Volume #30, Issue #1, October, 1997
MY GREAT GRANDFATHERS:
A PERSONAL ACCOUNT BY A WSJH
SUBSCRIBER
by Edward Galland Zelinsky
Gold in California! ! That magical phrase somehow reached
all the way to Pedewitz, Poland, in the mid 1800s and it induced two of my
forebears to come try their luck.
The brothers Joseph and Abraham Galland as young men came
to the San Francisco area at different times. Joseph must have been the more
adventurous one as he was twelve years younger than Abraham but the first to
emigrate to the United States. Both thought they would make fortunes in the gold
mines, however fate had different plans. They did not like the hard work it
involved with very low pay of about $16 per day. It cost miners $4 per day to
live so many left the mine fields and returned to San Francisco.
These entrepreneurial lads were from a large Polish family
headed by my great-great-grandfather Schanker Buruch Galland who became a
citizen of Pedewitz in 1836. At that time the name was spelled "Gollandt." These
productive Polish parents, Schanker and his wife, Ernestine (Badt) had seven
sons: Abraham (1817), Aaron (1821), Samuel (1823), Salomon (1824), Joseph
(1829), Hirsch (1830), and Bonheim (Benjamin) (1833). They had one daughter,
Rosalind (Rosa) in 1832, also perhaps other unnamed daughters. Mother,
Ernestine, who was born in 1800, died in Posdiedzska, Poland on November 14,
1867, but she had lived long enough to know of the success of two of her
energetic sons who had moved so far away to a new land.
As an interesting sidelight, Bonheim as an adult became the
second husband of Caroline Klein Galland, who built and paid for a home for the
aged in Seattle, Washington. It is still so named in her honor and memory.
So far as my lineage is concerned, Joseph and Abraham are
the important family members. In an interesting and unusual twist, one of
Abraham's daughters, Bertha, married her uncle Joseph, her father's brother.
Thus Joseph is my great-grandfather and his brother, Abraham, is also my
great-great-grandfather.
Bertha and Joseph produced three sons: Barney, born June
22, 1963; Edward, born March 17, 1865; and Charles, born May 12, 1867, who only
lived till age 15; as well as a daughter, Wanda Jasmine, born November 3, 1871.
Edward, my grandfather, married Nettie Riess and their daughter Juanita, was my
mother.
Delving into my heritage was a labor of love. While I
didn't find any unsavory skeletons in the family closets, there were many
colorful characters along the way back to Poland. Joseph, born in Pedewitz in
1829, had dark complexion, brown eyes and black hair. Due to his height of five
feet, he was nicknamed "Peanut Joe," a moniker which moved with him to Shasta
and stayed with him for the rest of his life.
JOSEPH BECOMES A RESPECTED
MERCHANT
After the gold mining fiasco at the end of 1851, Joseph
Burnet Galland decided to move north and become a merchant in the town of
Shasta. He went into the business of selling clothes, mining supplies, cigars,
dresses and a variety of other items. A headline in the August 30, 1851
Sacramento Union reads "The Immense Immigration in Shasta County for the Last
Six Months Has Placed It Among the Most Populous Counties in the State."
Joseph's store was a thriving business, but on June 18,
1853, a big fire destroyed all the businesses of Shasta, including Joseph's
store and home. He packed whatever could be saved and went up to the town of
Weaverville, California, and opened up a general store with a man named Isaacs.
Their store was called Galland & Isaacs. Then again in September, 1855, a
tremendous fire started in a building occupied by the Sons of Temperance on the
east side of Court Street. The fire spread rapidly extending to both sides of
the street. The damage to Galland & Isaacs was listed at $4,000 according the
Shasta Courier.
In late 1855, Joseph moved again, this time to Red Bluff,
California. He opened a general store with his new partner, Meyer (Max)
Levensohn. The business was called Levensohn & Galland. A few years later, a
second store was opened in the town of Tehama. Red Bluff in Tehama County is on
the banks of the Sacramento River, which at that time was the head of
navigation. Over 32 different steam boats brought supplies to and from San
Francisco when the river depth permitted. The Sacramento River was the main
means of transportation and supplies.
