Part 2 · Bald side

Isidore & Bella

Świrz · Rzeszów · Rivington Street · East Houston Street

Isidore & Bella

From Świrz and Rzeszów to East Houston Street

Isidore (Israel) Bald was born in Świrz, a small town in eastern Galicia, in 1903 (his papers also say 1905). He came to New York with his mother and three younger brothers and sisters on the SS Niagara in September 1920; his father Isaac was already on Rivington Street.

Bella (Beila) Wank was born in 1903, at Rzeszów according to Isidore’s papers, and grew up in the village of Wólka Podleśna just north of the city. She sailed from Hamburg on the SS Mount Clinton in September 1923, a twenty-year-old housemaid going to her father Kalman at 272 Rivington Street.

In the early 1920s the two families lived a few doors apart on Rivington Street on the Lower East Side: the Balds at 247 and 260, the Wanks at 242. Isidore married the girl from down the block on 20 November 1926.

Together they ran the Bald Drygoods Store at 432 East Houston Street. Isidore was a peddler in 1936 and a dry-goods merchant by 1942, and in the 1940 census both he and Bella are listed as proprietors. Their children were Rosalyn, Joseph and Seymour. Seymour married Dorothy Schron; they are the parents of the three sisters.

Isidore’s second WWII draft card, filled in on 15 February 1942, gives a second store: his employer was “Bald Dry Goods, 702 E. 5th St.”, a few blocks north of the Houston Street store, while the family still lived at 432 East Houston Street.

Bella died in April 1975 and Isidore in June 1982, both in New York (index records). Where they are buried has not been found, though the registers of Mount Zion, New Montefiore, Montefiore, Wellwood, Beth Moses and Mount Hebron have now been searched; the family may know.

At a glance

Isidore (Israel) Bald	b. 16 Jul 1903 (petition; other papers say 1905), Świrz, Galicia · d. June 1982, New York Confirmed
Bella (Beila) Bald, née Wank (Wang)	b. 15 Jun 1903, Rzeszów (husband’s papers and the Social Security index) · d. April 1975, New York Confirmed
Rosalyn Bald	Daughter of Isidore and Bella; sister of Seymour. Living or possibly living: name and relation only.
Joseph Bald	b. 25 Feb 1929, New York · d. 22 Jun 2011, Miami-Dade, Florida Confirmed
Seymour Bald	Father of the three sisters; son of Isidore and Bella Bald. Living or possibly living: name and relation only.

Records and stones

Confirmed Isidore Bald’s photograph and signature on his 1936 declaration of intention.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed Isidore Bald’s declaration of intention, SDNY no. 383489, 24 Aug 1936: born Świrz; wife Bella born Rzeszów; married 20 Nov 1926. Cropped above the children’s lines.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed Isidore Bald’s petition for naturalization, SDNY no. 419846, 1942: dry-goods merchant at 432 East Houston Street, born Świrz 16 Jul 1903; Bella born Rzeszów 15 Jun 1903. Cropped above the children’s lines.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed 1940 census, Manhattan ED 31-512, sheet 5A: Isidore and Bella Bald, proprietors in dry goods. Cropped to their two lines only.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed SS Mount Clinton, Hamburg to New York, September 1923: the head of the passenger list.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed Line 12: “Beila Wang”, 20, housemaid, last residence Wulka; her mother “Dudora Wang” still there.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed Sheet 2, line 12: going to her father Kalman Wank, 272 Rivington Street; born “Walka”.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed Isidore Bald’s WWII draft card, 15 Feb 1942: employer “Bald Dry Goods, 702 E. 5th St.”; contact Bella Bald.FamilySearch / NARA

Confirmed Marriage certificate of Isidore Bald and Bella Wank, Manhattan, 20 Nov 1926, certificate 34117. Isidore, 23, of 134 Columbia Street, son of Isaac Bald and Taybe M. Ochs; Bella, 20, of 242 Rivington Street, daughter of Kalmen Wank and Dora Weinstein. Married by Rabbi Michel Leiter.NYC Municipal Archives, historical vital records

Living relatives appear by name and relation only.

Labels — Confirmed, Likely, Possible — as the records support them. Tap any picture to enlarge it.

The people

Every person in this part, with each fact, its label and its source.

Isidore (Israel) BaldConfirmed

Grandfather of the three sisters (father’s side)

Born 16 Jul 1903 (petition; other papers say 1905), Świrz, Galicia · Died June 1982, New York

