Wells Family - Person Sheet
Wells Family - Person Sheet
NameSadie (Cipre) Blank
Birth16 May 1896, Novoselitsa, Khotin, Bessarabia, Russia
Immigration25 Sep 1911, Ellis Island, NY
Memoaboard Nieuw Amsterdam from Rotterdam
Census1 Jun 1915, Bronx, New York City, NY
MemoED#14, pg 40
Census3 Jan 1920, Bronx, New York City, NY
Memoroll#1130, pg 2
Census2 Apr 1930, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
Memoroll#1297, pg 2
Census4 May 1940, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
Memoroll#2281, ED 16-8b
Naturalization12 Nov 1953, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
Memoissued to Sadie Blank Pagay.
Death24 Feb 1986, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
Burial28 Feb 1986, Hebrew Cem, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
MemoSection A, Lot B, Space 15
OccupationSeamstress
ReligionJewish
FatherZeida (Harry) Blank (1858-1923)
Misc. Notes
Her birth record lists 16 May 1896, immigration lists her as 16 in 1911 (b. 1895), citizenship application lists her birth as 14 May 1897, and her death certificate lists 24 Feb 1896.
She is listed as Tsipra on the birth record, Cipre during her immigration, and later records list her name as Sadie Sopira Blank.
Her family lived in Novoselitsa (Noua-Sulita or Noyye Strelishcha) near the Carpathian Mtns, and has been in Russia, Romania, Moldavia, and is now in the Ukranian Republic, near Chernovtsy.
Sadie sailed from Rotterdam to New York on the ship “Nieuw Amsterdam” of the Holland-America Line with her older sister Ann and Ann’s husband Max. Her parents sent the children to America a few at a time as they could afford it, to avoid the Russian Revolution, but were unable to leave themselves - according to famliy tradition. She Immigrated thru Ellis Island on Sept. 25, 1911 from Novoselitza, Bessarabia, Romania as Cipre Blank according to her, the passenger list and her alien registration. The ship’s immigration record says she was 16, and lists her with her sister Hinde (Ann) and Max Altman. It also says she was a seamstress, coming to New York to live with her brother Nathan at 42 E. 9th St, which is also the address Max and Ann Altmann listed for a cousin D. Kiegner (their mother's family). Cipre was detained by Immigration for a day until her brother could be contacted, since she was only 13 and listed as coming to live with him, and released on 26 Sept 1911.
She is then listed as Sadie Blank (19, RUS) in the 1915 NY census, haveing been in the US 4 yrs and living with her brother Nathan (26, RUS) and his wife Goldie (23, AUS).
The 1920 census says she was 23 years old, living at 440 East 145 St, Bronx, NY with her brother Nathan, his wife, and their daughter Ruth. She was a boarder who worked as a Foil-lady in a Skirt House. It lists her as an alien, immigrated in 1907, whose parents were both born in Russia. She was also a member of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society of America in Manhattan, New York in 1920.
Married in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1922, age 24 and living at 440 E. 145th St in New York. According to family tradition they moved to Reno later that year.
Divorced Max Carter in Reno 13 Oct 1938, where the notice in the Nevada State Journal the next day listed “Sadie Blank Cartersinsky (Carter) from Max Cartersinsky (Carter)”. She then lived with her son Hal, as a single mother, until he joined the Navy at age 17 during WWII. In the 1940 census she is listed with son Harold (14) as a seamstress in a clothing store (40, Romania) and divorced, living on Stevenson St.
She was (2nd) married to Eli Krause in November of 1950, but he died a few years later. Sadie remarried Julian Pagay on 4 July 1954 in Carson City, NV. Her Citizenship issued Nov 12, 1953 to Sadie Blank Krause was reissued June 15, 1959 to Sadie Blank Pagay, as a result of her intervening marriage.
Died of a heart attack (had high blood pressure).
[Obituary] Reno Gazette-Journal - Thursday, 27 Feb 1986, pg 33
Sadie B. Pagay
Sadie B. Pagay, 88, died Monday in a Reno hospital. A native of Romania, she was born May 14, 1897, and had lived in Reno since 1922. Mrs. Pagay was employed by Patterson's Mens Store for more than 40 years, retiring in 1976. She was a member of Temple Emanu-El. Surviving are her husband, Julian of Reno; son, Harold A. Carter of San Mateo, Calif.; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at the Ross, Burke & Knobel Mortuary, with burial at the Hebrew Cemetery.