Joseph B. Galland and Meyer Levensohn were upstanding
citizens and successful businessmen in the growing state of California. On
April 15, 1857, J.B Galland of Red Bluff, and M.Levensohn of San Francisco
announced that the firm of Levensohn and Galland (also known as Golden Gate
Clothing) had moved to a new fireproof building on Main Street in Red Bluff.
Joseph became a United States citizen in Tehama County on October 4, 1859.
The Red Bluff Beacon reported on May 15, 1862 that
Levensohn & Galland received over $20,000 worth of new goods by steam boat. Many
of the goods came via the Isthmus of Panama from New York on the more recent
fast steamer Goods included the latest fashions.
Both of these merchants listed themselves as members of the
Democratic Party on July 31, 1862.
In a Red Bluff Weekly, Joseph B. Galland was listed as a
member of the honorary committee of a ball to honor Washington' s birthday and
which was to be held at the Red Bluff Hotel.
Joseph Galland
—from a submitted photocopy
On December 19, 1866, Joseph Galland, from the firm of
Levensohn and Galland in Red Bluff, set out a huge bale of grey shirts with the
signs, "Every poor man may help himself to one shirt provided he has $2.50 for
doing so." A quote in the local newspaper said, "We never saw a man who cared so
little for money as Joe. It is a matter of total indifference with him into
which pocket he drops a twenty dollar gold piece."
The 1865 Tehama County Great Register lists:
Joseph Barnet Galland, age 36, occupation merchant,
naturalized September 14, 1859.
William Galland, age 33, occupation merchant,
naturalized October 10, 1856.
Solomon Bahruch Galland, age 38, occupation saddler,
naturalized September 24, 1860, in San Francisco.
Joseph Galland was affiliated with Molino Lodge # 150 in
the Town of Tehama on April 13, 1867. Affiliation came from transfer from
Vesper Masonic Lodge No. 84 in Red Bluff, California.
The Red Bluff Independent newspaper noted on April 24, 1867
that Levensohn and Galland had a new store in Tehama, California opposite
Heider House. The person in charge was Ben Levensohn. Freight was brought to Red
Bluff from San Francisco. The California Steam Navigation Company had a monopoly
and controlled freight rates. Joseph complained about the high rates but it did
no good. So on June 5, 1867, he bought the opposition steamboat, the Dana. The
Dana made at least two trips to Red Bluff then sold out to the California Steam
Navigation Company.
Adding to their business repertoires, Levensohn and Galland
were listed as agents for Occidental Insurance Company in Red Bluff on January
15, 1868.
On August 19, 1869, Levensohn and Galland announced that
they were going to close their store in Red Bluff by the first of January in
1870. All persons who owed the firm money were requested to settle their
accounts or have the information placed in the hands of P.B. Nagle, Attorney,
for collection. However, on May 24, 1870, Levensohn and Galland announced that
they were unable to reduce their stock so they could not close. They decided to
remain in business and fill their store with new goods.
Later that year the store and goods of Levensohn and
Galland were purchased by Meyer Misch and Adolph Levensohn and it was re-opened
for business on December 1, 1870.
This enterprising pair, Meyer Levensohn and Joseph Galland,
had several other "irons in the fire." An advertisement in the Red Bluff
Independent on November 23, 1871, notified that Levensohn and Galland had for
sale 2,000 sacks of seed wheat for farmers. They were listed in the 1871-73
Pacific Coast Business Directory for Red Bluff: "Levensohn and Galland, dry
goods, clothing books, hats) etc. and produce brokers." Under Tehama's listing:
"Levensohn and Galland, general merchandise and agents for Baker Hamilton
Machinery."
In 1873, my great-grandfather, Joseph Burnet Galland moved
to San Francisco and with his old partner Levensohn became a produce broker at
520 Van Ness Avenue. In April of 1876, Joseph bought a rooming house next to
Temple Emanuel at 418-422 Sutter Street in San Francisco. It had been called the
St. Cloud House. However, being a good Jew, he dropped the "St." and it was then
known as the Cloud House.
At the time of his brother Solomon's death on March 15,
1875, Joseph was living at 129 O'Farrell Street in San Francisco. The funeral
was held at Joseph's home.
