Is your name Horowitz, Ish Horowitz, Horwitz, Hurowitz, Hurwitz, Gorovets, Gorvich, Gurevich, Gurovich, Gurvich, Gurvits, Gurvitz, Gerwitz, Urevich or Herwitz? Did any of your ancestors bear one of these name?
Did you know that there is a Horowitz Families Association?
The group will hold its 23rd annual conference on the first day of Chanukah, at 4.30pm Wednesday, December 5, in Tel Aviv's Beit HaTanach, 16 Rothschild Blvd.
According to association board member Shlomo Gurevich, the meeting will focus on the contribution of family members to the creation of the state of Israel, on the 60th anniversary of the UN decision, as well as connections with the Czech Republic.
The event will feature remarks by association chair Yitzhak Ish-Horowitz on the family roots in Bohemia, by the Czech Ambassador in Israel, and the Israeli-Czech Friendship Society president.
During the conference, books on the family history will be presented as well as the annual association yearbook. Admission is NIS 25; members, NIS 20.
The website publishes information - in Hebrew, English, Russian and Spanish - about the family history, events and members, according to one of the site's webmasters, Daniel Horowitz. Horowitz family members and descendants from around the world can register for free, facilitating contact with other branches and the exchange of information. A mailing list keeps everyone up to date.
Visitors can also read and download past editions of the annual association newsletter, Yedion.
Monthly updates include biographies of notable Horowitz family members and a project titled "The All Horowitz Family Tree" is underway in an attempt to gather as many of the families' branch trees as possible.
The Horowitz Family Tree page is located at MyHeritage.com. The site offers excellent tools for genealogists, such as family websites with smart matching technology, photograph handling capabilities, a search engine which accesses 1,200-plus genealogical websites at one click and much more, including easy-to-use online family tree building tools.
Those members living in or visiting Israel can review the association's library holdings online and make appointments to visit the association library and consult its resources.
While the family's rabbinical roots are in medieval Barcelona, they migrated to the town of Horovice (today's Czech Republic) and adopted the town name for the family.
For more information, click here.
28 November 2007
27 November 2007
Miami: World Jewish records, Dec. 2
Jerusalem-based genealogist Michael Goldstein will speak on "A Wealth of World Jewish Records," at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami
The Sunday, December 2 meeting begins at 9.30am with a networking and brick wall session, followed by the main program at 10am, at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
Jewish genealogists around the globe seek information about their ancestors; few realize that one of the greatest sources for research lies in Israel.
Many people don't know that Israeli archives and internet sites have amassed collections of historical and contemporary information about Jews around the world, including Poland, Russia, Spain and China. Even those who know that Israeli archives hold these ancestral information keys may not realize recent vast advances made in facilitating data access for worldwide research and finding Israeli family.
Goldstein will offer general guidelines about contacting and accessing Israeli archives. He will share interesting case studies and data on how family mysteries were solved by accessing lesser-known Israeli archives. Tips will be offered on finding Israeli-based shtetl tax rolls, migration records from Galicia to New York , ketubot from around the world, Polish vital records, Yad Vashem resources, and evidence of ancestral assets of those who never left Russia .
Canadian-born, Goldstein is a professional genealogist who researches, mentors, lectures, and conducts workshops in Israel and North America. He conducts worldwide Jewish research and guides North Americans in locating and connecting with their Israeli family, facilitating the use of local Israeli research sources. He holds a BA (Concordia University), an MSW (Yeshiva University) and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, The Israel Genealogical Society and Jewish Genealogy Society of Montreal.
The Federation building is at 4200 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Picture ID required; for parking information, directions and more, click here.
Future meetings: Genealogy internet expert Steve Morse will speak to the group on Sunday, February 10.
The Sunday, December 2 meeting begins at 9.30am with a networking and brick wall session, followed by the main program at 10am, at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
Jewish genealogists around the globe seek information about their ancestors; few realize that one of the greatest sources for research lies in Israel.
Many people don't know that Israeli archives and internet sites have amassed collections of historical and contemporary information about Jews around the world, including Poland, Russia, Spain and China. Even those who know that Israeli archives hold these ancestral information keys may not realize recent vast advances made in facilitating data access for worldwide research and finding Israeli family.
