth Brecher at 305 East Mount Eden Avenue, Bronx, Eugene a wage-earning necktie operator; and Lucy and Paul Friedman on Monroe Avenue with Paul’s parents Joseph and Giza (Gizella née Berger) Friedman, Paul a watchmaker with his own jewelry store. Both pages in the gallery. Confirmed — 1940 U.S. Census, Bronx, ED 3-114 sheet 4A and ED 3-115 sheet 7B (NARA T627, via FamilySearch)
Esther Brecher’s 1962 dinner was the Bais Yaakov High School of Spring Valley’s fifth annual dinner, held as a testimonial to her, on about Sunday 23 September 1962 (the date Likely; the notice says “Sunday evening”), not its first, and not in October. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik was the guest speaker; the report calls her a Monsey resident of eleven years who, with her late husband David, helped build its Torah and welfare institutions. Confirmed — Orangetown Telegram, 9 Aug 1962, p. 10 and 20 Sep 1962, p. 14 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))
The move to Monsey can now be dated: on 16 August 1951 the Rockland County Leader welcomed Eugene and Elizabeth Brecher and Lucy and Paul Friedman as newcomers settled in new homes on Lenore Avenue, after “several summers” in Monsey. David and Esther in 1951 too: Likely (Esther was “a resident of Monsey for the past eleven years” in 1962). Confirmed — Rockland County Leader, 16 Aug 1951, p. 8; Orangetown Telegram, 20 Sep 1962, p. 14 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))
The Yeshiva of Spring Valley in the Rockland papers: Eugene elected its president in October 1953 and reporting in October 1954 a larger enrolment than at any time in its ten years; David Brecher and Eugene on its board of directors in 1954; Eugene vice-president again in 1957; Alex, Eugene and Paul Friedman on the 1953 banquet committee; Alex a dinner sponsor every year 1962–1967, with Paul Friedman from 1965; Esther (Mrs. D. Brecher) on an arrangements committee in 1956 (Likely). Confirmed — Rockland County Leader 28 May 1953, 30 Jul 1953, 22 Oct 1953, 14 Oct 1954, 7 Nov 1957; Orangetown Telegram 2 Feb 1956; Ramapo Valley / Rockland Independent 1962–1967 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))
Eugene Brecher donated a piece of luggage from the family business as the door prize at a Temple Beth El Sisterhood dinner in Suffern, October 1952; the luggage prizes at the December 1957 Chanukah game night were “donated [by] Brecher Bros.” (the printing: Orangetown Telegram, 2 Jan 1958, p. 8). Confirmed — Rockland County Leader, 23 Oct 1952, p. 12; Orangetown Telegram, 2 Jan 1958, p. 8 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))
The last years in Florida: Esther (d. 1 November 1980), Lucy (d. 21 December 1984) and Paul Friedman (d. 8 April 1983) all died in Dade County, all with a last residence in Miami Beach, which explains their burials at Lakeside Memorial Park. Confirmed — Florida Death Index 1877–1998, certs. 89719, 108803, 34349; Social Security Death Index (via FamilySearch)
Mickey (Nicholas) Brecher and Margaret Farkas married twice on one licence (no. 8896): the civil ceremony at the Borough Hall on 26 August 1941, and a religious ceremony on 1 April 1942 in the Bronx, performed by Rabbi Solomon Teitelbaum of 961 Simpson Street. The licence file also carries the affidavit of 20 August 1941 with both their signatures. Margaret’s grandmother Mary Weiss (Weisz) of Sevljuš is now on the tree, and her father Morris Farkas was already a U.S. citizen by 1929. Confirmed — NYC Municipal Archives, Bronx 1941 marriage licence no. 8896, pp. 3 and 6; S.S. Aquitania manifest, New York, 6 Sep 1929
The left-hand page of the Vulcania’s 1928 list, read for the first time: David’s calling “rabbi”, birthplace “Roumania, Sereth”, non-quota visa no. 344 issued at Budapest on 22 Nov 1928. The visa was possibly granted to him as a minister of religion (Possible; the list gives no reason). The same list gives Esther’s birthplace as Sereth too, against Felsőbánya in her marriage act and David’s petition (kept under “Dates the records disagree on”). Confirmed — S.S. Vulcania, arriving New York 31 Dec 1928, left-hand page, lines 13–14 (FamilySearch, “New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925–1958”)
Margaret’s sister Gabriella (Gabriela) Farkas, b. 11 Jul 1914, married Leonard A. Creizman in the Bronx on 28 Nov 1936; the marriage record names her parents as Morris and Gizella Weiss. She later married Rabbi Emanuel D. Rothenberg (Queens, 1987) and died at Monsey, New York, on 12 Aug 2013. Likely — New York City marriage records 1829–1938, Bronx 1936, cert. no. 10234 (FamilySearch 1:1:Q2CV-3HWR); NYC marriage licence index, Queens 1987; Death Master File
Hersch Ferencz’s family of Kováskápolnok, read on the original civil register images: his wife Ilona Novi, born about 1837 at Avasfelsőfalu, and their daughter Czili, born 18 January 1864 (late registration, 15 May 1897, act 47); his brother Gedálics Ferencz, died 16 February 1903 aged 68, son of the late Bernát Ferencz, smallholder and innkeeper, and Róza. These people are possible kin of Háni (Johanna) Ferencz; no record names her parents, so that link stays Possible. Pages in the gallery. Confirmed — Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers: MM-F-00743-1-1-00187, image 163 (https://descopera.arhivelenationale.ro/cota/?cid=13914467); MM-F-00743-1-1-00201, image 91 (https://descopera.arhivelenationale.ro/cota/?cid=13914481)

Leads still being checked

These are possibilities only. They are not on the tree until a record proves them.

