Oh Brother, Where Art Thou....
I’ve hit a bit of a brick wall. That is the term genealogists use to say they can’t find any documentation to connect one person to another in a family tree. I’m searching for the siblings of my great grandfather Beryl Levine and have progressed nicely for a while but my efforts have seemed to stall.
Here is what I know. My great grandfather Beryl Levine was the son of Eli Lazar Levine. Beryl had 5 siblings. Moishe, Meyer, Leibe, Eli Lazar, and Genashna. This information comes to me via my Uncle, Murray Ringold who had interviewed my grandfather, Louis Levine. Those of you who knew Louis know that he was very astute and mentally sharp up until the end of his life.
Beryl died in 1889 on or about the day his daughter, Bertha was born. This was in 1889 and has been corroborated by interviews with both Louis and his sister Mary. I have no pictures of him nor have I found any documentation of him or his family in the European databases which are online.
Beryl’s brother Moishe has been an easy one to find. I have several census records from when he lived in Mt. Pleasant, PA. He married Rebecca Lieberman and had 3 children. Alec, May, and Benjamin. He was born around 1860 which is consistent with the generational time line. I have followed his descendants and actually had a telephone conversation with his great great grandson, Richard who filled me in on a little of the family history.
Beryl’s sister, Genashna married Bernard Davidson. They had 4 children, Meyer, Leah, Edith (Gitta Rivke), and Eli Lazar. I have followed the descendants of two of them. Meyer, married his first cousin, the aforementioned Bertha. Most recently I got connected with Larry Rogoff, the grandson of Edith. I’m also in touch with Baylee Gordon, Bertha’s daughter.
The information I have on the other brothers is a little fuzzy. When I first got my DNA test results I found a high match with a Marvin Levin, and a Beny Levin. They had a public family tree on Ancestry.com and it showed a Meyer Levin as Marvin’s grandfather. There was also a connection to Latrobe, PA . We have been in communication for a while and we are pretty sure that the Meyer in his tree is the same Meyer as in my tree. There are very few documents available concerning Meyer so I can’t proclaim that the match is absolute but subsequent DNA tests of both my sister and my Aunt Ruth make it likely that our suspicions are correct. My grandfather’s family tree claimed that Meyer had a wife named Tiba. I found a ship manifest of a Meyer Levin with his wife, Tiba. His birth year was 1862 and it also said that his occupation was a shoemaker. My grandfather’s interview mentioned an Uncle who was a shoemaker. See Meyer on line 699.
The only reference I can find of Beryl’s brother, Eli Lazar is a ship manifest from 1899. There is an Elie L Lewin travelling with a 10 year old Paschke. They hailed from Evia which is small town near Traby where Beryl had lived. My grandfather’s interview said there were uncles that lived in Evia. The manifest also states he was going to Latrobe, PA to be met there by his brother. Elie is listed on line 1.
The last brother is Leibe. I have conflicting evidence about this person. I would think he was born in the 1860’s but Beny’s family tree has him being born in 1881. Beny claims that Leibe, who changed his name to Lewis, is Meyer’s brother. This particular Lewis lived in the same apartment as Bertha and Meyer Davison in the 1910 census. I found a census report of a Leibe (Louis) Levin and his wife, Rebecca living in Latrobe in 1900. It says he was born in 1852. It might be too early or perhaps just a mistake. Louis is listed on line 9 followed by his family.
There is a ship manifest from January of 1900 showing a Rivke along with 2 of her sons coming from Evia and going to Latrobe. It says she was being met by her husband but the name on the manifest says it is Meyer Levin. Oy!!!. See the listing on line 2.
I’m getting closer and there are other avenues to investigate. Someday I hope to say Oh Brother, I found you.
Here is what I know. My great grandfather Beryl Levine was the son of Eli Lazar Levine. Beryl had 5 siblings. Moishe, Meyer, Leibe, Eli Lazar, and Genashna. This information comes to me via my Uncle, Murray Ringold who had interviewed my grandfather, Louis Levine. Those of you who knew Louis know that he was very astute and mentally sharp up until the end of his life.
Beryl died in 1889 on or about the day his daughter, Bertha was born. This was in 1889 and has been corroborated by interviews with both Louis and his sister Mary. I have no pictures of him nor have I found any documentation of him or his family in the European databases which are online.
Beryl’s brother Moishe has been an easy one to find. I have several census records from when he lived in Mt. Pleasant, PA. He married Rebecca Lieberman and had 3 children. Alec, May, and Benjamin. He was born around 1860 which is consistent with the generational time line. I have followed his descendants and actually had a telephone conversation with his great great grandson, Richard who filled me in on a little of the family history.
Beryl’s sister, Genashna married Bernard Davidson. They had 4 children, Meyer, Leah, Edith (Gitta Rivke), and Eli Lazar. I have followed the descendants of two of them. Meyer, married his first cousin, the aforementioned Bertha. Most recently I got connected with Larry Rogoff, the grandson of Edith. I’m also in touch with Baylee Gordon, Bertha’s daughter.
The information I have on the other brothers is a little fuzzy. When I first got my DNA test results I found a high match with a Marvin Levin, and a Beny Levin. They had a public family tree on Ancestry.com and it showed a Meyer Levin as Marvin’s grandfather. There was also a connection to Latrobe, PA . We have been in communication for a while and we are pretty sure that the Meyer in his tree is the same Meyer as in my tree. There are very few documents available concerning Meyer so I can’t proclaim that the match is absolute but subsequent DNA tests of both my sister and my Aunt Ruth make it likely that our suspicions are correct. My grandfather’s family tree claimed that Meyer had a wife named Tiba. I found a ship manifest of a Meyer Levin with his wife, Tiba. His birth year was 1862 and it also said that his occupation was a shoemaker. My grandfather’s interview mentioned an Uncle who was a shoemaker. See Meyer on line 699.
There is a ship manifest from January of 1900 showing a Rivke along with 2 of her sons coming from Evia and going to Latrobe. It says she was being met by her husband but the name on the manifest says it is Meyer Levin. Oy!!!. See the listing on line 2.
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