The Family of Selig Gassenheimer, 1849-1926

See as well:
The Family of Samuel Gassenheimer (1802-1854)
Descendants List of Samuel Gassenheimer

Selig Gassenheimer, b. 1849, was the first child born to Samuel Gassenheimer (1802-1854) and his second wife, Pauline Schwab (1811-1894). He had four older siblings — Amalie, b. 1837, Gustav, b. 1839, Joseph, b. 1842, and Therese, b 1844 — from the marriage of Samuel to his first wife, Blümchen Seckel.

Selig was born in the small village of Bibra, which had been home to Gassenheimers since the mid-1700s. In 1854, Selig’s father, Samuel, died and was buried in the nearby Jewish cemetery of Bauerbach. Selig remained in Bibra with his mother Pauline, older sister Therese, and younger brother Simon, b. 1853. His three other siblings, lived elsewhere in Thuringia.

Starting in 1856, the children of Samuel Gassenheimer started to leave Germany for the United States: Gustav, age 17, was the first to leave. (See ‘The Family of Gustav and Minnie Gassenheimer”). Eight years later, in 1864, Selig left Bibra, 15 years old, heading to Alabama, where there was a growing community of German Jews from the Coburg area of Bavaria. His younger brother, Simon, b. 1853, joined him in 1868. On her arrival in 1871, Amelia Levor, née Gassenheimer, a 34-year-old widow, settled in New York with her son, Samuel. On their arrival in 1880, Joseph, his wife Fannie, and their three young children — Samuel (b. 1872), Alma (b. 1874), and Malvina (b. 1879) — also headed south.

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Not a great deal is known about Selig’s early years in Alabama; a newspaper article about his brother, Simon, tells us that Simon came to Alabama “as a lad to join his brother, who operated an ice house.” In November 1876, Selig married Rosa Strauss, the first of five children of Leopold (1824-1871) and Babette (née Seligmann, 1837-1905) Strauss. Leopold Strauss had come to Montgomery in 1870 from France; Babette had been born in Bavaria. Selig and Rosa started married life in Opelika with the birth of a son, Sidney, in 1877. By the June 1880 Federal Census, Selig had changed occupations and was now peddling junk in Opelika.

Soon after the Federal Census, however, Selig moved from Opelika to Montgomery, and a small ad in the 22 September 1880 Montgomery Advertiser indicated a new business direction: office supplies. Whether Simon, who had moved to Montgomery before Selig, was initially involved in the venture, explaining the use of  “Bros” in the company name, is not known.

A year later (1881), however, Gassenheimer Bros. sold the business to A. Wolf, and from the notice in the Montgomery Advertiser, we learn that the business had had a branch in Opelika.

It appears that Selig worked for the Wolf company and for Mr. L. Seligmann. The entry in the 1883 City Directory identified Selig as a “bookkeeper” working at 30 Commerce St.; elsewhere in the directory is a listing at that address for L. Seligmann, a “Paper Dealer.”

For the twenty years between 1883 and 1903, we know of but three concrete events in Selig’s life, all of which raise as yet unanswered questions. First, in February 1889, Selig, a newly minted American citizen, applied for an American passport to travel to Europe and return within a twelve month period; in the application, he states that he was born in Bibra.The questions are many: did Selig go to Germany in 1889 or 1890? Did he visit his mother, Pauline Gassenheimer, née Schwab, who in the late 1880s, close to 80 years old, was living in Coburg with her stepdaughter, Therese? 45-year-old Therese was also a widow with one daughter, Thekla, b. 1873 in Coburg, and two stepchildren from her dead husband’s first marriage. (Louis Benari, Therese’s husband, had died in 1874.) On 9 December 1894, Pauline Gassenheimer (née Schwab) died; it took several weeks for her sons, Simon and Selig, in Montgomery to learn of her death, but on 27 December 1894, they placed a notice in the Montgomery Advertiser.  

