OSCAR GOLDSMITH By Margaret Anne Goldsmith

Oscar Goldsmith affectionately referred to as “Papa Oscar” was born in New York City in 1849, one of six children, four boys and a girl (see the vignette on David Goldsmith and Henrietta Henline for information on his parents and siblings.) Oscar’s parents met and married in New York after they immigrated to America. Oscar’s father, David Goldsmith, was born in Klein Hiebach, Germany in 1805. His mother, Henrietta Henline was born in Albersweiller, Germany in 1811. David and Henrietta lived in New York continuously until their last years when they moved to Huntsville to live with their son Oscar and his wife Betty. As a young man Morris traveled out of the city for a New York jewelry concern. The Huntsville B’Nai Brith Esora Lodge, an early German Jewish fraternal organization, noted in their minutes dated October 19, 1879 that, “Visiting Brother Oscar Goldsmith was admitted and took his respective seat.” Perhaps Oscar met Morris Bernstein at the Lodge meeting and Morris invited him to dinner and to meet his daughters. Oscar also may have had business dealings with Morris who was in the jewelry and watch repair business. After a brief courtship Oscar and the Bernstein’s middle daughter Betty married in the year 1879. They had two children, Theresa who later married Edward Grosser and Lawrence, my grandfather who later married Annie Schiffman. After their marriage, Oscar and Betty lived with B etty’s parents Morris and Henrietta Bernstein. Oscar Goldsmith‘s early career in Huntsville was in the dry goods business. Later he had a men’s clothing store. According to family lore shared by my grandfather Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Sr., Michael O’Shanaussy and Oscar Goldsmith knew each other during the years Oscar lived in New York. Although there is no documentation regarding the following in the local archives, my grandfather always said that his father Oscar persuaded Michael O’Shanaussy to open the first major textile mill in Huntsville, Dallas Mill. Dallas was the first of four major textile mills to be built in Huntsville. Dallas Mill manufactured cotton sheeting and operated from 1891 until 1948. A Resolution the mill presented to Oscar’s family when he passed away in 1937, noted that Oscar had been their Assistant Treasurer for over thirty years. The local archives reveal that local investors worked with “Northern Capital” to bring the mills to Huntsville. Oscar was a major investor in the mill along with his father in law Morris Bernstein. In addition to his duties at the mill as Assistant Treasurer, Oscar along with other local investors developed housing for the mill workers. Oscar was President of the land company that built the housing development which was named Lawrence Village after his son Lawrence, my grandfather. The housing development was known as a “model village” as it provided a number of amenities for the mill workers including a school, a gym, spacious housing and even a dorm for young girls without family in the area. I can see the fine hand of my great grandmother Betty Bernstein Goldsmith who helped spearhead Huntsville’s first hospital as helping to influence her husband Oscar to establish some of those amenities for the mill workers, especially those for the young single girls. Oscar also was an investor both in stocks and real estate. The folders in the file include several lovely old stock certificates including one of The Tennessee Valley Fair Assoc. and another of Spring City Ice and Coal Co. In addition to his duties at the mill and managing the men’s clothing store where later his son in law Ed Grosser worked, Oscar developed real estate some of which included: houses on the remaining Gates Street lots in the Bernstein estate for his son Lawrence and daughter Theresa and their families; a lovely Queen Ann style house on Franklin Street; and buildings on other vacant lots in the Bernstein Estate. Oscar joined his son Lawrence as an investor in the Huntsville Hotel Company that built the Russel Erskine Hotel. The Hotel as the files on my grandfather Lawrence Goldsmith, Sr. attest, became a major player in the development of Huntsville. In Oscar’s folders are a number of personal correspondences between Oscar and his family members and friends that are heartwarming. Oscar and his wife Betty paid for boarding school (Webb School in Bellbuckle TN) for their grandsons, the three Grosser boys, Oscar, Edward and Maurice and Lawrence Goldsmith. They also paid for the college education of their five grandchildren. In our family collection of archives at the University of Alabama Huntsville there is a file on Oscar and Betty’s grandson Maurice Grosser who went to Harvard that includes a collection of letters exchanged between Maurice and his grandfather that are quite remarkable. Maurice subsequently became a well known artist and writer. His paintings are in museums nationally as well as our local Huntsville Museum of Art. His books on painting were widely circulated and have been used in the curriculum of university art schools. Several years after Oscar and Betty’s marriage, Morris and Henrietta Bernstein built a house for the young couple on the lot next door to them at 204 Gates. It was a large Victorian style house that fortunately was able to accommodate visiting members of the Goldsmith family, and most importantly Oscar’s parents during their last years and Betty’s maiden sister Sophie after her parents Morris and Henrietta Bernstein died. It is interesting to note that Oscar and Betty built houses for their two children after they married on the two remaining lots on the Gates Street portion of the block bounded by Gates, Green, Williams and Franklin that belonged to the Bernstein estate. The Oscar Goldsmith’s five grandchildren have shared with me many happy memories of having their grandparents living next door to them as they grew up. They remembered that their grandparents’ house was always filled with fragrances from the kitchen and from Betty’s garden and Papa Oscar’s cigars. My grandfather Lawrence Goldsmith Sr. remembered his father enjoyed