Max S. Freudenberg I (1857-1921) emigrated from Berlin, Germany to Jersey City, New Jersey in 1869. He was an actuary in the German Department of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, his father worked there as an insurance salesman. He was Jewish and his wife appears to be Protestant. The death of one of his sons was recorded at a German Lutheran church. (b. October 25, 1857; Berlin, Germany - d. March 21, 1921, 5:00 pm; 63 Concord Street, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07306-1617, USA)

Name:
Max S. Freudenberg I, but "Max" was most likely short for Maximilian S. Freudenberg, but all records use "Max". His middle name is most likely "Siegmund" after his father, but no written record of what the "S." was short for has been found to date.

Religion:
His parents were married in a Jewish ceremony in Germany and his father is buried in a Jewish cemetery. His son, Max S. Freudenberg II, had his death recorded at Saint Matthäus Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Kirche, in Hoboken, New Jersey. His son, Louis Julius Freudenberg (1894-1918), was originally buried with a Star of David but that was changed to a Latin cross by his mother. He was Jewish and secular, and his children thought of themselves as Jewish, but their mother thought of them as Lutheran. Legally Judaism passes maternally under Halakha and the Law of Return.

Parents:
Max was the son of Siegmund Freudenberg (1828-1908) and Clara Horwitz (c1830-c1865) of Germany. Max and Clara were married in Eisleben, Germany and lived in Berlin.

Birth:
October 25, 1857 in Berlin, Germany.

Full siblings:
Alfred Freudenberg (1859–?) and Gertrude Freudenberg (1867–1940) who married Martin Schoenwald (1861-1941).

Death of mother:
Clara Horwitz (c1830-c1865) died around 1865 and his father married Augusta Hermann Freudenberg (1835-1904).

Half siblings:
Eddie Freudenburg (1868-1870) who died as an infant of pneumonia; Kate Freudenberg (1869–bef1880); Carry Hildise Freudenberg (1871–bef1880); Harriette Freudenberg (1871–bef1880); and Jennie Freudenberg (1872–1943) who married an Eidelman.

Emigration:
Max Freudenberg arrived in the United States from Germany on May 11, 1869 at age 9, with his two siblings. His father had arrived alone in 1867. The oral family tradition was that he was a cabin boy on a ship and arrived alone. In 2011 it was uncovered in the US census that he lived in New York City with his father and siblings so the oral tradition had been incorrect.

Marriage:
He married Eloise Lindauer (1860-1935) around 1878 and they lived with her parents at 51 8th Street in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. They appear in the 1880 US census at that address. The Lindauers appear to have been Protestant while Max and his parents were Jewish.

Saint Matthew's-Trinity Lutheran Church:
In 1881 they were attending Saint Matthew's-Trinity Lutheran Church on Washington Street and 8th Street in Hoboken. The church was directly across the street from their apartment. The church was also known as Saint Matthaus Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Kirche. The church recorded the death of their child: Max Freudenberg II.

Hoboken to Jersey City:
Eloise and Max rented a home at 89 Adam Street in Hoboken from about 1888 to 1893, then they moved to 220 Madison Street in Hoboken till at least 1903. Most of their children were born at 220 Madison Street. After 1903 they moved to 51 Booraem Avenue in Jersey City and stayed until around 1910. In 1910 they appear on the US Census living at 22 Hopkins Avenue in Jersey City. The family has not been located in the 1920 US Census. They were living at 63 Concord Street in Jersey City when Max died in 1921.

