Markman Family
John Markman was born in Odessa, Russia.[1] Records differ on his birthdate. In 1900 he told the census taker he was born in January 1858,[2] but his gravestone has a birth year of 1863.[3] Sophy, his wife, was also born in Odessa.[4] Her birthdate, given on the 1900 census, was April 1862.[5] Information also varies on her maiden name, with Stengarth,[6] Sternberg,[7] and Steinberg[8] being three of the variations. Her death certificate states that her father’s name was Joseph Birnbaum and her mother’s name was Rose.[9]
John and Sophy were probably a newly-married couple when they arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota in June 1881.[10] From there they traveled to Eau Claire, Wisconsin where John first appears in the city directory in 1884, working as a peddler.[11] From that occupation he progressed to selling second-hand goods by 1891,[12] and by 1897 was the proprietor of the New York furniture store at 212 South Barstow.[13] John filed intent to become a citizen at Eau Claire on 21 October 1884, renouncing his allegiance to Alexander, Emperor of Russia.[14] He became a citizen on 15 February 1897.[15] He and Sophy had six children who lived to be adults: Ann, Rebecca, Rose, Fred, Pearl, and Hiram. On the 1900 census, Sophy reported that she was the mother of ten children, with six children living, so four children must have died before 1900.[16] In 1904 the Markmans moved from Eau Claire to Minneapolis.[17] John owned a lot in Elliot’s Addition of Minneapolis, which he sold in August 1906 for $25,000.[18] He probably used that money for investment. Two months later the Minneapolis Journal reported that he provided capital of $35,000 to build three new apartment houses on the corner of Franklin and Dupont avenues. The buildings were designed by Lindstrom and Williams and were described as a type of architecture new to Minneapolis.[19] They still exist today. Around 1920 the couple left Minneapolis for Los Angeles, where John continued in the real estate business.[20] In the mid-1920s, according to family stories, he built the Plaza Castle Court at 1937 Argyle Avenue. It is said that the lot on which the apartments were built backed up to the estate of the movie star Rudolph Valentino. Many employees of the film industry became tenants of the apartments. Sophy passed away in Los Angeles on 22 December 1939.[21] She is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[22] John died 10 March 1943, also in Los Angeles,[23] and is buried next to his wife.[24] __________________________ [1] “California, County Birth and Death Records, 1849-1994.” Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2014, John Markman, death certificate no. 4006, 1943. [2] 1900 U.S. census, Ward 8, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, enumeration district 30, dwelling 267, family 343, entry for John Markman; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2012); citing Family History Library microfilm 1241788. [3] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for John Markman, Memorial 95478170, Records of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California;” created by Romper90069. [4] “California, County Birth and Death Records, 1849-1994.” Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2014, Sophy Markman, death certificate no. 17357, 1939. [5] 1900 U.S. census, Ward 8, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, enumeration district 30, dwelling 267, family 343, entry for Sophia, wife, household of John Markman; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2012); citing Family History Library microfilm 1241788. [6] "Wisconsin, Births and Christenings, 1826-1926," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XRJH-MGQ : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Pearl Markman, 08 Apr 1892. Her mother’s maiden name is given as Stengarth. [7] "Wisconsin, Births and Christenings, 1826-1926," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XRJC-DXX : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Tom Markman, 13 Jun 1896. The child’s mother’s maiden name is given as Sternberg. On the 1900 census, this child is called Hiram. He later changed his name to Arthur. [8] "Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V47W-5WH : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Anna Grosby, 1982. [9] “California, County Birth and Death Records, 1849-1994,” Sophy Markman, death certificate no. 17357, 1939. [10] "Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-29967-30675-95?cc=2046887&wc=MMB6-JKC:n1060100015 : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Eau Claire > Declarations of intention 1882-1886 > image 265 of 327 for John Markman. [11] Eau Claire Directory, 1884 (St. Paul, Minnesota: R.L. Polk & Co. and A.C. Danser, 1884), 209. [12] R.L. Polk & Co’s Eau Claire City Directory, 1891-1892 (St. Paul, Minnesota: R.L. Polk & Co., 1891), 343. [13] Directory of the City of Eau Claire, 1897-1898 (Eau Claire, Wisconsin: Eau Claire Book and Stationery Co., 1897), 168. [14] "Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-29967-30675-95?cc=2046887&wc=MMB6-JKC:n1060100015 : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Eau Claire > Declarations of intention 1882-1886 > image 265 of 327 for John Markman. [15] "Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992," John Markman. [16] 1900 U.S. census, Ward 8, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, entry for John Markman. As adults, Rebecca went by the name Marge and Hiram was called Arthur. [17] Ancestry.com. Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, entry for John Markman, Minneapolis, 1905. [18] “Real Estate Transfers,” Minneapolis Journal, 18 August 1906, p. 11. [19] “New Flats Planned,” Minneapolis Journal, 5 October 1906, p. 11. [20] 1920 U.S. census, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, enumeration district 378, sheet 12 B, family 381, entry for John Markman; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2012); Family History Library microfilm 1820113. [21] “California, County Birth and Death Records, 1849-1994, Sophy Markman, death certificate no. 17357, 1939. [22] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for Sophy Markman, Memorial 95478158, Records of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California;” created by Romper90069. [23] Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000, John Markman, 1943. [24] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for John Markman, Memorial 95478170, Records of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California;” created by Romper90069. |