Tag: Progressive Musical Benevolent Society

Categories
Research Summary

My working list of Progressive Musical Benevolent Society musicians

"The Famous Parlor Concert Orchestra of Ravenna, Ohio, in the Years of 1890 and 1891" in International Musician, 1916.

This is my working list of musicians I have identified who were members of, or associated with, the Progressive Musical Benevolent Society, a klezmer mutual aid society in New York founded in around 1913. I made an earlier post here, laying out some of what came up while researching this Society over the past months. But this post is simply a list of musicians. My intention is partly to give an impression of the membership, partly in case someone is googling their grandfather and has something to tell me, and partly to help klezmer researchers.

Names with asterisks weren’t buried in the P.M.B.S. plots as far as I can tell; they were mentioned in documents or inscribed on the cemetery gates but buried somewhere else. They range from people who were probably never members, like Israel Evenchick, to people who definitely were but ended up being buried somewhere else, like Chi Epstein.

Birth dates are generally approximate, birth places I have added to the level of specificity indicated on US government documents I found.

Abraham Adler, clarinetist, 1885–1940. Born in Russia.

Joseph Agranat, viola, 1883–1960.* Born in Odessa.

Isidore Altman, violinist, 1888–1941. Born in Russia.

Max L. Arons, drummer, lawyer and A.F.M. local 802 president, 1904–1984. Born in Russia.

Bernard Ascher, drummer, 1902–1990. Born in New York City.

Jack Axelrod, cornetist/trumpeter, 1895–1958. Born in Zolochiv, Galicia, Austria-Hungary.

Harry Louis Babel, drummer, 1899–1973. Born in New York City.

Irving Babel, pianist and composer, 1894–1976. Born in New York City.

Max Babel (Mac Baker), cornetist/trumpeter, 1904–1996. Born in New York City.

Morris Babel, pianist, 1877–1947. Born in Austria–Hungary.

Alexander M. Bass, pianist, 1896–1975. Born in Kyiv.

Samuel “Shlumke” Beckerman, clarinetist, saxophonist and recording artist, 1884–1974. Born in Russia.

Samuel Benjamin, cornetist, 1898–1975. Born in New York City.

Max Bergunker, pianist and silent film score composer, 1885–1969. Born in Mykolaiv (not sure which one), Russia.

Julius Berkin, cornetist and American music composer, 1899–1974. Born in Minsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Jacob Berkow, bassist, 1888–1939. Born in Russia.

Louis Berkow, violinist, 1907–1925. Born in the United States.

Joseph Biederman, cornetist, 1881–1931. Born in Dubienka, Lublin Gub., Russia.

Jacob Biener, flautist, 1861–1926. Born in Austria–Hungary.

Manny Blanc, drummer and pianist, music store owner, visual artist, composer and publisher, 1914–1984. Born in New York City.

Morris Blank, trombonist, 1878–1942. Born in Poland.

Murray Blank, cornetist/trumpeter, music store owner, 1916–1992. Born in New York City.

Samuel “Shimele” Blank, violinist, cornetist/trumpeter and music store owner, 1888–1970. Born in Poland.

Samuel Blank, cornetist, 1874–1953. Born in Russia.

Naftule Brandwein, clarinetist and celebrity bandleader, 1884–1963. Born in Peremyshlyany, Austria–Hungary.

Charles Braun, flautist and bassist, 1887–1947. Born in Austria–Hungary. Lived in Egypt.

Israel “Isidor” Brainin (Brinin), violinist, 1881–1946.* Born in Mogilev Gub., Russia.

Kalman Burstein, violinist, 1888–1945. Born in Pinsk.

Charles Chabinsky, cornetist/trumpeter, 1874–1931. Born in Russia.

Hyman Chartoff, pianist, 1894–1966. Born in Minsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Irving Cherlin, pianist, 1903–1968. Born in Lutsk, Volyhnian Gub., Russia.

Isidore Cherlin, cornetist/trumpeter, 1886–1925. Born in Lutsk, Volyhnian Gub., Russia.

Johann Cherlin, clarinetist, 1892–1968.  Born in Lutsk, Volyhnian Gub., Russia.

Alex Chernoff, pianist and cantor, 1913–2012. Born in New York City.

Harry Cohen, violinist, 1881–1949. Born in Klyetsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Abraham Konstantinofsky (Constantine), cornetist/trumpter, 1891–1953. Born in Tarashcha, Kiev Gub., Russia.

William Corman, drummer, 1903–1977. Born in Yekaterinoslav, Yekaterinoslav Gub., Russia.

Morris Doduk, flautist, 1886–1935. Born in Odessa, lived in Istanbul.

Hirsch “Harry” Drucker, musician, 1860–1922. Born in Russia.

Moses “Morris” Drucker, musician, 1867–1943. Born in Russia.

Isidor Drutin, trombonist and klezmer composer, 1884–1954. Born in Starokonstantinov, Volhynian Gub., Russia.

Solomon Dzazga, cornetist/trumpeter, 1902–1997.* Born in Warsaw.

Chaim Ehrlich, musician, 1887–1929. Born in Russia.

Isidore “Chi” Epstein, saxophonist, 1913–1986.* Born in New York City, member of Epstein Brothers band.

Julius “Julie” Epstein, drummer, 1926–2015. Born in New York City, member of Epstein Brothers band.

Max Epstein, saxophonist, 1912–2000. Born in New York City, member of Epstein Brothers band.

William “Willie” Epstein, trumpeter, 1919–1999.* Born in New York City, member of Epstein Brothers band.

