Weekly Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Arlene Eakle provides some suggestions on how to Fortify your Genealogy Research Projects
• Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience has a series on Choosing Genealogy Software including Why You Need a Desktop Application as your Main Genealogy Program and Using More than One Genealogy Program.
• Maureen A. Taylor, on Photo Detective, discusses Toxic Hairstyles in Family Photos
• Author George RR Martin, on Not a Blog, offers a Salute to Immigrants
• WikiTree announces a Source-a-Thon with cash prizes (Geneapress)
• Irish Birth/Marriage/Death Records now available free online (Who Do You Think You Are Magazine)
• David Malki, in his webcomic, Wondermark, illustrates a conversation some of us may have had.

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 10
• Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day (Islam)
• World Suicide Prevention Day (World Health Organization)
• September 11
• Start of Eid al Adha - Sept 11-14 (Islam)
• Auditor's Day (Church of Scientology)
• Grandparents Day (US/Canada)
• National Day of Service (US)
• September 12
• Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)
• September 14
• Elevation of the Life Giving Cross (Orthodox)
• September 15
• International Day of Democracy (United Nations)
• September 16
• National POW/MIA Recognition Day (US)
• International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (United Nations)
• Constitution Day (US)
• September 18
• National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (US)
• September 19
• International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Geek)
• September 21
• International Day of Peace (United Nations)
• September 22
• New Years Day (French Republican Calendar)
• Equinox (Wicca/Pagan)
• Hobbit Day (Geek)

Labor Day 2016

Happy Labor Day

As you light up your barbecue and enjoy your day off from work (those who have the day off) - take some part of the day to consider the advancements we have made in workers' rights over the last century - Many of us may have ancestors who worked in the coal mines or sweatshops.

Also consider in what ways the struggles aren't over.

Here's a playlist of songs which may help.



A Pict Song - Rudyard Kipling (1917)

Rome never looks where she treads,
Always her heavy hooves fall,
On our stomachs, our hearts or our heads;
And Rome never heeds when we bawl.
Her sentries pass on—that is all,
And we gather behind them in hordes,
And plot to reconquer the Wall,
With only our tongues for our swords.

We are the Little Folk—we !
Too little to love or to hate.
Leave us alone and you'll see
How we can drag down the Great!
We are the worm in the wood !
We are the rot at the root!
We are the germ in the blood !
We are the thorn in the foot !

Mistletoe killing an oak—
Rats gnawing cables in two—
Moths making holes in a cloak—
How they must love what they do!
Yes,—and we Little Folk too,
We are as busy as they—
Working our works out of view—
Watch, and you'll see it some day!

No indeed ! We are not strong,
But we know Peoples that are.
Yes, and we'll guide them along,
To smash and destroy you in War!
We shall be slaves just the same ?
Yes, we have always been slaves;
But you—you will die of the shame,
And then we shall dance on your graves.

We are the Little Folk, we ! etc.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane L. Richard at Upfront with NGS discusses Digital Estate Planning Laws and the genealogist.
• In an interview at ExtremeGenes Thomas MacEntee discusses PokemonGo, Augmented Reality, and the future of genealogy
• Maureen Taylor at the FamilyTreeMagazine Photo Detective provides 3 Tips to Locate Photos of Ancestral School Days
• Rachel Swarns at The New York Times discusses Georgetown University's Plans to Atone for Slave Past 
• Efraim Zuroff at the Jerusalem Post says there is Hope for Change in Lithuania, as he describes a Holocaust memorial event in Moletai, Lithuania.  In I'm Not Jewish, Lithuanian playwright, Marius Ivaškevičius, explains why he participates. (Lithuanian original)

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 4
• Immigrant's Day (Argentina)
• September 5
• Labor Day (US)
• International Day of Charity (United Nations)
• September 6
• Start of Paryushana Parava - Sept 6-15 (Jain)
• September 8
• Nativity of Virgin Mary (Christian)
• International Literacy Day (United Nations)
• September 9
• Day of the Victims of Holocaust and Racial Violence (Slovakia)
• Children's Day (Costa Rica)
• September 10
• Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day (Islam)
• World Suicide Prevention Day (World Health Organization)
• September 11
• Start of Eid al Adha - Sept 11-14 (Islam)
• Auditor's Day (Church of Scientology)
• Grandparents Day (US & Canada)
• National Day of Service (US)
• September 12
• Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)
• September 14
• Elevation of the Life Giving Cross (Orthodox)
• September 15
• International Day of Democracy (United Nations)
• September 16
• National POW/MIA Recognition Day (US)
• International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (United Nations)
• Constitution Day (US)
• September 18
• National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (US)

Poem: The Genetic and Synthetic

The below poem of mine was entered into the 2016 International Society of Family History Writers and Editors Excellence-in-Writing competition and was awarded second-place in its category.

