IAJGS2019 Cleveland, OH

It is summer again, so I must be at the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies annual conference.  This year it is in Cleveland.  It is my seventh conference, and each one has been fascinating in a different way.  My first conference, in Paris (France), was almost overwhelming.  I didn't know anyone and there were at least a hundred sessions to choose from, all of them interesting.  I learned so much and by the end of the week, I knew a lot more about how to do my research and had met a few people who were interested in the same areas that I was.
This conference is exciting but in different ways.  I don't have as much trouble choosing sessions to attend, as I have heard many of the introductory track topics before.  I now know many attendees from all over and carve out times to meet them at meals, or over a drink somewhere.  There are also events that are not formally part of the schedule but are organized every year for folks with interest in a topic, like the Bloggers lunch, or the Volhynia Researchers dinner.  And, of course, this year is different because I am also a speaker at the conference for the first time. (My topic is this blog as a research tool!).
In addition to hearing about new data that is available, and new projects to improve service from JewishGen.org, I heard updates on projects from the Hungarian and Ukraine Special Interest Groups.  Those are the areas that I am most interested in for my research.  There was a useful talk on Hungarian names and deconflicting people with the same name.  Two professors from Case Western U gave talks, one on Jewish influence on American Popular Music (this is the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after all), and one on the nature and consequences of Jewish migration.  Both very thought-provoking subjects. One particularly useful talk was about historical maps and how to find and use them in your research. 
As usual, when I travel, I check to see if I have any cousins in the area that I can contact.  I was in luck this trip as there was a cousin on my maternal grandfather's side of the family with whom I had exchanged e-mails a few years ago, but never met.  We got together and spent a lot of time exchanging information and telling family stories.  I'll tell more about that in another post.  For now, since I am beat and I have to present my talk tomorrow, I'm going to bed.

Neuman family - part 1

 Julia Henriette Neuman Fondeur
about 1912

My husband's grandmother was the lovely young lady shown above.  She was born on January 13, 1887, in Santa Barbara de Samana in what is now the Dominican Republic (DR), and baptized there as Julia Margarita Neumann Fondeur1.  (This uses the Spanish convention of putting the father's surname followed by the mother's surname).  In various records, she was known as Julia Henriette, Julia Andriette Marie, and Julieta Henriqueta.

Julia was born into a large, prosperous family of seven girls and one boy.   Her parents were Victor Newman Paris, (born May 30, 1863, in Puerto Plata, DR)2 and Juliana Fondeur Guzman (b. ca. 1869 in Moca, Espaillat, DR).  According to "Hombres y Mujeres Notables y Benefactores de Samana (1493-1910)"  by Gregorio Elias Penzo, her father (Victor) "... emigrated with his brother Alberto to the city of Samana sometime between 1880 and 1890.  On January 9, 1896, he married Juliana Fondeur, from Moca, their children were:  Julieta Enriqueta, Maria Juliana Clementina, Maria Luisa Virginia, Lois Henry Victor, Maria Francisca, Maria Theresa, and Luisa Angela Marguerita (7 girls and 1 boy).  Victor appears in a list of businessmen (comerciantes) in 1896 as the proprietor of a commercial establishment.  He held several municipal posts, including the mayor. On March 1, 1903, professor Vicente Martinez, jointly with Victor Neumann, mayor, founded a school, Escuela Aurora, in Las Terrenas.  Victor was a founding member of the Auxilliary Fire Department of Samana (March 22, 1922).  On March 31, 1902, his wife died; years later he remarried: Theresa Horton Drullard,  and had an additional seven children: Celida Altagracia, Atenaida Maria, Celeste Ondina, Elsa Mercedes, Clara Aurora, Rhina Teresa, and Sergio Hector (6 girls and one boy).

He was named administrator of the soap company, Jabonerias Unidas del Cibao, by the board of directors, and he carried out his responsibilities with efficiency and honesty, which was an integral part of his character.  Although he had a sober expression, he enjoyed simple humor and loved music.  He frequently hired a local band, Orquesta Altagracia to play for his parties.  He was a well-mannered gentleman, and was the governor of a social club, Club Peninsular, for several terms.  He died on October 20, 1932."3

Alexander Crime
 taken in San Juan PR about 1913 

In 1913 Julia married Alexander Crime from St Thomas, Danish West Indies but living in Samana. In a 1906 guide to the DR he is shown as an import/export merchant operating from an office in a pharmacy, and  Vice-Consul for Norway for Samana.  He is listed as living in Samana with his father Matthew and "Crime Senoritas" (probably unmarried sisters) on Avenida la Marina in Samana. Victor Neumann is also listed on Marina at that time, although his family is not shown.  It is likely that that is how the couple became acquainted. Victor's brother Alberto is shown as living on Colon Street.4.

Because of Alejandro's (Alexander) business, the couple moved back and forth between Samana and St Thomas.  They had seven children born as they moved from one to the other. Born in Samana:  Ilma Ethelvina (1914), Mildred Virginia (1915) Daphne Maria (1918), and Alda Alexandrina (1920).  Born in St Thomas: Vera Tanya (1917), Alexander (1922), and Erle Edward (1924).  This movement became an issue after the 1917 transfer of St Thomas from Denmark to the United States and the granting of US citizenship to Danish resident citizens in 1927.  That will be the subject of another blog post.5

Ad for Alexander Crime
in Guia General of 1906

Alexander, (as he was known in St Thomas) acquired some land on Estate Dorothea on St Thomas in 1907 and established a residence there to maintain his Danish citizenship despite his absences in the DR. 6 By 1921 when his first son was born, the family was residing at 11 Crystal Gade in Charlotte Amelie, St Thomas.7  By 1929 they had moved to 83 Kronprindsens Gade where Julia died on November 7 from cancer of the uterus.8  Alexander died on June 11, 1936.  They both were buried in the Western Cemetery in Charlotte Amalie.9

1.  Baptism records, FHL, Julia Margarita Neumann Fondeur born Jan 13, 1887, Baptized June 15, 1887, in Santa Barbara de Samana. Parents Victor Neumann and Juliana Fondeur.
2.  Hombres y Mujeres Notables y Benefactores de Samana (1493-1910)"  by Gregorio Elias Penzo.  pp 209-210.  Citation and rough translation provided via e-mail Feb 23, 2004, from Jacqueline Jacques to Mary-Jane Roth
3.  Ibid.
4. "La Republica Dominicana Directorio y Guia General" Enrique Deschamps, 1906.  Copies of pages 186-188, 315-317  several unmarked pages sent to Erle Crime by Jacqueline Jacques in 2004. Given to Mary-Jane Roth in 2004.
5. Ibid., unmarked page of advertisements.
6. Copy of letter October 30, 1938, from C.L. Root, Collector of Customs St. Thomas, to The Commissioner of Emigration & Naturalization, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. concerning the citizenship of Miss Mildred Crime.  Copy given to Mary-Jane Roth by Daphne Crime Kushnereit.
7. Ibid.
8. As told to Mary-Jane Roth by Erle Crime and Daphne Crime Kushnereit.
9. Photos of the crypt in Western Cemetery, Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas showing birth and death dates for Julia N. Crime and Alexander Crime. Provided by e-mail July 26, 2006, from Maria Smith to Mary-Jane Roth.