Israel Evenchick, music store owner and publisher, 1864–1925.* Born in Russia. Probably never a member, but donated to their cemetery arch in 1923.

William Feinberg, violinist and A.F.M. local 802 vice president, 1899–1987.* Born in New York City.

Samuel Feinbloom, musician, 1884–1945. Born in Russia.

Israel Feldman, trombonist, 1878–1927. Born in Odessa.

Benjamin Fidelman, bassist, 1878–1955. Born in Russia.

Irving Fidlon, violinist, 1902–1994. Born in Minsk Gub., Russia.

Elie “Alex” Fiedel, cornetist/trumpeter and recording artist, 1886–1957. Born in Bershad, Podolia Gub., Russia.

Frank Fiedel, violinist, 1898–1986. Born in Edineț, Bessarabia Gub., Russia.

Isaac Fiedel, clarinetist, 1857–1925. Born in Edineț, Bessarabia Gub., Russia.

Jacob “Jack” Fiedel, pianist and accordionist, 1908–1984. Born in Brooklyn.

Morris Fiedel, saxophonist, 1879–1952. Born in Russia. Testified as expert witness in Max Leibowitz lawsuit.

Simon “Simpson” Fiedel, musician, 1920–1998. Born in New York City.

Alexander Ulysses Fine, musician, 1879–1947. Born in Minsk, Minsk Gub., Russia, lived in Bulgaria.

Louis Fishkin, saxophonist, 1897–1977. Born in Minsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Simon Fishkin, trombonist, 1894–1978. Born in Minsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Samuel Frankfort, cornetist and bandleader, 1870–1955.* Born in Khotyn, Bessarabia Gub., Russia.

Jacob Gershenson, saxophonist, 1908–1987. Born in Brooklyn.

Aaron Gerson, violinist, 1881–1950. Born in Bobruisk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Harry Glantz, trumpeter, 1896–1983. Born in Proskurov, Podolia Gub., Russia. Soloist in N.Y. Philharmonic and others.

Nathan Glantz, saxophonist, 1878–1937. Born in Russia.

Pincus Glantz, bassist, 1866–1939. Born in Russia.

Jacob Gold, violinist, 1887–1938. Born in Poland.

Samuel Goldbetter, cornetist/trumpeter, 1894–1938. Born in Manhattan.

Hyman Goldin, bassist, 1890–1970. Born in Russia.

Arnold Goldring, pianist, 1912–1999. Born in Brooklyn.

Jacob Goldring, trombonist, 1880–1938. Born in Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Sigmund Goldring, violinist, 1888–1947. Born in Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Alex Gordon, clarinetist, c.1890–1950. Born in Odessa, studied at Petrograd Conservatory.

Sam Greenberg, musician, 1888–1974. Born in Russia.

Gabriel Greenspan, trombone and sousaphone player, 1880–1948. Born in Soroca, Bessarabia Gub., Russia.

Jacob Grupp, trumpeter, 1893–1976. Born in Chudnov, Volhynia Gub., Russia.

Louis Grupp, violinist, 1888–1983. Born in Chudnov, Volhynia Gub., Russia. Interviewed in the 1970s by Henry Sapoznik.

Maurice Grupp, trombonist, 1891–1968. Born in Chudnov, Volhynia Gub., Russia.

David Gurewitz, drummer, 1908–1999. Born in New York City.

Isidore Gurewitz, drummer, 1877–1944. Born in Minsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

William Halmesco, cornetist/trumpeter, 1890–1952. Born in Port Said, Egypt.

Joseph Helfenbein, drummer, 1899–1989. Born in Odessa. Interviewed by Henry Sapoznik in the 1970s.

Samuel Heller, pianist and accordionist, 1899–1988.* Born in Manhattan.

Moses Henig, drummer, 1886–1954. Born in Rădăuți, Bucovina, Austria–Hungary.

Harry Hoffman, musician, 1912–1978. Born in Mobile, Alabama.

Harry Hoock, cornetist/trumpeter, 1866–1927. Born in Russia.

Harry I. Jenkins, cornetist/trumpeter, 1920–1980. Born in Montreal.

Morris Joffe, violinist, 1885–1956. Born in Bulgaria or Egypt.

Abraham Juskowitz, violinist, 1893–1947. Born in New York City.

Joseph Kahn, pianist, 1904–??. Born in New York City.

Nathan Kaplan, cornetist/trumpeter, 1891–1983. Born in Kyiv.

Nathan Kaplan, drummer, 1887–1947. Born in Odessa.

Harry Kassel, violinist, 1893–1926. Born in Russia.

Sol Klass, trumpeter and A.F.M. local 802 rep, 1905–1985.* Born in New York City.

Alexander “Al” Knopf, violinist and A.F.M. local 802 executive, 1907–1985. Born in New York City.

Joseph Knopf, saxophonist and clarinetist, 1908–1970. Born in New York City.

Jacob Koza, cornetist/trumpeter, 1892–1946. Born in Odessa.

Abraham Kracoff, trombonist, 1880–1953. Born in Russia.

Samuel Joseph Kullick, drummer, 1883–1946. Born in Russia.

Harry Aron Kushner, pianist, 1908–1978. Born in New York City.

David Levenglick, cornetist/trumpeter, 1870–1947. Born in Warsaw.

Aaron Levine, musician, 1875–1940. Born in Russia.

George Levine, musician, 1904–1974. Born in Russia.

Jack Levinsky (Levitt), violinist and trombonist, 1901–1974. Born in Kanev, Russia.