I've added a few footnotes for the references.

The Genetic and Synthetic

I research my roots:
The nucleotides of life
and the synthesis
of ancestral experience
make me whole.

If she hadn’t left
her Texas home at age 20;¹
If he hadn’t fled
the Russian pogroms;²
These words wouldn’t be written.

Rural Transylvania, 1910.
A gun fired:
One child maimed;
One child entered
a depression-fueled starvation
he never exited;
One child, my maternal grandfather,
stood witness.³

Philippines, 1945.
A gun fired:
One soldier cleaning his rifle;
One soldier entered
a hospital he never exited;
His brother, my paternal grandfather,
stood Kaddish.⁴

Neither event changed my DNA,
but both influenced how I was raised,
who I became.

1. My maternal grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery Deutsch
2. My paternal 2nd great grandfathers, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, Morris Blatt, and Selig Dudelczak could all be referenced here, with a little flexibility on the term, Russian, to include Lithuania, Poland, and Volhynia, respectively.
3. More details can be read here.
4. More details can be read here.

Finished?!

Every Family Historian will at some point interact with someone who declares

"Oh, I finished researching my family history."

We'll stare at them, confused. Finished?

It's very confusing from a mathematical perspective. Two parents, four grandparents, eight great grandparents. It keeps building. 4096 10th great grandparents. I know a handful of my 10th great grandparents, but not even double digits. Sure, there is undoubtedly some pedigree collapse, but I still have to identify the ancestors each time, so there are 4096 slots to be filled in that generation regardless of how many names get repeated.

And even if at some point I have all 4096 identified, there are 8192 11th great grandparents. And then 16,384 12th great grandparents. How can anyone finish?

And here I am only addressing one's ancestors. Family trees don't only go backwards in time. There's also the research of siblings, and descendants.

So, no, don't tell me you finished. Maybe you stopped. Maybe you gave up. Maybe you are satisfied with what you have found. (I guess that is possible) But, no, you didn't finish. You left the rest of the research for someone else to accomplish. (Please tell me you took good notes, and cited all your sources. Sigh.)

Amanuensis Monday: Israel Swayze and The Beaverdams Church

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 a plaque, mentioning my 4th Great Grandfather, Israel Swayze (1753-1844)

---

THE BEAVERDAMS CHURCH 1832

Early in the 1790s a group of settlers in this area had been converted to Methodism and formed a Class which in 1795 was included in the newly-established Niagara Circuit. Services were held in the home of a prominent local settler, Israel Swayze, and camp meetings took place on his property. This church, one of the oldest remaining Methodist chapels in the province, was built in 1832. The Reverend Egerton Ryerson, who later was principally responsible for the founding of this province’s educational system, was the first minister to preach in the chapel. The building was renovated extensively in 1879, but regular services were discontinued about 1890.

Architectural and Historic Sites Board of Ontario.

---

Image source: OntarioPlaques.com

Notes:

1. Other sources indicate the meetings were on the property of Israel and his son, Hiram Swayze. Hiram deeded the land to the congregation where the church was built in 1832.

2. Israel Swayze isn't the only ancestor of mine responsible for the founding of a place of worship. My 8th great grandfather, Myndert Frederickse, helped found a Lutheran church in Albany, New York. And my 2nd great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, helped found Tpheris Israel Congregation in St. Louis.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Leland Meitzler at GenealogyBlog shared an article on how More States are Giving Adult Adoptees Access to Original Birth Records
• Lorine McGinnis Schulz at Olive Tree Genealogy shares Five Ways to Jumpstart Your Genealogy When It Has Stalled
• Linda Barnickel at Ancestry Blog highlights 5 Hidden Questions in the US Census
• The National Archives is Rebooting their Social Media Strategy
• Natalie at Crestleaf provides Cemetery Research for Genealogy: A Step-by-Step Beginners Guide
• Chery Kinnick at Nordic Blue lists Ten Things I've Learned in Ten Years of Blogging
• Euny Hong at Quartz argues 23andMe has a problem when it comes to ancestry reports for people of color

