My ancestors, Catherine Furst Schwartzmeier Lindemann (born Aschaffenburg, Germany 1827), her daughter, Wilhelmina Schwartzmeier Lindemann Goehle (born NYC c 1862), and Wilhelmina's husband, Peter Goehle (born Herrnsheim, Germany 1852) lived in the Lower East Side. My grandfather, Frank Goehle, was born at 88 Sheriff Street in 1894.

In the mid to late 1800s a large portion of this the area was known as as Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) because of the high percentage of German immigrants who lived there. The Germans who lived in this part of New York City maintained their language and culture. It was a bit of Germany moved to New York City.

Germany was not unified as a nation until 1871. Up to that time it was made up of multitude of states, princedoms, dukedoms, city states, etc. All of these diverse regions had their own dialects, customs and dress. The "Germans" who came to America in the 1800s tended to form communities within their own regional groups. Bavarians and Prussians were the two biggest German speaking groups who settled in New York City.

Kleindeutschland encompassed the 10th, 11th, 13th and 17th Wards - an area between 14th and Division Streets - the East River and the Bowery. Today this area includes the East Village, Alphabet City, and parts of Chinatown, the Bowery, Little Italy, and NoLita.

Kleindeutschland was the first large urban language settlement in an America city. Between 1855 and 1880 it was the third largest German speaking community in the world - Only Vienna and Berlin were bigger!

Once one of the most fashionable streets in the city, by the end of the Civil War the Bowery had become the home of popular theaters and German beer gardens.

A 1892 Century Magazine about the Bowery had the following to say:

• "It is an enormous, crowded, noisy street of retail shop, lodging houses, and museums."

• In addition to "respectable" shops like grocer's, baker's and a shop for "the supply of firemen's goods" there were a abundance of cheap jewelry stores and pawnbrokers.

• The "foreign inclination" of the street was noted:

  "one sees the force of foreign inclination unmistakably in other features of the street. The frequency of signs painted with Hebrew characters in German words even in the windows of banks, is no more mistakable than the occasional "delicatessen", shops, as the Germans call these places which are nearly like our "fancy groceries". The number of places for the sales of muscial instruments is so great as to indicate that the majority of their customers are from continental Europe, and in the still larger numbers of cheap photograph-galleries the same influence is apparent"........... Not only are the types of faces Teutonic and Slavonic, but the sitters have shown a fondness for being pictures in fancy costumes and maskers' dresses.".......... The sources of the fancy costumes is seen in the many places for the hire of masquerade dresses that are in the Bowery.......The costumes are hired for use at masquarade balls and it is on the morning after such a ball, before the dresses are returned, that the dancers wear them once again to the photograph-galleries."

• The inhabitants of the Bowery area were joiners and everyone became members of numerous "societies". Each occupation had one of more societies. One became a member of the society of people who came from the same village of area of Germany. Other societies included: singing clubs, sharpshooting clubs, secret societies, mutual benefit societies, burial societies, gymnastic clubs, and various church groups.

  "Fraternity and fun are at the bottom of all these organizations — a kind of fun we Anglo-Saxon are too stiff to enjoy, and a sort of vigorous and ostentatious fraternity that we do not see the necessity for............No matter what the aim or title of the organization, dancing and the drinking of wine and beer seem to us the main purpose of the members."

  Many of these clubs members mixed on "equal terms" regardless of their social standing. The king of a given "ball" could have been "wage-earner", "clerk, a "professional" or a "well-to-do shop keeper".

  One society had the sole purpose to "bring together the people for a Rhenish village for a grand dance and feast of new sausage and new wine once a year."

• The large number of drinking establishments was noted:

  "The street is fourteen blocks long, and there are sixty-five places where drink is sold on on its east side and seventeen on its west side"

  The numbers included: four music halls, four restaurants, four oyster houses, two or three wine houses, one wholesale liquor store, and several bars connected with theaters and variety-halls.

  "Some of the saloons have glittering exteriors and costly fittings, but not one is so called fist rate. In the main they are cheap places of a low class."

  The exception was the "one orderly resort &mdash The Atlantic Garden —"

  "Lager beer is of course the standard tipple of the Bowery, and it flows there in such torrents that I am not guilty of the slightest exaggeration is saying that early on Sunday morning, after a busy Saturday night, the very air that is breathed in the great avenue is weighted with the odor of soured beer."

• There were six museums on the Bowery. They showed such things as "the fattest women on earth"

• The Bowery was one of the most brilliantly lit streets of the day. Although Julian Ralph deems it "cheap and vulgar".

• The Old Bowery theater had recently been "given over" to entainment for "Polish Hebrews".

  "The language used on the stage is a strange jargon of bad Russian, Polish, old Hebrew, and one or more other tongues"

• Germans abounded:

  "More numerous than all others on this great East-Side parade are the people of German origin."

Post marked 1910

By the mid 1870's elevated trains ran along 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 9th Avenues. While they improved the speed of travel they were loud and caused pollution.

Not posted

The Bowery, one of the most noted thoroughfares in the city, runs in a northeasterly direction through the most congested district of the famous East side. It practically begins at the Brooklyn Bridge under the name of Park Row and ends at Cooper Square. Was formerly a part of the old Boston Post Road.

Third Avenue El — From Battery Park to Harlem along the Bowery and Third Avenue.

A SATURDAY NIGHT SCENE IN THE BOWERY NEW YORK, HARPERS WEEKLY MAY 20, 1871

"Broadway wears a silent and deserted aspect all day long, but towards sunset the Bowery brightens up wonderfully, and after nightfall the street is ablaze with a thousand gaslights. The low class theatres and places of amusement in that thoroughfare are opened towards dark, and then vice reigns triumphant in the Bowery. The Bowery beer-gardens do a good business. The most of them are provided with orchestras or huge orchestrions, and these play music from the ritual of the Roman Catholic Church.

Until very recently the bar-rooms were closed from midnight on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, and during that period the sale of intoxicating liquors was prohibited. Now all this is changed. The bar-rooms do a good business on Sunday, and especially on Sunday night. The Monday morning papers tell a fearful tale of crimes committed on the holy day. Assaults, fights, murders, robberies, and minor offences are reported in considerable numbers. Drunkenness is very common, and the Monday Police Courts have plenty of work to do.

From a painting by Andre Castaigne, 1891

1. Bowery Theatre 46 Bowery near Canal, melodrama etc.
2. Liederkranz Hall 35 East 4th Street near Bowery
3. Stadt Theatre 45 Bowery, German plays
4. Tony Pastor's Opera-House 201 Bowery near Spring st, variety performances

1. Lindenmullers Odeon 205 Bowery
2. Germania Hall, 291 - 293 Bowery
3. Germania Bank 190 Bowery

Cooper Union, New York. Posted 1911.

Cooper Union located in Cooper Square (Bowery, Third Avenue and 7th Street) was founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper and offered free classes to everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion or social status.

HARPER'S WEEKLY, July 2, 1870

Red Cloud, leader of the Oglala Kakota Sioux spoke at Cooper Institute in New York.

An excerpt from his speech:

"This was all very well until the Great Father sent another kind of men out there — men who drank whiskey; men who were so bad that the Great Father could not keep them at home, so he sent them out there"

Red Cloud did not take part in the Lakota War of 1876-1877 (aka as the Great Sioux War) when Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull led their men in several battles against the United States Army. One of these battles was the the infamous battle of the Little Big Horn.

On February 27, 1860 Abraham Lincoln gave an historic speech on slavery at Cooper Institute.

Steinway Hall, East 14th Street near 4th ave concerts, The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1871

Steinway Hall was built in 1866. It contained concert halls, showrooms and sales rooms for Steinway pianos. Steinway Hall

Third Avenue was a heavily populated street lined with small shops. It did not contain any important public buildings, with the exception of Copper Union.

Cooper Institute Hall East 8th and 3rd ave, concerts and lectures, The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1871.

See Cooper Union above.

Scheffel Hall at 190 Third Ave was built in 1894-94. A beer garden and restaurant it was modeled after a 17th century building in Heidelberg, Germany. New York Architecture

There was a trolley line on Third Avenue from 1853. The Second and Third Avenue lines ran together until Chatham Square. The Third Avenue line ran up the Bowery to Third Avenue (at 6th Street). Originally pulled by horses, the trollies were later run on cables. In 1899 electric cars were introduced.

An elevated railway was constructed on Third Avenue in 1878.

The trollies (or surface cars) and the El were built and operated by different companies.

Private Mailing Card, posted 1904, Cooper Union, 3rd Ave Elevated R. R., New York

Second Avenue also had a trolly line.

SECOND AVENUE LOOKING NORTH FROM ST. MARK'S PLACE

The two buildings on the right are the N. Y. Historical Society and the Second Avenue Baptist Church

"In the quaint and historic structure of St. Marks church, at Tenth Street, is an interesting landmark. For a time this was a part of the German quarter."

The New Metropolis, 1899

King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the of the American metropolis, edited by Moses King, 1892

The first facility of the German Dispensary was located at 132 Canal Street. In 1862 it moved to 3 East Third Street. By 1887 when it was located at 137 2nd Ave. the Dispensary was treating 28,000 patients a year, most from the neighboring German community. In 1905 the facility moved to Park Ave and 77th Street. It is now the Lenox Hill Hospital.

GERMAN BRANCH Y. M. C. A. 140 and 142 Second Avenue near 9th Street

"The German Branch, on Second Avenue, was organized in 1881 for work among the East-Side Germans, by whom it is greatly appreciated."

Kings handbook of New York City By Moses King

"The reformation and training, industrial, mental and religious, of girls not hardened by vice."

"Girls between the ages of 10 and 21 years may be committed or admitted on their own application or that of their friends; they must remain long enough to show fruits of their training."

The King's handbook of New York City of 1892 shows a 6 story building with a plain facade.

FIRST AVENUE LOOKING NORTH FROM EAST EIGHTH STREET

According to The New Metropolis, 1899 the elevated train gave First Avenue "an air of gloom and poverty".

"It comprises mile after mile of small shops on its west side and generally factories on the eat side, or yards of lumber, coal or stone."

St Nicholas Chruch, rectory, and convent on 2nd Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. The church and convent are no longer standing.

Deutsche RomischKatholische Kirche in New York c. 1848

AVENUE A AND TOMPKINS SQUARE LOOKING NORTH FROM EAST SEVENTH STREET

Avenue A was the main thoroughfare of the German community in Lower Manhattan.

"Its entire lower end, from East Houston to Fourteenth Streets, is lined with shops that are German, spread with signs that are German, and promenaded by men and women who are, without question, prosperous German-Americans. A decade ago little else but the German tongue in its various dialects was heard here; now much English, though often a broken English, is to be heard. This is not because the Germans have moved, however. As a matter of fact there are more of this nationality about there than ever before, and Avenue A, for about fifteen blocks, is the pivotal center of "Kleine Deutchland". The reason of this gradual dropping of the German language is the influence of the growing generation which attends American schools. The older generation still speak the dialects of their native land. On the evenings just proceeding Christmas the curbs are lined with booths of decorations and toys, and it takes on an especially picturesque and foreign aspect. Avenue A abounds with "wein stubes," "bier Halles," bowling alleys, and numerous quaint shops."

The New Metropolis 1899

133 is just north of St. Mark's (8th Street). A newer building is at that address today.

St Marks' place is "8th Street" between 3rd Avenue and Avenue A.

The Hamilton-Holly House 4 St Mark's Place was built in 1831. Originally a private home the building was later used as a meeting hall and apartments.

The German American Shooting Society Clubhouse 12 St. Marks Place. The Deutsch-Amerikanische Schuetzen Gesellschaft at 12 St. Mark's place was headquarters for 24 German shooting clubs from New York City and adjoining areas. The shooting ranges were mainly located on Long Island to the south and east of Brooklyn.

"It has a fine club-house at 12 St. Mark's Place, near Third Avenue, which contains, besides the usual club-apartments, a large hall for social events."

King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the of the American metropolis, edited by Moses King, 1892

The Erxmeyer brothers, Fred and Henry, were members of the Hoboken Schuetzen Club. They were active in shooting events in the New York City area. Fred was on the Advisory Board of the National Schuetzen Bund in 1891. See Fred Erxmeyer and/or Henry Erxmeyer

Daniel LeRoy House, 20 St Mark's Place, was constructed in 1820.

