Arthur Archie Bernstein
Arthur A. Bernstein has an entry among a collection of service record cards maintained by Dr. Nathaniel Royal Perkins. During World I, Dr. Perkins was employed by the draft registration board to examine young men for the draft. During this job, he befriended many servicemen and kept track of their military service during the war. Dr. Perkins died in 1922, and his widow, Clara, donated the collection to the Dorchester Historical Society in 1924.
Arthur Archie Bernstein. By Camille Arbogast.
Arthur Archie Bernstein was born on June 15, 1895, in New York City. His father, a tailor named Hyman Bernstein, was born in Russia. His mother, Annie Feldman, was from Austria. His parents both immigrated to the United States in the early 1890s. Their other children included: Lillie (also known as Lillian) born in 1896, Yetta (also known as Etta) in 1898, Nathan in 1901, Jennie in 1903, Minnie (also known as Martha) in 1905, Celia in 1908, and Dorothy in 1910.
The family moved to Boston by 1898, initially living at 37 Cooper Street in the North End. In 1901, they resided in the West End at 22 Willard Street (between today’s Leverett Circle and North Station); two years later they relocated to number 16. The Bernsteins continued to move around the West End, living at 15 Barton Street in 1905, and 27 Poplar Street in 1908. By 1910, they had moved to Dorchester and were living at 23 Normandy Street. In 1913, they resided at 38 Fayston Street in Roxbury. They were back in Dorchester at 74 Kingsdale Street by 1916. That year, Hyman appeared in the Boston directory as both a tailor and as a co-owner of Levin & Bernstein Liquors at 29 Howard Street. In 1917, the family lived at 41 Woolson Street in Mattapan.
Arthur began appearing in the Boston directory as a clerk in 1913. In June 1917, he reported on his World War I draft registration that he was a salesman with A. Hermon, 131 State Street in Boston. He claimed exemption from the draft on the grounds of having dependents.
On September 27, 1917, Herman entered the Army. He served as a Field Clerk, Adjutant General’s Department, in the personnel section at Northeastern Department Headquarters. In early 1919, he requested a discharge from the Army. On February 3, he was released from active duty and was discharged on March 2. A short notice in the newspaper reported that he planned to go into business in Boston.
In 1920, a widowed Annie and her children moved to Brooklyn. There, Arthur was a truck booker. His siblings were also working: Lillian as a bookstore saleslady, Etta as a stenographer in a brokerage, and Nathan as a telegraph operator. Etta died in December 1923.
In May 1924, Arthur obtained a license to marry Sallie H. Ladden. They had three children: Sylvia, Miriam, and Harvey. In 1930, they lived at 502 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. Arthur was a “customers man” at a brokerage. By 1940, they had moved a few blocks to 85 Parkville Avenue and Arthur was earning $2,500 a year. He was the manager of the Federman & Filston office at 66 Court Street, Brooklyn. The next year the 66 Court Street office housed a branch of the brokerage Sartorius, Engel, & Co., and Arthur was the manager.
At this time nothing further is known about Arthur’s later life, including when he died.
Sources
1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 US Federal Census: Ancestry.com
Boston Directories, various years: Ancestry.com
World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration;Ancestry.com
United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940, database, FamilySearch.org
“Notes of the Service,” Boston Globe, 4 Feb 1919: 5; Newspapers.com
Death Notices, New York Times, 6 December 1923: 19: ProQuest.com
Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk’s Office, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, NY, Borough: Brooklyn: Ancestry.com
“Marriage Licenses,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 15 May 1924: 11; Newpapers.com
“Financial Notes,” New York Times, 23 June 1940: F3; ProQuest.com
“Brokerage Firms Announce Changes,” New York Times, 2 Jan 1941: 47; ProQuest.com