Cerf Family Photo about 1894

The Cerfs seemed to love their family gatherings.  Here is another photo taken in Ukiah, California, about 1894.

Cerf Family in Ukiah about 1894

This diagram will help us identify everyone.

1.  Phoebe Levy Cerf [born 1840, married to Aaron Cerf]
2.  Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg [born 1867, daughter of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf]
3.  Victorine Levy Levy [born 1851, Phoebe Levy Cerf's half-sister]
4.  Sophia Hofman [born 1851, married to Charles Hofman]
5.  Nurse
6.  Camille Rosenberg (Goldstein Jagorda) [born 1889, daughter of Samuel and Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg]
7.  maybe Lucien Cerf [born 1874, son of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf]
8.
9.  Arthur "Archie" Cerf (with gun) [born 1886, son of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf]
10.  Clotilde Cerf Rosenberg [born 1872, daughter of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf]
11.  Aaron Cerf [born 1824, married to Phoebe Levy Cerf]
12.
13.  Felice Cerf (Hofman) (with bicycle) [born 1880, daughter of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf]
14.  Celia Hofman (Lobree) (with bicycle) [born 1875, daughter of Charles and Sophia Hofman]
15.  Sarah Hofman (Mish) [born 1888, daughter of Charles and Sophia Hofman]
16.  Ben Hofman [born 1881, son of Charles and Sophia Hofman]
17.  Aline Rosenberg (Warner) [born 1892, daughter of Samuel and Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg]
18.  Emile Cerf [born 1877, son of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf]

A Visit to Metzervisse

Metzervisse, France, is north of the city of Metz and in the departement of Moselle and region of Lorraine, about 80 miles northwest of Phalsbourg.  It is the birthplace of Phoebe Levy Cerf, Aaron Cerf's wife.  When my family visited the area in 1999, we stumbled upon the Jewish cemetery as we approached the town.

New granite graves were lined up near old, crumbling headstones, some unreadable and fallen over.  As we strolled through the cemetery, both in the well-cared-for section and the section with high weeds, we read the names of Cerf, Levy, Israel, Picard, and Jacob.  We also saw two Cerf Cerfs and a recent Arthur Cerf. The Cerf name also appears in the Levy ancestral  branch, as you will learn below.  This cemetery appeared to be a regional cemetery as nearby towns, including Buding, were represented.

Metzervisse Jewish Cemetery

In the business section of the town, the local notary public was the only person we could find who spoke some English.  He was delighted to speak with us, saying the last American he met there was fifteen years ago, and he was from Texas.  In answer to our question, the notary public didn't know of anyone named Levy or Cerf living in the area.  Then he took us to the pharmacy where he said we would find something interesting.

The small town square with the pharmacy opposite the church

We thanked the notary public inside the pharmacy after he directed one of the clerks to take us through the back door and into a private courtyard area.  There we saw an old building that was missing one wall, like an open garage.  It was filled with storage items, but looking past them, we discovered an old Hebrew arch built on the inner wall.  We remarked about all the life events that had probably taken place inside the small room once used as a synagogue.

Old Metzervisse synagogue

On our way back through the pharmacy, the clerk took us across the street to view the war memorial next to the church.  One side had names from World War I and on the other side were names from World War II.

Metzervisse WWI memorial

Metzervisse WWII memorial

While exploring the town of Metzervisse, we took a few photos of the old train station and some houses that caught our eyes.

Metzervisse train station

Metzervisse house

Metzervisse house

A few miles from Metzervisse is the very small town of Buding, where Phoebe Levy Cerf's maternal grandmother, Rachel Moyse Cerf Boeles, was born about 1773, though she died in Metzervisse in 1849, and where Phoebe's maternal great-grandparents, Moyse Cerf and Caroline Levy, parents of Rachel, died.

The church at Buding

We stopped at the church in Buding to look at the the town's war memorial, noting there was one person with the first name of Cerf listed on the World War II side.  The names of those who died in deportation are difficult to read, but include the last names of Jacob, Lambert, Picard, Rixem, and Zacharius.

Names of Buding residents who died in deportation during WWII

Buding WWI memorial

If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting an ancestral town in the "old country," we are here to tell of the timelessness we experienced while feeling a strange sort of connection to a place never visited before.

Levy Family Tree

In the Cerf Family Tree, there is a Levy branch, formed by the marriage of Aaron Cerf to Phoebe Levy. Below are a few family photos, followed by the Levy family tree. You'll see names of early California merchants in the tree, such as Lobe and Lobree. Please send any changes or addition to dawncerf [at] gmail.com.

Phoebe Levy Cerf, probably taken around 1865 when she married Aaron Cerf.

The Estelle Levy Lobe family taken around 1930.
Standing (L-R):  Gussye Lobe, Nannette Lobe Hofman, Estelle Levy Lobe, Jules Lobe, Emilie Lobe Weaver, Albert Lobe, Cecile Lobe Bettman, Katherine "Kaye" Bettman Reinhertz, Lettie Rickerson Lobe.
Kneeling (L-R):  Carl Lobe and Felice Louise Hofman Dryfoos
Note on photo: Jules Lobe is Archie Cerf's best friend

The daughters of Estelle Levy Lobe (L-R):  Hilda Lobe, Nannette Lobe Hofman, Gussye Lobe, Cecile Lobe Bettman, and Emilie Lobe Weaver.  Photo probably taken around 1896.