Goldstein will offer general guidelines about contacting and accessing Israeli archives. He will share interesting case studies and data on how family mysteries were solved by accessing lesser-known Israeli archives. Tips will be offered on finding Israeli-based shtetl tax rolls, migration records from Galicia to New York , ketubot from around the world, Polish vital records, Yad Vashem resources, and evidence of ancestral assets of those who never left Russia .
Canadian-born, Goldstein is a professional genealogist who researches, mentors, lectures, and conducts workshops in Israel and North America. He conducts worldwide Jewish research and guides North Americans in locating and connecting with their Israeli family, facilitating the use of local Israeli research sources. He holds a BA (Concordia University), an MSW (Yeshiva University) and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, The Israel Genealogical Society and Jewish Genealogy Society of Montreal.
The Federation building is at 4200 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Picture ID required; for parking information, directions and more, click here.
Future meetings: Genealogy internet expert Steve Morse will speak to the group on Sunday, February 10.
Sephardic March of the Living, May 2008 - DATE CHANGE
The first Sephardic March of the Living will now take place May 12-19, 2008, and not as previously stated, announced historian and Sephardic researcher Yitzchak Kerem of Jerusalem.
Kerem envisions that Sephardic survivors will guide participants as they trace the path of the largest Sephardic Holocaust community - Salonika - to perish in the Holocaust, while future trips would focus on other destroyed Sephardic and Mizrahi Oriental communities.
This trip, he said, will bring together American, French and Israeli youth and university student groups, Greek Second and Third generation groups, and other interested Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews to Salonika (Thessaloniki, Greece), followed by visits to Warsaw, Auschwitz and Krakow to see the fate of the Salonika Jews. Public ceremonies will be held in Greece and Poland.
Anticipating 200-500 participants, Kerem, a noted historian on Greek and Sephardic Jewry in the Holocaust, is coordinating the trip with Inbar Tours of Ramat Gan, Israel. The subsidized price will be $1,200 per person, with funds and subsidies being sought.
The itinerary includes Salonika, followed by Warsaw, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Krakow, Treblinka and Athens.
Interested readers should first contact Kerem for the complete itinerary and other details (ykerem@actcom.co.il or kerems@actcom.co.il). For flight and deposit details, contact Rami Brickman (rami@inbartours.com).
Kerem envisions that Sephardic survivors will guide participants as they trace the path of the largest Sephardic Holocaust community - Salonika - to perish in the Holocaust, while future trips would focus on other destroyed Sephardic and Mizrahi Oriental communities.
This trip, he said, will bring together American, French and Israeli youth and university student groups, Greek Second and Third generation groups, and other interested Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews to Salonika (Thessaloniki, Greece), followed by visits to Warsaw, Auschwitz and Krakow to see the fate of the Salonika Jews. Public ceremonies will be held in Greece and Poland.
Anticipating 200-500 participants, Kerem, a noted historian on Greek and Sephardic Jewry in the Holocaust, is coordinating the trip with Inbar Tours of Ramat Gan, Israel. The subsidized price will be $1,200 per person, with funds and subsidies being sought.
The itinerary includes Salonika, followed by Warsaw, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Krakow, Treblinka and Athens.
Interested readers should first contact Kerem for the complete itinerary and other details (ykerem@actcom.co.il or kerems@actcom.co.il). For flight and deposit details, contact Rami Brickman (rami@inbartours.com).
Hooked on maps: Online resources
Ancestry's new Historic Land Ownership Records database proved very interesting.
As Tracing the Tribe's regular readers know, my grandparents Sidney (Shayeh) and Bertha (Chaye Feiga Bank) Fink owned a large bungalow colony in Kauneonga Lake, Bethel Township, Sullivan County, New York, about 10 miles from Monticello.
As I checked through the database, I saw that the only map covering White Lake and Bethel Township was from 1875, long before my grandparents' land purchase. As I tried to figure out the road (it would become 17B) from Monticello to White Lake (where the Lapidus Bungalow Colony and the movie theatre were focal points in my day), I saw the right turn around the lake through Kauneonga, bearing left to West Shore Road.
