Thursday, February 27, 2014

Lucy Danziger Jacobowitz

We always thought my mother was Laura.
"Along about the time of her birth, Laura's elder sisters, Frances, Ethel and Helen had been reading a lovely book whose heroine was named Lucy. When their parents decided to name the new baby Leah (the same as my mother, and spelled the same in both Hebrew and English), the girls assured the doctor that Lucy was the correct English translation. So Lucy it was on the birth certificate. Then the girls read another book (It wasn't until after that memorable birthday party that Laura learned about Lucy/Leah.)" Norman Jacobowitz, Letter to My Grandsons, 1984.
The Memorable Birthday Party

Norman's Letter: "For in the Summer of 1915, along came their sixth child, Grandma Laura.  I said "Summer of 1915" because there's a story that goes with that birthday: Laura and my sister, Toddy, were one day disputing as to who was the older - that's older, not younger. Laura claimed a birth date of September 29, 1914, but had no proof to back her claim.  Toddy had her birth certificate showing April 10, 1915. To resolve any doubt, and without telling anyone, Toddy wrote to Pennsylvania for a copy of Laura's birth certificate. When it arrived there was quiet pandemonium, for not only was the year not 1914, but 1915; not only was the day not September 29, but August 30; and not only was the baby's name not Laura, but LUCY! It was thus that we were able to stage the only true surprise birthday party in existence.,  On August 30, 1940, I took Laura out to dinner., Meanwhile Toddy and George had had a huge blowup made of the real birth certificate, which they hung on the wall of our apartment. The whole family, and the certificate, were waiting in the dark when I opened our door and turned on the lights.  SURPRISE!!!  After the tumult had died down Laura told us all what she remembered about her strange birthday.. When the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, Laura was ready for enrollment in school, but the school needed to know her age. Grandma Ella had to think about that.  "Let's see.. We arrived in America just before the war. The war was in 1914. So, 1914."  "But Ma, what day in 1914?"  More thinking. "Hm. First is Passover, then Succoth, then seven weeks later is Shavuoth „ You were born seventeen days after Shavuoth, which makes it "  But the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar and doesn't coincide with the standard calendar from year to year. When Grandma Ella couldn't figure out what date 17 days after Shavuoth had been in 1914, Laura decided to pick her own date. This is how she did it:  School starts early in September. It takes time to make friends. If I make it too soon after school starts I won't have enough friends to come to my birthday party. But by September 29th... So she picked September 29th.


Peter Tamases told me that Miriam and Sol's dog Lucy was named Lucifer, because she was black.
Lucinda Ellen is the full name for that relative, but they call her Lucy.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Kreinik Records from SLC

Stanley (Sox) Kreinik sent these photos of records he found in the Salt Lake City archives.
They look like Social Security Death Index records.

Julia Kreinik 20 Jul 1926 - Mar 1996 Ronkonkoma, NY  (Cait Kreinik's grandmother, married to Edwin Kreinik, who was in an orphange and got arrested later for stealing a car.)
Max Kreinik Dec 1918 - Jul 1963   wrong birth date in image

Rose Kreinik 23 Sep 1898 - Feb 1978 Far Rockaway, NY 
Sara Kreinik 21 Aug 1892 - Jun 1976 NYC  Isidore's wife and mother of Jerry Kreinik
Sarah Kreinik 6 Feb 1902 - Aug 1969 Buffalo, NY Harry Charles Kreinik's wife
Sol Kreinik 21 Jun 1899 - Aug 1971 NYC  Yussel Flum's son
Stanley Kreinik 3 May 1921 - 20 Jan 1997 Delray Beach, Fl (Stanley Roy Kreinik, son of Sam)
Walter Kreinik 17 Oct 1899 - Dec 1986 Far Rockaway, NY  Stanley Sox's father.
William Kreinik 28 Feb 1901 - Feb 1986 Aaron Kreinik and Gussie's son, died in California.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Wrights in Eunice, Louisiana



Emma Marie Fusilier de la Claire Philastre has some nice things to say about the Wrights in Eunice, La., in her book, The True Story of Eunice (Louisiana)Published by The Eunice News, Eunice, La., November, 1973.

THE WRIGHTS

Louis and Nathan Wright came to Eunice in 1911, and established a store in one of A.B. Picou’s buidings. This is the vacant part of the Picou Estate.