LEVY FAMILY TREE

1-Gustave Nemele Levy, died 18 Jan 1833, Uhrwiller, Bas Rhin, France

    +Ester Isaac Schener, b. Abt 1764

    2-Gustave Isaac Levy, b. 16 Dec 1793, Uhrwiller, Bas Rhin, France

        +Hester Boeles, b. 19 Aug 1815, Bergen-Op-Zoom, Breda, Holland

    2-Thiebault Levy, b. Abt 1799, Uhrwiller, Bas Rhin, France

    2-Leopold Libmann Levy, b. 20 Sep 1805, Uhrwiller, Bas Rhin, France, d. 26 Feb 1890, Metzervisse, Moselle, France

        +Catherine Boeles, b. 18 Oct 1812, Breda, Holland, d. 20 Sep 1849, Metzervisse, Moselle, France

        3-Julie Levy, b. 20 Nov 1835, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 14 Feb 1836, Metzervisse, Moselle, France

        3-Emile Emmanuel Levy, b. 1 Jan 1837, Metzervisse, Moselle, France

        3-Pauline Levy, b. 14 Jul 1838, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 9 Oct 1917, San Francisco, California

            +Simon Abraham, b. May 1851, Prussia, Germany, d. 11 Dec 1907

        3-Phoebe Barbe Levy, b. 16 Jun 1840, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 5 Aug 1916, San Francisco, California

            +Aaron Cerf, b. 16 Sep 1824, Phalsbourg, Moselle, France, d. 20 May 1908, San Francisco, California

            4-Clarisse Cerf, b. 3 Mar 1867, San Pable, Alameda, California, d. 6 Dec 1932, San Francisco, California

                +Samuel Louis Rosenberg, b. Sep 1851, Poland, d. 17 Oct 1912, California

                5-Camille Rosenberg, b. 16 Oct 1889, Ukiah, Mendocino, California

                    +Alvin Goldstein, b. 1892, California, d. 30 Mar 1920, Juneau, Alaska

                    +Jacob "Jack" Jagorda, b. 1891, New York

                5-Aline Rosenberg, b. 13 Jul 1892, Ukiah, Mendocino, California

                    +Charles Warner

                5-Leopold Morris Rosenberg Alexander, b. 2 May 1897, Ukiah, Mendocino, California, d. 20 Oct 1994, Watsonville, Santa Cruz, California

                    +Cecilia Alexander, b. 3 Jun 1905, Watsonville, Santa Cruz, California, d. 2 Jun 1991, Watsonville, Santa Cruz, California

            4-Bernard Cerf, b. 15 Dec 1868, San Pablo, Alameda, California, d. 1942, San Francisco, California

                +Regina Jacob, b. 1871, France, d. 1959, San Francisco, California

                5-Edgar Marcel Cerf, b. 6 Mar 1905, San Francisco, California, d. 20 Mar 1996, Potomac, Montgomery, Maryland

                    +Clara Ruelas, 13 Sep 1904, Mexico, d. 19 Jan 2003, Gold River, Sacramento, California

            4-Boy Cerf, b. 17 Aug 1870, San Pablo, Alameda, California, d. 18 Aug 1870, Oakland, Alameda, California

            4-Clotilde Cerf, b. 18 Apr 1872, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 2 Dec 1955, San Francisco, California

                +Benjamin M. Rosenberg, b. 15 Mar 1864, Poland/Germany, d. 20 Nov 1948, Oxnard, California

                5-Cerf Solomon Rosenberg, b. 1 Aug 1896, Ukiah, Mendocino, California, d. 7 Oct 1968, Los Angeles, California

                    +Jean Ida Ross, b. Abt 1902, New York

                    6-Cerf Rosenberg, b. 4 Sep 1921 San Francisco, California, d. 8 Feb 1998, Austin, Texas

                        + Muriel Louise Rudin, b. 1908, d. 1996

                5-Alphonse Samson Rosenberg, b. 2 Jul 1898, Ukiah, Mendocino, California, d. Jul 1981, Palo Alto, San Mateo, California

                    +Adele Gross, b. 7 Feb 1907, New York, d. 19 Mar 2006, Palo Alto, San Mateo, California

            4-Lucien Cerf, b. 11 May 1874, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 10 Dec 1957, San Francisco, California

                +Marie Bine, b. 14 Sep 1883, California, d. 18 Mar 1957, San Francisco, California

            4-Emile Cerf, b. 16 Jan 1877, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 31 Dec 1944, California

                +Carrie, b. Abt 1890, Oregon

                5-Emile Aaron Cerf, Jr., b. 28 Jun 1910, California, d. 10 Mar 1937, California

                5-Russell Cerf, b. 25 Sep 1916, California, d. 21 Jan 1988, Rucson, Pima, Arizona

            4-Felice Cerf, b. 22 Dec 1880, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 2 Dec 1919, California

                +Louis Hofman, b. 8 Dec 1879, Mendocino, California

                5-Felice Louise Hofman, b. 12 Dec 1911, California, d. Jul 1986, San Francisco, California

                    +Herbert Dryfoos, b. 26 Mar 1910, California, d. 27 May 2000, Walnut Creek, Contra Costa, California

                    6-Robert Dryfoos, b. 7 Jul 1939, d. Jan 1974

                    6-Linda Dryfoos (Adopted), d., California

            4-Arthur "Archie" Cerf, b. 17 Jan 1886, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 13 Sep 1979, San Francisco, California

                +Addie Zander, b. 22 Jul 1889, San Francisco, California, d. 23 Feb 1963, San Francisco, California

        3-Fanny Levy, b. 25 Aug 1842, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 16 Mar 1897, San Francisco, California

            +David Lobree, b. 1838, Poland, d. 1910, Oakland, Alameda, California

            4-Elias Lobree, b. Apr 1872, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 1904

                +Celia Hofman, b. 28 Oct 1875, California, d. 13 Nov 1955, San Francisco, California

                5-Floyd H. Lobree, b. 21 Oct 1901, California, d. 19 Apr 1987, Fresno, California

            4-Camilla Lobree, b. 1873, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 1932

