Amanuensis Monday: 1804 Origin of the Kruvand Surname

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. 

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

Below I transcribe an article found in The Historical Jewish Press archives at the National Library of Israel.

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Print Date: 29 October 2022. Source: Page 9, Indiana Jewish Post & Opinion, 15 October 1976 *** "Historical Jewish Press", The National Library of Israel and Tel Aviv University

Your Name

By NORBERT PEARLROTH

Dear Mr. Pearlroth: I would like to know the meaning of, and whatever information you can give me on the following: KROOVAND - Father born in Lithuania. Very sincerely, William H. Kroovand.

Kroovand is a family name of geographical origin. It is derived from the name of the district of Kruwonda located near Kovno in Lithuania. Kroovand is apparently an anglicized version of the geographical name. The district contained no villages or towns. It embraced 15 landed estates belonging to 15 land owning families. Your ancestor who adopted the name in 1804 was probably an employee of one of those landowners. 

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Notes

1) Norbert Pearlroth (1893-1983) was the primary researcher for Ripley's Believe it or Not, 1923-1975, and wrote the weekly Your Name column for the Jewish Post of New York, researching origins of Jewish surnames.

2) William H. Kroovand (1915-1987) was my second cousin twice removed. His father, Clarence, was indeed born in Lithuania in 1885 according to my records. The ancestor who adopted the surname in 1804 was either my 4rh great grandfather, Me'er Kruvand, who we only know was born before 1790, or his father, whose name we do not know.

3) I wondered as to Pearlroth's source for the surname adoption in 1804, as well as the information on the number of estates. Pearlroth seems to imply the 15 estates existed around the time of the surname adoption. Though this is not clear. My ancestors left in the 1880s.

The 1804 date turns out to almost certainly be based on Czar Alexander I's Edict of 1804, which

required all Jews living in the Pale of Settlement (the territory where Jews were permitted to live in the Russian Empire, encompassing modern Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova) to adopt permanent surnames.

Using the spelling of the town Pearlroth uses, which appears to be a Polish spelling, I found a source for the 15 landowners: Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich. T. 4, Warszawa : nakł. Filipa Sulimierskiego i Władysława Walewskiego, 1880-1914 (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic countries. T. 4, Warsaw: nakł. Filip Sulimierski and Władysław Walewski, 1880-1914)

Computer translation of 2 entries:

• Kruwonda, n. , the left tributary of the Łazdona, which flows into Dubissa, near her sink with the Nemunas. 
• Kruwondy, the area of ​​gentry, on the riverside Kruwonda, poviat, Kaunas, parish Czekiszki, it has a wooden chapel, 15 owners, a loamy, fertile ground

This may actually have been Pearlroth’s source, as bios say he knew multiple languages. If Polish was one of them, this is a likely book to be on his shelf if he’s going to write this weekly column. It's still not clear what year(s) the 15 owners references, but it seems to suggest it was true in the 1880s when my ancestors left. This adds to some information I learned about the town a few years ago.

Timeline for Moshe Leyb Cruvant - 1858-1911

Timeline for my 2nd great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant

• June 12, 1858 (*) - Moshe Leyb Cruvant was born in Cekiške, Kauno, Lithuania, to Mina and David Aron Orel Kruvant.
• Before 1877 - Father David Aron Orel dies. 
• 1881 - Moshe Leyb Cruvant married Minnie Mojsabovsky in 1881 when he was 24 years old. 
• Dec 11, 1882 (*) - Son, Benjamin born in Pereyaslav, Lithuania 
• March 17, 1885 - Son, David, born in Pereyaslav, Lithuania 
• 1885 - Immigrates to US 
• Sept 29, 1886 - Daughter Bertha born in either St. Louis Missouri or East St. Louis, Illinois 
• May 8, 1889 - Daughter Stella born in St. Louis, Missouri 
• March 1892 - Daughter Flora born in St. Louis, Missouri 
• Jan 1, 1893 - Son Solomon born in St. Louis, Missouri 
• April 7, 1895 - Brother Simon dies in St. Louis 
• 1895 - Resides at 1128 North Eighth Street, St. Louis
• 1900 - Resides at 1111 Morgan Street, St. Louis
• 1903 - Seeks work in Chicago with son, Ben 
• 1904 Returns to St. Louis 
• May 26, 1904 - Son Ben marries Lillian Goldian White in Chicago Illinois 
• July 19, 1904 - Grandson Clifford Edward born to Ben & Goldie in Chicago 
• July 22, 1905 - Granddaughter Sarah Ruth born to Ben & Goldie in Chicago 
• April 1907 - Ben leaves Goldie 
• May 2, 1907 - Daughter Stella marries Louis Stern in St. Louis, Missouri 
• June 1908 - Ben & Goldie divorced in East St. Louis, Illinois (appears in newspaper June 20) 
• Oct 29, 1908 - Grandson Aaron Stern born to Stella and Louis in East St. Louis, Illinois 
• June 27, 1909 - Son David marries Anna Rubin 
• Aug 2, 1909 - Brother Girsh dies in Cekiske, Lithuania 
• Before 1910 - Brother Notka dies in Lithuania or Ukraine.
• 1910 - Resides at 435 Collinsville Ave, East St. Louis, Illinois
• Feb 14, 1911 - Grandson Bernard Alan born to David & Anna 
• Aug 27, 1911 - Daughter Bertha marries Barney Newmark in East St. Louis, Illinois 
• Sept 26, 1911 - Moshe Leyb dies in East St. Louis, Illinois

(*) These dates are based on Lithuanian records and are Julian calendar dates. In both cases the individuals observed their birthdays about 20 days later. 12 days to adjust to the Gregorian calendar, and they were probably observing the anniversary of their Brit Milah at 8 days.

