Arthur Oscar Freudenberg I (1891-1968) operated a typewriter repair shop, he was a real estate agent, he was an insurance broker, and he was a notary public. (b. August 9, 1891; 104 Madison Street, Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07030-1811, USA - d. January 22, 1968; Jersey City Medical Center, 50 Baldwin Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07304-3199, USA) Social Security Number 156051651.

Name:
Arthur Oscar Freudenberg, Arthur O. Freudenberg, A. O. Freudenberg.

Religion:
Arthur's grandparents and his father were Jewish but his mother must have been Protestant and he may have been raised Protestant. One of his siblings that died as an infant had their death recorded at the Lutheran church in Hoboken, New Jersey. Arthur's wife said she met him when he was teaching Sunday school and he mentions in his autobiography that he attended Waverly Congregational Church in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Parents:
Arthur was the son of Max S. Freudenberg I (1858-1921) and Eloise Lindauer II (1860-1935). Max was the son of Siegmund Freudenberg (1828-1908) of Berlin, Germany who was Jewish. Eloise was the daughter of Charles Frederick Lindauer (1835-1921) and Anna Augusta Kershaw (1841-1931) and may have been a member of the Dutch Reformed Church.

Birth:
Arthur was born in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey and later his family moved to Jersey City, New Jersey.

Siblings:
Eloise and Max had 15 children, 9 lived to adults. The children of Max and Eloise are: Babyboy Freudenberg (1879) who died as an infant; Max S. Freudenberg II (1881) who died as an infant; Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1885-1957) who married Ralph Kohlman (1885-1957) the printer; Charles Frederick Freudenberg (1887-1942) who married Julia Mary Buttomer (1883-1973); Jenny Gertrude Freudenberg (1888) who died as an infant; Clara Freudenberg (1890-1959) who never married; Max Freudenberg III (1893-1900) who died as a youth; Louis Julius Freudenberg I (1894-1918) who was killed in action in World War I; Harry Freudenberg (1895-1896) who died as an infant; Richard F. Freudenberg I (1896-1988) a chemical salesman who married Charlotte C. Kahrar (1897-1963); Eloise Freudenberg (1898) who died as an infant; Eugene Freudenberg (1900-1956) aka Gene Freudenberg who was a freight handler that married Florence Catherine Skinner (1901-1986) and died of emphysema from his smoking; Ralph Freudenberg (1903-1980) a typesetter for the New York Times who married Nora Belle Conklin (1905-1963) and after her death married Lottie Dombrowska (1916-1995); and Grace May Freudenberg (1904-1981) who married George Dewey Sanford I (1898-1965) who worked at a print shop.

Education:
He went to the local public schools in Hoboken, and then his parents moved to Jersey City. He graduated from high school around 1909-1910. He then attended evening school, presumably taking business courses, for two years.

Occupation:
Arthur first worked at Street and Smith, in the mail room, where he saved all the airmail and first class stamps that came in. All the stamps in the collection of Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ), from around 1910 to 1915 are from Arthur. He worked there for 10 years. Then for about two years he operated a typewriter exchange in Jersey City and New York. In 1918 he went to work for the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, as a field representative. He worked for the Globe Sales Company on Fulton Street in New York in 1920. On October 12, 1922 a caricature of him was published in the Hudson Dispatch when he was the Secretary for H.J. Bauridel Real Estate, Insurance and Auctioneer. He later had a real estate business with a partner and the company was "Freudenberg and Saedler" located at 109 Paterson Plank Road in West Hoboken, New Jersey. He taught Sunday School at Waverly Congregational Church.

Marriage:
In 1914 he married Maria Elizabeth Winblad (1895-1987). Together they had three children: Naida Muriel Freudenberg (1915-1998) who married Burnett Peter Van Deusen (1913-1993); Selma Louise Freudenberg (1921-2009); and Helen Eloise Freudenberg (1928-1987) who married John Earl Borland I (1924-1986).

World War I:
He registered for the draft on June 20, 1917 but was exempted from service because he was married and had a child. His brother, Louis Julius Freudenberg, served and was killed in action, and his brother Richard Freudenberg served at Camp Meade in Maryland, but was not sent overseas.

Cheating colleagues:
The [real estate] board recommended that A. O. Freudenberg of 109 Paterson Plank Road pay Edward H. Heagan of 509 Central Avenue, one-half of the commission received by Freudenberg for the sale of property at 42 Paterson Street. Heagen complained that after he had "tipped" Freudenberg about the property, the latter refused to share the $150 commission with him. (Source: Jersey Journal on Thursday, June 4, 1925)

Abandoned family:
Arthur was a womanizer, and around 1928 he ran off with another woman but never divorced Maria, his wife. The oral family tradition has been that she was a burlesque stripper Arthur never gave any money to support his family. Maria had to scrub floors and wash laundry through the Great Depression to pay for food and shelter.