smoking and told me that the dome topped leather chest in our living room was a humidor that held Papa Oscar’s cigars. (Note that in the files there is a receipt from the McGee Hotel for Oscar Goldsmith’s purchase of a humidor that apparently was the humidor I just described.) There was also was a ceramic head wearing a turban that was in one of our bedrooms that was also a humidor. Both humidors were donated to the National Museum of American Jewish History in 2011 and are included in the “Bernstein, Herstein, Schiffman and Goldsmith Collection. “ Oscar was active in both the Huntsville Jewish community and the larger Huntsville community. He was on the building committee of Temple B’nai Sholom in 1898 along with my other great grandfather Isaac Schiffman who was chairman of the building committee. Oscar served as treasurer of the Temple for over thirty years beginning in 1907. He was a member of the local chapter of B’nai Brith, a Jewish fraternal organization, the duties of which included responsibility for the care of the Jewish section of Maple Hill Cemetery. Oscar managed the cemetery for the Lodge and later, after the Lodge no longer managed the cemetery, Oscar took responsibility personally for management of the cemetery, collecting funds each year from Temple members and overseeing the cemetery maintenance. Oscar’s son Lawrence Sr. continued to take care of the cemetery in a similar fashion and after him, my father Lawrence Jr. took care of the cemetery. Oscar also made annual contributions to both the National Jewish Hospital and the Jewish Children’s Home in Denver, organizations for which my grandfather Lawrence Goldsmith continued to support and raise funds. The early records of my grandfather’s collection as chairman of the United Jewish Appeal Drive for over twenty years beginning in 1937 indicate that involvement with the national organization that raised funds for the international Jewish community were initiated by his father Oscar Goldsmith a number of years earlier. This generational involvement in the local, national and international Jewish communities with contributions of both service and finances has continued through the years to include me. There are records in my personal file describing endowment funds that I established in memory of the Goldsmith and Schiffman families for Temple B’nai Sholom and the local and International Jewish Communities as well as records of my service to the Temple and the local, national and international Jewish communities. In civic affairs Oscar was on the executive committee of the Huntsville Board of Trade formed in 1892 and later served as Secretary and treasurer. In addition he was on the board of the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce and at one time served as president. Along with his wife Betty, Oscar was on the first board of The Huntsville Infirmary. It was his wife Betty who led a group of Huntsville ladies to organize the United Charities, an organization that was instrumental in the formation of the Infirmary, Huntsville’s first hospital which later became Huntsville Hospital. Oscar was also an Elk and a Mason. The first major act of philanthropy by our family, a donation of land to the City of Huntsville for the City’s first night playing field for Huntsville’s City Schools occurred shortly before Oscar’s death. The donation was made by Oscar Goldsmith, Lawrence and Annie Goldsmith and Elsie and Robert Schiffman (Annie Goldsmith’s brother and sister in law). The field was named The Goldsmith Schiffman Field in memory of Oscar’s wife Betty Goldsmith and Isaac Schiffman’s wife Betty Schiffman (Isaac had died in 1910). Land for the field was contributed by the donors, the CCC built the rock wall surrounding the field and the Acme Club raised the funds for lighting. The field has been used through the years and as of this writing continues to be used for city sports. Many locals have fond memories of the field as participants in the games or as spectators. Papa Oscar was dearly loved by all his grandchildren who spoke fondly of him and also their grandmother, “Mama Betty.” In one of the folders there is a charming monograph written shortly after Oscar’s death by his granddaughter Betty Grosser Johnston titled “A Day with Papa Oscar.” She ends the monograph with a phrase about her grandfather Oscar Goldsmith, “Nothing describes his life better than The Golden Rule.” Oscar died in 1937, nine years after his wife, Betty. He left a number of bequests including bequests to his “loyal servants” Leroy Harris and Ella Davis and to various charities. I found it interesting that he left the major portion of his estate to his daughter Theresa and his daughter in law Annie Goldsmith (1/2 each) rather than to Theresa and his son Lawrence. I think the will verbiage he used was a loving gesture to his daughter in law as he loved his son Lawrence dearly. The gesture was not to leave Lawrence out of his will because he would receive the assets through his wife Annie. Following is the memorial resolution presented to the family by Dallas Mill when Oscar died. “Whereas it has pleased an all Wise Providence to remove from our midst OSCAR GOLDSMITH who for more than thirty years has served efficiently as a Director and Assistant Treasurer of the Dallas Manufacturing Company; and Whereas we feel that in his passing an Irreparable loss has occurred to the Official Personnel of this Institution; and Whereas, it is our desire to pay a Tribute of Respect to the memory of this Man, whose Gentle Mien and Friendliness has endeared him to us and to all who were fortunate enough to enjoy his association: Now therefore, be it resolved that the Directors of The Dallas Manufacturing Company do deeply Deplore the death of Mr. Goldsmith, and realize in his death the Company has sustained the loss of a faithful and capable Official and the loss of a Wise Counselor and Sincere Friend. Be it further resolved that these Resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this meeting, and a copy thereof delivered to the bereaved family. “ December 15, 1937 The Resolution was signed by six directors.