Louis Levinsky (Levinn), cornetist/trumpeter, 1916–1972. Born in Brooklyn.

Philip Levinsky (Levitt), cornetist/trumpeter, 1906–1993. Born in Russia.

Harry Levitan, bassist, 1881–1963. Born in Smolensk, Smolensk Gub., Russia.

Maurice A. Levitan, bassist, 1917–1936. Born in New York City.

Samuel Levitan, bassist, 1914–2003. Born in New York City.

Marty Levitt, clarinetist and recording artist, 1930–2008. Born in Brooklyn. Important teacher at KlezKamp during the revival era.

Charles Levitz, drummer, 1903–1993.* Born in New York City.

Hyman London, cornetist/trumpeter, 1879–1955. Born in Kyiv, Kiev Gub., Russia.

Abraham “Al” Lubert, violin, 1897–1960. Born in Manhattan.

Jacob Lustig, saxophonist, 1884–19??.* Born in Chelm, Lublin Gub., Russia.

Walter Jacob Lustig, tuba player, 1889–1933. Born in the United States.

Joseph Machnowetsky (Macnow), piano tuner, 1874–1920. Born in Russia.

Simon M. Markowitz (Mark), drummer, 1890–1969. Born in Pinsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

David Meadow, violinist, 1880–1949. Born in Chyhyryn, Kiev Gub., Russia.

Samuel Meisner, violinist, 1894–1981. Born in Odessa.

Abraham Melzak, drummer, 1871–1940. Born in Poland.

Harry Melzak, pianist, 1896–1932. Born in New York City.

Herman Miller, accordionist, 1898–1981. Born in Warsaw.

Hyman Millrad, bassist and composer, 1882–1971. Born in Mogilev, Mogilev Gub., Russia.

Nathan Model, trombonist, 1874–1950. Born in Orsha, Mogilev Gub., Russia.

Joseph Morgenstern, pianist, 1903–1935. Born in Russia. Born in Simferopol, Taurida Gub., Russia.

Morris Morgenstern, clarinetist and Freiheit Symphony leader, 1883–1971.

Benjamin Musicus, violinist, 1883–1962. Born in Russia.

David Berney Musicus, violinist, 1890–1976. Born in Augustów, Suwałki Gub., Russia.

Moses “Morris” Musicus, piano teacher, 1908–1991. Born in Manhattan.

Joseph Nimoy, cornetist/trumpeter, 1879–1936. Born in Izaslyav, Volhynian Gub., Russia.

Alter Nudelman (Nadelman), cornetist/trumpeter, 1868–1958. Born in Russia.

Max Polakoff, cornetist/trumpeter, 1887–1970. Born in Pochep, Chernigov Gub., Russia.

Louis Prager, cornetist/trumpeter, 1888–1947. Born in Vilnius, Vilna Gub., Russia.

Harry Preisler, drummer, 1913–1986. Born in New York City.

Jacob Preisler, drummer, 1889–1987. Born in Bolechów, Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Moses “Moe” Preisler, cornetist/trumpeter, 1888–1961. Born in Bolechów, Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Sam Preisler, drummer, 1893–1974. Born in Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Harry Pressalsky, drummer, 1886–1974. Born in Zamość, Lublin Gub., Russia.

Morris Primer, violinist, 1880–1931. Born in Lublin, Lublin Gub., Russia.

Harry Raderman, drummer, 1897–1938. Born in Russia. Not the famous trombone player of the same name.

Abraham Rapfogel, violinist and composer, 1884–1956. Born in Galicia, Austria-Hungry. Close associate of Israel J. Hochman.

Benjamin Rapfogel, bassist, 1877–1960. Born in Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Eugene Radomylski (Rodo), flautist, 1877–1938. Born in Kyiv, Kiev Gub., Russia.

Irwin Reichel, violinist, 1911–1936. Born in the United States.

Nathan Reichel, trombonist, 1880–1953. Born in Kyiv, Kiev Gub., Russia.

George Reiser, pianist, 1905–1963. Born in Minsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Hyman “Henry” Reiser, violinist, 1880–1942. Born in Russia.

Charles Isaac Rosenberg, violinist, 1884–1929. Born in Chernivtsi, Bucovina, Austria-Hungary. Lived in Egypt.

Jacob Rosenberg, drummer, president of local 802, 1896–1946. Born in Monasterzyska, Galicia, Austria-Hungary.

Moses “Morris” Rosenberg, violinist, 1874–1937. Born in Austria-Hungary.

Sigmund Rosenberg, bassist, 1891–1928. Born in Chernivtsi, Bucovina, Austria-Hungary. Lived in Egypt.

Harry Rosenthal, pianist, 1887–1953. Born in Konin, Kalisz Gub., Russia.

Jacob Roth, musical director, 1892–1984. Born in New York City.

Harry Rothfarb, violinist, 1892–19??.* Born in Romanov, Volhynian Gub., Russia.

Morris Rothfarb, cornetist/trumpeter, 1881–1927. Born in Romanov, Volhynian Gub., Russia.

David Rozanel, trombonist, 1881–1937. Born in Russia.

William Rubin, cornetist/trumpeter, founder of P.M.B.S.?, 1878–1925. Born in Russia.

Philip Satz, drummer, 1908–1974. Born in Niemirów, Galicia, Austria-Hungary.

Leo Schefflein, musician, 1916–1971. Born in New York City.

Benjamin Schuster, cornetist/trumpter, 1881–1947.*

Joseph Schwartzer, tuba player, 1899–1947. Born in Russia.