                +Morris Aronson, b. 1896, d. 1965

                5-Gerome Aronson, b. 1896, d. 1965

                    +Viola, b. 1907

            4-Eva Lobree, b. 1877, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 1947

                +Frank Mordecai, b. 1866, d. 1951

                 5-Frances Mordecai, b. 1905, d. 1999

                    +Samuel Breger

                 5-David Frank Mordecai, b. 1907, d. 1994

                    +Penny, b. 1911

            4-Deborah Lobree, b. 17 Sep 1878, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 29 Dec 1953, Oakland, Alameda, California

                +Alexander Hirshberg, b. 1856, New York, d. 1922

                5-Rachel A. Hirshberg, b. 1907, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 1984

                    +Murry Felds, d. 1985

                5-Alexander Hirshberg, Jr., b. 13 Oct 1908, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 2 Jun 1984, San Francisco, California

                5-Doris F. Hirschberg, b. 5 May 1911, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 2003

                    +Harry Underwood

                    +Richmond Hobson

            4-Aaron "Al" Lobree, b. 1880, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 1937

                +Flora Scheuer, b. 1885, d. 1966

                5-Donald Lobree, b. 1911, d. 1992

                    +Helen Louise

                5-Charles Lobree, b. 1919, d. 2004

                    +Margot

            4-Lucien Leon Lobree, b. 28 Jul 1882, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 16 Nov 1958, Lake County, California

                +Carrie Shire, b. 1888, California

                5-Carol Lobree, b. 9 Jul 1919, San Francisco, California, 23 Sep 1990, Humboldt County, California

                    +Loudon

            4-Victor H. Lobree, b. 8 May 1884, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 23 Oct 1948, San Francisco, California

                +Zelma Gladys Anthony, b. 28 Jul 1891, California, d. 11 Nov. 1979, San Francisco, California

            4-Judith Lobree, b. Nov 1886, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 1969

                +Carl Locks, d. 1958

        3-Mayer Levy, b. 8 Oct 1844, Metzervisse, Moselle, France

            +Hannah, b. Aug 1852, New York

            4-Nathan L. Levy, b. 31 Mar 1874, California

                +Elizabeth Brandeman, b. 1880, California

            4-Victorine Levy, b. Sep 1876, California

        3-Estelle Levy, b. 25 Sep 1846, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 9 Jun 1929, San Francisco, California

            +Leon Lobe, b. 24 Dec 1846, Paris, France, d. 19 Apr 1911, Bellingham, Washington

            4-Cecile Lobe, b. 2 Oct 1875, Oakland, Alameda, California, d. 26 Jan 1944, San Francisco, California

                +Gustav Bettman, b. 17 Nov 1864, San Francisco, California, d. 13 Apr 1953, San Francisco, California

                5-Gerald Leon Bettman, b. 20 Aug 1906, Bellingham, Washington, d. 15 Feb 1978, Los Molinos, Tehama, California

                    +Lois Barstow, b. 14 Sep 1908, d. 19 Mar 1991, Los Molinos, Tehama, California

                5-Katherine "Kaye" Bettman, b. 13 Aug 1910, Bellingham, Washington, d. 1 Feb 1994, Pacifica, San Mateo, California

                    +Julian "Rusty" Stamper Reinhertz, b. 27 Dec 1908, d. 15 Apr 1991, San Francisco, California

            4-Gustavia "Gussye" Lobe, b. 3 Apr 1877, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 13 Apr 1930, San Francisco, California

            4-Albert A. Lobe, b. 2 Dec 1879, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 29 Oct 1948

                +Lettie Rickerson

            4-Emilie Lobe, b. 26 Oct 1881, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 23 Jun 1945, Mendocino, California

                +Weaver

            4-Nannette Lobe, b. 17 Aug 1882, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 23 Apr 1974, Mendocino, California

                +Louis Hofman, b. 8 Dec 1879, Mendocino, California

            4-Carl Lobe, b. 21 Jul 1884, Middletown, Lake, California, d. Jul 1963, Washington

                _Babbette Emily Moohr, b. 1897, Montana

            4-Jules V. Lobe, b. 8 Dec 1886, Middletown, Lake, California, d. 12 Jul 1946, Mendocino, California

            4-Hilda Lobe, b. 25 Dec 1890, Washington

        3-Sara Levy, b. 22 Mar 1849, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 4 Apr 1919, San Francisco, California

            +Sylvan Bonn, b. Aug 1849, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 2 Feb 1903, San Francisco, California

            4-Achille Bonn, b. 12 Jul 1876, France, d. 20 Dec 1921, Agnews, California

                +Estella Robin, b. 13 Jan 1875, San Francisco, California, d. May 1971, San Francisco, California

                5-Helen Bonn, b. 14 Jun 1901, San Francisco, California, d. 28 Oct 1960, San Francisco, California

                    +Clinton Pittman, b. 4 May 1900, California, d. 1980, San Francisco, California

                5-Sylvan Bonn, b. 22 Feb 1905, San Francisco, California, d. 30 Jan 1984, Oakland, Alameda, California

                    +Rose K., 10 Dec 1900, Wisconsin, d. 27 Jul 1962, Oakland, Alameda, California

                5-Adrienne Bonn, b. 22 Apr 1911, San Francisco, California, d. 14 Sep 2012, San Francisco, California

            4-Gustave Bonn, b. Jun 1878, France, d. San Francisco, California

        +Fleurette Crehange (second wife of Leopold Libmann Levy)

            4-Victoire "Vic" Levy, b. 3 Apr 1851, Metzervisse, Moselle, France, d. 24 Jan 1917, San Francisco, California

                +Leon Levy, b. 27 Jan 1845, Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France, d. 30 Sep 1916, San Francisco, California

Cerf Family Photo 1922

Do you have any old photos you would like to share on this blog? I have photocopies of some great  ones that I wish I could have scanned, but I saw the originals in pre-scanner days. Send me a jpeg scan of the photo you would like to share via email at dawncerf [at] gmail.com, and I would be happy to post it. Make sure you identify as many people as you can and estimate when the photo was taken. The photos can be of any Cerf line, including descendants of Aaron's cousins, Ernest and Moise, or any related family in our large tree, such as the Levys.