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• August 29
• Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Christian)
• International Day Against Nuclear Tests (United Nations)
• August 31
• Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
• September 1
• Ecclesiastical Year Begins (Orthodox Christian)
• September 2
• VJ Day (US)
• September 3
• Flag Day (Australia)
• VJ Day (Republic of China)
• September 4
• Immigrant's Day (Argentina)
• September 5
• International Day of Charity (United Nations)
• September 6
• Start of Paryushana Parava - Sept 6-15 (Jain)
• September 8
• Nativity of Virgin Mary (Christian)
• International Literacy Day (United Nations)
• September 9
• Day of the Victims of Holocaust and Racial Violence (Slovakia)
• Children's Day (Costa Rica)
• September 10
• Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day (Islam)
• World Suicide Prevention Day (World Health Organization)
• September 11
• Start of Eid al Adha  - Sept 11-14 (Islam)
• Auditor's Day (Church of Scientology)
• Grandparents Day (US & Canada)
• National Day of Service (US)

Who got married?

One of the two individuals mentioned in the clipping below from the  Cincinnati Daily Press, July 26, 1860, might be related to my wife. However, that is not why I am sharing this. 

I found the phrasing particularly interesting. I am fairly certain if the below appeared in a newspaper today, many readers would assume something very different from what most 1860 readers assumed. 

"...Night before last, however, a wedding took place near the Brighton House and almost before the pair had become legally one, Charles Schrock and Henry Erndt became involved in a difficulty, when, after many words and a few blows, the latter drew a knife and stabbed his antagonist in the side and arm..."

Of course, both readers are making an assumption. We need to be extra cautious about the assumptions we make.

Amanuensis Monday: Anton Schrock - Obituary (*Where* was he born??)

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 the obituary for my wife's 3rd great grandfather, Anton Schrock, which appeared in the Marble Hill Press on June 21, 1900. The clipping was found at ChroniclingAmerica.

---

Died – At his home near this place, the 15th, Anton Schrock aged about 81 years. Deceased had been in poor health sometime and being quite old, was an easy victim. He was a highly respected citizen and has been a resident of this county about forty years and of the United States sixty years. He was born in Frankenstine, Germany December 31, 1819. He leaves a widow, seven children and a host of friends to mourn their loss.

---

Notes:

1. The one word which, for almost any reader, will jump up and wave its arms about forcing the individual to take notice, is the name of the village in Germany. Not everyone realizes it is a name of an actual village. There is a castle there, too. Mary Wollstonecraft, along with three author friends, including future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, traveled nearby in 1814. They challenged each other to a competition to see who could write the best horror story. I don't think there is any dispute who won. Frankenstein was published in 1818.

It should be noted that the only documentation I've seen indicating the village of Frankenstein as Schrock's birthplace is this obituary. Anton Schrock was born after the publication of the novel, and it's very easy to imagine that his claim to have been born there is about as truthful as my Polish-born great grandfather's claim to have been born in Dublin, Ireland.

The passenger manifest for Anton Schrock and his wife, Caroline, indicate their town of origin was Neurode, Germany. Which is approximately 750km from Frankenstein. It's certainly possible Schrock was born in Frankenstein, moved to Neurode, and then immigrated to America. Caroline could have been from Neurode, and Anton from Frankenstein. There are a lot of possibilities.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Emily Garber at (Going) The Extra Yad discusses Serendipity and blogging
• Janice Brown at Cow Hampshire discusses ways to Promote your Blog
• Genealogy software today encourages us to enter GPS coordinates for locations. What happens if those GPS locations change? Newsround, the BBC's News for Children, reports Austalia is moving! (Slowly, yes, but GPS coordinates are off.)
• With the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Av this past week, I found the timing appropriate for Ancestry's recent addition of Niagara Falls Honeymoon and Visitor Registries
• In Challenges of Adding Sources to Family Trees Part I James Tanner at Genealogy's Star discusses the historical reality that source citations are a relatively new focus.

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• August 22
• Flag Day (Russia)
• August 23
• European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism
• International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
• August 25
• Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu)
• Liberation Day (France)
• August 28
• Women's Equality Day (USA)
• National Grandparents Day (Mexico)
• Feast of the Mother of God (Eastern Orthodox Church)
• August 29
• Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Christian)
• International Day Against Nuclear Tests
• August 31
• Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
• September 1
• Ecclesiastical Year Begins (Orthodox Christian)
• September 2
• VJ Day (US)
• September 3
• Flag Day (Australia)
• VJ Day (Republic of China)

Adoption and Genealogy

Six years ago, Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience discussed Adoption and Genealogy in the posts Adapted Ahnenlist and Adoption in Genealogy. At that time, I had no idea adoption was in my future.