Notes

1) By noting the vital records of his children and grandchildren, kernels appear of the story of Ben and Goldie, which I have written several blog posts about. What I don't know is whether Moshe Leyb knew about the relationship when he left Chicago, and what he thought about it. I do know that when Ben and Goldie returned to St. Louis, all heck broke loose, because Goldie wasn't Jewish, and Ben was given an ultimatum. Ben chose his parents over his wife and children. (Though divorce records indicate he tried and failed to gain custody of one child.)

2) The exact date of daughter Bertha's birth is uncertain. She always observed her birthday on the Jewish holiday of Rosh HaShana, and wasn't certain whether she was born in 1886 or 1887. The date given in the timeline is Rosh HaShana 1886.

3) Moshe Leyb's brother, Notka, married a woman from Kiev, Ukraine - and family lore isn't certain where they resided and where he died.

4) Moshe Leyb died of liver cancer. His death certificate indicates the doctor began seeing him about a week before his daughter, Bertha's, marriage.

The Professions of David Orel Kruvand (1805-?)

Below are some index records I found on Ancestry pertaining to my third great grandfather, David Orel Kruvand. I do not believe the original records are accessible anywhere online, yet. 

The first record is from 1840, and the second 1852. In those 12 years he went from being a Miller to being a Butcher. What caused this change of occupation? What happened to the mill? Nothing certain, but one can certainly imagine several hypotheses.  In the first record - a census - he was 35 years old, and the second 47. It seems rather late in life, in that era, for a career change. But it is possible the mill belonged to his father, and he was not successful in keeping it up.  Or one of a multitude of other possibilities.

I recently found both records in a search, but it is interesting to speculate what I, or another genealogist, might conclude if only one record had turned up. If one only knew about his job as a Miller, one might conclude the family was, if not wealthy, successful. The physical requirements of a mill probably limited the number of millers in a town, and limited competition. This is not necessarily the case for butchers. So his success as a butcher might have depended upon the amount of competition he had as well as his skills. 

Butcher is a slightly humorous occupation for him to have gone into. Why? I learned a few years ago that the Lithuanian word, "Kruvinas," means 'bloody," and the town Kruvandai was named after a particularly bloody war. Kruvandai is near Cekiske, and everyone in town would have known from where the family got their surname. But there would likely have been a slight chuckle among residents that someone with that surname was a butcher. Under Kosher dietary laws blood has to be drained from meat, so "Kruvand meat" might have had negative connotations, even if everyone understood the origin of the surname.

I don't know yet when David Orel Kruvand passed away. The next generation started immigrating to America in the 1870s and 1880s.

Finding Your Roots - Andy Cohen

This post has mostly been written in advance of the airing of Finding Your Roots - Season 7 - Episode 2 with Andy Cohen. Not sure whether or not I should say this, but the episode was recorded back in 2019. Andy is my fourth cousin, and information got shared. I kept quiet. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble. But the episode has now aired. I’ve made some edits as naturally not everything that got shared with Andy made the show. There wasn’t enough time.

I actually learned from his family that his genealogy was being researched when the research began, so I have an idea how long that research can take. It was long enough I wondered if they had given up on finding anything of interest. I'll leave it at that. I was not contacted in any way by any of the researchers during the research of the episode.

I will say, though it won't be mentioned in the episode, unless they went back and recorded an extra scene [which didn’t happen] that Andy's bout with Covid this year gave me a personal scare. We may not be close cousins genetically, but we went to school together a year apart, and our families are close.

How are we related? Those who watched the episode and have been followers of my blog may have recognized the surname I have often spelled (C/K)r(u/oo)van(t/d). Almost every conceivable permutation exists on at least one branch of the family. The family surname comes from the town of Kruvandai in Lithuania. The town's name comes from the Lithuanian word for 'bloody' and was named for a bloody battle. My second great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, and Andy's second great grandfather, Samuel (Simon) Cruvand, were brothers.

Here's some links to a few past blog posts that touch upon some of the same people, places, and events from the show.

• The fire that destroyed the Cekiske Synagogue
• Images of the synagogue that was built in its place. 
• The Obituary and Will of Louis Cohen (Andy's great grandfather, and husband of Sarah Cruvand)
• Simon Kruvant breaks his leg.

I believe the only post I’ve made since the recording of the episode which referenced Cekiske, and the Cruvant family in Lithuania, was the one I made a couple weeks ago about the synagogue in Burlington, Vermont. There will be more.

Do I Have Cousins in Burlington, Vermont?

 In the 1880s a group of immigrants to Burlington, Vermont founded Chai Adam Synagogue. These immigrants came from Čekiškė, Lithuania - the same shtetl my Cruvant ancestors came from. Do I have kin in Burlington?

Chai Adam founders included: 

• Morris Levin
• Abraham Mowsowitz
• Max Samuelson
• Joseph Trotchky
• Hyman D. Segel
• M.L. Levin
• Abram Kaplan
• Isaac Levin
• Sam Trotchky
• Lewis Greenstein

Surname Kaplan

• Hannah Kaplan married a second great granduncle, Girsha Abram Kruvond.  
• Hannah's brother, Louis, went by Louis Cohen, and he married a first cousin three times removed, Sarah Cruvand.
• Julius Kaplan married second cousin twice removed, Fannie Cruvand. (I only know he came from Lithuania. I believe they married in the U.S. His father's name was Max.)

While Hannah and Louis definitely came from Čekiškė, Cohen/Kaplan is an extremely common Jewish surname. Further research was required to see if Chai Adam founder Abram Kaplan is related. (More closely related than being a descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses.) 