Here is a photo of the Cerf clan gathered together around 1922 with a beautiful vintage car behind them.

Descendants and spouses of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf about 1922.

To find out who's who, use this guide.

1.  Addie Zander Cerf (married to Arthur Cerf)
2.  Arthur Zander Cerf (son of Arthur Cerf)
3.  Arthur Cerf, aka Archie (son of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf)
4.  Aline Ann Goldstein (daughter of Camille Rosenberg Goldstein Jagorda)
5.  Aline Rosenberg Warner (daughter of Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg)
6.  Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg (daughter of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf)
7.  Lucien Cerf (son of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf)
8.  Marie Bine Cerf (married to Lucien Cerf)
9.  Jack Jagorda (second husband of Camille Rosenberg Goldstein Jagorda as of 1923)
10.  Camille Rosenberg Goldstein Jagorda (daughter of Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg)
11.  Bernard Cerf, aka Ben (son of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf)
12.  Fanny Landeker Goodman (niece of Ernest Cerf, Aaron's cousin)
13.  Benjamin Rosenberg (married to Clotilde Cerf Rosenberg)
14.  Clotilde Cerf Rosenberg (daughter of Aaron and Phoebe Levy Cerf)

Aaron Cerf in CA Pioneer File

In 1906, Aaron Cerf sent a gift to his descendants by filling out a questionnaire about his life. The original is located at the California State Library in Sacramento in a Pioneer File with other questionnaires filled out by early California pioneers.

Aaron Cerf's
Pioneer File Questionnaire

The most valuable vital statistics Aaron gave were the exact date and place of birth and the names of his parents, Bernard Cerf and Clarice Block. This information made research in France possible.

Aaron recorded he had lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Tennessee.  He also lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, because that is where he was naturalized as a citizen in 1846, though those papers were burned in a massive fire. We don't know where he landed when he arrived in the U.S. in 1840 at the age of sixteen; maybe New Orleans or maybe New York, working his way west and south and catching a boat to California out of New Orleans.

Aaron arrived in San Francisco, California on September 24, 1852 by steamer. Many people, including large numbers of Jewish people, were drawn to California after three major events: Mexico ceding California to the U.S. in 1848, the discovery of gold, and California's statehood in 1850. California was seen as a new frontier, a land of promise and opportunities.

There was no easy route to California at that time. The Central (western line) and Union Pacific (eastern line) Railroads did not join until 1869. The Suez Canal did not open until that same year. Aaron either traveled around Cape Horn, which was a 17,000-mile trip taking approximately seven months at that time, or went across Panama on foot or muleback. That difficult journey was approximately fifty miles over rough terrain, sometimes taking four weeks. On the other side of Panama, travelers then boarded a northbound ship.

After the discovery of gold, California's population of non-Indians rose dramatically from 6,000 in December 1848 to 15,000 in July 1849, to 53,000 in December 1849, and to 93,000 in September 1850. In 1852, California's population hit 220,000. By 1860, 380,000 peopled lived in California, forty percent being foreign-born.

The main city benefiting by the Gold Rush was San Francisco, the port of entry to the west and the destination of thousands of newcomers. The population of San Francisco changed from about 1,000 in 1848 to 40,000 in 1850. In just two short years, San Francisco had grown from a small settlement to a major city and international port.

Immigrants from France did not receive a warm welcome in San Francisco. There was a strong anti-French sentiment because "too many Frenchies" migrated to avoid military service in the 1848 Revolution in France or left France after its failure. The language barrier and the formation of many French fraternal organizations made these immigrants appear clannish.

The San Francisco of Aaron's day was a wild city, growing too quickly to properly administer justice. The San Francisco newspapers of 1853 advertised a large number of duels, each one drawing large crowds. The police and political systems were riddled with corruption, causing citizens to form a vigilance committee to see that the people's justice would be done.

The turning point between corruption and justice for San Francisco occurred in the year 1856 when the San Francisco Vigilance Committee tried and executed several murderers, including the famous executions of Charles Cora and James P. Casey, an event Aaron Cerf attended.

A closer look the Cora and Casey executions reveals an interesting picture of San Francisco. Charles Cora was known as a wealthy professional gambler who lived with his mistress, Belle Ryan, a former prostitute in New Orleans. He created an outrage among the upstanding citizens when he brought Belle to a performance of the American Theatre and boldly sat in an open box instead of discreetly hiding in a curtained rear stall. The wife of the U.S. marshal complained to her husband, William Richardson, who spoke sharply to Cora, with whom he had already been feuding.  The next day the two met, with Cora grabbing Richardson by his collar and pulling out a pistol. Richardson claimed to be unarmed, but Cora shot him through the chest, killing Richardson instantly.

While Cora awaited trial, Cora's employer who was San Francisco's most notorious gambler was made the new marshal. At Cora's trial a spellbinding defense was given by a lawyer from Illinois hired by Belle for $10,000. The trial resulted in a disagreement on the grounds of self-defense. San Francisco citizens were outraged.

A second brutal murder occurred when James P. Casey, a county supervisor, gunned down James King, the editor of the Evening Bulletin. King started his newspaper for the purpose of exposing the underworld control of San Francisco politics. He had just printed an article revealing Casey as a former inmate of Sing Sing who was elected by use of a false ballot box. While King lay wounded, Casey rushed to the police station, which was controlled by his friends. The crowds grew in front of the jail, demanding a lynching.