Háni (Johanna) Ferencz’s family may be the Ferenczes of Avasfelsőfalu: in Nagybánya, Herman Klein was sandak at the bris of Samuel Mózes Ferencz (15 November 1892), son of Mihály Ferencz and Leni Rosenfeld, and Mihály Fogel — Berta Klein’s husband — was sandak at the bris of Elek Grozinger (20 May 1894), son of Rezi née Ferencz of Avasfelsőfalu. Both names are common, so this is Possible (JewishGen Máramaros births, Nagybánya, Register Book 39, p. 47 row 41 and p. 56 row 26). The Rezi is Terézia (Rézi) Ferencz, wife of Izsák Grozinger, grocer and innkeeper of Giródtótfalu near Nagybánya: she is entered as “Grozinger Izsákné született Ferencz Terézia” on a 1901 Giródtótfalu death act of their infant son Sámuel. Record Confirmed; that she was a sister or niece of Háni is Possible only (Nagybánya-district deaths 1901, folio 19v, Romanian National Archives, Maramureș, unit 13914317). Possible
Mevaser Tov (1915), p. 105 (printed page 47), re-read on the page: besides “דוד ברעכער” in the Felsőbánya list (with Yaakov Tzvi Klein), a second “דוד ברעכער” stands in the Kolozsvár list on the same page. Whether he is the same David Brecher is not known (Possible). The next name there, “ב״ג ירוחם במו״ה יהושע הירש” (Yerucham son of R’ Yehoshua Hirsch), is a separate subscriber with no Brecher surname. Source: Mevaser Tov (Kolozsvár 1915) p. 105 [printed page 47], HebrewBooks.org no. 33126. Possible
In the same interview the sisters “Blima Szomgye” (b. 1904, d. Haifa 1992) and “Tuby” are possibly Blanka (b. 1909) and Mathild (b. 1908); Possible only. Possible
Sándor Fogel (b. 1896), son of Mihály and Berta, is possibly the Sándor Fogel, clerk of Budapest, born 1898 at Felsőbánya, of a memorial record (item 959053); the year differs. Possible. Possible
A Jewish Ferencz family at Illésfalva near Nagysomkút, where Háni (Johanna) Ferencz’s children Berta and Samuel were born: Izrael Dávid Ferencz, shoemaker, son of Noé Ferencz, grocer, and Eszter Markovics, married in 1904, and a Hani Ferencz was born there in 1898. Possibly Háni’s relatives; a lead only (Bicaz marriages 1904 act 23; Băsești births 1898, Romanian National Archives, Maramureș). Possible
Possibly Háni (Johanna) Ferencz’s parents: Hersch Ferencz of Kováskápolnok, who died there on 23 April 1898 aged 76 (born there about 1822), son of the late Bernát Ferencz, smallholder, and Róza Weisz; his wife is entered as Lája. Noé Ferencz of Illésfalva (born about 1856) was born at Kováskápolnok, about 20 km from Nagysomkút, where Háni’s children Berta and Samuel were born, and named a daughter Háni in December 1898. The death record is Confirmed; that Hersch and Lája were Háni’s parents is Possible only — no record names her parents yet. Page in the gallery (Kováskápolnok deaths 1898 act 24, Romanian National Archives, Maramureș, unit 13914480, image 191). New (27 October 2026): Hersch’s wife was Ilona Novi (Lája), born about 1837 at Avasfelsőfalu, and they had a daughter Czili, born at Kováskápolnok on 18 January 1864 (late registration of 1897, act 47); Hersch’s brother Gedálics (c. 1835–1903) gives the same parents, Bernát Ferencz and Róza. A butcher Mihály Ferencz, born about 1863 at Avasfelsőfalu, was living at Felsőbánya in 1904 — possibly Hersch’s son. The records are Confirmed; the family’s tie to Háni stays Possible. Other Ferencz couples of Kováskápolnok (Náthán Ferencz and Lája née Lázár; Márk Ferencz and Bluma Róth) are of the same age and are not her parents by any record. Possible

Marriage and Children in Felsőbánya

1906–1915

David Brecher was born on 20 July 1881 in Siret (Sereth), in Bukovina, a son of Meir Brecher and Freide née Frohner. On 21 November 1906 he married Eszter Sára (Esther) Klein in Felsőbánya, the daughter of Jakab Hersch (Hermann) Klein, a merchant of the town. The civil marriage act, kept in the Maramureș archives, names David’s parents and gives his birthplace and date; its back carries the witnesses’ signatures.

The couple made their home in Felsőbánya, where David is described in the registers as a draper, a fashion merchant and a merchant. Four children were born there: Jenő (Eugene) in 1908, Shimshon (Alex) in 1910 (11 July 1912 in his American papers), Ilona (Lucy) in 1912 and Miklós (Nicholas) in 1915. Alex’s birth act is reproduced in Part I. The town’s synagogue was built from 1909, while the family lived there.

Felsőbánya (Baia Sprie), painted by Vilmos Aba-Novák in 1925.Vilmos Aba-Novák, Felsőbánya (1925), via Wikimedia Commons

Confirmed Birth of Jenő (Eugene) Brecher, Felsőbánya, 1 November 1908, act 157. Parents: David Brecher, draper, 27, and Eszter Klein, 22.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Felsőbánya births, unit MM-F-00743-2-00621, image 62

Confirmed Birth of Ilona (Lucy) Brecher, Felsőbánya, 11 July 1912, act 97. Parents: David Brecher, merchant, 31, and Eszter Sára Klein, 26.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Felsőbánya births, unit MM-F-00743-2-00621, image 178

Confirmed Civil marriage of David Brecher and Eszter Sára Klein, Felsőbánya, 21 November 1906, act 38. David is entered as born 20 July 1881 in Siret, son of Meir Brecher and Freide Frohner; the bride’s father is Jakab Hersch Klein, merchant of Felsőbánya.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Felsőbánya marriages, unit MM-F-00743-1-1-00044, p. 152

Confirmed The same marriage act, reverse: the witnesses and the signatures of the bride and groom.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, unit MM-F-00743-1-1-00044, p. 152v

Confirmed Birth of Miklós (Nicholas) Brecher, Felsőbánya, 22 November 1915, act 112. Parents: David Brecher, merchant, 36, and Eszter Klein, 29.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Felsőbánya births, unit MM-F-00743-2-00621, image 262

The chapter on the Jewish community of Felsőbánya in the memorial book of Nagybánya and its region: its dayan R’ Májer Zeév Nadler, and the synagogue built from 1909.Emlékkönyv Nagybánya, Nagysomkút, Felsőbánya… (Tel Aviv, 1996), Yiddish Book Center collection, Internet Archive

The same chapter, continued.Emlékkönyv Nagybánya, Nagysomkút, Felsőbánya… (Tel Aviv, 1996), Yiddish Book Center collection, Internet Archive

