Meier David and Lena Tepper

Lena Tepper

     In a post on 3/8/15, I described the arrival of Meier David and Lena Tepper along with several of their children to New York in 1907, aboard the SS Lituania.  They were going to their son-in-law, Elcon Grosser, in Philadelphia.

     By 1909, they were living in Philadelphia at 306 North Front Street near the docks along the Delaware River.  "Myer D. Tepper" is shown as a huckster in the 1909 City Directory[1].  By 1910, they had moved to a rented house at 312 (Rear) North Front Street.  Their children Sam, Abe, Bess, Harry, Celia, and Mary lived  with them. They also had a boarder, Louis Gefler, a 28 year old, single, express driver.  In the census, Lena's occupation is listed as "none".  I imagine that she kept the house, did laundry, and cooked for all of those people, which is hardly being unoccupied!  Meier David is listed as being a retail merchant of fruit.[2]  The City Directories for 1916 and 1918 still list him as a huckster at that address [3], so he probably sold from a cart rather than a store.
   
     By 1920 Meier David and Lena were still living at 312 (Rear) North Front Street.  All of the

Meier David Tepper

children had grown and moved out, but their daughter Rose and her son Hyman lived next door at 300 N. Front. (see post of 6/5/15 for more about Rose)  Meier David is listed as the proprietor of a restaurant, and Lena is shown as the cook. [4] Their granddaughter remembers hearing that they made food that they sold to the immigrants arriving at the docks nearby.  These photos, taken at about that time show them as moderately prosperous.

     In 1930 they had retired from business and moved to a small three story brick home at 1921 North 31st Street, a few blocks from Fairmount Park.  They rented the home, and had a lodger, a widow named Sarah Ginsberg. [5]

     David died on March 14, 1940 of a strangulated right hernia and heart congestion. [6]  His death certificate shows him living at 1825 N. 31st St.  After David's death, Lena moved in with her son Abraham, his wife Sarah, and daughter Bertha at 4924 17th Street.[7]   In June 1941, following a cardiac incident, Lena moved to the Bellavista Home in Springfield PA where she died on February 1, 1942,.[8]

     The ages of both David and Lena are open to question. When they arrived in 1907 they gave their ages as 56 and 53. Three years later in the 1910 census they said that they were only 55 and 51.  Ten years later, in 1920, they had aged fifteen to twenty years, and were listed as 70 and 70. In the 1930 census they give their ages as 80 and 75.  David's death certificate in 1940 has two ages, 91(crossed out) and 79.   In the 1940 census, taken just after David's death, Lena is listed as only 77.   David's headstone at Har Nebo Cemetery gives an age at death in 1940 as 91.  Lena's headstone says she was 90 when she died two years after the census, but her death certificate says 85. A final determination will wait for the discovery of birth records.  Lena's will be particularly hard to find as I don't know her maiden name.  I have found marriage records for three of her children that have a mother's maiden name filled in.  Unfortunately, they are all different.  One says Zelbsman, one says Zotsman, and one says Kaplan.  Yet another mystery to add to the pile.

1.  Philadelphia City Directory.  Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2011) Record for Myer D. Tepper.
2.  Ancestry. com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006) Database online. Year: 1910; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 11, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1390; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 159; Image: 13. Record for David Japper.
3.  Philadelphia City Directories 1916 and 1918. op.cit.
4.  Ancestry. com 1920 United States Federal Census.(Provo UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2009)Database online. Year: 1920; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 11, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1619; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 220; Image: 977. record for David Tepper.
5.  Ancestry.com 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo UT USA, Ancestry.com Opertions Inc. 2002)Database online. Year: 1930; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 2116; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 741; Image: 1013.0. Record for Meyer Tapper.
6.  Ancestry.com Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1963 (Provo UT USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2014) Record for David Tepper.
7.  Ancestry.com 1940 United States Federal Census (Provo UT USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2012)Year: 1940; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: T627_3752; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 51-2120. record for Lena Tepper
8.  Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1963 (Provo, UT USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2014) Record for Lena Japper.