Marcus Family History

A History of the Abe Marcus Family—Our Maternal Grandfather,
by Judy Duchan and Elaine Vanzant, November 11, 2018

Hyman Solomon Schear

Hyman Solomon Schear was our great great grandfather. He was born in 1827 in Saukenai, Kelme Lithuania. Hyman was married twice, first to a woman named Rose (we don’t know her maiden name) who was born around 1830 in Kursenai, Siauliu, Lithuania. Hyman and Rose were married around 1862. They had six children, Benjamin, Elka, Jennie, Lena, Leo and Rebecca. Elka, their older daughter, was our great grandmother.

Here is a map showing where Hyman was born.

Rose died in Lithuania around 1873. It was just after giving birth to her youngest daughter Rebecca. She was only 43. We don’t know the exact date or cause of her death, but we can guess that since it was so close to the birth of Rebecca that she died in childbirth. 

Hyman remarried the next year, in 1874. His second wife was Freda Bank (1855-1922) who was also born in Lithuania. Freda was 38 years younger than Hyman, she was only 19 when they got married in 1874. Over the next 21 years Hyman and Freda had nine children of their own, all born in Lithuania. The number of children in Hyman Shear’s combined families totaled fifteen. Here are Hyman, Freda and seven of their children. We don’t know which children they are. It is likely that the oldest of the children pictured were Hyman and Rose’s.

Hyman worked as a farmer as well as a cab driver in Lithuania. He had retired by the time he left for America in 1907. 

The Schear family lived in Lithuania during the time when there was a mass exodus of Jews, as well as Lithuanians. The country, then a province of Russia, was going through change from an agrarian to industrial economy—a change that caused shortages of jobs and lowering wages. Traditional town markets such as those in shtetls were undermined by the infusion of goods from large factories. Jews who wanted to escape these worsening conditions were able leave the country illegally because of the easily accessible ports in Germany, the porous borders between Lithuania and Germany, and the lax immigration policies of Russia. Migration was also facilitated by offices throughout the Pale, such as the Jewish Colonization Society, that provided information to Jews on how to emigrate. 

By 1907, the entire Schear family had emigrated to the American midwest. They did so in stages. The oldest child Benjamin and his wife Bessie led the way in 1884. They were followed by Leo in 1888. By the time Hyman and Freda left Lithuania in 1907, most of their children were living in the Cincinnati/Dayton area in Ohio, except for the youngest, Mose, who came over with his parents. He would have been 11 years old at the time. Hyman was 80 and Freda was 42 when they emigrated in 1907. Six years later on January 10, 1913, Hyman died. His death certificate indicates he died of chronic Bright’s disease (kidney problems), accompanied by senility. 

Freda outlived Hyman by 9 years. She remarried in 1915. Her new husband was Abraham Goldhoff. Freda was Abraham’s third wife. He already had 12 children from his first two wives—a lot but not as many as the 15 that Freda had had with Hyman’s two families. After Freda died in 1922 at age 57 Abraham went on to marry two more times—totaling five. Whew! 

Elka Dina Schear

Elka Dina Schear (also known as Dinah Ella and Ella Dina) was the second child of Hyman and Rose Schear. She was born in 1863 in Kursenai, Siauliu, Lithuania. She married Samuel David Marcus in 1886 in Lithuania. Elka and Sam had four children, one boy and three girls. Their names were Abraham (1886-1958), Rose (1889-1939), Lena (1895-1948) and Sarah (1905-1961). All were born in Lithuania. The two parents and their four children emigrated to the Cincinnati area in 1904. Elka was 39 at the time. She died at 66, on April 1, 1931, in Dayton, Ohio, having spent the last 27 years of her life in the US in Dayton. She died of atherosclerosis. 

Samuel outlived his wife by twelve years. He died in 1943 at age 77 of myocarditis and was buried at her side in Dayton, Ohio.

Abraham Joseph Marcus (1886-1958)

The oldest of Elka Dina and Samuel’s union, and their one male child, was Abraham Joseph Marcus, our grandfather. He was born on December 10, 1886 in Kursenai, Siauliai, Lithuania.

He came to the US with his family, when he was 17. Abe, as he was known, married Esther Tishler, our grandmother, on June 4, 1909, he was 23, she was 21.

Abe and Esther had eight children over the next 18 years. They were all born in Cincinnati. Our mother was the oldest, born 9 months after they married (whew, again!).