Esther’s family, the Kleins

Esther’s father appears in her marriage act as Jakab Hers Klein, a grocer of Felsőbánya, and her mother only as “Mrs Jakab Hers Klein”; on Esther’s gravestone she is Esther Sheindel bat Yaakov Tzvi. A margin note of 1907 on the death act of his daughter Berta gives his name as Herman Klein, and under that name he appears in the town’s papers: he rented the smaller town shop in the market for 1901–1903, sat among the highest-taxpaying members of the town assembly in 1904 and 1905 and as a substitute in 1906, owned a house on Kossuth Lajos utca at the west end of town, and was still giving to the war-relief collections in 1915 — the same civic path David Brecher followed a few years later. Likely

Esther’s mother was very probably Johanna (Háni) Ferencz. Herman Klein and Háni Ferencz are the parents named on Samuel’s marriage act of 1902 and on Berta’s death act of 1907, and on 5 March 1890, three years after Esther’s birth, they had a son, Shimon, entered in the Nagybánya Jewish birth register; Esther’s own entry leaves her mother unnamed, but every child of Herman’s known from those years was Háni’s. Berta and Samuel were then Esther’s full sister and brother. Berta, also called Erzsébet, was born in Nagysomkút about 1875 and married Mihály Fogel, an innkeeper and merchant of Felsőbánya; their sons Izrael Áron and Zoltán were born in 1904 and 1907, and Berta died in October 1907. Samuel (Pinkász) Klein, a general merchant on Hunyadi tér, married Jozefa (Pepi) Szalavitz in 1902; he and his father appear together on the town’s list of highest taxpayers for 1908, and on 16 August 1915 Samuel and David Brecher were called up for military service on the same day. Shimon Klein, Esther’s younger brother, became a merchant in Felsőbánya and served as an infantryman in the First World War; his portrait was printed in a 1941 book on the Transylvanian regiments. Mária Cziment, who died in 1915 aged 65 and is named as the wife of a Herman Klein, was probably Herman’s second wife, married after 1890 — Esther’s stepmother. Likely

Possible Death of Mária Cziment, wife of Herman Klein, Felsőbánya, 29 January 1915, act 14, aged 65; her father Salamon Cziment. She may have been a second wife of Esther’s father.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Felsőbánya deaths, unit MM-F-00743-2-00623, image 180

Likely Death of Berta Klein, wife of Mihály Fogel, Felsőbánya, 15 October 1907, act 122, aged 33. Her father is entered as Jakab Klein, corrected in the margin to Herman Klein; her mother as the late Johanna Ferencz.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Felsőbánya deaths, unit MM-F-00743-2-00623, image 21

Likely Herman Klein takes the lease of the smaller town shop in the Felsőbánya market for 1901–1903, at 60 crowns a year.Nagybánya és Vidéke, 2 December 1900 (Hungaricana)

Likely From the town assembly, December 1901: Herman Klein asks to give up the lease of town shop no. 1, which the police captain had forbidden him to use as a storeroom; the assembly declines.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 15 December 1901 (Hungaricana)

Likely Marriage of Sámuel Pinkász Klein, Felsőbánya, 18 February 1902, act 8. His parents are Hermann Klein and Háni Ferencz, the same parents as Berta’s. Samuel was Esther’s brother.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Felsőbánya marriages, unit MM-F-00743-1-1-00043

Likely Shimon Klein of Felsőbánya, Esther’s younger brother, born in 1890, in uniform during the First World War.Holocaust memorial records, Photo Archive, 15000/14693547, from L. Deseő, Erdélyi ezredek a világháborúban (1941); birth: Nagybánya Jewish birth register, Book 39, p. 32, as indexed in the JewishGen Hungary database

Likely Birth of Szidónia Klein, Felsőbánya, 13 January 1903, act 8 — first child of Samuel Klein, general merchant, born in Nagysomkút, and Pepi (Jozefa) Szalavitz.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Baia Sprie births 1901–1903

Likely Herman Klein among the highest-taxpaying members of the Felsőbánya town assembly for 1904.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 9 December 1903 (Hungaricana)

Likely Birth of Izrael Áron Fogel, Felsőbánya, 18 May 1904, act 91 — son of Mihály Fogel, merchant, and Erzsébet (Berta) Klein, born in Nagysomkút, Esther’s elder sister.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Baia Sprie births 1904–1906

Likely A small fire in the house of Samuel Klein on Hunyadi tér, Felsőbánya, quickly put out, August 1904.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 31 August 1904 (Hungaricana)

Likely The same list for 1905: Herman Klein, paying 130.70 crowns in tax.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 4 January 1905 (Hungaricana)

Likely The list for 1906: Herman Klein among the substitute members.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 8 November 1905 (Hungaricana)

Likely “The Herman Klein house” on Kossuth Lajos utca, at the west end of Felsőbánya, used as a landmark in a town-assembly report of October 1906.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 10 October 1906 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed Birth of Zoltán Fogel, Felsőbánya, 21 February 1907, act 46 — son of Mihály Fogel, entrepreneur, and Berta Klein, of Fazekas utca 344.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Baia Sprie births 1907–1919

Likely Samuel Klein and his father Herman Klein, both on Felsőbánya’s list of highest taxpayers for 1908.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 4 December 1907 (Hungaricana)

Samuel Klein’s family

Samuel Klein and Józefa (Pepi) Szalavitz, born at Náprád, made their home on Nagybányai utca in Felsőbánya, where Samuel is entered in the birth registers as a merchant and later as a general merchant. His own birthplace is given as Nagysomkút in the acts of 1903 and 1906 and as Felsőbánya in that of 1904. Their first child, Szidónia, was born on 13 January 1903 and died on 12 March 1904; seven more children followed between 1904 and 1919: Róza, Margit, Mathild, Blanka, József, Sándor and Miklós.