Arlington Hall, 21 St. Marks Place was the headquarters of the Arlon Society, a German musical club from 1870 to 1887. St. Marks Place Lot by Lot History

King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the of the American metropolis, edited by Moses King, 1892 Children's Aid Society Girls Lodging

St. Marks Place Lot by Lot History

King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the of the American metropolis, edited by Moses King, 1892

The cornerstone was lain for the German Odd Fellows building on November 19, 1889.

Tompkins Square is located between Avenues A and B, 7th and 10th Streets. The park, which opened in 1850, was a breath of fresh air in the congested area of Little German. It was also the scene some unrest:

• 1857 — immigrants demonstrated against unemployment and food shortages and were attacked by police

• 1863 &mdash Draft Riots

  See 1863 Draft Riots now or at the bottom of the page

• 1871 - German Peace Celebration.

  The celebration included a parade which culminated at Tompkins Sqaure. See German Peace Celebration below.

• 1874 — Labor riots.

  See image below

• 1877 &mdash conflict between the National Guard and crowd gathered to head Communist revolutionary speeches

The park contains a monument to the victims of the General Slocum boat disaster in 1904. See General Slocum Disaster

"Tompkins Square is one of the largest in the city, and is laid off without ornament, being designed for a drill ground for the police and military. It occupies the area formed by avenues A and B, and Seventh and Tenth streets."

"Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City" by James Dabney McCabe, 1872

POOR PEOPLE'S PARKS — TOMPKINS SQUARE

TOMPKIN'S SQUARE, NEW YORK - OUT FOR A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Those lucky enough to live close to one of the few parks in the Lower East Side could enjoy a more pleasant space — no traffic, less noise, trees, greenery.

The church in the background is St. Bridget's Roman Catholic started in 1848 by famine survivors. It is at Avenue B and East Seventh Street. The church has been the center of a lot of controversy in the last several years as the Archdiocese of New York sought to demolish the building. In May 2008 an anonymous donor gave $20 million to save the building and provide an endowment for the parish.

THE RED FLAG IN NEW YORK - RIOTOUS COMMUNIST WORKINGMEN DRIVEN FROM TOMPKINS SQAURE BY THE MOUNTED POLICE, TUES JANUARY 13th

There were not that many open spaces in the lower part of the city. A group of mostly immigrant, working-class, laborers requested a permit to demonstrate in the square. Political leaders suspected the group of Communist leanings and at the last minute revoked the permit to hold the rally. Large numbers of men and their families had gathered without realizing they no longer had a permit. Mount police wielding clubs rode down on the crowd.

"THE RED FLAG IN NEW YORK"

The so-called workingmen of the American Commune were announced to meet in Tompkins Square on Tuesday morning January 13th, and by ten o'clock at least 6,000 persons had assembled in the square. Many were also outside the railing inclosing the square and in the adjoining streets. Suddenly squads of police marched to the center of the square, crowds quickly hemming them in. Commissioner Duryea formed the men in line, and ordered the crowd to disperse. The officers, at almost the same moment, made a rush upon the crowd, which broke and ran, hotly pursued by the police who used their clubs indiscriminately. The square was soon cleared, except one portion, where Christian Meyer held froth as a leader of the Tenth Ward Association. He defied the police, and, with his crowd made a desperate resistance. He struck Sergeant Berghold with a hammer on the head, laying open the scalp a length of three inches. The sergeant's wounds were dressed at the station. His assailant was severely clubbed, and, with several of his bodyguards, was arrested. Several policemen were severely cut while taking the prisoners to the station house.

In the crowd were several hundred Communists, with red flags. The Central Committee of the Workingmen left the Casino, in Houston Street, at eleven A. M. followed by mounted police. On reaching Topmpins Square, the crowd hooted and yelled and stoned the police. While Captain Walsh was clearing the square his attention was suddenly directed to a body of men, numbering about two hundred, who were marching down the avenue followed by numerous rabble. The leader, Justus Swab, a Communist, carried an immense red flag which he defiantly waved over his head. When he reached the square, Captain Allaire arrested him and sent the flag to the police station. The First Avenue Station-house was besieged for several hours by the friends of those who were confined there. Our illustration represents the mob flying before the police."

Tompkins Square, between c 1910 and c 1915, Bain News Service

Visable in the background is Houston Street at the corner of Sheriff Street.

Sheriff Street south of Houston. The building on the extreme right may be Grammar School No 22.The building to the left of it also looks more like some public building than an appartment building.

I believe that this view is of the Stanton Street side of Hamilton Fish Park.

To see more images of Hamilton Fish Park go to Children, New York City, Tenement Life

Peter Goehle lived at 139 Pitt Street from his marriage to Catherine Christ in 1875 until at least the birth of his daughter Elizabeth in 1876. This image is of the Hamilton Fish Park Pool and gymnasium which backs up to the 100 block of Pitt Street (between Stanton St. and Houston St.). The buildings to the right in back of the gymnasium is the approximate location of 139 Pitt Street. The park was completed in 1904 as part of a slum clearance project.

Note: While the New York City Public Library grants permission to web sites like mine to use the images in their digital gallery for free, they charge $50 to get an image of better quality. Because that price would make the whole thing a little too expensive I have had to settle for images that are not as sharp and detailed as I would like.

The Goehle family subsequently moved one block down to 80 Pitt Street (between Stanton and Rivington Streets). They were at 80 Pitt Street for the birth of Frank in November 1878 and at his death in September 1880. A daughter, Louise, was born at that address in June 1880.

Hamilton Fish Park, undated, Bains News Service

Hamilton Fish Park, undated, Bains News Service

Not posted

The sign post says Rivington Street

The Ghetto

This district, located on the East side, is one of the most densely populated areas in the city. The narrow streets are lined with push-cart venders, dealing in all classes of food stuffs. Electric cars traverse very few of the streets, as the old-fashioned horse car is still to be found, moving slowly through the narrow street.

The street sign says RIVINGTON ST

Sunday morning at Orchard and Rivington, New York City c. 1915 Photo by Bain News Service

Comments with this image:

"Rivington Street, north side, at Columbia Street. The view shows the DeWitt Memorial Church at No 280 Rivington Street, between Columbia and Cannon Streets. These buildings are reported to be over congested; 1 building having 96 people in 62 rooms."

The following two wonderful old photos of East Rivington Street where graciously shared by Mary Canzler, September 2006

"My great great grandfather, Philipp Meckel immigrated from Germany sometime around 1865-1870, worked hard and made enough money to send for his best gal, Katharina Knapp to come over and become his wife. He also put a down payment on two brand new buildings, 246 and 248 Rivington Street. Each building was 4 stories with two stores fronts in each.

My grandfather, Michael Koch opened a barber shop in one of the store fronts at 248 sometime around 1890-1892. He then won the heart and hand of Philipp's daughter Elizabeth and they married. At that time, Philipp was proprietor of Meckel's Orange County Dairy and was also one of the founding fathers of the New York dairymen's league. He picked up the milk from the train station at 11th Avenue. A cousin (or a nephew, family lore is not clear) of Philipp's came over after his mother died. John Meckel had been an officer's chef in the German army, and he worked in the dairy making creamed pickled herring and pot cheese (now known as cottage cheese). Philipp died in 1904 and Michael took over the running of the dairy store and changed the name from Meckel Dairy to Koch Dairy, and added groceries. After Michael died, a man named Joe Rempe bought the business. I believe there is a connection to Joe via a marriage of Philipp Meckels son Philip P. to Mary M. Rempe. It is possible Joe was Mary's brother as I remember "Uncle" Joe as a young girl and he was pretty old then.

As for the people in the photos, none of them look "familiar" to me, they were probably just passersby hamming it up for a moment in eternity.

At least one of the buildings on Rivington Street stayed in the Koch family until around 1956 or so as my Great Aunt Marie and Great Uncle Philip (brother and sister) inherited them. One of the buildings may have already been sold, but one was still in family hands, though not for long. I have a letter from my aunt reporting on the progress of the workers who were taking measurements and discussing the problems of collecting the rents from the apartments. The postmark on the letter was 1956. I have a sad suspicion that when I make my road trip in the spring, I will find that those buildings have been razed and something new and ugly will be in their place. Progress."

For more information on the Meckels and some additional great photos go to Meckel

Public School No 4, Rivington St. near Ridge. (1853)

See 88 Sheriff Street for more information on Grammar School No 4.

While a current Google map shows 88 Sheriff between Houston and Stanton, an 1899 map from the New Metropolis shows 100 Sheriff at the corner of Sheriff and Stanton, which would put 88 Sheriff in the middle of the block between Rivington and Stanton on the West side — approximately across the street from the above image.

I found it quite exciting that one of the clearest and largest images in the New York Library Digital Gallery was actually of the back of at least a part of 88 Sheriff Street.

Notice the outdoor latrines.

The Goehle family was at this address in the fall of 1890. A federal census was taken in 1890 but New York City officials decided that that census did not reflect a true accounting of the citizens of the city so the New York City policemen did another census between September 19 and October 14, 1890. The count was 13% higher than the federal census. The really fortuitous part of the Police Census is that when the federal census burned before it could be microfilmed the Police Census remains for historians and genealogists to work with.

Frances Goehle was born at 88 Sheriff in May 1891. Frank Goehle was born here in March 1894.

88 Sheriff Street had a notoriously bad reputation. See 88-90 Sheriff Street

This image is labeled "No 86 Sheriff" Street but I am not sure if 86 Sheriff Street is the building to the right, the empty lot or the building in the background. In any event it gives a feel for the neighborhood.

88 Sheriff Street is now in the middle of the Masaryk Towers. See 88 Sheriff Street

The Park at the center of Masaryk Towers.

No date

There was another copy of this card for sale on ebay in January 2012 with a post mark of 1907.

See Tenement Life now or at the bottom of the page.

Hester Street 1898

In Hester St., N. Y., Candy, Alfred Campbell c 1896, stereograph

The previous three images are on one sheet with the following comment:

"HESTER STREET MARKET ON FRIDAY

Here is Hester Street, scene of the wonderful market of the Ghetto. See on Thursday afternoon and evening and Friday morning, when all the housewives are making their purchases for the Shabbas...It is then a most picturesque spectacle, as the sun beats down on it, heightening and brightening the kaleidoscope effect. Miles of push carts, filled with shimmering glistening fish, stretch far away down the adjoining streets. Other hundreds of carts, filled with fruit, vegetables, neckwear, linen, tinware, and merchandise of all sorts and descriptions, crowd in between the fish carts, choking the way. About these carts there swarms and jostles and crowds and jabbers and bargains and barters a heterogeneous mass of people, such as is to be scene nowhere else on the face of the earth"

A Scene on Hester Street, New York City

Garbage at Essex and Hester Sts (before School 26) circa 1911, garbage collectors strike

The next move was to 73 Broome Street which is located between Lewis Street and Cannon Street south of the Williamsburg Bridge near . Cannon Street once ran for several blocks between Columbia and Lewis Streets but most of it has been lost to the high rise apartment complexes that are now in the area. A small section still exists south of the Williamsburg Bridge. Construction on the Bridge started in 1896 well after the Katherine was born here in August 1881. The family had moved on by 1883.

Note: The New York Public Library Digital Gallery does have some other images of Broome Street near Columbia, but the images are so small and the quality so poor that they unfortunately do not give much more than an impression of the area.

At the death of Frances age 2 months, in May 1883 the Goehles were at 63 Columbia Street just north of Delancey. Peter used this address when he was naturalized in October 1883. And the twins, Marie and Peter, were born here in June 1885. The family was still at 63 Columbia at the birth of Clara in 1887. Peter's wife, Catherine, died here of acute post partum hemorrhage in October 1888. A little over three months later in January 1889 when Peter married Wilhelmina Lindemann this was the address listed.

The stay at 63 Columbia Street is a mini versions of the trials, travails and joys of immigrant life in the Lower East Side. Infant mortality was high as was death related to childbirth. Families were large in these days before birth control and when a young mother died it was practical to remarry as soon as possible so the remaining children would have proper childcare.