Second event of note was the completion of their family of eight (8) children with the birth of Bernard in 1896. Third, in 1898, Selig was identified in the Montgomery City Directory as the proprietor of “Gassenheimer Paper Co.” with a business address at 127 Commerce Street, and a residence at 421 S Perry Street. .

When did Selig start the Gassenheimer Paper Company? Did his paper company emerge out of the earlier L. Seligman business? Given that Selig’s oldest son, Sidney, was working for his uncle Simon at the Capital Clothing Store, was the Gassenheimer Paper Company just Selig?

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The timeline after 1900 is somewhat easier to define. The first federal census of the new century provides a portrait of the family of Selig and Rose. They are living at 421 South Perry in Montgomery. Two daughters, and six sons, ranging in age from 3 to 24 years lived with their parents. Twenty-four-year-old Sidney, the eldest child, was now working as a book keeper in his father’s paper company. Leo, 15 years old, was also working for the paper company as a salesman. The two eldest daughters, Florence and Alma, had completed whatever formal schooling they were to take; three of the younger children were at school, and Bernard was a child of four. As well, a nephew, 28-year-old Samuel Gassenheimer, lived with them. Samuel was the only family member other than Selig to have been born in Bibra, although his memories may have been faint in 1900. He was the son of Selig’s stepbrother, Joseph, and Fannie (née Weisbacher) and had come to the United States with his parents in 1880. He worked as a book keeper for Virden & Co.

The 1902 City Directory gives a snapshot of the two Gassenheimer brothers — Selig and Simon — now men after more than thirty years in the United States and most of that time resident in Montgomery, Alabama. Simon was now married for a second time: in 1883, he had married American-born Bettie Levy (b. 1861); in 1884, they had a son, named Sylvian, who only lived for a year and a half, dying in November 1885. In 1887, Bettie and Simon had a daughter, Juliette. In January 1895, Bettie died, age 34. Simon remarried in October 1896; his second wife was Maude Seligman; in June 1899, Simon and Maude had a daughter, Nettie Edith.

The two brothers established separate businesses: Selig and the Gassenheimer Paper company, while Simon entered into a partnership in a clothing store in the heart of the city. The entries in the 1902 City Directory list Selig and five of his children; Simon and his second wife Maude; Samuel Gassenheimer, the son of Joseph and Fannie Gassenheimer, is no longer living with family.

In 1903, Selig incorporated his company, changed its name to “Mercantile Paper Co.,” and formally brought three of his sons — Sidney, Leo, and Irvin — into the business. According to Allan Gassenheimer, Sidney’s son, the Mercantile Paper Co. was in its early days a “janitorial supply company,” because “there was not much office equipment.” The company sold brooms, mops, and other janitorial supplies along with paper bags and a limited amount of school sup­plies until the office supply industry began developing and the company shifted its emphasis into that area. Office equipment in those days was far different from today, according to Allan:. “I remember when the first filing cabinet was a big wooden cabinet, and my father put it on a horse and dray and took it around and showed it to everybody,”

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On 6 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and officially entered World War I. Six weeks later, on 18 May 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which required all men between the ages of 18 and 45 to register for the draft. On 18 May 18 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription. The act eventually required all men between the ages of 21 to 45 to register for military service.

The entrance of the United States into the war must have prompted something of a crisis for the American cousins in America. Simon Gassenheimer, his wife Maude, and their daughter Nettie were in Germany — in fact, in Coburg — when war broke out. They arrived back in the United States on 21 September 1914, having sailed from neutral Rotterdam. In Montgomery, Selig and Rosa and their sons would have realized that their fighting in the American army might bring them face-to-face with German Gassenheimer cousins, the sons and grandsons of Samuel Gassenheimer (1837-1892) of Themar and Salomon Gassenheimer (1840-1898) of Hildburghausen.

In 1917, all six sons were registered for the draft into the American military; long lists identify the names of the men inducted in Alabama, such as the one above with Leo Gassenheimer’s name.