Arrest:
"Real Estate Agent Put Under Arrest. Arthur O. Freudenberg, formerly of 809 Montgomery Street, a real estate agent, wandered into the courtroom where Under Sheriff Thomas Pryor was conducting sales yesterday afternoon and within a few minutes found himself under arrest at the hands of Deputy Sheriff Frank Sullivan. It developed that Freudenberg is under indictment for defrauding Mrs. Sarah Kane of 96 Stuyvesant Avenue of some $2,500 in a real estate deal. Lawyer Benjamin Dowden, representing Mrs. Kane, recognized Freudenberg and had him placed under arrest." (Source: Jersey Journal on June 14, 1929)

Cadillac:
Around 1947 he sold one of the buildings he owned on Central Avenue in Jersey City, and used the money to buy a brand new Cadillac. This was the building that he had his office in. Everyone in the family told him not to sell the building and to keep collecting rental income from it. He sold it and the Cadillac he bought was ruined within a few years.

Edlycoe Klynman:
During the late 1940's he was living with Edlycoe Klynman, aka AdaLee, on Cottage Street and she had a daughter, but Arthur was not the father. Richard Freudenberg (1918-1994) aka Dick Freudenberg, dated the daughter. Arthur wouldn't get a divorce from Marie to marry her, so she left him after taking all his money.

Diabetes:
Later in life he had diabetes and had to have a few toes amputated. His daughter Helen told him: "don't worry, the women will still love you".

Easter 1961:
He showed up for Easter at the home of Helen Freudenberg on Grace Street in Jersey City, New Jersey on April 2, 1961 and a series of photographs were taken.

Real estate man:
Jersey Journal on November 22, 1963: "Widow Has 18 Days to Find Home. Mrs. Deesa Rose today won in an 18-day race between her real estate man and the courts. Arthur O. Freudenberg is searching for a new home for Mrs. Rose. a 64-year-old widow. If she doesn't leave 117 Newkirk Street, Jersey City, within 18 days she must explain why in court. Deputy Sheriff Joseph Jordan finally succeeded in serving an eviction notice on the woman. He induced a friend of Mrs. Rose to knock on the door. She received a summons Wednesday answerable in 20 days. Mrs. Rose, whose determination rebuffed a crew of wreckers tearing down the two story frame house in which she barricaded herself, says the won't leave until her real estate man finds her a 'suitable place to live.' She sold the house for $18,000 to the Newkirk Realty Corp., which has been stymied in its demolition plans. But asking Mrs. Rose whether she will leave if the summons comes due before Freudenberg comes through is a difficult question. Yesterday she hammered 10-penny nails into her door. And she isn't in a talkative mood."

Death:
He died in 1968 on Journal Square in Jersey City at the bus station. He had a heart attack. His nephew, and namesake Arthur Freudenberg (1929- ) was walking home in Jersey City and saw a crowd surrounding a man lying on the ground. He had come across his uncle Arthur having his fatal heart attack. Arthur loved to collect first edition books, engravings and antique clocks. He died with a large collection of antiques but the family never inherited them. Selma and her son Richard went to his house the day he died and there was a pile of material from the house thrown into the backyard. They rescued several engravings from the pile and they are still with Richard Norton (1958- ). One of them is titled "Othello, the Play Scene" and it is by C.W. Sharpe.

Obituary:
Jersey Journal on January 24, 1968: "Arthur Freudenberg, 76, of 329 Summit Avenue, Jersey City, a Hoboken native; operated a real estate firm on Central Avenue in Jersey City."

Funeral notice:
"Freudenberg - Arthur, on January 22, 1968, husband of Maria (nee Winblad), father of Mrs. Helen Borland, Mrs. Naida Van Deusen, and Mrs. Selma Freudenberg; brother of Mrs. GRace Sanford, Ralph, and Richard. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren also survive. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral service at the Mack Memorial Home, Central Avenue and Hutton Street, Jersey City, Wednesday, January 24, at 12:30 p.m. Internment to follow at Flower Hill Cemetery, North Bergen. Visiting 2-5 and 7-10 p.m." (Source: Jersey Journal on January 23, 1968)

Burial:
He was buried in Flower Hill Cemetery with his parents and siblings on January 24, 1968.

