Sigmund (or Sigismund) Levy and Family, 1860-1880, of Manhattan and Buffalo
Hello, I am looking for information on my great-great-grandfather and his family.His name was Sigmund N. Levy, as he signed it on his daughter Hannah's marriage certificate in 1883.His name is listed as Sigismund Levy in the 1880 census from Manhattan, NY, and as Sigmund Levy in the 1870 census from Manhattan.His birth year was 1828, 1829, or 1830, as calculated from the ages recorded in the 1870 and 1880 census records, and both censusses record his birthplace as Hamburg (in Germany, not NY).My grandmother used to say that he came from Alsace-Lorraine in France.Our family history records show his name as Seymour S. Levee.
He lived in Buffalo, NY when my great grandfather was born on 13 Mar 1864, and when Hannah Levy was born in 1865.My great grandfather's name is listed as Leon Levy in the 1870 census, and Leo Levy in the 1880 census.He moved to Toronto, where he married Martha Hughes of Streetsville, Ontario on 12 Oct 1887.However, the name on his marriage certificate, and the only name our family ever knew until recently, was Louis Spencer Levee.He was elected President of the Toronto Board of Education in 1912.He and Martha moved to Buffalo, NY, later in the decade, where they lived for many years with my grandparents.He died in Little Rock, Arkansas on 19 Nov 1953, and she died in St. Petersburg, FL on 4 Mar 1947.Louis and Martha had 6 children, all with the surname of Levee:Louis Edward (1888), Ernest Frank (1891), William James (1892), Irene Martha Marie (1893), Lorna Eulalie (1901 - my grandmother), and Clarence Hughes (1902).
Sigmund Levy had 6 children, according to the 1880 census, all with the surname of Levy:Leo (1862 or 1863 according to the census, but all other records say 1864 was his birth year); Hannah (1864 or 1865); Otto (1869 or 1870); Bertha (1871 or 1872); Isadore (1873 or 1874), and Jenny (1875 or 1876).
Hannah married George Von Hofe on 11 Aug 1883 in New York, NY.They later moved to South Orange, NJ.Hannah and George had 3 children: Emma M. (b.1885, later married William J. Fuller, she died 1977); Frederick H. (b.1891, d. 1977 - he became a doctor in NJ after graduating from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and married Dorothy, who died about 1996 at the age of 99), and George D. Von Hofe, Jr. (b.1893, d. 1972).
Hannah's marriage certificate lists her mother's name as Mary Hoehn, but Mary was not listed as a witness to the marriage certificate, which would be consistent with our family's oral history, which says that she died in childbirth when Otto was born in Buffalo in 1869.Our family records have her name as Marie Haehm.The family story is that Sigmund remarried, but his new wife was cruel to the children.A nursemaid ran off with Otto when he was quite young to protect him.The story says that his siblings lost touch with him.Hannah and possibly some of her other siblings searched for Otto about 50 years later, and were able to locate him.There was a joyful reunion that was written up in the newspaper.I do not know which newspaper, or when the reunion occurred, but would love to find out.
Interestingly, there is a Mary Hoehn listed in the 1871 Canadian Census in Ontario.She was born in 1830 in Germany.This would make her about the same age with a similar ethnic background as Sigmund.I do not know if this is the same Mary Hoehn who was Hannah's mother, but I am seeking information on Mary and her family.
I have no information on Otto, Bertha, Isadore, or Jenny, but would appreciate any information you might have.Thank you.