Confirmed Birth of Róza Klein, 29 June 1904, Felsőbánya, daughter of Samuel Klein, general merchant, and Józefa Szalavitz.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Baia Sprie (Felsőbánya) births 1904–1906, unit MM-F-00743-1-1-00042, act 116

Confirmed Birth of Margit Klein, 30 May 1906, Felsőbánya, daughter of Samuel Klein, merchant, born at Nagysomkút, and Józefa Szalavitz of Náprád.Romanian National Archives, Maramureș County Branch, civil registers, Baia Sprie (Felsőbánya) births 1904–1906, unit MM-F-00743-1-1-00042, act 88

Children of Samuel and Józefa Klein, all born in Felsőbánya

Szidónia	b. 13 Jan 1903, d. 12 Mar 1904 Likely
Róza	b. 29 Jun 1904 Confirmed
Margit	b. 30 May 1906 Confirmed
Mathild	b. 18 Apr 1908 Confirmed
Blanka	b. 15 Dec 1909 Confirmed
József	b. 15 Nov 1911 Confirmed
Sándor	b. 6 Sep 1913 Confirmed
Miklós	Confirmed

David Brecher in the Felsőbánya and Nagybánya press

The local papers record David Brecher as a man of standing in Felsőbánya: elected an alternate member of the town council in July 1910, leasing a town shop in Nagybánya in 1914, and called up for military service on 16 August 1915. Esther’s family, the Kleins, appear too: Herman Klein rented the town’s small shop no. 1 in 1901 and sat among the council’s highest taxpayers, and Shimon Klein served in the war in 1915.

Confirmed David Brecher elected an alternate member of the Felsőbánya town council, July 1910.Felsőbányai Hírlap, July 1910

Likely David Brecher among the Felsőbánya men called up for military service, 16 August 1915.Felsőbányai Hírlap, August 1915

Likely David Brecher leases shop no. XII from the town of Nagybánya, 1914.Nagybánya és Vidéke, 1914

Likely Herman Klein, tenant of the Felsőbánya town’s small shop no. 1, 1901.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 1901

Likely Herman Klein among the highest-taxpaying members (virilists) of the Felsőbánya town council.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 1903

Confirmed Felsőbánya in the 1910s, the town where David and Esther Brecher raised their children.Contemporary postcard view

Confirmed The main square and church of Felsőbánya, 1942.Contemporary postcard view

Confirmed The main square of Nagybánya, c. 1910.Contemporary postcard view

Likely Shimon Klein of Felsőbánya in war service, 1915.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 1915

In the Local Newspapers

Felsőbánya and Nagybánya, 1910–1915

The weekly papers of Felsőbánya and the neighbouring towns, now digitized by Hungaricana, show David and Esther Brecher as settled members of the town. In July 1910 David was elected a substitute member of the town assembly; that December he gave to the Christmas celebration of the state kindergarten; and in October 1912 the town assembly admitted him, as a merchant, into the municipal community. In February 1914 the town of Nagybánya leased its shop premises no. XII to a David Brecher, probably he.

When war came in 1914 both appear in the town’s lists of gifts: David pledging monthly war relief and giving to the families of men at the front and to the town’s soldiers, Esther (listed, as was the custom, as “Brecher Dávidné”, Mrs David Brecher) giving bedding to the war hospital and a pair of gold earrings to the gold collection. On 16 August 1915 David, then 34, was called up for military service on the same day as Esther’s brother Samuel Klein; their names are nos. 462 and 494 in the town’s published list.

Nagybánya (Baia Mare), 1914–1918.K.u.k. Kriegspressequartier / Austrian National Library (BildID 15716690)

Confirmed David Brecher named an alternate member of a town committee after the municipal elections, 28 July 1910.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 28 July 1910 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed Donors to the Christmas-tree celebration of the Felsőbánya state kindergarten, December 1910 — David Brecher among them.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 15 December 1910 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed The town assembly admits “Brecher Dávid kereskedő” (merchant) into the municipal community, 17 October 1912.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 17 October 1912 (Hungaricana)

Possible The town of Nagybánya leases its shop premises no. XII to David Brecher for 450 crowns a year, February 1914; no town of residence is given for him.Nagybánya és Vidéke, 22 February 1914 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed David Brecher pledges two crowns a month to the war relief fund, August 1914.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 20 August 1914 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed Gifts for the war hospital: “Brecher Dávidné” — two pillows, a blanket, a sheet and a straw mattress, September 1914.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 3 September 1914 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed The gold collection for the war: “Brecher Dávidné egy pár arany fülfüggő” — Mrs David Brecher, a pair of gold earrings, September 1914.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 17 September 1914 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed Payments for September 1914 toward aid for the families of men at the front: Brecher [Dávid], two crowns.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 1 October 1914 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed A collection for the town’s men called up to the army, November 1914 — David Brecher among the donors.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 26 November 1914 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed Gifts given in place of New Year greetings, January 1915: David Brecher, two crowns.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 21 January 1915 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed “Brecher Dávid úr Felsőbányáról” — David Brecher of Felsőbánya — gives ten crowns to the Szatmár Jewish Women’s Society, March 1915.Szamos (Szatmár), 23 March 1915 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed A public sale notice of August 1915: hay bought by “Brecher Dávid felsőbányai lakos” — David Brecher of Felsőbánya — from a farmer of Kővárhosszúfalu, to be resold.Kővárvidék (Nagysomkút), 1 August 1915 (Hungaricana)

Confirmed The Felsőbánya men called up for military service on 16 August 1915: no. 462, David Brecher, and no. 494, Samuel Klein, Esther’s brother.Felsőbányai Hírlap, 16 September 1915 (Hungaricana)

The Crossing and the Bronx

1928–1950

In December 1928 David and Esther left Europe with their four children. Their last home there was Budapest. They sailed from Trieste on the SS Vulcania on 19 December 1928 and reached New York on 31 December 1928, the date on the ship’s list (2 January 1929 in the naturalization papers). It was the Vulcania’s maiden voyage: the new Cosulich liner left Trieste for the first time on 19 December 1928, calling at Patras and Naples, and the Brechers were among her first passengers to New York. The manifest gives David’s destination as Congregation Bikur Cholim, 1080 Tiffany Street, in the Bronx, and names his sister Rosa, who had been in New York since 1913.

By April 1930 the family lived at 972 Fox Street in the Bronx, where David made neckties. He declared his intention to become a citizen in 1932 — the declaration carries his photograph — and petitioned for citizenship in March 1934; he was sworn in as a citizen on 25 June 1934. His papers repeat his birth in Siret on 20 July 1881, give Esther’s birth as 25 December 1886, and list the children with dates that differ from the Felsőbánya registers.