Our cousin Ken, as conveyed by Marcie Marcus, his widow, talked about following his grandfather Abe’s fruit cart in downtown Cincinnati when Ken was a child. Later Abe was the proprietor of a grocery store, a store that would provide a livelihood not only for Abe’s family when they were young, but for some of his children’s family after they were grown. In 1923 Abe’s place of business was 3001 West 8th Street. When our uncles ran it It was called Marcus Brothers. It was located then at 3454 Reading Road. Marcie Marcus remembers it being run then by Gene and Leonard Marcus. Elaine remembers Irv working there too.  

Abe was institutionalized several times for what would now probably be called bi-polar disorder. Ros, his daughter (our mother) reflects on one such incarceration in 1945 in a letter to her husband Walter: 

June 27, 1945: Everyone is ok in Cincinnati except for my Dad. I was afraid he was going into one of his manic states. They had to take him back to the hospital. I just hated to see that, since he really doesn’t seem severe enuf to be confined in that hell-hole, but it is apparently the only thing to be done under the circumstances. The sad part is that he receives no treatment while there —merely rest. 

We remember our grandfather as a quiet man. He used to come to visit us in Greenfield, Ohio and help mother out with household chores when our dad was in Italy in WWII. Judy remembers him as toothless and hard to understand. 

This is Abe’s obituary: 

Abraham Marcus, 1826 Garden Lane, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1958. Funeral services were held at the Weil Funeral Home, Wednesday, Dec. 3. Interment was in Judah Touro Cemetery, Rabbi Samuel Wahl officiating. Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Lee Weiner, of Cincinnati, and Mrs. Walter Felson, of Greenfield, O.; five sons, Ralph, Harold, Leonard, Irvin and Jack Marcus, all of Cincinnati, and 16 grandchildren. His wife, Esther T. Marcus, and a son, Eugene, preceded him in death. (Dec 11, 1958, American Israelite).  

Esther Tishler Marcus (Sometimes spelled Tischler and even Tieshler)

Our grandmother Esther Tishler was born in January of 1888 in Russia. Her mother, Rosa Blackman (1859-1901) died at 42 of pyaemia. Her father was Samuel Tishler (1852-1910), a shoemaker. Sam and Rosa had 7 children: George, Harry, Esther, Sarah, Anna, Mary, and Bertha.  

Here are pictures of Esther (left front), Bertha (right front) and Harry (standing). 

From a letter written by Roslyn Marcus Felson to Walter Felson about her mother: 

August 8, 1945

Mother and I sat up until 1:30 AM last night—or should I say this morning—discussing the family and reminiscing about her family — sisters and brothers and how they all were scattered all over when her mother died. My mother had to take over a household of 7 children when she was only 13 years of age. That must have been quite a responsibility. 

When her mother died, Esther’s two older brothers, George and Harry, were 21 and 15. Her younger siblings were aged 11, 8, 6, and 3. Since Esther was the oldest girl, (and judging from our mother’s letter), she was the one to assume her mother’s responsibilities of taking care of the household and the younger siblings. It is not clear what Roslyn meant by Esther’s family being scattered all over after her mother died. Maybe she was referring to where they all moved after they were grown. 

We didn’t know Esther’s family, except for Mary and her youngest sister Bertha and Bertha’s daughter, Rose Waspe. Here is a picture of Bertha as a young girl. Isn’t she beautiful? 

Esther Tishler married Abraham Joe Marcus in 1909. Our mother Roslyn was born shortly thereafter. There were 8 in all. The last child, Jackie had Down syndrome and was institutionalized in Columbus, at The Ohio State Hospital.

We remember small things about our grandmother:

Judy: I remember she told mother that I shouldn’t be allowed to hang out with my boyfriend on the second floor (maybe in the spare room that was hers). I learned from mother’s letters that we loved for her to visit and enjoyed her company. During the war we often stayed overnight with her when mother took us to Cincinnati and the Felson relatives would visit us at her house. Also, when brother Harold was in the service, his wife Helen had a baby (Ivan) and they lived above grandma on the third floor. We don’t know if she owned the house but mother describes her quarters there as cramped. 

Elaine: She use to joke that her teeth were like the stars – they came out at night. I remember her reading a lot. I think she cooked sometimes. (Judy: I remember her making tzimmes.) She got stuff all over the stove and was messy. 

We both remember her being overweight. As we look at pictures of her now we don’t think she was that heavy. Have our standards changed, now that we live in a country with an obesity problem? 

In her last years, Esther lived with us in Greenfield, Ohio. She had a heart condition at that time, which she eventually died from on June 28, 1955, at 77 years of age. Here is her obituary: 

Mrs. Esther Tischler Marcus, of Greenfield, Ohio, passed away Tuesday, June 28. Services were held Thursday, June 30, at the Weil Funeral Home, Rabbi Albert A. Goldman officiating. Internment was in Judah Touro Cemetery (in Cincinnati, Ohio). Mrs. Marcus is survived by her husband, Abe Marcus; two daughters, Mrs. Walter Felson, of Greenfield, O., Mrs. Lee Weiner; six sons, Eugene, Ralph, Harold, Leonard, Irvin and Jack Marcus; three sisters, Mrs. Morris Stoller, Mrs. Mary Cresswell and Mrs. Anne Lawrence; and a brother, Harry Tischler. 