If you're already familiar with the traditional Ahnenlist/Ahnentafel format, his idea for adapting it to include both (A)dopted and (B)irth parents is so natural, you probably don't need me to explain it here, or follow the links in the paragraph above. An instance where the letters in a numbering system are actually meaningful in themselves is rare, it seems like kismet when it happens.

Of course, adoption isn't the only non-traditional relationship that the genealogist has to think about today. For example, it's 'conceivable' someone might want to indicate surrogacy in a chart. Polyfamilies may also wish to chart multiple lineages. The individual genealogist might need to come up with their own lettering system, but no one should feel compelled to ignore a lineage in their reports important to them in their research.

While it is possible to separate the lineages into separate reports, and this may seem easier, sometimes the whole can be greater than the parts. An interwoven ahnentafel might reveal commonalities and differences previously unconsidered. There are 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, and their meanings can be indicated in a key at the bottom of the list. If somehow we run out of room for relationships, there's always the Greek alphabet waiting in the sidelines.

Days of Love - Religious and Personal

Tu b'Av is a relatively obscure Jewish holiday that falls on the fifteenth day of the month of Av (sundown Thursday, August 18 to sundown Friday, August 19 this year).

The fifteenth day of each month on the Hebrew calendar falls on a full moon, and the holiday was observed as a sort of fertility festival during the period of the Second Temple. After the destruction of the Second Temple, it was forgotten for the most part in the Diaspora, only to be revived in modern times as a Jewish alternative to St. Valentine's Day.

To some, St. Valentine's Day, or Tu B'Av, may feel manufactured for greeting card companies, florists, and chocolatiers. However, most couples have their own personal "Days of Love." Whether the annual date commemorates a first date, an engagement, a marriage, or another anniversary, it's significant only to the individual couple.The memories connected with these dates are often stronger than the ones associated with the annual religious or societal holidays. Still, any reason for two people to celebrate their love for one another is a good reason.

To A Lady
by Victor Hugo,
From Les Feuilles D'Automne 

Child, were I king, I'd yield my royal rule,
     My chariot, sceptre, vassal-service due,
My crown, my porphyry-basined waters cool,
My fleets, whereto the sea is but a pool,
     For a glance from you!

Love, were I God, the earth and its heaving airs,
     Angels, the demons abject under me,
Vast chaos with its teeming womby lairs,
Time, space, all would I give--aye, upper spheres,
     For a kiss from thee!

translation by Thomas Hardy
photogravure by Goupil et Cie, from a drawing by Deveria, appears in a collection of Hugo's poetry published by Estes and Lauriat in the late 1800s.

Weekly Genealogy Picks

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane L Richard at Upfront with NGSGenealogy discusses the importance of name pronunciation to genealogists. 
• Lithuania puts an old Jewish cemetery under state protection
• Cnaan Liphshiz at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency looks at the impact of geography on religious ritual in Fasting in the Lands of the Midnight Sun. As family historians we might consider the impact geography may have had on the customs of our ancestors as they migrated.
• The Lincoln Trio, a Chamber Ensemble, has released an album celebrating their ancestors with English, Armenian and Swiss composers. Have you researched the music of your ancestral homelands?
• Owen McCafferty at The Mischpoche Tree provides some tips on contacting distant relatives

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• August 14 
• Tish'a B'av - Jewish (begins at sunset Aug 13)
• August 15
• Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary - Catholic Christian
• Dormition of the Theotokos - Orthodox Christian
• August 17
• Birthday of Marcus Garvey - Rastafari
• August 18
• Raksha Bandhan - Hindu
• August 19
• Tu B'Av - Jewish (begins at sunset Aug 18)
• August 20
• St. Stephen's Day - Hungary
• Feast of Asma - Bahai
• August 23
• European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism
• August 25
• Krishna Janmashtami - Hindu
• August 28
• Women's Equality Day - USA

DNA Cousin Matching

Below is the AncestryDNA summary for my wife's DNA matches

188 4th-6th cousin matches

Below is the AncestryDNA summary for my DNA matches

1025 4th-6th cousin matches

I suspect a number of readers who have had their DNA tested will look at my wife's numbers, and feel they are similar to their own. And then look at mine and be surprised. "You're so lucky!" they'll think.

Except...I'm sure there's a large number of false positive matches. Back in 2014 Ancestry changed their formula to reduce the number of false positives in general, but I think it's still high for Ashkenazic Jews. It's definitely still high for me.

• I have 437 pages of matches, 50 matches each, or a total of 21,850 matches. This obviously includes a lot of ancestors Ancestry categorizes as "Distant" or 5th-8th cousins.
• My wife has 163 pages, or 8,150 matches

The situation is similar at FamilyTreeDNA. I have a total of 5,728 matches, my wife has 876, and my mother has 3,374.

So if I assume the number of matches everyone gets, in a purely random environment, should be approximately similar...It's possible between 4/5 and 5/6 of my "4th Cousins or closer" matches are wrong.

So if the match doesn't have a family tree, and their Ethnicity information suggests we connect on my Jewish ancestry, why should I bother emailing them, when there's over an 80% chance of a false positive? [Unfortunately, even those with family trees don't include generations beyond the 'immigrant ancestor' which would be necessary to make a connection.]

Another situation I have -- several years ago, I came into contact with another researcher on one of my paternal lines who had done a lot of research in Polish archives, and his research took back that surname for me a couple generations providing many cousins. Yay! However, the name he had for my second great grandmother was wrong, the date of birth for my second great grandfather didn't match family records, and the birth record for my great-grandmother hasn't been discovered yet, leading me to wonder if there wasn't a second person with my second great grandfather's name. Well, this person has been declared a cousin of mine by FamilyTreeDNA, and the distance corresponds to the research I was given. However, is this proof?

Well, no. I can assume that I am related to all people of that surname from that Polish town. In some manner. However, the DNA match in no way confirms what generation we really have a shared ancestor. And the less accurate the matching is, the more this is the case. [But it is still nice to see his name pop up in my matches at FamilyTreeDNA.]

Augmented and Virtual Genealogy?

James Tanner at Genealogy's Star has been discussing the future of genealogy in a series of posts on The Dawn of the Genealogical Information Age.

Science Fiction author David Brin asks the question: How will augmented reality change us?

Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. [source]

Brin's focus is on whether AR spells doom or excitement. I have a preference for being optimistic. The two of them got me thinking, with the increasing amount of data available, and increasing technological advances, how will this impact the future of genealogy? In particular, augmented reality and virtual reality.

• Instead of just QR barcodes popping up additional information on your phones, might future trips to cemeteries involve images of the deceased telling visitors about their lives. 
• Augmented or Virtual librarians? I doubt a computer program can provide the personalized  help a living librarian can, but when all the staff are helping other patrons, an AR/VR librarian might be available to provide some assistance.
• Will there come a day when the average person can do their own programming as easily as we can create webpages today, and generate simulations of their ancestors? Imagine the possibilities for family reunions.
• Can you imagine a virtual cemetery version of FindAGrave? Will people be able to visualize walking through the actual cemetery? When they find their ancestor’s plot, perhaps they will be able to lay a virtual flower, or place a virtual stone, on the grave. Perhaps the program will have a link to relative graves – at other cemeteries to ‘walk.’ It won’t matter if the writing on the actual tombstone has long since been worn away if the image of it is in the database.
• Will you be able to provide a computer program with a photo of your ancestor and military records, and they’ll insert the face of your ancestor into a battle they actually fought in. Many family historians would like to be able to visualize how their ancestors lived, and we might be close to being able to provide that experience.
• Lots of genealogists are worried about the disappearance of microfilm, saying if you don’t know exactly where it is with indices, it’s much easier to find a record in microfilm than it is online. What about a virtual microfilm reader? If microfilm readers really do provide an easier browsing mechanism, why not recreate that mechanism virtually. 

Amanuensis Monday: St. Louis Synagogue Confirmation Classes of 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.

---

Below I transcribe a list of Confirmation classes from St. Louis area synagogues in 1926, found in the May 14, 1926 issue of The Modern View.  

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5686 – St. Louis Confirmants – Shevuos – 1926