The family had been moving on an average every two years before the move to 63 Columbia. Frequent moves were common occurrences in immigrant families. The stay of six years at 63 Columbia may indicate some stability in the family's finances.

Wilhelmine (Winifred) Goehle was born in December 1889 at 145 Norfolk Street. A current Google map shows that mid block between Stanton and Rivington Streets.

The stay at this address was relatively short. In the 1890 New York City Police Census the Goehle family was listed at 88 Sheriff Street.

Margaret Goehle was born at 374 E 4th Street in April 1897. I do not know when the family left 88 Sheriff Street and moved to 4th Street nor when they moved on again to 709 East 12th Street.

Lena Goehle, the last child of Peter and Wilhelmine was born at the Lying In Hospital. The family address was 709 E 12th Street. A modern Google map shows this between Avenues C and D.

"John Pierpont Morgan, an affluent patient of Dr. Markoe, was responsible for the next important advance, the purchase in 1894 of the Hamilton Fish Mansion on Second Avenue and 17th Street to be used as the Lying-In Hospital. This was later expanded toward 18th Street. In 1899, the facilities were overtaxed and the need for a larger hospital was evident. The generosity of Morgan made possible the demolition of the mansion and the construction of a modern, eight-storied hospital that opened in 1902."

Lying-In Hospital of the City of New York

At this period of time most babies were born at home. The fact that Lena was born in a hospital could indicate that there was some issue with Wilhelmine's pregnancy.

The general impression of the tenements is one of poverty, dirt, cramped courters, cold water flats, and other discomforts. In fact tenement immigrates were often clean, hard working and industrious. People made do with what they had and most stove for a better life. See Tenement Life now or at the bottom of the page.

This image shows the feather beds and pillows out to air.

No's 639 to 647 East 12th Street, north side, west of Avenue C."

On the East Side, New York, 1905

THE PUSH-CART DISTRICT

Essex Street, N. Y.. City, 1906

Organ Grinder on Street, East side Bain collection, not dated

On the East Side, N. Y. C., circa 1906, stereograph

Selling Sox, Hester Street between 1908 and 1916, Bain collection

New York "Little Jerusalem" between 1908 and 19196 Bain collection

Jewish Market on the East Side, New York between 1890 and 1901 Detroit Publishing Co.

The three story building at the left of this image shows an example of the older wooden tenement houses. As described in an 1873 article in Harpers Weeky this type of wooden structure was "liable at any time to take fire, and from its position, and from the fact that it is unprovided with fire escapes, such a casualty might involve a frightful loss of life. "

Jewish life - celebrating the Jewish New Year on the East side of New York, between 1905 and 1915, Bain collection

East Side Women discussing price of meat during N. Y. C. meat boycott April 1910, Bain collection

This images is a great example of layering to keep warm.

Note: The "meat boycott" was a nation wide consumer movement that attempted to gain a reduction in the price of meat. "Boycott", meaning to join with others in refusing to have any dealings with some other individual or group, is derived from an incident that occurred at Lough Mask House near Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland in 1880. See Boycott

Corner of Broome and Essex, 7-12-1907

According to his naturalization record, Joseph Hymson was born January 10, 1870 in Russia and immigrated in 1899. He gave his address as 226 Broome Street and his occupation as druggist.

Front elevation of Ward School House No 20 in Chrystie near Delancy Street, Tenth Ward (1853)

R. Hoe & Co.s printing press and saw manufactory (1884)

R. Hoe & Co were located above Grand between Sheriff and Columbia Streets.

I was told that this is a copy of one of the oldest photos of New york City and was taken somewhere near the Five Points. While that is technically not the Lower East Side I believe that the buildings with their awnings are representative of the shopping areas of lower Manhattan at the time.

Lower New York, Harpers Weekly, September, 1877. Close up of a larger picture, see New York Waterfront

" East River Park, located at the foot of the New East River Drive. A modern playground at the East River's edge. In the background can be seen the skyline of Midtown Manhattan.

The tennis courts at the bottom of the card are just above Delancey. The East River Park and East River Drive (Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive or, FDR ) was a Robert Mosses pro

From at least 1875 until at least 1897 Peter Goehle and his family lived either one block north or one block south of Delancey Street on the Lower East Side.

Several of the addresses where they lived were very near that east end of Delancey Street which is now the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge. Construction on the Williamsburg Bridge started in 1896 and was completed in 1903. The buildings north of the bridge ramp remained until the 1950s when all of the buildings north of Delancey, east of Pitt Street (Avenue C) and south of Houston over to the river were razed and the Samuel Gompers Houses, Masaryk Towers, and Baruch Houses were built in the area.

For a period of time the Goehles lived at 63 Columbia Street. This address would now lie between Masryk Towers and Baruch Houses. They also lived on Sheriff Street which now lies east of Hamilton Fish Park just south of Houston. Sheriff Street once extended down to Grand through what is now the grounds surrounding Masaryk Towers.

Samuel Gompers housing was build in 1964. The project was named for Samuel Gompers who was born in London of a Dutch Jewish family. The family immigrated to New York City in 1863. Gompers was president of the American Federation of Labour from 1886-1894.

Baruch is a large complex of 18 towers located between Columbia Street and the East River Drive that was mostly built in 1959.

The following pictures give some idea how the area looked in the early 1900s just after the Williamsburg Bridge was built.

"WILLIAMBURG BRIDGE APPROACH
NEW YORK CITY
Williamsburg Bridge, a combined cantilever and suspension bridge, opened Dec. 19, 1903, crossing the East River from Delancey Street, New York City to Broadway, Brooklyn. Total length 7,200 feet, width 188 feet, height 135 feet clear. Cost $10,000,000."

Printed on back:

"Schiff Parkway (formerly Called Delancy Street) was named after the great philanthropist, Jacob Schiff."

South of the Williamsburg Bridge on the Manhattan side of the East River.

July 5, 1907

Allen Street continues south of First Avenue below Houston. By 1880 the Second Avenue elevated train ran from Allen Street all the way up to 65th Street.

The German population of the New York metropolitan area loved the German theater. Many of the uptown crowd looked down of the German Theater goers taste, but not all as indicated in a 1909 article on the New York Theater.

The German-speaking population is larger than in any city of the world except Berlin and possibly Vienna, and it supports a German theatre of the type familiar in all the cities of the Fatherland. Here Shakespeare, Schiller, and Gothe are played turn about with the latest problem play, light opera, and farce; and much of the stage management and acting is superlatively good. For a decade and more a number of New York dramatic critics used the German theatre to club a sense of the situation into the heads of the public. The German theatre became a familiar delight to intelligent playgoers.

The New Theatre, New York, 1909

Metropolitan Hotel and Niblo's Theater

The Metropolitan Hotel was build in 1852. At that time point the entrance to Niblo's Theater was through the hotel lobby.

The Metropolitan is a handsome brown stone edifice, situated at the northeast corner of Broadway and Prince street. It extends back to Crosby street, and has a frontage of about 300 feet on Broadway. It is one of the most elegant hotels in the city, in every respect. It contains about 400 rooms, and is

always full. It is very popular with army officers, with Californians and the people of the mining States and Territories, as well as with the New Englanders. Capitalists and railroad managers also have a fondness for it. "Shoddy"* is to be seen here also in great force.

"Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City" by James Dabney McCabe**, 1872

Niblo's Theater

William Niblo's Theater stated in 1828 as the Sans Souci Theater at the Columbia Gardens at Broadway and Prince. It offered light vaudeville in an outdoor setting and was so successful that Niblo build a larger more permanent structure. The structure suffered from several fires and was rebuilt several times. The 1881 New York City Atlas maps shows it inside the Metropolitan Hotel. In 1866 it had a seating capacity of over 3,200 people. It was demolished in 1895.

See History of the Musical Stage 1860s: The Black Crook by John Kenrick

Comments on the Niblo's from "Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City" by James Dabney McCabe, 1872:

"Niblo's Theatre, or as it is generally called, "Niblo's Garden," is situated in the rear of the Metropolitan Hotel, with an entrance on Broadway. It is one of the largest and handsomest theatres in the city, and by far the coolest in warm weather. It is devoted principally to the spectacular drama. It was here that the famous spectacle of the Black Crook was produced. Its revival is to take place before these pages are in print, and it will probably be continued throughout the remainder of the season."

See History of the Musical Stage 1860s: The Black Crook by John Kenrick

Niblo's Garden, Broadway, New York, 1852

Niblo's Theater was destroyed by fire in September 1846.

"The flames spread with such rapidity that in a very short time the whole block bounded by Broadway, Prince Street, Crosby Street and the new club-house, was consumed."..... Three years later, July 30, 1849, the summer theatre in Niblo's Garden - rebuilt and surpassing in elegance all its predecessors - was thrown open

A history of the New York stage from the first performance in 1732 ..., Volume 1 By Thomas Allston Brown

View of the Interior of the Opera House, at Niblo's Garden, New York

Harpers Weekly April 1871

The Bowery Theatre was know at various times as the Thalia and Fay's Bowery Thretre.

Next door to the Bowery Theater was the Atlantic Gardens, a large German beer Garden (see below).

The Bowery Theater is the building with the flags - The Atlantic Theater is to the right in the above image.

Comments on the Olympic Theatre from "Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City" by James Dabney McCabe, 1872:

"The Old Bowery Theatre, situated on the thoroughfare from which it takes its name, below Canal street, is the only old theatre left standing in the city. Three theatres have preceded it on this site, and all have been destroyed by fire. Within the last few years, the interior of the present theatre has been greatly modernized. The plays presented here are of a character peculiarly suited to that order of genius which despises Shakspeare, and hopes to be one day capable of appreciating the Black Crook. "Blood and thunder dramas," they are called in the city. The titles are stunning--the plays themselves even more so. A writer in one of the current publications of the day gives the following truthful picture of a "Saturday night at the Bowery:"

[Picture: THE OLD BOWERY THEATRE.]

"I had not loitered long at the entrance after the gas blazed up, when from up the street, and from down the street, and from across the street, there came little squads of dirty, ragged urchins--the true gamin of New York. These at once made a gymnasium of the stone steps--stood on their heads upon the pavements or climbed, like locusts, the neighboring lamp-posts; itching for mischief; poking fun furiously; they were the merriest gang of young dare-devils I have seen in a long day. It was not long before they were recruited by a fresh lot of young 'sardines' from somewhere else--then they went in for more monkey-shines until the door should be unbarred. They seemed to know each other very well, as if they were some young club of genial spirits that had been organized outside of the barriers of society for a long while. What funny habiliments they sported. It had never been my experience to see old clothes thrown upon young limbs so grotesquely. The coat that would have been a fit for a corpulent youth nearly buried a skinny form the height of your cane.

"And on the other hand, 'young dropsy's' legs and arms were like links of dried 'bolonas' in the garments which misfortune's raffle had drawn for him. Hats without rims--hats of fur, dreadfully plucked, with free ventilation for the scalp--caps with big tips like little porches of leather--caps without tips, or, if a tip still clung to it, it was by a single thread and dangled on the wearer's cheek like the husk of a banana. The majority seemed to have a weakness for the costumes of the army and the navy. Where a domestic tailor had clipped the skirts of a long blue military coat he had spared the two buttons of the waist-band, and they rested on the bare heels like a set of veritable spurs. Shoes and boots (and remember it's a December night) are rather scarce--and those by which these savoyards could have sworn by grinned fearfully with sets of naked toes. One 'young sport,' he had seen scarcely ten such winters, rejoiced in a pair of odd-mated rubber over-shoes, about the dimensions of snow-shoes. They saluted him as 'Gums.' A youngster, with a childish face and clear blue eyes, now shuffled upon the scene.

"'O Lordy, here's Horace, jist see his get up.' A shout of laughter went up, and Horace was swallowed in the ragged mob.

