The Potentially Expanding CANTORSOHN Family

(Written at the Philadelphia International Airport waiting for US 1084 to fly to the Raleigh-Durham airport for the 2013 (or belated 2012) annual Hans L. Falk Memorial Lecture at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.)


The starting point was learning the name of Isidor LAUDON’s mother from the “Vita” of his 1861 doctoral dissertation — Rahel CANTORSOHN.  Isidor and my great great grandmother Henriette JACOBSOHN geb. LAUDON were children of Abraham LAUDON of Rosenberg, West Prussia.  Presumably, Rahel was the mother of Henriette, as well as other children of Abraham:  Johanna (HEILBRONN), Sara (BLUM) and Helene (LOEWENSON); and with a double presumption, of Bernhard (father’s name not confirmed).


From there, the first possible sibling of Rahel is Sara KANTORSOHN (1814-1888) who was married to Hirsch Leser HAMMERSTEIN.  Rahel was probably born about 1805, so the age fits for them to be sisters.  They both appear to have named sons Bernhard, possibly in memory of Baer KANTORSON, who may have been their father.  Sara was born in Christburg, West Prussia.  (A large HAMMERSTEIN family tree is available on Ancestry.com.)


The next possible sibling is Johanna CANTORSON.   The necessary step in stumbling** across her was to first stumble across the 1860 marriage entry of Jacob FALKENHEIM and Mathilde COHN in the Elbing Jewish community records.  That marriage was of interest because Mathilde’s parents were Moses Abraham COHN and Therese LAZARUS, Moses Abraham being a cousin through the LATZ family.   Looking for information about Jacob or Mathilde, I ran across a website with a smattering of gravestone photographs and details that include a photo of the adjacent gravestones of Mathilde FALKENHEIM geb. COHN, Salomon FALKENHEIM and Johanna FALKENHEIM geb. CANTORSON (1809-1886) from the Schönhauser Allee cemetery in Berlin.   Johanna’s birth place is not yet known, but she was living in Christburg in 1829 when her son Jacob was born; the same town where Sara was born.  


(** This could be the birth of “Stolper-Stamm” – stumbling across the roots of your family, as you would across the gnarly roots of a large tree (with shallow roots) — with apologies to German artist Gunter DEMNIG, creator of the Stolpersteine project to honor the memory of victims of the Shoah.)


The last potential sibling is Abraham CANTORSON.   His name appears in the death certificate of his daughter Aurelie BEHRENDT geb. CANTORSON (ca.1851-1910).  She died in Breslau, but she was from Christburg, the same town were Johanna had lived and where Sara was born.  Abraham CANTORSON was married to Auguste GOTHILF, who died in Christburg in 1879.


Not (yet) knowing of any other male CANTORSOHNs / CANTORSONs, I have speculated that 4 other CANTORSONs may have been children of Abraham CANTORSON of Christburg.  They are Ida HENNIG geb. CANTORSON (b.ca.1855), Bernhard CANTORSON (ca.1859-1902), George CANTORSON (ca.1861-1890) and Arthur CANTORSON (1871-1954).


Ida CANTORSON was born in Christburg in about 1855.  In 1879, she married David HENNIG (d.ca.1926, Berlin).  The only basis for speculation about Ida’s connection to Abraham is that she was born in Christburg, just 4 years after Aurelie.   Their only son Julius emigrated to the US, and his only son now lives in San Diego.


Bernhard CANTORSON emigrated to the US and died in Chicago in 1902.  His death certificate gives his birth place as Christburg.  Again, there is little basis for assuming a link to Abraham CANTORSON.  But, he was born in Christburg, and he had the name Bernhard, like sons of Rahel and Johanna.  He was unmarried and presumably died with no children.


Then there were George and Arthur.  They also emigrated to the US; were also unmarried and seem to have died without offspring.  They were both born in “Germany”, in about 1861 and in 1871, respectively, but their death certificates provide no details — no birth town, and no parents’ names.  George died (of a self-inflicted gun shot) in Philadelphia in 1890.   Arthur died in Los Angeles in 1954.   They could have been sons of Abraham, although if Arthur were a son of Abraham, he may have been named for his putative father, which would suggest that Abraham would have died while his wife was pregnant with their last child.  Speculation on top of speculation.


Added to this mix of limited facts and rampant speculation is a possible candidate for the wife of Baer KANTERSON and mother of one or some or none of the next generation:  Adeline CANTORSOHN geb. JACOBY, who was born about 1782 and died in Rosenberg, West Prussia in 1864, the same town were Rahel had lived (based on where her children were born).


As with so many of these stories, more information is needed…