Finding (Some) Sam Breakstones

Breakstone Brothers was founded by Joe and Isaac Breakstone in 1897. But where was Sam Breakstone?

We don't have to guess. Thanks to the thirty-year effort of Dr. Walter Miller and Rabbi Jeff Marx, the Breakstone family tree has been preserved in amazing detail.

They didn't just find Sam Breakstone. They found eight of them. But were any of them the right one? A dairyman in turn of the century New York?

This isn't him. It's Saint Albert

of Poland. But he was born in 1845.

So ... there's that.

Samuel Breakstone #1 was born in Poland in 1845. He marries Yetta Braunstein in 1868 and they have a son, Abraham, in 1871. In 1880, the family emigrates to America. Yetta dies in 1908 and is burried in Queens. Strangely, Both Sam and his son Abraham are listed as dying in 1915. Abraham's place of death is listed as Downsville, New York, 130 miles northwest of New York City.

Is this our Sam Breakstone?

Pros:

• Right age.
• In New York at the right time.
• Downsville would become the home of the Breakstone cream cheese plant in 1923.

Cons:

• Born in the wrong country. All the founders of Breakstone Bros. were from Lithuania.
• The Downsville plant was not owned by Breakstone, but by another dairy in 1915.
• This family is not found to be related to any other relatives. They form their own father-mother-son family, outside of the entire Breakstone tree.

Chance of being our Sam Breakstone: 2%

This is what I got when I typed "Annie
Silverman" into Google.  Yoga really
keeps you young.

Samuel Breakstone #2 was born in Lithuania in 1878. He emigrated in 1884 and married Annie Silverman in 1906 in New York City. Their daughter, Beatrice, was born in 1918 and was recorded in the 1930 census. Then, all records about her stop. Sam Breakstone #2 died in 1951.

Pros:

• Born in the right part of the world.
• Was in New York during a time when Breakstone's was active.

Cons:

• Like Sam #1, this Sam cannot be connected to any other members of the Breakstone family. His parents' records are dead ends, as are his wife's, her parents' and their child's.

Chance of being our Sam Breakstone: 2.164%

Dianna Agron from "Glee."  She has nothing to do
with anything.  But she's Jewish, so ... there's that.

Samuel Breakstone #3 was born in 1879, probably in Lithuania (his father, Zelig Breckstein, was born there). He emigrated to New York in 1893. In 1904, he married Lena Purver in Massachusetts. Their first child was born in Massachusetts, but their next two were born in New York City. The next child was born in 1915 in Ohio. Samuel died in 1948, possibly in California. Lena passed away in 1954 and was buried in Chicago.

Pros:

• This Samuel Breakstone is well connected to a huge Breakstone family going back into the 1700s and forward right to today.
• He lived in New York at a time when many Breakstone storefronts were open.
• A Sam Breakstone, with a sister named Sarah, started Breakstone and Levine in 1904, selling butter, cheese and cream. This Sam Breakstone has a sister named Sarah.

Cons:

• This Sam Breakstone cannot be connected to Joe and Isaac Breakstone, their cousin Morris, or any other Breakstone's known to be a part of the operation.
• Sam #3 was under 20 when Breakstone Bros. was founded
• Moving around a whole lot, this Sam Breakstone was in a lot of places that Breakstone's wasn't, especially Massachusetts at the turn of the century and California any time.
• The man who started Breakstone and Levine in New York did so in a year Sam #3 was known to be in Massachusetts and the company ran continuously during a time he was known to have moved to Ohio.
• Sam #3 does have a sister named Sarah, but that's not an uncommon Jewish name. The geneology lists 8 Sarah Breakstones and three Sarah Brecksteins.

Chance of being out Sam Breakstone: 8%

Three naughty Sam Breakstones gone. Five good, sweet little Sam Breakstones left.

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