From 1917 on, military service records for the six Gassenheimers are available in online databanks, which provide intriguing, albeit incomplete, glimpses of their actual wartime activity. Take, for example, Irvin Gassenheimer, b. 1888, 29 years old in 1917. The WWI Soldiers’ Draftees, by County, 1918–1919. Montgomery, Alabama records, has the one-line entry for him as did Leo. Then, the World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, database include the registration card of 05 June 1917. Three entries in the United States, Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939 provide some detail about Irvin’s military experience: on 20 September 1917, he reported for military service (to St. Louis, Missouri) and was appointed a sergeant on 27 October 1917; from 24 September 1917 to 07 October 1917 he was on furlough and then was transferred from the 157th Brigade to Camp Gordon, a “training camp for the U.S. Army during World War I. The camp opened in 1917 and was located in Chamblee, Georgia, a few miles north of Atlanta. Camp Gordon was the training ground of the 82nd Division, American Expeditionary Forces.” On 16 February 1918, Irvin was “honourably discharged,” with a citation of “Character Excellent.” The final record related to Irvin’s WWI service to be found online is the Master Index Card in the Veterans’ Administration Master Index.

Records for the other five brothers are sketchy: both Sidney, b. 1877, and Leo, b. 1885, the two eldest, were registered in the draft on 12 September 1918,  but no further record of active service has been found. For the three younger sons — Armand, b. 1889, Edwin, b. 1893, and Bernard, b. 1896 — there are hints of their experiences: Armand served overseas; Bernard trained as a seaman, and so forth. But there are still many stories to be told. (As well as following up with their service in World War II.)

 

 

 

 

 

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Selig Gassenheimer died on 27 September 1926, 77 years old; he was buried in the Oakwood cemetery in Montgomery. Among his many accomplishments had been the help he had provided to Booker T. Washington in the establishment of the Tuskegee Institute, a “Normal School for Colored Teachers” to train former slaves. Selig’s great-grand-son, Rick Gassenheimer provides detail he learned from an uncle: “Selig was driving his mule-drawn paper-goods-filled wagon from Opelika, Auburn through Tuskegee on his way to Montgomery. He saw a group of blacks doing construction and he stopped and asked what they were doing. He was told they were building a trade school for Blacks.  Selig introduced himself and said when you get finished, I will donate your paper goods. The reply was ‘Thank you Mr Gassenheimer, I’m Booker Washington.’ Selig did donate paper goods as well a some money to the school, which is now Tuskegee University. There was a classroom dedicated to Selig.”

An obituary in the Birmingham Herald cites other important things: first, it outlines his active role in the community life of Montgomery; it also confirms what other records indicate, namely, that Selig (like his brother Simon) had probably long since stopped identifying the tiny village of Bibra in Thüringen as his birthplace and referred to the much larger centre of Coburg in Bavaria. And it refers to his sister, Therese Benari (née Gassenheimer) of Germany, reflecting the ongoing contact with Therese and her children, particularly daughter Thekla (b. 1873). In the late 1890s, Thekla had married Arthur Müller and moved from Coburg to Berlin where the couple formed a family of two sons, Heinrich Max, b. 1899, and Ludwig Werner, b. 1901. The Müllers had visited the States regularly in the first decades of the twentieth century. And Gassenheimers from Montgomery — Simon perhaps more than Selig — had travelled regularly to Germany in the years before the fateful year of 1933.

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Members of Selig’s and Rosa’s family played a critical role in the rescue of one of their German cousins from Nazi Germany. In April 1939, Leo Gassenheimer (b. 1885 in Montgomery, Alabama) sponsored Ruth Gassenheimer’s entry into the United States. Ruth, b. 1904 in Halle/Saale, Saxony, was the daughter of Georg Gassenheimer (b. 1874 in Themar), son of Samuel and Lotte (née Stein) Gassenheimer, and Selma (née Schwab) Gassenheimer. Somehow, Georg had made contact with his younger cousin Leo, and he and his family had responded. Ruth stayed for over a year in Montgomery living with Leo’s sisters, Florence Moog (née Gassenheimer) and Alma Schlesinger (née Gassenheimer). Her final destination was Rio de Janeiro where she planned to marry Herbert Josef Friedmann, a man she had met when both were studying at the University of Vienna. In July 1940, Ruth left the United States, sailing from New Orleans to Rio de Jainero. On 19 September 1940, she and Herbert married.