The next day San Franciscans formed a Vigilance Committee, which grew to 8,000 members in three days with $75,000 in contributions to purchase arms. Each member took an oath of obedience and secrecy and was assigned a number. The Committee leased a three-story building at 41 Sacramento Street, which became known as "Fort Gunnybags" because of the eight-foot-high enclosure of sand-filled gunnybags built in front. They mounted a canon on the roof and rang a bell to summon their members. Nearly three-quarters of the city's men came running armed with guns, a piece of white ribbon in their buttonholes. The Committee moved to the jail while 15,000 spectators watched along the route. The jailkeeper turned over Casey, and Cora was later abducted.

Casey and Cora were tried before a twelve-man jury selected from the Vigilante Executive Committee. During the trial it was announced that James King had died. Both men were convicted unanimously. After Belle and Cora were allowed to marry, the hangings took place in front of Fort Gunnybags just as the funeral procession for King was beginning one block away.

The Vigilance Committee brought to trial dozens of corrupt politicians, who were then deported, and hung a few other murderers after their trials.  Many other people fled the city before coming to trial. After a few months, the Committee disbanded but retained an informal organization to nominate and elect officials under a new People's Party. After sweeping the elections, the Committee put on a parade with a band, its members marching with white-ribboned buttonholes and flowers in their muskets.

Many immigrants had a picture in their minds of California as a place where dreams come true. And while the Gold Rush led a lot of people to search the hills for gold, many other individuals were inspired to provide goods and services to the miners, sometimes at very high prices. Those individuals fared better, on the whole, than the miners.

In 1860, San Franciscans heard about the discovery of a rich, new mining area near the Owens Valley, a valley located between Death Valley and the mountains south of Yosemite. Many expeditions set out for that area. No large Indian uprising occurred in 1860 that I could find, but I noted local Indians were considered friendly, while fugitive Indians from neighboring counties were entering the region in 1859, causing violence. These renegades were known to have a hatred of the white man and desired to keep him out of Owens Valley.

Aaron lived in many locations around California where he usually set up a general merchandise store. He cited living on the Juanna Sanchez de Pacheco Ranch of Ygnacio Valley near Martinez. This may have been when he operated a store in Concord, Contra Costs County, called Cerf & Co.  Two children were born when the family lived in another location, San Pablo, California, just north of Richmond.

After moving to Oakland, five years of city directories reveal Aaron's change in occupations, from merchant, to money broker with Nathan Rosenberg & Co. to agent for IXL Lime Co, to agent for wood and coal in Alameda, to capitalist, and finally back to merchant.

Once again, Aaron started a new business venture, a trend which was common among Jewish merchants at that time. Attracted by rapidly expanding towns, many times they arrived at a location where new mining had just been discovered. Aaron's new venture was in Mendocino County in the town of Willits where Aaron and Louis Lobree operated a general merchandise company named Cerf and Lobree. The town of Willits was twenty-four miles north of Ukiah with a population of about 400 in 1884.

Sometimes a store closed simply because a building was sold, which happened to Aaron in Willits. On March 21, 1884, a Ukiah newspaper reported: "Charles A. Irvine has purchased of Hiram Willits the block of land in Willits containing the brick store now occupied by Cerf and Lobree, the two frame buildings used as a drug store and harness shop, and the residence building of Hiram Willits, for which he paid the sum of $8,000. Mr. Irvine has also purchased $2,000 worth of Cerf and Lobree's goods--groceries and hardware--that firm having concluded to remove to Covelo, Round Valley, to open a first class general merchandising store." Two thousand dollars must have been a large sum in those days. (Covelo was located north of Willits.)

Next, a store was opened in Ukiah, Mendocino County, California, and Aaron arranged for his family to move to Ukiah, traveling in those days by stagecoach while hoping no robbers would hold them up. See the preceding blog entitled "Cerf Family Photo in Ukiah 1895" for more details about the family living in Ukiah.

References:
Bishop's Directory of Oakland and Alameda, 1877-78.
Bishop's Oakland Directory, 1881-82.
"Changing Hands," Dispatch Democrat [Ukiah, CA], 21 March 1884.
Directory of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, 1871-72.
Langley's Directory of Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda, 1 April 1878-1 April 1879.

McKenney's Oakland City Directory, 1882-84.
McKenney's Oakland City Directory, 1884.
McKenney's 8-County Directory, 1884-85.
William Lewis Manly, Death Valley in '49, Borden, 1966.

Mendocino County Great Register, 7 April 1892, No. 802.
Pioneer Card File on Aaron Cerf, California Section, California State Library, Sacramento, 1906.
Irving Stone, Men to Match My Mountains (The Opening of the Far West, 1840-1900), Doubleday & Co., Inc., NY, 1956.
U.S. Census Records, Oakland, Alameda Co., CA, 11 June 1900, S.D. 3, E.D. 377, Sheet 13, Page 13.

Cerf Family Photo in Ukiah 1895

Get out your magnifying glass. I need help identifying people in this photo taken in Ukiah about 1895 on the front porch of the Cerf home. If you have a copy of this photo in your possession, turn it over and see what is written on the reverse side.

The following drawing will help us keep track of who's in the photo.

Here's who we know so far (and this will be updated as people respond with information).

1.  Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg
2.  Phoebe Levy Cerf
3.  Aaron Cerf
4.  Aline Rosenberg (Warren)
5.  Elias Lobree
6.  Celia Hofman (Lobree)
7.
8.  Eva Lobree (Mordecai)
9.
10.
11.  Clotilde Cerf (Rosenberg)
12.
13.  Camille Rosenberg (Goldstein Jagorda)
14.  Sarah Hofman (Mish)
15.  Emile Cerf
16.  Felice Cerf (Hofman)
17.  Deborah Lobree (Hirschberg)
18.  Bennie Hofman
19.  Arthur Cerf

On the back of one of the photos is a list of names, written faintly in pencil, showing who is in the photo. Some names are difficult to read and when the photo was cropped for framing, some names were cropped as well. Here are the names as best as I can decipher, in the order written, and transcribed as written. Future married names are in parentheses. My additions are in brackets, including relationships and birth years if known for those individuals not shown on the Short Family Tree. Exercise caution because the names written on the back of the photo may be wrong; it is unknown who wrote them and when. I would like to hear from the descendants of Clotilde Cerf Rosenberg about whether she and her husband are in the photo.