"'Horace' sported a big army cap like a huge blue extinguisher. He wrapped his wiry form in a cut-down, long-napped white beaver coat, the lapels of which were a foot square, and shingled his ankles as if he stood between a couple of placards. I had seen the latest caricature on the philosopher of the _Tribune_, but this second edition of H. G. swamped it. I knew that that young rogue had counted upon the effect of his white coat, and he enjoyed his christening with a gleeful face and a sparkle in his blue eyes. O, for the pencil of a Beard or a Bellew, to portray those saucy pug-noses, those dirty and begrimed faces! Faces with bars of blacking, like the shadows of small gridirons--faces with woful bruised peepers--faces with fun-flashing eyes--faces of striplings, yet so old and haggard--faces full of evil and deceit.

"Every mother's son of them had his fists anchored in his breeches pockets, and swaggered about, nudging each other's ribs with their sharp little elbows. They were not many minutes together before a battle took place. Some one had tripped 'Gums,' and one of his old shoes flew into the air. I think he of the white coat was the rascal, but being dubbed a philosopher, he did his best to look very wise, but a slap on the side of the ridge of his white collar upset his dignity, and 'Horace' 'went in,' and his bony fists rattled away on the close-shaven pate of 'Gums.'

"The doors are now unbarred, and this ragged 'pent up little Utica' rends itself, but not without much more scratching and much swearing. O, the cold-blooded oaths that rang from those young lips! As the passage to the pit is by a sort of cellar door, I lost sight of the young scamps as the last one pitched down its gloomy passage.

"In the human stream--in a whirlpool of fellow-beings--nudging their way to the boxes and the upper tiers, I now found myself. It was a terrible struggle; females screaming, were eddied around and around until their very faces were in a wire cage of their own 'skeletons.'

"'Look out for pickpockets,' shouted a Metropolitan. Every body then tried to button his coat over his breast, and every body gave it up as a bad job. In at last, but with the heat of that exertion--the smell of the hot gas--the fetid breath of two thousand souls, not particular, many, as to the quality of their gin--what a sweltering bath follows! The usher sees a ticket clutched before him, and a breathless individual saying wildly, 'Where?' He points to a distant part of the house, and the way to it is through a sea of humanity. A sort of a Dead Sea, for one can walk on it easier than he can dive through it. I shall never know how I got there at last; all I remember now are the low curses, the angry growls and a road over corns and bunions.

"The prompter's bell tingles and then tingles again. The bearded Germans of the orchestra hush their music, and the big field of green baize shoots to the cob-web arch.

"Now is the time to scan the scene--that teeming house--that instant when all faces are turned eagerly to the foot-lights, waiting breathlessly the first sound of the actor's voice. The restlessness of that tossing sea of humanity is at a dead calm now. Every nook and cranny is occupied--none too young--none too old to be there at the rise of the curtain. The suckling infant 'mewling and puking in its mother's arms.' The youngster rubbing his sleepy eyes. The timid Miss, half frightened with the great mob and longing for the fairy world to be created. Elder boys and elder sisters. Mothers, fathers, and the wrinkled old grand-sire. Many of these men sit in their shirt-sleeves, sweating in the humid atmosphere. Women are giving suck to fat infants. Blue-shirted sailors encircle their black-eyed Susans, with brawny arms (they make no 'bones' of showing their honest love in this democratic temple of Thespis). Division street milliners, black-eyed, rosy-cheeked, and flashy dressed sit close to their jealous-eyed lovers. Little Jew boys, with glossy ringlets and beady black eyes, with teeth and noses like their fat mammas and avaricious-looking papas, are yawning everywhere. Then there is a great crowd of roughs, prentice boys and pale, German tailors--the latter with their legs uncrossed for a relaxation. Emaciated German and Italian barbers, you know them from their dirty linen, their clean-shaven cheeks and their locks redolent with bear's grease.

"Through this mass, wandering from pit to gallery, go the red-shirted peanut-venders, and almost every jaw in the vast concern is crushing nut-shells. You fancy you hear it in the lulls of the play like a low unbroken growl.

"In the boxes sit some very handsome females--rather loudly dressed,--but beauty will beam and flash from any setting.

"Lean over the balcony, and behold in the depths below the famous pit, now crowded by that gang of little outlaws we parted with a short time ago.

"Of old times--of a bygone age--is this institution. In no other theatre in the whole town is that choice spot yielded to the unwashed. But this is the 'Bowery,' and those squally little spectators so busy scratching their close-mown polls, so vigorously pummeling each other, so unmercifully rattaned by despotic ushers--they are its best patrons.

"And are they not, in their light, great critics, too? Don't they know when to laugh, when to blubber, and when to applaud, and don't they know when to _hiss_, though! What a _fiat_ is their withering hiss! What poor actor dare brave it? It has gone deep, deep into many a poor player's heart and crushed him forever.

"The royal road to a news-boy's heart is to rant in style.

"Versatile Eddy and vigorous Boniface are the lads, in our day, for the news-boys' stamps.

"Ranting is out of the female line, but Bowery actresses have a substitute for it.

"At the proper moment, they draw themselves up in a rigid statue, they flash their big eyes, they dash about wildly their dishevelled hair, with out-stretched arms and protruding chins they then shriek out, V-i-l-l-a-i-n!

"O, Fannie Herring! what a tumult you have stirred up in the roused pit! No help for it, my dear lady. See, there's 'Horace,' standing on his seat and swinging his big blue cap in a cloud of other caps--encore! encore! And the pretty actress bows to the pit, and there is more joy in her heart from the yells of those skinny little throats than from all the flowers that ladies and gents from above may pelt her with.

"The bill of fare for an evening's entertainment at the Old Bowery is as long as your cane, and the last piece takes us far into the night--yet the big house sits it out, and the little ones sleep it out, and the tired actor well earns his pay.

"I'll not criticise the acting--a great part of the community thinks it's beyond the pale of criticism--this peculiarity of tearing things to pieces, and tossing around 'supes' promiscuously.

"And another thing, those little ungodly imps down there have a great appreciation of virtue and pathos. They dash their dirty fists into their peepers at the childish treble of a little Eva--and they cheer, O, so lustily, when Chastity sets her heavy foot upon the villain's heart and points her sharp sword at his rascal throat. They are very fickle in their bestowal of approbation, and their little fires die out or swell into a hot volcano according to the vehemence of the actor. 'Wake me up when Kirby dies,' said a veteran little denizen of the pit to his companions, and he laid down on the bench to snooze.

"'Mind yer eye, Porgie,' said his companion, before Porgie had got a dozen winks. 'I think ther's somthen goen to bust now.' Porgie's friend had a keen scent for sensation.

"As I came out, at the end of the performance, I again saw 'Horace.' He had just rescued a 'butt' from a watery grave in the gutter. 'Jeminy! don't chaps about town smoke 'em awful short now'days!' was the observation of the young philosopher.

"The theatre is almost the only amusement that the ragged newsboy has, apart from those of the senses. The Newsboys' Lodging House, which has been the agent of so much good among this neglected class of our population, find the late hours of the theatre a serious obstacle to their usefulness. It is safe to say that if the managers of the two Bowery Theatres would close at an earlier hour, say eleven o'clock, they would prosper as greatly as at present, and the boys who patronize their establishments would be much better off in body and mind. An effort is about to be made to obtain this reform from the managers voluntarily--instead of seeking legislative aid. We are quite sure it will be for the interest of all to close the theatres early."

THE THEATRE ____ WHERE THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY HARPERS WEEKLY 1867 (1867)

NEWSBOYS

This image is indicative of of the type of prejudice that existed in the press toward recently arrive immigrants. Their shabby, unfashionable cloths, their homely looks, their casual posture are indications of "low class". The one boy is holding a program that reads "Bowery". The type of theater presented at the Bowery theater was considered low brow as apposed to the opera and musical recitals given up town. It should also be noted that they are occupying the cheapest of seats in an already "cheap" theater.

The Stadt Theatre on Sunday Eve

Comments on the Stadt Theatre from "Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City" by James Dabney McCabe, 1872:

"The Stadt Theatre, just across the street from the Old Bowery, is exclusively a German establishment. It is a plain old-fashioned building, without and within, but is worth a fortune to its proprietors. The performances are given in the German language, and the company is usually good. The prices are high and the audiences are large. Occasionally a season of German opera is given. I doubt that a more appreciative audience is to be found than that which assembles within the walls of the Stadt on opera nights. They are to a man good judges and dear lovers of music, and their applause, when it breaks forth, is a spontaneous outburst which shakes the house to its foundations. It is generously given, too, and must be particularly grateful to the performers.

The beer garden was an important part of German America life. It was here that the entire family congregated on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons to eat, socialize, sing and drink beer. There were numerous of these establishments throughout the German American neighborhoods in the New York Metropolitan area - Jersey City, Hoboken, Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. Some were very large and could accommodate up to 1,000 people. Music, smoking and beer drinking were the most important components of the beer garden, but many also had other types of entertainment. Everyone, "even the baby is sure to be treated to a modicum of the ruddy malt." [The Illustrated London News, Dec 3, 1864]

German Americans were very family oriented. Germans parents rarely went out without their children. Entertainment, diversions and holidays were for the whole family.

A BROADWAY SUNDAY CONCERT IN NEW YORK

HARPER'S WEEKLY OCTOBER 8, 1859

As many of these engravings illustrate there was a tendency to look upon the German custom of spending Sunday evening in a Beer Garden as something rather wicked.

A GERMAN BEER GARDEN IN NEW YORK CITY ON SUNDAY EVENING

Harpers Weekly October 15, 1859

A GARTEN WIRTHSCHAFT

ENTERTAINMENT IN A LAGAR BEER SALOON

Atlantic Gardens, located at 50 Bowery between Canal and Bayard Streets, was a great hall where people, especially the Germans, went with their families (wives and children) to drink beer and listen to music. The Atlantic Gardens were next door to the Bowery Theater, a variety house that became a center for German Theater in the late 1870s. The Volks Garden (Deutsches Volksgarten), a rival to the Atlantic Gardens was across across the street.

Other beer gardens in the area were Nieblo's Saloon, Magar's Concert Hall, and Lindenmeyer's Odeon. The Atlantic Gardens boasted several bars, a shooting gallery, bowling alleys, billiard tables and an orchestra. See Germans Immigrants to America

The Atlantic Gardens was founded in 1858 by William Kramer. In 1892 in an article on the Bowery for The Century Julian Ralph described it thus:

It is throughly German, from the dishes served on the counter near the door to the music played by the orchestra within, or the well salted pretzels that are consumed with the beer. It is simply a large hall a block in depth, partly surrounded by a gallery, and set with chairs and tables. Its decorations are neither good, bad, nor costly. Its purpose is to afford a place in which an hour can be passed in talking, drinking beer and listening to music of a band by night and of a huge orchestrion by day."

When the hall was changed into a Yiddish Vaudeville Theater in 1910 the New York Times wrote:

"The Atlantic Gardens is a large hall which extends from 50 Bowery to Elizabeth Street. In the front is a barroom and in the rear a concert hall with a stage, where vaudeville performances went on while the patrons ate and drank at tables. In 1858, when it was first opened, it was in the centre of what was the popular section for the better class of of Germans. To the east was the district where the Irish centered."

These immense establishments, patronized by the Germans, are located in the Bowery. They will hold from a thousand to fifteen hundred persons. The Atlantic Gardens will seat comfortably, up stairs and down, one thousand. All day on Sunday they are filled. People are coming and going all the while. The rooms are very neat, and even tastefully fitted up, as all German places of amusement are. The vilest of them have a neatness and an attractiveness not found among any other nation. The music is first class. A piano, harp, violin, drums, and brass instruments, are played by skilful performers. The Germans visit these gardens to spend the day. They are eminently social. They come, husband and wife, with all the children, brothers and sisters, cousins and neighbors; nor are the old folks omitted. The family bring with them a basket of provisions, as if they were on a picnic. Comfortable rooms are provided for their entertainment. They gather as a family around a table. They exchange social greetings, and enjoy to their bent the customs of their fatherland. They play dominoes, cards, dice; they sing, they shout, they dance; in some places billiards and bowling are added, with rifle shooting. The room and entertainment are free to all. A welcome is extended to every comer. The long bar, immense in extent, tells the story. Here the landlord, his wife, and may be his daughters, with numerous waiters, furnish the lager beer which sustains the establishment . The quantity sold in a day is enormous. A four-horse team from the brewery, drawing the favorite beverage, finds it difficult to keep up the supply. A large portion of the visitors are young lads and girls. Those who serve out the beer are girls from twelve to sixteen years old, dressed in tawdry array, with short dresses, red-topped boots with bells attached; they are frowzy, have an unwholesome look, with lines of lasciviousness furrowed on their young faces. So immensely profitable is the sale of lager beer in these gardens, that the proprietors are willing to pay at any time five hundred dollars to any large association who will spend the day on their premises."

