The Family of Amalie Gassenheimer & Samuel Schuster

Gravestone of Amalie Schuster in Jewish cemetery of Neustädtles (Nordheim v. d. Rhön)

PLEASE NOTE: This page is under construction. Thank you for your patience.

The birth name of Amalie Schuster does not appear on her gravestone in the Jewish cemetery of Nordheim vor der Rhön in Bavaria. And the entry for her in Jewish Register/Matrikel of the Jews of Bibra includes only her birth date and no reference to her marriage to Samuel Schuster.

Of the Jewish families who were born and lived in Themar and the surrounding villages, the Gassenheimer family is one about which we know a great deal. But, in the 17 years of learning about the Gassenheimer family of Bibra, the story of Amalie Gaßenheimer remained completely unknown. Then, in 2025, Alan Kempf, who researches the stories of his families and their roots in Thüringen and other places, discovered the entry about Amalie in the website dedicated to the gravestones in the Jewish cemetery of Neustädtles (Nordheim v. d. Rhön).  After recovering from surprise, it has been possible to reassemble the family of Amalie and Samuel Schuster, working closely with Elisabeth Böhrer’s research of the German-Jewish families in this area of Bavaria, as well as resources available in internet databases.

Should anyone reading this page have questions, additions, and/or corrections to our data, pleased contact Sharon Meen at s.meen79@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

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What do we know about Amalie Gassenheimer and her family?
Amalie was the fifth of the seven children of Joseph Gaßenheimer and his second wife, (Lotte) Jette Stein. She was born in 1843 in the village of Bibra. Jacob, the eldest child of Jette, died as a two-year old, before she was born. Her remaining siblings left Bibra. Two brothers moved elsewhere within Thüringen: Samuel, b. 1837, moved east to the small city of Themar; Salomon, b. 1840, moved to the larger centre of Hildburghausen to the south. Two siblings left Germany to live in the United States: brother Bernhardt, b. left in 1857, and her sister Pauline, b. 1844, sailed to America in 1865. At the moment, we do not know the story of Klara, b. 1846, the youngest child, but she too may emerge from the shadows as did Amalie.

Amalie too left Bibra upon marriage to cattle dealer Samuel Schuster of Weimarschmieden. Samuel was one of a large family of cattle dealers and initially, Amalie and Samuel settled into his home town and had two children, Jakob, b. 1872, and Max, b. 1874. But sometime in the 18 months between the January 1874 and November 1875, Amalie and Samuel moved from Weimarschmieden to Nordheim vor der Rhön. Here they had three more children: Pauline, b. 1875, Julius, b.1878, and Selli, b. 1880. As well, Samuel’s brother, Seckel (b. 1848), moved from Weimarschmieden to Nordheim/Rhön, married Johanna Baum, with whom he had 7 children. Seckel was also a cattle dealer.

Jakob, the eldest son, remained in Nordheim vor der Rhön, becoming a cattle dealer like his father.

His siblings, however, left Nordheim/Rhön. Second son Max left Germany altogether, immigrating into the United States in 1898. Initially, he lived in Albany/NY, but by the 1910 census, he was living in Brooklyn/NY and was married. His wife was Florence Koch, daughter of Samuel Koch (1834-1905) and Barbara, née Kuh (1836-), both German-born.

Marriage certificate for Max Schuster and Barbara Koch. We find more traces of Amalie Gassenheimer in American documents than in German! Source:

The Kochs were a very large family; Florence, b. 1881 in Brooklyn, was the ninth child. (The FamilySearch database identifies all the children.) Max and Florence do not appear to have had any children. Max was registered in the American army when the United States entered World War I but it is not known if he actually served. In 1920, Max applied for and received an American passport to travel to Europe.

In the last decades of the 1800s and early decades of the 1900s, the other three Schuster siblings remained in Germany although they too left Nordheim/Rhön. Pauline, called “Lina” by family & friends, married Philipp Sanders and they settled in Hinsbeck/North-Rhein Westphalia. They formed a family of two daughters: Elsa, b. 1901, and Herta, b. 1910.

To be continued.

Descendants List of Amalie (née Gassenheimer) & Samuel Schuster

Please note: a link in the name of a person is to the profile in the geni.com database. There you will find both data and citation of sources.

