Family History by Sid

       The genealogy club in my community is presenting a program on Monday about how to find female ancestors. It seems that through the centuries the focus was always on men. They were the ones that could own land, vote, serve in the military and so on and so on. Women were generally only referred to as wives or mothers or daughters. That makes it difficult to search for the women who preceded us. Convention says that women in a family tree should be listed by their maiden name but many trees only have their married name because that might be the only record we have of them. In the early 20th century women automatically became citizens when their husbands were naturalized. The amount of documents referring to the women in our lives is substantially lower than that of our fathers and brothers. If you look at a headstone in a Jewish cemetery it will give the name of the person and their father’s name. Lately, however, some people are adding the mother’s name...

       I’ve been struggling with my genealogical research for the past several months. I seem to have lost focus and can’t decide which direction I want to go in. Should I search out new cousins via DNA matching or should I research people in my tree to confirm the facts and find new items to add to their stories? Or, should I just organize my data? A simple bike ride indicated what would be my next project.  Philip and Bessie Snyder gravestone       We were in Philadelphia for just over three weeks, spending time with our kids and visiting other family and friends. We wanted to visit the gravesite of Philip and Bessie Snyder (Arlene’s maternal grandparents) but we always seemed to be in a bit of a time crunch and just didn’t get there. The day before we left I decided to take a ride down to Montefiore cemetery in Elkins Park to place a stone on their metzivah but to also find out what Philip’s father’s name was. We knew his mother’s n...

       Researching your family history often times surprises you. Family lore and word of mouth narratives make you think that you know the whole story but then a document appears that lets you know that you didn’t really know. Most of the time it is just a small actuality like a person’s middle name or the apartment they lived in. Sometimes it is much bigger than that and can confuse the hell out of you just when you think everything is concrete.  Tillie Cohen 1910 census 216 Henry Street   Simon Muckler 1910 census 214 Henry Street       I knew that my grandfather, Louis Levine was met at Ellis Island by his Uncle Simon Muckler. I also knew that my grandmother, Tillie Cohen lived in New York and was a machine operator in the garment industry. What I didn’t know was that Simon and Tillie lived next door to each other on Henry Street on the lower east side. I discovered this when searching for Tillie in the 1910 census. I found a T...

    Carl Akiva Pasternak        Carl Akiva Pasternak was born December 27, 1902 in Vierzbin, Poland. He was the ninth out of twelve children born to Moishe and Bailah Pasternak. Life was tenuous in Poland in the early 20th century. Russia had invaded Poland and the Jews were subject to mistreatment and beatings. Carl’s parents knew that at some time they may need to leave their home quickly and they practiced how and where they would flee to. Once, when Carl was around five years old they had to run into the woods to escape the Russian soldiers. Carl tripped on a root and sprawled forward. He had been taught to play dead if he fell and that training saved his life. A soldier saw him lying in the weeds and prodded Carl with his bayonet. Remaining motionless and not breathing made the soldier believe the lad was dead and he moved on. When the coast was clear his family came and rescued him.       As a young boy, Carl attended th...

       All families are made up of all kinds of people. Some family members are good, charitable, smart, and empathetic. Some are a little crazy but in a good way. Others are selfish and self centered. I’m sure that every family has a member that is the black sheep. The one that nobody likes or can stand being around. Stories abound about all types and we relate them to each other, close friends, and even new acquaintances. I have a few “feel good” stories about the nicer, more inspirational relatives in my tree.          Lenox Seder Plate   My mother, Minnie Levine nee Boxinbaum was a beautiful soul. She was always willing to help anybody with anything. One of her passions was literacy. It was important to her that all people should be able to read and have access to all of the information that is available to her. I remember that she used to read newspapers and text books to a blind young woman who was becoming a Nu...

  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 fo...

       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...