B’NAI EL CONGREGATION
CONFIRMATION CLASS

FEIGENBAUM, Joseph D.
1262 Isadora Ave., St. Louis Co.
MORRIS, Sidney
4119a Shaw Ave.
SAGER, Harry
733 Heman Ave., University City.
FERMAN, Annetta
2620 Margaret Ave., Maplewood, Mo.
GOLDSTEIN, Ruth
719a Westgate, University City
FUDEMBERG, Sylvia
3751 South Jefferson Ave.
HASTERLIK, Elise K.
3024 Glasgow Place
NEWMARK, Melvin
4906 Aldine Place
FISCHER, Morris
7209 South Broadway
BLATH, Sigma F.
5740 Kingsbury Place
BENSINGER, Murial
4216 Lafayette Ave.
MAYER, Joe
3311 Osage
HERSKOWITZ, Edward W.
1286a Goodfellow Ave.
TEMERLIN, Jeanette
3645 McRee Avenue
NADLER, Harry T.
2236 Tower Grove Ave.
ECKER, Lucille S.
3236 Walter Ave., Maplewood, Mo.
JOSEPH, Joe
4158a Lafayette Ave.
KAHN, Leona
8770 Manchester Rd., Brentwood
KORACH, Jeannette
6301 Clemons Avenue
LEVY, Lillian
804 Eastgate
PETER, Anna R.
3729 Hydraulic Ave.
SCHIFFMAN, Adeline
4123 Lafayette Ave.
KLEIN, Bernice B.
3205 Meramec Street

SHAARE EMETH
CONFIRMATION CLASS

ABERSON, Leo
1217 Blackstone Ave.
BAUMAN, Robert
775 Belt Ave.
BLUMBERG, Louis
2208 Franklin Ave.
BROWN, Margaret
227 Westgate Ave.
EDMONDS, Henry
4563 Forest Park Blvd.
GOGEL, Edith
5788 Westminster Place
JACOBSON, Fannie
3527 Cass Ave.
JACOBSON, Nettie
445 Wilmington Ave.
KORNBLUM, Genevieve
754 Leland Ave.
LANDAU, Morris
3623 Commonwealth, Maplewood
MAYER, Carleen
739 Westgate Ave.
MARCUS, Blanche
5789 Westminster Place
NUSSBAUM, Robert
6965 Alamo Ave.
SHERMAN, Irvin
3611 Wyoming Ave.
SCHARFF, Arthur
5771 Waterman Ave.
WITT, Myron
4905 Argyle Place
WOLFF, Morris
5644a Etzel Ave.
YAWITZ, Corinne
5579 Waterman Ave.
LASERSOHN, Robert
900 DeMun Ave.
PERES, Clarice
5537 Pershing Ave.
SALE, Francis
5632 Cabanne Ave.
GREENFIELD, Milton
5139 Westminster Place
HIRSCH, Markus
5601 Waterman Ave.
POLLOCK, Ida
5223 Enright Ave.
LANDAU, Homer
5277 Waterman Ave.

1926 CONFIRMATION CLASS
OF TEMPLE ISRAEL

BAUM, A.W.
5906 Plymouth
BRASCH, Norvell
4464 Washington
EPSTEIN, Leon
5656 Waterman
FRIEDMAN, Harry
5755 McPherson
GROLLNEK, Julian
5725 De Giverville
MEYER, Richard
5917 Washington
MOSKOVITS, Stanley
7069 Delmar
SHAPIRO, Jacob
4020a DeTonty
SINGER, James
5744 Theodosia
RICHMAN, Stanley
6227 Northwood
OLIAN, Ralph
5656 Waterman
BERLINER, Sophie
5656 Cote Brilliante
FORCHEIMER, Jacquelyne
5657 Waterman
GILLERMAN, Gertrude
5168 Raymond
GOSSMAN, Leah
6952 Waterman
GRAM, Myra
22 Cornell Ave.
HORWITZ, Sylvia
5700 Etzel
JACOBS, Libbie
6193 Westminster
KOHNER, Melba
6124 Westminster
KOPLAR, Estelle
1241 Hamilton
LANDAU, Evelyn
5752 Westminster
NATHAN, Clara
5037 Waterman
ROCKLING, Lucille
4137 Manchester
ROSENFELD, Lucille
5728 Westminster
ROSENHEIM, Ellen
4611 McPherson
ROSENTHAL, Ruth
5786 Westminster
SHMOOKLER, Eleanor
3234 Audubon (E. St. Louis)
STEINER, Ruth
5746 Kingsbury
THALER, Dorothy
5101 Delmar
WOLFORT, Erma Louise
6145 McPherson
SORKIN, Mary
1374 Shawmut
HORWITZ, Regina
5768 Kingsbury