I immediately recognized one owner's name - Driscoll. The family had still owned the farm behind our property in the 1950s-60s. And I remembered that fateful day when a herd of cows - from Driscoll's farm - escaped through a broken fence, across the baseball field and through the colony, scaring New York mothers as these "wild animals" wandered calmly, grazing.
Another name - W. Steen - was on a house approximately where my grandparents' "big house" was located. I had never heard that name mentioned. But across the road was property belonging to the Van Orden family, an old Sullivan County family.
A visit to the Bethel Township website seemed like a good idea, and I learned that Bethel would celebrate its centennial in 2009. At the Sullivan County Historical Society website, I read the brief Bethel history by town historian Marion Vassmer, whose family I remembered from the old days.
I did remember large empty fields, which would become the White Lake Homes development in the 1960s - and a "haunted house" - on the Van Orden property, and the small Mud Lake (on the early map) had become Amber Lake in my time. We were admonished never to go near that place, allegedly because of the poisonous water moccasin snakes. I never saw one, but I also never went to find out - just the thought of snakes kept me far away.
Following many links I found, I discovered TopoZone, a detailed (complete with houses) map of the area, showing both my grandparents' property (sold long ago) across the road from the subdivision. Comparing early and contemporary maps allowed me to pinpoint locations. Topo Zone offers a variety of resolutions and views that can be very useful.
I don't know the history of my grandfather's land purchase. Perhaps he bought his large piece of land directly from the Driscolls or from the Steen family, or had it already changed hands before his time? It's something to research further.
Max Yasgur's farm - the future site of Woodstock - up the road a bit wasn't there as Max hadn't arrived yet.
Enjoying this game of following the links, even though I had a number of pressing projects to address, I went downstate to Brooklyn, where my grandparents lived before moving permanently to Florida.
The most recent atlas listed at Ancestry was for 1929. I went first to Index 1 to see if I could find their East Flabush home on East 52nd Street, between Avenue D and Clarendon, a few blocks from Utica Avenue. I went first to Index 1, where a quick look showed I needed Index 2.
In the map that came up, I quickly located the names Utica Avenue and Avenue D on the Section 15 Flatbush map, but realized that East 52nd was in Section 24, the Canarsie map.
Unfortunately, section 24 is in Volume 4, and that's not yet online.
I questioned Suzanne Russo Adams of Ancestry's Professional Desk who referred me to Historic Map Works which is a great site for those enamoured of maps, and it is where Ancestry obtains their maps. If volume 4 were listed, I was told, it would eventually be in the database.
Full of hope, I clicked on the map site. Unfortunately, volumes 3 and 4 aren't listed. There were other maps that might have contained useful information for this quest, but the particular pages needed were also missing from the online series.
Oh well.
As I always tell those searching for information online: If it isn't there today, check tomorrow, next week or next month. While this particular map is not essential, it would have been nice to see and piece of the big picture to add to the file.
As Tracing the Tribe's regular readers know, my grandparents Sidney (Shayeh) and Bertha (Chaye Feiga Bank) Fink owned a large bungalow colony in Kauneonga Lake, Bethel Township, Sullivan County, New York, about 10 miles from Monticello.
As I checked through the database, I saw that the only map covering White Lake and Bethel Township was from 1875, long before my grandparents' land purchase. As I tried to figure out the road (it would become 17B) from Monticello to White Lake (where the Lapidus Bungalow Colony and the movie theatre were focal points in my day), I saw the right turn around the lake through Kauneonga, bearing left to West Shore Road.
I immediately recognized one owner's name - Driscoll. The family had still owned the farm behind our property in the 1950s-60s. And I remembered that fateful day when a herd of cows - from Driscoll's farm - escaped through a broken fence, across the baseball field and through the colony, scaring New York mothers as these "wild animals" wandered calmly, grazing.
Another name - W. Steen - was on a house approximately where my grandparents' "big house" was located. I had never heard that name mentioned. But across the road was property belonging to the Van Orden family, an old Sullivan County family.
A visit to the Bethel Township website seemed like a good idea, and I learned that Bethel would celebrate its centennial in 2009. At the Sullivan County Historical Society website, I read the brief Bethel history by town historian Marion Vassmer, whose family I remembered from the old days.
