Who was George Brody?- Part 2.

[SherlockJr]

As far as the Polk Directories, I've been able to get information by just calling the San Francisco Public Library. You usually get a nice person who will look them up if they are not busy.

 

[Cubby]

I will have to reconstruct my info about the "other" Brody who lived in SF and was married to a Margaret. Off hand, I recall that he was living in Yuba City, Ca at the same time our Brody was living in Oakland. (This was from Voter registration records on Ancestry.com.)

I think that this barber's union link will provide us with many missing pieces of the puzzle. I cannot find that Local 134 still exists. The AFL (American Federation of Labor) merged with the CIO in ther 1960's (I believe) to become the AFL-CIO. Certain locals may have also merged or been given different numbers during the consolidation.

But we should hopefully be able to find old records from prior to the merge. Even if we contact the current or one of the current unions perhaps they can direct us to how to find the old records from AFL Barbers Union 134. I didn't look back, but was this Barbers Union AFL? I didn't look closely enough to notice that and don't really have union members in the family now.. ( a few generations ago, but not now) so I don't know much about them.

My sister works for Navister International which is part of or bought International Harvester. I'll ask her for direction too.... they are union or have union employees and her ex is a union electrician so she has dealt with that a bit.

 

[Cubby]

Just found something else - I know the 1940 census won't be released until 2012.. but I did see something on the national archives website saying you can fill out a request form if you need information on a deceased person from the 1940 census! Wouldn't it be awesome if he was on there?? It should list birthplace, etc...

http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1940/general-info.html

Great! I wonder if we would need a copy of Brody's death certificate and if we have one. I know Annasmom has a copy of GW's but I don't know if she or Doogie have a copy of GB's. I think they do IIRC.

 

[Cubby]

I don't think any "wrong brody" info would matter for this trip unless there is a wrong Brody in Oakland/Berkeley. This library wont have any info on San Francisco residents...

There were two GB's living in the same area around the same time. I just one to make sure you are not gathering info on the one already ruled out as being our GB.

 

[Cubby]

I found what I was looking for - it was actually from voter registrations and we were not sure if this was our George but here it is... then further down on that page, was one city directory listing for George at one of the addresses we already had.

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Who was George Brody?

I also have a suggestion for someone who has an ancestry.com subscription - i tried to do this with what little info a non-subscriber can see, but I think there is a lot more that I can't see.

It seems the addresses where the Oakland Brody lived are also hotels.

1936 - 483 9th St, Oakland
1938-1940 - 534 12th St, Oakland
1944 - 2329 San Pablo Ave

On the search screen, instead of typing a name you can type the address in quotes as a keyword ("483 9th") and it will give you the people who lived at that address. I am wondering if there might be another person who lived at 483 9th in 1936 and at 534 12th in 1938-1940, indicating that he mooched off of someone else before meeting Margaret.

ETA: I am referring to the voter subscriptions database btw...

hopefully raf will hop in on this one... she found many of these addy's too... If I can find some of the older posts, I will link them here like you did this one.

 

[Odyssey]

Great! I wonder if we would need a copy of Brody's death certificate and if we have one. I know Annasmom has a copy of GW's but I don't know if she or Doogie have a copy of GB's. I think they do IIRC.

Good question. I had kind of assumed that since he was born in 1905, they wouldn't need proof that he's deceased... but with our luck, they would.

 

[Annasmom]

Good question. I had kind of assumed that since he was born in 1905, they wouldn't need proof that he's deceased... but with our luck, they would.

I'll get it out of the files and post it tonight. It might also be with Doogie's pictures.

 

[Annasmom]

Here is is.

 

[Odyssey]

I will have to reconstruct my info about the "other" Brody who lived in SF and was married to a Margaret. Off hand, I recall that he was living in Yuba City, Ca at the same time our Brody was living in Oakland. (This was from Voter registration records on Ancestry.com.)

I think that this barber's union link will provide us with many missing pieces of the puzzle. I cannot find that Local 134 still exists. The AFL (American Federation of Labor) merged with the CIO in ther 1960's (I believe) to become the AFL-CIO. Certain locals may have also merged or been given different numbers during the consolidation.

For what it's worth, here is a website to the Alameda Co AFL-CIO
http://www.alamedalabor.org/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=381564bf-be49-4d88-8244-a4c7d0eb2e87

and this little snippet from an article describing different careers available:

Barbers may belong to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, AFL-CIO
in Southern California or the Retail Clerks Union in the northern part of
the State. Fewer than half of the shops in the State are covered by union
contracts.

Here is a link to the United Food & Commercials Workers Union that covers Alameda County. The "About Us" section mentions hair care as one of the fields covered in their organization.

http://www.ufcw5.org/ContactUs.htm

I know nothing about unions, hope this is helpful to someone...

 

[Odyssey]

Again, probably another useless bit here but I was searching articles containing the word "barbers" in Berkeley and this popped up and gave me the chills.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hwIiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qaMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4232,734039&dq=barbers&hl=en

The red haired barber's 21 year old niece, Lois Wright, informed authorities that her uncle had sought to take out life insurance on her, naming himself as the beneficiary. The girl's statement was verified by Howard Corliss, Los Angeles manager for a nationally known insurance company. "James came to us and wanted to take out a $1000 policy on the girl", he said. "He said nothing about taking out insurance on himself and making her the beneficiary, so we became suspicious and turned him down.

It goes on to talk about how two of his wives and his nephew died mysteriously and this guy "James" was suspected of causing their deaths to collect insurance money.

This article is from 1936, by the way... which happens to be (I think) the earliest year we know GB was in Oakland/Berkeley.