UNITED HEBREW CONGREGATION
CONFIRMATION CLASS

ALBERT, Harry
5790 Kingsbury Blvd.
APPELMAN, Beulah
6320 Northwood Ave.
BRANDT, Irvin
2945 Dayton St.
BRANDT, Isabel
5467 Delmar Blvd.
COHEN, Anna
5249 Cabanne Ave.
COHEN, Louise
6678 Washington Ave.
FADEM, Julius
4962 Labadie Ave.
FAINSOD, Harriet
5193 Enright Ave.
FERER, Ruth
6665 Washington Ave.
FINE, Pauline
5932 Ridge Ave.
FIXEL, Ruth
6274 Cates Ave.
FIXMAN, Clarabelle
4009 Evans Ave.
FRANKEL, Frances
704 Leland Ave.
FRELICH, Lillian
808 Washington Ave.
GARFINKEL, Paul
7007 Pershing Ave.
GASTING, Paul
5477 St. Louis Ave.
GLICKSBERG, Frances
6627a University Drive
GOLDSTEIN, Leonard
1150 Hamilton Ave.
GROSSMAN, Edwin
5389 Pershing Ave.
HIRSHFIELD, Ben
5445a Easton Ave.
KOPOLOW, Gertrude
6274 Cates Ave.
KUSMER, Lucille
5233 Garfield Ave.
LEONARD, Paula May
5732 McPherson Ave.
MENDLE, Milton
7029 Westmoreland
PRICE, Cecila
5795 Waterman Ave.
PRIWER, Esther
5062 Maple Ave.
REINFELD, Marvin
5764 Westminster Place
ROSEN, Melvin
5593 Waterman Ave.
ROSENFELD, Stanley
6963 Waterman Ave.
SEGELBOHM, Beulah
5860 DeGiverville Ave.
SERKES, Charlotte
1347 Blackstone Ave.
SHANKEN, Leah
740 Eastgate Ave.
SILVERSTEIN, Alice
7280 Forsythe Blvd.
SOLOMON, Rosalie
5126 Waterman Ave.
STEINBERG, Edna
5134 Cates Ave.
SUSMAN, Bernice
7200 Westmoreland Ave.
TYNER, Rosetta
5584 Page Ave.
WISE, Milton
6429 Cates Ave.
WOLFF, Albert
5350a Wells Ave.
WOLFF, Frances
418 Clara Ave.
WALKOWITZ, Maury
1171 Hamilton Ave.
YAWITZ, Paula
19 Columbia
ZIMMERMAN, Cecilia
4327 DeTonty St.

---

Notes:

1. Here's a photograph of the B'nai El class, which I have shared previously. My grandfather has the thin white rectangle outline in the lower right. Somewhere else in the photograph is his first cousin, Sylvia Fudemberg. Melvin was 13 in the photograph. He would turn 14 in August of 1926. Sylvia had just turned 14 in April. 10th grade, when the youth are 15 or 16,  is a more common age for confirmation ceremonies today.

Weekly Genealogy Picks

It's been a few years since I've done this. I'm still following genealogy news and advice on blogs, and other social media, so I'll try to share a weekly list.

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Philip Trauring at Blood and Frogs advises: Don't Get Stuck Inside the Box.
• The Ancestry Insider illustrates why detailed image citations matter.
• Michael Twitty of Afroculinaria challenges Bill O'Reilly to eat like a slave for a week.
• The Smithsonian Magazine discusses the newly released London Picture Map. "Think of the map as Google Street View for vintage London. You can click on the map to view historical images of particular buildings, streets or areas, or search the collection by topic to reveal everything from historic coffee houses to buildings associated with different authors or time periods."
• James Tanner at Genealogy's Star wonders if we will witness the end of microfilm, with FamilySearch's announcement that they are 3 years away from digitizing all LDS microfilm. (My thoughts: Just the beginning perhaps. Lots of microfilm exists outside of the LDS holdings.)
• FamilyTreeDNA has a $30 off sale on several of their packages. $69 for the basic FamilyFinder package is probably the lowest you will see an autosomal test offered anywhere. 
• Often there are multiple obituaries for a deceased individual. Rarer do multiple obituaries appear in the same paper at the same time. (In this case, they were written by "a loving wife" and a "longtime girlfriend.")
• Maureen Taylor at The Photo Detective provides some tips on how to tell if two photos are of the same man.

AncestryDNA Shared Ancestor Hints

AncestryDNA provides what they call "Shared Ancestor Hints." That is, if both you and a DNA match have linked to an Ancestry Family Tree, and there is a shared ancestor on those trees, they will provide you with the information. So instead of guessing how closely you are related by the amount of shared DNA, you know exactly how close. (Assuming both sets of research is accurate.)

