Rachel "Ray" (Binnard) Levinson, 1868-1943
Rachel5 Binnard (Bendet4, Mosiek3, Jacob2, Lewin1), second daughter of Bennett and Matilda (Davis) Binnard, was born 17 August 1868[1] in New York.[2] Her birthplace was probably Rochester; her father is listed as living there in the city directory for that year.[3] She was called Ray.
As a young child Ray lived in Rochester, where her parents made hoop skirts and corsets.[4] By 1872 the family moved to Buffalo, where they lived for the next three years.[5] The family soon left the East for new opportunities in the West. In 1875 they moved near Bennett’s sister, Sarah Barmon, who lived in Detroit.[6] The next year they resided in Chicago near another sister, Jeannette Greenburg.[7] Rachel’s sister, Carrie, was born there in February 1876.[8] Shortly thereafter they followed the Oregon Trail to Elk City, Idaho, where Bennett probably worked in Grostein and Binnard’s branch store. He was appointed postmaster of the town in December 1876.[9] The Nez Perce War drove the family to Oregon, where they stayed briefly in Turner[10] before their final settlement in Colfax, Washington Territory,[11] where Bennett operated a saloon, hotel, and restaurant.[12] After attending high school,[13] Ray married Louis N. Levinson on 18 March 1888 at Spokane Falls, Washington. The ceremony was performed by a justice of the peace, with Ray’s sister and brother-in-law, Annie and Nathan Fisher, signing as witnesses.[14] Louis was born 22 April 1864 at Red Bluff, California, the son of Meyer and Wanda (Galland) Levinson.[15] In 1880, at the age of 15, he resided with his widowed mother, two brothers, and a sister in San Francisco. He helped support the family by working in a cigar factory, while his older brother, Edward, age 17, clerked in a store.[16] In 1912, when he applied for a passport at the age of 48, Louis was described as being five feet nine inches tall, with dark hair, brown eyes, and a dark and smooth complexion.[17] Ray and Louis lived in Spokane for the first years of their marriage. The 1890 city directory shows Louis in partnership with Alexander Scheeline of Altoona, Pennsylvania in Northwest Commission Company, commission merchants.[18] About 1893 the Levinsons moved to Portland, Oregon, where Louis was hired as a clerk by the department store Lipman Wolfe & Company.[19] By 1904 he was a buyer[20] and continued as a buyer and manager of the cloak and suit department until1921.[21] In August of that year he opened a women’s apparel store, L. N. Levinson, at 354 Morrison in Portland.[22] In March 1929 the Levinsons put their house and belongings up for auction. The newspaper advertisement stated that “the critical condition of Mr. Levinson’s health demands their immediate departure for California, which necessitates this sale.” The house was described as “palatial” with four bedrooms, fine furnishings and art, and a view overlooking the river and city.[23] Louis died 18 February 1930 in San Francisco and was entombed in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California.[24] After his death Ray resided with her daughter and son-in-law, Milton and Wanda Block, in San Francisco.[25] She died there 25 January 1943[26] and is entombed next to her husband.[27] Children: 1. Meyer Max Levinson, born 4 March 1890, Spokane, Spokane County, Washington;[28] died 22 March 1944, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California[29] 2. Harold Gustave Levinson, born 15 February 1892, Spokane;[30] died 26 July 1953[31] 3. Wanda Levinson, born 5 October 1894, Oregon; married Milton F. Block; married Mr. Brown; died 8 June 1956[32] _____________________________ [1] "California, Death Index, 1940-1997," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VG5F-PDG : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Rachael Levinson, San Francisco, 1943. [2] Ibid. [3] The Rochester Directory, Containing a General Directory of the Citizens, a Business Directory, and a Record of the City Government, Its Institutions, &c for 1868 (Rochester, N.Y.; Published at the Express Printing House, 1868). [4] Boyd's Rochester Directory, With a Business Directory, and an Appendix of Much Useful Information, 1866-7 (Rochester, N.Y.: Waite Brothrs & Co., 1866), 83; The Rochester Directory, Containing a General Directory of the Citizens, a Business Directory, and a Record of the City Government, Its Institutions, &c for 1868 (Rochester, N.Y.; Published at the Express Printing House, 1868), 37; The Rochester Directory, Containing a General Directory of the Citizens, a Business Directory, and the City and County Register, No. XX, for the Year Commending July 1, 1869 (Rochester, N.Y.: C.C. Drew, 1869), 37. [5] Buffalo City Directory for the Year 1872 (Buffalo, N.Y.: Warren, Johnson & Co., 1872), 249; (1873), 