 

There is much more to tell of the Gassenheimer story in the United States but it shall be told another day. If someone reading this page has information to contribute, please contact the web curator, Sharon Meen at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Below is the Descendants List of Selig and Rosa (née Strauss) Gassenheimer

•  Selig (Samuel) GASSENHEIMER, b. 10 Jan 1849 Bibra, 1866 to USA, d. 27 Sep 1926 Mont/AL
• ∞ (8 Nov 1876 Montgomery/AL) Rosa STRAUSS, b. 12 Nov 1859 Mont/AL, d. 16 Jan 1938 Mont/AL
  • 1. Sidney GASSENHEIMER, b. 25 Aug 1877 Opelika/AL, d. 25 Apr 1969 Mont/AL
  • ∞ (26 Oct 1904) Belle HOFFMANN, b. 28 Aug 1883 NYC/NY, d. 11 Feb 1948 Mont/AL
    • 2. Babette Phyllis GASSENHEIMER, b. 27 Aug 1906 NYC/NY, d. Oct 1992 Mont/AL
      • ∞ (29 Sep 1928/div.) Alva LEVYSTEIN
      • ∞ (29 Dec 1935) Edward Harry EDWARDS, b. 20 Dec 1904 NYC/NY, d. 27 Oct 1970 Mont/AL
    • 2. Simon Richard GASSENHEIMER, b. 26 Apr 1909 NYC/NY, d. 27 May 1988 Mont/AL
    • ∞ (Jan 1941) Helen Theresa STREBILE, b. 08 Feb 1913 Waco/TX, d. Jan 1981 Mont/AL
      • 4. Richard GASSENHEIMER, b. 13 Nov 1942
      • ∞ (09 Aug 1981) Mary Catherine WARREN, b. 13 Sep 1955 Dallas/TX
      • 4. Paul Sidney GASSENHEIMER
    • 2. Allan GASSENHEIMER, b. 05 Jun 1913 NYC/NY, d. 21 Oct 2007 Miami/FL
    • ∞ Joyce BORG, b. 10 Sep 1922, d. 16 Nov 2008 Miami/FL
      • 3. Jean GASSENHEIMER, b. 22 Oct 1949 Monterrey/Mexico
      • ∞ (29 Dec 1970) Harvey David SCHWARTZ
      • 3. Jule GASSENHEIMER, b. 16 May 1952 Monterrey/Mexico
  • 1. Florence GASSENHEIMER, b. May 1880 AL, d. 25 Feb 1953 Mont/AL
  • ∞ (Feb 1907) Abram Albert MOOG, b. Sep 1867 [Montgomery?] Alabama, d. 08 Mar 1911 Montgomery/AL
  • 1. Alma GASSENHEIMER, b. 10 Dec 1882 Mont/AL, d. 24 Dec 1963 Mont/AL
  • ∞ Theodore SCHLESINGER, b. 26 Apr 1875 Kentucky, d. 03 Jan 1953 Mont/AL
    • 2. Loraine SCHLESINGER, b. 26 Nov 1912 Mont/AL, d. 24 Apr 1932 Mont/AL
  • 1. Leopold “Leo” GASSENHEIMER, b. 9 Nov 1885 Mont/AL, d. 25 Dec 1956 Mont/AL
  • ∞ (Nov 1909) Ray CADDEN, b. 14 Jul 1886 AL, d. 17 Jul 1971 Mont/AL
    • 2. Earl Cadden GASSENHEIMER, b. 5 Jun 1911 Mont/AL, d. Mar 1984 Newton/MA
    • ∞ (Feb 1935) Rose COHN, b. 19 Dec 1908 Hungary 6, d. 19 Mar 2000 Newton/MA
      • 3. Earl Harold GASSENHEIMER, b. 14 Apr 1939 NYC/NY
      • ∞ (16 Dec 1962) Linda WEINSTEIN, b. circa 1942