Born in Świrz, eastern Galicia. His 1942 petition gives 16 Jul 1903; his 1936 declaration and 1940 draft card give 16 Jul 1905; the Social Security index says 14 Aug 1903. The papers disagree and all are shown.ConfirmedPetition for naturalization of Isidore Bald, 1942 Declaration of intention of Isidore Bald, 24 Aug 1936 WWII draft registration card of Isidore Bald, 16 Oct 1940 Social Security Death Index: Isidore Bald
Arrived in New York on 20 Sep 1920 on the SS Niagara from Le Havre with his mother, listed as “Israel Bald, 17”.ConfirmedSS Niagara passenger list, Le Havre to New York, arrived 20 Sep 1920
Married Bella Wank in Manhattan on 20 Nov 1926 (certificate 34117, now saved). He was 23, living at 134 Columbia Street; the certificate names his parents Isaac Bald and Taybe M. Ochs. Rabbi Michel Leiter of Pitt Street married them.ConfirmedMarriage of Isidore Bald and Bella Wank, 20 Nov 1926
One wedding witness signed as M. Gottlieb. A Mayer Gottlieb is named on the gate of the Dunajewer society, the Wanks’ burial society, so the witness was possibly a society friend of Bella’s family; this is unproven.PossibleMarriage of Isidore Bald and Bella Wank, 20 Nov 1926 Gate of the Dunajewer society, Mount Zion Cemetery
Ran the “Bald Drygoods Store” at 432 East Houston Street with Bella: peddler in 1936, dry-goods merchant in 1942, proprietor in the 1940 and 1950 censuses.ConfirmedDeclaration of intention of Isidore Bald, 24 Aug 1936 Petition for naturalization of Isidore Bald, 1942 1940 US census, Isidore Bald household WWII draft registration card of Isidore Bald, 16 Oct 1940 1950 US census, Isidor Bald household
His second WWII draft card, of 15 Feb 1942, names his employer as “Bald Dry Goods, 702 E. 5th St.”, a second store address; he still lived at 432 East Houston Street, and gave his birth as August 1903.ConfirmedWWII draft registration card of Isidore Bald, 15 Feb 1942
His father’s 1931 petition gives yet another birth date for him, 7 May 1904.ConfirmedPetition for citizenship of Isaac Bald, 1931
Died June 1982, last residence New York NY 10002 (index only).LikelySocial Security Death Index: Isidore Bald
Burial place not found (not in the Mount Zion, New Montefiore, Montefiore, Wellwood, Beth Moses or Mount Hebron registers, Find a Grave or the JewishGen burial registry).

Father: Isaac (Yitzchak Eizik, Eisig) Bald · Mother: Tillie (Toba Miriam, Taube) Bald, née Ochs · Spouse: Bella (Beila) Bald, née Wank (Wang) · Children: Seymour Bald, Rosalyn Bald, Joseph Bald

In the tree How are we related?

Bella (Beila) Bald, née Wank (Wang)Confirmed

Grandmother of the three sisters (father’s side)

Born 15 Jun 1903, Rzeszów (husband’s papers and the Social Security index) · Died April 1975, New York

Born 15 Jun 1903 at Rzeszów according to Isidore’s 1936 and 1942 papers and the Social Security index. Her father’s petition gives 10 Dec 1902, her mother’s 10 Jan 1906; her 1923 passenger list says born “Walka”, i.e. Wólka Podleśna.ConfirmedDeclaration of intention of Isidore Bald, 24 Aug 1936 Petition for naturalization of Isidore Bald, 1942 Social Security Death Index: Bella Bald Petition for naturalization of Kalman Vank, 8 Oct 1923 Petition for naturalization of Dora (Dwojra) Wank, 1939 SS Mount Clinton passenger list, Hamburg 6 Sep to New York 18 Sep 1923
Arrived in New York on 18 Sep 1923 on the SS Mount Clinton from Hamburg: “Beila Wang”, 20, housemaid, from Wulka, going to her father Kalman Wank at 272 Rivington Street.ConfirmedSS Mount Clinton passenger list, Hamburg 6 Sep to New York 18 Sep 1923
Became a citizen through her father’s naturalization of 14 Mar 1924 (certificate 1941617), as Isidore’s 1942 petition records.ConfirmedPetition for naturalization of Isidore Bald, 1942
Married Isidore Bald on 20 Nov 1926, from her parents’ home at 242 Rivington Street; the certificate names her parents Kalmen Wank and Dora Weinstein. In 1940 both are listed as proprietors in dry goods.ConfirmedMarriage of Isidore Bald and Bella Wank, 20 Nov 1926 1940 US census, Isidore Bald household
Died April 1975, New York NY 10002 (index only). Burial place not found: she is not in the Mount Zion register.LikelySocial Security Death Index: Bella Bald Mount Zion Cemetery, Maspeth, Queens: interment register

Father: Kalman (Kalmen) Wank (Wang), son of Reuven · Mother: Dwojra (Dora) Wank, née Weinstein · Spouse: Isidore (Israel) Bald · Children: Seymour Bald, Rosalyn Bald, Joseph Bald

In the tree How are we related?

Rosalyn BaldConfirmed

Daughter of Isidore and Bella; sister of Seymour

Living or possibly living: name and relation only

Father: Isidore (Israel) Bald · Mother: Bella (Beila) Bald, née Wank (Wang)

In the tree How are we related?

Joseph BaldConfirmed

Son of Isidore and Bella; brother of Seymour

Born 25 Feb 1929, New York · Died 22 Jun 2011, Miami-Dade, Florida

In his parents’ households in the 1930, 1940 and 1950 censuses, and named on his father’s 1936 and 1942 papers.Confirmed1930 US census, Isidore Bald household 1940 US census, Isidore Bald household 1950 US census, Isidor Bald household Petition for naturalization of Isidore Bald, 1942
Born 25 Feb 1929; died 22 Jun 2011, Miami-Dade, Florida. The Social Security birth date matches his father’s 1942 petition exactly.LikelySocial Security Death Index: Joseph Bald Petition for naturalization of Isidore Bald, 1942

Father: Isidore (Israel) Bald · Mother: Bella (Beila) Bald, née Wank (Wang)

In the tree How are we related?

Seymour BaldConfirmed

Father of the three sisters; son of Isidore and Bella Bald

Living or possibly living: name and relation only

Father: Isidore (Israel) Bald · Mother: Bella (Beila) Bald, née Wank (Wang) · Spouse: Dorothy Schron (Mrs Bald) · Children: Riva, Rivky Bald, Miriam Bald

In the tree How are we related?

Generations

The direct line, generation by generation. Tap a name for dates, label and notes.