  • Amalia/Amalie GASSENHEIMER, b. 09 Mar 1843 Bibra, nr Meiningen/TH, d. 30 Dec 1924 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, buried in Jüdischer Friedhof Neustädtles
  • └ ∞ Samuel SCHUSTER, b. 18 Nov 1843 Weimarschmieden, Rhön Grabfeld/BY (son of Menke Schuster & Esther Kohl), d. 27 Nov 1923 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, buried in Jüdischer Friedhof Neustädtles
    • 1. Jakob Jacob SCHUSTER, b. 15 May 1872 Weimarschmieden, Rhön Grabfeld/BY, 21 Jul 1938 fr Nordheim to New York/USA, d. 22 Dec 1962 Paramus, Bergen County/NJ, buried in Beth El Cemetery/NJ
    • └ ∞ Sophie Sofie Henochstein, b. 21 Aug 1873 Altenschönbach nr Prichsenstadt/BY (daughter of Feist Henochstein & Babette Klein), d. 24 Mar 1937 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, buried in Jüdischer Friedhof Neustädtles
      • 2. Elsa SCHUSTER, b. 26 April 1900 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, 13 October 1929 fr Germany to NYC/USA, d. 22 Jun 1998 Brattleboro/Vermont, buried in Morningside Cemetery/VT
      • └ ∞(30 July 1936 Bronx/NY) William WITTCHOW, b. 20 Nov 1899 Legerdorf/Schleswig-Holstein (son of Carl Wittchow & Elise Suhr), 22 Oct 1926 fr Hamburg to NY/USA d. 02 Dec 1957 Bronx, NYC/NY
      • └ ∞ Ferdinand KAHN, b. 22 Aug 1900 Gimbsheim/Rheinland (son of Herrmann Kahn & Hermine May), 28 Oct 1926 fr Hamburg to NYC/USA, d. 03 Sep 1990 Brattleboro/Vermont, buried in Morningside Cemetery/VT
      • 2. Flora SCHUSTER, b. 03 Nov 1903 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, d. 18 Sep 1913 Nordheim/Rhön, Bavaria, buried in Jüdischer Friedhof Neustädtles
      • 2. Irma SCHUSTER, b. 28 Dec 1907 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, 02 April 1936 fr Germany to NYC/USA, d. 26 Mar 2007 Manhattan/NY, buried in Beth El Cemetery/VT
      • └ ∞ Friedrich Fritz (Fred) FALK, b. 14 May 1899 Nuremberg (son of Max Falk & Selma Wollner), 23 May 1917-15 Oct 1918 service in German Army, 5 Sep 1950 fr Le Havre to NYC/USA, d. Oct 1975 NYC/USA
      • 2. Arthur SCHUSTER, b. 23 Feb 1913 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, 26 Mar 1934 fr Rotterdam/Holland to NYC/USA, d. 01 Jul 2001, Saint Paul/Minnesota, buried in Mount Zion Temple Cemetery
      • └ ∞ Deana ESRIG, b. 22 Sep 1916 Chicago/IL (daughter of Morris Esrig & Tillie Rosenzweig)1Obituary for Rita Stone, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 08 August 2001, d. 7 Aug 2001 Saint Paul/MN
    • 1. Max SCHUSTER, b. Jan 1874 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, 1898 fr Germany to USA, d. 21 Jan 1974 NY/USA
    • └ ∞ (21 Jan 1908 Brooklyn/NY) Florence KOCH, b. 11 May 1881 NYC/USA (daughter of Samuel Koch & Barbara Kuh)
    • 1. Pauline “Lina” SCHUSTER, b. 14 Nov 1875 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, 9 Jul 1941 fr Lisbon to NY/USA, d. 20 Sep 1971 Paramus/NJ, buried in Cedar Park Cemetery/NJ
    • └ ∞ (6 Jun 1900) Philipp SANDERS, b. 27 Jul 1869 Kaldenkirchen/NRW, 9 Jul 1941 fr Lisbon to NY/USA, d. 13 Jan 1952 Paramus/NJ, buried in Cedar Park Cemetery/NJ
    • 1. Julius SCHUSTER, b. 07 Aug 1878 Nordheim/Rhön/BY, d. Aug 1949
    • └ ∞ Hedwig Ida LÖWENTHAL b. 13 May 1878, Altenkunstadt/BY, d. 05 Jun 1933 Nordheim/Rhön
    • └ ∞ Rosa (Rosel) BLUMHOF, b. 04 Nov 1898 Grebenau/Hesse, d. 08 Jan 1996 Florida
    • 1. Selli/Salli SCHUSTER, b. 15 Mar 1880 Nordheim/Rhön, 05 October 1937 fr Le Havre to NYC, d. Jan 1971 Santa Clara/CA4California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997
    • └ ∞ (09 Nov 1910 Nuremberg) Lina FRANKEN, b. 01 Jun 1889 Neustadt a/d Saale, 05 October 1937 fr Le Havre to NYC, d. 19 May 1977 CA/USA
      • 2. Edith SCHUSTER, b. 22 Aug 1911 Nuremberg, 17 Jun 1936 fr Hamburg to NYC, d. May 1983 NYC/USA
      • └ ∞ (27 Feb 1933 Kirchhain) Berthold/Bert STERN, b. 28 Jan 1907 Kirchhain, Jun 1936 fr Hamburg to USA, d. 5 Feb 1968 NY/USA
        • 3. Peter James STERN, b. 04 Feb 1935 Heidelberg/BW, d. 08 May 1983 Rhode Island
        • └ ∞ (Jul 1961 NYC)5The Record Hackensack, New Jersey · Tuesday, March 14, 1961 Judith Ann SMARAK, b. abt 1939 (daughter of Edward and Carrie Smarak)61940 USA Federal Census
          • 4. NN STERN
          • 4. NN STERN
      • 2. Ann SCHUSTER, b. 12 Mar 1918 Nuremberg,
      • Apr 1936 fr Hamburg to NYC, d. 26 Jan 2006 Sacramento/CA
          • └ ∞ (Nov 1942 Los Angeles/CA) Ernest Fred RICHTER, b. 26 Jan 1911 Wassertruedingen/BY (son of Elsa Richter), May 1937 fr Germany to NYC, 23 Jun 1943-05 Sept 1947 service in American army,7U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, d. 27 Apr 1969 Würzburg/BY.
      • └ ∞ Klaus SCHAEFER,

 

Registration of Liberated Former Persecutees, 1945-1950 for Ernst Richter