Florence (Fisher) Lewin, 1889-1924
Florence6 Fisher (Anna Binnard5, Bendet4, Mosiek3, Jacob2, Lewin1), third child of Nathan and Annie (Binnard) Fisher, was born 24 April 1889 in Washington,[1] probably in the city of Colfax. She moved with her mother and siblings to Spokane, where she is listed in the 1909 city directory as a student.[2]
Florence suffered from tuberculosis. In November 1909 the Colfax Gazette reported that Anna Fisher and her two daughters had been in Phoenix, Arizona for the past two months. “Florence is greatly improved in health, having gained 13 pounds during their brief residence there,” the paper stated.[3] The dry desert climate was promoted as beneficial for those with the disease. Sanitariums catered to wealthy patients, while the less affluent made do with tents. The erection of tent settlements within the city limits was prohibited,[4] so Florence camped in an area north of the city called Sunnyslope while her mother and sister boarded at the Adams Hotel in town. Florence returned to the Northwest and was living in Portland, Oregon when she became “dangerously ill” in August 1910. It was reported that her physician ordered her back to Phoenix,[5] where she was still residing with her mother and sister in January 1911.[6] Florence met Ralph Lewis Lewin, probably through her family’s contacts in the liquor industry. Ralph was born 11 July 1888 in New York City to Philip and Jennie Van Leer Lewin, immigrants from Germany and Holland, respectively. Philip Lewin was a tailor.[7] The family soon moved to Denver, Colorado, where in 1889 Philip was a clerk for L. Levy & Company.[8] Ralph grew up there and attended high school for three years.[9] His father operated a saloon in Denver in 1892[10] and in 1904 established the Lewin Mercantile Company, wholesale dealers in liquors and cigars.[11] By 1906 Ralph worked as a clerk in the family business.[12] Florence and Ralph’s marriage date and place are unknown, but they were married and living in El Paso, Texas by April of 1916.[13] A few months later, the newspaper reported that Ralph had started a business in Eagle Pass, Texas and Florence would be joining him there.[14] The business was short-lived; by 1917 they were again in El Paso and Ralph was manager of the California Wine House, which was also the workplace of Florence’s brother, Victor Fisher, and her mother’s cousin, Abraham Binnard.[15] Living in El Paso at the same time were Florence’s sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Fred Markman, who owned a jewelry store,[16] and Florence’s uncle, Dan Binnard, who was the manager of a local saloon.[17] When World War I broke out Ralph, age 28, registered for the draft. The form describes him as tall and slender with blue eyes, brown hair, and a crippled arm.[18] Ralph and Florence returned to Denver and were living with his parents in 1920.[19] Ralph took a job as a salesman for Yoelin Brothers Mercantile Company, where his father was the secretary.[20] Florence’s tuberculosis worsened and she passed away at the Agnes Memorial Sanitarium on 18 August 1924 at the age of 35.[21] She was buried in the Emanuel Cemetery in Denver.[22] On 5 September 1942 Ralph married Ruth E. Schmidt in Gilpin County, Colorado.[23] She was born 13 March 1900.[24] According to the family story, Ralph and Ruth waited to marry until Ralph’s mother died, because she did not want her son to marry a woman who was not Jewish. _________________________ [1] Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, death certificate no. 7555 (1924), Mrs. Florence Fisher Lewin; Vital Records Section, Denver. [2] R.L. Polk & Co.’s Spokane City Directory (Including Hillyard), 1909 (Spokane, Washington: R.L. Polk & Co., 1909), 398. [3] “Personal Mention,” Colfax Gazette, 5 November 1909, p. [2]. [4] Bradford Luckingham, Phoenix: the History of a Southwestern Metropolis (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989), 55. [5] “Local Brevities,” Colfax Gazette, 5 August 1910, p. 5. [6] “Ben Binnard Laid to Rest,” Colfax Gazette, 3 February 1911, p. [1]. [7] New York, New York, delayed birth certificate no. 156-53-638383, Ralph Lewin (1953); Department of Health, New York, New York. [8] Ballenger & Richards’ Seventeenth Annual Denver City Directory, 1889 (Denver, Colorado: Ballenger & Richards, 1889), 588. [9] 1940 U.S. census, Ward I, Block nos. 81 7 91, Denver City and County, Denver County, Colorado, enumeration district 16-110, sheet 9B, household 24, entry for Ralph L. Lewin; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 July 2012); NARA microfilm T627, roll 487. [10] Ballenger & Richards Twentieth Annual Denver City Directory, 1892 (Denver, Colorado: Ballenger & Richards, 1892), 632, 1273. [11] Ibid (1904), 737. [12] Ibid (1906), 760. [13] “Society Personals,” El Paso Morning Times, 17 April 1916, p. 7. [14] “El Pasoans Away,” El Paso Herald, 17 July 1916, p. 8. [15] El Paso City Directory, 1917 (Dallas, Texas: John F. Worley Directory Co., 1917), 242, 360, 474, 790. [16] Ibid, 498. [17] Ibid, 242. [18] “United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KZXW-16V : accessed 26 Feb 2014), Ralph Lewis Lewin, 1917-1918; citing El Paso County, Texas, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509, (Washington D.C: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); Family History Library microfilm 1953280. [19] 1920 U.S. census, Denver City, Denver County, Colorado, enumeration district 276, sheet 8A, dwelling 175, family 189, entries for Ralph Lewin and Florence Lewin, son and daughter, household of Philip Lewin; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 July 2012); NARA microfilm T625, roll 162. [20] Ballenger & Richards Denver Directory, 1922 (Denver, Colorado: Gazetteer Publishing and Printing Co., 1922), 1415. [21] Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, death certificate no. 7555 (1924), Mrs. Florence Fisher Lewin. [22] Ibid. [23] "Western States Marriage Record Index," database, BYU-Idaho Special Collections (http://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/westernstates/westernStatesRecordDetail.cfm?recordID=101214 : accessed 30 July 2012), entry for Ralph L. Lewin to Ruth E. Schmidt, Gilpin County, Colorado, 5 September 1942. [24] “United States Social Security Death Index,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JT7T-WJ7 : accessed 07 Mar 2014), Ruth E Lewin, 9 August 1996; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing). Her birthdate is given in the certificate. |