An item in the Red Bluff paper of May 15, 1875 indicated
that a residence was for sale on Ash above High (presumably Joseph's home). At
the same time, offered for sale was the large and commodious warehouse near the
C.P.R.R. depot known as the Galland Warehouse. Then shedding other property on
February 8, 1878, Joseph deeded a mine known as Surprise Claim and Mining
Company to his brother Bonheim of Gold Hills Nevada. This deed to 400 feet of
quartz was transacted for the sum of $5.
Joseph moved several more times in San Francisco and had a
variety of businesses. In April of 1879 he sold Cloud House. The Directory lists
him as a Capitalist residing at 614 O'Farrell Street. Then in April of 1881 his
residence as listed in the San Francisco Directory was 117 Jones Street. He was
identified as being with Greenzweig & Co., 533 Market Street, manufacturing and
whole-sale jewelers. His son, Barney S. Galland, was listed as a salesman for
the same company and residing at the same address.
The April 1884 San Francisco Directory listed Joseph
Galland as a grain broker residing at 808 Van Ness Avenue. Living at the same
address were his sons, Barney, stock clerk, Schweitzer & Sachs & Company; and
Edward, clerk, Davis Brothers, Toklas and Company. The 1890 Directory lists him
as a tanner and the May 1891 Directory said he was in the business of wood and
coal, residing at 808 Van Ness Avenue. Also listed were his sons, Barney,
salesman and Edward, traveling salesman, Davis Brothers, Bergman and Company.
Joseph Galland bought property in Merced, California. The
property was called "Sandy Mush." Family members from the Goldman and Badtz
families visited. During Joseph's later years, he made many trips to Merced. He
owned 160 acres of land mostly in grapes and fruit trees.
Joseph Galland died in Merced on November 8, 1892. His
obituary in San Francisco stated that he was 63 years old. The funeral took
place at his residence, 1004 Van Ness Avenue, with internment at Home of Peace
in San Mateo County.
The Merced newspaper said that Joseph was a native of
Prussia and that death was due to an overdose of laudanum which was taken to
induce sleep. The item noted that he owned a large tract of land West of Merced
which was called "Sandy Mush," where he was known as "The Governor."
Another Merced newspaper item stated:
J.B. Galland was one of the best known men in the San
Joaquin Valley. He was found in a dying condition at El Capitan Hotel on
Tuesday night. Galland had retired in the evening before intending to go to
San Francisco by train. He had been affected lately with loss of sleep and
was in the habit of using morphine when needing rest. It appeared that he
took too much. The hotel night clerk found him and at that time Joseph was
not dead but died before the arrival of the physician. His family was in San
Francisco. Mrs. Galland left for Merced on the 3 o'clock train. The inquest
the following day returned a verdict of accidental death. The remains were
taken to San Francisco for burial. The deceased had large property interests
in Merced.
Joseph Burnet Galland' s will was filed in Probate Court of
San Francisco on November 28, 1892. Bequests were: $1,000 to an unnamed brother;
$1,000 to an unnamed sister, $200 to a Jewish congregation in Pudwizz, Prussia,
and the remainder of his estate to his widow, Bertha.
Bertha Galland, as executrix of the will of Joseph B.
Galland' s estate, gave power of attorney to my grandfathers Edward Ralph
Galland on April 3, 1893.
ABRAHAM GOES INTO BUSINESS
AND RELIGION
In 1853 Abraham arrived in Shasta and took one horrified
look at the miners slaving in the icy mountain waters. Such a life, he declared,
was not for him, so he accepted employment in his brother's store as a clerk.
Seeing the enormous profits to be realized from merchandising, he soon developed
a desire for his own store. After he had saved $1,000, Joseph told him to select
a good location, obtain a building, and he would provide the initial stock to
set Abraham up in the business.
While the brothers Joseph and Abraham Galland had much in
common in terms of relatives, business acumen, and religion, Abraham was more
closely associated with organized religion and Jewish organizations. In 1855
Abraham was listed in the Sacramento City directory as the High Priest of the
congregation of B'nai Israel. In the same year he was elected Hazen and Schochet
for one year by the same congregation. He was also listed in various Jewish
organizations in Sacramento.
Abraham's daughter, Bertha, born August 1, 1838, came to
the United States and on November 24, 1861, she married her uncle Joseph Galland
of Red Bluff. The ceremony took place at the Broadway Synagogue in San Francisco
and was performed by the Reverend D.E. Cohn.