I found who I believe is the same Abram Kaplan on Geni. While from nearby Josvainiai, Lithuania, his wife is from Čekiškė, so it could be the same individual. I asked Geni to find the shortest connection between us, and I was told it was through his wife. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a connection through him that Geni doesn’t know about yet.

Surname: Greenstein

• Abraham Greenstein married first cousin three times removed, Rebekka Kroovand. (They were married in New York, and I am not sure where he immigrated from.) If I can confirm he came from the vicinity of Čekiškė, I'll research further to see if he is related to Lewis Greenstein.

Surname: Trotchky

• No known relatives. Just a small note that Russian revolutionary, Leon Trotsky, was born in Bereslavka, Ukraine about 1200 km (745 miles) from Čekiškė. His surname at birth was Bronstein. He changed his surname to Trotsky after the surname of a Siberian prison warden.

The linked website at the beginning of this post has some great pictures from inside the Čekiškė synagogue I posted about a few years ago.

Note: Senator Sanders was born in Brooklyn, NY and later moved to Burlington. He is not a descendant of the Burlington Chai Adam founders. Alas.

Amanuensis Monday: The Separation of Ben and Goldie Cruvant

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

Today I’m sharing a newspaper article from a local German newspaper and Google’s translation of an OCR transcript. While not exact, I am hopeful that it is close. It concerns the separation of a great grandmother’s brother from his first wife. 

Sat, Apr 18, 1908 – 5 · Westliche Post (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com Because his wife allegedly could not hide her hatred of him, Benjamin Cruvant sued Goldie Cruvant for the injuries. The marriage was concluded on May 26, 1904 in Chicago and the separation took place on April 13, 1907. Cruvant claims to have found that his wife lived under the name Goldie Clover in St. Louis after the separation. The father is looking for the custody of an underage child.

Notes:

1. A June 1907 article describes the disappearance of Ben on April 19 implying it was due to the objections of his parents to their marriage based on Goldie not being Jewish. I had found record of their divorce being filed in 1908, but hadn’t yet uncovered the details of what had been claimed. This article provides a different reason for the breakup, but Ben likely had legal reasons to claim injuries and blame Goldie. This article suggests he sought custody of one of the two children. Both children were residing with the mother in the 1910 census. Goldie’s maiden name was White and it’s unclear why she used the Surname Clover, if that claim is accurate.  

Amanuensis Monday: Simon Cruvant breaks his leg - 1889

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

Today I transcribe a newspaper clipping describing a horse and wagon accident a brother of my second great grandfather was involved in. This clipping was found on Newspapers.com

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At 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, while Simon Cruvant, a Russian peddler, was driving a horse attached to a wagon on Broadway, near Koeln street, the shaft of the wagon broke, causing the horse to run away. Cruvant was thrown out of the wagon and had his right leg broken and received other injuries. He was sent to the City Hospital. Cruvant is a married man, and lives at 1122 North Seventh street.

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Horse-wagon accident involving Simon Cruvant Fri, Oct 25, 1889 – 5 · St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
Notes:

1. Samuel "Simon" Cruvand (1841-1895) would have been 48 years old at the time of this incident, with four children. His brother, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, was my second great grandfather. The family came from the town of Kruvandai in Lithuania, and different branches spelled the surname differently. At least five different phonetic spellings have been used by those who settled in the US: Cruvant, Cruvand, Kruvant, Kruvand, and Kroovand. I believe the 'Cruvand' spelling may no longer be in use. This is the second oldest newspaper article mentioning one of my paternal kin I have currently found.

D-Day Plus 75 Years

Today marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day

The closest relative I have found involved in the D-Day invasion was Arnold Burton Kruvant, a second cousin of my paternal grandfather. The details of his death were, I believe, first described in a book on his battalion published in 2016. While apparently several surviving members of his battalion witnessed his death, they decided not to share the details with his family, due to its gruesome nature.

First Lt. Arnold Kruvant of New Jersey was a Camp Claiborne original. He transferred to the 37th Parachute Artillery Battalion and became the S-3, jumping into Normandy even though he had never had jump training. Kruvant carried in with him the funds for the battalion, $500 in U.S. currency. He is listed as KIA and MIA on June 6. He was twenty-six years old.

Kruvant’s widow was well known and well liked by the men of the 321st. They decided at the time that she would not be told of her husband’s gruesome death. Several 321st officers recalled that Kruvant was bayoneted to death while hung up in his parachute harness, dangling from a tree just off the ground. Why his body was never positively identified remains a mystery to this day. (Source: Screaming Eagle Gliders: The 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, G. J. Dettore, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, pp 83-85. Image: East Orange High School Yearbook, 1936, p. 44. Retrieved from Ancestry.com June 5, 2019.)

***

Note: A week and a half ago I neglected to make my annual Memorial Day post. On future Memorial Days, I believe I will honor Arnold Kruvant's service in addition to that of my great uncle, Mandell Newmark. (Mandell and Arnold were second cousins.)

On the towns of Krūvandai and Čekiškė, as well as the Lithuanian Language

It is almost a certainty that the surnames Cruvant/Kruvant/Kruvand/Kruvant come from the Lithuanian town of Krūvandai. We have traced ancestors back to the nearby (5.5 km) town of Čekiškė. One cousin told me that his family lore said the Lithuanian town got its name from the family. Regardless of whether the chicken or egg came first, there is still the unanswered question: What does it mean?

I decided to ask on a Lithuanian Genealogy Facebook group.

I've learned Krūvandai was founded in the 1600s, and named after a particularly bloody battle in the Polish-Swedish wars (1600-1629). 'Kraujas' means 'blood.' 'Kruvinas' means 'bloody.' This information pretty much sets to rest any question of which came first. Jewish family surnames were uncommon in 17th century Eastern Europe. They weren't required by law until the late 18th, early 19th century, depending upon the area.

