Phillip and Rosanne Bloom were part of the Brownsville Jewish community for many years. Phil was a pharmacist who worked at Jerry Jokl’s Palm Village Pharmacy. Phil and Rosanne raised two boys, Leonard and Edward. Leonard Bloom became an English professor at Pan American University and is retired. Phil was an avid ham radio operator. Continue Reading »
Oscar Sommer (1889-1971) was a prominent citizen both in Brownsville and Matamoros. Oscar founded and ran a furniture store in downtown Brownsville and lived with his wife Laura on the second floor where they raised their children. When politicians like Lyndon Johnson wanted votes in the Rio Grande Valley, they posed in newspaper photos with Continue Reading »
Adolph D’Acosta was born in Jamaica on November 27, 1881. He was the son ofa plantation owner and was a descendent of early immigrants to Jamaica. The first Jews inJamaica came from Spain and Portugal from 1494-1655 fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. Toconceal their identity they referred to themselves as “Portuguese” or “Spanish” and practicedtheir religion Continue Reading »
Adolph Bollack was born in Riedselz, Alsace, France in 1841. At 15 years old he immigrated to the United States on a 3-mast sailing ship. The voyage was beset by storms andtook 57 days. He moved to New Orleans to start a business. When Louisiana joined the Confederacy, Adolph was conscripted into the Confederate Army Continue Reading »
Arthur Wolff, Union Officer Arthur Wolff, MD, was born in France and immigrated to the US. In 1861, he joined the Union Army during the Civil War and served at Ft. Brown in Brownsville, Texas. After the war, he settled in Brownsville and served as a doctor during the yellow fever epidemic of 1882. To Continue Reading »
Wise, Louis, Union Soldier. At 4:30 o’clock this morning, August 25, 1896, after a long and painful illness, Louis Wise passed away from the ranks of the living to the realm of the dead. He was born 56 years, 1 month and 11 days ago at Mainz, Germany. He came to the United States with Continue Reading »
First a US Soldier then Confederate Soldier Bernard Kowalski was born in Inowrazlaw, Poland in 1821. He immigrated to the United States in 1841 locating in New Orleans where he became a successful businessman. In 1846 he was naturalized as an American citizen and joined the US Army to serve in the Mexican War. He Continue Reading »