251; (1874), 251. [6] J. W. Weeks & Co.'s Annual Directory of Detroit for 1875-76 (Detroit: J.W. Weeks & Co., 1875), p. 161. [7] The Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1875-6 (Chicago: Donnelley, Loyd and Company, 1875), 432. Jeannette’s husband, Mark Greenburg, is listed in the directory. [8] "Died," Colfax Gazette (Colfax, Wash.), 3 June 1904, p. 5. [9] National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971; Roll #: 26; Archive Publication #: M841, entry for Bennett Binnard, Elk City, Idaho Territory, 1876. [10] 1880 U.S. census, Turner, Marion County, Oregon, p. 3, dwelling house 5, family 5, entry for Rachel, daughter, in household of Matilda Binnard; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2012); Family History Library microfilm 1255082. [11] 1880 U.S. census, City of Colfax, Whitman County, Washington Territory, p. 8, dwelling house 90, family 92, entry for Rachel, daughter, in household of Bennett Binnard; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 July 2012); Family History Film 1255398. [12] "Binnard Building Began as a Saloon," Colfax Gazette (Colfax, Wash.), 8 August 1985, p. [1] [13] 1940 U.S. census, assembly district 27, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, enumeration district 38-508, sheet 10A, family 197, entry for Ray Levinson, mother, household of Wanda Block; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2012), NARA microfilm T627, roll 318. Ray’s entry shows she had 4 years of high school education. [14] Marriage record of L.N. Levinson and Ray Binnard, Spokane County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1800-Present, Office of the Secretary of State, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/, accessed 18 November 2013. [15] Ancestry.com. California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Louis N. Levinson, San Francisco, 1930. [16] 1880 U.S. census, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, enumeration district 137, p. 4, dwelling 22, family 32, entry for Louis Levinson, son, household of H.A. Levinson; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2012), Family History Library microfilm 1254076. [17] National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Collection Number: ARC Identifier 583830 / MLR Number A1 534; NARA Series: M1490; Roll #: 161, entry for Louis N. Levinson, Portland, Oregon, 1912. [18] Spokane Falls City Directory, 1890 (Spokane Falls, Washington: R.L. Polk & Co., 1890), 317. [19] Portland City Directory, 1893 (Portland, Oregon: R.L. Polk & Co., 1893), 580. [20] Ibid (1904), 585. [21] “Specialty Store to Open,” Morning Oregonian, 13 August 1921, p. 20. [22] Ibid. [23] “Willamette Heights Residence and Exquisite Furnishings by the Piece,” Morning Oregonian, 13 August 1921, p. 20. [24] Ancestry.com. California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Louis N. Levinson, San Francisco, 1930. [25] 1930 U.S. census, Assembly District 28, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, enumeration district 38-235, p. 6A, entry for Ray Levinson, mother-in-law, in household of Milton F. Block, dwelling 113, family 129; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2012); Family History Library microfilm 2339938. [26] "California, Death Index, 1940-1997," Rachael Levinson, San Francisco, 1943. [27] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entries for Rachel Levinson, Memorial 87721258, created by Graves, and Louis N. Levinson, Memorial 118821976, created by Kathleen Clemence, Records of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, California. [28] "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," index and images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K6ZT-SP7 : accessed 02 May 2014), Meyer Max Levinson, 1917-1918; citing Portland City no 1, Oregon, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d); FHL microfilm 1852137. [29] "California, Death Index, 1940-1997," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VPFW-LMG : accessed 02 May 2014), Meyer Max Levinson, 22 Jan 1944; citing Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. [30] "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," index and images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K6ZT-SP3 : accessed 02 May 2014), Harold G Levinson, 1917-1918; citing Portland City no 1, Oregon, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d); FHL microfilm 1852137. [31] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for Harry Levnson, memorial 87721253, created by Graves, Records of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, California. [32] Ibid, entry for Wanda Levinson Brown, memorial 118822213, created by Kathleen Clemence, Records of Home of Peace Cemetery and Emanu-El Mausoleum, Colma, California. |