My query on FB did result in an enthusiastic contact fluent in both Lithuanian and English, with current relatives in Krūvandai. In addition to providing me with the information above, he translated from a recent book a chapter on the history of the Jewish community in Čekiškė. A handful of 20th-century cousins of mine were named in the chapter. Sept 4, 1941 marked the violent end of the Jewish community.

I also learned that in the Lithuanian language, surnames are gendered. That is, a male cousin might be referred to in documents with the surname 'Kruvandas,' a female cousin either as 'Kruvandaite' or 'Kruvandiene' depending on whether unmarried or married, respectively.

The images are of a synagogue in Čekiškė that still stands. An older synagogue was destroyed in an 1887 fire, and rebuilt. My second great grandfather and his family left in approximately 1886-1887. While they would never have seen the current synagogue, the cousins who remained would have worshipped there for fifty years.

Amanuensis Monday: Robbie Cruvant - age 6 - on the cover of Sports Illustrated - 1957

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

One can't always predict where a photograph of a relative will appear.

The newspaper clipping below comes from, The Times, Shreveport, Louisiana, May 21, 1957. I found it at Newspapers.com, and then found the cover in the Sports Illustrated Vault. Robbie Cruvant, a second cousin once removed, died in a car accident in 1967.

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Magazine Cover Shows Local Boy

The photo of a Shreveport boy, Robbie Cruvant, 6, appears on the cover of the current issue of a national magazine, Sports Illustrated.

Robbie, the son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Leslie Cruvant, 6227 Gilbert Dr., is seated on a four-in-hand coach witnessing the Bridal and Spur Horse Show in St. Louis Mo., in the photograph. The horse show is featured in the magazine.

The picturesque four-horse coach is owned by Robbie's grandfather, Robert Baskowitz, of St. Louis. Among others seated on the coach is August A Busch, Jr., president of Anheuser-Busch, Inc., the makers of Budweiser beer.

Amanuensis Monday: The Wedding of Virginia Ellen Cruvant and Ronald Ruben Zimmerman

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

This week I look at a newspaper article that mentions the wedding of Virginia Ellen Cruvant (1915-2013) and Ronald Zimmerman (1913-1976). Virginia's father, Solomon, was the youngest brother of my great grandmother, Bertha (Cruvant) Newmark. The article comes from The Modern View, a local Jewish newspaper. Their archives are on microfilm at the St. Louis County Library.

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Zimmerman - Cruvant

Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Cruvant of Springfield, Ill., have announced the marriage of their daughter, Miss Virginia Ellen Cruvant and R. Ruben Zimmerman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Zimmerman of 762 Kingsland avenue, which took place, on Wednesday morning, August 23, in the study of Rabbi Ferdinand M. Isserman at Temple Israel, at 10:30 o'clock. A breakfast at the Hotel Coronado followed the ceremony, after which the bridal pair left on a wedding trip to Old Mexico. They will reside at 7203 Dartmouth avenue.

The Modern View, Sept 28, 1939, p.14

-- Social Notes --

Mr. and Mrs. R. Ruben Zimmerman, who were married on August 23, have returned from their honeymoon in Old Mexico and are at home at 7203 Dartmouth avenue.

The Modern View, Sept 28, 1939, p. 12.

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Notes:

1) I wasn't aware that Sol Cruvant's family had lived in Springfield, IL.  I believe they were in St. Louis until about 1925, spent 4-5 years in Canton, Ohio. After that, I'm unsure.

Descendants of Ben and Goldie (White) Cruvant

I've mentioned previously my research into the children of Ben Cruvant (my great grandmother's brother) and his first wife, Goldie. They were married in Chicago in 1904. In 1907, he brought her, and their children, home to St. Louis. His parents, upset Goldie wasn't Jewish, gave Ben an ultimatum. And he chose his parents. Goldie returned to Chicago with the children. Ben remarried and started a second family.

Building upon research conducted by a cousin into what happened to Goldie and the children, I've made a handful of recent discoveries. Below I document what I know, in case some of the names might be found by someone else searching.

Generation One

• Goldie Lillian WHITE (10 Dec 1884 - 3 Feb 1962) and Benjamin CRUVANT (3 Jan 1883-23 May 1960)

Children:
1) Edward CRUVANT – b. July 19, 1904 - changes name to Clifford Paul WHITE
2) Goldie CRUVANT – b. July 22, 1905 - Possibly changes name to Ruth Sarah
2 or 3) Ruth Sarah CRUVANT – b. July 2, 1906 (according to death certificate)

[It is very unlikely that Clifford, Goldie and Ruth would all be born in July in successive years. I have birth records for the first two. The June 1907 Post Dispatch article about a 2 year old baby pining for a disappearing father doesn’t mention a 1-year old daughter. With the death certificate for Ruth indicating a middle name of Sarah, and the 1910 census indicating Goldie's daughter Sarah M., there is a strong possibility there really are only two children of Ben and Goldie. It’s not unusual that someone would end up with a birth year on their death certificate one year younger than reality. This would mean Edward changed his name to Clifford Paul and the younger Goldie changed her name to Ruth Sarah. It would be nice to find the official Name Change/Correction for Ruth Sarah.

Ruth’s husband, Raymond Sangbusch, was born on July 2, 1911. This could explain how her birthday got changed from July 22 to July 2…or was confused by the informant.]

• Goldie and [Unknown] TAYLOR

Children:
1) Madge Elizabeth Taylor – b. unknown

[Note: We don’t have 1920 census records for family. It is possible they had the Taylor surname at the time.]

• Goldie and Wiley Poynter SHAW

Children: None

Generation Two

• Clifford Paul WHITE marries Jessie Anna ROSS (abt 1930) [Jessie Anna ROSS born in 1903 in Westville, Nova Scotia. I believe I have found her in the 1911 Canadian census, indexed as 'Jassie.']

