Preserving Jewish Heritage in Texas Texas Jewish Est. 1980 Historical Society November 2017 News Magazine Winter Board IN THIS ISSUE: Meeting Message from the President .............................. 2 Frapart Family, Brownsville, Texas ................. 3 in Gonzales, Texas by Jules Frapart Pictures and Notes from the ...........................4-5 Board Meeting Florence Bates: Pioneer Jewish San Antonio Lawyer and Golden Age Hollywood Actress .......................... 6 by Judith W, Rosenthal Hurricane Harvey Attacks the Texas Coastal Bend in a Fury— August 27, 2017 ...................................... 7 Contributions...................................................... 7 This is a replica of the Come And Take It flag that flew over San Antonio’s Northside School District Gonzales during the first battle of the Texas Revolution in 1835. It Dedicates Nathan Kallison currently hangs at the State Capitol in Austin. Elementary ............................................. 8 Come to Gonzales January 12-14, 2018! All members by Kal Kallison are welcome. The Texas Jewish Historical Society will hold Committee Chairs .............................................. 9 its Winter Board Meeting in Gonzales, Texas, home of the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution in 1835. The Denn Family of Bay City, Part 1 ............. 10 Join us as we tour the Gonzales History Museum, the by Vickie Vogel unique Jail Museum, and a driving tour of homes of Jew- ish families and other Victorian and Greek Revival homes. TJHS Charter Members .................................. 14 TJHS members from Gonzales will participate in the Grant Application ............................................ 15 program relating their experiences growing up and living in this interesting community. Meet Your Board .............................................. 16 In addition, there will be a cemetery ghost tour with possible appearances by some of the inhabitants. Guess this Member........................................... 19 Luxurious historic B&B accommodations await you, Grants Awarded at the Marshall Board along with a Holiday Inn Express. Be aware that the rooms Meeting on October 22, 2017 .............. 20 in the B&Bs are all on the second floor, with no elevators by Hollace Weiner available. You can meet longtime friends and make new ones as we dine at local restaurants. All meals and museum In Memoriam .................................................... 20 fees are included in the registration fee. TJHS Explores Jewish Panama ...................... 21 Please note the deadline for hotel reservations is De- by Vickie Vogel cember 12, so make yours now and send your registration to the address on the form included in this issue. See you in Gonzales! Texas Jewish Historical Society - November 2017 Page 1 Message from the President by Davie Lou Solka We had a good Board Meet- the last Jewish family who store, including an original sign and ing in Marshall October 20- lives in Marshall. One of shoe-type storage boxes for his papers. 22, 2017, with an interesting, the many highlights was vis- When we visited the Marshall Train full program planned by Sally iting the exhibit on the Jews Depot, which is another wonderful Drayer. We began the week- of Marshall at the Harrison museum, we saw the plaque honoring end with a delicious Shabbat County Historical Museum. Louis and Audrey, who was mayor of dinner at Temple Emanu-El in TJHS awarded a grant to Marshall at the time, displayed in the Longview. Temple Emanu-El help with this exhibit, which waiting room. began as a congregation when included the Ark and other Other visits included the Hebrew my congregation in Kilgore, artifacts from Temple Moses Cemetery, the Michaelson Art Museum, Beth Sholom, closed. It was a home- Montefiore that had been in storage at and the site of Temple Moses Montefio- coming for me because my parents the museum since the Temple closed re, which now has the Municipal Court were members there, and I saw many in 1980. Audrey also had some papers Building on the property. At the site, items from my childhood in Kilgore. and artifacts from the Temple, so there Gail Beil, Marshall City Commission- Rusty Milstein has done a wonder- was quite a bit for this exhibit—with er, Place 2, wearing a beautiful lace- ful job of preserving artifacts from more to come! placed-on-the-back black mourning Congregation Beth Sholom, as well We saw Audrey and Louis’s hand dress, told us about the Jews of Mar- as from Temple Moses Montefiore in Marshall everywhere we visited. shall. Saturday night after dinner and in Marshall. Thanks to him, Temple One place was the Law Office of some shopping in the restaurant, we Emanu-El is a wonderful repository/ Michael Smith, which is located in heard from Janet Cook, Executive Di- museum for the Jews of East Texas. the building that housed The Hub, a rector of the Harrison County Historical Sally enlisted the help of Audrey shoe store owned by