Where in the World is .......?
No, Carmen Sandiego is not in my family tree. There are however, some Spanish surnames. My great uncle, Chaim Mayer Kaganovich emigrated to Argentina, got married, and had 5 daughters and a son. The daughters all married and their married names are Kauffman, Balcarce, Alvarez, Ferraro, and Fontau. His son was named Mauricio. I do have a little more information on his family there but all of my attempts to contact them have gone unanswered. Here is a picture of his daughter Rosa at her wedding to Bernardo Kauffman.
With over 1400 people in the family tree it is not surprising that many countries, states, and cities are represented by all the different branches. My father’s parents, Tillie Kaganovich and Louis Levine grew up only about 50 miles apart but never met until here in the United States. Tillie was from Eishoshok (Eiskiskes) in Lithuania and Louis was from Traby in what is now Belarus. The map will show you how close they were. My Mother’s parents, Morris Boxinbaum and Rachel Pasternak were both from Poland but I’m not sure what towns they grew up in. Arlene’s paternal grandparents, Louis Cohn and Rachel Becker came from Russia (This could actually mean Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia etc.) and Germany respectively. I haven’t as of yet researched her maternal grandparents but I think it is Russia and possibly Hungary.
Jews never seem to stay in one place for very long. They relocated for many reasons including jobs, love interests, and unfortunately, survival. My father remained in Erie after having moved there in 1930 as did his brother Sam. But Bernie went to Dayton, Herman went to Albuquerque, Helen went to Philadelphia and baby sister Ruth eventually followed her there. My mother left Canada to come to Erie and her brother Louis went to Chicago and sister, Esther went to Halifax. Rose and Al remained in Hamilton. Arlene’s mother Gert was a lifelong Philadelphian but her sister, Sylvia retired to Boca Roton and her other sister landed in Richmond, Virginia. Arlene’s Father left Brooklyn but his brother, Arthur remained a New Yorker.
Our generation is even more spread out. There are family tree members in the following cities. New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Falls Church, VA, Richmond, Ocala, FL, and Erie. PA. There are also representatives in Memphis, Albuquerque, Corvalis, OR, Denver, and Margate, NJ. We have people in Hamilton, Ontario and in Israel. If I extend out to second, third cousins, and next generations the list will expand accordingly.
Ancestry.com provides me with a map of where all of my 4th cousin and closer relatives live and I have family on all continents and even some island nations. There was a popular game when I was a member of United Synagogue Youth called Jewish Geography. When you met somebody from another city you immediately asked if they knew “so and so.” This is also a very important game among Jewish Genealogists. Many times the name of a town or region spurs a search with a close DNA match or someone with a familiar surname. I’ve come close to establishing family connections simply by thinking “Where in the world is….?”
Jews never seem to stay in one place for very long. They relocated for many reasons including jobs, love interests, and unfortunately, survival. My father remained in Erie after having moved there in 1930 as did his brother Sam. But Bernie went to Dayton, Herman went to Albuquerque, Helen went to Philadelphia and baby sister Ruth eventually followed her there. My mother left Canada to come to Erie and her brother Louis went to Chicago and sister, Esther went to Halifax. Rose and Al remained in Hamilton. Arlene’s mother Gert was a lifelong Philadelphian but her sister, Sylvia retired to Boca Roton and her other sister landed in Richmond, Virginia. Arlene’s Father left Brooklyn but his brother, Arthur remained a New Yorker.
Our generation is even more spread out. There are family tree members in the following cities. New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Falls Church, VA, Richmond, Ocala, FL, and Erie. PA. There are also representatives in Memphis, Albuquerque, Corvalis, OR, Denver, and Margate, NJ. We have people in Hamilton, Ontario and in Israel. If I extend out to second, third cousins, and next generations the list will expand accordingly.
Ancestry.com provides me with a map of where all of my 4th cousin and closer relatives live and I have family on all continents and even some island nations. There was a popular game when I was a member of United Synagogue Youth called Jewish Geography. When you met somebody from another city you immediately asked if they knew “so and so.” This is also a very important game among Jewish Genealogists. Many times the name of a town or region spurs a search with a close DNA match or someone with a familiar surname. I’ve come close to establishing family connections simply by thinking “Where in the world is….?”
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