Children
1) Florence Augusta WHITE (date of birth known, but could be living)

• Ruth CRUVANT marries WELTY (unknown date)
• Ruth CRUVANT WELTY marries Raymond SANGBUSCH – May 6, 1939 – Scott, Iowa (divorced prior to 1959, since Raymond SANGBUSCH marries Eleanor NANCE in Dec 1959)

Children - Unknown

• Madge Elizabeth TAYLOR engaged to be married to Kenneth LINDBERGH  – May 22, 1938 [Newspaper article says wedding scheduled for June 25]
• There is a Kenneth and Betty M. Lindbergh in the California voting records in 1940 and 1942. That Kenneth Lindbergh (1915-1994) was born in Chicago, and served in WWII between 1943-1945. (Registering for the draft in Pennsylvania)  He remarried in 1946, so if he is the same, his marriage to Madge Elizabeth may have ended prior to 1943. A descendant of Kenneth and his second wife has no knowledge of first wife.

Children - Unknown

Documents uncovered (with some links to past blog posts)

• 1904 marriage record for Benjamin Cruvant and Goldie White
• 1904 birth record for Edward Cruvant (and later name correction)
• 1905 birth record for Goldie Cruvant
• 1907 newspaper article documenting Benjamin and Goldie's break-up
• 1910 Census: Goldian Lillian White, son Clifford E, daughter Sarah M., Chicago, IL
• 1914 journal clipping indicating Goldie Cruvant living in Denver Colorado
• 1930 Census: Clifford White, mother Goldie Taylor, and roomer Wiley Shaw - Chicago IL
• 1940 Census: Clifford P White, wife Jessie, daughter Florence A - Chicago, IL
• Marriage record: Ruth Cruvant Welty to Raymond Sangbusch - May 6, 1939 - Scott County, Iowa
• 1940 Census: Raymond Sangbusch, wife Ruth, Mother-in-law Goldie, Father-in-law Wiley P Shaw - Chicago, IL
• Newspaper Article: Engagement of Madge Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of Mrs. Wiley P. Shaw to Kenneth Lindbergh - Chicago Tribune
• California Death Index: Goldie L Shaw
• California Death Index: Wiley Poynter Shaw
• Marriage record of Raymond Sangbusch and Eleanor Nance - Dec 12 1959 - Los Angeles
• Birth record: Raymond Sangbusch - July 2 1911 - Chicago, IL (parents Otto Sangbusch and Susan Calon)
• Death record: Raymond Sangbusch - January 1985 - Havasu City, Mohave, Arizona 
• Birth record: Florence Augusta White - Chicago IL - Parents Clifford Paul White and Jessie Anna Ross

Amanuensis Monday: An Unknown Relative Sold His Car in Detroit in 1924

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

This week I look at a newspaper advertisement mentioning an unknown relative.

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To the left is the full advertisement.  If one were searching for surnames using the traditional method of browsing newspaper microfilm, most likely it would be missed. But with databases of digitized papers, one can find surnames in unlikely spots. (emphasis added)

In the lower left corner:



1923 Rickenbacker Coupe
Sale Price $1350 / List Price $2345
Equipped with 2 Bumpers, Stoplight, Motometer, good Tires. This car has the wonderful Duco Paint Job which cost $175.00, and will last for years. Driven 7,000 miles. Formerly owned by Mr. Cruvand, Peterboro Avenue.

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Notes:

1) The 'Cruvand' surname (with all of its variant spellings) is rare. While one hesitates to say that "all people with surname X are related" I have been able to connect all instances I have found. In one mysterious case, a 16-year old Cruvant popped up in an England database, and I was able to prove it was a misspelling. Could this be another? No known Cruvands, Cruvants, Kruvands or Kruvants lived in Michigan in the 1920s.

One possibility that comes to mind is Edward/Clifford Cruvant the son of my great grandmother's brother, Ben Cruvant, and his first wife Goldie White. Born in 1904, he would have been 20 in 1924. In 1910 the mother and children were in Chicago, Illinois. In 1914 Denver, Colorado.

Celebrate Your Name Week

Reposted and updated from 2009 

The first week of March is Celebrate your Name Week

Celebrate Your Name Week is a holiday created in 1997 by American amateur onomatologist Jerry Hill. Hill declared the first full week in March a week for everyone in the world to embrace and celebrate his or her name, and to appreciate names in general, by having fun getting to know facts about names. This is a week set aside to participate in names-related hobbies, activities, and to take part in entertaining names-related events inspired by a fondness for and true appreciation of names.

My first name: John

John comes from the Hebrew Yochanan, meaning 'G-d is gracious.' It isn’t short, as some assume, for Jonathan. Jonathan comes from the Hebrew Yanatan, which means 'Gift from G-d,' and is a longer form of Nat(h)an.

My Hebrew name: בָּרוּ (Baruch).

Baruch is a Hebrew word meaning, “Blessed.” Benedict is the common English version of this name. My parents chose “Baruch” naming me after my great grandfather, Barnet "Barney" Newmark (1886-1956).

My middle name: Cruvant.

Cruvant is one of my ancestral surnames, the maiden name of my paternal great grandmother Bertha Cruvant Newmark (1887-1978; She and Barney were married in 1911.) Since my parents followed the tradition of choosing names from deceased ancestors, my middle name came from Bertha’s father, Moshe Leyb Cruvant. The origin of Cruvant is the town Kruvandai, Lithuania. Almost every conceivable phonetic spelling exists somewhere on the family tree: (C/K)r(U/OO)van(T/D). I blame it on individuals who were used to transliterating Hebrew to English, and had no problem 'transliterating' Lithuanian to English as well, even if the two languages shared an alphabet.