Sunshine and shadow in New York By Matthew Hale Smith, 1868

The Atlantic Garden C. New York City Life 1872

Accompanying text:

"The 'Beer Gardens' are very much in the style of the beer gardens in Germany, and of our English tea gardens. The hall shown in the sketch is the famed Bowery, the Whitchapel of New York. It is large and most elaborately decorated, daily concerts of no mean order, both vocal and instrumental, being provided for the entertainment of guests. The saloon has a large brewery attached for the brewing of "Weiss' and 'Larger' beer. On Sunday the Halle is always crowed with Tutonic customers, and although the law is supposed to enforce the closing of all drinking saloon, it is reported that enough money is taken in on Sunday night to pay the whole week's expenses".

A LARGER-BEER SALOON IN NEW YORK — DISCUSSING THE WAR*

*The 1870 War (or the Franco-Prussian War) which lasted from from July 1870 to May 1871 was a war between France and Prussia. The end of the war marked the unification of the Germany Empire and the downfall of Napoleon III.

SUNDAY "SOCIAL FREEDOM" IN THE BOWERY

There were a lot of "native Americans" who highly disapproved of the action of the "German Americans". This group of Sunday sinners, including the fellow who appears to be sneaking off to play golf, were probably having much too jolly a time.

A SACRED CONCERT

Our illustration presents none too vividly the sacred influence of a Sunday Evening Concert, which the foes of "puritanical tyranny" and "sumptuary legislation" propose to substitute for the Sabbath Evening services of the sanctuary, or the equally sacred services of the home circle. To the special pleading of would-be reformers, self-constituted emancipationists, and theatrical managers, and newspaper writers, for more recreation and less religion on the Sabbath. We need only reply, by pointing out the actual kind of sacred (!) diversions proposed. Do the fathers and mothers of the land want this sort of attraction to allure their sons on Sabbath evening from the ways of purity, truth, and righteousness?

Last Sabbath there were seven "Sacred Concert" and theatrical performances in New York. The "Herald" graphically describes the scenes of jollity and fun, and in a semi-justification of the Sabbath observances in this city, owing to the "peculiar wants" of its population says "the greatest of these wants is liberty, and for that reason the public insists that sunday shall be a day of social freedom." And yet the divine law stands unrepealed, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."

A typical New York beer-garden (1900)

A MODEL SCHOOL AMONG THE GERMANS

ERSTER SPRECHER. "The School which we now have formed here in Orchard Street, in accordance with our Charter, Gentlemen (drinks!), will show the enervated American what a miserable farce their System of Education is. Looking around this assemlby of blooming, enlightened Young Men, I feel that German Education is now, as ever, the cradle of pure action, enobling sentiment, strong itellect, and manly courage, which accopanies, the German wherever, he goes, and commands the respect of every civilized nation on the face of the earth" (Drinks — immense applause!?)

A GERMAN INSTITUTION (1871)

This image mailed from Germany in 1902 gives a much more elegant twist on the German smoking and drinking habits. It was sent to Mr. and Mrs Joseph Griesedieck at the National Brewery Co. in St Louis Mo.

See Griesedieck Brothers Beer

"GENTLEMEN'S SALLON, ACADEMY OF MUSIC — LAGER BIER SCENE, BETWEEN THE ACTS OF THE OPERA, PERFORMED IN TURN BY THE WHOLE MALE AUDIENCE"

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Oct 11, 1856

" XLV. THE BEER-GARDENS.

In some respects, New York is as much German as American. A large part of it is a genuine reproduction of the Fatherland as regards the manners, customs, people, and language spoken. In the thickly settled sections east of the Bowery the Germans predominate, and one might live there for a year without ever hearing an English word spoken. The Germans of New York are a very steady, hard-working people, and withal very sociable. During the day they confine themselves closely to business, and at night they insist upon enjoying themselves. The huge Stadt Theatre draws several thousand within its walls whenever its doors are opened, and concerts and festivals of various kinds attract others. But the most popular of all places with this class of citizens is the beer-garden. Here one can sit and smoke, and drink beer by the gallon, listen to music, move about, meet his friends, and enjoy himself in his own way--all at a moderate cost.

From one end of the Bowery to the other, beer-gardens abound, and their brilliantly illuminated signs and transparencies form one of the most remarkable features of that curious street. Not all of them are reputable. In some there is a species of theatrical performance which is often broadly indecent. These are patronized by but few Germans, although they are mainly carried on by men of that nationality. The Rough and servant girl elements predominate in the audiences, and there is an unmistakably Irish stamp on most of the faces present.

The true beer-garden finds its highest development in the monster Atlantic Garden, which is located in the Bowery, next door to the Old Bowery Theatre. It is an immense room, with a lofty curved ceiling, handsomely frescoed, and lighted by numerous chandeliers and by brackets along the walls. It is lighted during the day from the roof. At one side is an open space planted with trees and flowers, the only mark of a garden visible. A large gallery rises above the floor at each end. That at the eastern or upper end is used as a restaurant for those who desire regular meals. The lower gallery is, like the rest of the place, for beer-drinkers only. Under the latter gallery is a shooting hall, which is usually filled with marksmen trying their skill. On the right hand side of the room is a huge orchestrion or monster music-box, and by its side is a raised platform, occupied by the orchestra employed at the place. The floor is sanded, and is lined with plain tables, six feet by two in size, to each of which is a couple of benches. The only ornaments of the immense hall are the frescoes and the chandeliers. Everything else is plain and substantial. Between the hall and the Bowery is the bar room, with its lunch counters. The fare provided at the latter is strictly German, but the former retails drinks of every description.

During the day the Atlantic does a good business through its bar and restaurant, many persons taking their meals here regularly. As night comes on, the great hall begins to fill up, and by eight o'clock the place is in its glory. From three to four thousand people, mainly Germans, may be seen here at one time, eating, drinking, smoking. Strong liquors are not sold, the drinks being beer and the lighter Rhine-wines. The German capacity for holding beer is immense. An amount sufficient to burst an American makes him only comfortable and good humored. The consumption of the article here nightly is tremendous, but there is no drunkenness. The audience is well behaved, and the noise is simply the hearty merriment of a large crowd. There is no disorder, no indecency. The place is thoroughly respectable, and the audience are interested in keeping it so. They come here with their families, spend a social, pleasant evening, meet their friends, hear the news, enjoy the music and the beer, and go home refreshed and happy. The Germans are very proud of this resort, and they would not tolerate the introduction of any feature that would make it an unfit place for their wives and daughters. It is a decided advantage to the people who frequent this place, whatever the Temperance advocates may say, that men have here a resort where they can enjoy themselves with their families, instead of seeking their pleasure away from the society of their wives and children.

[Picture: THE ATLANTIC GARDEN.]

The buzz and the hum of the conversation, and the laughter, are overpowering, and you wander through the vast crowd with your ears deafened by the sound. Suddenly the leader of the orchestra raps sharply on his desk, and there is a profound silence all over the hall. In an instant the orchestra breaks forth into some wonderful German melody, or some deep-voiced, strong-lunged singer sends his rich notes rolling through the hall. The auditors have suddenly lost their merriment, and are now listening pensively to the music, which is good. They sip their beer absently, and are thinking no doubt of the far-off Fatherland, for you see their features grow softer and their eyes glisten. Then, when it is all over, they burst into an enthusiastic encore, or resume their suspended conversations.

On the night of the reception of the news of Napoleon's capitulation at Sedan, the Atlantic Garden was a sight worth seeing. The orchestra was doubled, and the music and the songs were all patriotic. The hall was packed with excited people, and the huge building fairly rocked with the cheers which went up from it. The "German's Fatherland" and Luther's Hymn were sung by five thousand voices, hoarse or shrill with excitement. Oceans of beer were drunk, men and women shook hands and embraced, and the excitement was kept up until long after midnight. Yet nobody was drunk, save with the excitement of the moment.

The Central Park Garden, at the corner of Seventh avenue and Fifty-ninth street, is more of an American institution than the Atlantic. It consists of a handsome hall surrounded on three sides by a gallery, and opening at the back upon grounds a moderate size, tastefully laid out, and adorned with rustic stalls and arbors for the use of guests. At the Atlantic the admission is free. Here one pays fifty cents for the privilege of entering the grounds and building. During the summer months nightly concerts, with Saturday matinees, are given here by Theodore Thomas and his famous orchestra--the finest organization of its kind in America. The music is of a high order, and is rendered in a masterly manner. Many lovers of music come to New York in the summer simply to hear these concerts.

The place is the fashionable resort of the city in the summer. The audience is equal to anything to be seen in the city. One can meet here all the celebrities who happen to be in town, and as every one is free to do as he pleases, there is no restraint to hamper one's enjoyment. You may sit and smoke and drink, or stroll through the place the whole evening, merely greeting your acquaintances with a nod, or you may join them, and chat to your heart's content. Refreshments and liquors of all kinds are sold to guests; but the prices are high. The Central Park Garden, or, as it is called by strangers, "Thomas's Garden," is the most thoroughly enjoyable place in the city in the summer."

On the top floor of this brewery in Guttenberg, New Jersey was "a spacious hall containing billiard-tables, a piano, and bar for lager beer and the pleasant vintages of the Rhien"

For early pictures representing the Temperance Movement in New York City

The Germans were great joiners and they loved to sing. There were numerous singing societies in Kliendeutschland.

Not only did these groups get together for sängerfest (singing festivals) but they hosted large and elaborate masked balls. As indicated by a 1908 photo of the Brooklyn Arion Sining Society they also appear to have traveled to Germany together.

These singing groups performed the whole range of German composers including Handel, Haydn, Richard Strauss and Wagner. The tended not to sing sacred music as that was considered the province of church choirs.

Among the new York Singing societies were:

1. Arion Singing Society

2. Liederkranz Club a German singing society was founded in 1847. For many years they had a club house on Forth Street until they moved "uptown". Each year starting in 1853 they held a "Carnival masquerade". Liederkranz History

   There were Liederkranz clubs and halls wherever there was a large German population.

NEW YORK CITY - MASQUERADE BALL OF THE GERMAN LIEDERKRANZ, AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC. FEBRUARY 24TH. BURLESQUE CENTENNIAL PROCESSION OF ALL NATIONS

THE LIEDERKRANZ BALL

The Liedergranz ball of 1883 was held at the Academy of Music and was their 30th annual ball. A feature of the Liedergranz balls was the grand parade with all of the participants dressed in elaborate costumes.

THE CARNIVAL IN NEW YORK - THE GREAT ARION BALL

OUR GERMAN AMERICANS HAVE AS GREAT A CAPACITY FOR ENJOYMENT AS ANY OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, AND WHEN THEY CELEBRATE THEY DO IT IN A WHOLE-SOULED FASHION WHICH IS PLEASANT TO WITNESS AND TO CONTEMPLATE

The 1897 Arion Society Dance was held in Madison Square Garden. The celebration opened at 10:30 with a procession of fantastic floats carrying multiple gods and goddesses, nymphs, satyrs, and other figures from mythology, opera and literature. "By 12 o'clock the procession was over, and the masked dancers took possession of the floor" (New York times, February 12, 1897). The ball lasted till 6 o'clock in the morning.

The two great masked balls in New York were the Liederkranz and the Arion balls. For years the Liederkranz Ball was held at the academy of music and the Arion Ball was held at Madison Square Garden.

The Arion Ball was not only a dance but a major indoor spectacle. Days of preparation were needed to decorate the garden. In 1897 there was "an immense grotto of imitation icicles" and "a mammoth floral star, hanging from the ceiling" which fell apart at midnight releasing "50 imprisoned sparrows" at the same time "a colossal egg" which also hung from the ceiling "let a shower of bouquets fall upon the dancers". In addition there was an abundance of paper streamers and confetti.