David Shapiro, trombonist, 1892–1937. Born in Russia.

Joseph Shapiro, trombonist, 1890–1941. Born in Russia.

Kalman Shapiro, clarinetist, 1888–1971. Born in Kyiv.

Leo Shapiro, trombonist, 1888–19??. Born in Bobruisk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Morris Sherman, drummer, 1889–1976. Born in Russia.

David Siegel, cornetist, 1887–19??. Born in Russia.

Jacob Sohn, clarinetist, 1874–1949. Born in Russia.

Jacob Sokoloff, violinist and bandleader, 1862–1932. Born in Chyhyryn, Kiev Gub., Russia.

Samuel Soodak, violinist, 1884–1966.* Born in Russia.

Louis Sosonkin, violinist, 1876–1932. Born in Mogilev, Mogilev Gub., Russia.

Saul Spiegel, violinist, 1885–1968. Born in Odessa.

Henry A. Steiman, flautist, 1887–1941. Born in Odessa.

Jacob Stein, violinist, 1877–1943. Born in Stanislau, Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Harry Stitman, drummer, 1896–1976.* Born in Russia, played in NBC Symphony Orchestra.

Samuel Stromberg, clarinetist, 1883–1952. Born in Mogilev, Mogilev Gub., Russia.

Samuel Suber, drummer, 1890–1986. Born in Grodno, Grodno Gub., Russia.

Louis Tarnoff, pianist, 1910–1995. Born in Garutka, Russia.

Dave Tarras, clarinetist, saxophonist, and recording artist, 1897–1989.* Born in Ternivka, Podolia Gub., Russia. Seemingly not a member, but got gigs with them and played their banquets.

Israel Tauster, cornetist/trumpeter, 1866–1947.* Born in Austria–Hungary.

Selig Teiko, clarinetist, 1881–1954. Born in Odessa.

Louis Torgow, flautist, 1883–1973. Born in Starokonstantinov, Volhynian Gub., Russia.

Benjamin Tress, trombonist, 1873–1937. Born in Vilnius, Vilna Gub., Russia.

Isaac Tresser, violinist, 1878–1941. Born in Piotrkowice, Galicia, Austria-Hungry.

Alan Uber, pianist, 1901–1990. Born in the United States.

Benjamin Warshauer, pianist, 1887–1948. Born in Moscow.

Abraham Weinberg, drummer, 1893–1948. Born in Russia.

Louis Weissman, saxophonist and clarinetist, 1874–1925. Born in Podolia Gub., Russia.

Moses Winakor, cornetist/trumpeter, 1871–1940.* Born in Russia.

William Wohlman, drummer and A.F.M. and U.H.T. delegate, 1893–1964.* Born in Tyśmienica, Austria–Hungary.

Jack Yablokoff, cellist, final president of P.M.B.S.?, 1927–1998.* Born in Los Angeles.

Samuel Yablonsky, cornetist/trumpeter, 1883–1935. Born in Russia.

Aron Zerulnick, french horn player, 1883–19??. Born in Yelizavetgrad, Kherson Gub., Russia.

Harry Zimbal, cornetist/trumpeter, 1884–1941. Born in Slutsk, Minsk Gub., Russia.

Jacob Zimbler, drummer and A.F.M. local 802 clerk, 1891–1965. Born in Bucovina, Austria–Hungary.

Mathilda Zimbler, cellist, 1897–1990. Born in Przemyśl, Austria–Hungary.

Categories
Biography

Rosenbergs, Halmescos and Brauns: ‘Egyptian’ families in the P.M.B.S.

historical black and white photo of a dusty street with shops on both sides, a few pedestrians
Street scene in Port Said, Egypt, c.1920. Source: Wikimedia Commons/KITLV.

Note: I have updated this post in March 2026 after speaking with some family members, including William Halmesco’s granddaughter, who helped me clarify some of the facts here.

I’m still sorting through many of the unknown families and individuals buried in the two Progressive Musical Benevolent Society cemetery plots, and I came across several intermarried families who don’t fit the usual profile. Rather than coming directly from the Russian Empire to New York City, as did the majority of P.M.B.S. members, they were European Jews of Austrian/Romanian ancestry who were born or who lived extended periods in Egypt during the colonial era, and came to New York during or after the First World War. These were the families of three New York musicians and P.M.B.S. members, Charles Braun (1887–1947), Charles Isaac Rosenberg (1884–1929) and William Halmesco (1890–1952).

I don’t know enough about early 20th century Egypt to really give much context to their lives there. (Although I did take a memorable course in Modern Egyptian History with Paul Sedra at SFU 15 years ago.) I wouldn’t even know where to go looking for documentation of their lives over there. The French-language Cairo newspaper ⁨⁨Israël⁩⁩ is searchable on jpress from 1922 onwards, and while I did not find any of these family names in it, searches for “musique” and “musicien” brings up plenty of results. One gets the impression of a bustling cultural life between Europe, the long-resident local Jewish community, traveling musicians, and colonization projects in nearby Palestine.

I thought an examination of the lives of these musicians would be an interesting demonstration of the different paths people took to end up as members of the P.M.B.S. in New York.

The families in Egypt

The parents of the Halm(esco) family, Solomon Rosenberg and Annette Halm, may have been born in Romania or Bucovina in the second half of the 19th century, lived in Vienna for a time, and settled in Egypt by the 1890s. Their four known children are Sophia (or Sofica, b.1885), William (b.1890), Bertha (b.1891) and Alexander (b.1894). Sophia was born in Austria-Hungary and the three latter children may have been born in Egypt. (William’s descendants insist that he was not born in Egypt, and that he said he was on U.S. documents later for some unknown reason.)

