Back to Square One

On Monday Mystery Post, I presented a death certificate I received for a Max H Crane. The post was a call for help from my knowledgable readers. I was hoping to establish whether the certificate belonged to my great-great-uncle Max Hyman Crane. Immediately, I received several helpful replies, and would like to share two of them with you today.

One of two remaining photos of Max seated with his wife Frieda
to his right and baby Milton on his lap. In this photo, celebrating the return
of William Crane from WWI, the Max is the proud head of the family.
(My great-grandmother, his sister Minnie, is standing above Max and Frieda). 

The first reply arrived via e-mail from my cousin Martha who is, herself, an amateur genealogist and a wonderful collaborator. Martha writes:

"Dear Smadar,

 I just read today's installment of the Max Crane Mystery.  The reference to carbon monoxide poisoning which is mentioned might also have come about from an old-fashioned lighting fixture in the tenement.  Could that have been a source for the cause of escaping gas. Illuminating gas, instead of from a kitchen stove or room-type gas heater?

 This is such a dramatic story, and so sad.  If his end was really a suicide, there might be some question of where to bury him, if the family accepted the suicide theory. Without some kind of note or direct declaration to his wife or to others in the family, that might  have permitted him to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.  Usually suicides must be buried outside the walls of the Jewish cemeteries.  

Fondly,

Martha

Martha's assessment of the illuminating gas in the tenements is a reference to the cause of death mentioned in the death certificate (see Mystery Monday: Max Crane) which states the cause of death was "Carbon monoxide poisoning-Illumination-(an illegible word) suicide." I think this is an excellent thought and clearly comes from Martha's insight to life in the tenements. Thanks Martha for this clarification! Martha's other important point was about burial practices for suicide victims in traditional Jewish communities, and again, I'd like to thank her for bringing this up. I was aware of the practice of not allowing suicide victims to be buried inside the walls of the cemetery and kept that fact at the back of my mind when I discovered this grave at the Montefiore Cemetery, clearly marked as part of the I J Morris society (a burial society established by the funeral home I J Morris). I was not aware of getting around the rule when there is no note or direct declaration to the family. Thanks again for this helpful explanation!

The second important feedback I received, was an in-depth blog comment from one of my regular readers +Jacqi Stevens of A Family Tapestry who shared my doubts of the accuracy of death certificates, as well as commiserated with the difficulties of researching ancestors in the vast city of New York. She suggested I contact the cemetery for possibly additional records and recommended two resources I was not familiar with, which turned out to be extremely helpful:

• The Brooklyn Public Library online resources - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
• The Old Fulton Post Cards website, which hosts newspapers from the New York City area and beyond. 

The Brooklyn Standard Union,
Tuesday March 24th, 1925
(Click to enlarge)

Turns out, Jacqi was right! Even tough some families tend to keep suicide quiet, at times, the story makes the news. This one did! I found a mention of the suicide in three New York Papers: The Brooklyn Standard Union, the New York Times and the New York Sun!  

This short article lists a few important facts which are different or not present on the death certificate.

• Max Crane was a delicatessen dealer- the death certificate lists him as an advertising manager. Max Hyman Crane, my ancestor was neither as far as I know.
• Home address was 5113 New Utrecht Ave- The death certificate lists the address as 3113 New Utrecht Ave. Pretty sure we are talking about the same Max Crane from the death certificate. 
• Max Crane's wife was Mary Crane- the death certificate only lists her as Mrs. Crane. Max Hyman Crane' wife's name was Frieda (also spelled Fredda or Freda), not Mary. This pretty much confirms we are talking about another unfortunate Max Crane who committed suicide in New York in 1925 . 
• The description of how the body was found states that he was seated on two pillows, on a chair near the gas stove which was lit, but not burning. This led the police to conclude it was suicide. 
• The wife, Mary, stated he had no reason to commit suicide and did not mention it to her, therefore she doubted he took his own life. It's very possible she knew her husband was depressed and why he would have wanted to commit suicide but chose to protect the family from what could have been a very shameful situation. Her public denial of any connection to suicide would have allowed him to be buried inside the cemetery, which explains why the Max Crane from this article was buried inside the Montefiore cemetery. 
• Missing from this article is a mention of any children. Max and Frieda had an eight year old son. The omission of a child from this article also suggests a different Max Crane.

This finding takes us back to square one. The article confirms my worry that there was more than one Max H Crane who was believed to have committed suicide in New York around 1925. Unless Frieda used the name Mary as well, I am convinced this is not the Max I am looking for. I doubt the article would have changed Frieda's name to Mary in order to protect her privacy, since publishing her address suggest there was little concern for her privacy. Unless proven otherwise, I must assume that neither the death certificate nor the Montefiore grave belong to my relative. They belong to Max H Crane, delicatessen dealer from Utrecht Street in Brooklyn, husband of Mary Crane, who died of a suspicious gas poisoning. I now must re-examine everything I thought I knew about Max's death. 

Recap of the facts regarding my great-great-uncle Max Hyman Crane's death.

• Max died sometime between 1922 where he was listed in the 1922-23 Hartford City Directory  and June 1925 where his wife Frieda was listed as a widow in the State of New York Census.
• Max was not listed in the 1924-1925 Hartford City Directory. I assume they both moved, but I have not documented where they lived. They are not in the New York City directory from that period. 
• Frieda lived in Brooklyn with her brother and sisters as of 1925. I do not know where Max or Frieda lived between 1923 and 1925.
• It is possible Max died as early as 1923 or 1924 in Hartford and that he never moved to NY with his wife. 
• Apart from Brooklyn, they may have also lived in Atlantic City where the rest of the Crane brothers lived (since 1920), though they do not appear in the Atlantic City Directory.
• The family rumor is that Max committed suicide because he was in love with his uncles' wife. The aunt and uncle lived in Atlantic City. 
• The rumor is that he either drowned himself or died of gas poisoning. 

What next? 

At this point, I have to beging a new search for the whereabouts of Max Hyman Crane's elusive grave —sadly probably sitting outside a cemetery wall somewhere. My plan is to examine both Hartford Publications and Atlantic City. My next stop: Boston Public Library! I promise to keep you all posted.

To read more about Max Crane visit:
Mystery Monday: Max Crane
Should Genealogist Spill Family Secrets?