Nachma Marx

     Nachman  or Nechemia or Nadam or Nachma Marx (1819 or 1827-1884)

The first record of Nachma Marx in the US is the Chicago city directory in the late 1860's. He is cited twice in two different downtown locations, Wells Street and Jefferson Street, in 1866 and 1867. He is not in the 1865 Chicago City Directory. At his death he lived at 2109 Carr Street in St. Louis.

Records of his name are hard to read. I interpreted his name in the census records as Nachma. Walter Weill, a descendant of Marx family from Gross Eicholzheim, Baden, Germany, suggested the name Nachman as being both German and Jewish. A record of his 1884 death in St. Louis posted by the Coroner of the City of St. Louis stated his name as Nadma or Nadam and his age as 65. In the Yiddish dialect his name was possibly Nechemia and that is reflected in his grandson Nathan Berwin's name. Nathan Berwin became Nate or Nath depending on who is speaking.

Calculating his birth year from death at age 65 in 1884 leads to a birth year of 1819. Census records would give a calculated birth year of 1827.

He and his wife Julia Picker must have left Chicago before the 1872 fire. Several of their children were born in Chicago and several more in St. Louis.

I have no records of him before this time period. An Immigrant ships arrivals search for Marx from Baden indicates a H. Marx arrived in New Orleans on January 19, 1865. This is not Nachma's record. People from Baden used La Havre France for departing Europe, especially if they did not have official permission from the State to leave. La Havre ships often went to New Orleans or New York.

SS Cella came in June 1866 from London and La Havre but no record of Marx has been found on that vessel.

There are two records of Marx females in the Chicago City Council Proceedings in the Illinois State Archives. Both from September 28, 1868 when Rebecca and Susan Marx were given free peddler's licenses.

Nachman was an illiterate (in English?) peddler as noted in the 1880 Census for St. Louis. At his death he was noted as being a junk merchant. This statement is subject to further study and possible revision. Especially if one considers that his name is classic Jewish and that he may have been literate in Hebrew and German and possibly descended in the Marx clan of Jewish renown.

I have some records from his Soundex card for the 1880 census that indicate he was from Baden. (Soundex cards were an adjunct to the 1880 census and are available on microfilm). His death records indicate that he was born in Germany. This too is subject to further study as he may be identified with the Baden Area of St. Louis rather than the town in Germany.

He died in St. Louis. No will has yet appeared in the State of Missouri digital files. A St. Louis City Coroner report in the Missouri state archives for a Nadam Marx dated September 12, 1884 exists.

His son Meyer Marx, according to family stories, drowned in the Mississippi River at age 18. In United Hebrew Cemetery in the City of St. Louis is a tombstone of Meyer Marx. A photograph of it is available on www.FindAGrave.com. The dates are 1872 to June 1890. The death was confirmed by a copy of the City of St. Louis Coroner’s report on file at the Digital Records of the Secretary of State of Missouri online. The date of death was June 17, 1890. He was found floating in the river.

His daughter Sadie was born in 1875 on August 28 in St. Louis. She married Max Michael Berwin. Their children were Julia Berwin and Nathan Berwin of St. Louis.

His daughter Lena was born in 1865. She testified at the inquest upon his death in 1884, and signed her name clearly. She was 19 years old then. She married Simon Wolff.

His daughter Rebecca was born in 1867 in Chicago. She married Claude Somerville.

His daughter Rose was born in 1865 in Chicago. She married Mr. Laine. Details are presently lacking on that family.

Additional research on my DNA test kit sent to familytreeDNA in 2014 came up with a person named Steven Marx from Gross Eicholzheim in Baden in Germany as a possible distant cousin.

Following up on JewishGen towns locality index shows this town. On the database of the Family Finder are several people looking for Marx from this town. I sent a message to several of them looking for a connection to Nachma Marx and Julia Picker. Nov 28, 2014. Steven Marx was one of the people. He replied but with no additional information.

On November 30, 2014 I got a reply from Walter Weil in Maayan Zwi in Israel. He may be a connection as his grandmother was Rickchen Rosenthal nee Marx. Her parents were Jakov Marx and Babette Lowengart Marx. Their children were Emma Marx March 11, 1856, Rickchen Marx March 19, 1859, Auguste Marx February 16, 1861, Moses Marx April 3, 1863, Max Marx January 1, 1865 and Isidor Marx April 27, 1870.

Data now on www.geni.com from various researchers confirm the dates and names that Walter Weil sent by email.

Dan Brockman September 24, 2009, August 1, 2010, Feb 1 2011, July 18, 2011, January 2, 2014, February 3, 2014. November 30, 2014, my 77th birthday.

Meyer Marx tombstone in United Hebrew cemetery in University City, St. Louis Mo. Contributed by Susan Ing. 1872-June 1890.

Additional general information regarding Jewish Communities in Baden is available on the internet from the High Council of the Jewish Religious Community of Baden in Karlsruhe. Baden is region of present day Germany. It includes the larger cities of Mannheim, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden, Emmendingen, Freiburg, and Konstanz as well as smaller places today like Eppingen, Pforzheim, Kippenheim, and Mullheim. In 1862 there were 24,099 Jews living in Baden. Baden today is in the Baden-Wurttenberg administrative part of Germany. There is a Baden Emigration index created by Wolfgang Muller. Marx does not seem to appear in this unfinished index at this time.

There are several families of Marx on Geni. Some come from the town of Münsingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Names include Hirsch Marx, b 1827, Abraham Marx, Sarah Marx.