Uncertain of how to proceed, Grisha Goluboff's parents asked a lawyer, Mr Isadore Nobel, for advice. He became Grisha's guardian and companion. When Henry Ford heard the little boy playing he gave him a Stradivarius violin plus a limousine to get about in. He sounds like a well adjusted boy, with varied interests such as soccer, photography and astronomy! If you are interested you can see and hear him play the violin on 'you tube'. He was nine at the time! British Movietone put this on in July 2015. Google on 'Boy Violinist Wins Fame'.
Grisha's Father is with him and Isadore Nobel in 1932 on the SS 'Bremen', sailing from Cherbourg to New York. All three give their address as 416 Kearney Street, San Francisco. Mischa Elman boarded at Bremerhaven and his US address is 262 Central Park West, New York City.
These Ancestry.com passenger lists are wonderful for the background information that they provide, particularly when it concerns naturalised US citizens and those who have changed their original surnames. On this occasion Grisha Goluboff has become Garson Holcombe aged nine!
All this is not really part of Nancie's story but I included it to show the fun of research and of googling, in particular. I call it 'going off at a tangent'! It helps me hone my research skills.
Maybe there is a connection with Nancie's friend Vladim de Gouloubeff who appears in her address book but I have yet to find it.
Sunday, 13 May 2018
Saturday, 12 May 2018
Mischa Elman and Grisha Goluboff - a musical interlude.
Sometimes, when researching, I find myself going off at a tangent and following some obscure 'twiglet' that I have come across on Google.There are some amazing websites on the internet, if only one had the time to explore them. One such site is called, 'Discovering Chaplin' and is all about Charlie Chaplin, the famous film star. There is a photograph of Charlie Chaplin with Feodor Chaliapin and his daughter, in Biarritz. The two men, whilst staying in the Hotel Miramar, in Biarritz, were invited to a party at the home of Mischa Elman, the virtuoso violinist, who owned 'an estate in St Jean de Luz'. This was in 1931. At this party they joined in the entertainment, reversing their normal roles. Charlie sang some old Russian songs and Chaliapin did a comedy routine!
Mischa Elman was born in Russia in 1891 and he died in 1967.He became a US citizen in 1923 but made many of his recordings in Paris. During the summer months he taught the violin in his St Jean de Luz estate, on the bay. Suzuki, the Japanese man who started the method named after him, of teaching very young children to play the violin, is said to have done so after hearing recordings of Elman playing the violin.
There is a photograph of Mischa Elman on another website which concerns historical clothing (histclo.com).He is sitting on board the ship SS Bremen, going from New York to Europe, with his arm round a young boy called Grisha Goluboff. I have found them returning to New York, again on the SS Bremen, in 1934. Having been a child prodigy himself, Mischa Elman took a great interest in Grisha Goluboff.
Grisha was the son of another Russian emigre who changed his name to Holcombe. He had been a wealthy jeweller in Russia but escaped, after being shot in the arm. He managed to reach America where he married and had a family. In the 1930 census he is a Watchmaker. The story goes that his three year old son picked up his Father's violin one day and showed such promise that his Father paid for him to have lessons. After a couple of years he was good enough to perform with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.
Mischa Elman was born in Russia in 1891 and he died in 1967.He became a US citizen in 1923 but made many of his recordings in Paris. During the summer months he taught the violin in his St Jean de Luz estate, on the bay. Suzuki, the Japanese man who started the method named after him, of teaching very young children to play the violin, is said to have done so after hearing recordings of Elman playing the violin.
There is a photograph of Mischa Elman on another website which concerns historical clothing (histclo.com).He is sitting on board the ship SS Bremen, going from New York to Europe, with his arm round a young boy called Grisha Goluboff. I have found them returning to New York, again on the SS Bremen, in 1934. Having been a child prodigy himself, Mischa Elman took a great interest in Grisha Goluboff.