Mary Cresswell and Anne Lawrence were, indeed, Esther’s sisters. But Mrs. Morris Stoller wasn’t, by far. She was, instead, Sylvia Stoller who was married to Morris Stoller who was a brother to Harry Stoller who was married to Dora Waspe who was a sister to Isador Waspe who was married to Bertha Waspe who was a sister of Esther Marcus. Whew. Not even a near relative. 

Below is our cute grandmother in her patten leather shoes standing next to the shadow of her cameraman. (Who was that?). And another picture, a playful svelte version of her. 

The children of Abe and Esther Marcus 

• Roslyn Marcus Felson 1910-1987
• Eugene M. Marcus 1911-1956
• Ralph D. Marcus 1912-1995
• Blanche Marcus 1914-1994
• Harold S. Marcus 1916-2000
• Leonard J. Marcus 1919-1993
• Jack Irvin Marcus 1921-1992
• Jack R. Marcus 1928-1985 

Roslyn Marcus Felson (1910-1987)

Our mother, Roslyn Marcus Felson was the oldest of Esther and Abe’s children. She was born on March 12, 1910 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Roslyn married Walter Felson after a five year courtship on November 25, 1930. Here is what she looked like around the time they were married. (A little jaundiced from Judy’s photoshopping.)

Our family was made up of our parents and three children, Judith (b 1939), Elaine (b 1941) and Jerry (b 1947). Walter had a general medical practice in Greenfield, Ohio, located in the same house where the family lived. 

Here are some things we (Judy and Elaine) remembered about out mother as we reminisced one day, in the summer of 2002. 

She was a good listener, which must be why everyone, children and adults alike, wanted to tell her their problems and solicit her advice. She was the town’s counselor. 

Mother was not just ours but was also an adopted mother of our neighbors, Shirley and Beverlee Tennenbaum. In our early years, Shirley and Beverlee would come over to play with us or so it would seem. But really they would come over to be with our mother. 

We remember well her hearty laugh, that often ended in an uncontrollable wheeze and we remember her distinctive sneeze that sounded like she was saying yeeshaw! She laughed so hard sometimes she wet her pants.

She talked with a drawl. Many assumed that she was from the South. And she would take her sentences to the middle, just at the point where we could guess what she was going to say, and then stop. No problem, we either filled in or guessed the endings. 

Mother was not only slow in talking, she took her time in making decisions. This made life with our dad difficult, since he did everything quickly. She was always chiding him about his speediness…(and vice versa). 

And then there was her humor. She loved teasing people, even when they didn’t know it. Her teases were sometimes quite pointed, with a criticism hidden in them, such as when she teased Judy about her shoes, that weren’t fancy enough in mother’s judgment, and offered to substitute her own pair. And when she teased Alan (Judy’s husband) about their credit cards looking exactly the same, so Alan might as well use his…

Besides taking care of her children and Walter, the love of mother’s life was traveling. She and dad took many trips. We went along when we were still young—we drove through every state in the United States, or so dad bragged. Later, after we were grown and out of the house, mother and dad took trips, arranged by the American Medical Association to countries in Europe, Africa, Asia. Whenever mother met someone for the first time, she identified herself as a traveler and was soon relating one of her funny travel adventures. 

Mother was a “worrier.” But she did it silently, sparing us and others around her (except, maybe for our father.) She described herself as someone who keeps her worries “inside” and her life as private.

And she saved everything. Her house overflowed with newspapers that she saved, she still had our children’s books and toys when were well into adulthood. We found in her desk a 20 year old hall pass that Mr. Turner wrote giving permission to Elaine to leave the classroom in 6^th grade, for God’s sake! Judy still has the desk and chuckles whenever it reminds her of that hall pass.  

In relation to expenditures, Mother described herself as a depression baby. She was reluctant to spend money on herself and she felt that her children needed to earn their own money, so they could appreciate what things were worth. She was never interested in expensive clothes or objects, because they cost too much. 

She was a good cook, and loved collecting recipes. We remember especially her soups, made in the pressure cooker, her brisket, her kugel. 

Although the women’s liberation movement came late in her life, she embraced it enthusiastically. She always encouraged “her girls” to be adventuresome and competitive, without placing us under high pressure to do so. 