Mrs. A. Cerf [Phoebe Levy Cerf]
? [too faint to read]
Mrs. C. Hofman [born 1851, first name Sophia, married to Charles Hofman]
Elias Lobree [born 1872, nephew of Phoebe Levy Cerf, later married Celia Hofman]
Deborah Lobree (Hirshberg) [born 1879, niece of Phoebe Levy Cerf]
Eva Lobree [born 1877, niece of Phoebe Levy Cerf]
Maurice Wertheimer
Cecile Lobe (Bettman) [born 1875, niece of Phoebe Levy Cerf]
Louis Hofman [born 1879, son of Charles and Sophia Hofman, later married Felice Cerf and in a second marriage to a niece of Phoebe Levy Cerf]
Celia Hofman (Lobree) [born 1875, daughter of Charles and Sophia Hofman]
Bennie Hofman [born 1882, son of Charles and Sophia Hofman]
Aaron Cerf
Emile Cerf [son of Aaron and Phoebe Cerf]
Lucien Cerf [son of Aaron and Phoebe Cerf]
Felice Cerf (Hofman) [daughter of Aaron and Phoebe Cerf, later married to Louis Hofman]
Arthur Cerf [youngest son of Aaron and Phoebe Cerf]
Camille Rosenberg (Goldstein Jagorda) [born 1889, mother is Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg]
Sarah Hofman (Mish) [born 1888, daughter of Charles and Sophia Hofman]
Aline Rosenberg (Warren) [born 1892, mother is Clarisse Cerf Rosenberg]

The Hofman family is related by marriage through Felice Cerf's marriage to Louis Hofman and the marriage of Elias Lobree, who was Phoebe Levy Cerf's nephew, to Celia Hofman. The Lobes and Lobrees are relatives of Phoebe Levy Cerf on the Levy side of the family.

Aaron Cerf's family lived in Ukiah, Mendocino County, California, from about 1887 or 1889 to 1897. Before moving to Ukiah, Aaron Cerf had a general merchandise company in Willits, Mendocino County, California, north of Ukiah, called Cerf & Lobree, which he sold in 1884. Aaron then had a store in Covelo, north of Willits. Aaron's family lived in Oakland until the store in Ukiah opened.

I don't know the address of the Cerf house in the above photo or whether it is still standing in Ukiah. The Charles Hofman house in Ukiah pictured below is on the National Register of Historical Places in Mendocino County. The Hofman house, a Stick Eastlake Victorian built in 1889 for Charles Hofman by F. M. Mason, is located at 308 South School Street in Ukiah.

The Charles Hofman House in Ukiah, CA

The family ties to Ukiah remained strong even after Aaron Cerf and his family moved back to Oakland in 1897, resettling in San Francisco shortly thereafter. Sisters Clarisse and Clotilde married the Rosenberg brothers and continued to live in Ukiah until sometime between 1900 and 1910. Felice Cerf Hofman lived in Ukiah until her early death in 1919 from cancer. Her daughter remained in Ukiah. Felice's brothers often camped and hunted at Blue Moon Lake near Ukiah.

Please send any additions and/or changes to dawncerf [at] gmail.com.  Thank you.

Cerf Prayer Book

I am excited to share a treasure with you.  It is a Prayer Book with notations by both Aaron and Phoebe Cerf about family births, marriages and deaths.  After Aaron and Phoebe died, their daughter, Clotilde Cerf Rosenberg, kept it.  It was professionally rebound by Clotilde's daughter-in-law, Adele Gross Rosenberg, who also stored the original covers with it.  It is now in my possession, and I would be happy to show it to anyone interested.  Family Prayer Books, along with old photos, are priceless heirlooms, and not just for genealogists.

To share this, I am displaying photos of the pages containing notations followed by transcriptions because it can be difficult to read some of the writing.  My notes are in brackets.  I have tried to transcribe names as they were written.

Inside of old front cover

Transcription:  On the 17th day of August was born our child, boy, which we have lost at his birth and buried [Hebrew] in Oakland.  [signed at] San Pablo Calif.  A. Cerf, August 18, 1870.  *  Clothilda Cerf.  Born in Oakland, Alameda County, State of California on the 18th of April 1872.  *  Lucien Cerf.  Born on the 11th of May 1874 at Eleven O'Clock at Oakland, Ala, Calif.  *  [on the side] Felise Cerf [not sure of next word].

Transcription:  [Hebrew] * Deces da dame Catherine Boeles, femme da Leopold Levy de Metzervisse, decedee le 20 9th 1849 on le 4 tisri 5610 [Death of lady Catherine Boeles, wife of Leopold Levy of Metzervisse, date of death 20 September 1949 then Hebrew date.  Note:  the month of death looks like 7th, but the death records indicate 9th].  *  Notre fils, Bernard Cerf, at San Pablo, California, 15 Decembre 1868.  A. Cerf.  *  Our son, Bernard Cerf, was born in San Pablo, State of Calif on the 15th day of December 1868.  A. Cerf.  *  [Bernard's birth written in Hebrew]  *  Papa Cerf born 1824 - September 26.

