MySource:TomChatt/Brautman family recollections

Family recollections about Louis Brautman and Bertha Littman gathered in interview from various family members.

Elayne Hess (granddaughter) with Cecile Chatt (her sister), 23 May 2004:

Louis Brautman[sic] was from Romania. He was orphaned when he was 7. He apprenticed himself to a goldsmith. He came to New York in his 20's, and had come by way of London. He changed his name from Brautman to Brantman when he came to America. He opened a hardware store in New York. (The 1920 census that says he was a city sweeper from Russia is wrong. The German Jews looked down on Russian Jews, he was definitely not from Russia!) He was a very orthodox Jew. When his daughter Hannah married out of the faith, he wrote her off as dead. As soon as he could vote, he registered Republican and always voted Republican. He strongly disapproved of FDR.

The Brantmans were both alive when Elayne was born (she was the first grandchild in 12 years, since Dorothy), and they lived with them for a time. They were very sad when Rhea and Elayne had to move back to New Jersey. They may have both died by the time Cecile was born.

Blima died before Louis. Cecile remembers a story that there were some curtains in the apartment that Blima had made, but Louis always complained about them. When Blima died, Nina said "well, I guess I can take down these curtains for you now", and Louis said "don't you touch those curtains!".

They are buried someplace, we don't know where.

Elayne Hess (granddaughter), 23 Sept 2004:

Louis and Bertha spoke German, not Yiddish. The children were raised speaking German. Rhea didn't understand Yiddish until she picked it up much later in life.

Betty Shaffet (granddaughter), March 2014:

Betty Littman was a very hospitable person, everybody liked her. Even <name-of-some-in-law>, who was very difficult and had nothing good to say about anybody, even she liked her.

Roger Stetter (great-grandson), June 2014, recalling what he had heard about them from his grandmother Fanny:

The Brantmans had seven girls. (He had never heard the name Brautman, he had only ever heard Brantman.) Louis was a silversmith, and had also been a dancer when he was young, just like Aunt Nina. He remembers his grandmother always lighting yahrzeit candles.

Elayne Hess (granddaughter), 29 Jun 2014:

Louis was kind of a tyrant. When their one daughter married out of the faith, he wrote her off as dead. Then when she was in the hospital a short time later dying of cancer, Betty wanted to visit her daughter but Louis wouldn't let her go. He used to watch the women doing the dishes to make sure they were using the right towel, not mixing the meat towel with the dairy towel. (She also repeated the story about Louis being orphaned at age 7 and being apprenticed to a goldsmith. And about him coming from Romania, but speaking German. She said everyone in their building spoke German. She looked surprised at the suggestion that Louis was a dancer; she had never heard anything like that.)

Betty Shaffet on her mother Nina Brautman, Aug 2014:

She was a ballerina from age 18 to 26. She was taking lessons at the Chafin school of dance, so that she could become a dance teacher. When Fokine came to America, he came to Chafin looking for dancers for his show, and Nina was one of three girls he picked. When she was doing a show with the Fokine company, she was told that her name was on the marquee. She looked on the marquee, and it said "Nina Brandon". She said, but my name is Lena Brautman. They said, from now on, your name is Nina Brandon. And so she owned it, from then on, she was Nina.

When she was 26, she went to work for Sears-Roebuck, in charge of sales of pre-fab houses. She had 20 women working for her. She always lived well, and always had domestic help. One time, Betty was cleaning something in the kitchen, and her mother asked her what she was doing. She said, "I hope you're doing that for therapy." Another Nina quote: "Reading a book will make me a better wife and mother than scrubbing a floor will."