I did remember large empty fields, which would become the White Lake Homes development in the 1960s - and a "haunted house" - on the Van Orden property, and the small Mud Lake (on the early map) had become Amber Lake in my time. We were admonished never to go near that place, allegedly because of the poisonous water moccasin snakes. I never saw one, but I also never went to find out - just the thought of snakes kept me far away.
Following many links I found, I discovered TopoZone, a detailed (complete with houses) map of the area, showing both my grandparents' property (sold long ago) across the road from the subdivision. Comparing early and contemporary maps allowed me to pinpoint locations. Topo Zone offers a variety of resolutions and views that can be very useful.
I don't know the history of my grandfather's land purchase. Perhaps he bought his large piece of land directly from the Driscolls or from the Steen family, or had it already changed hands before his time? It's something to research further.
Max Yasgur's farm - the future site of Woodstock - up the road a bit wasn't there as Max hadn't arrived yet.
Enjoying this game of following the links, even though I had a number of pressing projects to address, I went downstate to Brooklyn, where my grandparents lived before moving permanently to Florida.
The most recent atlas listed at Ancestry was for 1929. I went first to Index 1 to see if I could find their East Flabush home on East 52nd Street, between Avenue D and Clarendon, a few blocks from Utica Avenue. I went first to Index 1, where a quick look showed I needed Index 2.
In the map that came up, I quickly located the names Utica Avenue and Avenue D on the Section 15 Flatbush map, but realized that East 52nd was in Section 24, the Canarsie map.
Unfortunately, section 24 is in Volume 4, and that's not yet online.
I questioned Suzanne Russo Adams of Ancestry's Professional Desk who referred me to Historic Map Works which is a great site for those enamoured of maps, and it is where Ancestry obtains their maps. If volume 4 were listed, I was told, it would eventually be in the database.
Full of hope, I clicked on the map site. Unfortunately, volumes 3 and 4 aren't listed. There were other maps that might have contained useful information for this quest, but the particular pages needed were also missing from the online series.
Oh well.
As I always tell those searching for information online: If it isn't there today, check tomorrow, next week or next month. While this particular map is not essential, it would have been nice to see and piece of the big picture to add to the file.
26 November 2007
Book: Aromas of Aleppo - Syrian Jewish cuisine
There are many aspects to family history research; food is only one, but it is certainly a major focus. The traditions of our ancestors continue today, whether as everyday comfort food or holiday specialties.
I've just received the beautifully photographed volume, "Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews," by Poopa Dweck, a first generation Syrian-American who lives in Deal, New Jersey, home to a large Syrian Jewish community.
She realized that these recipes were not being written down, were in danger of being lost, and set out to document them for future generations. In addition to history and recipes, the book is generously filled with photographs.
The large-format book is written with love by an author who cares deeply about her community's unique customs and cuisine, and invites others to learn the history and partake of these delicacies. The photographs - many from the Sephardic Community Center Archives - include family documents and Quentin Bacon's amazing culinary photography.
Some 180 recipes make up what is billed as "an extraordinary collection of the culinary treasures and intriguing customs" of this ancient community.
I'm devouring every page.
A detailed community history documents its ancient roots from King David, the Byzantine Empire, Mongol invasions, arrival of Sephardim from Spain, the Inquisition, the Ottoman Empire and after, and the contemporary community in the US, Israel and throughout Latin America (Caracas, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Panama City).
Dweck writes:
Before she even gets to the recipes, Dweck describes the market aspect of the cuisine. In this, as in Iranian cooking, meals revolve around what is in season and the best quality ingredients. Not surprisingly, the Jewish Aleppo cuisine benefited from the trade and immigration between Persia and Syria.
There's a very interesting section on the reputation of the Aleppian women and their reputation for organization and presentation. In Yiddish, we'd use the term balebusta. In this community, this quality is known as suffa, the highest of compliments.
As in most Mediterranean cuisines, appetizers are maza, small dishes served in variety, and Dweck includes breads, spreads, stuffed bites and pickles. Each recipe throughout the book is accompanied by explanatory and very interesting text, technique illustrations and notes. Recipes are well written and easy to follow.