Grisha was the son of another Russian emigre who changed his name to Holcombe. He had been a wealthy jeweller in Russia but escaped, after being shot in the arm. He managed to reach America where he married and had a family. In the 1930 census he is a Watchmaker. The story goes that his three year old son picked up his Father's violin one day and showed such promise that his Father paid for him to have lessons. After a couple of years he was good enough to perform with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.
Feodor Chaliapin and the Villa Korsar
Irving Drought Harris and his wife Jean, nee Ferris, had travelled together from Southampton to New York, in May 1934. Among the passengers on the 'Bremen' was a young widow called Gloria Vanderbilt, aged 28, from New York. She was the mother of Gloria Vanderbilt, the American heiress.
Gloria, the mother, lost custody of her daughter, Gloria junior, in yet another famous court case. The mother lived in Paris for six years after the death of her husband, the fabulously wealthy Reginald Claypole Vanderbilt. She, not unlike Jean Ferris, had married whilst only a teenager. She had an identical twin sister, called Thelma, who was reputed to be the mistress of the Prince of Wales at one time. No doubt the Vanderbilts knew the Spreckels family in New York and the Harris family in Paris.
When in Paris Jean Harris lived at One, Avenue de Marechal Maunoury, opposite the Bois de Boulogne but when she was in St Jean de Luz, in the south of France, for the summer months, she lived at the Villa Korsar.
The villa actually belonged to a friend of hers, namely Feodor Chaliapin, a famous Russian opera singer. He had a large, deep, expressive bass voice, apparently. Born in Kazan, in Russia, he met and became a friend of Sergei Rachmaninoff who took him under his wing. Chaliapin's most famous role was that of Boris Godunov. He appeared regularly at the Bolshoi Theatre and the Zimin Private Opera in Moscow. Touring the west he played the Devil in Mefistofele at La Scala with the conductor Toscanini. He sang in New York and in 1907 and again in 1921 at the Metropolitan Opera House.
The famous entrepreneur Sergei Diaghilev brought him to Paris and London and in 1926 he toured Australia.
He is reputed to have popularised the Song of the Volga Boatmen. After the Russian Revolution Chaliapin moved to Finland and then, finally, settled in Paris.He still toured widely and even went as far as Japan in 1936. Apparently, whilst there he suffered from toothache and the chef cooked his steak in a certain way so that he could eat it. Chaliapin Steak is still a Japanese dish today!
Gloria, the mother, lost custody of her daughter, Gloria junior, in yet another famous court case. The mother lived in Paris for six years after the death of her husband, the fabulously wealthy Reginald Claypole Vanderbilt. She, not unlike Jean Ferris, had married whilst only a teenager. She had an identical twin sister, called Thelma, who was reputed to be the mistress of the Prince of Wales at one time. No doubt the Vanderbilts knew the Spreckels family in New York and the Harris family in Paris.
When in Paris Jean Harris lived at One, Avenue de Marechal Maunoury, opposite the Bois de Boulogne but when she was in St Jean de Luz, in the south of France, for the summer months, she lived at the Villa Korsar.
The villa actually belonged to a friend of hers, namely Feodor Chaliapin, a famous Russian opera singer. He had a large, deep, expressive bass voice, apparently. Born in Kazan, in Russia, he met and became a friend of Sergei Rachmaninoff who took him under his wing. Chaliapin's most famous role was that of Boris Godunov. He appeared regularly at the Bolshoi Theatre and the Zimin Private Opera in Moscow. Touring the west he played the Devil in Mefistofele at La Scala with the conductor Toscanini. He sang in New York and in 1907 and again in 1921 at the Metropolitan Opera House.
The famous entrepreneur Sergei Diaghilev brought him to Paris and London and in 1926 he toured Australia.
He is reputed to have popularised the Song of the Volga Boatmen. After the Russian Revolution Chaliapin moved to Finland and then, finally, settled in Paris.He still toured widely and even went as far as Japan in 1936. Apparently, whilst there he suffered from toothache and the chef cooked his steak in a certain way so that he could eat it. Chaliapin Steak is still a Japanese dish today!