Solomon Rosenberg was a musician. According to his descendants, he left the family for a younger woman at some point, and so two of his sons renounced his name and went by their mother’s maiden name, Halm. All four children could play music, and the two daughters married musicians. Sophia married Charles Isaac (Yitzchok Chaim) Rosenberg, a violinist from Chernivtsi born in 1884, who was living and working in Egypt. I’m not sure if he was related to Solomon Rosenberg. Bertha married Charles (Chaim) Braun, a bassist born somewhere in Galicia in around 1887, who was likewise working in Egypt. William married Mathilda Meyer, daughter of a German Jewish family long resident in Egypt, and became a cornetist or trumpeter. The youngest sibling Alexander became a clarinetist.

According to the family, the brothers fought in the Ottoman army in the First World War and were interned in a POW camp in Malta. They also said that some of the older relatives spoke Arabic and French (the latter being the language of education available to European Jews there), or German in the case of the Meyer branch of the family.

Life in New York

The earliest among these folks to arrive was Charles Isaac Rosenberg, his wife Sophia & family, who left Alexandria and sailed to New York in the spring of 1915. At some point he joined the Progressive Musical Benevolent Society and started to play as a theatre musician. I’m unsure how he got connected with the P.M.B.S.; perhaps he was related to one of the many other Rosenbergs who were members, or met another member on the job. (The descendants weren’t aware of any other Rosenberg relatives in the Society.) On his WWI registration card he gave his employer as Loew’s Orpheum Theatre on 86th.

WWI registration card for (Charles) Isaac Rosenberg. Source: Ancestry.com.
Westchester Avenue at Stebbins Avenue, around the corner from the Rosenbergs’ home in the Bronx, 1930s. Source: NYPL Digital Collections.

Charles and Sophia, along with daughters Bella (Blanche) and Victoria, settled on Hewitt Place in the Bronx for the first decade of their time in New York. By the time of the 1925 census they were living on 111th in Harlem, and brother-in-law Charles Braun had arrived from Egypt and moved in with them. Bella Rosenberg had turned 18 and was now working as a pianist. According to the family, she worked as a piano teacher and her sister Victoria was also a musician.

Charles Braun’s wife Bertha arrived in October ’25 along with their children Lazare (Lester), Solomon and Leon. Charles joined the musician’s union and the P.M.B.S.; per the union directory, Charles Braun started off as a flautist, but soon switched to playing bass.

Ship manifest showing the arrival of Bertha Braun (Halmesco) and children from Cairo to Providence R.I. in October 1925. They gave their intended address as Bertha’s husband Chaim (Charles) on 111th. Source: Ancestry.com.

Brother William Halmesco was the next to arrive, leaving Cairo with his wife Mathilda and arriving in New York in March 1927. According to the family, he had changed his name from Halm to Halmesco while working in Egypt, in order to sound more Italian. Before long they had settled on Southern Boulevard in the Bronx; William joined the P.M.B.S. and the musician’s union as a cornetist/trumpeter.

Ship manifest showing the Halmescos and some other Egyptian-Jewish musicians sailing from Alexandria in February 1927. Source: Ancestry.com.
The Halmescos’ building at 362 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx, in 1940. Source: NYC Department of Records.

Aside from the membership of all three families in the P.M.B.S., William is the only one who left us evidence of specifically klezmer music activity. Dave Levitt, descendant of two generations of P.M.B.S. members, has an old manuscript from Halmesco which somehow ended up in his grandfather Jack’s possession. The book, written up in 1945, contains bulgars and other klezmer materials. Probably some of them were William’s own compositions, as he was described in a 2006 profile of his daughter in the Staten Island Advance as a “musician and composer.”

William’s granddaughter was surprised to hear of an association between him and klezmer music, saying he was a classical musician above all. But she recognized his handwriting and the address on the manuscript. She wondered if he had been paid to copy it for someone, a way he occasionally supplemented his income.

Cover of a handwritten klezmer tunebook by William Halmesco held by Dave Levitt, which he posted on Facebook a few years ago.
A sample klezmer dance from the manuscript book in the previous photo. Source: Dave Levitt.

Charles Rosenberg was the first of the musicians to pass away, dying of a burst appendix in 1929. He was buried in the Society’s plot at Mount Hebron Cemetery. His wife Sophie—one of the Halm/Rosenberg sisters, if you recall—died a few years later, in 1935.

Charles (Isaac) Rosenberg’s gravestone in the Progressive Musical Benevolent Society plot at Mount Hebron Cemetery. Photo by Joel Rubin/Pete Rushefsky.

William Halmesco’s family was also struck with misfortune, as his wife Mathilda died in 1931 giving birth to their first child. This daughter was named Mathilda (Matty) in honour of her mother, and was sent to live in the Jewish Infants Home of Brooklyn until age 5, when she came back to live with her father. According to a profile of her in the Staten Island Advance in 2006, her father tried for several years to have her learn the violin, but finally gave up when she did not take to it.

WWII registration card for William Halmesco, listing him as an unemployed cornetist. Source: Ancestry.com.

