Mineral Wells Texas - What Were Morris & Mollie Blatt Doing There?

Back in 1987, my paternal grandmother was interviewed, and she stated that her mother, Anna Blatt Feinstein, first arrived in the United States in Mineral Wells, Texas. In 2010, when I transcribed the interview, I knew there had to be some story behind this, as no one comes up with the town Mineral Wells, Texas out of thin air.

However

• My great grandmother, Anna, was born in 1890, in Poland.
• In 1893 my great great grandfather Moshe "Morris" Blatt married his second wife, Mollie, in St. Louis.
• In 1898 their first child, Henry, was born, in St. Louis
• In 1900 they, and his daughters from his first marriage, Anna and Blanche, are all recorded in St. Louis
• In 1903 Morris and Mollie's second child, Pearl was born, in St. Louis
• In the 1910 census they are all still recorded in St. Louis.

So I was left wondering.

Below is a page from the 1907 Mineral Wells, Texas City Directory

There is a Moses (and Mallie) Blatt
And in the next line there is an Annie.

Moses is a tailor, which matches my 2nd great grandfather's profession.

In 1909 Moses and Mallie were still in Mineral Wells, though Annie doesn't appear in that city directory.

City directories prior to 1907 currently aren’t available online.

So, while these could be different Blatts, it is likely I have confirmed they did spend some time in that city, and have an approximate time-span.

But why did they move to Mineral Wells, Texas, and why did they return to St. Louis? Will I ever know?

I will also note I still have not found my great grandmother's immigration records. So it is possible that at some point in time between 1890 and 1900 she did immigrate to the US through Texas, with other relatives perhaps, met up with her father in St. Louis, and then returned briefly around 1907.

Possible record sources for further research might include researching the community to see if there were any synagogues in or near Mineral Wells at the time and seeing if any membership records still exist.

Wordless Wednesday: Advertising Slogans

My second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, and my great grandfather, Herman M Feinstein, may not have been the best at coming up with advertising slogans for their laundry.

Royal Laundry Advertisement Fri, Aug 26, 1910 – 1 · The Jewish Voice (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com