Siegmund Freudenberg (1828-1908) was a merchant in Jewish - Germany born in Magdeburg, Germany. He migrated from Berlin, Germany to the United States on January 3, 1856. He worked as a clerk at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Manhattan, New York City and later worked and lived in Philadelphia. Before his death he moved back to Manhattan. (b. 1828; Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany - March 23, 1908; Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York County, New York, USA)

Name:
Siegmund Freudenberg, and Sigmund Freudenberg.

Parents:
Moses Freudenberg (1786-1846) and Henrietta Wolff (1796-1868). The name of his parents from his death certificate was thought to be "Shmuel Freudenberg" and "Rosie Cohen". However on October 23, 2018 David Keays found a document at the Jewish Museum in Berlin that was prepared by Hans Schwerin (1878-1945) circa 1940 and it showed that Siegmund's parents was Moses Freudenberg and Henrietta Wolff.

Birth:
He was born in 1828 in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. He listed "Prussia" in the 1870 census as his place of birth. His children were born in Berlin, Germany.

Siblings:
He had 9 siblings according to the Berlin stammtafel: Valentin Freudenberg (1814-1883); Johanna Freudenberg (1816-1888) who married a Salomon; Moritz Freudenberg (1819-1876); Bernhard Freudenberg (1823-1877) who married Bertha Abraham (1828-1888) on 7 June 1852 in Berlin; Siegmund Freudenberg (1828-1908) who married Clara Horwitz (1835-c1861) on January 3, 1856 in Eisleben, Germany and after her death married Augusta Hermann (1835-1904); Friederike Freudenberg (1829-1908) who married Ephraim Israel Fliess; Ottomar Freudenberg (1831-1907); Rudolph Freudenberg (1832-1882); Gustav Freudenberg (1834-1902); and Fanni Franziska Freudenberg (1836-1905) who married Jacob Richter (1829-1910).

Religion:
Siegmund Freudenberg was Jewish.

First marriage:
Siegmund married Clara Horwitz (1835-c1861) on January 3, 1856 in Eisleben, Germany. Eisleben was the hometown of Martin Luther. The wedding was Jewish and Sigmund and Clara were listed as Jewish. Clara was transcribed as "Anna". Sigmund Freudenberg was working as a "kaufmann", or tradesman. The document lists the father of the bride but not of the groom. The full text in German is as follows: "1857. Laut Verhandlung vom 22. Dezember 1856, (Vol I, fol. 258, den Akten der Beglaubigungen der Heiraten unter den Juden betreffend) haben der Kaufmann Siegmund Freudenberg zu Berlin und die Jungfrau Clara Harwitz, Tochter des verstorbenen Kaufmanns Aaron Harwitz, zu Eisleben geboren, am vierten März 1832, welche zu der jüdischen Glaubensgemeinschaft zugehören, erklärt, daß sie fortan als ehelich miteinander verbunden betrachten wollen. Eisleben, am dritten Januar eintausend achthundert siebenundfünfzig. Schnorbusch Protokollführer." Translated into English it reads: "1857. According to law of December 22, 1856, (Volume I, folio 258, the files of the legalization of marriages among Jews) have the merchant Siegmund Freudenberg of Berlin and the virgin Clara Horwitz, daughter of the late businessman Aronne Horwitz of Eisleben, born on the March 4, 1832, which belong to the Jewish community, declared that henceforth it will consider as legitimate linked. Eisleben, January 3, 1857. Schnorrbusch, secretary."

Berlin:
By 1858 he was living in Berlin where his children were born. The first clue that the family was from Berlin came from the World War I draft registration of Richard F. Freudenberg (1896-1988) in 1918. Richard was his grandson.

Children:
Max S. Freudenberg I (1858-1921); Alfred Freudenberg (1859-?); and Gertrude Freudenberg (1867-1940) who married Martin Schoenwald (1861-1941). All the children were born in Berlin. The names of the children come from the 1870 US census.

Death of first wife:
Clara most likely died in Germany around 1865 or 1867. Her last child is listed as born in New York, but that may be an error since she does not appear on the ship bringing Siegmund or the ship that later brought their children. Another possibility is that she died aboard the ship before the manifest was written and was buried at sea, but she most likely would have been recorded on the manifest.