This first store was loaded to the very front door with merchandise. I recall that they strung strings across the store high enough that it did not interfere with the customers entering the shop. There were pillow-slips, towels, bedding of every description. It looked more like someone’s washing hanging out on the line than a place of business, but it did attract attention, and this was the purpose of it all. The people of Eunice frowned on having one more merchant, but grandpere Gus thought differently. Competition was good for all, so Louis and Nathan stayed. At first they were here for Saturdays only then they remained longer and longer. This was the very best thing that has ever happened to Eunice. Business was good for Louis and Nathan. Their merchandise pleased the customers and the price was right.

In 1912, Louis took unto himself a wife, Miss Sadie Kreinik, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Kreinik of New York City. Sadie Kreinik has the most beautiful soulful eyes, large and very expressive. She was and is still a very beautiful person. Louis Wright was a very handsome man, and a very humane man. Louis’ eyes had a dreamy look such as one who is looking into the future and likes what he sees. Nathan was also a good looking man.

On Sunday afternoons one would see Sadie and Louis going for a ride. This was just about all the excitement one could hope for in Eunice. This ride was not in a car which as we know today, no indeed, this was a horse and buggy. A man had to know how to handle a horse, and Louis was a past master. Louis, Sadie and Nathan lived in the Schuman house on Second Street at Ash Avenue West. This is still the first house on the East side of Second Street, in the back of the City Hall. (Now a parking lot)

Louis was most anxious to purchase his own store and home. This took a bit of doing. First Uncle Armand (Pierre) bought the property that which the Louis Wright Store now occupies, on Second Street. When the people heard that the property was for Louis Wright, the noise could have been heard around the world. When they wanted to own their own home grandpere Gus had such a house, this was the Barnett house on Third Street at Oak Avenue West. Mrs. Wright occupies that home today.

The Barnetts had gotten a very good job in Havana, Cuba, so they returned the house to grandpere Gus. At first we thought that grandpere Gus was going to move into this home and for a while we children were really worried. The Barnetts had two sons, James, the eldest and the other was Shira. They returned to Eunice but once and then no more,

The Wrights had the following children: Morris, a lawyer in New Orleans; Sophie, who married Irving Kerstein and has two lovely children: Joan Kerstein a very clever girl who will go very far in the business world and one son (David Arthur Kerstein), who is studying to be a lawyer in New Orleans; Sidney Wright, lawyer in Houston, Texas, Sylvia, Beaulah, Lillian Wright.

Morris, Sidney and Sophie Wright were the eldest and these I remember very well. The three of them would come home and Sophie would ask mama if my brother Walter was home. When Walter would come to the door Sophie who was the spokesman would say, “Miss Walter will you please take us for a ride”?

By the time the Wrights had children, Eunice had graduated from horse and buggy to automobiles. Sophie was referring to an automobile ride. I doubt if she ever rode in a buggy other than as a lark. Such as in Central Park in New York City or perhaps in the French Quarters in New Orleans.

To me Mrs. Louis Wright is the most humane person I have ever known. when the Wrights lived across Ash Avenue West from us, my sister Feliciane who was subject to Chronic Malaria would suddenly become ill. Mrs. Louis Wright would send her maid over with a bowl of soup or some Ice Cream or something else that she thought Feliciane might enjoy. All through the years Mrs. Louis Wright has remembered the sick. Not too long ago she found out that someone was ill, she called a cab and had some soup delivered to this sick person.

It was Mrs. Louis Wright who organized the P.T.A. here in Eunice.
The Wright House Today
The Louis Wright Store Today


Thursday, February 13, 2014

Danziger from Radom Archives



These are the images David requested from the Polish State Archives, Radom.

Данзигеръ = Danziger

Изек и 
Хава-Лая 
урожденная
Штернъ
Isaak and
=
Icek and
Chawa Łaja
née
Sztern
Found in Rawa 31Dec 1846. Ages 19 and 17 give births ion 1827 and 1829.

 Below is Elia-Maer's record with his parents shown larger in the box above.



Mayer Danziger and Razel Necha Goldberg

Thanks to the Lenore (Danziger) August for the image.

Эля-Маеры и
Роиэа-Неха 
урожденная  
Голдберг
Данзигеръ
 =
Elya-Maer and
Rojcha-Necha
née
Goldberg
==========================
Danziger
Данзигеръ
Елъка  
урожденная
Вайцман 
=
Danziger
Elka
née
Weitzman/Wajcman
Данзигеръ
Фаига
=
Danziger
Faiga

Данзигеръ
Худеса
Danziger
Chudesa / Chudes /
 (Helen)
==============
Anna/Hannah/Chana Danziger
This entry comes before Maria on the index, but the birth year (1882) is different from the 1885 that Maer lists on his Petition for Naturalization. The name is written 'Chava'
They know how to write Chava. See Chawa Łaja Sztern, above. The w in Polish is pronounced like v.