 

[Cubby]

I will find out about the union thing... I'll call or email and find out how to get former member info. If GB was picketing at the time, there is a good chance that was his profession.

I'm trying to remember if there was any conclusive documentation to prove any of GB's supposed careers or they were simply more of his babble to Annasmom.

Doogie and Sherlock, can you help me on this one? The possible career as a barber is the first solid evidence we have found on any profession of George Brody correct?

TIA!

 

[Cubby]

The article you found indicated the slap took place on August 5, 1941. I don't recall what was found to confirm earlier dates.

Also interesting is the red hair. I don't know if Brody was a red head or had any reddish tones to his hair prior to greying.

Annasmom, what color natural hair would you think GB had prior to grey?

TIA

 

[Annasmom]

The article you found indicated the slap took place on August 5, 1941. I don't recall what was found to confirm earlier dates.

Also interesting is the red hair. I don't know if Brody was a red head or had any reddish tones to his hair prior to greying.

Annasmom, what color natural hair would you think GB had prior to grey?

TIA

I don't know. His hair was completely white when I first met him in 1967. It's hard to believe he was only 62 at that time because he looked so much older.

 

[OzzieMum]

I am and have been thinking George Brody is his real name too.

I'm still a little intrigued by this Lydia "Dodie" Valencia from SF. I can't get too far though without the Ancestry membership. There is some kind if inquisition to see if she was poisoned? born 1879 died in 1948. So she would be the right age for a birth mother to GB. Though, her grave is marked Baird and some other guy James Dunphy is also listed as a husband...( James Dunphy has another interesting criminal history- but it looks like he was in prison( based on ripping off a bank he managed for about 145 grand or something) in 1940. The date he turned himself in to the cops was prior to the Aug 5, 1941 of the incident where George Brody slapped that guy. I didn't get far enough to see what happened after Dunphy turned himself in and if and for how long he was in prison. Interestingly the picture on "Dodie's" stone at her grave looks like it was for two persons, and the left half was never filled in so I am unsure if anyone is buried next to her or not.

There is also some directory of some kind, Berkeley College or Library that has boxes of microfiched negatives from a lot of old early 1900 photos.


As you know we just have bits and pieces of a time line right now. We can work on one.

Another direction..... When I looked up the Polk Directories I did so not online, but at the Joliet IL Library in Will County...... I do remember they had almost all the years and I just flipped through the pages for last names, found addresses years and names so went that route- when researching my family from that area. If Brody is listed in any of the local Polk directories, it may show others with those same addresses, possibly relatives of his. We could always find out what is available at the Berkeley Library prior to going there and put together a list or idea of what we want to look for.


As for the union, it may have changed names or combined with another union. We might be able to do some digging by calling union halls, or just digging around. I'd imagine they would have a list of union laborers somewhere, just where.

Also, I don't know if the barbers and hair dressers in SF or in California are still part of a union. They are not in IL... but each state is different.

with Brody's being into the hotels, perhaps earlier in life as a younger man he might have worked as a barber in one of the finer hotels? Then got in some trouble or couldn't get along with people and started living off the grid? Just a thought

Lydia "Dodie" Valenica Baird is in a family tree on ancestry. She was married to David Jennings Baird and had a son, David Jennings Baird Jr. Lydia married a second time to James C Dunphy but no children listed for this marriage (not sure if either marriage was legal, will have to check further on the weekend).

I will also check Footnote.

 

[OzzieMum]

There are also 62 news articles on Lydia. I will read them on the weekend and post anything that looks interesting.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Again, probably another useless bit here but I was searching articles containing the word "barbers" in Berkeley and this popped up and gave me the chills...

Yikes! Sounds very familiar, doesn't it. Hmmmm....

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Doogie and Sherlock, can you help me on this one? The possible career as a barber is the first solid evidence we have found on any profession of George Brody correct?

Except for his claims of being a boxer and a politician, this is the first real evidence of a profession.

 

[Odyssey]

The article you found indicated the slap took place on August 5, 1941. I don't recall what was found to confirm earlier dates.



TIA

I was basing the 1936 on the assumption that those voter registrations with those addresses for motels were indeed our GB... The earliest of those was 1936.

 

[Annasmom]

I don't know. His hair was completely white when I first met him in 1967. It's hard to believe he was only 62 at that time because he looked so much older.

And of course he may well have lied about his age to the newspaper reporter who did the story about the picket line.

 

[SideKick]

Hello,

I was so busy lately, but now starting to google and research. I did find this:Of non importance except he may have known Brody.

Joseph Ortiz turned many heads at Chronicle

From Fairmont to Fifth and Mission, class all the way

15 Jan 2010

Media Workers Guild


Joseph Ortiz, also known as Joe the Barber, has died. An obituary is in works.

Mr. Ortiz was a skilled craftsman and friend to scores of San Francisco journalists. He was a proud member in the barbers' union and proud of his long service at Fifth and Mission. He cut the hair of many great names of San Francisco journalism -- Guild and management. Before he set up his chair at the Chronicle Building, he was a barber at the Fairmont Hotel.

Anyone with recollections please let us know.

Funeral services are as follows:

Duggans in Daly City : Sunday Jan. 17 Rosary 4:30 p.m., viewing until 9 p.m.

Funeral at St. Paul Church on Twenty-ninth Street in San Francisco on Monday Jan. 18 at 10 a.m.

Burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma at 12 noon on Tuesday.

http://www.mediaworkers.org/index.php?ID=7161

~

Also, in this link are plenty resources.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/sfc.html

Polk Directories - many years 1941.

Thought I'd put this info out there while I too research.