The children married in New York: Lucy to Paul Friedman, a jeweller, at the Bronx Borough Hall on 27 June 1934, both giving 972 Fox Street as their address (Paul’s father, Joseph Friedman, was in Hebrew Yosef Ephraim son of Yeshayahu); Eugene to Elizabeth Zelig in 1938; Alex to Anne Wahrsager in the same year. Eugene, a men’s-neckwear manufacturer, petitioned for citizenship about 1941. In 1940 David and Esther lived in the Bronx with their youngest son, Nicholas, and in 1942 David, registering for the draft from 1640 Topping Avenue, was working for Joseph Feldstein & Son at 46 Walker Street in Manhattan. Nicholas served in the United States Army from 8 June 1942 to 24 January 1945. Around 1951 David and Esther moved to Monsey, in Rockland County.

Confirmed David Brecher, from his 1932 declaration of intention, Southern District of New York.New York, U.S. District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1824–1991, Southern District of New York (filed with his 1934 petition); FamilySearch

The Cosulich liner Vulcania, which brought the Brecher family to New York at the turn of 1929, photographed at Cannes on 19 January 1929 on her next voyage.Agence Rol, Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Confirmed The SS Vulcania, sailing from Trieste on 19 December 1928: the Brecher family — David, Esther and their four children, among them Alex.New York passenger lists, U.S. National Archives (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed The second page of the Vulcania’s list, headed “Arriving at Port of New York, December 31, 1928” (lines 13–18): the family were going to 1080 Tiffany Street in the Bronx, the address of David’s sister Rosa, and intended to stay permanently. It records David at 5 ft 8 in and Esther at 5 ft 3 in, and the children Eugen at 5 ft 8 in, Alex at 5 ft 2 in, Ilona at 5 ft 1 in and Nicolaus at 4 ft 7 in, all fair-complexioned with brown hair and eyes.New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925–1958 (FamilySearch), right-hand page, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-954Z-R6Z

Confirmed Detail of the same manifest: David Brecher bound for Congregation Bikur Cholim, 1080 Tiffany Street, Bronx; his sister Rosa named.New York passenger lists, U.S. National Archives (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed 1080 Tiffany Street, Bronx, about 1940: the home of Congregation Bikur Cholim, the address given for “Sister Rosa Brecher” on the family’s 1928 arrival record.NYC Department of Taxes photographs, c. 1940, NYC Municipal Archives

Confirmed The Brecher household in the 1930 census, 972 Fox Street, Bronx: David, 49, Esther, 43, and their four children, Alex then 18.1930 U.S. Census, Bronx, ED 3-353, sheet 24A, lines 24–29, U.S. National Archives (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed 972 Fox Street, Bronx, photographed for the city tax rolls about 1940: the Brecher family’s home in the 1930 census and on David Brecher’s naturalization papers.NYC Department of Taxes photographs, c. 1940, NYC Municipal Archives

Confirmed David Brecher’s Declaration of Intention, 1932: born 20 July 1881 in Siret; wife Esther; their children.U.S. National Archives, naturalization records, Southern District of New York, declaration 328927 (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed The certificate of arrival filed with David Brecher’s declaration of intention: the immigration records confirm that he was lawfully admitted at New York on 2 January 1929, from the SS Vulcania (certificate issued 29 January 1932).New York, U.S. District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1824–1991 (FamilySearch), https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89HN-93GM

Confirmed David Brecher’s Petition for Citizenship, no. 229724, Southern District of New York, March 1934.U.S. National Archives, naturalization records, Southern District of New York (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed On the reverse of his petition David Brecher signed the oath of allegiance, renouncing allegiance to Carol II, King of Romania; he was sworn in as a citizen of the United States on 25 June 1934 (certificate no. 3819630).New York, U.S. District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1824–1991 (FamilySearch), https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89HN-93PK

Confirmed Detail of the 1934 petition: the four children, with the dates the American papers give them.U.S. National Archives, naturalization records (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed Certificate and Record of Marriage of Paul Friedman and Lucy Brecher, Bronx, 27 June 1934. Both lived at 972 Fox Street; the bride’s parents are David Brecher and Esther Klein; the groom’s are Joseph Friedman and Gizella Berger.NYC Municipal Archives, historical vital records, Bronx marriages 1934, no. 6262

Confirmed Paul Friedman’s petition for naturalization, Southern District of New York, filed 28 April 1939: born at Glod, Romania, on 9 November 1906; jeweler and watchmaker, 305 Mount Eden Avenue, Bronx; married Lucy (born Baia Sprie, 4 September 1913; arrived 2 January 1929) in the Bronx on 27 June 1934. Lucy had become a citizen through her father, David Brecher, naturalized 25 June 1934 (certificate no. 3819630).New York, U.S. District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1824–1991 (FamilySearch), Southern District, petition no. 327852, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WS76-SCPZ

Confirmed Paul Friedman’s draft registration card, Bronx, 16 October 1940: born 9 November 1906 in Romania; his father Joseph Friedman named as the person who would always know his address; his own watch and jewelry shop in the Hudson Tubes terminal at 33rd Street and Broadway.New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940–1947 (FamilySearch), https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WZ9R-7FMM

Confirmed The reverse of the card describes him as 5 ft 7 in and 180 lb, with brown eyes, brown hair and a light complexion.New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940–1947 (FamilySearch), https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H7-FSQ1-L

Likely “Marriage Licenses”: Eugene Brecher, 986 Fox Street, Bronx, and Elizabeth Zelig, 466 Jerome Street, 2 March 1938.Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 2 March 1938 (Fulton History)

Confirmed Eugene (Jenő) Brecher’s petition for naturalization, Southern District of New York, about 1941: a men’s-neckwear manufacturer at 305 Mount Eden Avenue, Bronx, he had arrived with his family on the Vulcania on 2 January 1929 (31 December 1928 on the ship’s list).U.S. National Archives, naturalization records, Southern District of New York (FamilySearch)

Confirmed Certificate of arrival no. 2-208042 for Jenő (Eugene) Brecher, issued by the Bureau of Naturalization on 3 February 1932: arrived at New York on the SS Vulcania, 2 January 1929.New York, U.S. District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1824–1991, Southern District of New York, petition 379085; FamilySearch

Confirmed David and Esther Brecher with their son Nicholas (“Mickey”) in the 1940 census, Bronx.1940 U.S. Census, Bronx, ED 3-113, sheet 5A, lines 28–30, U.S. National Archives (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed David Brecher’s draft registration card, April 1942: 1640 Topping Avenue, Bronx; born 20 July 1881, “Sereth, Rumania”; signed in his own hand.U.S. World War II draft registration cards, 1942, U.S. National Archives (FamilySearch, host)

Confirmed The reverse of the same card describes David Brecher as 5 ft 10 in tall and 160 lb, with brown eyes, gray hair and a dark complexion, wearing glasses.United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards (FamilySearch), 1942, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-X474-QV

Confirmed 46 Walker Street, Manhattan, about 1940: the premises of Joseph Feldstein & Son, where David Brecher worked in 1942.NYC Department of Taxes photographs, c. 1940, NYC Municipal Archives

Brecher Brothers

Alex and his brothers ran the family firm, Brecher Brothers (identification by the family). By family memory it began as a necktie factory and turned to leather goods and luggage. Brecher Brothers, Inc. was incorporated on 30 July 1942 in New York County, at 1220 Broadway, and was dissolved in 1992 (New York Department of State). In 1946 the firm advertised luggage from 708 Broadway; about 1947–48 it made the “Travel Crib”, a suitcase that opened into a baby’s bed, which the business press noticed; in 1961 it leased space at 27 West 23rd Street, and later kept a showroom at 180 Madison Avenue.

Confirmed 120 Allen Street, Manhattan, c. 1940, the address of Nicholas Brecher’s necktie business.New York City 1940 tax photographs (NYC Municipal Archives)

Confirmed 1220 Broadway, Manhattan, c. 1940 — the address given when Brecher Brothers, Inc. was incorporated in 1942.New York City 1940 tax photographs (NYC Municipal Archives)

Confirmed Brecher Brothers luggage advertisement, 708 Broadway, New York, 1946.Luggage trade magazine, 1946

Confirmed A second Brecher Brothers advertisement of 1946 (style 723), 708 Broadway.Luggage trade magazine, 1946

Likely Brecher Brothers in the Manhattan telephone directory, 1946.Manhattan telephone directory, 1946

Confirmed The Brecher Brothers “Travel Crib”, a suitcase that opened into a baby’s bed, c. 1947.Surviving example

Confirmed The Travel Crib’s Brecher Brothers nameplate, c. 1947.Surviving example

Likely 38 West 32nd Street, Manhattan, c. 1940, a later Brecher Brothers address.New York City 1940 tax photographs (NYC Municipal Archives)

Confirmed 27 West 23rd Street, Manhattan (photographed c. 1940), where Brecher Brothers leased space in 1961.New York City 1940 tax photographs; The New York Times, 1961

Confirmed 180 Madison Avenue, Manhattan (photographed c. 1940), the later Brecher Brothers showroom.New York City 1940 tax photographs; The New York Times, 1964

Likely Brecher Brothers “Tommy Traveler” advertisement, 1953.Coffee and Tea Industries, 1953

Likely A Chanukah game night at the Monsey home of Paul and Lucy Friedman, December 1957; the Brecher wives served as hostesses, and the prizes were donated by Brecher Bros., the family's luggage business.Orangetown Telegram (Pearl River, N.Y.), late December 1957 (event Wed. 18 Dec 1957) — fultonhistory.com file "Pearl River NY Orangetown Telegram 1957-1958 - 0593.pdf" (Old Fulton NY Post Cards, free).

Confirmed Brecher Bros. Inc., 38 West 32nd Street, Manhattan: a help-wanted advertisement, 1943.The New York Times, 25 August 1961, "More Space Taken by Brass Concern; Entire Floor at 72 5th Ave. Leased — Other Rentings" (nytimes.com archive abstract). Grade: (family firm, as above).

Confirmed The Brecher Brothers Travel Crib noticed in Financial World, 1948.The New York Times, 25 August 1961, "More Space Taken by Brass Concern; Entire Floor at 72 5th Ave. Leased — Other Rentings" (nytimes.com archive abstract). Grade: (family firm, as above).

Confirmed Business Week's new-products column, 10 July 1948, on the Brecher Bros. Travel Crib — a crib and play pen that folded into a 37-lb case "like a piece of luggage".Business Week, no. 984 (10 July 1948), new-products column; Internet Archive item sim_business-week_1948-07-10_984, leaf 43 — https://archive.org/details/sim_business-week_1948-07-10_984. (The same product is described in Commerce magazine, Aug 1948, item commerce-magazine_1948-08_45_7, leaf 44 — text only, not saved.)

Likely Three bags stored in one": Brecher Brothers' nesting luggage set — four cases of waterproof canvas bound in cowhide, $100 the set — in Popular Science, April 1949.Popular Science Monthly, vol. 154 no. 4 (April 1949), new-products pages, p. [leaf 300]; Internet Archive item sim_popular-science_1949-04_154_4 — https://archive.org/details/sim_popular-science_1949-04_154_4

Likely In 1953 the former Vice President Alben W. Barkley received a leather wallet made by Brecher Bros., Inc. after speaking at the Shoe Service Institute's convention banquet in Chicago.Leather and Shoes, vol. 126 no. 4 (25 July 1953), "Illinois" news column; Internet Archive item sim_leather-and-shoes_1953-07-25_126_4, leaf 31 — https://archive.org/details/sim_leather-and-shoes_1953-07-25_126_4

Eugene and Nicholas

Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher, a son of David and Esther, was born in November 1915 and died in 2014. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 8 June 1942 and served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. On 18 October 2010, in Surfside, Florida, he recorded a 59-minute interview about his war for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, which also keeps his wartime photo album (Nicholas Brecher Collection, AFC/2001/001/77021). In 1950 he was a sales manager in the wholesale luggage trade, beside his brother Eugene; in later business life he was known as Mickey Brecher. His wife Margaret (23 August 1920 – 12 January 2020), born in Czechoslovakia, outlived him and died in Florida at ninety-nine; she is remembered at Lakeside Memorial Park, Miami Likely.

