Max Brody

From recollections of son Leonard, March 7, 1992: Came from Telz, Lithuania as did his wife but he did not know her until the arranged marriage in Chicago. [per Ellis Island records: Max Brody, said to be from Austria, single, age 25, pedlar, bound for New York, arrived on Furnessa out of Glasgow, July 8. 1895.] He was very secretive about his personal information. He was able to read and write English well, and appeared to have had Hebrew training while in Europe. He was always reading books, especially being fond of geography, but was also extremely frugal so only read books he recovered from junk heaps. He avoided unnecessary conversation and never went to theaters, etc. He sold produce from a horse drawn wagon, and worked hard for long hours. He was very proud of his nephew who attained an MD and PhD, but insisted that his son Charlie quit high school to work. He believed that all religion was a fraud, and apparently had had extensive training, because he could correct errors made by rabbis and others with similar expertise. While very intelligent he was very hard to get along with.

He left his family around 1924 and thereafter lived apart. See Leonard's profile for how he contributed to family to some degree during Depression. [Howard Brody's recollection: I was told that he visited my father and mother at least once after I was born, but never re-established social relations and died before I had any chance to know him.]

The 1940 census shows a "Max Brodey, age 68, born in Lithuania, boarding with a Joe and Esther Schlinsky on W. Trumbull Ave.; no occupation is listed for this person.