We grew up in a little town of 5,000 people, Greenfield, Ohio. We were one of two Jewish families in the town, and mother saw to it that we knew about our Jewish heritage. She read us bible stories when we were young and arranged for us to go every week to Chillicothe, a town near Greenfield to study with a Rabbi for a year or two.

Here are a few other things we remember:

She, like her brothers, had psoriasis, a skin condition that she was quite embarrassed about. We often chose vacations to places where she could get some sun—as a treatment for her psoriasis. Elaine and Judy now have lesions on occasion, reminding us of her. 

She took art lessons every now and then. Her medium was water colors. She favored aqua, both in her art and her dress and her house decorations. 

She created a Victory garden during the war years, growing vegetables. She put Judy, age 5, in charge of it.  

She wrote wonderful letters about us to our father when he was in the second world war. Sometimes there were two or three a day. He saved them all, and as a result we have a spectacular depiction of what she thought and did during his 2 ½ years overseas.

She was a girl scout leader, working with our girl scout troops. 

We wonder if she knew how wonderful a mother she was and how much we loved her.

Our mother died in our home in Greenfield, Ohio, on July 29, 1987 in Greenfield, Ohio of congestive heart failure after a three year illness. 

Eugene M. Marcus 1911-1956 

Eugene, the second child of Esther and Abe, worked with Abe in his grocery store. At 19 he listed his job as a grocer. By 1940, when he was 29 years old, he was listed in Cincinnati’s city directory as the owner and employer of a retail grocery store. His wife, Jean Shostack   (1914-2007), also worked in the store as a sales clerk. Gene (nicknamed Buddy) and his wife Jean had two sons, Barry and David. Barry was born 1948 and died in 2006. David was born in 1950. He married Peggy Lou Golden in 1971, was divorced in 1973, and then married Inga B. Collins (1942-) in 1975. They had three children together. 

Here is a picture of Buddy and Jean standing in front of their house in Cincinnati:

Buddy died at the young age of 45 of leukemia. Jean remarried.

Ralph D. Marcus 1912-1995 

Here is Ralph’s death notice:

Blanche Marcus 1914-1994

Blanche was mother’s only sister. She married Lee Weiner in 1943. They had two children, Sheila (1946) and Steve (1948). Here she is as a young teenager and later, with her niece, Judy. 

  Here is an obituary of Blanche that appeared in the American Israelite:

Blanche Weiner, formerly of Cincinnati, died Aug. 26 in Bo­ca Raton, Fla. Mrs. Weiner was a founder of the ARC Hamilton County and was active in programs for the mentally retarded. After she moved to Florida, she worked as a reading tutor, the senior citizens organization We Care and was the founder of the Dorset Social Club at Century Village, a retirement community in Boca Raton. She was a member of Temple Beth Shalom in Florida.

She is survived by her husband, Lee; a daughter, Sheila Weiner of Boca Raton; a son, Steven Weiner of Cin­cinnati; and two brothers, Ralph Marcus of State College, Pa., and Harold Marcus of Cincinnati. A graveside service was held Aug. 31 at Love Brothers Cemetery, Rabbi Edward Boraz officiating. Weil Funeral Home handled the arrangements. Memorial contributions may be sent to Halom House, 1514 Section Road, Cincinnati, 45237.

Harold S. Marcus 1916-2000

Harold was married to Helen Grossman in 1941. They had three children. The oldest was Ivan (b. 1945) who married Patricia Kidney in 1976, the second was Diane (1947), who married David Minson and the third was Carol (1954) who married Steven Goldhagen. 

Helen died in 1972 and Harold remarried Charlotte Sarah Seltzer (1917-2009) in 1980. 

Harold worked as a grocer in Marcus Grocery Store early in his life and then, later in life, as personal investor in the financial market. 

Leonard J. Marcus 1919-1993

Leonard Marcus married Louise Franz (1920-1987). They had a daughter, Marsha J. Marcus (1946-2010). Marsha Marcus married Lawrence Harris in 1966 was divorced in 1974, married Albert Felts in 1976 and Samuel Snider in 1978. They had several children. 

Irvin Marcus 1921-1992 (Irv)

Irv Maarcus married Deal Santora. They had a daughter Sharon Lynn Marcus in 1951 who died in 1979.

Jack R. Marcus 1928-1985

Jack Marcus was a homemaker, student, and unemployed volunteer (from death certificate). He lived in a state hospital, in Columbus, Ohio for most of his adult life. 

Our distant cousin Rick Schear-Cauthen and his husband Paul Cauthen have put together a wonderful genealogy on the Marcus family on Ancestry.com. It contains a family tree of the Abe Marcus family.