|
Simon was the husband of Minna Lowenberg Waldman
(1857–1937) and father of two daughters (below),
brother to Henry E. Waldman of Philadelphia and Lena
Waldman Berger of Cleveland, OH ( married to Leopold
Berger and mother of a half dozen children).
In 1903, Simon Waldman
and his family rented a flat at 181 Augusta in
Chicago. Simon was working as a steamship agent
then, for an unknown company, at 608 Milwaukee
Avenue.
Simon had immigrated to America in 1856 from Hungary,
and Minna came from Germany in 1871. They married in
1876 in Philadelphia, and their daughters, Essie,
Lillie, and Rose, were born in 1877, 1886, and 1889.
Essie died in 1883 at age six.
The Waldman girls were born in Philadelphia, where
the family lived until relocating to Chicago in the
1890s. At the time of Simon's death, daughter Lily
worked as a stenographer, as would Rose as an adult.
Simon may have been active in Hebrew clubs and the
republican party in Chicago.
His body was identified by
John H. Mackay and Edward I. Williams, thought to
have been Simon's former coworker clerks at the
county building. They may have also been his
theater companions. Their names were not
reported.
|
|
Simon Waldman was buried at the Waldheim Jewish Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, joined by Minna in 1937.
In the years after the fire
Simon left behind an estate valued at $18,000 (just
under a half-million today), including a life
insurance policy from Fidelity and Deposit Company
of Maryland, enough for Minna and her two daughters
to live comfortably.
Daughter Lily married leather wholesaler Albert
Julius Bows (Americanized from its European
spelling, Boaz) in 1909 and had three children, one
of whom she named Symon after her father.
Interestingly, Symon (pictured above) was involved
in the theater as a student at New Trier high
school. He would go on to graduate from Northwestern
in Evanston, become an avid amateur golfer and make
a career in sales and marketing. His children
carried Simon's bloodline to a current generation
and likely to future ones.
Daughter Rose married Dr. Louis Harris four years
after her father's death, with whom she had one son.
During her senior years, Simon's widow, Minna
Waldman, lived with Lily's family in Wilmette,
Illinois.
|
|
Discrepancies and addendum
Simon may have attended the
theater with a relative named Sam Waldman or may
have also gone by the names Samuel and Sam. In many
1903/4 newspaper lists, only a forty-four-year-old
Sam Waldman was listed, or an "S. Waldman". In other
lists, a fifty-one-year-old Simon Austin Walman was
also listed at the same address. A death certificate
for 12/30/1903 was issued for only one Iroquois
victim named Waldman, none for a Walman, and the
first name of that Waldman was Sam. All reports that
cited a receiving location relative to one of the
name variations cited Rolston's funeral home.
Minna's name was reported as Minnie in Simon's
funeral notice.
Some newspapers reported Simon's address on August
St. as 191 rather than 181.
|
