#190-- Four Brothers in the Jewelry Business

The theme for this week’s blog is brothers. I was really excited.  My great grandparents, Louis and Maria Eitelbach has six children—all boys.  They lived in Hagen, Germany until 1896 when they, along with their four youngest children—Walter, Louis, Maxmillian and William—came to the United States.  They settled in Brooklyn, New York at 1287 Greene Street.  After their arrival, Maria had two more children—Harry and Frank.

Four of the brothers—Walter, Louis, Harry, and Frank-- went into the jewelry business in New York City.  Under the name of Eitelbach Brothers, they designed, manufactured, and sold fine jewelry.  I am not sure, but I believe that Louis designed the jewelry, Harry and Frank manufactured it and Walter sold it.  I remember going to 2 West 47th Street, New York City right off Fifth Avenue and seeing them make jewelry.







The other two brothers took different paths.  Maxmillian went into the mortgage business and became assistant manager of the New York Title and Mortgage Company.  There is little information about William, however, in the census, he describes his occupation once as a machinist and another time as a jewelry manufacturer.





I really wish I had talked to my grandfather about the jewelry business.  I also wish I had been able to spend time with my uncles.

#126--Close-Up of Mabel Jewell

One way to think about the theme of close is a close up picture of someone.   I inherited a box of small portrait photographs from my grandmother.  I believe the photos were exchanged between friends in the late 1800’s.  As I looked through them, I realized that I had several of my grandmother’s cousin, Mabel Jewell.  Perfect for this week’s challenge.  Mabel Jewell was born in 1874 in Brooklyn, New York to George  and Evalina (Cochrane) Jewell. Her brother Herbert E was born in 1876.

Mabel lived in Brooklyn her entire life, either with her parents and, once they were deceased, on her own.  Only the 1930 census lists an occupation for her, that of a teacher in a school for girls.  Mabel Jewell died in August 1952 when she was 78 years old.  She is buried in her
family plot in Greenwood Cemetery.

That is all I know about Mabel.  If I could talk to her, I would like to know more about her life?  Where did she go to school?  Did she travel?  What did she like to do?  Where did she work? I think I would also like to know where she got those incredible hats.

#57--Emily Cochrane--A Will and A Way

Last week’s theme was Where There’s a Will…, this week’s theme is “There’s a Way.  For this week, I decided to put them together and blog about how a will showed me the way to find out where my great, great aunts and uncles lived.

My great, great grandfather and great, great grandmother, William and Emma (Merrett) Cochrane had five children:  Mary Jane (1836-1920), my grandmother, George A Cochrane (1838 – 1931) Emily Cochrane (1840 – 1911), Walter Cochrane (1843 – 1891)   Emma Cochrane (1846 – 1931), Evalina (Blanche) Cochrane (1853 – 1920).  Mary Jane married Abiathar Richards, Emma married Chester Jay Mallary, and Evaline (Blanche)  married Herbert Jewell.  I knew they had grown up in Brooklyn New York and were I was able to find them in some of the census, but in others they just seemed to disappear or to be in places that did not make much sense to me.

Add Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn

Then, on Family Search I discovered that wills from Kings County, New York had been digitized.  I was able to find my great great- aunt Emily Cochrane’s will.  As I read her will,
I learned that when William Cochrane died in testate, her siblings agreed that Aunt Emily should receive the house at 124
Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn, to either live in or sell.  However, upon her death, the house should be sold and the proceeds split equally between her siblings or their heirs.

If she had sold the house because she needed the money to live on, the remaining funds would be split.  According to a petition filed with the court by her sister, Blanche Jewell, Aunt Emily died at the house on Fort Greene Place and the value of her estate was not greater than $2,400.  Now that was interesting to me as I did not know much of the history of that house, but what was much more interesting was the listing of all her siblings or their descendants and their addresses.

The two individuals that had been most puzzling to me were Emma and her husband Chester Mallory and George A. Cochrane.  I was pretty sure that they were not in Brooklyn, even though the Mallorys were buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.  The will supplied the answer.  The Mallorys had moved to Illinois and were living in Chicago with two daughters, Katherine and Florence. George A. Cochrane was living in Woburn, Massachusetts with his wife, Ella Brinkerhoff Cochrane and their three children:  Grace, Charles and Ella.  Once I had their locations, I was able to locate a variety of other information for them, such as the census, death records, etc.

So you see, when you have a will, there may be a way to get more information.