Samuel Barnell Rosenbaum (Dec. 28, 1885 - October 27, 1945) was born in Russia, the son of Solomon and Rebecca Rosenbaum. His brother, Harris Rosenbaum (Dec. 28, 1886 [???] - March 14, 1981), too, was born in Russia. They came to America with their family in 1895. They settled in New Haven where other relatives had come a few years earlier.
When the family arrived, authorities for unknown reasons gave them 4 last names – Cugell, Rosenbaum, Rostow, and Levinson. Like so many immigrant families, they remained intensely close. After matriculating at New Haven High School, Sam graduated from the Yale Sheffield Scientific School as a civil engineer, in 1907. Brother Harris followed in 1908 in the same field.
As Yale undergrads, Sam and Harris Rosenbaum found their niche in life. In order to defer school expenses and keep the home front afloat, Sam and Harris filled a much needed educational gap by tutoring some of the star athletes on campus who tended not to be scholastic geniuses. Gradually, their reputation grew so that the engineers traded their slide rules for the more lucrative business of teaching.
In 1908, they opened the Rosenbaum Tutoring School at 84 Wall St, then next door at 88 Wall St, and finally, in 1920, at a permanent location at 262 York Street, all in New Haven. By 1913, the brothers added a preparatory department, which grew so rapidly that by 1916 it required all of their time.
In 1916, they established the “Rosenbaum School” on the old William S. Pond estate on Gulf Street near New Haven Avenue in Milford. The name was officially changed to “Milford School” by 1920. It was founded as a preparatory academy while the New Haven institution continued as primarily a tutoring school. Milford provided
the income to continue operating Rosenbaum School in New Haven. Harris stayed mostly at Milford. They shared clerical staff working out of Milford. Teaching staff had classes back-to-back on both campuses so were constantly on the move.
After a while, the terms Rosenbaum and Yale became synonymous. Time magazine (12/14/1936) referred to Sam and Harris Rosenbaum as “Yale’s leading tutors,” though independent. Yet there was an unspoken partner-ship. Yale professors sent their students to the Rosenbaums to reduce the need to see students after hours. Yale professors had a tutorial service, and the Rosenbaums had careers.
After a career long stint as director of the Milford School, Sam retired in 1942 and passed away in 1945. Harris took full reign and consolidated everything in Milford.
By then, it was officially called the Milford Preparatory School for Boys. The New Haven tutoring school, still at 262 York St., became known as the Broadway Tutoring School operated by Joseph S. Alderman and cousin Sidney Ross, both of whom also taught at Milford. Other family members, such as Joseph Rosenbaum, a math whiz, contributed their expertise to the Broadway School which lasted only into the 1960’s.
“Milford Prep” seemed to roll along. Harris ran the school by himself and became more of an administrator until 1964 when the the Rosenbaum family reorganized the school from proprietary into a nonprofit. At that time the name of the school was changed to “Milford Academy.” In a letter to Headmaster Robert S. Eccles, Harris Rosenbaum announced his retirement from teaching on November 4, 1964. He stayed on in an advisory capacity. Harris’ son, David S. “Bud Rosenbaum” (April 28, 1918 - April 22, 2008), son of Harris and Anne (Cugell) Rosenbaum, continued to work at the school throughout his life. Bud was active in the community serving in Milford Rotary from 1950 to the end of his days and as president in 1962.
The Rosenbaums built a legacy that would be known to generations that followed. Some of the more famous students include: Vincent Price, Efram Zimbalist Jr., famous hollywood actors, and California Senator George Murphy, Pillsbury Mills Executive Phillip Pillsbury, Henry Ringling North, and former U.N. Ambassador
to Norway Phillip Kingsland Crowe are famous graduates. Student athletes from around the country remember it either through attendance at the Prep or by playing against its teams.
In 1999, the city paid $2.8 million for 10 acres at the school, including a natatorium and athletic fields. Unfortunately this did not solve all of the debt issues and many of the buildings were in a terrible state of repair. The School closed in 2002 but did not die. Milford Prep settled its debts and sold its remaining 20 acres of grounds and facilities to the City of Milford for $2.5 million, initially as a purchase and lease back but that ultimately an outright sale. The site continues to serve the educational community. “The Academy,” a portion of the site, is a public school under the Board of Education.
The Milford Academy reopened in 2004 in New Berlin, NY, about 15 miles west of Cooperstown. Former Alderman James Coffee was intimately involved and made the move from Milford with the school. Residents of New Berlin, N.Y., approved a referendum allowing Milford Academy to purchase the 55,000-square-foot former Unadilla Valley High School building for $100,000. Its targeted mission continues to be the needs of high school senior and post-graduate student athletes needing educational guidance and athletic training.
The majority of its students today represent minority working class families who are economically unable to meet the monetary requirements of a college education. Over a recent three year period, Milford Academy sent approximately 98% of its students on to colleges. Most notably, more than two thirds (2/3) of these graduates received four-year scholarships.
