Henry Richstein (1914-1915)

Henry Richstein was born 20 Jan 1914 in Brooklyn, second child of Isador Richstein and Bessie Levison. His parents were both immigrants, he came c. 1904 from Russia (I have not found his immigration record), she also from Russia, but via England and South Africa.They married in Brooklyn in 1909. In the 1915 NY State census, they are both naturalized.

Henry was found dead in his crib by his older sister, who was about 4 years old at the time. Years later, when she went to college as an adult, she wrote the following for an assignment.

When I was about 3 yrs old, one morning I went in to awaken my baby brother, who was then about 18 months old. I called him and touched him, but got no response. I ran to call my mother, and told her Henry didn’t answer me or move.
Mother came in with me, and I sensed immediately that something was very wrong. She called the doctor, and unfortunately, my little brother was dead.
It seems a cousin of mine had taken him out of the house the day before without mother’s permission. The doctor said he might have been dropped from the carriage, and this caused brain damage, he died in his sleep.
This was a most tragic time for me.

I can’t image what it must be for a child to go through this, to experience death at such a young age.  Whether they really blamed the cousin, who were living in the same address, I don’t know, but the death certificate states that Henry died of an intestinal obstruction. But that does not change his sister’s experience.

Henry is buried in Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Garden, Queens, in an area, where his grandfather David was buried, as well as later his parents. His little stone is no longer there, time has taken his toll. He was my son-in-law’s grand-uncle, although it is hard to think of a child as an uncle. But we remember him.