The River Running
"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Elizabeth Barth and Julius Thiele
Elisabetha Barth was born in Freinsheim in 1885-1886, the daughter of Anna Maria Ehrhardt and Ludwig Barth.
On 27 Nov 1908 "Elise" Barth arrived in NYC aboard the SS Grosser Kurfürst out of Bremen along with her step-father Heinrich Oberholz, her mother Anna Oberholz, her step-sister Katharina Oberholz, her "step-brother" (actually, nephew) Friedrich Sohn and her brother Philipp Barth.
The 1910 US Census found most of the family at 1034 First Avenue in Manhattan (between East 56th and 57th Streets). "Elizabeth" was working as a dressmaker.
Heinrich Oberholz died 28 Jan 1912. He's buried in St Michael's Cemetery. After his death, there were some changes in the family. Elizabeth married Julius Thiele in Manhattan 15 Apr 1912. According to the marriage record, Julius was born in Germany in 1888, the son of William Thiele and Mathilde Grab. (Mind that the same marriage record says that the bride was the daughter of Ludwig Barth and Anna "Short.") Julius' WWI draft registration says that he was born 24 May 1888 in "Akim" (Achim), Prussia. Achim is 16 km SE of Bremen.
The couple had four children:
By 1915 the family had moved to 428 East 81st Street. Elizabeth's nephew Fritz was living with them there in 1915 and 1920. The 1920 census record also includes Elizabeth's mother, Anna "Barth." Julius' WWI draft registration and all of his census records give his occupation as barber. Elizabeth also has an occupation listed in the 1920 census, unusual for a married woman at that time. She was a janitor, possibly for the multi-family building where the Thieles rented an apartment.
Anna died in Manhattan 28 Nov 1921. The death record gives her last name as Oberholz. It doesn't mention where she was buried.
As of 1925 Elizabeth, Julius and their children were still at 428 East 81st Street, although Fritz had apparently moved out on his own. However, 1930 found them at 3334 Eastchester Road in the Bronx. Elizabeth was no longer working outside the home, but Marcella had a job as a telephone operator and William as a helper in a drugstore. The family was still living in the Bronx in 1935.
1940 found Elizabeth, Julius and their two sons in New Rochelle, where Elizabeth's brother John Barth had lived since before 1905. The Thieles lived at 5 Flower Street. William was working as a molder at a locksmith and Frank, as a baker's helper. Marcella and Catherine were gone.
Ironically, John Barth and his wife Caroline had moved to Bethlehem, PA, by 1940. However, they were still in New Rochelle as of 31 Mar 1936. The reason I know this is that they were in an automobile accident which was reported in the Ossining Citizen Register. There were four people in the car when it skidded and over-turned: John L Barth of 10 Lorenz Avenue, New Rochelle; Mrs Lena Barth at the same address, Mrs Marcella Neff, 25, of 75 Van Guilder Avenue, New Rochelle; and Otto Neff at the same address. The two men had no injuries, while the two women were hospitalized with minor injuries. (And remember, this was before seatbelts had been invented!)
To Neff or Not to Neff
Did you notice that Marcella Neff was about the same age as Marcella Thiele? I found the Neffs at 75 Van Guilder in the 1940 US Census, along with their three-year-old daughter Catherine. Otto was working as a baker (John Ludwig Barth's profession). Marcella was working as telephone operator, the same job Marcella Thiele was working at in 1930.
There are a couple of pieces of bad luck which prevent me from confirming whether or not Marcella Neff is Marcella Thiele. One is the marriage records available on the Westchester County government website end at the very start of 1936. Only one couple is listed for 1936, and it's not the Thiele-Neffs, nor does this couple appear in earlier Westchester County marriage records or in the New York City marriage records. The other piece of bad luck is that Marcella, the respondant for the 1940 census, seems to have misunderstood the question about residence in 1935, which might otherwise have been enlightening. Her own 1935 residence is left blank instead of clarifying whether she was still living in the Bronx with her parents or had already moved to New Rochelle. She supplied Otto's residence in 1935 as "Nellingen, Esslingen" when he'd actually immigrated to New Rochelle in 1928.
Otto was born in Nellingen, near Esslingen, in or about 1908, the son of Wilhelm and Katherina Neff. His passenger manifest gives his occupation as baker. He arrived in NYC 26 Nov 1928, having sailed from Hamburg 16 Nov 1928 aboard the SS Deutschland. He joined his "uncle" Theodore Eisele at 138 North Avenue, New Rochelle. By 1930 Otto was living at 116 North Avenue as a lodger with another family and working as a baker.
Keep in mind that aunt/uncle and niece/nephew on immigration records could sometimes refer to pairs of cousins. Theodore was born in 1905-1906 (only a few years before Otto) in Ruit, about 4 km WNW of Nellingen. He immigrated in 1923.
Otto's mother Katherina Neff arrived in NYC 16 Jun 1934 aboard the SS Europa, having sailed from Bremen 10 Jun 1934. She seems to have come for a visit rather than to immigrate. Her husband Wilhelm was still living in Nellingen at Kaiserstraße 15, the same as in 1928. Her son Otto was living at 43 Lawton Street in New Rochelle.
According to Katherina's passenger manifest, she was living in Nellingen but had been born in Ruit in or about 1876. In other words, she was born in the same town as Theodore Eisele but three decades earlier. It's not impossible that she was his sister, but it's certainly more likely that she was his aunt or cousin, which would make Theodore and Otto cousins.
After 1940
I have no further definitive information on either the Thieles or the Neffs.
"Our" Marcella may or may not be the Marcella Thiele born 19 Mar 1911 who died in Yonkers in July 1996. If she's also the Marcella who married Otto Neff, the fact that she returned to her last name before marriage suggests that the marriage didn't end well.
Her brother William may or may not be the William Thiele born 02 Dec 1914 who died in Brooklyn in January 1984. This William's wife was named Delores. She was born 02 Apr 1914 and died in May 1983.