Confirmed Eugene Brecher, 39, proprietor of a wholesale luggage business, and his wife Elizabeth in the 1950 census, the Bronx.1950 U.S. census, the Bronx, ED 3-144 (National Archives)

Confirmed Nicholas Brecher, 34, sales manager in the wholesale luggage trade, in the 1950 census, the Bronx.1950 U.S. census, the Bronx, ED 3-145 (National Archives)

Confirmed Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher in the Second World War, 1943, from his wartime photo album: the soldier on the left, beside the film comedian Joe E. Brown, who signed the photo “Joe E. Brown” (Brown entertained the troops overseas during the war).Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Nicholas Brecher Collection (AFC/2001/001/77021)

Likely Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher in the Second World War, 1942, from his wartime photo album.Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Nicholas Brecher Collection (AFC/2001/001/77021)

Likely Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher in the Second World War, c. 1943, from his wartime photo album.Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Nicholas Brecher Collection (AFC/2001/001/77021)

Confirmed Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher in the Second World War, c. 1944, from his wartime photo album.Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Nicholas Brecher Collection (AFC/2001/001/77021)

Confirmed A page of Nicholas Brecher’s wartime photo album, North Africa, Sicily and Italy, 1942–44.Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Nicholas Brecher Collection (AFC/2001/001/77021)

Confirmed Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher, aged 94, recording his wartime story for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project at his home in Surfside, Florida, 18 October 2010. Drafted in 1942, he served with Company I, 30th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, in North Africa and Sicily.Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, Veterans History Project, Nicholas Brecher Collection, AFC/2001/001/77021 — https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.77021/ ; video https://www.loc.gov/resource/afc2001001.77021.mv0001001/ (MP4 https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/vhp/0770/077021/afc2001001_077021_mv0001001_640x480_800.mp4); photos https://www.loc.gov/resource/afc2001001.77021.ph0001001/ (sp=1–99).

Likely Nicholas (Mickey) Brecher noted in Advertising Age, 1961.Advertising Age, vol. 32 no. 10 (6 March 1961), p. [leaf 45]; Internet Archive item sim_advertising-age_1961-03-06_32_10 — https://archive.org/details/sim_advertising-age_1961-03-06_32_10

Monsey and Spring Valley

Rockland County, 1951–1980

Around 1951 David and Esther Brecher settled on Lenore Avenue in Monsey, in Rockland County, where their sons Alex and Eugene and their daughter Lucy with her husband Paul Friedman also made their homes. The family was closely bound up with the young Torah institutions of the area. David was one of the first directors of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley and of Beth Medrosh Elyon in Monsey, and early in 1954 Beth Medrosh Elyon presented him with its award as outstanding citizen of the year. Eugene served as president of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley in 1953–54 and later as a vice-president; in 1956 Alex, Eugene and Paul Friedman sat together on its board of directors, and Alex was a sponsor and co-chairman of yeshiva dinners into the 1960s. By 1958 Alex and Anne Brecher’s home was at 8 Lenore Avenue, a few doors from the Friedmans at no. 4.

David died on 9 Adar 5715 (3 March 1955) in Suffern, New York, and is buried in Beth Moses Cemetery, Long Island, in the section of Congregation Yetev Lev D’Satmar; his stone reads “Dovid son of Meir HaKohen Brecher”. Eugene died on 15 Cheshvan 5722 (26 October 1961), aged 50, as the New York State death index also records, and was buried beside him. Esther remained in Monsey, where the Ladies Auxiliary of the yeshiva met at her home and, on about 23 September 1962 the Bais Yaakov High School of Spring Valley honoured her at its fifth annual dinner, held as a testimonial to her. She died on the Sabbath of Chayei Sarah, 22 Cheshvan 5741 (1 November 1980), in Florida, and is buried in Lakeside Memorial Park, near her daughter Lucy.

David Brecher’s grave

Cemetery	Beth Moses Cemetery, West Babylon, Long Island, New York
Plot	Congregation Yetev Lev D’Satmar, Section 2, Block 18, Row 6, Grave 18
Beside him	his sons Eugene (Grave 17) and Alex (Grave 16)
Died	9 Adar 5715 (3 March 1955), Suffern, New York; New York State certificate no. 19056
Source	Beth Moses Cemetery burial register (Confirmed)

Confirmed David Brecher's entry in the New York State death index for 1955: died at Suffern, Rockland County, on 3 March 1955, aged 74; certificate no. 19056.New York State Department of Health, Death Index 1955 (statewide, excluding New York City), soundex B626, scan page n165 of the volume as published by Reclaim the Records on the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/New_York_State_Death_Index_1955).

Confirmed The gravestone of David Brecher HaKohen, son of Meir, who died on 9 Adar 5715 (3 March 1955), Beth Moses Cemetery, West Babylon. The verse is an acrostic: the first letters of its lines spell his name, David bar Meir.Photograph of the stone by a relative, 15 Sep 2026. The cemetery is not shown on the photo; Beth Moses is the only David Brecher who died 3 Mar 1955 in its burial register (Section 2, Block 18, Row 6, Grave 18).

Confirmed Notice in Der Tog, 13 May 1955, p. 14: the unveiling of R’ David Brecher’s gravestone on Sunday 15 May 1955 (23 Iyar) at Beth Moses Cemetery, in the Yetev Lev D’Satmar plot, signed “the family”.Der Tog (New York), 13 May 1955, p. 14

Confirmed Leibish (Yehuda Aryeh) Brecher among the pupils taking part in the Yeshiva of Spring Valley’s Chanukah programme, December 1952.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., December 1952 (Fulton History)

Confirmed At the third annual Melave Malke of Beth Medrosh Elyon in Monsey, held in memory of its founder Samuel Halberg, the “outstanding citizen of the year” award is presented to “David Brecher, the head of the Brecher family”, early 1954.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., 4 February 1954, p. 14 (Fulton History)

Confirmed The Rockland County Leader’s report of the same evening names “David Brecher, the head of the Brecher family” as Beth Medrosh Elyon’s outstanding citizen of the year.Rockland County Leader, Spring Valley, N.Y., 4 February 1954, p. 16 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))

Confirmed Eugene Brecher, David’s eldest son, completes his term as president of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley, October 1954.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., 28 October 1954, p. 15 (Fulton History)

Confirmed Alex Brecher, his brother Eugene and their brother-in-law Paul Friedman elected directors of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley, 1956.The Journal-News, Nyack, N.Y., 1956 (Fulton History)

Confirmed “Mrs. Lucy Friedman of Lenore Avenue, Monsey” hosts a Yeshiva of Spring Valley PTA luncheon, 1956.The Journal-News, Nyack, N.Y., 1956 (Fulton History)

