Martin Friedmann

Family histories of ordinary people are of little interest to anyone, except members of the family, or to curiosity seekers or snoopers. This is the Genesis of one individual who strived to achieve abnormal abilities in order to learn and master differest fields of knowledge and win the hand of, to his mind as well as many others, a most beautiful and gifted girl for his lifetime friend and wife.

In a bedroom in a cold water flat over a laundry, the midwife, Mrs. Sweeney, delivered a baby boy. He was the first child of a Hungarian immigrant girl, Pauline, married to Leopold Friedmann, now an American citizen but formerly from Hungary..The was named Martin, and Martin was part of his hane throughout his life.

Leopold, the father, occasionally called Louis, was born in Satmarmegy, Hungary. He was an educated man, spoke many languages including Hebrew and Latin, and served as a sargeant in the Hungarian canalry called Hussars, pror to coming America, The actual year of his arrival is not known. Isolated details seem to indicate that he worked as a wandering saleman an framed pictures and was a glass cutter in the Cleavland, Ohio area .He married his first wife in Cleveland and she bore him a son, Bela, She died in childbirth delivering a dead female child. Bela, his first son was sent to, and entructed to Leopold’s parents in Debrezen, Hungary. It was to be a temprary situation which stretched out into decades.

before coming to New York to set up a business, The Federal Steamship Laundry, established in 1900 was either created or purchased by him.

Pauline was her name on a passport, though she was known as Piroska or Pearl,, as occiasion suited her.. She

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