Herbert Jaffe

[Tinker]

I have been asked by a friend if I could find out a bit more about a gentleman called Herbert Jaffe. The info that I have (which is very skimpy) is that he was born 15 May 1914 or '15 and from New York, and that he was in Mende, France from 1937 - 1938, studying at a teacher training school.

I have done a search of the U.S Censuses, etc, and have come across a likely candidate, but can't be sure he is the right man, as the name is a very common one in New York. The 1920 and 1930 censuses show this particular Herbert as the son of Herman (b. Russia) and Anna Jaffe (b. Austria), living in Brooklyn, New York in 1930 and Cook County, Illinois in 1920. Social Security lists have drawn a blank, so far. Can anyone find evidence of a Herbert Jaffe travelling to France around 1937, and/or possibly a return journey, which might clinch whether I have the right person? (I am told that the archives of the place where he studied burned down, so there are no records to be had from that source.) I have run out of ideas for places to look, so would be grateful for any help!

[Megan Roberts]

Ancestry have data set entitled New York Passenger Lists 1820 - 1957. It has 12 entries for Herbert Jaffe, of these 8 have a date of birth and of those 5 are 1915-1917.

If you don't have access to these records let me know.

[Tinker]

Megan, I don't have access to those passenger lists, so I'd be really grateful for any details you can give me on the relevant entries. FMP has only one likely entry, but not for the time period I need, which is why I'd got stuck.

[Megan Roberts]

Tinker
I have down loaded the info into a table which I can't work out how to insert here. If you sent me a private message with your email I will send it to you.
Megan

[Tinker]

Megan, you're a star. Your table has provided me with both his arrival in France and his departure. My friend will be over the moon! I will Google 1500 Theriot Avenue, New York, to see if that kicks up any leads then decide where to go from there.

[Megan Roberts]

Glad to help.

[Tinker]

I have passed on Herbert's travel details to my friend, and was also able to find out a little more about the S.S. Champlain on which he made his journey home. As it was a French ship and sailed from Le Havre, hopefully, my friend (who is based in France) will be able to make enquiries of the company that owned it, if they still exist. The address Herbert gave turned out to be in the Bronx, which fits with some of the other information we have, as Herbert appears to be of Jewish extraction.

[Tinker]

I am helping a friend to try and trace the family of a person called Herbert Jaffe, who was from New York, born 15 May, 1914 or 1915, and spent time in Mende, France between September 1937 and June 1938. There are a large number of Herbert Jaffes in New York, in the 1920 and 1930 U.S Censuses, so without more detailed information, we are unable to pinpoint the right one with any certainty, although we can make an educated guess. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can narrow down the field? Most of the web sites I have access to are for researching British ancestors, so I am not sure how to proceed from here! Can anyone with experience in tracing U.S ancestors offer any advice, please?

[Kerrywood]

Tinker had a previous thread on Herbert JAFFE in the Brickwalls forum, which had attracted replies.

It's best to keep all the information on one person in a single thread. As the search is now focussed on the US, I have combined both threads here.

[bamagirl]

Hi, Tinker.

Ancestry is going to release the 1940 US Census in the next few weeks. When that auspicious time arrives we can look to see if we can find a Herbert Jaffe with an occupation that matches his teacher training. Do you know anything else about him? Did he serve in the military?

-Barb