Oscar Arthur Moritz Lindauer (1815-1866) biography
Richard.Ar...@gmail.com
Mason at Eastern Star Lodge, No. 227, New York; Immigrated from
Strasbourg, Alsace, France to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA in 1834
(b. 1815, Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine, Bas Rhin, France - d. September
05, 1866, 42 Grand Street, Manhattan, New York County, New York City,
New York, USA)
Birth:
Oscar was born in Strasbourg in Alsace where his parents owned a
department store. His birth certificate and baptismal records have not
been found in Alsace. The name of his parents are not known, but will
be determined once his death certificate is located.
Marriage and Emigration to Philadelphia:
In 1834 he married Sophia Weber (1815-1891) and on their honeymoon they
emigrated to Philadelphia in the United States.
Children:
They had three children in Philadelphia: Charles Frederick Lindauer
(1835-1921) who married Anna Augusta Kershaw (1841-1931) and have
several children and grandchildren; John Jacob Lindauer (1841-1888) who
married Nellie X (1853-1899), worked as a cigar maker, and had several
children and grandchildren; and Louis Julius Lindauer (1842-1915) who
married Mary Sheehan (1842-1888) and had several children and a few
grandchildren but no known great-grandchildren. Oscar then had the
following child after moving to Manhattan: Eloise Lindauer I
(1852-1944) who married William Arthur Ensko II (1850-1889) and had
several children and grandchildren.
Manhattan, New York:
Oscar and Anna moved to New York around 1850 and their daughter, Eloise
Lindauer was born there. Oscar and Anna lived on Houston Street in
Greenwich Village in New York City and Oscar and his children may have
operated a "liquor" vending business or an "exchange". Other entries in
the City Directory list the children as "brokers". Oscar may have been
a Freemason and one or more of his children may have served in the
Civil War. Oscar was listed in the 1866 Manhattan City Directory living
at 81 Grand Street in Manhattan and his occupation was listed as
"exchange".
Death:
Oscar died in 1866 at age 51. He most likely died in New York City, but
his death certificate has not been located.
Burial:
He was buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery at 833 Jamaica Avenue in
Brooklyn, New York City and his obituary appeared in the New York
Herald on Friday, September 07, 1866. There is no marker for his grave
but there are two markers for two other family members buried in the
plot: William Arthur Ensko II (1850-1889); and Stanley Marlton Massey
(1895-1902).
Obituary:
New York Herald, Friday, September 07, 1866, page 9: "On Wednesday
morning, September 5, Oscar A.M. Lindauer, aged 51 years and 2 months.
The relatives and friends of his sons, Charles, Louis, and John
Lindauer, also the members of Eastern Star Lodge, No. 227, F. and A.M.,
are respectfully invited to attend the funeral from 42 Grand Street,
this (Friday) afternoon, at two o'clock. The remains to be interred in
Cypress Hill Cemetery."
Archive:
The only known photograph of Oscar Arthur Moritz Lindauer was from the
collection of Eloise Lindauer I (1852-1944). Eloise also inherited the
family bible which contained a list of births and deaths for the first
generation of Lindauers in the US. It was housed with Eloise Ensko
Higgins (1955- ) in Lawrenceville, New Jersey as of 2005.
Family Memoir:
In 1965 Eloise Ensko (1925-1993) wrote the following: "My
great-grandmother Sophia married an Oscar Lindauer. They came from
Alsace-Lorraine on their honeymoon. Alsace-Lorraine was then owned by
the French. Great grandmother brought a lovely picture of Napoleon over
from the other side - none of which I have ever seen duplicated. It is
still in the family and in excellent condition. The Lindauer family
owned a huge department store over there. When the newlyweds came to
this country about the early 1800's they settled in Philadelphia. The
living room furniture is still in the family. I have in my possession
one of the sitting chairs. It is a very pretty, light wood in color,
Victorian style. It is now of heavy material and cover. Sophia's Oscar
had three boys and later on one girl. The boys were Charles, Louis and
John."
Legacy:
There are at least five living lines descending from him. The lines
are: (1) the Enskos that descend from the marriage of Eloise Lindauer
to William Arthur Ensko. The second line is (2) the Freudenbergs that
descend from Charles Frederick Lindauer's daughter, Eloise Lindauer II
(1861-1935), who married Maximillian Freudenberg (1857-1921) and had 15
children, nine of them living to adulthood. A third line descends from
(3) Grover Cleveland Lindauer (1885-1968) who was listed in one census
as Grover Dunne. It is not known if Grover was adopted or if Charles
Frederick Lindauer fathered him outside his marriage to Anna Kershaw.
Grover's mother is named Mary Dunne. "Charles" is listed as Grover's
father on his death certificate and Grover would never discuss who his
parents were. Grover had a daughter, Gladys Stanley Lindauer
(1908-1997), and her descendents are the Grover Lindauer line. The
fourth line was discovered in August 2003 from the obituary of Anna
Lindauer (1881-1956), a daughter of Charles Frederick Lindauer. Anna
married Ira Lowe and had two children, Blanche and Joseph Lowe. Blanche
married John Wahl and had at least three children, later she married a
Testerman and lived to be 100 years old. Other lines descend from John
Jacob Lindauer and these lines were confirmed on Thanksgiving, November
25, 2004 when John's 1880 Census entry was discovered. Other lines may
exist from Louis Julius Lindauer, who had a daughter, Grace, that
married a Massey and had at least one child. Louis Julius Lindauer also
had a daughter, Sophia, that married a Davis. It isn't known if these
lines died out or continued. Oscar Arthur Moritz Lindauer (1815-1866)
has the following people named in his honor: Arthur Oscar Lindauer
(1867-1944); Oscar Arthur Lindauer (1873-c1965); and Arthur Oscar
Freudenberg (1891-1968). In the year 2000, his name was placed on the
American Immigrant Wall of Honor at Ellis Island.
Uncompleted Tasks:
His death certificate from New York City has not been located in the
archive despite three attempts to find it. Perhaps he died in New
Jersey. More trips will have to be made to the New Jersey and New York
archive until it is located. His death certificate should name his
parents and will take this line back an entire generation in Alsace. He
also needs to be found in the 1840-1860 Census in Philadelphia or in
New York City. All efforts to search under his first and last name have
been fruitless.
Relationship:
Oscar Arthur Moritz Lindauer (1815-1866) was the third,
great-grandfather of Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ).