Ernst Heumann family collection ; 1843-1999 1918-1931; 1950-1981

The Ernst Heumann Family Collection documents three generations of his family, including members of the Messer, van Gelder, Oppenheim, Haas, and related families. Much of the collection centers on how the businessman Ernst Heumann and his wife Hedi née Messer established themselves in the United States and built their family; also present is documentation on their early lives in Germany and their emigration. The bulk of the collection consists of the family's extensive personal correspondence; official and personal documents are also a central part of the collection. Documents include private correspondence; official and educational certificates; immigration papers; legal documents; Ernst Heumann's business correspondence and papers; some family trees; family writings, such as poems, essays and short stories; travel memorabilia; and other documentation.Ernst Heumann was born on July 24, 1900 in the town of Gau-Odernheim, Germany, the son of Adolf and Fanny (née Haas) Heumann. He had two younger sisters: Edith and Alice. As a young man he apprenticed at the import and export firm Siegmund Strauss Jr. in Frankfurt am Main. However, by the early 1920s he had become concerned at the lack of economic opportunity in Germany and decided to emigrate to the United States. In 1924 he traveled with his friend Artur Schuster to New York, arriving in January 1924 and eventually working in real estate. Ernst’s sister Alice followed him to New York, arriving first in 1926 and settling in May 1932.Ernst Heumann met Hedi Messer (born Margot Hedwig, but called Hedi in later official correspondence) before visiting Germany in 1929. Hedi, born January 25, 1908, was the daughter of Isak Josef (called Isi) and Elizabeth (called Betty, née van Gelder) Messer of Frankfurt am Main. She had two siblings, Herbert and Gretel. Hedi had emigrated to New York in 1927 with the financial assistance of her cousin Max Oppenheim, who also assisted other members of the Messer family to emigrate. Ernst and Hedi married in early 1932. They would have two daughters, Audrey and Elaine. Eventually the family moved to Great Neck, New York. By the late 1940s, Ernst Heumann had become head of the real estate firm, Trylon Realty Corporation in Forest Hills.During the 1930s, other members of the family joined Ernst and Hedi Heumann in New York. Isak Josef Messer and Elizabeth (Betty) Messer arrived in New York on April 27, 1934. Adolf and Fanny Heumann arrived in New York on May 31, 1935. Ernst's sister Edith immigrated via Canada in 1934. Hedi's brother Herbert had emigrated in 1928, their sister Gretel came to New York in 1934.Audrey Heumann studied theater at Bard College and eventually married the lawyer Ezra Regen; they had 3 children. Elaine Heumann attended Brandeis University and married the physician Bennett (Ben) Gurian with whom she had two children.Beginning in 1959 Ernst and Hedi Heumann took many cruises, including trips around the world, to South America, Europe, and several trips to Asia and the South Pacific.Ernst Heumann passed away in 1981; Hedi Heumann died in 1991.Finding aid available onlineProcesse