Max and Mary

Russian Immigrants

In 1875 Czar Alexander II instituted liberal reforms which improved infrastructure and abolished serfdom. His reforms spurred on Russian nationalism, which derived into a hostile environment for Jews, who were currently barred from integrating into Russian society. Approximately 150,000 Jews, facing repression fled the country. Max, born in 1864 and his wife Mary, born in 1865 were Ashkenazi Jews – their presence became precarious.

The young couple made their way to the coast and sailed to America in 1882, where they were processed in Boston. I wonder how a couple 18 and 19 gathered the money for their journey? Were their parents, or relatives of any help? Did they even have parents or any connections in Boston? I’ll never know in this lifetime. Max and Mary, to my knowledge, left no written records. My grandfather Hyman passed when I was 11; that type of question never crossed my mind. Why would it? Max found work as a mechanic - the boom of the industrial revolution was their salvation. They settled in a farmhouse in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Mary bore four boys and two girls.

Mary and Max Waitzman

In 1883, Max became a Freemason as well as a member of Menorah Lodge 144 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a member in both of these philanthropic organizations for 75 years.

Max Waitzman and his wife Mary (Chaitt) spoke Yiddish in their home, and English in the workplace. I don’t know if they were practicing Jews; a headstone shows, but does not speak. I believe in my heart that they were, and I am proud of my 1/4 Jewish lineage. I know my grandfather Hyman’s lineage, and his non-practice after his marriage to Edna Miller who hailed from Elkton, Maryland. In 1883, young Max proudly walked the Brooklyn Bridge on its opening day in his adopted country. My vision is that it may have been one of the highlights of his life.

Headstones at Har Nebo Jewish Cemetery in Philadelphia

Ultimately, Max and Mary moved to Philadelphia in 1914 where he worked as a foreman at an iron works company. He was also a machinist, fabricating railroad cars for the E.G. Budd Company.

Max passed away, aged 95 years in 1959 at the Odd Fellows retirement home in Middletown, Pennsylvania, where he was a trustee. He was a past Noble Grand of Menorah Lodge 144, past president of the Veteran Odd Fellows Association of Pennsylvania and a past Grand Patriarch of Encampment No.1 Philadelphia. He received the Grand Decoration of Chivalry, the highest Lodge Honor and was a Life District Deputy for the Jurisdiction of Maryland. He was survived by 10 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. At 75 years, he was one of the longest serving members of the organization. Mary Chaitt Waitzman passed at age 76 in Philadelphia.

For many years, I have had a curiosity of the whereabouts of my great grandparents earthly remains. Through the great effort of our family friend Sharon, she has blessed me with a truly loving gift. Thank you Sharon.

Hyman, born on the farm, was my grandfather. He was an ambitious man who began a career in the baking industry counting the number of raisins in each muffin. Promotions followed. At the young age of 20, he was the Head Baker at Freihofer Bread Company. He received a patent for a humidifier box that kept baked goods fresh. His engineering drawings are framed and hung in my office. His career culminated as vice president at American Bakeries.

Max lived long enough to attend the wedding of his grandson, my father Sidney and my mother Margaret Grogan in 1948. Dad was a baptized Methodist, due to my fraternal grandmother Edna Miller’s religious belief. Myself and siblings were all baptized Catholics following our great-grandmother, Mary Kelly Fulbrook, grandmother Elizabeth Grogan and our mother’s Catholic Irish roots.

Max Waitzman in his Odd Fellows uniform

I’m proud of my great-grandparents and the long term benevolence they gave to their new country.