Friday, 11 May 2018
Jean Ferris and Irving Drought Harris
Jean attended a finishing school in Paris and the following year, aged nineteen,, being a ward of court, asked for permission to visit her Spreckels relatives in the USA. This was granted and she travelled to America with Josephine Grove (nee Raiman) as her chaperone. She stayed with Claus Spreckels junior for a few months and then went to stay with Rudolph Spreckels at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York. While she was there she met Irving Drought Harris, a young architect, who had been married before, according to the US census for 1920 for San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Whether he told Jean this we do not know but by the time she came home to England, not long afterwards, she was engaged to him. She was still only nineteen so it must have caused her stepfather and guardian, Arthur Hutton, some concern. History seemed to be repeating itself as she followed in her Mother's shoes. Being an heiress made her very attractive, no doubt!
A marriage settlement was prepared, under the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery in England and the couple were married on October 19th 1929 at The Church of The Heavenly Rest, in New York City. They made their home in New York and their first child, a son, John Wakefield Harris, was born there on 21st September 1930.
The marriage appears to have been a 'stormy' one. The couple would separate and then get back together again. In 1932 they bought a French chateau near Pau, called Le Chateau de Doumy.
Eleven months later their second child, Elizabeth Marshall Harris (known as Mimi) was born. Clearly some form of 'rapprochement' had taken place.
A marriage settlement was prepared, under the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery in England and the couple were married on October 19th 1929 at The Church of The Heavenly Rest, in New York City. They made their home in New York and their first child, a son, John Wakefield Harris, was born there on 21st September 1930.
The marriage appears to have been a 'stormy' one. The couple would separate and then get back together again. In 1932 they bought a French chateau near Pau, called Le Chateau de Doumy.
Eleven months later their second child, Elizabeth Marshall Harris (known as Mimi) was born. Clearly some form of 'rapprochement' had taken place.
Jean Ferris inherits a fortune from her Mother, Emma Hutton, nee Spreckels
After the death of Tom Watson, in 1904, his widow Emma Claudine (nee Spreckels), married, in 1906, John Wakefield Ferris, of whom more later. Their daughter Jean Ferris was born on the 29th June 1910, two years after the death of her wealthy grandfather, Claus Spreckels. In his will, dated May 11th 1907, Claus appointed Jean's uncles, Claus junior and Rudolph, as executors to his estate. The will went through probate in San Francisco on July 9th 1909. Claus left his estate to his wife for life and thereafter to his daughter, Emma Claudine Ferris. His sons were deemed to have already received their share but remained as trustees to administer the estate.
On 18th January 1912, John and Emma Ferris took Jean, aged 1 year 6 months, to New York, presumably to visit the Spreckels Family. They travelled on the 'Olympic', sister ship to the 'Titanic' and amongst the passengers was the ship's owner, Joseph Ismay, who survived the sinking of the 'Titanic' in April of the same year.
On January 19th 1919 John, now 69, Emma, 49 and Jean, 8 crossed the Atlantic again on the 'Baltic' to visit Emma's family. The Ferris family lived at Kingswood Manor, Reigate, Surrey. John Wakefield Ferris died on 25th November 1920, aged 71, at 29 Wimpole Street, which eventually became part of the London Eye Hospital.
Emma Ferris married Arthur Hutton in the spring of 1922 so when John Wakefield Ferris' probate was granted on 23rd September 1922 she was already Mrs Hutton. Sadly she was to die only two years later, herself, leaving the nine year old Jean with her stepfather, Arthur Hutton, as her Guardian.
Jean's stepfather sounds like a very sympathetic person and, under the aegis of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, he administered her fortune. Arthur Hutton died in 1943 at Nutfield Lodge, Hampden Park, Eastbourne, aged 86. He left £18,950 14s 3d. Ironically he survived his stepdaughter, Jean, by two years.
