William (Kaminkowitz) Minkoff (abt. 1878 - 1966)

Born about 15 Jan 1878 in Minsk, Russia

Husband of Bessie (Gordon) Minkoff — married 12 Mar 1905 in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 15 Apr 1966 at about age 88 in New York, United States [uncertain]

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Willie (Kaminkowitz) Minkoff migrated from Russian Empire to United States.

Biography

William was probably born January 15, 1878 (see Notes) in Minsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire.^[1] His parents were Nathan Kaminkowitz Minkoff and Sadie (Mushen) Kaminkowitz.^[2]

William immigrated to the United States, after first living in London, England. He departed from Southampton, England aboard the SS New York and arrived September 12, 1899 in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States.^[1]

William (shown as Willie Kominkowitz) married Bessie Gordon, also a Russian immigrant, March 12, 1905 in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States^[2] and they had two children (see Notes).

In 1905, William (shown as Willie, age 22) and Bessie (age 21) lived at 1751 First Avenue in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States. Willie was a storekeeper.^[3]

In 1906, William Kaminkowitz was the proprietor of a variety store located at 1751 First Avenue in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States.^[4]

By 1910, William had changed his last name to Minkoff. He was a merchant, living at 342 Henry Street in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States when he declared his intention to become a United States citizen on October 11, 1910. William was 5' 9" tall, weighed 165 lbs., and had black hair and blue eyes.^[1]

In 1915, William (age 35) and Bessie (age 30) lived at 308 Main Street in Fort Lee, Bergen, New Jersey, United States with children Henrietta (shown as Henriette, age 8) and Abraham (age 5). Margarette Johnson (age 40), an Irish immigrant was a servant living with them.^[5]

When William registered for the World War I draft September 12, 1918, he indicated his address as "581 Hudson St New York" (meaning Manhattan), his nationality as Russian, and his nearest relative as "Mrs. Bessie Minkoff". At the time, William was self employed at a cigar store at the same address as his home. He was of medium height and slender, with dark brown hair and blue eyes.^[6]

In 1920, William (age 43) and Bessie (age 34) lived at 581 Hudson Street in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States with children Henrietta (age 12) and Abraham (age 10). Willie's business was stationery.^[7]

After Abraham's death in 1925,^[8] in 1930, William (age 47) and Bessie (age 43) paid $125 per month rent for their apartment at 656 Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States. William was a storekeeper and had a stationery store.^[9]

In 1940, William (age 60) and Bessie (age 54) owned their home (valued at $2,800) at 654 Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, New York, United States. William was a salesman in a candy store.^[10]

When William registered for the World War II draft in 1942, he lived at 654 Myrtle Ave in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States. He listed his birth place as "Mintzka", Russia, his nearest relative as Bessie Minkoff, and he was unemployed. William was 5' 9" tall, weighed 165 lbs., and had gray hair, hazel eyes, and six toes on his right foot.^[11]

Willie was still living in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States at the time of his death on April 15, 1966.^[12] He was probably buried April 27, 1966 in the Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, New York, United States.^[13]

Notes

Birth Date
Willie's exact birth date appears in three records, with only a month's variation. An approximate birth year, varying between 1877 and 1894, appears in seven additional records:

• about 1877 in 1920 census^[7]
• January 15, 1878 in Declaration of Intent to Become a Citizen, ^[1] World War I draft registration,^[6] and Social Security Death Index^[12]
• February 18, 1878 in World War II draft registration^[11]
• February 1880 in 1915 New Jersey census^[5]
• about 1880 in marriage record^[2] and 1940 census^[10]
• about 1883 in 1905 census^[3] and 1930 census^[9]
• about 1894 in naturalization petition (which showed his age as of the date he declared his intention to become a citizen)^[1]

Children
William's known children were:

• Henrietta (Yetta) Kaminkowitz (Minkoff), born February 24, 1907 in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, died May 14, 2002
• Abraham (Kaminkowitz) Minkoff, born 1909 in United States, died October 27, 1925 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States