In 1887 "great festoons of evergreens hung from the centre of the ceiling of the Metropolitan Opera House to the galleries, where they met elaborate decoration of flowers and greens. Over the center of the dancing floor hung a huge floral ball of poses pinks and violets." According to The Atlantic monthly, Volume 44, 1897, author unknown, ladies did NOT go to masked balls in the United States, hence all of the women at the Arion Ball were NOT ladies but may have been "a milliner, or a washer woman, or your wife's maid, but not a lady." The New York Times routinely described the balls each year and it is fun reading about the themes of the floats, tableaus and dances.

German singing societies hosted singing competitions called Sängfests. Sägerfests were held wherever there was a sizable German population. The festival usually lasted three or four days and included torchlit processions in the evening, day time parades, singing competitions, balls and picnics.

The processions were accompanied by bands and military marching groups and were festooned with banners and flags.

Singing groups arrived from all over the country to compete. The festivities were held in various venues around the city. The participants marching from one place to another and traveling by ferry and other boats to designated parks for a glorious picnic.

The first Saengerfest was held in the US in 1849. Their popularity waned during WWI and WWII due to anti German sentiments, but they are still held in areas with large German populations.

The 2nd New York Sangerfest occurred in June 1855. Singing groups came from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati and "other cities". On the first evening the out of town groups were welcomed with song. The event was illuminated with torches and red, white and blue lanterns. At around ten in the evening a procession of the twelve New York Singing Societies, followed by regalia and flags, officials of the event, the New York Turners with 500 members with a band, the visiting singing societies, more turners, flags and bands "marched" through Chatham Street and East Broadway, to Washington Hall* on Elizabeth Street. This event was followed by a "repast". The next morning there was another parade from Washington Hall to the Metropolitan Theatre for rehearsals. On Tuesday morning people assembled at Washington Hall from where they proceeded by ferry to Elm Park on Staten Island where they spent the day "at sport" and picnicking. (New York Times June 25, 1855)

The National Saengerfest was held in New York City in June 1894 and was the first time the city had hosted a Saengerfest in a quarter of a century. The festival was held a Madison Square Garden and consisted of five "entertainments" held between Saturday evening and Monday evening. It was attended by over 50,000 people. At one of the performances 6,000 singers, representing singing societies from all over the country, stood on tiers ranging from the ground to the rafters. They were accompanied by a 150 person orchestra. The various societies competed for prizes on Sunday and Monday afternoons.

A picnic at Gravesend Beach, where the prizes were awarded, closed the 1894 festivities.

*Washington Hall on Elizabeth Street was a German (lager beer saloon, New York Times, no date) and/or a German Opera house at 103-107 Elizabeth Street near Grand (A history of the New York Stage, 1903, Thomas A Brown).

RECEPTION OF THE GERMAN SINGING SOCIETIES AT THE CITY HALL PARK, JULY 15, 1865

Saengerfest [Singing Feast] brought singing groups from all over the county. In 1865:

"They came from Philadelphia, from Buffalo, from Pittsburg, from Hartford, from Baltimore, and from many other cities, and devoted the day and night to processions, to concerts, to prize vocal tournaments, to picnics, to sports, to excursions, to jollity. With characteristic geniality the great multitude sang and drank and laughed and played and peacefully departed."

THE GREAT SAENGERFEST BY THE COMBINED GERMAN SINGING SOCIETIES OF THE UNITED STATES - THEIR RECEPTION BY THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK (1865)

The 9th New York Sangerfest took place in July 1865. A parade of six divisions marched through lower Manhattan and past City Hall where the mayor greeted them but did not make a speech. Included in the parade were squads of police, drum and music corps, Military Regiments, Turn Club members, singing clubs from Philadelphia, Baltimore, & other places, numerous New York singing clubs and other New York German societies and bands. There were 34 New York societies and 50 guest societies from other cities.

The streets were thronged along the line of march with an interested crowd of all nationalities, who cheered and hurrahed as the procession passed. Entering the east gate of the park, the societies filed past the Mayor, who reviewed them, but made no address; after which, the procession marched down Broadway, across the east side of the city to the river, where they took boats for the festive haunts of JONES' WOOD.

torchlight procession, a midnight review, a grand lunch, musical entertainments of vast proportions and corresponding excellence, at the Academy of Music, and a monster pic-nic at Jones' Wood

THE ARION SINGING SOCIETY OF BROOKLYN

Inner Court of Wartburg Castle, Eisenach, Germany, July 14, 1908

The Brooklyn Arion Singing Society was founded in 1865 with 12 members. In 1894 there were 520 members. By 1894 there were 30 German Singing Societies in Brooklyn!

The Eichenkranz singing society held a masked ball on Monday 12 February 1917 at the Terrace Garden Theater. The Terrace Garden Theater (or the Lexington Avenue Opera House) was located between Third and Lexington at 58th Street. Established in 1866 it was in existence until 1925. It was one of the important locations for the performance of German theater and for German social gatherings.

Many prominent members of the New York German community belonged to the Eichenkranz.

Terrace Garden form Mainzer Carneval program January 1917.

Mainzer Verine Carneval

The Mainz Carnival is one of the largest carnivals in Germany. See Mainz Carnaval.

Family tradition is that my grandparents, Frank Goehle and Isabel Walsh, met at a masked dance circa 1920.

THE GERMAN PEACE CELEBRATION IN NEW YORK

This event celebrated the end of the Franco-Prussian War (19 July 1870-10 May 1871. The Germany victory resulted in the unification of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm I (William the Great). It also resulted in the end of the Second French Empire under Napoleon III (a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte).

This image is a composite of venues in the city. Notice the row of buildings on the top left corner. The second building has the word Helmbold across the top. Helmbold's Pharmacy was on Broadway near the corner of Prince. The center of the image represents Tompkin's Square. St Bridget's Church is visible to the right of the grand stand.

The celebrations were described in great detail in New York Times April 11, 1871

Tens of thousands of people participated in the celebration. A "procession" lasting 3 and three quarters hours passed in front of City Hall and ended at

Stores and buildings along the route were decorated with: banners, flags, streamers, bunting, drapery, flowers, fresh evergreens, 10 foot paintings, triumphal arches, etc.

Every German club and society in the city marched in the procession.

NEW YORK CITY - THE FIRST ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF THE NORTH GERMAN SOCIETIES - THE GRAND PROCESSION LEAVING THE GERMANIA ASSEMBLY ROOMS, MONDAY AUGUST (1875)

On June 14, 1859 the New York Times covered the 9th annual Festivities of the New York Turnvereins and their festival of Whit-Monday (Pentecost). As usual there was a parade which included Truners, Rifle Corps, Military Regiments, Singing Clubs, bands, guests from other cities. The parade started at Harmony Gardens* on Essex Street at 8 o'clock in the morning and proceeded through Grand, Bowery, Chatham, "the Park", up Broadway, down Canal, to Spring Street. There the vessels "Alice Price and Island Home" transported them to Strikers Bay and on to Elm Park** where they picnicked, listed to the singing clubs and watched gymnastics. (New York Times, June 14, 1859)

*Harmony Gardens

** Elm Park is on Staten Island

In September 1887 New York City Germans celebrated the 25th annual harvest festival of the Constatter Volksvest Verein at Sulzer's Park, 126th Street and 2nd Ave. Eating, drinking, singing, speeches, and dancing were part of the festivities. Mention was made of the "temperance cranks" and it was noted that "the peculiarities of a German celebration are the presence of good nature and the absence of the element who are prone to turn a picnic into a battlefield". Information from the New York Times, September 19, 1887.

Sulzer's Park an amusement park containing two dance pavilions, merry go round, shooting gallery, swings, bowling and other attractions, was almost entirely destroyed by fire in November 1907.

A Verein was/is a club. As mentioned the German American community joined all sorts of clubs: shooting, social, political and athletic.

THE GYMNASIUM OF THE CENTRAL TURN VEREIN, NEW YORK

The Turn Verein (Turner club or Turner Bund) was a popular gymnastics club in Germany and the United States. See Turnverein, Ohio University

The New York Turn Verein was founded 1850. In 1890 the Turner Bund of New York had 1,800 members and was the largest in the United States.

The 45th anniversary of the New York Turn Verein was celebrated at their hall at 66 and 68 Fourth Street in June 1895. The assembly included about 500 members and invited guests. "They were entertained with addresses, German songs, and general German sociability." The evening started with "a musical section by the band" followed by an opening address. The next address "paid tribute to the founder and members" who "fought the battles, not only of the turning principles, but also those of the Germans on this continent. The heroism of the Turners who fought the "Know-Nothing" movement was lauded." The many German Americans who fought on the Union side of the Civil war were remembered. "The singing club rendered numerous selections and salamanders were performed long after midnight" New York Turn Verein (Turner Club), New York Times, June 7, 1895

The New York Turn Verein

Note: The Know Nothing movement was an anti immigrant movement in the 1840s and 50s that was driven by fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish immigrants who did not uphold Anglo-Saxon values.

Turn Vereins were popular whereever there were Germans. This image is of a Turn Verein in Liepzig, Germany.

THE FLORAL TEMPLE IN THE GRAND GERMAN FAIR

A Fair was held at the 37th Regiment on Broadway between 35th and 36th streets to raise money for wounded German soldiers.

One of the chief attraction was the "magnificent Floral Temple".

• Dr. Kahn's Museum of Anatomy, Science and Art, 194 Bowery

  "Gotham's greatest attraction!...... Open Every Day and Evening from (A.M.....The models in this Institution are directly from Nature and illustrate the Human Anatomy in such a faithful manner that admission can be granted ONLY TO MEN"

  After a police raid in 1888 the museum was closed for four years. I was under various ownerships and at various locations from it founding in 1862. Kahns was associated with the Jordan family who had similar establishments in Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Ostensibly, museums of this type were established to teach the general public about human anatomy in order to improve health and prevent disease. On display were wax models and specimens in jars.

  When several of these establishments were raided in 1888 the material confiscated by the police was described as "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, indecent" and the head line as "REVOLTING SHOWS CLOSED".

  See Common Place, A Cabinet of Curiosities

The Germans who arrived in New York City at the time in question were generally Lutheran, Catholic or Jewish. A small number, regardless of pervious affiliation, rejected formal religion.

Some Places of Worship, Jewish

Preceding the influx of Eastern European Jews in the area, the German Jews build at least two synagogues.

1. The first synagogue in the Lower East Side built specifically as a synagogue currently houses Angel Orensanz, a cultural center for the performing arts. Built in 1849 it is located at 172-176 Norfolk Street (just south of Houston), 6 blocks west of 88 Sheriff St.

2. In 1853 another synagogue was built at 8 Clinton Street (just south of Houston), 4 blocks west of 88 Sheriff. A reformed congregations established by German Jewish immigrants, that congregation eventually moved to the Upper West Side. In 1891 building was taken over by a congregation of Polish Jews.

Some German Speaking Places of Worship, Christian

The Christian German immigrants were primarily divided into Lutheran and Catholic. However, there were other Protestant denominations represented. Peter Goehle's family were Catholic in Germany yet he eschewed both the Catholic congregations and the more prominent Protestant congregation of the Lutheran faith. Most of family rituals that have been found so far were performed in smaller Protestant congregations, namely Presbyterian.

1. St. Nicholas Kirche (1833) was the first German Catholic Parish in New York City. The church was opened in 1836 on 2nd Avenue between 1st and Avenue A. The building no longer stands, although the rectory still remains. Isabelle Walsh and Frank Goehle were married in St. Nicholas in 1921. Frank converted the Catholicism around the time of his marriage. To see an image of St. Nicholas church see First Avenue above or go to St. Nicholas German Catholic Church and Frank Goehle

2. German Reformed Churches at:
   1. 21 Forsythe later at 129 Norfolk Street
   2. Avenue B at 5th

3. The Second German Evangelical Reformed Church Madison and Montgomery Streets.

   Peter Goehle and Catherine Christ were married in this church in 1875. Catherine Lindeman, the younger, and Charles BeyerKohler were married in this church in 1888. The church is no longer standing.

