ROBERT HERSTEIN (1832-1878)

My great great grandfather Robert Herstein was born at Battenfeld Grand Duchy Hess, Darmstadt, Germany. My daughter Barbara and I spent a summer during the early 1990’s traveling through Eastern Europe and Germany. While in Germany we visited Darmstadt. Today Darmstedt’s new synagogue is thriving with a congregation of Russian immigrants. The old synagogue and the German Jewish community were destroyed during the Holocaust. The early cemetery is still in existence. The grave markers are large with inscriptions all in Hebrew.

According to my correspondences with a distant cousin, Charles Hollander of Jersey City, New Jersy, I learned a great deal about the Herstein family. The Herstein patriarch, Meyer Herstein , my great great great grandfather, was born 1796 in Battenfeld, Hesse Germany and died June 25, 1858 in Baltimore Maryland. He was buried at Oheb Shalom cemetery. Meyer was married twice. His first wife, Ranchen Hess died in Germany after bearing two children, Moses and Nathan. Meyer then married Friedchen who was born 1796 in Battenfeld and died Oct. 17, 1873 in Baltimore. Meyer and Friedchen had five children including my great great grandfather Robert Herstein. All the children of Meyer and Friedchen were born in Germany. It is unknown when Meyer and Friedchen immigrated. Their children all immigrated at different times and on different ships.

Robert Herstein immigrated to America on the ship, Wichelshausen in 1852. He first settled in Leesburg VA and came to Huntsville around 1855 according to my grandfather’s notes, however the earliest record we have of Robert in Huntsville is the 1859 City Directory that lists him in business. Sometime prior to 1860 Robert went into business with a Mr. Smith. In 1860 their business was located in the building that is today the I. Schiffman Building purchased by Robert’s son in law, Isaac Schiffman, in 1905. There is an 1860 photograph of the building in the collection that has a sign above the door, “Smith and Herstein.” I found several references to Robert during the Civil War in local Huntsville books.

In Eden of the South 1805-2005 edited by Ranee Pruitt, it was noted that an article appeared in the newspaper in 1861, “that cloth was cut for 4,000 Confederate uniforms at Robert Herstein’s store.”

An interesting reference to Robert Herstein, with regard to his conduct and consideration for his patrons, is in A Bell of the Fifties, the Memoirs of Mrs. Clay: of Alabama, covering Social and Political Life in Washington and the South, 1853-1866, gathered and edited by Ada Sterling, published by New York Doubleday, Page and Company 1904. It was sent to me by my good friend, John Shaver. John owned a book store in Huntsville. According to her memoirs, Mrs. Clay was preparing for a trip to Washington to seek the release of her husband Clement C. Clay, Jr. from Fortress Monroe, a Union prison. She wrote, “The middle of November had arrived ere, by the aid of Mr. Robert Herstein, a kindly merchant of Huntsville (“may his tribe increase”), who advanced me $100 in gold (and material for a silk gown, to be made when I should reach my destination), I was enabled to begin my journey to the Capital.”

In the The Incidents of War , The Civil War Journal of Mary Jane Chadick edited by Nancy Rohr, page 295 discussing the events after the War Herstein’s name was mentioned. “ Four Huntsvillians of the Alabama 4th Regiment went back to Petersberg and then by water to Baltimore…….. The men had a difficult time in the Federal city of Baltimore until they met Robert Herstein, formerly a merchant in Huntsville, who loaned them money for the rest of the trip home.” I found it strange that Robert would have been in Baltimore at the end of the War. He had relatives in Baltimore who remained there after he and his siblings immigrated to America. I researched “General Grant and the Jews” and found that in 1862 Grant had expelled all Jews from territories he occupied (which would have included Huntsville even though Alabama is not mentioned as the area affected by his order.) I have included a copy of Grant’s order in Robert’s file. Although Grants order was rescinded, I wonder if Huntsville’s Jewish merchants who had traveled north after 1862, even if Grant’s order had been rescinded, would have returned with northern troupes still occupying Huntsville. Would the merchants have found it still difficult to travel even after Grant’s order was rescinded? This could be an explanation as to why Robert was in Baltimore at that time.



