Family History by Sid

       There is a bond between siblings. Sometimes they don’t see eye to eye and sometimes they get along famously. Brothers will always beat up each other, try to out compete each other in all sports, and will always have each other’s back when they are threatened by an outsider. Sisters, however, always seem to have a special bond. I can’t say what it is because I’m a brother not a sister. Girls are more nurturing to each other and they understand each other’s problems, insecurities, and aspirations. If they are close enough in age they share clothes but they share secrets about their lives, their friends, and their relationships their entire life.       There are a lot of sisters in my family tree. My maternal grandmother was the oldest of 12 siblings of which 8 of them were girls. My paternal grandmother had three sisters. My paternal grandfather had two full sisters and a half sister. The next generation down had sisters on three o...

       The genealogists term for not being able to find any more information about a person is “Brick Wall.” I’ve hit a number of these over the last several years and for the most part that barrier still stands but once in a while you knock it down or at least punch a hole through it. I posted early on about my grandfather’s uncle, Meyer Levine. At that time I didn’t have much information about him except for the fact that he was an uncle and his wife’s name was Tiba Mirachi. My third cousin, Beny Levin, smashed down that wall when he found that Meyer (Beny’s great grandfather) had two daughters and a son that we weren’t aware of. He went on to identify another great grandchild and eventually that person’s mother and uncle who are both still alive. They provided pictures, stories, and documents to add to our family history. Name: Louis Cohn Event Type: Marriage Event ...

       Our family trees are replete with amazing and inspiring people. Some are sincere, creative, witty, and just plain fun to be around. Others are serious, courageous leaders that we look to in times of duress. They are all defined by these attributes and their personalities. Sometimes, however, we don’t view them as just a person but as a member of a couple, interwoven with their life partner creating an entity that characterizes both of them. My own tree has many of these “entities” and I would like to introduce you to some of them.  Bailah and Moshe Pasternak       My great grandparents on my mother’s side were Moshe and Bailah Pasternak. They were born in and lived in Dolishits, Poland. They had twelve children, the oldest being Rachel, my grandmother. Bailah died in 1939 in her home town. Three years later at the age of 82 Moshe was murdered by the Nazis in Treblinka. They must have instilled a strong sense of family in thei...

  Louis Levine        I decided to feature my paternal grandfather in this first post of the new year. My cousins, my sisters and I referred to him as Zayde, an endearing Yiddish term for grandfather. He was a strong and independent man who may have appeared hard and gruff but he loved and cherished his children and grandchildren.       Louis Levine was the second child and only son of Beryl and Tiba Levine nee Weiner. He was born on December 20th, 1885 in Traby which is in the western part of what is now Belarus not far from the Lithuanian border. Louis was his Americanized name but he was called Lazar (short for Eliezar?) possibly named after his grandfather. There may have been times that he was referred to Alexander but never in any official capacity. When Louis was 4 years old his father died. This happened on or about the day his sister, Bertha was born. Tiba, being a widow with a newborn and no income, sent Louis and his older...

       The month of December is schizophrenic. There are holidays that foster family gatherings. We assemble for good times and eat a lot and drink a lot and hugs are plentiful. Then, depending on what part of the country you live in, you exit to nasty weather with snow and blowing winds. Nighttime arrives early and all you want to do is get under the covers. Of course, if you live in Florida like I do you have sunny days and temps close to 80 degrees but in order to jubilate with family and friends we must travel 1000 miles.  Louis at age 19 or 20 Al Boxinbaum Isaac Koff at age 3      Some people have other things to celebrate in December. Birthdays and anniversaries. I printed a report from my Rootsmagic software program of all of these blessed events in the month of December. 68 people in my tree had birthdays this month an8d of course that is only for people that I actually have documented birth dates for. The oldest is my paternal gra...

  The Gang of Four      My paternal grandparents, Louis and Tillie Levine had 13 grandchildren. We all got along famously and when we got together we had a lot of fun. We treated each other like we were siblings. Between January of 1957 and January of 1958, four cousins were born. Since that time they have been affectionately known as the gang of four.         Melissa Gail Levine was born in January of 1957 in Ohio. She was the third child of Herman and Shirley Levine but grew up in Albuquerque, NM as her family moved there shortly after she was born. Missy, which is what we always called her, graduated from high school in Albuquerque and went on to college at the University of New Mexico where she studied nursing. She never finished due to her mom’s illness but did work as a medical secretary In 1981 she married Kevin Peters and in 1990 they moved to Memphis, TN where Kevin worked for Fedex. They have two children, Denise and Josh....