'Chava' in Cyrillic is 'Хава.'  'Chana' would be 'Хана.' The record below is for a Danziger girl born in 1882 and it looks like Хава / Chava  to me. The third character that looks like a script b is the Cyrillic v.  It could be the registrar misheard the name.

Данзигеръ
Хава Chava  1882
=====================================================
Archiwum Panstwowe w Radomiu
OIE.841.2.10.2014




JRI-Poland Index
Thanks to Tomasz Kocur for helping us get these images.


Mayer Danziger's Gravestone
Susan Paris recently visited Mayer Danziger's grave in Cleveland and sent this photo:
Mayer Danziger Marker

 Family Tree






Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Mary (Weinstein) Fishman

The Weinstein sisters came over on the Berengaria on 27 May 1922.  The closest relative back in the old country is Bruche Swerdoff, an aunt.

Weinstein_Sisters_Berengaria_27_May_1922_Bruche_Swerdoff
    0001.     Weinstein, Chana    F    25y    S    Russia, Hebrew    Grycow, Russia
    0002.     Weinstein, Fryma    F    23y    S    Russia, Hebrew    Grycow, Russia
    0003.     Weinstein, Sosia    F    21y    S    Russia, Hebrew    Grycow, Russia
    0004.     Weinstein, Chajka    F    19y    S    Russia, Hebrew    Grycow, Russia
Details from the next page from Ellis Island show that the sisters are on their way "To brother Sam Stein at 2286 East 118th St, Cleveland, O."



============================================
Below is the record of the marriage of Morris Fishman to Mary Katz on the 4th of January, 1916.
At first we thought it was misleading and not at all about Mary Fishman (Weinstein). But Susan Paris thinks this was a previous marriage to a man who died.


Suppose Mary Fishman had been married to someone named Katz before she married Morris/Maurice Fishman. And suppose that Maurice Fishman had been born in 1871 instead of 1876 (for which we do not have evidence), he would have been 43 years old (as Susan Paris pointed out) when he married Mary.

The marriage certificate below shows Mary Katz, having been married before to someone named Katz (Dec'd = deceased), being wed to Morris Fishman, whose father is named Allan (which could be a mis-hearing of Eliahu Fishman) and a mother named Lilly Selzer. Morris Fishman had also been married once before.

(We have Mary's mother's name here as Swerk, but other places is is Swerdlich and Swerdlik or perhaps CHAGALL.)

Mary' father's name is listed on the certificate as Morris, which is consistent with Moishe Weinstein, and her mother is listed as Lena Swerk, which is not at all like Leah Weinstein (Chagall).

Morris Fishman's address is 2562 East 25th Street, Cleveland, OH.

Below is the marriage record of Florence Stein and Sam Bauer. Her mother is Lillie Swerdlich.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tante Chana: Anna Danziger Honigbaum Sheiner Greenberg


Hannah Danziger was the third child of Elja Maer Danziger and Rojza Necha Goldberg. She was their second daughter, my grandfather Abe Danziger's younger sister. This is a reconstruction of her long and interesting life from the 1880s in Poland to when she died [look for her death record].

There is a DANCIGIER listed in the PSA record as DANCIGIER Chawa. Maybe this is a spelling error. She is also known as Chana, Tante Chanele, Hannah, and in America as Anna.

Here is a record of the Danziger children - According to this Chawa was born in Rawa, Poland in 1882.

Some original images from the Radom Archives in Russian Cyrillic script can be found here.

Is Chawa, born in 1882, the same as Hannah and the same as Anna, born in August 23, 1885?


Maer Danziger came to Cleveland in early 1914, to be with his two married daughters, Anna and Mary. "When we arrived in Pittsburg, Grandpa Danziger stayed aboard the bus, for he was traveling on to Cleveland where his two married daughters lived. Just like Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, so Mom and Gramps had led us out of Europe, and we, too, had reached our own Promised Land." Ethel Danziger Zuckerman, Memoirs,

On his Petition for Naturalization, Maer lists Hannah born Aug 23, 1885, in Cleveland.
Maer/Mayer gives his address in April 26, 1926, as 3381 E 117th St, Cleveland, OH. He did not live much longer. He died May 14, 1929, and is buried in the Workmans Circle section of the Jewish Cemetery in Parma.

=======

Hannah Danziger Sheiner Greenberg was added to the Geni tree by Mark Kenneth HammerschlagDec 8, 2008 at 10:03 AM. Mark Hammerschlag had records that his mother Helen Danziger Hammerschlag had kept.


