Walking My Family Line: Samuel Henry Rosenthal Part I

Samuel Henry Rosenthal

(May 1865, Hornitos, Mariposa Co. CA - 19 Nov 1936, Reno, NV)

Part I

(For more information see posts on Hornitos, CA Bodie, CA and Esmeralda County, NV Goldfield, NV, and Hawthorne, NV)

Samuel H Rosenthal the tall man in the hat in front row. (others: Charles & Anna Lee McGee, children in front row, Back row: Clara McGee (Barnett), her mother Clara Belle McGee (third from left) all others are unknow. Older lady with scarf in front row may be Sam’s wife, Alice.

My Maternal Great Uncle

Childhood & Hawthorne Days

Born in Hornitos, Mariposa Co., California to Davis & Agusta Rosenthal. When the gold ran out, his family moved to Bodie. He came to Nevada with his parents when a boy, his father conducting a hotel at Hawthorne for many years.

Bodie School House. Sam Rosenthal was included in the first grade honor roll in the Brodie Chronicle, January 1880.

Nevada State Journal, 19 March 1931

Old Mineral County School (Hawthorne, Nevada)

Lake View Hotel (House)

From their youth Benjamin & Samuel Rosenthal were connected with the hotel business, assisting his father & mother, Davis & Augusta Rosenthal, in the conduct of the Lake View Hotel, of which Benjamin later became the proprietor. They had the faculty of making their guests feel at home, and did everything in thier power for their comfort. The hotel is fifty by ninety feet, two stories in height and contains twenty-five sleeping apartments. It is an excellent hotel for a town of the size of Hawthorne, and Mr. Rosenthal did a good business. He sets a good table, and his efforts to make his hostelry an attractive place of entertainment have resulted in winning him prosperity.

Marriage & Children

Alice Adelaide Curler (1871 - 1959)

Samuel married married Alice Adelaide Curler on Nov 5, 1987 in Hawthorne, NV. Alice‘s father was the Judge Benjamin Curler. Later her husband became a partner in his law firm: Curler & Rosenthal. They lived in Goldfield & Carson City, but most of their years in Reno. Both Samuel and his wife were very social people and belonged to sororities, fraternities and many social clubs. Because of their passion for entertaining, they often improved and expanded their home. Nevada State Journal, 28 March 1903

Many of the ladies of her time belong to sewing bees or quilting bees. These meetings made tedious work go by fast as the ladies fellowshipped with each other. Mrs. Rosenthal’s group was called the “Thimble Be” consisting of the ladies of the Rathbone Sisters Society of Reno

Nevada State Journal, 11 January 1905

Nevada State Journal, 1 February 1905

History of Bridge

The first President of the United States, George Washington, enjoyed Bridge. In fact, he enjoyed small wagers on the game, apparently to make it more exciting

In 1857, the English began playing Whist in a "duplicate" method to eliminate most of the luck associated with the deal of the cards. In 1883, American's began playing inner-club matches.

In 1891, a duplicate tray was invented, used to hold the cards separately so players could replay the identical cards. The idea was to eliminate chance and provide a true test of skill. The boards were originally called the Kalamazoo tray.

Early accounts indicate that in 1903, some of the British civil servants stationed in India created a method of bidding the trump suit, coined "auction bridge." A later account dates auction bridge back to 1894, with Turkish or Russian origin from Plevna during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

By 1893, Bridge was introduced in New York, using formal rules that were recently printed by Henry Barbey.

Then in 1925, the American multi-millionaire Harold Vanderbilt, introduced exciting scoring bonuses in Bridge (while on a cruise ship). With this change, auction Bridge became known as "contract bridge".

All my relatives played bridge. The Rosenthals, the Henleys, my grandmother & grandfather, Bart & Clara McGee, my aunt Anna Lee and my mother,Clara M Barnett. They all belonged to Bridge Clubs and hosted Bridge parties. As you can see from the articles below that Alice Adelaide Curler Rosenthal was no exception.

Nevada State Journal, 19 February 1905

Nevada State Journal, 19 May 1905

Nevada State Journal, 5 March 1932

Alice Adelaide Curler’s Father

Nevada State Journal August 31, 1919

Judge Ben Curler Age 85, Passes

Following a brief illness, Judge Benjamin Curler, a resident of Nevada since 1859 and one of the best known lawyers of the state, passed away at his home in Reno yesterday morning. He was 85 years of age. Death was due to pneumonia. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Rhoda Curler, 82 years old; a son Judge Benjamin F. Curler of Elko, and two daughters, Mrs. S.H. Rosenthal and Mrs. R.A. Robison of Reno.

Judge Curler had been ill since last Monday.

The funeral will occur this afternoon from Odd Fellows' hall at 2:30 o'clock.

Alice Rosenthal Obituary

Alice Rosenthal Succumbs Here

Alice Curler Rosenthal, a lifelong resident of Nevada, died Sunday at a local rest home. She was 87.

She was the widow ol Samuel H. Rosenthal, who died in 1936. She was a member of the Pythian Sisters of Nevada and was a native of Belmont.

Mrs. Rosenthal was the daughter of the late Judge Benjamin and Rhoda Curler. Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Vesta Barker of Los Angeles; three nephews, Judge Benjamin Curler of Susanville,Talbert Robson of Reno, Robert Robson of Westwood, California; and a niece, Mrs. Augusta Nichols of Reno.

Friends are invited to attend funeral services today at 2 o'clock at the home chapel of the Ross-Burke Co. under the direction of the Pythian Sisters. Interment will be in the Knights of Pythias Cemetery. Nevada State Journal, August 19, 1959

Children:

Samuel and Alice Rosenthal had three daughters. Below is what little my researched turned up on them.

Vesta L Rosenthal (1888 – 1972)

Second Marriage: Vesta Barker