Abraham's daughter Wanda, born in Prussia in 1853, also
emigrated to the United States and on November 26, 1861, she became the wife of
Meyer Levensohn, business partner of her Uncle Joseph in Red Bluff. This
ceremony took place two days after the marriage of her sister Bertha in the
same San Francisco Broadway Synagogue.
The new grooms (Joeph Galland and Meyer Levensohn) were so
pleased with their marriages to the two sisters that on December 5, 1961, they
sent a large iced cake from San Francisco to the editor of the Red Bluff Beacon
in honor of their brides.
In 1856, Abraham was listed as pastor of a Jewish synagogue
at 5th Street between L & M Streets. His home address was listed as 66 J Street,
Sacramento. This was the same address for S.W Galland and S.B. Galland. In 1858
he moved to San Francisco and was listed in the directory there.
In June of 185 8 Abraham traveled to New York with his
daughters Annie, Wanda and Bertha (later to become my great-grandmother). His
wife (Gertrude) had died some time before and I believe the reason for this trip
was to bring back a new wife as well as to visit relatives in New York. He was
married there to Fredericka Badt.
Abraham Galland
—from submitted photocopy
They sailed from New York on the S.S. Northern Light and
arrived in Panama on December 5, 1859. However, after staying two weeks in the
hot and humid Isthmus of Panama, they boarded the S.A. Cortes on December 16,
arriving in San Francisco January 3, 1860. The June 1860, San Francisco
Directory listed Abraham Galland as dwelling on the N.S. John near Powell
Street. The census listed the following: Abraham Galland, age 40, male minister;
Frances (Fredericka) Galland, his wife, age 29; Betty Galland (Bertha)) age 18;
Wanda Galland, age 16, and Samuel Galland, age 14.
Abraham was both a minister and a financier. The San
Francisco Directory of 1863 lists him as a stockbroker with an office at 411
Montgomery Street. In 1865 during the holy days, Reverend Abraham Galland was
listed as Minister of Ohabai Sholom Temple in San Francisco. He also made the
delinquent tax list on December 4, 1866 for non-payment of personal property in
the amount of $403.
But Abraham Galland was the best known mohel in the West in
the 19th century for ritual circumcision. He officiated as mohel from Hawaii to
the East Coast. The most famous case of Abraham as a mohel was his officiating
for the first triplets born in the west. This occurred in 1867, in the presence
of a standing-room-only congregation, as Abraham operated on three Donziger
boys: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The triplets' honorary godfathers were Major
General Irwin McDowell, Governor-elect Henry Haight, and United States Senator
John Connors.
Around August 1866, Abraham and his wife were having
marital problems. Fredericka moved out and her residence was listed as 253
Minerva Street in San Francisco. The 1885-86 S.F. Business Directory indicated
that she provided furnished rooms at 1053 Mission Street.
In 1977 Abraham moved to New York where he entered the
elevator business at 206 Broadway Street. He resided at 103 East 79th Street
with his daughter Annie, who was widowed at age 28. The New York City Directory
for 1878-79 listed: "Galland, Abraham, Corsets, 139 Church Street, 103 East
79th Street." In the house he shared with daughter, Annie, Abraham also had some
of his other children: son Jesse, age 12; daughter Selma, age 9, daughter Edna,
age 6 and son Justin, age 9.
Ten years later, in 1887 Abraham returned to San Francisco
and was listed in the San Francisco Business Directory as, "Capitalist, Office
206 1/2 Bush Street." His residence was 808 Van Ness Avenue and also living at
that address was his brother Joseph Galland and Joseph's sons Edward and Barney.
My great-great-grandfather, Abraham Galland, died at the
age of 70 on June 30, 1887. His obituary appeared in newspapers in New York and
Kansas City. The funeral took place at 808 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, his
last residence. He was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery. Thus ended a very
colorful life, but the battle over Abraham's will continued for years as his
ex-wife, Fredericka, fought for more of his estate.
This interesting story of my great-grandfather, Joseph and
his brother, Abraham, my great-great-grandfather, shows that they were men of
character and truly influential in the history of our great State of California.