Spouses
Birth25 Sep 1888, Feliksovo, Minsk Province, Russia
Death21 Aug 1975, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
Burial25 Aug 1975, Hebrew Cem, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
MemoSection C, Lot A, Space 8
OccupationTailor
ReligionJewish
Misc. Notes
Name also listed as: Kewesch/Kartusinsky/Kartusinky/Cartersinsky/Kartushinsky
Birthdate as 5 Oct 1889 or 1891 in Minsk province per family tradition; although his death certificate lists it as 6 Oct 1891 and the passenger list would indicate his birth in 1886. His 1917 Draft registration and 1918 military record state his birth date as 25 Sept 1888, while the Social Security records and Naturalization papers for citizenship both state that he was born 6 Oct 1888 and his WWII draft registration shows 16 Oct 1888. I have used his most well documented birth date, as the Draft card is the earliest documentation provided by Max himself.
Likewise, the family always said he was from Minsk, but that may just refer to the province rather than the city. His WWI draft registration lists his birth in Felixzonia (sp?) Russia, and his induction papers show his birth in Neshviz (Nyasvizh), Russia, while his Social Security and naturalization papers list it as Fetexota, Naugnontch, USSR. Based on extensive research and contact with current residents of the area, Ken Domeshek has pretty well proven that the family lived on the Obidowo farm, near the town of Niehnewicze. 
Max immigrated to New York on July 16, 1906 on the ship "Caronia" under the name Feitel Kewesch [kay-vich] (Alien Reg #A-2719799). The Passenger List of British SS Caronia (Cunard Line) in New York on May 18, 1906 lists Feitel Kewesch, age 19, with with a male head of household Leib (50) a tailor, who was implied to be their father, but was most certainly not. With him were 2 boys; Sindel (9) and Itzig (6), and 3 girls; Riwe (27) a servant, Chawe (17), and Mere (15). They are listed as Russian Hebrew coming from Ekaterinoslav (renamed Dnepropetravsk after the revolution). He was a laborer and could read and write. They listed Hy Oppenheim at 54 Christian St, NY as their intended residence. Other research indicates that many Russian Jews used false or borrowed names to leave the country and immigrate to America, so it is very possible that they used a Polish identity to escape Russia, and that Max joined the Kewesch family with a borrowed passport. It is unclear whether any of his siblings came with him using the Kewesch documents.
He is listed in the 1910 census in the Bronx as Max Kartushinsky (21, Russia) single, Yiddish, an alien who immigrated in 1906 and able to speak english. He is listed as an operator for (sewing) skirts, was unemployed 3 months the previous year, and the nephew of Philip and Rosie Kartushinsky who immigrated in 1892, were married 12 yrs and had 3 children. The were living 444 E. 145th St in the Bronx.
He and Hattie Aronson obtained a marriage license on 9 Nov 1910 in Manhattan, and were married on 9 Jul 1911 in the Bronx, New York. He is listed on the marriage record as 22 and living at 444 E. 145th in the Bronx. His father is listed as Abraham and mother Tobie Simon (or Limon?). They were married at Long’s Academy 2733 3rd Ave, Bronx by Lieutenant Tyon, Chaplain of Mt Sinai Hosp.
According to his subsequent divorce petition, they separated about 17 May 1917 and had a stormy relationship. The divorce papers refer to dates in July and October 1917, as well as May 1918 when they were together and having disputes. These same papers also refer to his tailoring store where he made suits and other garments, and which was outfitted with several electric sewing machines.
Max registered for the WWI Draft on 5 Jun 1917 as Max Kartusinsky (but indexed as Kartrinsky). He gave his birth date as 25 Sept 1888, and listed his place of birth as Felixzonia (sp?) Russia. It lists him as a tailor, with his own business at 622 Melrose Ave in the Bronx.
He was inducted into U.S. Army on 26 Aug 1918 for WWI as a Private (Army Ser No 4,561,932), and was honorably discharged on demobilization 10 Dec 1918. His induction papers list his birth as 25 Sept 1888 and birthplace as Naghviz, Russia, with an address of 444 E. 145th St. The National Personnel Records Center confirmed that he served as a Private in the Army 26 Oct thru 30 Dec 1918, separating with an honorable discharge under the name Max Kartusinsky. This information is from his final pay records, as no further records are available due to a fire which burned the military records in 1973 (but now found on Ancestry).
He also worked as a mfg supervisor in Puerto Rico according to his son, Hal. A letter from Puerto Rico Treasurer to Mr. Kartusinky at No 444 East 145th, Bronx, NY on 2 Dec 1919 says that he owed no taxes for 1918. An envelope addressed to Max Kartusinsky was found among Sadie’s things which has a return address from “The New York and Porto Rico Steamship Co, Mayaguez PR”. It may be that he worked for the company, possibly while in the Army.
There is Bronx Civil Court case (divorce?) recorded on 22 Jan 1920 by Hattie Kartusinsky, listing Max as the defendant.
