isadore feinberg circa 1945

Isadore Feinberg

(1886—1963)

I just rediscovered this amazing photo of my paternal grandfather, Isadore (Sklarewicz) Feinberg. I would imagine it is circa 1945. Why and when the family name changed from Sklarewicz to Feinberg is a mystery. The family legend was that he thought it was more “American.” I have since discovered more about the real story which you can read here.

My limited documentation says he came from Bialystok, Poland to the U.S. in 1904. He and my grandmother Sadie Biales married in 1907 in Manhattan. Sadie, was born in 1886 into the Biales family. She came to the U.S. in 1898, first living in Texas, then Chicago, then moving to New York City, where she married Izzy in 1907.

feinberg family. 1932. commemorating the 25th wedding anniversary of sadie and isadore. photo by goldfarb studios,

Sadie and Izzy raised four children: Edward, Norman, Mildred and Gloria. My aunt Gloria is still thriving and will be age 98 in May 2026! During the depression, Sadie ran the family-owned “candy store” selling snacks and drinks and other items.

Grandpa Izzy was a skilled metalworker whose beautiful grill work adorned the halls of their Fteley Avenue brownstone in the Bronx. My father, Norman Feinberg wrote this:

“Izzy built ornamental gates for large estates, including Marshall Field, the Chicago Department Store and Chicago newspaper owner, and Charles Schwab, the US Steel Magnet. In 1941, it was a day of great sorrow when he learned that his family of three sisters and two brothers died in the Holocaust. His third brother, who lived in Russia, was killed in the war against Hitler.”

Charles Schwab Home

charles schwab mansion. new york. circa 1906.

Assuming Grandpa worked on the Schwab mansion so soon after his arrival in the U.S. he must have been an ironworker in Poland. It was an enormous 75 room mansion located on Riverside Drive between 73rd and 74th streets. Schwab was president of the Carnegie Steel Company, then later, the first president of J.P. Morgan’s company U.S. Steel.

More photos of the ironwork below

Marshall Field Home

Marshall Field is known for his creation of the famous department store in Chicago. He had several homes in New York. I found this one with beautiful ironwork which could have been done by Grandpa. If so, it was quite a shlep for him to go to work since it was at Lloyd Neck, Lloyd Harbor, Suffolk County. Seriously the items would have been fabricated in a shop somewhere in the city and then installed in the house. So it is still possible.

Documents

Izzy’s immigration and citizenship status is confusing. There is an Isadore Feinberg age 18 who is shown on a ship manifest for 1904 but it says he is already a citizen. There is a declaration of intention to become a citizen in 1905 for an Isadore Feinberg who was born on March 28, 1886 in Russia who was a metalworker. Coincidence? Then his World War I draft registration shown here says he arrived in 1904 and was born on March 14, 1886. So…we are still searching.

The 1910 census below (click to enlarge) lists him as an ironworker.