when i started, i thought it was going to be one or two posts about a guy and maybe a little about his relations.
and then it turned into a STUDY.
so a word about scope and methods, in case you are interested in this sort of thing.
since my objective was simply to tell some of the story of lawrence m. mintz, i'm not obliged to find every source nor to track down every detail as would someone writing a biography or a full historical account.
i made a choice early on to use for my sources clippings from newspapers and other publications like city directories and alumni newsletters. where necessary to establish family connections i did use grave registry and census data, but i limited my searches to information that is available for free online. not "free with your trial offer", but free.
most of that information is housed in its digital forms at old fulton post cards, the tompkins county public library, and cornell university.
if you're just coming in now and want to follow the relevant posts in this blog, they are here:
- life in clippings: the mintzes of ithaca
- life in clippings: ben mintz, inc.
- life in clippings: what the mintzes are doing
- life in clippings: why?
- life in clippings: everyday antisemitism
- life in clippings: what the....?
- life in clippings: joinery
- life in clippings: the mintzes in military service
- life in clippings: name changes and sloppy census work
- life in clippings: loose ends and odd bits
it's hard to make gerealizations about the mintzes of ithaca. there were a lot of them, and they had a lot of ties to family in nearby cities. the clothing store and the house on west seneca streeet are a focal point for them, but so is cornell university. here's my map of the ithaca locations of the mintz family:
View the mintzes of ithaca in a larger map
they are a people of means, and a people of education. they all of them, even the girls of that first generation, graduate from high school. not all of them go to college, but a large percentage of them do.
of those who go to college, a great majority of them go to cornell university.
they are skilled verbally; they end up in careers that require them to communicate well. the mintzes are largely salesmen, journalists, teachers, or attorneys.
they sing and participate in theater. they are part of pageants and programs and get cast as extras in early films. if there is an extravaganza going on, the mintzes are in it. if there's a convention train, a mintz will be leading the singing.
but they are sportsmen and sports fans, as well. they are involved with track and baseball and football. they go to regattas and they go camping.
the mintzes are heavily involved in democratic party politics, but they are also present in a number of civic and fraternal organizations. they chair committees. they captain fund drives.
if they are not larger than life, they are as large as life. they are out in the world and the rough and tumble of politics and living and when they go to parties, it is noted in the newspapers.
that is awesome.
here's a timeline of some of the events of the mintz family, taken from the newspapers:
and here's the hard part: their family tree, as best as i can construct it.
you can have a look at the whole tree in this embedded chart, and you should probably hide the sidebar to do it. if you want to see the whole thing more easily, it's here.
i still can't prove that harry of binghamton is ben's half brother by his father's second wife, but i still think that's how they are related. i know that anna mintz is related somehow, and probably closely, but i cannot find how exactly. there is a louis hurwitz of syracuse who i know to be a cousin of ben, but i have dead ended looking for how he fits in. once again, he's a close relation because he shows up in the clippings a lot. he is maybe related to ben's mother? whose name i don't know?
the more you know, the more questions you have.
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