Children:
Eloise and Max had 15 children, 9 lived to adults. The children of Max and Eloise are Baby-Boy Freudenberg (1879): Max S. Freudenberg II (1881) who died as an infant; Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1885-1957) who married Ralph Kohlman (1885-1957) the printer; Charles Frederick Freudenberg (1887-1942) who married Julia Mary Buttomer (1883-1973); Jenny Gertrude Freudenberg (1888) who died as an infant; Clara Freudenberg (1890-1959) who never married; Arthur Oscar Freudenberg I (1891-1968) a real estate broker who married Maria (Mae) Elisabeth Winblad III (1895-1987); Max Freudenberg III (1893-1900) who lived till he was 7 years old and appeared in the 1900 census; Louis Julius Freudenberg (1894-1918) who was killed in action in the last battle of World War I; Harry Freudenberg (1895-1896) who died as an infant; Richard F. Freudenberg I (1896-1988) a chemical salesman who married Charlotte C. Kahrar (1897-1963); Eloise Freudenberg (1898) who died as an infant; Eugene Freudenberg (1900-1956) aka Gene Freudenberg who was a freight handler that married Florence Catherine Skinner (1901-1986) and died of emphysema from smoking; Ralph Freudenberg (1903-1980) a typesetter for the New York Times who married Nora Belle Conklin (1905-1963) and after her death married Lottie Dombrowska (1916-1995); and Grace May Freudenberg (1904-1981) who married George Dewey Sanford I (1898-1965) who worked at a print shop.

Occupation:
In 1922 Max's son, Arthur, wrote: "Maximilian Freudenberg was active in the insurance business in New York City for many years, in the capacity of actuary in the German department of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company". Eloise, his wife wrote in 1918 that Max was a "clerk, [earning] $36.00 per month when [he is] employed. [He] works only about one half the year due to heart trouble".

Death and burial:
Max died on March 21, 1921 of "cardiac insufficiency with chronic parenchymatous nephritis" and he was buried in Flower Hill Cemetery on March 22, 1921. His wife made the final payment on the plot on October 8, 1921 and on that day received the deed to the cemetery plot. He was buried with his wife and several of his children including: Charles Frederick Freudenberg (1886-1942); Clara Freudenberg (1890-1959); Arthur Oscar Freudenberg (1891-1968); Louis Julius Freudenberg (1895-1918); and Eugene Freudenberg (1900-1956). Some of his children that died at birth are buried at Cypress Hill Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York in the Oscar Lindauer plot including: Max S. Freudenberg II (1881) and Jenny Gertrude Freudenberg (1888). Other children that died at birth are buried in Hoboken Cemetery but the plot hasn't been found yet. These children include: Harry Freudenberg (1895-1896) and Eloise Freudenberg (1898). The death certificates show that the children are buried there, but the cemetery has no record of them being interred. The cemetery has been known to resell graves that have no tombstone and claim to the buyer they are virgin graves.

Obituary:
Max Freudenberg. Funeral services for Max Freudenberg, who died on Sunday of heart trouble, will be held from his late residence 63 Concord street, Jersey City, this afternoon at two o'clock. The Rev. Charles C. Cain of Simpson M.E. Church will officiate. Interment will be in Flower Hill Cemetery. The deceased was in his sixty-third year and had lived in Jersey City for several years. In addition to his wife Eloise (nee Lindauer), he is survived by several children. (Source: Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal of Jersey City, New Jersey on March 23, 1921)

Legacy:
No labeled photograph of Max Freudenberg is known to exist, but there is one unlabeled photograph showing the Freudenbergs on the porch of a house taken between 1915 and 1918. There is a man about Max's age in the photograph and he has a mustache and white hair. This may be a photograph of Max Freudenberg or it may be a photograph of the father of the other family shown in the picture. The only other place where a photograph of Max Freudenberg may exist will be with the descendants of Grace Freudenberg. Of the 9 children to survive into adults only 5 of them had children and grandchildren and their lines are extant: Arthur, Richard, Eugene, Ralph, and Grace.

Uncompleted tasks:
Max's obituary, marriage certificate, and appearance in the 1920 US census have still not been located.

Relationship:
Maximilian S. Freudenberg I (1858-1921) was the great-grandfather of Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ).

Research:
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) for Findagrave starting on July 14, 2003. Updated on February 7, 2011 with information on the missing Freudenberg child that died at birth in 1879 and the death of Max III in 1900. Updated on August 18, 2011 with the removal of information on Clara Horwitz, it is now clear that she was Jewish and she was not "Clara Charlotte Horwitz" of Berlin. Updated on May 12, 2013 with his date of migration. Updated on October 4, 2014 with information from the cemetery deed. Updated on July 7, 2015 with 1857 as his year of birth. Updated on October 25, 2023 by correcting the year he arrived in the United States as 1869. Updated on January 16, 2024 with the text from his obituary.

.