Confirmed “Leibish Brecher, of Lenore Avenue, Monsey, who attends Yeshiva of Spring Valley” among the county’s fire-prevention medal winners, 1956.The Journal-News, Nyack, N.Y., 1956 (Fulton History)

Confirmed The Ladies Auxiliary of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley meets at the home of “Mrs. D. Brecher, Lenore Avenue, Monsey” — Esther, David’s widow — September 1957.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., 5 September 1957 (Fulton History)

Confirmed “Valley Yeshiva Elects Officers”: Eugene Brecher a vice-president of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley, autumn 1958.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., October 1958 (Fulton History)

Confirmed The PTA of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley holds a surprise party “at the newly enlarged and decorated home of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Brecher, 8 Lenore Avenue, Monsey”, June 1958.Rockland County Leader, Spring Valley, N.Y., 5 June 1958, p. 15 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))

Confirmed Paul and Lucy Friedman open their home at 4 Lenore Avenue, Monsey, for the yeshiva women’s Chanukah party, December 1958; Mrs. Ann Brecher is among those assisting.The Journal-News, Nyack, N.Y., December 1958 (Fulton History)

Confirmed “Co-chairmen are Alex Brecher and Louis Septimus”: a yeshiva campaign dinner at Spring Valley, 1959–60.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., 1959–60 (Fulton History)

Confirmed Alex Brecher among the sponsors of the Beth Medrosh Elyon testimonial dinner for Mr. Polak, August 1962.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., 30 August 1962 (Fulton History)

Likely “A. Brecher” and Pinchas Friedman on the dinner committee of Beth Medrash Elyon in Monsey, under the headline “Monsey, N.Y. begins as a centre of Torah”, October 1964. The A. Brecher is very probably Alex, listed beside his brother-in-law Pinchas (Paul) Friedman.Der Tog (New York), 2 October 1964, p. 8 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Likely The same committee a year later, again with “A. Brecher” and Pinchas Friedman, under the headline “The flowering of Monsey, New York as a centre of Torah”, October 1965.Der Tog (New York), 22 October 1965, p. 9 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed “To Honor Mrs. Brecher at Bais Yaakov Dinner”: Esther Brecher, widow of David Brecher and a resident of Monsey for eleven years, is to be honoured by the Bais Yaakov High School of Spring Valley at its fifth annual dinner, a testimonial in her honour, about Sunday 23 September 1962.Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y., 20 September 1962, sec. 2, p. 6 (Fulton History)

Confirmed At the first commencement of the Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley, June 1963, graduates received gifts given in Eugene Brecher’s memory.The Journal-News, Nyack, N.Y., June 1963 (Fulton History)

In the local press: two photographs

Likely Ann Brecher (left), outgoing president of the Women’s League of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley, with the newly elected president, June 1959.Orangetown Telegram and The Pearl River Searchlight, 11 June 1959, p. 21 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))

Likely Eugene Brecher (far left, printed as “E. Brecher”) at the laying of the cornerstone of Congregation Beth Israel, Maple Avenue and Main Street, Monsey, January 1960.Orangetown Telegram and The Pearl River Searchlight, 28 January 1960, p. 5; photograph by Arthur’s Studio (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))

Notices of mourning for David Brecher, March 1955

In the week after his death on 3 March 1955, eight institutions and his nephews placed notices of mourning for R’ Dovid bar R’ Meir HaKohen Brecher in the New York Yiddish daily Der Tog — among them the Spring Valley yeshiva and Beth Medrash Elyon, which he helped found, Torah Vodaath, Chasan Sofer, Arugas HaBosem, and the beis medrash of the Tshenskovitzer Rebbe, where he was gabbai. Two of them name his father as Meir HaKohen, and the yeshiva’s notice names his wife Sheindel, his sons R’ Yosef, R’ Shimshon and R’ Michel, his daughter Shifra Chana and her husband R’ Pinchas Shalom Friedman.

Confirmed “David Brecher, an outstanding Jew, passed to his heavenly rest on March 3. May his devoted wife and children Eugene, Alex, Mickey, and Mrs. Lucie Friedman be consoled.” The notice of the Hebrew Institute of Rockland County.Rockland County Leader, Spring Valley, N.Y., 10 March 1955, p. 18 (HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org))

Confirmed “Nichum Aveilim”: the Yeshiva and Mesivta of Spring Valley mourns R’ Dovid Brecher, one of its first directors, and consoles his wife Sheindel, his sons Yosef (a past president of the yeshiva), Shimshon and Michel, and his daughter Shifra Chana Friedman and her husband Pinchas Shalom.Der Tog (New York), 7 March 1955, p. 7 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed “A double loss”: the Chevra Machzikei Torah and Chevra Mishnayos of the Tshenskovitzer Rebbe’s beis medrash mourn R’ Dovid bar R’ Meir HaKohen Brecher, their gabbai and co-founder, and his mechutan R’ Yosef Efraim bar R’ Yeshaya Friedman.Der Tog (New York), 7 March 1955, p. 7 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and Mesivta mourns “R’ Dovid HaKohen Brecher, who supported Torah”.Der Tog (New York), 7 March 1955, p. 7 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed Beth Medrash Elyon of Spring Valley mourns “one of the first directors and supporters of our great Torah institution”.Der Tog (New York), 8 March 1955, p. 9 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed “Our dear and beloved uncle”: the notice of his nephews David and Moshe Brecher and their families.Der Tog (New York), 8 March 1955, p. 9 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed Yeshiva and Mesivta Chasan Sofer mourns “R’ Dovid bar R’ Meir HaKohen Brecher”.Der Tog (New York), 11 March 1955, p. 19 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed Yeshiva and Mesivta Arugas HaBosem mourns “one of the supporters of our yeshiva”.Der Tog (New York), 11 March 1955, p. 19 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Confirmed The Hebrew Institute of Rockland County mourns “the famous philanthropist R’ Dovid Brecher”.Der Tog (New York), 18 March 1955, p. 21 — National Library of Israel, Historical Jewish Press

Labels — Confirmed, Likely, Possible — exactly as the family book gives them. Tap any picture to enlarge it.

Generations

The direct line, generation by generation. Tap a name for dates, label and notes.