My surname: Newmark

The origin of our surname isn’t certain. It is thought that the surname was Neimark (or Nejmark) in Poland. There are multiple Newmark “clans” in the United States, and it is uncertain whether they are related, though several appear to have originated in Poland, and several made stops along the way in Great Britain.

Namesakes

I share the name “John Newmark” with a Canadian pianist (1904-1991) - Though he came from Germany, and his original surname was Neumark.

I also share my name with the British biologist, and identical twin who appeared on the television show, To Tell the Truth, with his brother, George.

Amanuensis Monday: Čekiškė Conflagration - 1887

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust: A-J, Shmuel Spector, Geoffrey Wigoder, NYU Press, 2001, page 236.

CEKISKE (Yid. Tzeikishok) Kaunas dist., Lithuania. Jews first settled at the end of the 18th cent. a conflagration in 1887 left most Jews homeless. The J. pop. in 1897 came to 432 (65% of the total). In 1915, the retreating Russian army, together with local farmers, staged a pogrom against the Jews before expelling them to Russia. After WWI only some returned. The Zionist movement won widespread support. In 1940, there were about 60 J. families in C. After the German conquest of 1941, the Jews were killed on 4. Sept. 1941, according to a Nazi document, which reported the deaths of 22 men, 64 women, and 60 children.

Another source has more information:

In 1887, a fire broke out in Cekiske that burned all of its houses, including the two prayer houses and their valuable books. A young woman was burned to death. Only 3 houses remained intact. About 160 families remained without shelter and without any means. Among them was the Rabbi of the town, Rabbi Avraham Levental, who was a wealthy man and who lost his entire property in the fire. Jews from the nearby towns of Vilkija, Seredzius, Raseiniai, Girkalnis and other towns were the first to bring wagons loaded with bread and foodstuffs to the stricken families, who were living under the open sky. A call for aid in their names was advertised in the “HaMelitz” on July 1887. It was signed by Eliyahu Gorland.

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Notes:

When did my Cruvant ancestors immigrate from Čekiškė, Lithuania to America?

My second great grandfather's 1911 death certificate stated he had been in the US for 35 years, implying an immigration year of 1876. However, two sons appear in Lithuanian birth records for 1883 and 1885. I've theorized the death certificate was 10 years off, and 1886 is a more likely year.

It was said that my great grandmother, Bertha, was born in Missouri on the Jewish New Year in 1886 or 1887. In 1887 that would have been September 19. But no birth records have been found in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, or St. Clair County, Illinois. (Not exactly definitive since birth records weren't required in Missouri until 1910.) While she doesn't appear in Lithuanian birth records, either, could she have been born en route? If the fire occurred before July (when the call for aid was advertised), they may have been able to get to the US prior to September 19.

There were family stories told by some branches that they were escaping a pogrom. A home destroyed by a fire isn't exactly a home destroyed by a pogrom, but it's not difficult to envision the story being embellished upon. (And the neither description gives an indication of the cause of the fire.)

The earliest documentation of my ancestors being in St. Louis is a naturalization record from 1889.

There were cousins among the 22 men, 64 women, and 60 children who were killed on September 4, 1941.

Alas, A Different Secondhand Shop

I discovered the below photograph in a newspaper article about the community where my paternal ancestors lived. I wondered if it could be my second great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant and his children. He did own a secondhand shop at the time.

There were definitely some facial similarities with known photographs in my collection.

I decided I really needed to find a photograph of my great grandmother's brother, Sol, at a much younger age. (Or a photograph of my second great grandfather a little bit younger.)

Today I received several documents including this photograph. My second great grandmother, Minnie (Mojsabovsky) Cruvant, her three daughters Bertha, Stella and Flora, and two sons. That's either David or Ben at the top, and Sol at the bottom.

As much as I'd like it to be a match, the boys don't look the same.
And I don't think it's just a matter of adding a few years onto his age.

But I love this photograph.

Update: I've been reminded that we are only identifying individuals by their similarity in appearance to other known photos. The only faces that we are pretty certain about are in the top row: my second great grandmother, Minnie, and my great grandmother, Bertha, And in the middle row, right, Stella. My cousin who provided the photo doesn't think the other woman in the middle looks close enough to Flora, and she can't identify either of the males. Assuming it is a family photo and everyone should be a member of the family can lead to inaccurate conclusions.

Amanuensis Monday: The Obituary and Will of Louis Cohen

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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This week I look at the obituary from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and an article about the will for Louis Cohen (1867-1926), the husband of my great grandmother's first cousin.

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 13, 1926, Page 11

LOUIS COHEN, WHOLESALE GROCERY FIRM HEAD, DIES
Was Director of Jewish Organizations; Funeral To Be at 2 p.m. Tomorrow.

The funeral of Louis Cohen, 59 years old, president of the L. Cohen Wholesale Grocery Co., who died yesterday at his home, 5129 Vernon Avenue, following a heart attack, will be at 2 p.m. tomorrow from B'Nai Amoona Congregation, Academy and Vernon avenues.

Mr. Cohen was born in Lithuania. In 1890 he established a retail grocery at Seventh and Wash streets, later changing to wholesale. He was a member of the directorates of the Federation of Jewish Charities, Hebrew Free School Association and Jewish Old Folks' Home. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Sarah Cohen; three sons, Nathan, Samuel and Ralph Cohen, and five daughters, Mrs. Anna Rosinsky, Mrs. Esther Lippman, Mrs. Jennie Franzel, Mrs. Blanche Steele and Miss Goldie Cohen.

