Ben Goldsmith’s Brother Was Aptly Named
From Time to Thyme
By Paula Dun
When I began working on this column, I I thought it was just going to be about a bizarre tale I found in the April 26, 1906 Hamilton County Times involving a former Noblesville resident, Benjamin “Ben” Goldsmith.
As I did the background research, however, I realized he deserved more attention than I’d originally planned to devote to him.
Ben Goldsmith spent around 40 years of his life here and should have been included when I wrote the columns about Noblesville’s early Jewish residents a few years ago. He flew under my radar because, unlike the Levinsons and Josephs, he didn’t raise a family here — I can’t find any evidence that he ever married — and he died elsewhere.
I don’t know exactly when he settled in Noblesville, but I believe he was here at least by 1864. Records show “Bernard” Goldsmith enlisted in the 136th Indiana Infantry company that was raised in Noblesville in 1864.
Since Ben Goldsmith was unquestionably a Civil War veteran and there was apparently only one Goldsmith living here during that time period, it seems reasonable to assume any mention of “Bernard” or “B.” Goldsmith actually refers to Ben, although I’ve been unable to definitively prove that.
I recruited Hamilton County Genealogist Nancy Massey to help me track down information on the Goldsmith family to confirm that assumption, but neither of us had much luck.
I suspect Ben Goldsmith moved here because of Newman Levinson. They were both from Prussia (Germany) and could have known each other there. The 1870 and 1880 censuses show “Bernard Goldsmith” boarding with the Levinson family.
In any event, Ben remained close to the Levinsons throughout his life. He started working here as a clerk in Levinson’s clothing store.
Later, he became part owner of a grocery and a creamery.
Generally regarded as one of the most intelligent and well-read men in town, he was every bit as civic-minded as Newman Levinson, and was just as well liked.
He belonged to Noblesville’s G.A.R. post and the Masonic lodge, was active in the local Republican Party and helped organize Noblesville’s Board of Trade — just to name a few of the interests he pursued here.
In the spring of 1902, at the age of 61, Ben’s health became so bad that his brother, Marcus, a doctor, took him home to New York City to look after him.
This is where things get strange.
Ben and Marcus had another brother, Lazarus, who’d disappeared 40-some years earlier. Lazarus left home one day to buy a book, saying he’d return in a half hour. Instead, he enlisted to fight in the Civil War and never came back.
His family searched for him for years and finally gave him up for dead.
In reality, after the war ended, Lazarus went traveling around the world. He settled in Portland, Oregon, under the name L. K. G. Smith, and ran a small tobacco store there for 35 years. During that time, he managed to amass a fortune in stocks, bonds and Oregon real estate.
A few years before his death, Lazarus moved back to New York City. There are several conflicting versions of what happened after his return. All that’s certain is that at some point a member of the family discovered him and contact was made.
According to the Hamilton County Times, when Ben learned his brother was still alive, his heart couldn’t take it and he “expired without a word.”
I don’t know if that’s true, but I have verified that Ben died in December, 1902. Oddly enough, Marcus passed away about three weeks later.
Lazarus died in 1906. In recognition of the assistance Marcus gave him, he left his considerable estate to Marcus’ widow, making her a VERY wealthy woman.
Thanks to Nancy Massey and Barry Shevitz for their help.
Paula Dunn’s From Time to Thyme column appears on Wednesdays in The Times. Contact her at younggardenerfriend@gmail.com