In this era Charles Braun and his sons continued to work as musicians; mostly as bassists, but occasionally as drummers, in night clubs, and in Lester’s case, for the radio station WNEW for some time in the 1940s. The family moved into this newly built building in Brighton Beach, seen below, where a number of musicians seemed to live, per the 1945 local 802 directory, including the klezmer bandleader and cornetist Max Ellenson (1878–19??). I asked the family about this building, and they did remember it and that there had been parties with many musicians there, but didn’t know anything specific about why so many had lived there.

Entries for three of the Brauns under the bassist section of the AFM local 802 directory, 1945. Brother Leo was listed in the Drummer section of the same volume. Source: NYU.
Google Maps street view of 3091 Brighton 5th Street in 2011. The Braun family lived here in the 1940s, along with a number of other Jewish musicians and their families. Source: Google Maps.
black and white photo of a woman in a suit standing outdoors
Bertha Braun in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn in the 1950s, from a cropped family photo. Source: Ancestry.com.

When Charles Braun died in 1947, Bertha’s brother Alexander, who had left Egypt during the period of deteriorating conditions for Jewish residents, and moved in with them, as did Matty Halmesco, as we can see below in the 1950 census. William Halmesco, meanwhile, continued to live in the Bronx as he had since arriving in New York decades earlier. He died in 1952, and was buried in the P.M.B.S. plot at Mount Hebron cemetery alongside fellow cornetist Samuel Blank.

Braun family residence in the 1950 census at 3091 Brighton 5th Street. Source: Ancestry.com.
Grave of William Halmesco in the Mount Hebron Cemetery. Source: Joel Rubin/Pete Rushefsky.

With William gone, Matty got married to her cousin Bernard Halm (1920–1985), Alexander’s son who had arrived from Egypt, in Brooklyn in 1954. Born in Vienna, the family said he played in King Farouk‘s orchestra and left during the process of expulsion or exclusion of Jews from Egypt. They noted that Farouk helped pay for his departure. According to the 2006 profile of Matty, Bernard spoke nine languages and worked as an interpreter in a Manhattan hotel.

Detail of US Customs ship manifest showing the arrival of Bernard and Mina Halm, children of Alexander Halm, from Port Said in August 1951. Note that they are listed as stateless people. Source: Ancestry.com.

According to the descendants, some of the relatives are still in the music business, including William’s great grandson who works as a music director and organist. Thanks to them for all their invaluable information.

Categories
Research Summary

Some thoughts about the Progressive Musical Benevolent Society

detail of a hand-painted image with two stylized heart shapes side by side, from each a hand is reaching out and together they are shaking hands
Some kind of undated mutual aid society concept art from the YIVO collection RG 951 Radziviller-Woliner Benevolent Association Records.

The Progressive Musical Benevolent Society was a mutual aid and burial society for New York City klezmer musicians and their families. It was founded in the early 1910s, hit its peak in the interwar and postwar years, and declined by the 1970s. It was formally dissolved in around 2010, but by then the remaining members hadn’t officially met in decades. While I was doing research at YIVO back in the spring, I took many photographs of the two collections they have about the P.M.B.S. These are RG 2110 Records of Progressive Musical Benevolent Society and RG 2330 Progressive Musical Benevolent Society Records. The first collection dates to the late 1970s and 1980s from the era when the organization was winding down its activities under the leadership of Jack Yablokoff, and was mainly about deaths, burials and payments. The second collection is mostly legal documents about dissolution of the organization in the early 2000s, but also contains a cemetery map.

The organization was founded in around 1911, following the model of the many landsmanshaftn and trades-based mutual aid societies in the immigrant Jewish world of New York’s Lower East Side. (The exact date is inconsistent; some say 1911, 1913 or 1914, or even 1921. I tend to believe 1911.) As with other such organizations, the P.M.B.S.’s function was to offer stability to its members by way of sick pay, burial rights in the organization’s cemetery plots, and other forms of support. And over time it seems to have taken on an important social role for New York’s klezmer musicians, in addition to some kind of professional function as a known source of said musicians.

Given that the YIVO records start in the mid-1970s, it means that there is a six-decade gap in documentation about the activities of the organization. I can’t find it at the moment, but I recall reading a facebook comment that Jack Yablokoff, when he took over as head of the P.M.B.S. in that era, wasn’t given any of the meeting minutes or documentation from before his time. If true, that is quite a loss as we know very little about the inner workings of the organization during its prime years. Bits and pieces of oral history from descendants of members are very helpful, but cannot replace the detailed, contemporaneous procedural information of the type YIVO has collected about many other mutual aid societies.

Portrait of Jack Yablokoff from the late 1960s. Originally appeared in the Forverts, posted to Facebook by Steve Lasky.

Because of the family backgrounds & professional activities of many of its members, I see my research into the P.M.B.S.’s activities as a window into the social, family & economic world of New York’s historical klezmer musicians outside the limited scope of the recording industry. Among its members were not only famous soloists like Naftule Brandwein and Shlumke Beckerman, but dozens of lesser known and forgotten musicians. Since getting back from NYC in May, I’ve been gradually working through YIVO’s materials on the P.M.B.S. and building up my understanding of the organization’s membership. This month I’ve been trying to sort through some of the fruits of this research in preparation to give a talk about it at KlezKanada’s Yiddish Culture Jam in Montreal at the end of February. Here’s where I’m at with my research at so far.

Membership of the P.M.B.S.

The total list of names I have associated with the P.M.B.S. comes to about 550 people. This is based on the cemetery maps at YIVO, 1970s ledgers and funeral slips at YIVO, names of donors inscribed on the two cemetery gates,* and a list of members from the 1970s held by Henry Sapoznik. Of those 550, I have identified roughly 125 as being members of the musician’s union A.F.M. local 802 during the period of 1922–1945. That number will probably continue to grow as I identify more of the members, but generally the wives of musicians were not union musicians and many of their children were not, either.