the Kariel family. Museum, and Gayle Weinberg, Director and Louis Kariel, TJHS members and Mr. Smith had many items from the of Development of the Michaelson Art Museum, speaking on the Kariel’s memories of Jewish Marshall. The Texas Jewish Historical Society In addition to many committee re- ports, at the Board Meeting, we award- November 2017 ed a $3,000 grant to Marlene Trestman Quarterly News Magazine from Baltimore, who is researching descendants of the children who lived The Texas Jewish Historical Society News Magazine is published four in the Orphans’ Home in New Orleans times annually. Stories about Texas Jewish history, oral histories, and re- in the early part of the twentieth centu- quests for assistance with research are welcome, as are photographs and his- ry. A grant of $4,000 was awarded to torical documents. Please provide color photocopies or scans at 300 dpi or Dr. Joshua Furman of Rice University, greater in gif, tif, or jpg format, and send electronically to Editor Jack Solka who along with volunteers, is retriev- at [email protected] or by mail to 3808 Woodbrook Circle, Austin, TX 78759, continued on page 14 512-527-3799. Be sure to include your name and contact information. The News Magazine of the Editor Jack Solka Texas Jewish Historical Society Layout/Design Editor Alexa Kirk (USPS) is published four times a year by the Texas Jewish Histor- Note: The Texas Jewish Historical Society is unable to ical Society, P. O. Box 10193, guarantee the safe receipt and/or return of documents Austin, Texas 78766-0193, Travis and photographs. It is strongly recommended that you County. Periodical postage paid provide color photocopies of both color and black & at Houston, Texas. Postmaster, white documents. We welcome your comments and send address changes to the Texas suggestions. Jewish Historical Society, P. O. Visit us on the web at www.txjhs.org. Box 10193, Austin, Texas 78766- 0193. www.txjhs.org Page 2 Texas Jewish Historical Society - November 2017 Frapart Family, Brownsville, Texas by Jules Frapart Growing up in Brownsville, I The store was called Ralph’s of Palm parents as part of my research of the did not know about our rich family Village. Eventually Ralph would take Frapart side of the family. I discov- history until I started asking questions on new partners in Henry and Mildred ered our connection to Texas history of my father, Ralph Frapart, and my Dorfman Fruhling, Sarah’s sister and was Lewis A. Levy, Johanna Kaiser’s great-grandmother, Johanna Kaiser. brother-in-law. great-grandfather, and his brother Dr. Moses Albert Levy, sometimes mentioned as Dr. Albert Moses Levy. They were born in Amsterdam, Neth- erlands, to Abraham and Rachel Levy. The family migrated to the United States via London in 1818, settling in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Albert Moses Levy completed medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1832, married and lived in Richmond, Virginia. After his wife died, he moved to New Orleans to join his older brother, Lewis A. Levy. According to the Handbook of Texas Online, Dr. Albert Moses Levy joined the New Orleans Greys, a mil- itary unit formed to aid in the Texas War of Independence, and within two Elizabeth Street in Brownsville, Texas, c. 1865. months he was appointed surgeon in chief of the volunteer army of Texas. My kids are 7th generation Texans. My grandparents, Herbert and He fought in the battle of the siege of Did any of my family take part in Francis Kaiser Frapart, moved to Bexar where he was wounded. Once Texas history since we have been here Brownsville in the mid-1950s to be he recovered, he joined the small for so long? closer to their son and daughter-in-law, Texas Navy and served briefly on the My father, Ralph Frapart, met Ralph and Sarah May, and their new schooner Brutus. David G. Burnet, and married Sarah May Dorfman grandson, Jules. In the same shopping president of the Republic of Texas, from Brownsville. They moved to center, Herbert and Francis opened signed Levy’s papers appointing him a Brownsville with the encouragement stores called Tot-to-Teen and The Stag surgeon in the navy in March 1836. In of Sarah’s parents, Isadore and Doro- Shop. Later they turned over owner- 1837, Levy’s ship, the Independence, thy Oshman Dorfman. Isadore had a ship of those stores to their youngest was captured by two Mexican brigs- jewelry store in downtown Browns- son and daughter-in-law, Lewis and of-war, and he was taken prisoner ville but on orders from his doctor Kay Shapiro Frapart, who had moved along with the other Texas sailors. closed it and opened an office where to Brownsville from Houston. After 3 months in a Mexican prison, he continued his passion in jewelry Sam Kaiser and Johanna Lewis he was able to escape, swim across and diamonds. Ralph and Sarah were Kaiser, my great-grandparents, lived in the Rio Grande River and walk to starting their new life on the inter- Houston where Sam was a successful Matagorda, Texas.