Transcription:  San Pablo Mars 3 1867 [birthdate of Clarisse]  *  Oakland  Janvier 23 1880 que notre Felicite et ne [Felice's birth on January 23, 1880]  *  Arture Cerf born 17 January 1886  *  San Pablo Mars 1867 que notre Claris est ne.  A. Cerf  [Clarisse's birth in March 1867 at San Pablo]  *  Mama Cerf born 1841, June 16.  *  On the third day of March 1867, Claris Cerf was born at San Pablo, Country [sic] Costa County, State of California.  A. Cerf  *  On the 16 day of Jan. 1877 our Emile Cerf is born in Oakland, Ala, Calif, at 11 o'clock.

Transcription:  [at the bottom of the page] Emile Aaron Cerf, Jr. born June 28, 1910.

Inside of old back cover

Transcription:  Souvenir donne par M. Heumann a Bibie Levy [keepsake given by M. Heumann to Bibie Levy]  *  Elise engaged Sept 24/94  *  Felicity was born on the 22 of December 1880 in the town of Oakland  *  Bernard Cerf baby boy by the name of Edgar Marcel Cerf was born the 6th of March 1905.

Transcription:  Cerf Sol. Rosenberg born 31st of August 1896 - Ukiah  *  Alphonse Rosenberg born 2nd day of July 1898 Ukiah  *  Camille Rosenberg born 16th October 1889  *  Aline Rosenberg born 13th July 1892  *  Leopold Rosenberg born May 2 1897.

Transcription:  Miss Felice Cerf - December 22.

Transcription:  Simon Abraham died on the  11 Decembre 1907 [Phoebe's brother-in-law]  *  [Hebrew] A.C.  *  In Black Diamond, October 10, Pauline Cerf, beloved wife of the late Aaron Senderman and beloved mother of Mrs. S. Bachrach, Mrs. S. Deutsch, Mrs. E. M. Bernstein and Bernard J., Amelie D. and Mirtile J. Senderman, a native of Pfalzburg, France, aged 66 years 8 months and 18 days  *  CERF - In this city, May 20, Aaron, beloved husband of Phoebe Cerf, and father of Barnard, Lucien, Emile and Arthur Cerf, Mrs. L. Rosenberg, Mrs. B. Rosenberg and Mrs. L. Hofman, a native of France, aged 83 years.  Friends and acquaintances are respectfully invited to attend the funeral Friday, May 22, at 9:45 o'clock, from his late residence, 2102 Bush Street.  Interment, Eternal Home Cemetery, by electric funeral car from Thirtieth street and San Jose avenue.  CONGREGATION OHABAI SHALOME - Notice: Officers and members are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of our late member, A. Cerf, from his late residence, 2102 Bush street, Friday, May 22, at 9:45 o'clock.  *  Muriel & Herbert Dryfoos married 26 Nov. 1952  *  ROSENBERG - In this city, Dec. 2, 1955, Clotilde, beloved mother of Cerf and Alphonse Rosenberg, loving sister of Lucien and Arthur Cerf, a very devoted grand- and great-grandmother.  Services were held Sunday, Sinai Memorial Chapel, Divisadero st. at Geary.

The following clippings and photos were  tucked inside the Prayer Book.

Written on the back:  Grandma Cerf and Aunty Vic [Phoebe is on the left and her half-sister on the right]

Written on the back: Great-grandma Cerf, Clarisse Rosenberg, Camille Rosenberg

Written on the back:  Clotilde, Felice [behind her, Felice Louise is on Clotilde's shoulders]

Penmanship of Cerf Rosenberg, Jr. at age 7

The Jewish Community of Phalsbourg

One of the oldest Jewish communities in Alsace-Lorraine existed in Phalsbourg, a military town located in the Lorraine region and Moselle departement of France approximately fifty miles northwest of Strasbourg. Louis XIV's minister, Louvois, authorized two Jewish families to settle there between 1680 and 1691. The number increased to four in 1702, eight in 1747, and twelve in 1770. Although authorized to live there, these families were threatened with expulsion on several occasions. Early Jews provided Phalsbourg with military supplies, surety to peasants, and credit sales of livestock, seeds and used clothing.

The earliest date that places the Cerf family in Phalsbourg is in the marriage contract of Moise Salomon dated January 28, 1779. In this contract, the groom's father is identified as Salomon Cerf, a "Jew merchant in Phalsbourg."

A synagogue was constructed in Phalsbourg in 1772, later outgrown and rebuilt in 1857. It was classified as a Historical Monument in 1996. A Jewish cemetery opened on January 26, 1796, that includes many Cerf monuments. Phalsbourg was the seat of a rabbinate for several nearby communities.

In 1808, at the time when Jews were required to make a hereditary name declaration, the Jewish population had increased to 168. By 1848, the Jewish population increased to 200 (11% of the town's population). After the German annexation of 1871, many German Jews moved into the Moselle departement. After 1918, when the region reverted to France, there was a large influx of Eastern European Jews. After the emigration to the Americas had begun, Phalsbourg's Jewish population began decreasing, from 159 in 1880 to 89 in 1931. During World War II, nine Jews of Phalsbourg died while being deported and two were shot. In 1970, 48 Jews lived in Phalsbourg, with only nine elderly Jews remaining in 1998.

My family and I visited the city of Phalsbourg in 1999, taking the following photographs.

Phalsbourg's town square where the military led marching drills

Phalsbourg's West Gate

Phalsbourg's East Gate (photo is from a postcard)

Phalsbourg's old military barracks and South Gate

Phalsbourg Synagogue

My son unlocking the gate to the Phalsbourg Jewish Cemetery

Grave of Salomon Cerf

Grave of Barach Cerf

Reference:

La Communaute Juive, Les Synagogues de Sarrebourg et Phalsbourg. Lycee Mangin, Sarrebourg. Annee 1997/1998.

1808 Hereditary Name Declaration

Jewish naming practices changed over centuries. Before the 10th century, European Jewish family names reflected occupations or status in life. Growth in the taking of surnames occurred in the 10th and 11th centuries, but died down during the Crusades. Jews of that period were more interested in anonymity.