40 of the members I have identified as being ‘klezmer musicians’ in other sources, but the real proportion is probably much higher. Being a working musician for the Jewish community is not something that was well documented in memoirs or newspaper coverage, and rarely anyone but the bandleader got mentioned in advertisements! Plenty of others worked in other parts of the music business: vaudeville, restaurants, theatre and classical orchestras, and so on.

Part a map of the P.M.B.S.’s plot at Mount Hebron Cemetery. Source: YIVO, RG 2230 collection.

The oldest members were born in Europe in the 1850s and 1860s, but the majority of the musicians were born in the 1880s and 1890s. That makes sense for an organization of working people founded in 1911. The youngest musicians in my list were born in the 1910s, but many of the grandchildren of the original members were born throughout the 20th century and are still alive—for example, Dave Levitt, who has been very helpful to me in my research. The earliest deaths I could find were of Samuel Klotzman in 1919—the infant son of Łódź-born drummer Abraham Klotzman—and the musician Joseph Machnowetsky, who died in 1920 and about whom I know almost nothing so far.

Even if I eventually work my way through all the names in the cemetery maps and other lists, it’ll still be missing some names. This is because P.M.B.S. was a dues-paying organization which could expel delinquent members, as did all mutual aid societies of the time. Members could also pay dues for a time, but move back to Europe, or to Florida or California or elsewhere in the United States, and drop out of the organization and be buried locally. For example, Abraham Klotzman, who I mentioned above, seems to have left the organization by the 1930s when he died and was buried elsewhere.

Unless by some miracle the meeting minutes and ledgers from earlier eras resurface one day, I’ll have to make do. But the cemetery lists are still invaluable, as the people buried there show the trajectory of klezmer families over the course of the 20th century.

*The names on the two cemetery gates, erected in 1923 and 1939, contain a subset of names who were NY musicians who were not buried in either P.M.B.S. plot, but were definitely buried somewhere else with a landsmanshaft or some other society, such as Klotzman. Hard to say if all of these were members who left later on, or simply well-wishers who wanted to make a financial gesture to their fellow klezmorim.

Cover of the published score for A Brivele dem Taten, 1911. Source: Library of Congress.

The P.M.B.S. didn’t leave much of a public trace

Many Jewish immigrant mutual aid societies founded at around the same time advertised their social events in the Yiddish press and their activities were occasionally covered in short articles. The purpose of this was to invite in landsleit from nearby areas who were also in New York, and to attract new members, etc. They also sought to attract donors for their charitable projects, such as the construction of a hospital, study house or factory back home. But so far I haven’t been able to find any trace of the P.M.B.S. in Yiddish or English press archives, or being mentioned in old memoirs or music history books (except very recent ones). It doesn’t help that the name of the organization is made up of such common words; it’s much easier to do a targeted keyword search for Chotiner or Podolier than it is for Musical or Progressive.

Some of the other historical mutual aid societies didn’t leave much of a trace either. It isn’t unique to the P.M.B.S. While some sought to recruit strangers or to fraternize with their landsleit, others don’t seem to have advertised or left much of a trace beyond their cemetery plots. This is true, for example, of the society Abe Elenkrig, his family, and Meyer Kanewsky were members of, the Zolotonosher Friends. The cemetery section is there, and some paper ephemera were kept and digitized by descendants, but almost nothing has been printed publicly about it.

The dance hall of the Wolkowisker Young Men’s Benevolent Association building on the Lower East Side, from their 1927 anniversary journal. Source: New York Public Library.

Not all NY klezmorim were members

There seems to have been a natural upper limit to the size of immigrant Jewish mutual aid societies in New York. This is why we see a long list of landsmanshaftn for immigrants from large cities or populous regions (such as Warsaw or Bessarabia). The existence of several ‘competing’ mutual aid societies was not always because of ideological or personal schisms, although that also happened. In fact, many of the landsmanshaftn from the same place got along well and would band together for charitable projects or to throw a big party. It’s just that the management of services by an elected board probably became too complicated once it involved hundreds of members. This is why I doubt the P.M.B.S. was trying to expand to gain some kind of monopoly over immigrant Jewish musicians in New York. There were simply far too many of them, and many already belonged to landsmanshaftn or other societies.

I will preface this list with a caveat that I’m only guessing these people were not members, because they weren’t buried in the P.M.B.S.’s plot and didn’t show up on any lists. Maybe they were at some point during its history.

Dave Tarras, the celebrity clarinetist, was the most famous NY klezmer to have not been a member. Many other recording artists of klezmer’s golden age weren’t either: Abe Schwartz, Max Yankowitz, Max Leibowitz, and Joseph Moskowitz, Israel J. Hochman, Abe Katzman, Beresh Katz, Joseph Frankel, Abe Elenkrig, Jacob Gegna, and so on. Same goes for many of the bandleaders I’ve been researching who were playing for the Jewish community back then: Joe Magaziner (1886–1971), Max Ausfresser (1880–1941), Max Ellenson (1878–19??), Aaron Greenspan (1881–1938), etc. The big Yiddish Theatre bandleaders and arrangers, who sometimes had one foot in the klezmer world, weren’t either: Abe Ellstein, Joseph Cherniavsky, Alexander Olshanetsky, Joseph Rumshinsky, and so on. With some large musician families like the Brandweins, Radermans, Beckermans and Fiedels, some of them were members and others weren’t.