Some of Robert’s brothers settled in Huntsville as there was a Herstein and Brothers store at one time. Robert’s half brother Nathan was one of the charter members of B’nai Brith organized in 1875, therefore we know that Nathan and his wife and children were in Huntsville prior to that date. Nathan and his wife remained in Huntsville for a number of years but returned to Baltimore to retire. Nathan may have worked for Robert . According to Charles Hollander’s notes Nathan helped Robert’s widow Rosa continue the business after Robert’s death. Robert purchased a building on the North Side of the Public Square prior to 1878 in a joint venture with his good friend, my other great great grandfather, Morris Bernstein. Likely Robert did not have the funds to buy the 10,000 square foot three story building alone. The Hersteins paid the Bernsteins rent for their interest in the building until it was sold by the Herstein heirs to the Bernstein/ Goldsmith family in 1945. The building remained in our family, passing from generation to generation. I inherited ¼ interest in the building from my grandfather and acquired the remaining interest from my father and I. Schiffman & Co. Inc. Subsequently I gifted the building to my children during the late 1990’s. It has since been sold and renovated by the purchaser, who restored the exterior of the building to what it resembled during the 1870’s. Robert died an untimely death at age 46 of “pernicious bilious fever” (yellow fever) following a business trip. After her husband’s death, Rosa continued to run her husband’s mercantile business, the Trade Palace. The files our family had on Robert’s and Rosa’s building were quite extensive, including a number of letters exchanged between my grandfather and the Herstein heirs. I named this collection “The Bernstein Herstein Building Collection.” It was given to the Huntsville Madison County Archives during the 1980’s and transferred to the University of Alabama Huntsville in 2017.

Robert married Rosa Blimline in 1859 according to the inscription on the bottom of a silver bridal flower basket that was given to Rosa, my great great grandmother, by the Har Sinai Congregation of Baltimore; the flower basket is in the Bernstein, Herstein, Schiffman and Goldsmith Collection donated to the National Museum of American Jewish History in 2011. (For more information on the flower basket and Har Sinai Congregation, see the Rosa Herstein vignette in the Margaret Anne Goldsmith Archival Collection.) Robert had met Rosa in Baltimore either on business or to visit family that had settled there. Robert and Rosa returned to Huntsville after their wedding. They first rented an apartment and then purchased a house on Madison Street in 1862 for $6,500 in Rosa’s name. Today the house is used as an office as the neighborhood has become commercial. It has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (There is a separate file on the house and a copy of the floor plan in the archives mentioned above.) The house has a one story section, in the style of a Federal cottage.

Prior to the Civil War, the house was modified by the addition of a two story wing by then owner Clement Clay in the Greek Revival style. In addition to their town home, Robert and Rosa built a summer home on Monte Sano Mountain next door to the Bernsteins. Robert died in the couple’s summer home.

In addition to his business, Robert bought and sold real estate. The Huntsville city records list these transactions. He was quite prosperous and left a comfortable estate when he died. Robert was on the board of trustees of the first bank in Huntsville which is now Regions Bank. An indication of how well respected Robert was in the Huntsville community is exemplified by the fact that he was Treasurer of City Government during Reconstruction and at the time of his death was a member of the City Council. He was a founding member of B’nai Brith, a Jewish fraternal organization in Huntsville that preceded the formation of Congregation B’nai Sholom in 1876. At one time he served as Shamas of the congregation when there was no Rabbi. Our collection has very few artifacts from the Herstein family and no pictures of either Rosa or Robert. However, there is a great deal of information in the B’nai B’rith first minute book and a “Tribute of Respect” published in the newspaper at the time of his death providing insight as to my great great grandfather’s character.

Some years ago I had the opportunity to read the original first B’nai B’rith minute book (1875-1882) that belonged to Isidore Miller and his son Sol. During 2011 the Millers gave the minute book to the Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. Copies are at the Huntsville Madison County Public Library Archives and at the American Jewish Archives. (For further information, refer to the B’nai B’rith Minute Book narrative.)

There were a number of references to my great great grandfather in the minute book, indicating that he was quite active in the organization. I kept a copy of a letter I wrote to Isidore (Buddy )Miller, thanking him for letting me read the minute book. The letter follows.