On 18th January 1912, John and Emma Ferris took Jean, aged 1 year 6 months, to New York, presumably to visit the Spreckels Family. They travelled on the 'Olympic', sister ship to the 'Titanic' and amongst the passengers was the ship's owner, Joseph Ismay, who survived the sinking of the 'Titanic' in April of the same year.
On January 19th 1919 John, now 69, Emma, 49 and Jean, 8 crossed the Atlantic again on the 'Baltic' to visit Emma's family. The Ferris family lived at Kingswood Manor, Reigate, Surrey. John Wakefield Ferris died on 25th November 1920, aged 71, at 29 Wimpole Street, which eventually became part of the London Eye Hospital.
Emma Ferris married Arthur Hutton in the spring of 1922 so when John Wakefield Ferris' probate was granted on 23rd September 1922 she was already Mrs Hutton. Sadly she was to die only two years later, herself, leaving the nine year old Jean with her stepfather, Arthur Hutton, as her Guardian.
Jean's stepfather sounds like a very sympathetic person and, under the aegis of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, he administered her fortune. Arthur Hutton died in 1943 at Nutfield Lodge, Hampden Park, Eastbourne, aged 86. He left £18,950 14s 3d. Ironically he survived his stepdaughter, Jean, by two years.
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
Back to the blog, after a break of 12 months. I haven't quite finished with the Spreckels Family as Emma Spreckels also had a brother called John Dietrich Spreckels. He left San Francisco and went to Germany to study chemistry and mechanical engineering. On his return he worked for his Father, Claus Spreckels, in the sugar business. Having established a shipping company to get the sugar from Hawaii to the USA he visited San Diego and decided to invest in the city. He bought land and acquired businesses, such as the railway system, newspapers and hotels. In 1906, after the San Francisco Earthquake, he and his family relocated there. John Dietrich Spreckels had married Lillie Siebein and they had four children. He must take the credit for the development of the city of San Diego from its modest beginnings to the wealthy city that it became.
Monday, 22 May 2017
Adolph and Alma Emma Spreckels
Adolph and Alma Emma had a son called Adolph Bernard Spreckels, as I said. His claim to fame was to have married Kay Williams who had previously been married to the film star, Clark Gable. Kay and Adolph had two children, one of whom died at the early age of 27, from a drug overdose ,having inherited his share of the Spreckels fortune and become a 'surfing legend' in Hawaii.
Adolph's Mother, Alma's nickname was 'The Great Grandmother of San Francisco'. Her husband Adolph Spreckels had studied in Germany for two years and then returned to the USA to work for his Father.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco owe their existence to Adolph and Alma, and the Spreckels' millions.
He was involved in many business pursuits and philanthropic works. He also donated the land for Golden Gate Park. He was President of the San Francisco and San Mateo Railway and Vice President of the Western Sugar Company and the Oceanic Steamship Company.
He built the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, in San Diego, with his brother, John.This has the largest outdoor organ in the world, according to Wikipedia.
He also owned and bred racehorses and his horse Morvich was the first Californian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby in 1922.
Adolph died of pneumonia in 1924, aged 67. The house he built in 1913 is currently owned by the novelist, Danielle Steele. It is at 2080 Washington Street in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco.
Adolph's Mother, Alma's nickname was 'The Great Grandmother of San Francisco'. Her husband Adolph Spreckels had studied in Germany for two years and then returned to the USA to work for his Father.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco owe their existence to Adolph and Alma, and the Spreckels' millions.
He was involved in many business pursuits and philanthropic works. He also donated the land for Golden Gate Park. He was President of the San Francisco and San Mateo Railway and Vice President of the Western Sugar Company and the Oceanic Steamship Company.
He built the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, in San Diego, with his brother, John.This has the largest outdoor organ in the world, according to Wikipedia.
He also owned and bred racehorses and his horse Morvich was the first Californian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby in 1922.
Adolph died of pneumonia in 1924, aged 67. The house he built in 1913 is currently owned by the novelist, Danielle Steele. It is at 2080 Washington Street in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco.
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