Photo of Max Leibowitz’s band from a Pathé Records Jewish market catalogue, 1920. Source: New York Public Library.

As I said above, its most famous member to klezmer fans was surely Naftule Brandwein, as was his contemporary Shlumke Beckerman. Abraham Constantine (1891–1953), a cornetist who played on some classic recordings, was a member, as was trombonist Isidor Drutin (1884–1954). Probably all of the Epstein Brothers were, as were several of the Fiedel family, although I’m not sure about cornetist Alex Fiedel (1886–1957) who we know from old recordings. Some of the Rapfogel brothers, Galician-born musicians who seem to have worked with Israel J. Hochman, were members, as well as Jack and Marty Levitt. Harry Raderman (1897–1947), a drummer and not the famous jazz trombone player, was a member, as was Hyman Millrad (1882–1971), a composer and bassist who appears on many old recordings. Several members of the Grupp family, who were related to Alter Chudnover back home, were members as well. And from there we can add a long list of other musicians and their families, musicians who were small-time klezmer bandleaders, or sidemen, or played in all kinds of other parts of the music industry over time.

I’ve found it interesting to explore; in filling out the family tree of P.M.B.S. members, I realize that someone is related to a non-member I know from my klezmer research. For example, bandleaders & klezmers Leopold Zimbler (1853–1939), Sigmund Goldring (1888–1947) and Samuel Frankfort (1870–1956) all had children who were buried in P.M.B.S. cemetery sections, even if the fathers were buried elsewhere. Frankfort’s daughter Dora married into the aforementioned Fiedel family, so that both sides were connected to the P.M.B.S./klezmer circles.

Romanians were poorly represented in the P.M.B.S.

Romanian Jewish immigrants to New York City were far fewer in number than those from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires. But they were over-represented among golden age klezmer recording artists: Joseph Moskowitz, Max Leibowitz, Abe Schwartz and Max Yankowitz were all Romanians, as were some notable klezmer bandleaders who didn’t record, such as Jacob Manishor (1865–1950). None of those musicians were members of the P.M.B.S., as far as I know. While I will probably find some eventually, I have yet to identify any Romanian-born musician members of the Society! Although there are some Bessarabians, who in cultural terms are of course closely connected to Romania.

Application for membership of musician Jacob Manishor to a Bucharester landsmanshaft, c.1905. Source: YIVO, RG 826 Independent Bukarester Sick Aid Association Records collection.

So far, I would say two thirds of the musicians were from all parts of the Pale of Settlement (that is, the western Russian Empire), one sixth from Austria-Hungary, and one sixth American-born. Maybe the proportions will shift as I continue to investigate members on the list, but probably not by much.

Links between the P.M.B.S. and musicians’ unions are interesting

Finally, there are some interesting and notable connections between the P.M.B.S. and the music unions operating in New York. The earliest Jewish music union was founded in 1889 as part of an expansion of the United Hebrew Trades-affiliated locals; the Rusishe Progresiv Muzikal Yunyon No.1 fun Amerike, which James Loeffler wrote about in the linked article. It mainly represented Yiddish-speaking klezmer musicians. Loeffler suggests that the remnants of that union were incorporated into the P.M.B.S. in 1921 after A.F.M. local 802 to gained a monopoly over union musicians in New York. I’m unclear on the relationship between the functions and memberships of the Russian Progressive Musical Union and the P.M.B.S., but hopefully I will sort some of that out in my future research.

Ad for the aforementioned union from the Folksadvocat, 15 March 1889. Source: Jpress.

In the first decades of the 20th century, the A.F.M. affiliated union local 310 gained members and tried to pressure the U.H.T. affiliated music union to cease operating. I’m also unclear on the exact nature of that dispute, but it shows up in some A.F.M. conference discussions. Over the course of the 1910s, plenty of P.M.B.S. members joined local 310, whether after leaving the U.H.T. union or from being non-union. Each newly joined member was announced in International Musician magazine, so it’s easy enough to track.

Others probably worked as non-union musicians for very niche landsleit gigs; in his oral history with Henry Sapoznik, P.M.B.S. member Louis Grupp said that it sometimes took a few years of performing for weddings and simchas among their landsleit before musicians even joined a union. By the time local 310 was refounded as local 802 in around 1922, most of the P.M.B.S. members who were out regularly working in public should probably have been members of it. There were exceptions here and there, but it was frowned upon and would probably get someone in trouble eventually.

A few P.M.B.S. members were elected to notable roles in local 802 as well. (See The History of Local 802 on the union’s own website.) The best known among these was Max L. Arons (1904–1984). After rising through the ranks of elected roles starting in the 1930s, he became president of the union in 1965, a title he held until 1982. During the same time period, P.M.B.S. member Al Knopf also rose as high as Vice President of the union. Others worked in more humble roles; vaudeville drummer Jack Zimbler (1891–1965) and his sister, the cellist Mathilda Zimbler (1897–1990), children of Leopold Zimbler who I mentioned above, worked as clerks for local 802 in the 1940s–50s.

Conclusion

I’m still working through the materials I have about the Progressive Musical Benevolent Society, and hoping to find new angles into the history of this organization in 2026. Perhaps some printed materials about it are sitting somewhere in a box of a family member. But if I can’t find anything else, seeing the family and professional connections between the members of this fascinating organization has been leading me down all kinds of interesting research paths. Most likely, my talk in February will focus on the basic function of the organization and a who’s-who of some interesting members and what they got up to.