| Notes |
- “When Morris Finkel met Emma Thomashefsky in 1893, he was an actor-manager in his 40s who had already been left by his first wife. Emma, the younger sister of Yiddish theater giant Boris Thomashefsky, was a 16-year-old chorus girl. Emma was said to be enamored of the power that surrounded Finkel as manager and impresario. To avoid her brother’s disapproval, Emma ran way with Morris to Philadelphia and married him.
The first few years of their marriage were apparently happy. They raised two daughters, Bella and Lucy, as well as Finkel’s son from his first marriage, Abem, who was barely younger than Emma. But by all available accounts, Finkel was a cold and controlling man, and the relationship became strained. Finkel kept his wife short of cash, even when her work as a leading lady brought in the bulk of the household income. He locked her out of the house if he felt she came home too late from visiting or from the theater. Abem became Emma’s champion — and Finkel, in an oddly Oedipal twist, became jealous of their friendship.
In 1903, Finkel was involved in managing the Grand Theatre, which had a disastrous season. He was forced through a civil suit to give over his shares in the undertaking to Jacob Adler, who — in a slap in the face to Finkel — engaged Emma for the 1904 season. In addition, Emma had begun a romance with Levinson, an actor in the company. She asked Adler for an advance of $150 on the coming season and began divorce proceedings against her husband. According to an article in Di Yidishe Velt, Levinson gave a deposition to her lawyer, stating that Finkel had been using a private detective to follow the couple, and on one occasion, when the detective alerted Finkel that Emma and Levinson were sitting together in Central Park, Finkel arrived on the sceneand began beating Emma.
In the summer of 1904, Emma and the children retreated to a summer colony in New Jersey. On June 7, Finkel turned up unexpectedly and, upon seeing Emma walking with Levinson, took out a gun and shot Emma first and then himself. The bullet lodged in Emma’s spine. Finkel died instantly.” [1]
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Our Family History
Abt 1850 - 1904 (~ 54 years)