Before 1808, many French Jews did not have hereditary family last names. The usual practice for European Jews was to use as their last name the first name of their father or grandfather. For example, in the Cerf line one ancestor's name was Moise Salomon, which actually meant Moise, son of Salomon.

To make things more complicated, many individuals were not consistent with the names they used throughout their lives. A good example of this is the name of Moise Salomon's wife, which was registered differently at the birth of four of her children: Taib Heymann, Dabchie Levy, Taipe Heymann and Daubchen Heymann.  She used several variations of her first name of Taib, which is an old Yiddish feminine first name. According to her marriage contract and the three marriage contracts of her father, who was twice widowed, her father's name was Heymann Levy Mehring. Sometimes she used as her last name Heymann and at other times Levy.

In order for the French government to trace an individual through various registrations and efficiently impose taxes, all French Jews were required by law in 1808 to register the selection of a permanent hereditary family name.

The Jews were limited in the types of names they were allowed to select. Christian names or names based on a famous site were not allowed. The most common names chosen were names based on the city or country of origin. Next, names indicating the family was descended from a rabbi, such as Rabinski, were selected. Another common choice was to choose the name that identified the family's business. At one time, signs with pictures or shields with logos hung outside the home or place of business to identify the business for those who were illiterate. These identifications then became the name in the language of the country. Other sources included names based on the first name of a revered parent or ancestor, occupations, personality or physical characteristics, or objects of nature.

Moise (Moise is the French modern style of Moyse) Salomon and his family chose the surname of Cerf. Cerf, which means a stag or male deer with antlers in French, was a common Jewish first name. In the 1779 marriage contract of Moise Salomon, the groom's father was shown as Salomon Cerf, which means Salomon, son of Cerf. Salomon's father had the first name of Cerf, and he is the one for which Moise named his family.

At the time Moise's family changed their last name to Cerf, some of the family members also changed their first names from Yiddish names to modern French names. Here is a list of the old and new names in this Cerf line.

Moyse Salomon to Moyse Salomon Cerf
Gail Heymann to Pierrette Levy (wives often kept their unmarried family name)
Bernard Moyse to Bernard Cerf
Hermann Moyse to Henry Cerf
Salomon Moyse to Salomon Cerf
Sibe Moyse to Sophie Cerf
Barach Moyse to Barach Cerf
Chenel Moyse to Jeanne Cerf
Dina Moyse to Catherine Cerf

Even after 1808, Jews did not change their habits altogether regarding names. For instance, at the death of Moise Cerf in 1822, the death registry indicates him to be the widower of Daubgen Heymann.

The Phalsbourg registry pages officially granting the name change are shown below, though they are difficult to read. Also shown below is the list of Jews in Phalsbourg who changed their names in 1808. Our Cerf ancestors are entries 188-196. The other family names created in Phalsbourg were Lion, Aron, Moyse, Bloch, Loebel, Levy, Dreyfus, Hesse, Romain, Alexandre, Gouguenheim, Coblentz, Dennery, May, Salomon, Heymann, Heitzfeld, Benjamin, Samuel, Marx, Sofer, Jacob, Baehr, Matz, Joseph, Goldmann, Seligmann, Bentilmann, Maas, Kahen, Weill, Klein, Jonas, Lazard, and Meyer.

References:

Archives of Phalsbourg, France, Civil Birth and Death Registers.

Archives of Phalsbourg, France, 1808 Hereditary Name Declaration.

Jean Fleury, Contrats de Mariage Juifs en Moselle Avant 1792, Plappeville, France, 1989.

Octobre-Novembre 1808 Index of Hereditary Name Declarations, Musee de Phalsbourg.

Photo of Emigrants from Phalsbourg

Les Phalsbourgeois de la Californie was a social group in San Francisco composed of French Jewish emigrants from the Alsatian town of Phalsbourg.  On August 3, 1880, the group hosted a farewell dinner for its most prominent member, Alexander Weill, who was returning to France to head the banking company of Lazard Freres, a company still in business today.

Attending the event were enterprising merchants with businesses in San Francisco and in coastal communities throughout California.

Back row from left:  Henry Kahn (jeweler), Louis Salomon (salesman), Jules Kahn (dry goods importer), Isaac Loeb (dry goods, San Jose), Leon Weill (salesman), Benoit S. Hirsch (millinery store), M. Kahn (importer of watches), Nathan Cahn (merchant), Leon Kauffman (grain broker), H. Cahen (dried fruit).

Middle row from left:  Henri Weill (The White House store), Achille Kahn (meat market), Aaron Cerf (crockery and china), Raphael Weill (The White House store), Moise Cerf (commission merchant), Alexander Weill (Lazard Freres), H. Hoffman (baker), Emanuel Meyer (butcher), E. Messager (salesman), M. Mortiz (commission merchant), I. Lippman (capitalist).

Front row from left:  Theodore Weill (salesman), Raphael Levy (junk dealer), David Weill (son of Alexander Weill), Paul Kahn, M. Lipman (cigar store).  

Aaron Cerf and Moise Cerf were cousins, and Moise's brother, Ernest Cerf, lived in San Luis Obispo.  Many of the merchants were connected not only by their birthplace but also by kinship and marriage.

Visitors of Phalsbourg today can obtain a guidebook to the sites and history of the town.  The above photo is included in the guidebook with further information about David Weill, the boy in the photo, who founded the Museum of Phalsbourg in 1938 and was a generous patron for the town.  The local stadium bears his name.

References:  

French Jews in the Early West: An Aristocratic Cousinhood; Stern, Norton B. & Kramer, William M.; Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly, Volume 13, Issue 4, p. 349.

Phalsbourg, Circuit de Decouverte.