VA VA - Gertrude Bishop, 27, Charlottesville, Summer 1947.

[Mysteries1974]

If she is ever listed on any agency her date of disappearance will be listed as either June 1st or July 1st. I will ask for her case to be added to the Charley project.

 

[alb1on]

Assuming it is the right Arthur David Zuckerman, his (presumably second) wife died in 2014, as shown in this obituary in the main Toronto newspaper ( globeandmail.com: ZUCKERMAN ). As the wife's name is given as Mynne, I think this is the proper name of the wife named Minnie that I mentioned in a previous post.

I am not an expert on Jewish genealogy, but I believe Mynne is usually a name from the Jewish community. If Arthur David Zuckerman married a Jewish second wife I believe that the new wife would usually want confirmation that the first wife was provided with, and accepted, a 'get'. This is a religious document making the divorce acceptable from a religious point of view (but does not avoid the need for a civil divorce as well). As I mentioned earlier, there may be other clues in Jewish records and, certainly, the 'get' would be recorded. So looking for further information on the divorce should look for both civil records and Jewish records of the 'get' (if we have a member who has sufficient knowledge of such matters).

 

[Mysteries1974]

Does anyone know if Gertrude has DNA in her case?? I’m putting her on namus and I need to know if she has DNA.

 

[Richard]

I wonder if Gertrude entered the Army Nurse Corps during WW II?

 

[Diane Redfern]

I am pretty sure she was actually 28 or 29 when she went missing and that her full name is Gertrude Josephine Bishop, born 21 September 1918 in Albemarle, Virginia. Whilst this is the most obvious match on Ancestry, it is also corroborated at Full text of "Scarab" which is the alumni publication of the Medical College of Virginia and lists her as a member of the 1940 Class of Nursing with her full name.

There is another odd clue. In Ancestry there is a marriage in 1944 for Gertrude J Bishop to Arthur D Zuckerman in Taylor, Texas. At Abilene Reporter-News from Abilene, Texas on March 18, 1944 · Page 14 there seems to be a listing of the marriage in the Abilene Reporter, which identifies Gertrude Bishop as coming from Charlottesville. I do not have a sub to newspapers.com so can only read the OCR text. It would be useful if someone with a sub could confirm this reading. If accurate it suggests Gertrude was married (at least in 1944). If it is accurate this is likely to be the Arthur D Zuckerman listed in a 1943 yearbook for.............Medical College of Virginia, on Ancestry.

Ancestry also has records (in City Directories) for Arthur D Zuckerman MD in Manhattan from 1948 to 1953 (he may have been there in other years but not listed in Ancestry). I note the comments about Gertrude regularly heading off to New York and later reappearing. Is it possible she married without her family knowing and was visiting her husband?

I am not 100% sure of the above, but it may offer a bit more to investigate.

First of all, thanks for your amazing investigation.
I do believe that you have found something important. Anyway, I would like to know more about her family; I mean, getting married is a happy event (and back then, it may be considered as the main achivement of a woman), so why keeping it a secret? Did Gertrude think her family wouldn't accept Arthur? Being a Jew could have been a problem?
It's obvious that her family was very worried about scandals... maybe marrying someone who doesn't fit their standards was a huge thing and she decided to disappeared, but... if she got a divorce afterwards, why not sending a letter? I suppose it's possible she started an independent life...