My favorites are too many to list, but in the unique appetizer category, there are kuaisat, pistachio, egg or garlic-mint filled rolls of ground beef that are cooked, sliced, drizzled with the juices and served up. Beautiful to the eyes and the tastebuds.
As far as grain, vegetable and soup recipes, I learned a new variation on my Italian beans sauteed in tomato with garlic, and will try the Aleppian braised beans with allspice and garlic, called fawleh. Syrian meatballs are really kibbeh, meat-stuffed shells eaten (fried) on their own or added raw to soup where they simmer to perfection.
The rice is similar to Persian (with high marks given to fluffy and separate long grains in both cuisines), except that the Aleppian version requires the rice to be fried lightly before liquid is added, and I also learned that - like the Persian crispy golden rice delicacy tahdig - the same Syrian treat is a'hata.
One rice dish begging to be tried is white rice mixed with brown lentils and lots of frizzled caramelized onions.
The meat section includes stuffed vegetables, meatballs stewed with tamarind or sweet cherry, stews, kabobs and sausages, as well as the Middle Eastern penchant for brains, tongue and sweetbreads.
The cherry-stewed meatballs, made with canned sour or sweet cherries, look delicious: kebab garaz was served over flatbread; today it is served with rice.
I could go on for the book's 388 pages, but wanted to mention the roast chicken stuffed with almond, pistachio and pine nuts, ground beef, allspice and cinnamon. The fragrance seemed to float off the printed page.
The three-page recipe list for sweets and desserts gives readers some hint at how important this is in Syrian Jewish social life: Fila delights in rose syrup, deep-fried cheese-stuffed pancakes, wedding cookies, pastries and puddings abound, along with candied vegetables and fruits, pastes and special drinks.
The last section is an insider's guidebook to holidays and life-cycle events explaining community customs. Dweck has done a great service for her community.
While I didn't need the comments of major cookbook writers (Claudia Roden, Mario Batali, Phyllis Glazer and Ana Sortun) to tell me this is a great book, their words wee most complimentary. Roden says the cuisine of the Jews of Aleppo was considered the "pearl of the Arab kitchen," while the Italian Batali, who had no frame of reference for this cuisine, writes about the "magnificent food in this spectacular tome" and that he loves "every single dish and photo in this book." Glazer comments that "Dweck's book will help this legacy live on," while Sortun remarks that Dweck's "heartfelt stories unveil a layer of Middle Eastern cutlure that is largely unknown."
Kol hakavod to Poopa Dweck!
Put this on your holiday wish list
"Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews," by Poopa Dweck
(New York, Ecco/HarperCollins, 2007; 388pgs); $49.95.
I've just received the beautifully photographed volume, "Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews," by Poopa Dweck, a first generation Syrian-American who lives in Deal, New Jersey, home to a large Syrian Jewish community.
She realized that these recipes were not being written down, were in danger of being lost, and set out to document them for future generations. In addition to history and recipes, the book is generously filled with photographs.
The large-format book is written with love by an author who cares deeply about her community's unique customs and cuisine, and invites others to learn the history and partake of these delicacies. The photographs - many from the Sephardic Community Center Archives - include family documents and Quentin Bacon's amazing culinary photography.
Some 180 recipes make up what is billed as "an extraordinary collection of the culinary treasures and intriguing customs" of this ancient community.
I'm devouring every page.
A detailed community history documents its ancient roots from King David, the Byzantine Empire, Mongol invasions, arrival of Sephardim from Spain, the Inquisition, the Ottoman Empire and after, and the contemporary community in the US, Israel and throughout Latin America (Caracas, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Panama City).
Dweck writes:
"The Aleppian Jews have remained a close-knit people, emigrating from Syria and forming strong communities in Israel and the Americas. Even more remarkable, the third and fourth generations born in these lands have defied assimilation. Their ties transcend national boundaries: A New York Aleppian could walk into the home of his Panamanian cousin and breathe in the same enchanting aromas that he knows well from his mother's Brooklyn kitchen."
Before she even gets to the recipes, Dweck describes the market aspect of the cuisine. In this, as in Iranian cooking, meals revolve around what is in season and the best quality ingredients. Not surprisingly, the Jewish Aleppo cuisine benefited from the trade and immigration between Persia and Syria.
There's a very interesting section on the reputation of the Aleppian women and their reputation for organization and presentation. In Yiddish, we'd use the term balebusta. In this community, this quality is known as suffa, the highest of compliments.
As in most Mediterranean cuisines, appetizers are maza, small dishes served in variety, and Dweck includes breads, spreads, stuffed bites and pickles. Each recipe throughout the book is accompanied by explanatory and very interesting text, technique illustrations and notes. Recipes are well written and easy to follow.
My favorites are too many to list, but in the unique appetizer category, there are kuaisat, pistachio, egg or garlic-mint filled rolls of ground beef that are cooked, sliced, drizzled with the juices and served up. Beautiful to the eyes and the tastebuds.
As far as grain, vegetable and soup recipes, I learned a new variation on my Italian beans sauteed in tomato with garlic, and will try the Aleppian braised beans with allspice and garlic, called fawleh. Syrian meatballs are really kibbeh, meat-stuffed shells eaten (fried) on their own or added raw to soup where they simmer to perfection.
The rice is similar to Persian (with high marks given to fluffy and separate long grains in both cuisines), except that the Aleppian version requires the rice to be fried lightly before liquid is added, and I also learned that - like the Persian crispy golden rice delicacy tahdig - the same Syrian treat is a'hata.
One rice dish begging to be tried is white rice mixed with brown lentils and lots of frizzled caramelized onions.
The meat section includes stuffed vegetables, meatballs stewed with tamarind or sweet cherry, stews, kabobs and sausages, as well as the Middle Eastern penchant for brains, tongue and sweetbreads.
The cherry-stewed meatballs, made with canned sour or sweet cherries, look delicious: kebab garaz was served over flatbread; today it is served with rice.
I could go on for the book's 388 pages, but wanted to mention the roast chicken stuffed with almond, pistachio and pine nuts, ground beef, allspice and cinnamon. The fragrance seemed to float off the printed page.
The three-page recipe list for sweets and desserts gives readers some hint at how important this is in Syrian Jewish social life: Fila delights in rose syrup, deep-fried cheese-stuffed pancakes, wedding cookies, pastries and puddings abound, along with candied vegetables and fruits, pastes and special drinks.
The last section is an insider's guidebook to holidays and life-cycle events explaining community customs. Dweck has done a great service for her community.
While I didn't need the comments of major cookbook writers (Claudia Roden, Mario Batali, Phyllis Glazer and Ana Sortun) to tell me this is a great book, their words wee most complimentary. Roden says the cuisine of the Jews of Aleppo was considered the "pearl of the Arab kitchen," while the Italian Batali, who had no frame of reference for this cuisine, writes about the "magnificent food in this spectacular tome" and that he loves "every single dish and photo in this book." Glazer comments that "Dweck's book will help this legacy live on," while Sortun remarks that Dweck's "heartfelt stories unveil a layer of Middle Eastern cutlure that is largely unknown."
Kol hakavod to Poopa Dweck!
Put this on your holiday wish list
"Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews," by Poopa Dweck
(New York, Ecco/HarperCollins, 2007; 388pgs); $49.95.
Exploring: Ancestry's passport database
Exploring the new Ancestry databases produced useful information from both the U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 and the Historic Land Ownership and Reference Atlases, 1507-2000.
Here's my passport application experience, while my excursion into land ownership records will be in a separate posting.
The passport application database confirmed a story about my great-grandmother's brother who went to England to retrieve his wife and son (who had arrived there from Lithuania) in 1924. I couldn't find them in the arrivals database, but here was Riva Bank's baby brother Haskell clear as day. No picture unfortunately, although the guy next to him - Antonio Cardella - had one.
According to Uncle Haskell's application for a first-time passport, he was born January 13, 1887 in Russia (Poland) - although we knew it was near Kaunas/Kovno, Lithuania - and that he was the son of Charles Bank (real name: Tzalel), that he sailed from Libau and arrived in New York on January 13, 1913.
He lived in Brooklyn, NY (where there were other Bank relatives) for 11 years, while his family was in Lithuania, living in, we believe, a town near Kaunas/Kovna called Petriniskey (destroyed during World War II). His wife Trina Leah, son Zalman and a daughter (who died during the first world war years) had expected to join him earlier but the war separated them.
