Amanuensis Monday: Declaration of Intent for Jacob Perlik

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 Declaration of Intention completed by Jacob Perlik, a brother of my second great grandmother, Annie Perlik Feinstein.

No. 86276 

US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR NATURALIZATION SERVICE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DECLARATION OF INTENTION

Invalid for all purposes seven years after the date hereof

State of Illinois County of Cook In the Circuit Court of Cook County

I, Jacob Perlik, aged 41 years, occupation Carpenter do declare on oath that my person description is: Color white, complexion Ruddy, height 5 feet 9 inches, weight 176 pounds, color of hair Black, color of eyes Brown, other visible distinctive marks None.

I was born in Zdobietzen, Russia on the 12th day of April, anno Domini 1879. I now reside at 1438 So. Turner Ave, Chicago, Ill.

I emigrated to the United States of America from Quebec, Canada on the Canadian Pacific R.R.; my last foreign residence was Russia; I am married; the name of my wife is Bessie; she was born at Russia and now resides at With me.

It is my bona fide intention to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly to THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT OF RUSSIA, of whom I am now a subject; I arrived at the port of Detroit, in the State of Michigan, on or about the 12 day of May, anno Domini 1905.

I am not an anarchist; I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy; and it is my intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States of America and to permanently reside therein; SO HELP ME GOD.

Jacob Perlik

Subscribed and sworn before me in the office of the Clerk of said Court At Chicago, Ill, this 10 day of April anno Domini 1918

August W Miller Clerk of the Circuit Court
By G, Sienneschen, Deputy Clerk

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Notes:

1) You may note that while I underlined all handwritten text, 'White' after 'Color" is not underlined. That is because if you look at the image, it is not handwritten. It is part of the typed form. Non-whites could naturalize after the Naturalization Act of 1870, so Non-white individuals declaring their intention to become naturalized either received a different form, or had to cross White out.

2) We're not exactly sure what town in Russia Jacob came from. There is no town named Zdobietzen. But it could be Dobryzn or Szczebrzeszyn.

Surname Saturday: Perlik

Discuss a surname and mention its origins, its geographical location(s) and how it fits into your genealogy research.

Perlik

There is some thought that the Perlik surname has a similar etymology as the surname, Flach. If this is the case it may come from the Czech ‘Vlach’ meaning ‘foreigner.’ It might also be a topographic name for someone living on a flat terrain, from the Middle Low German, ‘vlak.’ It could also be an occupational name for a blacksmith, from Middle High German, ‘vlach,’ meaning ‘smooth.’

My Perlik ancestors may have come from Szczebrzeszyn, Poland, which is near the Ukraine border. The non-existent cities of ‘Szdobirtzen, Russia'  and ‘Szdobeitzen, Poland' appeared on some naturalization papers, and Szczebrzeszyn is a guess. My great-great grandmother Anna Perlik married Selig Dudelsack, and the Dudelsacks were from the nearby Volhynia region.

In America the Perliks settled in St. Louis, Chicago, and perhaps Philadelphia.

The numbering below follows the d'Aboville system. The first digit represents the order surnames make their first appearance on my ahnentafel.

I've emboldened my direct ancestors.

11. Isaac Wolf Perlik married Freida LIPMAN

11.1 Anna Perlik (1868–1932) married Selig DUDELSACK (follow their descent at 3.7)
11.2 Jacob Perlik (1879- 951) married Bessie ROSENBLATT (1883-1918) and Bertha DAVIDSON
11.3 Bluma Perlik married Israel BLOOM (*)

11.2.1 Anne Perlik (1905-1978) married Sam KLINSKY (1900-1962)
11.2.2 Harry Perlik (1907-1994) married Gladys (1907-1989)
11.2.3 Belle Perlik (1909-1993) married Benjamin ADELMAN (1907-1983)
11.2.4 Ceale Perlik (1912-1987) married  Jerome STONE
11.2.5 Irving Perlik (1914-2006)
11.2.6 Mary Perlik (1916-2008) married Edward KRAKOFF (1911-1987)
11.2.7 Sarah Perlik (1918-1918)
11.2.8. David Perlik (1920-1989)

(*) A daughter of Selig and Anna (Perlik) Dudelsack recorded the existence of a third sibling named Bluma who settled in Philadelphia and married someone named Israel Bloom. Corroborating evidence of this has not yet been uncovered.

My number is 11.1.2.2.1.3 

Tombstone Tuesday: Annie (Perlik) Feinstein (1868-1932)

Transcription: Nechama daughter of Reb Zev died on the 9th of Av, 5692. (August 10, 1932)

Nechama is the Hebrew word for 'comfort.' Common English variants dropped the first syllable and became Hanna or Anna.

A great-great grandmother, Annie, her children, and her mother-in-law immigrated to America in 1891, a year after her husband Selig Dudelsack. She immigrated under the surname Feinstein. The family story had always been that Selig changed the surname in the immigration line. It's possible Annie or her Mother-in-law was responsible, or Selig changed it during the intervening year, and contacted them somehow.

She is buried at Chesed Shel Emeth in the family plot. Annie's tombstone illustrates an unfixable flaw in Hebrew/Gregorian date converters. If you enter 9th of Av, 5692 into a converter, you will be told the Gregorian date was August 11th. However Hebrew days begin at sunset, and Annie's death certificate says she died at 8 pm on August 10th. [Note: The 9th of Av is "the saddest day in Jewish history."]

I have no photograph of Annie, even though I have seen several Feinstein family photos from the 1920s. I'm still hopeful I will find one.

Finally. a meteorite did fall on Archie, Missouri on August 10, 1932. However, Archie is 280 miles from St. Louis, so I suspect the meteorite was unrelated to Annie's death.