Disambiguation
At least two other people with the same name lived contemporaneously with Willie in New York City:

• William Minkoff is shown in the 1915 census living in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States with his wife, Fannie, and several children. Also born in Russia, but about 1865, he immigrated to the United States about 1903.^[14]
• William Minkoff is shown in the 1940 census living at 11 Amboy St in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States with his wife, who is also named Bessie. Also born in Russia, but about 1910, he worked as a waiter and his wife was an office worker.^[15]

The following records are also for one or two different persons with the same name:

• William Minkoff declared his intent to become a naturalized American citizen in 1922 in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States.^[16]
• William Minkoff was 27 years old when he became a United States citizen in 1933, according to his petition for same filed in the United States District Court in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States.^[17]

Sources

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]}

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, DC; NAI Title: Index to Petitions for Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906; NAI Number: 5700802; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21, New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943 [database on-line], Ancestry.com, 2013, (see Image). A paid subscription is required to access this information.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940, database, FamilySearch (accessed 23 March 2016), Willie Kominkowitz and Bessie Gordon, 12 Mar 1905; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,557,042.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} New York State Census, 1905, database with images, FamilySearch (20 July 2018), Bessie Kaminkowitz in household of Willie Kaminkowitz, Manhattan, A.D. 30, E.D. 23, New York, New York; citing p. 63, line 48, various county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 1,433,112, (see Image).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line], Ancestry.com, 2011. A paid subscription is required to access this information.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} New Jersey State Census, 1915, database, FamilySearch (accessed 26 March 2016), Bessie Minkoff in entry for William Minkoff, 1915, (see Image).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, database with images, FamilySearch (12 December 2014), William Minkoff, 1917-1918; citing New York City no 100, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,765,751, (see Image).
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} United States Census, 1920, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 26 March 2016), New York > New York > Manhattan Assembly District 3 > ED 231 > image 1 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), (see Image).
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949, database, FamilySearch (accessed 26 March 2016), William Minkoff in entry for Abraham Minkoff, 27 Oct 1925; citing Death, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 2,048,057.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} United States Census, 1930, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 26 March 2016), New York > Kings > Brooklyn (Districts 1251-1500) > ED 1496 > image 14 of 26; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), (see Image).
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} United States Census, 1940, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 26 March 2016), New York > Kings > New York City, Brooklyn, Assembly District 11 > 24-1232 New York City, Brooklyn Borough Assembly District 11 (Tract 235 - part) > image 22 of 34; citing NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), (see Image).
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, database with images, FamilySearch (7 April 2016), William Minkoff, 1942; citing NARA microfilm publication M1936, M1937, M1939, M1951, M1962, M1964, M1986, M2090, and M2097 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} United States Social Security Death Index, database, FamilySearch (20 May 2014), William Minkoff, 15 Apr 1966; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Find a Grave, memorial for William Minkoff, (accessed September 24, 2017).
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} New York State Census, 1915, database, FamilySearch (8 November 2014), Willie Minkoff, New York, A.D. 21, E.D. 15, Kings, New York, United States; from "New York, State Census, 1915," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing p. 55, line 32, state population census schedules, 1915, New York State Archives, Albany.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} United States Census, 1940, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 25 September 2017), William Minkoff, Assembly District 23, Brooklyn, New York City, Kings, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 24-2845, sheet 16B, line 75, family , Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2621.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} [https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFXN-TN3 New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980," database with images, FamilySearch (6 December 2014), William Minkoff, 1921; citing Naturalization, New York, New York, United States, the offices of county clerk from various counties; FHL microfilm 1,522,490.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} New York, Eastern District Naturalization Petitions, Index, 1865-1957, database, FamilySearch (6 December 2014), William Minkoff, 1933; from "Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing Court U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957, NARA microfilm publication 1164 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1991), roll 95.