Family History by Sid

  RUTH LEVINE      Ruth Levine was born on July 8, 1929 in Cranesville, PA. She was the youngest child of Louis and Tillie Levine. A year or so later, the family moved into nearby Erie, PA. Ruth was seven years younger than her twin brothers, Herman and Sam and was 12 years younger than her oldest sibling, Bernie. Ruth was the baby of the family and throughout her life her siblings and her parents always made sure she was taken care of. This is not to say, however, that she was a damsel in distress. Ruth was a strong, independent, capable woman who lived her life as she seemed fit. She fought her own battles and took responsibility for her own actions.   Family house in Cranesville       Ruth graduated from Academy High School in Erie, PA in 1947. She was named to the National Honor Society and participated on the debate team. She was also president of a student organization known as the Girl Reserves. It looked to be a club for girls that mixed social activities and educati

       I liken the researching of family history to hunting for hidden treasure. Pirates buried their loot in out of the way places and drew crude maps with cryptic-al clues so that only they could retrieve their gold. Many times in genealogy we search for ancestors only to find that the clues provided are vague at best. People changed names, both first and last, and family lore is replete with wrong birth dates, dates of arrival, and misidentified relatives. Census takers misspelled names and their cursive was impossible to decipher. Occasionally, you are lucky enough to unearth a treasure chest that fills your tree with new family members, along with their stories and documents to solidify that branch. This treasure chest could be a box of photographs hidden in a grandparent’s attic or an interview with a long lost uncle. It could be a misplaced box of documents you finally found in your garage or a message from an Ancestry.com member who matches at second cousin level. I’v