Biography:
"Taking a prominent part in the present day advance of Hudson County, New Jersey, as a dealer and operator in real estate and insurance. Mr. Arthur O. Freudenberg is carrying into his business principles of honesty and fair dealing which bear so important a relation to the public welfare. Still a young man, and always in close touch with the movement of the times, Mr. Freudenberg is counted among the influences of progress which are carrying Hudson County to ever larger prosperity. He is a son of Maximilian and Eloise (Lindauer) Freudenberg, the father a native of Germany, the mother of New York State. Of the sons of these parents Louis J. Freudenberg was killed in action in the World War. He served as a runner or messenger with Company M., 309th Infantry, 78th Division, and was shot in the Argonne, October 16th, 1918. Richard, another brother, served at Camp Meade, Maryland, but was not sent overseas. Maximilian Freudenberg was active in the insurance business in New York City for many years, in the capacity of actuary in the German department of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Arthur O. Freudenberg was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, August 9, 1891. His education was begun in the local public schools. Later attending the public schools of Jersey City, as the residence of the family changed, he continued his studies at the Jersey City public and high schools, and also attending evening school for two years. Mr. Freudenberg's first business experience was with the famous publishing house of the Street & Smith Company, of New York City, where he continued for a full decade, then for about two years he conducted a typewriter exchange in Jersey City and also in New York. In the year 1918, Mr. Freudenberg identified himself with the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, as a field representative, and is still active in this capacity. He also handles a very extensive real estate and insurance business, and with offices at No. 109 Paterson Plank Road, West Hoboken, and is taking a definite part in the local advance. Mr. Freudenberg acts as a notary public, is a Democrat by political affiliation, and is a member of Waverly Congregational Church. His brother Eugene Freudenberg, fraternally holds membership in the Junior Order United American Mechanics, of Jersey City, Summit Council, No. 87. He is also a member of the Waverly Congregational Church. Arthur O. Freudenberg married, February 28, 1914, Maria E. Winblad, daughter of John and Salmine (Pedersen) Winblad, both now deceased, her father during his lifetime being associated with an ocean steamship line. Mr., and Mrs. Freudenberg are the parents of two daughters; Naida Muriel and Selma Louise." (Source: History of the Municipalities of Hudson County, New Jersey, 1630-1923)

Memories about Arthur Freudenberg:
Arthur Oscar Freudenberg II (1929- ) said on May 05, 2003:
"I think Helen Freudenberg got his house in Keansburg and she sold it to a milk guy named Burke in Jersey City. I think it was 164 Center Avenue in Keansburg. I brought over a load of chop meat and he ate it raw. I got it free because I was picking up food for the nuns at the hospital. He owned buildings at 309 Central Avenue, 329 Summit Avenue, 138 Cottage Street and a 10 room house in Keansburg, New Jersey. He never gave his wife May any money. He was a cheap bastard."

Memories about Arthur Freudenberg:
Selma Louise Freudenberg (1921-2009) said on February 20, 1999: "I remember my father would bring us a Christmas tree or a turkey for us [after he abandoned the family]. Once he brought us a turkey that went bad in our ice box. The butcher that lived in the four family house next door had us soak the turkey in salt water for a few hours and we were able to cook the turkey. Across the hall was a woman named Mrs. Edwards and she would bring over food, but she would stay for hours trying to find out gossip. After she moved out the Brady's moved in and we were good friends with them. They didn't have any kids. The Berberick's lived downstairs and they later moved to Fair Lawn. I remember on hot nights everyone would stay outside on their porches in Jersey City."

Memories about Arthur Freudenberg:
Thomas Patrick Norton (1920-2011) said on June 18, 2006: "I went over to his house around 1950 to help fix something. There were several children in the house and they called him dad. The youngest was a boy around 10 years old and he wanted to look at all my tools."

Archive:
Very few photographs of him survived, all his possessions were discarded when he died, by his lawyer. A few pages of his letterhead survived and are archived. His collection of stamps removed from envelopes at Street and Smith is extant. A few of the engravings he collected survived. His postcard collection survives. He kept a diary but it is no longer extant.

Uncompleted tasks:
He has not been found in the 1940 US census. He may have not wanted to be listed because he abandoned his wife and children and he was living with his mistress.

Relationships:
Arthur Oscar Freudenberg I (1891-1968) was the grandfather of Richard Arthur Norton (1958). He is a confirmed most recent common ancestor using autosomal DNA with the following cousins: Kevin Borland (1975), Michael Joseph Borland (1947), and Steven Thomas Borland (1981).

Research:
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958) for Findagrave starting on June 16, 2003. Updated in 2013 to remove the conflicting DNA evidence that once appeared to show that Helen was not the child of Maria, the newest DNA evidence and her birth certificate supports her as the mother. Updated on March 25, 2017 with his obituary and arrest. Updated on September 25, 2018 with article on cheating a colleague and his funeral notice.

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