Chana married Chenoch Chonigbaum (Henry/Harry Honigbaum) from Zawichost, Poland in 1904. 

They gave birth to Philip (later Danzinger) in Warsaw in Warsaw on November 25, 1905.
3381 E 117th St, Cleveland, OH

The three traveled to Wales and on January 7, 1909, Anna gave birth to Evelyn (later Danzinger who married Ben A. Stillman, who had been born in London, England).

Then Anna travelled with her two children to Cleveland where she gave birth on June 26, 1912, to Dorothy (later Sheiner).  Henry/Harry died in Poland, but Anna already had tickets to Wales. Anna made it to Cleveland with Philip and Evelyn, who was born in Wales on June 26, 1912. Maer Danziger, who would have been living with one of his daughters, Mary or Anna, as he intended, doesn't seem to be in the 1920 Census.

What happened to Harry Honigbaum? Evelyn lists 'Henry Honigbun' as her father on her marriage record to Ben A Stillman, but he didn't have to be alive for her to list him.

[For interest, Lejzor Fiszel Honigbaum and Dworja Ajdelsberg are Harry/Henosh's parents. There are two other Honigbaum children born in Zawichost -- Sura in 1881 and Icek Ijzyk Honigbaum in 1882.]


After Harry died of infection from his shot-off toe, Anna/Chana went to Wales with her son Phil and her unborn baby, Evelyn, who was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, January 7, 1909. When Evelyn was seven, they moved to Cleveland -- 1916. 

Anna/Channah married Jacob Sheiner in 1915. He had been married before to Regina Braier, and they had had two boys: Mayer Nathan Norman, born May 6, 1907, and Sam, born May 22, 1908. Mary was born in 1913 to Jacob and Anna before they were married. She is a little older than Dorothy, who was born June 26, 1912. Dorothy is listed as Step-Daughter to Jacob Sheiner in the 1920 Census. 

[I am not sure we have the right Dorothy Danziger death certificate, because her second marriage to Sol Kozba, it it did not end in divorce, would have given her a death record of Dorothry Kozba and not Dorothy B Danziger. Although there is precedent for reverting to the Danziger/Danzinger name.] 

Regina was no longer married to Jacob some time between the birth of Mary in 1913 and when Jacob married Anna in about 1915. We don't know if Regina died in that period.

It must have been crowded at Tante Chanele's house, what with the three Danziger children, Phillip, Evelyn and Dorothy Danziger, the three Sheiner children, (Mayer died before the 1910 Census) Nathan, Sam and Mary. 

Jacob Sheiner legally adopted Anna's children, but family stories suggest that Nathan Sheiner "did something horrible," and Philip had a falling out with Jacob and changed his name to a variant of Anna's maiden name, Danzinger. The older boys seemed not have gotten along.

Together Anna and Jacob had Sarah/Sally, who later married Samuel C. Levine. This is confusing because Samuel Levine has a sister also named Sarah Levine

The picture below is next door to the empty lot at 3381 E. 117th St. near Kinsman Rd. (Google Maps 2012). 
3381 E. 117th St Cleveland
 Families are Paris, Scheiner, and Danzingers. The couple at the head of the table are Anna and Jacob Sheiner. From the left:  Evelyn, Dorothy, Lillian Paris, Mary Sheiner, Mary Paris, Anna and Jacob, Abe Paris (mustache), Hyman Paris, Bill Paris, Sarah, Milton Paris

Dorothy and Mary are about the same age.
The older Sheiner boys Mayer, Nathan and Sam are not there. Philip Danzinger is not there either.
I guess from Milton's age that the year is 1932. Who took the photo?




David Paris put together the "Goodman - Danziger Family Tree" in 1994 - with the help of Lenore Helen August, daughter of William and Ida, just visible on the right. They got Razel's last name wrong. It is Goldberg from the Polish records.


Anna's last names are shown as Honigbaum, Sheiner and Greenberg, the names of her three husbands.

Evidence.