St. Louis Post Dispatch, Sept 21, 1926, page 19

$3000 Left to Jewish Charities

The will of Louis Cohen, pioneer grocer, who died Sept. 13 at his home, 5129 Vernon avenue, was filed in Probate Court yesterday. He bequeathed $3000 to Jewish charities and the remainder of his estate to the widow and two sons and six daughters after making bequests of $1000 to a sister, Hannah Kruvant, living in Russia; $2500 to each of four grandchildren, and $500 each to two nieces. Mrs. Cohen gets one-half of the residue, the other half going to the sons and daughters.

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Notes:

1) Louis Cohen was married to Sarah Kruvand, a first cousin of my great grandmother, Bertha Cruvant. Sarah was a minor (17) at the time of marriage, and with the marriage documentation there was a note saying her parents were in Europe and approved the marriage. Family lore suggested that they didn't know each other prior to her arrival in the United States, and that it might have been an arranged marriage.

2) When reading the newspaper article about the will, my first thought naturally was that the 'sister' Hannah Kruvant, was a sister-in-law. But wills are usually quite specific about relationships. So I checked if the will was part of Ancestry.com's collection, and it was. The will also mentioned a nephew, Archik Kruvand. He wasn't mentioned in the newspaper, since he was already deceased. (I transcribed his will previously.) That told me exactly who Louis's sister married. Past research had identified her as "Hannah Kaplan." However, the surname Kaplan is an alternative form of Cohen.

3) David Kruvand had six sons, three of whom were Girsh, Samuel, and Moshe Leyb. Girsh remained in Lithuania, but his son, Archik immigrated to America. Samuel immigrated to America after his daughter, Sarah, travelled alone prior to marry Louis Cohen. (The marriage was in 1886, and Samuel was in St. Louis by 1889) Louis Cohen's sister was Archik's mother. Moshe Leyb was my second great grandfather.

4) Interestingly - Some of the Kruvant family branches have changed their surname to Cohen, believing themselves to be Cohanim (male-lineal descendants of Aaron.) It is not surprising that Cohanim would want their daughters to marry other Cohanim such that marriages would be arranged. Since Cohanim status is determined through male-lineal descent, it would be the only way to keep the grandchildren Cohanim.

Further Coincidence?

Last January I blogged about a mathematical coincidence. For three Jewish kin, there are records claiming alternate birth dates approximately 20 days apart. Adjusting for the 12 days conversion between Julian and Gregorian calendars, this leaves approximately 8 days - which could be explained if one of the dates is actually the date of their Brit Milah. (Covenant of Circumcision).

I didn't mention it last week in the Amanuensis Monday notes, but Max Kruvand's Petition for Naturalization states he was born on August 22, 1897, and his record of birth in Lithuanian records states August 3. So it's now four kin. (Three from Lithuania, one from Poland.)

I am unaware of a religious tradition of observing the anniversary of a brit milah (Outside of Christian tradition - of course, the Feast of the Circumcision could have Jewish roots.) I know that celebrating birthdays was not considered appropriate in traditional European Jewish households. There was the superstition that it was tempting the 'evil eye'. Celebrating any anniversary connected to birth would likely be seen similarly. However, it is conceivable that the date of birth wasn't recorded in some family records, but the Brit Milah would have been, due to its religious significance.

Amanuensis Monday: Petition for Naturalization of Max Kruvand - October 21, 1948

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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This week I look at the Petition for Naturalization of my grandfather's second cousin, Max Kruvand. This is the first Naturalization petition I have seen where the petition is dependent upon the previous naturalization of a spouse.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION NO. 5867
[Of a Married Person, under Sec. 310(a) or (b), 311, or 312, of the Nationality Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 1144-1145)

To the Honorable the District Court of the United States at Jacksonville, Florida. This petition for naturalization, hereby made and filed pursuant to Section 310(a) or (b), or Section 311 or 312, of the Nationality Act of 1940, respectfully shows:

1) My full, true, and correct name is Max Kruvand
2) My present place of residence is 1608 Felch Ave., Jacksonville, Duval, Florida
3) My occupation is Merchant
4) I am 50 years old.
5) I was born on August 22, 1897 in Kovno, Lithuania
6) My personal description is as follows: Sex M; Color W, complexion Fair, color of eyes Blue, color of hair Brown, height 5 feet 8 inches, weight 206 pounds; visible distinctive marks None; race White; present nationality Lithuanian
7) I am married; the name of my wife or husband is Molly Schwartz Kruvand, we were married on August 30, 1940 at Elkton, Maryland; he or she was born at Kovno, Lithuania, on January 1, 1900 entered the United States at New York, N.Y on August 23, 1923 for permanent residence in the United States and now resides at 1608 Felch Ave., Jacksonville, Florida and was naturalized on November 14, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. Certificate No. 3735613
8) I have two children; and the name, sex, date and place of birth, and present place of residence of each of said children who is living, are as follows: Frances, Female, b. 1920 at Kovno, Lithuania, now resides at Miami, Florida; Mark, Male, b. 1923 at St. Louis, Missouri, now resides New Haven, Conn.
9) My last place of foreign residence was Kovno, Lithuania
10) I emigrated to the United States from Vera Cruz, Mexico
11) My lawful entry for permanent residence in the United States was at El Paso, Texas under the name of Max Kruvand on April 20, 1921 on the Automobile as shown by the certificate of my arrival attached to the petition.