4. St. Mark's Lutheran Church at 323 6th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue

   Founded 1846. Community Synagogue since 1940.

5. German Evangelical Church, Rivington Street

   The German Evangelical Church (AKA 1st German Presbyterian Church) at 89-93 Rivington Street was originally built circa 1857.

   This was the church in which Julius Lindermann and Catherine Furst were married at in 1863 and where their daughters were baptized: Elizabeth in 1864 and Sophia Catherine in 1866. Several sites on the internet say the building was bought by an Orthodox German Jewish congregation in 1864. So the German Evangelical Congregation may have been somewhere else by the baptism of Sophia in 1866. It subsequently became the home of the Allen Street Memorial Church in 1890. In 1902 it housed the First Roumanian-American Congregation (Jewish). The building collapsed in January 2006.

   Listed at this address in the 1895 New York Times article LOK FOR A DRY SUNDAY was the Second Street Methodist Episcopal, 91 Rivington.

6. Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, 737 6th Street

   According to a plaque on the front of the church: The church was founded in 1852, built in 1874 and reconstructed in 1970.

   Another plaque on the front of the building is in memory of the Rev Erastus Seymour born 18th November 1830 and died April 13, 1891 "For the last 27 years of his life the greatly beloved pastor of this church"

   The old church was torn down and a new church build in 1970. There is a picture of the old church in the foyer of the present building. However, it is hung very high on the wall and I was unable to get a decent picture of it.

   Goehle rites at this church include: 1901 marriage of Louise Goehle and John Irving, 1901 marriage of Catherine Goehle and Emil Kirkebye, 1908 marriage of Peter Goehle and May Beckley, 1917 marriage of Margaret Goehle and Joseph Muntyan.

There were a number of mission and "tract churches" in the Lower East Side. These churches were concerned with the physical as well as the spiritual lives of their congregations. They sought to show the sinner the error of his ways. They sought to convert the Jew as well as the misguided Catholic. They were against the consumption of alcohol.

Christian Places of Worship in the Lower East Side listed in a New York Times article on July 2, 1895

LOOK FOR A DRY SUNDAY, July 2, 1895, New York Times listed the following congregations who took a stand against the consumption of alcohol on Sunday. Some of these congregation were listed under more than one name.

Four of these churches Broome Street Tabernacle, Camp Memorial Congregational, DeWitt Memorial and Olivet shared personal and regularly report on their work in the New York City Mission and Tract Society monthly in 1899 and 1900.

1. Allen Street Memorial Methodist Episcopal, 91 Rivington

   History of the Building that housed the Allen Street Memorial Church and other congregations.

   Allen Street Memorial was a proselytizing mission. Renamed the Allen Street Methodist Episcopal Church (or Allen Street Memorial Church), the Rivington Street building's new purpose was to "attract Jewish immigrants seeking conversion". It was, however, unsuccessful in this endeavor. In 1895 the church's pastor stated: "The existence of the church here attracts few. Our audiences are small, and contain almost no Jews."

   Also listed separately in the July 2 1895 article were the Hebrew-Christian Missionary in Allen Street Presbyterian Church ta 126 Forsyth Street and Second Street Methodist Episcopal at 91 Rivington

   See German Evangelical Chruch above.

2. Baptist Tabernacle, 166 Second Avenue, AKA Second Avenue Baptist Church, Second Avenue between 10th and 11th

   "The Southern New-York Baptist Association will hold its nineteenth anniversary at the Baptist Tabernacle, 166 Second-avenue, beginning this afternoon at 3 o'clock and continuing to-morrow and Thursday.

   New York Times October 8, 1889

   "The Baptist Tabernacle, at 166 Second Ave, adjoining the Historical Society, was formed in 1839 by members of the Mulberry-Street Church.

   King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the ... edited by Moses King, 1892

   The building was erected in 1850 and the interior was remodeled in 1886. The Baptist Tabernacle was a mission church.

3. Broome Street Tabernacle, 395 Broome Steet

   "a station of the New York City Mission and Tract society, and the center of an important work among the 60,000 English-speaking people in its vicinity, for whom there is not other Protestant church.....

   The Lodging House mission carries on an aggressive missionary work in the lodging-houses in the vicinity of the Tabernacle.

   King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the ... edited by Moses King, 1892

   

   Broome-Street Tabernacle, Broome Street and Centre Market Place

   King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the of the American metropolis, edited by Moses King, 1892

4. Camp Memorial Congregational, 141 Chrystie Street

   "Down in the very heart of what is known as the "Red Light" district of New York is a Congregational Church that has been in existence as a religious institution for over sixty years. It is a Home Missionary Church."

   Established in 1839 as a mission, it was in good company down-town then, for those were the days before the wealthy churches began to migrated northward......

   It was not until 1859 that this work became organized as a church - then being called the Centre Street Mission Church. About 1872 a move was made to Elizabeth street, the name being changed to that of Camp Mission. There is continued until April 25, 1889, when it was recognized by Council as a regular Congregational Church."

   The congregation later moved to 141 Chrystie street.

   "It is a genuine slum church, situated in the most cosmopolitan part of the most cosmopolitan city in the world. After half an hour or an hour in viewing this section of the city one might almost imagine that one had visited different parts of the globe. A few blocks from the church, just across the notorious Bowery, is a section almost entirely inhabited b y Italians, and as one passes down Mulberry street, noting the barrows of native venders of fruits and vegetables which line the street, observing the peculiar native costume worn by many, and listening to the ceaseless chatter of a foreign tongue, one might be forgiven did he for a moment think he had been transported into some Italian town........

   Then across the Bowery again and into the wicked Tenth Ward – our own ward - and we enter what has been termed by some the biggest Jewish city in the world.

   There were 73,000 people in the Tenth Ward, 80% Jewish .

   "It has been stated that the Tenth Ward is the most densely populated and probably the wickedest ward in the city.......

   Theaters, music halls, saloons and other agencies for the destruction of all that is good in our population abound here. The notorious Bowery, a portion of which is in this ward, of course, considerably augments the number. It is lined with cheap lodging houses, theaters - in some of which the performance is in Yiddish, the Hebrew dialect of the East- music halls, saloons, nickel-in-the slot- places which cater to the morbid desire to see something low and sensual, shooting galleries, museums, and other fakes and shams, one or two missions, and a few respectable business house."

   The area was filled with "loafers who seldom work" and men and women from all over the world and off all "social scale" who had "fallen to the bottom" inevitably "because of drink". There were reportedly 150 saloons and places where liquor was sold in the 10th ward.

   To compact the perils of sin and vice there were only three Christian Churches "with a total membership of less that 300".

   "One saloon and the other degrading influences mentioned to 500 of the population on the one hand, one church to 24,000 people on the other."

   The Home missionary, Volumes 74-76 By American Home Missionary Society, Congregational Home Missionary Society Cathedral Mission, 13(8?)) Stanton Street, 1902

   

   Camp Memorial Church - Interior, Home missionary, Volumes 74-75 By Congregational Home Missionary Society

   

   Camp Memorial Church - Exterior, Home missionary, Volumes 74-75 By Congregational Home Missionary Society

5. De Witt Memorial Church, 280 Rivington Street, Nondenominational

   An outgrowth of the Lebanon Chapel on Columbia Street it was dedicated in 1881. De Witt Memorial was a mission church and tract society that proselytized to the Germans and Jews.

   Listed under "Missions to the Destitute"

   DE WITT MEMORIAL CHURCH 280 Rivington St
   GERMAN MISSION carried on at De Witt Memorial Church
   JEWISH MISSION           "            "         "             "

   The New York charities directory By Charity Organization Society of the City of New York

   In August of 1892, Hermann Warszawiak wrote:

   "the 'De Witt Memorial Church' can only hold about 900 people, while our audiences of Israelities [sic] at the chief meeting day, every Saturday afternoon, has grown within the last year to about twice that number, we are too often obliged to send away hundreds of people who in their anxiety come to hear the story about the crucified Redeemer, and are no little disappointed to learn that they cannot get into the church on account of having no more room. As a rule the church is crowded and packed to its utmost capacity every Saturday, a half hour or an hour before the real service or preaching begins." This estimate of audience size was confirmed by reports of various visitors who attended, as reported in Salvation magazine or in The Little Messianic Prophet

   The Tragedy of Hermann Warszawiak
   Richard A. Robinson

   Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, North America Dallas, TX, February 24-26, 2003

   in 1900 offered to young Jewish women in 1900:

   This work is valuable, not only in that it gives much needed instruction in sewing, but in breaking down prejudices, which now make it extremely difficult for a Jewish child to accept the Christian faith. In some instances, where a child has become deeply interested in the Christian religion, the family by ridicule and threat have forced the young believer to leave us"

   New York City mission monthly, Volumes 12-13

   The church baptized one adult Jewish convert in 1900.

6. German Moravian, AKA United Brethren (Unity of Brethren), 636 Sixth Street (between Avenue B and Avenue C) Located at this address from 1872-1906. Established in 1855 as The First Mission Church and Congregation of the United Brethren's Church of New york." it had no permanent address until 1872. It was sold to a "Hebrew" congregation in 1906.

   A history of the Moravian church in New York city By Harry Emilius Stocker

7. German Reformed Church of America, AKA First German Reformed Church 147 Norfolk

   FIRST GERMAN REFORMED (third site) 149-153 Norfolk Street. Erected 1861. Previously at 21 Forsyth street. Subsequently at 353 E. 68th Street.

   Stokes, I. N. Phelps The iconography of Manhattan Island 1498-1909 (v. 3) (New York : Robert H. Dodd, 1915-1928.)

   The Astors, The Schermerhorns and Baron von Steuben were early members. The church was originally founded in 1750 and moved several times over the years.

8. Middle Collegiate Church, AKA Marble Collegiate, 50 Seventh Street at 2nd Avenue.

   Tiffany windows. Dutch Reform. Present church dedicated 1854.

   Marble Collegiate Church (Dutch Reformed)

   

   Collegiate Church, 7th Street and Second Avenue

   King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the of the American metropolis, edited by Moses King, 1892

9. Olivet Memorial Church (New York Mission and Tract Society) 63 Second Street

   The New York Times announced on February 2, 1891 that the last services were held in the "old" Olivet Church at 63 Second Street in preparation to rebuilding on the site. The church was located in the 17th ward and had "distinct English and German branches, with English and German pastors and missionaries". It was under the auspices of the New York City Mission and Tract Society. The church used temporary quarters at the Seventh Street Methodist Episcopal Church.

   According to a report in 1900 the German mission had an average attendance of 100 at the Monday evening prayer meeting. The mission included not only "preaching and teaching" but house to house visits to "the sick and the poor, seeking those who have gone astray, and trying to reach the sinners with the Gospel in their homes".

10. Living Waters Mission, 136 Chrystie Street

    A memorial service was held at DeWitt Memorial in 1908 for a former truck driver, drunkard, and bum who was converted and became a missionary himself and ran the Living Water Mission on Chrystie Street.

    At 136 Christie street is the Mission of the Living Water, founded in 1894. The work was for many years in charge of the first missionary, John Jaeger, a very able, but uneducated man, converted from a notoriously evil life.

    The Better New York By William Howe Tolman

    John Jaeger died in 1908

    "SLUM MISSIONARY DIES. John Jaeger Worn Out in Work of Saving East Side Drunkards.