In the 1920 census Jacob Sheiner (note spelling) is married to Anna. Their children are Nathan, Sam, Mary and Sarah. There are step-children named Danziger; Phillip, Evelyn and Dorothy.
=====================
1920 United States Federal Census
5711 Scovill Ave, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, OH  (about 3 miles from 3381 E 117th)
NAME: Jacob Scheiner
AGE: 39
BIRTH YEAR: 1881
BIRTHPLACE: Galicia Poland
HOME IN 1920: Cleveland Ward 17, Cuyahoga, Ohio
RACE: White
GENDER: Male
IMMIGRATION YEAR: 1904
RELATION TO HEAD OF HOUSE: Head
MARITAL STATUS: Married
SPOUSE'S NAME: Anna Scheiner
FATHER'S BIRTHPLACE: Galicia Poland
MOTHER'S BIRTHPLACE: Galicia Poland
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS NAME AGE
Jacob Scheiner 39  head
Anna Scheiner 38  wife
Nathan Scheiner 11  son
Sam Scheiner 10  son
Mary Scheiner 7 daughter
Sarah Scheiner 2  daughter
Philip Danzinger 13  step-son  b. Poland  in 1906-7
Evelyn Danzinger 10  step daughter b. England in 1910
Dorothy Danzinger 7  step-daughter b. Ohio 1913
==================
==========================
1930 United States Federal Census
3381 E 117th St, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, OH
NAME: Jacob Sheiner
AGE: 51
BIRTH YEAR: 1879
BIRTHPLACE: Poland
HOME IN 1920: Cleveland Ward 17, Cuyahoga, Ohio
RACE: White
GENDER: Male
IMMIGRATION YEAR: 1904
RELATION TO HEAD OF HOUSE: Head
MARITAL STATUS: Married
SPOUSE'S NAME: Anna Sheiner
FATHER'S BIRTHPLACE: Poland
MOTHER'S BIRTHPLACE: Poland
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS NAME AGE
Jacob Scheiner 39 head  age 51 b. Poland
Anna Scheiner 38  wife  age 49 b. Poland
Nathan Scheiner 22 son  b. Ohio
Sam Scheiner 21 son  b. Ohio
Mary Scheiner 17 daughter  b. Ohio
Sarah Scheiner 13 daughter  b. Ohio
Philip Danziger 24  step-son   b. Poland in 1906
Evelyn Danziger 20  step-daughter   b. England in 1910
Dorothy Danziger 17  step-daughter  b Ohio in 1913
=====================
In 1934, Dorothy Danziger married Sol Margolis. Her parents are listed as Harry Danziger and Anna Danziger. Harry Danziger is a clue to Harry Honigbaum.
Dorothy lived at 3381 E 117th St, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, OH. This marriage lasted a year.

In 1938 Dorothy (former married name, 'Margolis') married Sol Kozba and here her parents are listed as Jacob Sheiner (spelled Scheiner) and Anna Danziger.
Dorothy is still at 3381 E 117th St, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, OH


Who is the Greenberg that Mark Hammerschlag put in the record?

If Hannah was born in 1885 in Poland, she would have been 21 when Phillip was born in 1906 in Poland; 25 when Evelyn was born in Wales in 1910; and 28 when Dorothy was born in 1913 in Ohio. We ought to find Henry Honigbaum as the father in Evelyn's birth in Wales. [Not found yet]

[At one point I thought that Anna and Chawa might be a different people. Chawa's birth in the Polish records is 1882, but Maer lists Hanna as 1885. How did they get from Poland to England to Ohio? [No ship manifests found so far.] So they came to live with Anna and her new husband as his step-children. Still we don't know if there is a Harry Danziger. Did he bring the children to the US? Or maybe that is just how Dorothy chose to name her father on her first marriage record.]

Adding evidence for Henry Honigbaum as the father is the marriage record for  Evelyn Danziger's marriage to Ben A. Stillman, December 23, 1936. Evelyn gives the same address: 3381 E 117th St, Cleveland, but she lists her father as Henry Honigbun (perhaps this is Honigbaum) with Anna Danziger as her mother. She says she was born in Wales.


This telling seems to hold together if we use information from the several sources and make some inferences.

I invited family to help sort out the timeline and here are a few replies:

Susan Paris, Feb 13 2014: "Also, I see that my brother David's family tree (the laminated scroll) has listed Honigbaum and Greenberg as two of the names Hannah Danziger Sheiner used in her early life.

I don't know where he got that information.

But I think he probably had a source before he typed it.

Maybe the Polish record clerk typed Chawa instead of Chana.

And maybe Dorothy listed her father as Jacob Sheiner in 1938 on her second marriage license (to Sol Kozba) because she spent all those years in his home as his daughter and decided that he was the father she was going to officially recognize."

Sam Scheiner married Rose Schwartz in 1936 and he lists Anna Scheiner as his mother.
Sam Scheiner also lived at 3381 E 117th St, Cleveland.
Sarah / Sally Sheiner, Anna's daughter with Jacob Sheiner, married Samuel C Levine, and they had three children,  Robert Allan LevineJim Levine and Michael Levine. Michael is the one who is notorious for committing a murder and being freed on an early use of the insanity defense.

December 04, 2009