Person in this family

Amelia Oppenheimer

Born January 1850; death not recorded

Amelia Oppenheimer was born about January 1850 and married David Seelig about 1868. The 1900 census finds her in Manhattan's Ward 14 with him and nine children. Her surname is spelt three ways across the records — Oppenheimer on her son Louis's christening and on his 1938 Social Security application, Oppenheim on his marriage, Oppenheiman on Bernard's death — and Oppenheimer, given twice and on the earliest document, is taken here as the true one. She is a direct ancestor of Gina Cacace.

Proved by a record

Amelia Oppenheimer was born about January 1850 and married David Seelig about 1868. The 1900 census finds her in Manhattan's Ward 14 with him and nine children. Her surname is spelt three ways across the records — Oppenheimer on her son Louis's christening and on his 1938 Social Security application, Oppenheim on his marriage, Oppenheiman on Bernard's death — and Oppenheimer, given twice and on the earliest document, is taken here as the true one. She is a direct ancestor of Gina Cacace.

Recorded as: Amelia Oppenheim, Amelia Oppenheiman, Seelig

How is this person related?

Andrew John Leahey’s spouse's great-great-great-grandparent (by marriage)

Worked out from the recorded parents and marriages. No sex is recorded for anyone in this archive, so the wording stays neutral.

Life

A written life story has not been added for this person yet.

References for this account: [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Family

Spouse

Children

See this family in the family tree

Where they lived

Use the place list first. The map below is optional.

Places listed on this page

  • New York City, New York
  • New York
  • Manhattan, New York City, New York

The map could not load. The complete place list is above it.

The pins show approximate places. The line only joins them in time order; it does not prove the route travelled. 1 of the places listed above are recorded only as a county or country, so they are not pinned. Cemetery and burial places have red pins.

What the records say

0 of 6 records transcribed.

Record exhibit

Marriage of Louis Seelig and Sarah Moore, Manhattan, 21 February 1906

This old record gives information about the person or family named here.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

The exact words from this record have not been typed out yet.

Record exhibit

Christening of Louis Seelig, Manhattan, born 30 June 1876

This old record gives information about the person or family named here.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

The exact words from this record have not been typed out yet.

Record exhibit

Louis Seelig, Social Security application, February 1938 (NUMIDENT)

This old record gives information about the person or family named here.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

The exact words from this record have not been typed out yet.

Record exhibit

Death of Bernard Seelig, Manhattan, 19 May 1939

This old record gives information about the person or family named here.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

The exact words from this record have not been typed out yet.

Record exhibit

David Seelig household, 1900 census, Manhattan Ward 14

A census is a government list of the people who were living in a home.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

The exact words from this record have not been typed out yet.

Record exhibit

David Selig household, 1880 census, New York City

A census is a government list of the people who were living in a home.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

The exact words from this record have not been typed out yet.

Historical context

These background articles explain the places, work, and events in this entry.

What we still don't know

  • [A DNA TEST IN THE DIRECT FAMILY BEARS ON THIS] An autosomal test taken by a living descendant shows a small but unambiguous **Ashkenazi Jewish** component, reported as eastern European. No such ancestry is documented anywhere in this archive. Until August 2026 the archive believed its Jewish line ran through Samuel Selig and Gussie Nathanson — and finding 117 removed that family entirely, having shown they were attached through the wrong Florence. **The Jewish ancestry is real; the paper trail for it is missing.** This page is one of a small number that could carry it. Percentages and the test itself are deliberately not published here. Oppenheimer and Seelig are both names German Jewish families carried, which is why this was flagged as suggestive from the first day this line was built. Against it, her son Louis was **christened** — a Christian rite — which is real evidence and cuts the other way without settling anything.
  • Her birthplace. The 1900 census records one and the index does not carry it; the sheet itself would.
  • Her parents, her marriage record of about 1868, and her death.
  • Seelig and Oppenheimer are both names carried by German Jewish families, and her husband came from Germany in 1852. That is suggestive and it is not evidence — her son was christened in a Christian rite, which cuts the other way without settling it. See finding 117.

References

  1. [1] Marriage of Louis Seelig and Sarah Moore, Manhattan, 21 February 1906Back to citation 1
  2. [2] Christening of Louis Seelig, Manhattan, born 30 June 1876Back to citation 2
  3. [3] Louis Seelig, Social Security application, February 1938 (NUMIDENT)Back to citation 3
  4. [4] Death of Bernard Seelig, Manhattan, 19 May 1939Back to citation 4
  5. [5] David Seelig household, 1900 census, Manhattan Ward 14Back to citation 5
  6. [6] David Selig household, 1880 census, New York CityBack to citation 6

See also