        • 4. James GASSENHEIMER, b. 1966
        • ∞ Patty ROSSI
          • 5. Zachary GASSENHEIMER, b. 1999
          • 5. Jacob GASSENHEIMER, b. 2000
          • 5. Haley GASSENHEIMER, b. 2002
        • 4. John GASSENHEIMER, b. 1968
        • ∞ Jill FISCH
          • 5. Jeffrey GASSENHEIMER, b. 1999
          • 5. Joanna FISCH, b. 2001
        • 4. Charles GASSENHEIMER, b. 1973
        • ∞ Lori NN
          • 5. Daniel GASSENHEIMER, b. circa 2003
          • 5. Matthew GASSENHEIMER, b. circa 2005
        • ∞ Jennifer (Jennie) VOGEL
          • 5. Gemma GASSENHEIMER, b. 16 Nov 2021
          • 5. Grayson GASSENHEIMER, b. 16 Nov 2021
          • 5. Griffin GASSENHEIMER, b. 16 Nov 2021
      • 3. David GASSENHEIMER, b. 23 Jun 1945 Far Rockaway/NY
      • ∞ Marie ATHUNADAN, b. India
      • ∞ Zaina ALI
    • 2. Helen Rose GASSENHEIMER, b. 20 Aug 1918 Mont/AL, d. 03 Jan 1997 Mont/AL
    • ∞ (27 Jul 1945) Richard Stanley NEWMAN, b.27 Jan 1919 Brooklyn/NY, d. 22 Apr 2006
      • 3. Susan Gail NEWMAN, b. Sep 1946 Montgomery/AL
      • ∞ (26 Jun 1966) Ernest Calvert GRAHAM, b. 29 Feb 1944 Cumberland/North Carolina
        • 4. Ernest Calvert NEWMAN Jr.¹⁷
        • 4. Dylon NEWMAN¹⁸
      • 3. Richard NEWMAN
  • 1. Irvin GASSENHEIMER, b. 05 Feb 1888 Mont/AL, d. 31 Jul 1972 Mont/AL
  • ∞ (17 Nov 1915) Birdie FRANK, b. 19 Apr 1892 Mont/AL, d. 16 Aug 1971 Mont/AL
    • 2. Irvin GASSENHEIMER, b. 09 Jun 1917 Mont/AL, d. 13 Jul 2008 Mont/AL
    • ∞ (1948) Emily Florence BADT, b. 26 Apr 1925 Titus/TX, d. 28 Apr 1998 Mont/AL
      • 3. Mary T. GASSENHEIMER, b. 03 Feb 1953 Montgomery/AL¹⁹
      • ∞ (24 Sep 1978 Montgomery/AL) Dr. (med) Richard A. BELLER
        • 4. Erin Emily BELLER
      • 3. Ann GASSENHEIMER
        ∞ (May 1992)²⁰Pat GALLAGHER
      • 3. Emily GASSENHEIMER
      • ∞ (May 1992 Tikal/Guatemala)²¹Harry de FRIEDLANDER
  • 1. Armand B GASSENHEIMER, b. 18 Sep 1890 Mont/AL, d. 09 Feb 1960 Magnolia Springs/AL
  • ∞ (19 Jan 1918) Barbara Ellen DIBBLE, b. 3 Jun 1886 Alabama, d. 25 Sep 1964 S. Carolina
  • 1. Edwin Simon GASSENHEIMER, b. 07 Apr 1893 Mont/AL, d. 14 Mar 1975 Mont/AL
  • ∞ Marguerite KLEIN, b. 10 Dec 1896 Mont/AL, d. 11 May 1980 Mont/AL
  • 1. Bernard S GASSENHEIMER, b. 11 Nov 1896 Mont/AL, d. 19 Dec 1941 Mont/AL
  • ∞ (24 Dec 1936 Orleans) Nina MILLER, b. 17 May 1906, d. 26 Dec 1983 Florida