Max Carter (earliest use of new surname) was a member of Int'l Ladies Garment Workers Union, Local #23 in New York until 15 Mar 1920, when he was issued a withdrawal card to suspend his dues. He must have moved to Reno shortly thereafter, since his Divorce Petition as Max Karusinsky was filed there on 13 Dec 1920, and stated that he had been living in Reno for the previous six months. Notice was posted in the Nevada State Journal, pg 8 the following day. The divorce from Hattie Kartusinsky was granted in Reno on 5 Feb 1921.
Max subsequently returned to New York and was re-married to Sadie Blank on 15 Feb 1922 in Jersey City, New Jersey by Rev Harry Budoff at 22 Stevens Ave. At the time Max listed his residence as 41 Van Nostrand Ave. in Jersey City and said he was 31 and a tailor. He also listed the name of his parents as Abraham Kartusinsky and Anna Schmolowitz. He and Sadie moved to Reno later that year, and he is shown as Max M. Carter in all subsequent records.
They were living at 75 Washington St, Reno in Sept 1928. His business card reads “M. Carter - Fashionable Tailor, imported woolens, men’s suits made to order (phone Reno 7322)” and lists the address as 28 W. Second St, Reno NV.
June 18th, 1929 they received a letter from his relatives in New York, asking Max and Sadie to move back so that they could take care of them, due to financial problems from the death of one child (Selma) and illness of the other (Hal), plus Max's gambling. It was written by another Sadie, possibly Max's half-sister or niece, based on her references to (their) Papa. Letter was on letterhead of Stone & Co, 245 Fifth Ave, New York (Real Estate) and mentions Sam, Max, Abe, Charlie (in New Jersey) and Dannie. On Aug 29, 1929 he leased 28 W. 2nd St., Reno for $100/mo from Geo. Mapes for 1930 thru 1934.
He is listed at 73 Washington St in the 1930 census at age 42, with he and Sadie (33) both naturalized, and son Harold (3 yrs 9 mos), as well as a lodger [but is mis-indexed as Max Easter in Ancestry].
In 1938 he and Sadie were divorced. He is listed alone in the 1940 census, with his own business as a tailor of men’s suits (49, Russia), divorced and living on Center St.
He was married a third time in 1944 to Jeannette Krause, dau of Elias Krause who subsequently married Sadie in 1948, making Sadie his step mother-in-law as well as ex-wife. On 28 Nov, 1946 Max and Jeanette used the property in Reno as security for a Deed of Trust for $7,000 in debts to N. E. Caffarata. He and Jeanette bought 1 & 1/2 lots in downtown Reno from her father, Eli, for $10 on 22 Sept, 1947 and sold it to them as well, plus signed another note for $4,000 to N. E. Caffarata.
In 1950 Max (56, RUS) is listed with his wife Jeanette (40, GER), daughter Gertrude A. (15, NV) and widowed father-in-law Eliah W. Krause (63, POL) on Cheney St.
On 1 April, 1953 they borrowed an additional $1,000 from N. E. Caffarata.
He applied for a Social Security number in Jan 1952, at which time he was living at 110 N. Center St in Reno. By the time he received it in May, he had already moved to 418 Cheney St. On Feb 13th, 1957, when he received his U.S. Citizenship, he was still living at 418 Cheney St. in Reno, where he lived until his death. Max died of "metastasized carcinoma" (cancer).
His description was fair complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, at 5' 9" and 190 lbs with a scar on his right jaw.
[Obituary] Reno Evening Gazette - Saturday, 23 August 1975
Max Carter
Max Carter, 83, died Thursday at a Reno hospital. He was born Oct. 6, 1891 in Russia and lived 55 years in the Reno area. He owned a tailoring shop on Center Street for 37 years and was a member of the American Legion.
He is survived by his widow, Jeanette, and a daughter Trudy Clock, both of Reno; a son Harold of Sunnyvale, Calif., four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Walton Funeral Home, Reno. Burial will follow at the Hebrew Cemetery.
Marriage15 Feb 1922, Jersey City, Hudson Co, NJ
Marr Memoby Rev. Harry Budoff
Divorce13 Oct 1938, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
Div Memofor extreme cruelty by him
ChildrenSelma Natalie (Died as Child) (1924-1928)
Birth17 Aug 1886, Opotzne, Poland
Death20 Feb 1953, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
MemoReno hospital
BurialMt Carmel Cem, Commerce, Los Angeles Co, CA
OccupationPainter, store owner
Misc. Notes
Immigration date of Sept 10, 1909 at New York for his daughter Jeanette logically applies to him as well.
He is listed as Elias W. (33) from Russia/Poland in 1920, immigrated in 1909 and a painter. His wife is Yetta (30) and daughter Yinetta (10). It appears that he was already naturalized.