    John Jaeger, for twenty-five years one of the best Known missionary workers on the East Ride, died on Saturday - worn out in the work. He was a former truck driver, a drunkard, and in the words of his wife, "a bum" until one evening he went to the old Jerry McAuley Mission, at No. 316 Water street. There he became, converted, and since then had given his time to missionary work. For the last five years Jaeger, who with his wife conducted the Mission of the Living Waters, at No. 2? Dalancey street, had been an invalid. Neverthe less, he had done some missionary work each day. He had no particular disease: his associates say he was Just worn out in his work. He was sixty-four years old. The funeral will be held at 2 p. m. to-morrow at the De Witt Memorial Church. No. 280 Rivington street, of which he once was sexton. The story of Jaeger's conversion was typical of the McAuley Mission work. Bradford Lee Gilbert, a mission worker, had his attention called to the German by his children, who attended Mr. Gilbert's Sunday school class. Jaeger was half drunk at the time and suffering from an arm broken by a fall from his truck when drunk. Mr. Gilbert took him to the McAuley Mission, where Jerry himself la bored with him, and got a German convert to work with him. as Jaeger could talk no English. That night, according to testimony delivered by him twenty-one years later at his mission, he went to his wife, saying, "I have got Jesus." "Oh. John, you are a lier" was her reply. "I wouldn't trust you five minutes." "The five minutes are twenty-one year to-night," he went on. "I pray for the backslider and fault finder; I pray for all nations on the face of the earth; I pray ior the mission worker: I pray for those who lie in the gutter, because I know what It is to sleep in cellars, though I don't look like it to night, because I am redeemed." Jaeger braced up immediately, and while still driving his truck took up the work of saving drunkards. Later he became sexton of De Witt Memorial Church, in connection with the missionary work, and still later opened the Mission of the Living Waters with Mrs. Jaeger.

    New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) June 28, 1908, Image 10

11. Second Street Methodist Episcopal, 256 Second Street

    Known as the "little red chapel of the east side", the Second Street Methodist Episcopal dated to 1832.

12. St Bridget's Roman Catholic, Tompkin's Square 119 Avenue B

13. Seventh Presbyterian Church, 138 Broome Street AKA the Seventh Church of Jesus Christ.

    The Seventh Presbyterian Church was organized in 1818 and was originally located on Sheriff street. It moved to Broome Street in 1827. The church burned in 1831 and was rebuilt. Ii was listed in the Annual report of the New York City Mission and Tract Society By New York City Mission and Tract Society in 1872.

    In 1886 the church was "the oldest Presbyterian edifice in the city, and in the days of its infancy was the fashionable up-town church. (New York Times, June 29, 1886)

14. Seventh Street Methodist Episcopal, 23 Seventh Street AKA the Bowery Village Church. The church was erected in 1878.

    Image of the Seventh Presbyterian Church

    One of the commitments of the Seventh Street Methodist church was to establish missions "to reach the masses living in the crowded parts of the City, who were mostly foreigners.." (New York Times July 12, 1875)

15. University Settlement Society 26 Delancey

    The University Settlement Society was technically not a church.

    The University Settlement Society was originally organized in 1887 as the Neighborhood Guild. It aimed to organize the "people of the neighborhood" regardless of religion or political belief to carry out moral, industrial and educational reforms.

    Part of their stated purpose for 1893-94 was set forth in a New York Times article of December 15, 1893

    "The public must help us to establish baths and laundries, underground street lavatories, small parks, labor intelligence bureaus, sick benefits societies based on sound insurance principles, summer seaside residences for working people, and other well tested devices for advancing the character, health, and happiness of the dwellers in the Tenth Ward of New York City, the most crowded population to the square mile on the earth."

16. Willett Street Methodist Episcopal, 9 Willett Street

    Located between Grand and Broome the Willett Street Methodist Church was built 1826. The church disbanded in 1905 when the building was purchased by the Bialystoker synagogue.

Other Congregations on the Lower East side

King's handbook of New York city: an outline history and description of the of the American metropolis, edited by Moses King, 1892 included St. Augustine's Chapel Protestant Episcopal erected in 1876-77 at 107 East Houston near the Bowery: "In a section where vice and poverty abound". It contained two main parts: a mission house and the church. "The work is almost entirely among the poorer classes of the neighborhood".

St Augustines

1. Ahawath B'Nach 71 Sheriff : North of Delancey, south of Rivington
2. Ansche Sfard, 99 Attorney Street
3. Bakei Schalen, 66 Essex
4. Beth Hamedrash, Hagodal, 54 Norfolk
5. Beth Hamedrash Mickrokodish, 70 Hester
6. Beth Hamedrash Shaarie Torah 80 Forsyth
7. Bnai Adam, 66 Essex
8. Bnai Peyser, 316 E 4th
9. Brith Solam, 54 Pitt: North of Delancey, south of Rivington
10. Chaari Zedek, 38 Henry Further down town
11. Chebra Kadusha Bnay Rappaport, 66 Essex
12. First Galiz Duckler Mugan Abraham 85 Attry: North of Delancey, south of Rivington (or) 99 Attorney St.
13. First Roumanian Am congregation, 70 Hester
14. Kahal Adath Jeshurun 14 Eldridge
15. Kol Isreal Ansche Poland, 22 Forsythe
16. Meshkan Isreal Ansche Suvalk, 5 Chrystie
17. Ohab Zedek 172 Norfolk
18. Rote Fae Shelim, 10 Norfolk
19. Schaves Achin Brinsker 66 Essex
20. Talmud Torah 38 Hester
21. Tiffereth Isreal 126 Allen

No date

The Brooklyn Bridge (at the right of the photo) took 14 years to complete. It was the longest, highest bridge in the world when it opened in 1883.

The Manhattan Bridge (in the center of the photo) was completed in 1912.

ELECTRICAL LIGHT LEAVING THE BRUSH STATION

According to the accompanying article, the Brush Electric Light Company station was at 210 Elizabeth Street.

In 1889 there were 7 electrical companies provide electric service for Manhattan.

1. The United States Co covered lower manhattan and part of middle Manhattan .
2. The Brush Co covers the middle.
3. The Manhattan Co. covered the upper east side and some upper and middle parts of the city
4. The East River Co. covered the east side and part of the middle.
5. The Harlem Co. covered the upper east side.
6. The Mount Morris covered the west side
7. The Edison covered lower and middle

The Brush and Manhattan supplied only large lights and motors. The Manhattan supplied only small lights. The other companies had similar restrictions.

To see more images of services and utilities in New York City go to Services and Utilities now or at the bottom of the page.

Grand Street, New York at Night

To see more images of transportation in New York City go to Trollies, Subways, Cars, Buses, and Boats, now or at the bottom of the page.

No date.

The bridge in the center of the photo is the Williamsburg Bridge (completed in 1903) which ends on Delancey Street in Manhattan. Known addresses for Peter Goehle include:

• Pitt Street just north of Delancey in 1875/76
• Broom Street just south of Delancey in 1881
• Columbia Street just south of Delancey from 1883 to 1889
• Sheriff Street just south of Delancey in 1894
• Pitt Street just north of Delancey in 1899

This photo was taken before the FDR Drive was build and before the old buildings near the East River were demolished to make room for the housing projects that now cover most of the area. The Williamsburg Bridge was completeted in 1903. Construction of the FDR began in 1934.

LX. TENEMENT HOUSE LIFE.

The peculiar formation of the island of Manhattan renders it impossible for the city to expand save in one direction. On the south, east, and west its growth is checked by the waters of the rivers and bay, so that it can increase only to the northward. The lower part of the island is being occupied for business purposes more and more exclusively every year, and the people are being forced higher up town. Those who remain in the extreme lower portion for purposes of residence are simply the very poor. Those who can afford to do so, seek locations removed as far as is convenient to them from the business section. The laboring class, by which I mean all who are forced to pursue some regular occupation for their support, are not able to go far from their work, and are obliged to remain in locations which will enable them to reach their places of business with as little delay as possible.

Consequently the bulk of the population is packed into that portion of the city which lies between the City Hall and Fourteenth street. By the United States Census of 1870, the population of the wards in this district was reported as follows:

By the same census, the total population of the city in 1870 was 942,292. The district included in the above wards is about two miles square, which would give for this portion of New York an average population of 238,902 to the mile square. The Seventeenth ward covers less than one-fortieth of the whole area of the island, and contains more than one-tenth of the whole population.

The total area of the city is twenty-two square miles, and we find that one-half of its population is cramped within an area of about four square miles. It is evident, therefore, that they must be housed in a very small number of buildings, and such indeed is the case.

Lights and Shadows of New York, Sights and Sensations of the Great City, 1872, James Dabney McCabe Jr 1842-1883

Not posted

The major focus of this recruitment are the Irish and Germans. Notice the sign is in both English and German. Union soldiers can be seen mingling with the crowd. Unfortunately, the accompanying article is missing.

There is no clear stereotype of a German immigrant in this image.

German-Americans were the largest ethnic group to fight in the American Civil War. Most fought on the Union side. New York supplied the largest number of German born Union soldiers.

See also 1863 Draft Riots

In the heat of summer ice was dispensed to the poor of the city.

In August 1896, according to the New York Times, the Health Department distributed free ice to the poor at police stations. Patrolmen searched the poorest families on their beat and gave them vouchers for free ice. The ice was cut up into 10 pounds blocks at the police stations 352 tons of ice were distributed throughout the city. The seventh and eleventh precinct included the most crowded tenement districts. The 7th precinct is at 257 Madison the 11th is at 105 Eldridge. Each of these precincts got 11 tons of ice. Nearly all the applicants for the ice were children. The distribution started at 6 o'clock in the morning but children were lining up by 4 o'clock. About 1,500 people were served at the Madison street station and about 2,000 at the Eldridge street station. Petitioners for the ice were subject to questioning and if it was felt that the person in question could afford to buy ice they were turned away.

105 Eldridge is between Grand and Broome.

The ice was distributed at the Police Station which was two doors from the Camp Memorial Chruch.

Julius Lindimann lived on the corner of Second and 10th Streets between 1855 and 1858. Julius immigrated in 1847.

According to the Property Valuation Tax Assessments the building that now stands on this site was built in 1900.

"Avenue A north from East 8th Street. At the right is Tompkins Square. This extends to 10th Street. May 17, 1937, works Progress Administration Five borough Project"

Julius had been listed at this address from 1861 to 1863.

In January 1865 the family was at 216 2nd Avenue at the death of one year old Elizabeth. They were still there in 1866 for the birth of Sophia. 216 was near the corner of 2nd Avenue and 13th Street. I have not found any old images of that intersection and the area is totally new today.

The home of Julius and Catherine Lindemann at the time of Julius's death in 1867

Zillow.com lists this property as built in 1900.

533 is the building with the glass blocks on the ground floor.

NYC directory: 1869-1870, Catherine Lindemann 535 Sixth Street widow of Julius

NYC directory: 1870-1871, Catherine Lindemann 412 Sixth Street widow of Julius
NYC directory: 1873, Catherine Lindemann 412 Sixth Street widow of Julius

412 6th Avenue building is no longer standing.

NYC Directory: 1874, Catherine Lindemann, dress maker, 531 Fifth Street

NYC Directory: 1878-1879, Catherine Lindemann 504 Sixth Street widow Julius

Zillow.com does not give a year of construction.

1875-77, Catherine Lindeman, wid. Julius, 514 Fifth Street
1879-1880, Catherine Lindemann 152 East 4th Street widow Julius — Gone

1880-1881, Catherine Lindemann 518 Sixth Street widow Julius

1881-1882, Catherine Lindemann was listed at 518 Sixth Street as the widow of Julius

Catherine Furst Lindemann and her daughters, Wilhelmine and Sophia, lived at this address from 1880 until at least 1882.

In the 1880 census there were 17 families living in this five story building. It is probably typical of the tenements of the time which averaged four families per floor.

Several other buildings in the surrounding blocks had these same small windows in the middle of each floor.

Zillow.com does not give a year of construction.

This was the home of Peter Goehle, his wife, Minnie, and his children, Peter, Mary, Clara, Minnie, Frances, Frank, Margaret and Rosa, as listed in the 1900 Federal Census.

The Goehle's lived here just before Agnes married Bud in 1941

Catherine Furst, Julius Lindemann, Peter Goehle, Henry Blanck, the Erxmeyers, the Petermanns were among the millions of German American immigrants. For images of life in Germany, click on the picture of the wooden shoes

Catherine Furst, Julius Lindemann, Peter Goehle, Henry Blanck, the Erxmeyers, the Petermanns were among the millions of German American immigrants. For information on and images of the German American in United States click on the image of the German American Family

For early pictures representing the Temperance Movement in New York City

May 1st was a day when many leases, both commercial and residential, expired. Consequently the city was jammed with moving wagons.

On June 15, 1904 the excursion boat, SS General Slocum caught fire on the East River resulting in the death of over 1,000 persons, mostly women and children. It was the biggest disaster in New York City until 9/11.