Dear Buddy, I read the B’nai B’rith minute book (1875-1882) cover to cover and found it fascinating. Thank you so much for letting me read it. For your information, my great great grandfather, Robert Herstein, was my grandmother, Annie Schiffman Goldsmith’s grandfather. He was the first president to be elected by the Esora Lodge. He was elected shortly after the organization was formed and the temporary officers, who served during the first quarter, were relieved of their duties. Robert died in 1878, the only charter member to pass away during the period covered by the first minute book. Robert was one of the more verbal Brothers and from the minutes, appears to have been an outstanding member. Many of his motions, after being voted upon, laid the foundation of the early organization. At the first meeting he made a motion that, “a sick committee be elected during each change of Lodge officers.” He described the function of this committee, “to visit the sick brothers and their families and assist their wives in nursing care both day and night.” There were seven brothers elected, each one to be responsible for one day of the week. At the sixth meeting of the Lodge, Robert and two other brothers were elected to a committee, “whose duty it was to attend the welfare of orphans of deceased members and to their conveyance to the Orphan Asylum.” There was one Jewish orphan’s home in Cleveland and one in New Orleans. Both orphanages received regular contributions from the B’nai Brith Esora Lodge. On 3/26/76 the minutes note, “The next meeting day, the 9thof April being the first day of Pesach, be it resolved to hold Devine Services under auspices of the Lodge. Brothers Robert Herstein and J. Klaus appointed to arrange the Hall and invite all the Jehudim to attend. “ On 8/13/76 a motion was made by Robert Herstein, “that every member of the Lodge pledge themselves to keep the first day of Rosh Hashanah and the Day of Kippor their Business Houses closed carried unanimously.” The above quotes from the minute book gave me insight into my great great grandfather. He felt strongly about his religion and his fellow Jews; he showed compassion for his fellow Lodge members; and he shared his abilities and contributed his service to his Jewish community. Robert was serving as secretary of B’nai Brith at the time of his death in 1878. Reading the pages he had touched and had written by hand was a thrill words cannot explain. His obituary was recorded in the Minute Book, the same obituary the Lodge had published in Jewish papers, the “Israelite,” and “The Jewish South.” Although this was not mentioned in the Minute book, I will add that Robert’s activities went beyond the confines of the Jewish community. He was treasurer of City Government during Reconstruction and was a member of the City Council at the time of his death. In addition to being a founding member of B’nai B’rith, Robert was also a charter member of Congregation B’nai Sholom, formed a year following the organization of B’nai B’rith. Robert was father to seven children ranging in age from three to eighteen at the time of his death. The $1,500 death benefit mentioned in the minutes, received from his brothers all over the region, was a tremendous help to his widow, Rosa. What I knew about Robert previously was from my grandfather’s notes. Reading the minute book made him come alive for me. Thank you for your generosity, I feel as though I had known him. You have given me something quite special, an insight into the personality and character of my great great grandfather. I am even more proud of Robert than I could ever have been otherwise. I signed the letter and dated it, 1/4/82. A “Tribute of Respect” was published October 8, 1878 from the Mayor’s Office. “At a regular meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Huntsville, held on Tuesday evening, Oct. 1, the Mayor appointed Messrs Cooper, Wise and Green, Aldermen, to report a preamble and resolution in reference to the death of Robert Herstein, former Treasurer of said City.

The committee begs leave to submit the following report: The death of Robert Herstein falls heavily on our community. For twenty-three years, he has been identified with the commercial interests of our city. Commencing business here as a young man, he had, by strict business habits and fidelity to every trust, succeeded in accumulating a competency sufficient for all the wants of life. As a public-spirited citizen, this community appreciated his worth, and any public enterprise, calculated to promote the interest of his adopted city, elicited from him a warm and cordial co-operation. As an Alderman, his counsels reflected the judgment of a well-balanced mind, and he was ever willing to subordinate personal interests for the public good.

As Treasurer of the City, his accounts exemplified the integrity of his high moral character, and always, from his body, merited the welcome plaudit, “well done, good and faithful servant.” Therefore, be it resolved – that, in the death of Robert Herstein, this community mourns the loss of one of its most enterprising citizens, and the City an efficient and exemplary officer. Resolved—That, as an appreciation of his worth, we dedicate a page in the official Journal of the City to his memory. Resolved—that a copy of the above preamble and resolutions, under the official seal of the City, be furnished by the Clerk to the family of the deceased, assuring them of our deep commiseration and sorrow in this time of sadness and bereavement, and that the same be published to the newspapers of the City.

The document was signed by J.L Cooper, M.B. Wise and W.B. Green, Aldermen. From the above information, accumulated over a number of years, much of which was sent to me by friends and local historians, and in the case of the B’nai B’rith ledger, lent to me to read, I have a good understanding of the character of my great great grandfather Robert Herstein. It is amazing what he accomplished during his short forty six years. I have often wondered what he could have accomplished had he lived as long as his wife Rosa, for another thirty one years. When Temple B’nai Sholom was built in 1899 Rosa purchased a window in memory of her husband Robert which bears his name. It was installed on the Temple’s western wall where the rays of the setting sun shines through and the window’s brilliant colors.