A Brief History of the Chudnow Family in Milwaukee
Written by Lois (Chudnow) Infeld
Sarah Cooper and Max Chudnow both came from a small village in the Ukraine called Ekatrinislav. Max ran a feed store. Sarah, who came from a somewhat wealthy family, learned to read and write Russian, which was unusual for girls of this time. She even became a nurse/midwife. Max was drafted into the Tsar’s White Army and served one term (and possibly was supposed to return for a second term). Instead, he emigrated sometime after 1903 to New York City. Two of his brothers and sisters (including David Chudnow the Elder’s father Isidor) also emigrated at that time. Sarah remained in the village along with their first born son, Sam. After about two years, Sarah and Sam made the ocean crossing as well and the little family settled on the Lower East Side. Max supported them by being a peddler. Annabel, Ruth, and baby Rose were all born in New York. Then Isidor announced that the whole family should relocate to Milwaukee. I’m not sure of the reason, but they all agreed to do so. This was sometime before 1913, because my father, Abe, was born in Milwaukee. Sarah’s brothers, who had also come to New York, also moved west. Max continued his peddling and became head of the Peddler’s Association in Milwaukee. They kept a horse, Blackie, to pull the wagon and the children were involved with its care. Sarah continued to act as a midwife, at one point delivering a neighbor’s daughter. Many years later, when she took a taxi home, the driver, on pulling up to the 14th St. house, announced that she was the “baby” Sarah had delivered many years previously.
After a few years in New York, Isidor felt the family should move west again – this time to California. Grandma Sarah said “No more moving!” but the others went with Isidor and established the west coast branch of the Chudnows. Several members of this generation have also followed their manifest destiny and settled on the west coast, while a few migrated back to the eastern shores.
Grandma loved to read books written in Russian. The Milwaukee Public Library had a very limited collection of such books, but several of the cousins, including me, checked them out for her and she read them over and over again. She once told me that “Tolstoy was her favorite composer!” and that his book/composition Resurrection, was her favorite book.
Although she spoke somewhat fractured English, she always got her point across and was very good at getting people to do what she wanted them to, from the telephone operators, who always placed her phone calls (despite the fact that she was supposed to dial herself) to the wealthy businessmen who were her favorite targets for fund raising for the charities she supported. In fact, when her death notice appeared in the Milwaukee Journal, we received many condolence cards from those same telephone operators.
Sarah and Max's other children, Ben, Joe, Erv and Louis were also born in Milwaukee. Louis died at the age of 3 due to complications of appendicitis. Sarah became a force for charitable fund raising in the Jewish community. She helped organize the Bikkur Cholim Society to assist Jewish families in need and used her children to help deliver food baskets. Due to her nursing background, she became interested in providing a Jewish rehabilitation center for people who had been hospitalized. This was an unusual concept at the time, but she persevered and in 1950 saw her dream come true with the ground breaking of the Convalescent Home. This concept later evolved into the Sarah Chudnow Campus.
Sarah Cooper and Max Chudnow both came from a small village in the Ukraine called Ekatrinislav. Max ran a feed store. Sarah, who came from a somewhat wealthy family, learned to read and write Russian, which was unusual for girls of this time. She even became a nurse/midwife. Max was drafted into the Tsar’s White Army and served one term (and possibly was supposed to return for a second term). Instead, he emigrated sometime after 1903 to New York City. Two of his brothers and sisters (including David Chudnow the Elder’s father Isidor) also emigrated at that time. Sarah remained in the village along with their first born son, Sam. After about two years, Sarah and Sam made the ocean crossing as well and the little family settled on the Lower East Side. Max supported them by being a peddler. Annabel, Ruth, and baby Rose were all born in New York. Then Isidor announced that the whole family should relocate to Milwaukee. I’m not sure of the reason, but they all agreed to do so. This was sometime before 1913, because my father, Abe, was born in Milwaukee. Sarah’s brothers, who had also come to New York, also moved west. Max continued his peddling and became head of the Peddler’s Association in Milwaukee. They kept a horse, Blackie, to pull the wagon and the children were involved with its care. Sarah continued to act as a midwife, at one point delivering a neighbor’s daughter. Many years later, when she took a taxi home, the driver, on pulling up to the 14th St. house, announced that she was the “baby” Sarah had delivered many years previously.
After a few years in New York, Isidor felt the family should move west again – this time to California. Grandma Sarah said “No more moving!” but the others went with Isidor and established the west coast branch of the Chudnows. Several members of this generation have also followed their manifest destiny and settled on the west coast, while a few migrated back to the eastern shores.
Grandma loved to read books written in Russian. The Milwaukee Public Library had a very limited collection of such books, but several of the cousins, including me, checked them out for her and she read them over and over again. She once told me that “Tolstoy was her favorite composer!” and that his book/composition Resurrection, was her favorite book.
Although she spoke somewhat fractured English, she always got her point across and was very good at getting people to do what she wanted them to, from the telephone operators, who always placed her phone calls (despite the fact that she was supposed to dial herself) to the wealthy businessmen who were her favorite targets for fund raising for the charities she supported. In fact, when her death notice appeared in the Milwaukee Journal, we received many condolence cards from those same telephone operators.
Sarah and Max's other children, Ben, Joe, Erv and Louis were also born in Milwaukee. Louis died at the age of 3 due to complications of appendicitis. Sarah became a force for charitable fund raising in the Jewish community. She helped organize the Bikkur Cholim Society to assist Jewish families in need and used her children to help deliver food baskets. Due to her nursing background, she became interested in providing a Jewish rehabilitation center for people who had been hospitalized. This was an unusual concept at the time, but she persevered and in 1950 saw her dream come true with the ground breaking of the Convalescent Home. This concept later evolved into the Sarah Chudnow Campus.