We're not yet sure how Trina Leah (also a Bank, the daughter of Tzalel's brother Gedaliah) and Zalman got to the UK or where they were waiting, but Haskell, a US citizen (Brooklyn, March 22, 1923) was required to go there to bring them home.
Things moved rather quickly as his application was dated October 14, 1924, and he stated he was leaving very soon (October 18) on the Cunard Line for the purpose of "bringing my family to the USA."
His World War II draft registration claimed he was born in 1889 in Breslau; Trina Leah had become Tanya. In the 1930 census, he claims his age as 40 (born in 1890), his wife was Tiny and they had two sons, Selman (known as Zalman), then 18, and Solomon, 3 (more confusion as the names are the same). More searching in the immigration records revealed US citizen Maskill (transcribed in error - it certainly looks like Haskill to me) and his wife Traina Bank (admitted, but in hospital) arrived in New York on the Republic (January 26, 1925) from Southampton, England.
Zalman or Selman is missing. I didn't have enough time to go through all the manifest pages to see if he might have been written up on another page, as sometimes happened.
Determined to find more, I went to Steve Morse's website and used the Gold Form for Passenger Arrivals. I plugged in "sounds-like" Chatzkel (a better "Yiddish" spelling than the modernized Haskell) with only the initial B in surname field, and a 1911-1914 arrival search.
Up popped Chatzkell Blank, 26, born 1887, arriving in New York on the Carmania on January 8, 1913, going to his Ginsburg brother-in-law and sister (my great-grandmother's sister), parents of my cousin Jake) in Montclair, New Jersey. His wife Trina Blank was in Novo Alexandrovski.
As with any new bits of data, there are more questions. He arrived in 1913 and didn't become a citizen until 1923. Why? How did Trina Leah and Zalman get to England? How does the town of Alexandrofski figure into the family? Why is the name listed as Blank (wrong) not Bank (right) on the actual passenger manifest? Where is Zalman - not yet 12 years old - at the time?
Eventually, more information will be uncovered.
I'm sure of that.
Here's my passport application experience, while my excursion into land ownership records will be in a separate posting.
The passport application database confirmed a story about my great-grandmother's brother who went to England to retrieve his wife and son (who had arrived there from Lithuania) in 1924. I couldn't find them in the arrivals database, but here was Riva Bank's baby brother Haskell clear as day. No picture unfortunately, although the guy next to him - Antonio Cardella - had one.
According to Uncle Haskell's application for a first-time passport, he was born January 13, 1887 in Russia (Poland) - although we knew it was near Kaunas/Kovno, Lithuania - and that he was the son of Charles Bank (real name: Tzalel), that he sailed from Libau and arrived in New York on January 13, 1913.
He lived in Brooklyn, NY (where there were other Bank relatives) for 11 years, while his family was in Lithuania, living in, we believe, a town near Kaunas/Kovna called Petriniskey (destroyed during World War II). His wife Trina Leah, son Zalman and a daughter (who died during the first world war years) had expected to join him earlier but the war separated them.
We're not yet sure how Trina Leah (also a Bank, the daughter of Tzalel's brother Gedaliah) and Zalman got to the UK or where they were waiting, but Haskell, a US citizen (Brooklyn, March 22, 1923) was required to go there to bring them home.
Things moved rather quickly as his application was dated October 14, 1924, and he stated he was leaving very soon (October 18) on the Cunard Line for the purpose of "bringing my family to the USA."
His World War II draft registration claimed he was born in 1889 in Breslau; Trina Leah had become Tanya. In the 1930 census, he claims his age as 40 (born in 1890), his wife was Tiny and they had two sons, Selman (known as Zalman), then 18, and Solomon, 3 (more confusion as the names are the same). More searching in the immigration records revealed US citizen Maskill (transcribed in error - it certainly looks like Haskill to me) and his wife Traina Bank (admitted, but in hospital) arrived in New York on the Republic (January 26, 1925) from Southampton, England.
Zalman or Selman is missing. I didn't have enough time to go through all the manifest pages to see if he might have been written up on another page, as sometimes happened.