Migration:
Siegmund arrived in New York City from Hamburg on March 16, 1867 aboard the S/S Hammonia (built in 1866) and he was listed as a merchant. The ship had left Hamburg, Germany on March 2, 1867. This appears to be the maiden voyage of the ship. He is listed as "S. Freudenberg" on the manifest as a "miner" but a second version transcribed by Castle Garden has him listed as "Siegmu. Freudenberg" and a "merchant". Max Freudenberg arrived with his siblings on May 11, 1869 aboard the S/S Westphalia. They all appear in the 1870 US census.

Second marriage:
He married Augusta Hermann (1835-1904) between 1867 and 1868. Augusta was from Walldorf, Saxon, Germany according to the 1870 census.

Children:
Eddie Frudenberg (1868-1870) who died as an infant from pneumonia; Kate Freudenberg (1869–bef1880); Carry Hildise Freudenberg (1871–bef1880); Harriette Freudenberg (1871–bef1880); and Jennie Freudenberg (1872–1943) who married Joseph Eidelman (1871-?). All the children were born in Manhattan.

Manhattan and Philadelphia:
In 1870 he was living in Manhattan, New York City, New York and was listed as "Siegmund Freudenberg". He was an agent for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. In 1880 he was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 51. Siegmund resided at 935 North 6th Street. His occupation was listed as "life insurance". In 1905 he was living in Manhattan, New York City, New York and was listed as the retired father-in-law of Joseph Eidelman.

Death:
He died on March 23, 1908 at 2 East 116th Street in Harlem in Manhattan. His death certificate was number "9795" and he died of asthma with chronic bronchitis.

Burial:
Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City, New York.

Relationship:
Siegmund Freudenberg (1828-1908) was the second great-grandfather of Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ).

Rediscovery:
The "Siegmund Freudenberg" (1830-1908) who died on March 23, 1908 in Manhattan was a suspect for being our Sigmund based solely on his name and age, but there was no documentary evidence. The family oral tradition was the Max came alone as crew on a ship and stayed on in the US illegally by "jumping ship". This story appears to be apocryphal. Records on Siegmund were difficult to find, he did not appeared in the 1880 or 1900 census with other family members and he was not buried with the other family members in Cypress Hill Cemetery in Brooklyn; or in Flower Hill Cemetery in North Bergen, New Jersey. On June 6, 2011, Kevin Borland (born 1975) discovered more information on Sigmund Freudenberg from the 1870 census that contained both Max and Siegmund together. The information was improperly transcribed at Ancestry.com but was correctly transcribed at Familysearch.com. This let him connect the Siegmund that died in 1908 to our Siegmund. He wrote: "I also found Sigmund Freudenburg's second wife Augusta, after Clara died. Sigmund had a [daughter] Gertrude, and a [daughter] Jennie, hence the origin of the name Jenny Gertrude. We'll have to search Philadelphia records to prove it's the same family, but I think it is, because Max is in the household in 1870 when they lived in New York, before Sigmund shows up in Philadelphia 1880. Sigmund sold life insurance. His office was across the street from the US Mint. Siegmund Freudenberg died March 23, 1908 in Manhattan. Up until then, he was living with his daughter Jennie (Freudenberg) Eidelman." Kevin then found him in the 1880 census and the 1905 census and found the names of the children from his second wife. On June 8, 2011, I found the marriage online and found that Max and Clara were married in a Jewish ceremony. I also found the death date for his second wife, Augusta. The information makes sense since Max ended up working at the same company as Sigmund, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The name Sigmund Freudenberg or Siegmund Freudenberg is very rare so that the odds of two of them born around the the same time being confused is remote. There is a second Siegmund Freudenberg, but he lived in Chicago. On January 21, 2013 I found the ship manifest of Siegmund arriving on 16 Mar 1867. He is listed as "S. Freudenberg" on the manifest but a second version transcribed by Castle Garden has him listed as "Siegmu. Freudenberg". A search of the same Castle Garden website found Max Freudenberg arriving with his siblings on 11 May 1869. This fit perfectly with the estimated arrival of 1865, since they appeared on the 1870 census and not the 1860 census. On October 23, 2018 David Keays photographed the stammtafel from the Jewish Museum in Berlin that was prepared by Hans Schwerin (1878-1945) circa 1940 that shows Siegmund Freudenberg.

Research:
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) for Findagrave starting on September 10, 2003. Updated on November 3, 2018 with the stammtafel from the Jewish Museum Berlin that was prepared by Hans Schwerin (1878-1945) circa 1925 and was rediscovered by David Keays. Updated on February 21, 2019 with information on the S/S Hammonia. Updated on September 1, 2019 with the names of his siblings. Updated on March 20, 2020 with the date of the stammtafel from the Jewish Museum Berlin.

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