Petition filed under Section 311

12) Since my lawful entry for permanent residence I have not been absent from the United States for a period or periods of 6 months or longer, as follows:
13) (Declaration of intention not required)
14) It is my intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which at this time I am a subject or citizen, and it is my intention to reside permanently in the United States
15) I am not, and have not been for the period of at least 10 years immediately preceding the date of this petition, an anarchist; nor a believer in the unlawful damage, injury, or destruction of property, or sabotage; nor a disbeliever in or opposed to organized government; nor a member of or affiliated with any organization or body of persons teaching disbelief in or opposition to organized government.
16) I am able to speak the English language (unless physically unable to do so.)
17) I am, and have been during all of the periods required by law, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States
18) I have resided continuously in the United States of America for the term of two years at least immediately preceding the date of this petition, to wit; since April 20, 1921
19) I have not heretofore made petition for naturalization
20) Attached hereto and made a part of this, my petition for naturalization, are a certificate of arrival from the Immigration and Naturalization Service of my said lawful entry into the United States for permanent residence (if such certificate of arrival be required by the naturalization law), and the affidavits of at least two verifying witnesses required by law.
21) Wherefore, I, your petitioner for naturalization, pray that I may be admitted a citizen of the United States of America, and that my name be changed to No Change of Name
22) I , aforesaid petitioner, do swear (affirm) that I know the contents of this petition for naturalization subscribed by me, that the same are true to the best of my knowledge, except to matters therein stated to be alleged upon information and belief, and that as to those matters I believe them to be true, and that this petition is signed by me with my full, true name: SO HELP ME GOD.
[Signature]

Notes:

1) Max and Molly were both born in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania. Max entered the US two years prior to Molly - it is unclear whether the two of them knew each other prior to immigration.

2) This is the first relative I have found that entered the US by automobile. It is unclear how much time Max spent in Mexico.  He indicates the last place of foreign residence was Lithuania, so it is also possible that the didn't actually reside there for any significant portion of time.  However, he also states that he emigrated from Vera Cruz, Mexico, which is a good 1300 miles from the El Paso border. (Max did have cousins who lived in Rosebud, Texas at the time, and they may have provided some assistance in the immigration process.)

3) Max divorced his first wife, Eva, in 1940. The Florida divorce records on Ancestry.com don't provide an exact date.

Amanuensis Monday: The Will of Archik Kruvand - 1926

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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Like many genealogists, I have delved into Ancestry.com's recently released database of wills and probate records. One will I have found is that of Archik Kruvand (1871-1926). He was the nephew of my second great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, and also immigrated to St. Louis from Lithuania.

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LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

I, Archik Kruvand, being of sound mind and disposing memory do hereby make, declare and publish this as my Last Will and Testament, hereby cancelling and declaring null and void all previous Wills, Testaments, Codicils etc.

To each of our children hereinafter mentioned I hereby give, devise and bequeath the sum of ONE ($1.00) Dollars, namely: Harry, Julius and Gootman Kruvand.

All the remainder and residue of my estate, whether real, personal or mixed I hereby give devise and bequeath to my wife Minne Kruvand, for her sole use and benefit forever.

I hereby appoint my said wife Minne Kruvand, as sole exeuctriux of my estate without being required to furnish Bonds, and with full power and authority to sell, mortgage or in any manner dispose of the whole or any part of my estate.

Witness my hand this 6th day of April, 1926.

Archik X Kruvand (mark)

Signed, published and declared by Archik Kruvand, testator above named as and for his Last Will and Testament, in our presence who at his request in his presence and the presence of each of us, who have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses thereto the day and year first above written.

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Philip Steinberg

David Deutsch

State of Missouri

City of St. Louis

Be it Remembered, That on this 28th day of September A.D. 1926, before me, the undersigned Clerk of the Probate Court of the City of St. Louis, personally come Philip Steinberg and David Deutch who being both by me duly sworn on their oaths, say: “We saw Archik Kruvand the testator, make his mark as and for his name to the annexed instrument, in writing, bearing date the 6th day of April 1926, and heard him declare the same to be his last Will and Testament; we subscribed our names thereto as witnesses in the presence and at the request of the said testator and at the time of the execution of said instrument as aforesaid, and of our subscribing the same as such witnesses, he the said testator was of sound and disposing mind, to the best of our knowledge and belief.”

Philip Steinberg

David Deutsch

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 28th day of September 1926.

George Brand, Clerk. By Fred H. Haid, Deputy Clerk.

State of Missouri

City of St. Louis

Be it Remembered, That on this 28th day of September, A.D. 1926, it being one of the days of the September Term of the Probate Court of the City of St. Louis, for said year, an instrument in writing, purporting to be the last Will and Testament of Archik Kruvand deceased, is produced in and exhibited to said Court, upon examination whereof, and of the testimony of Philip Steinberg and David Deutsch the subscribing witnesses thereto, it is considered by the Court that said instrument in writing is duly proved to be the last Will and Testament of said Archik Kruvand, deceased.

Witness, George Brand, Clerk of said Court, and the seal thereof, at office, this 28th day of September 1926.

George Brand, Clerk (Seal)

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Notes:

1) There isn't a lot of new genealogical information here. I suspect Philip Steinberg is a relative of Archik's wife, Minnie, and will conduct some research to verify this. I am unsure how David Deutsch is related, if at all.

2) Gootman (or Gutman) Kruvand remained in Lithuania, and was a victim of the Holocaust. It is unclear why he remained and didn't immigrate with his family. Records suggest he was born in 1902 and Archik and Minnie immigrated in 1913 or 1914.  His younger brothers were born in the US. It is possible he had a different mother.

3) Like most of my paternal ancestors and their immigrant kin, the mark for his signature indicates he was likely illiterate in English. Whether he was literate in Hebrew or Yiddish is unknown.

4) If one were to make an argument for the 'correct' spelling of the surname, 'Kruvand' would probably win, since it is believed to be derived from the town named Kruvandai, Lithuania. (One relative has made the suggestion to me that he was told the town was named after the family, but I find that less likely.) I believe most of the branches of the family thought of the surname in Hebrew, and transliterated phonetically.