Determined to find more, I went to Steve Morse's website and used the Gold Form for Passenger Arrivals. I plugged in "sounds-like" Chatzkel (a better "Yiddish" spelling than the modernized Haskell) with only the initial B in surname field, and a 1911-1914 arrival search.
Up popped Chatzkell Blank, 26, born 1887, arriving in New York on the Carmania on January 8, 1913, going to his Ginsburg brother-in-law and sister (my great-grandmother's sister), parents of my cousin Jake) in Montclair, New Jersey. His wife Trina Blank was in Novo Alexandrovski.
As with any new bits of data, there are more questions. He arrived in 1913 and didn't become a citizen until 1923. Why? How did Trina Leah and Zalman get to England? How does the town of Alexandrofski figure into the family? Why is the name listed as Blank (wrong) not Bank (right) on the actual passenger manifest? Where is Zalman - not yet 12 years old - at the time?
Eventually, more information will be uncovered.
I'm sure of that.
25 November 2007
California: Advanced Internet, Dec. 9 - UPDATE
Genealogists and family historians in the Los Angeles and Valley areas who want to learn more about locating internet resources should be interested in this presentation by expert Ron Arons.
He'll speak on "Using the Internet beyond JewishGen and Steve Morse's Website," at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV), at 2pm, Sunday, December 9, at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks.
A nationally known speaker, Arons will provide Jewish genealogists with tools to help in their research. He'll discuss other "best bet" websites that can assist researchers in locating other online materials, such as historical documents, newspapers and articles, living people, maps and photos, foreign language translators and more.
President Jan Meisels Allen adds that all attendees will receive a free genealogically-relevant gift. Those who renew their JGSCV memberships or join for 2008 may participate in a genealogical prize drawing. Light refreshments will celebrate Chanukah and the membership drive.
For address, directions and more details, click here.
He'll speak on "Using the Internet beyond JewishGen and Steve Morse's Website," at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV), at 2pm, Sunday, December 9, at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks.
A nationally known speaker, Arons will provide Jewish genealogists with tools to help in their research. He'll discuss other "best bet" websites that can assist researchers in locating other online materials, such as historical documents, newspapers and articles, living people, maps and photos, foreign language translators and more.
President Jan Meisels Allen adds that all attendees will receive a free genealogically-relevant gift. Those who renew their JGSCV memberships or join for 2008 may participate in a genealogical prize drawing. Light refreshments will celebrate Chanukah and the membership drive.
For address, directions and more details, click here.
23 November 2007
New Blogs: Gen-erocity and Techtraveler
Genealogist Howard Wolinsky is a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. He's had an interest in DNA and genetic genealogy for years and was one of the first people tested at Family Tree DNA.
His interests include technology, travel, photography, genealogy and genetics, and this past summer, he finally took a roots trip with his family.
Howard has now developed two blogs: Gen-erocity.net focuses on DNA and genealogy, while techtraveler.net provides information on tech you can take - gadgets and equipment - to make traveling and connection easier whether we're going only a few miles or to the other side of the planet.
In his first Gen-erocity.net entry, he writes:
Welcome to the club, Howard!
His interests include technology, travel, photography, genealogy and genetics, and this past summer, he finally took a roots trip with his family.
Howard has now developed two blogs: Gen-erocity.net focuses on DNA and genealogy, while techtraveler.net provides information on tech you can take - gadgets and equipment - to make traveling and connection easier whether we're going only a few miles or to the other side of the planet.
In his first Gen-erocity.net entry, he writes:
Back in 2000, I was among the first to pay to have my DNA tested for genealogical reasons. Some of you may know me as Kit No. 65 at Family Tree DNA.
My only goal was tracking roots, sometimes very deep roots going back to Africa, where this whole modern human enterprise began tens of thousands of years ago.
It's been fascinating. I have learned a little bit about genetics and in recent years have started to match people with whom I shared a grandparent thousands, even hundreds, of years ago.
I wanted a sense of where my family came from, to trace the migratory pattern from Africa, through ancient Palestine, maybe Italy and Germany and then a right turn onto Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine and eventually on to the USA.
I have met and become friends with a number of people who share this interest, some might say an obsession, along with some common genes.
Welcome to the club, Howard!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
