Tannenbaum Siblings: Miriam, Zalmon, Jeannette, Rachel, Edith, and Bryna
In 1901, Austrian native Joseph Tannenbaum married Russian-born Rebecca Saslavsky in Galveston, Texas, where he worked as a tailor. Rabbi Henry Cohen of Congregation B’nai Israel officiated. In October 1918, Rebecca died of influenza, leaving Joseph to care for their nine children. Two months later, with the recommendation of Rabbi Cohen on behalf of the local B’nai B’rith lodge, Joseph admitted his six youngest children to the Home in New Orleans: Miriam (11), Zalmon (10), Jeannette (8), Rachel (6), Edith (4), and Bryna (3). By 1925, Joseph moved with his three teenage children (Ethel, Mordecai, and Bessie) to New York where Rebecca’s brother lived.
Wedding photo of Joseph Tannenbaum and Rebecca Saslavsky, Galveston, Texas, 1901. Unless otherwise attributed, photos courtesy of Irene Roth Raden (daughter of Home alumna Bryna Tannenbaum Roth) and Harriet Beth Neiman (daughter of Home alumna Miriam Tannenbaum Neiman).
Joseph Tannenbaum (at top) visiting with his children at the Home, 1919. From front to back, Bryna, Edith, Rachel, Jeannette, Zalmon, and Miriam.
Joseph Tannenbaum seated with his children at the fountain on the Home’s front lawn, 1919. Top row: Miriam, Bryna on Joseph’s lap, and Zalmon. Bottom row: Jeannette, Edith, and Rachel.
In May 1926, three silent film stars (Lois Wilson, Eileen Percy, and Leatrice Joy, hatted, left to right) visited the Home. The Tannembaum siblings are identified above.
Miriam lived in the Home until 1924, following her graduation from Isidore Newman Manual Training School. In addition to the extracurricular activities noted on her senior yearbook page, Miriam won third prize ($2) in the Times-Picayune’s “biggest news of the week” essay contest for her essay about British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Julia Wachenheim, who volunteered as a “Big Sister,” gave Miriam gold and silver pencils and other small gifts. Mrs. Wachenheim also brought Miriam to the symphony and to her St. Charles Avenue home where she showed her young charge how to properly set a table and perform other duties expected of a gracious hostess. In 1927, Miriam graduated from Touro Infirmary Nursing School, one year before she was eligible to take the state nursing exam.
Miriam Tannenbaum, Isidore Newman School Pioneer, 1924.
Miriam moved to San Antonio where, in 1932, she married Sam Neiman, and raised a family while keeping in close touch with her siblings. After her children were grown, Miriam attended Incarnate Word College, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree. In addition to her volunteer work for Red Cross, for whom she served as spokesperson, Miriam became director of in-service training for nurses at San Antonio’s Baptist Hospital and was a member of the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas.
Miriam died in 1980, at age 73, and was buried in Agudas Achim Memorial Gardens.
Top, Miriam Tannenbaum, 1928, in her Touro Infirmary nurse’s cape, and above, her cape today. Courtesy of Harriet Neiman, Miriam’s daughter.
Miriam Tannenbaum maintained a close friendship throughout her life with fellow Home alumna, Libby Berkowitz, who sent gifts from military postings around the world, including this embroidered baby dress. Courtesy of Harriet Neiman, Miriam’s daughter.
Zalmon, known as “Tanny,” was discharged from the Home in 1925 into the care of his mother’s brother, Pat Saslavsky, in San Antonio. He soon went to work as foreman for Trottner Iron and Metal Company and in his spare time pitched for the Young Men’s Hebrew Association Lions baseball team. He made news in 1960 when, claiming self-defense, he shot and wounded a youth who was attempting to steal copper wire from the metal company. Zalmon died in 1973 at age 63.
Zalmon “Tanny” Tannenbaum, undated.
Edyth (Edee), Jeannette (Jeanie), Rachel (Raye), and Bryna (Birds) remained in the Home until 1929, when they joined their Saslavsky relatives in San Antonio.
In 1934, Edith married Joseph Schwartz and moved to Waco, where they raised two daughters. In 1944, after working in Hertzberg Jewelry Store in San Antonio, Bryna married Arthur Roth and later moved to his hometown in Syracuse, New York, where they raised four children. Jeanette and Rachel, who never married, shared a home in San Antonio, where on weekends they often entertained their niece, Harriet (Miriam’s daughter). Jeannette worked for Karotkin’s Furniture Store for forty-five years; Rachel worked in an optometrist’s office.
Bryna died in 1995, and contributions in her memory were directed to the Home’s successor, the Jewish Children’s Regional Service. Edyth died three years later. Jeannette died in 2000, and was buried next to her sister Rachel who died just four months earlier.
The seven Tannenbaum sisters in 1971: (top row, left to right) Rachel, Bessie, Ethel, Jeannette; (bottom, left to right) Edith, Miriam, and Bryna. Not in picture are brothers Mordecai, who died in 1949, and Zalmon.