He is listed as William (42, Russia) a Jewish house painter in the 1930 Bronx census with his wife Yetta (42, Russia) and daughter Jeanette (20, Germany). It says he immigrated in 1909 and all of them were naturalized. He and Yetta were first married at age 18.
He registered for the WWII Draft as Eli William Krause in 1942, retired, living at 1148 Fteley Ave in the Bronx and married to Yetta. He moved from Los Angeles to Reno in 1946.
[Obituary] Reno Evening Gazette - Fri 20 Feb 1953, pg 12
Eliah W. Krause passes in Reno
Eliah William Krause, husband of Mrs. Sadie Krause of Reno, died at a local hospital Friday following a short illness.
Mr. Krause was a native of Poland and had lived in Reno for the last six years. He was a painter by profession.
Besides his widow, he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Jeanette Carter, a step-son Harold A. Carter and one grandchild, Trudy Carter all of Reno. He is also survived by a brother, Julius Krause of Los Angeles, Calif.
The body will be accompanied to Los Angeles, Calif. for burial in the family plot, Mount Carmel cemetery.
Marriage6 Nov 1950, Carson City, NV
Divorce
Birth28 Apr 1895, Gorocica, Vizcaya, Spain
Death27 Oct 1990, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
MemoWashoe Care Center
Burial30 Oct 1990, Our Mother Of Sorrows Cem, Reno, Washoe Co, NV
MemoSt. Luke section, E 14
Occupationtruck driver
ReligionCatholic
FatherPedro Jose Aguirre (1846-)
MotherMaria Jesus Pagay (1852-)
Misc. Notes
Spanish Basque, born in the Pyranees. Listed initally as Julian Aguirre and later as Julian Pagay.
Immigrated from Le Harve to New York on the ship France arriving 21 Feb 1913. It lists him as Julian Aguirre, a farm laborer age 17, coming from Guernica, Spain, where his father Pedro Aguirre lived. It says his destination is Golconda, Nevada, and his brother Leon Aguirre.
Julian served in the U.S. Army between 2 Oct 1917 and 24 Jan 1918 during WWI.
He is listed as Julian Aguirre in the 1920 census for Golconda, NV where he is working as a ranch cook (34, Spain) who immigrated in 1912 and living as a boarder with the Bain family. He is then listed as Julian A. Pagay on Sierra St in the 1923 Reno City Directory, working as a clerk for his brother-in-law, Joseph Beloso.
The 1930 census for Lovelock, NV lists him as Julian Pagay, a laborer in a lumber yard (47, Spain) first married at age 36, and an alien who immigrated in 1913. His wife Rebecca (47, CA) was not working and was first married at age 18, prior to Julian.
He is listed in Silver City, NM in 1940 at age 44, with wife Rebecca (61, CA). It says he had lived in Lovelock, NV in 1935 and was naturalized. Shortly after the census, they apparently went to Mexico, and returned on April 24th 1940 at Laredo, TX where he was stopped but allowed to enter as his wife was a US citizen.
Julian and Rebecca apparently separated as he remained in Lovelock, and she took a trip by herself to Hawaii in 1946 and was then living in St. Helena, CA. where she died in September 1948. Julian then took a trip to Spain as he is listed as departing New York on Aug 16th and returning from LeHavre on Nov 14th of 1949.
In the 1950 census, Julian is listed in Lovelock, widowed (54, Spain) and a lodger working as a janitor.
He next moved to Reno and was a truck driver, WWI veteran and Catholic.
He married Mildred Futada (1901, Rhode Island) widow of Joseph Gill, on 14 Jun 1952 in Carson City, NV. She died later that year and is buried in Mt View cemetery in Reno.
Julian lastly married Sadie Sopira Blank on the 4th of July in Carson City, and they lived together until her death in 1986.
[Obituary] Reno Gazette-Journal - Monday, 29 October 1990, pg 12
Julian A. Pagay Visitation for Julian Aguirre Pagay, 95, who died Saturday at Washoe Care Center, is scheduled from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Walton Funeral Home, Reno. A native of Gorocica, Spain, he was born April 28, 1895, and had been a Reno resident since 1949, coming from Lovelock. Pagay was a truck driver, a World War II Army veteran and a member of the Catholic Church. Surviving are a stepson, Harold Carter of San Mateo, three step-grandchildren; three step-great-grandchildren; six nieces; one nephew; and numerous grandnephews. A funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with burial at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery. A memorial is being established with War Veterans Memorial Association of Northern Nevada, 18 East Sparks 89431

He is buried in Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery in Reno, as are his brother Manuel Pagay Aguirre, and sister Josefa Aguirre Beloso.
Marriage4 Jul 1954, Carson City, NV
Last Modified 7 Jan 2024Created 28 Feb 2024 using Reunion on a Mac