A recent email exchange with one of these matches sparked my curiosity enough to categorize these matches by shared ancestor. I have 22 Shared Ancestor Hints. Breaking the hints down into the generational categories Ancestry provides as estimates:

2nd Cousin – 3rd Cousin
Shared ancestor
1. Melvin Vanevery (2nd cousin)

4th Cousin – 6th Cousin
Shared ancestor
1. Andrew Vanevery (4th Cousin)
2. William Denyer (4th Cousin)
3. Samuel Vanevery (3rd Cousin)
4. Israel Swayze (Sr) (6th cousin)

Distant Cousin (5th to 8th Cousin)
Shared ancestor
1. George W Hartley (4th cousin)
2. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
3. Samuel Vanevery (3rd cousin)
4. Israel Swayze (Jr) (5th cousin)
5. Israel Swayze (jr) (5th cousin)
6. Barbara Oberholzer (7th cousin)
7. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
8. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
9. Israel Swayze (Sr) (6th Cousin)
10. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
11. Adam Johann Schauers (7th cousin)
12. Adam Johann Schauers (7th cousin)
13. Joseph Swayze (8th cousin)
14. Adam Johann Schauers (7th cousin)
15. Israel Swayze (Jr) (5th Cousin)
16. Michael Schauers (6th cousin)
17. Barnabas Horton (8th cousin)

Totals by Surname
• Denyer: 1
• Hartley: 1
• Horton: 1
• Oberholtzer: 1
• Schauers: 4
• Vanevery: 4
• Swayze: 10

What traits do all these ancestors share:

1) They are all relatives through my maternal grandmother. I have many matches that I know are through my paternal grandparents’ and maternal grandfather’s lines. However, these matches haven’t posted their family trees back far enough for the Shared Ancestor Hints. Mostly because it is difficult to trace ancestry in Eastern Europe. Especially if your ancestors are Jewish.

2) My Swayze, Vanevery, and Schauers/Showers ancestors during the Revolutionary War were all Loyalists. It is possible that having ancestors in North America at the time of the revolution increases the likelihood that you will have traced your family tree back that far in order to identify Patriot or Loyalist lineage. (Or it's just a matter of having ancestors that far back in North America, where the research is relatively easy compared to other countries.)

Barbara Oberholtzer was part of a Mennonite family, who were mostly Conscientious Objectors. There were Patriot Hortons, but by the time of the Revolution they weren’t my ancestors.

3) I have a lot of Swayze matches. Does the celebrity nature of the Swayze name also have an influence on the likelihood of research?

Three out of the 21 matches (14%) are actually more closely related than Ancestry's estimate based on shared DNA. An 86% correct rate seems to me to be pretty good.

Wordless Wednesday: Westminster Jews Free School

Source

For more information on members of my family who attended this school, see Monday's post.

Amanuensis Monday: London School Records for Nelly and Bella Newmark - 1898

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 some school records from the Westminster Jews Free School (obtained from Ancestry.com) referencing a Nelly and Bella Newmark. Are they the sisters of my great grandfather, Barney? Quite Possibly. If it is them, it provides the earliest record of their dates of birth - and neither date provided matches later records.

---

Register of Admission

Admission Number: 1325
Date of Admission or ReAdmission: 93.10
Name of Child: Newmark Nelly
Birth Date (Exact Date) 25.12.86
Name and Address of Parent or Guardian: 36 Broad St. Golden Sq.
Whether Exemption from Religious Instruction is Claimed: No
Last School (if any) attended: Not Any
In What Class at Admission: 5
Date of Leaving 8.7.98
Remarks: Required at Home

Admission Number: 1326
Date of Admission or ReAdmission: 93.10
Name of Child: Bella
Birth Date (Exact Date): 14.3.89
Name and Address of Parent or Guardian: 36 Broad St. Golden Sq.
Whether Exemption from Religious Instruction is Claimed: No
Last School (if any) attended: Not Any
In What Class at Admission: 5
Date of Leaving: 8.7.98
Remarks: Work

---

Notes:

1. Dates of Birth: Since the Polish birth records haven't yet been found, this would be the earliest document with their dates of birth if we accept this as them. Later records indicate Bella was born on March 14, 1890. This document states March 4, 1889. It's not uncommon for a year to be subtracted from someone's age. The similarity in month and date reinforces the likeliness of this being a match.

Later documents indicate a date of birth for Nelly of March 1889, this document states December 25, 1886. This is a significant difference. However, the 1901 UK census indicates a 2-year difference between sisters and ages that correspond with the document above. Alone, the 1901 census wasn't enough to suggest the family records were wrong. Mistakes by census takers are common. But this document seems to confirm the 1901 census with respect to age differences, and the census seems to confirm this document is for the same Nelly and Bella.

If Nelly was born in December of 1886, and my great grandfather was born in March of 1886, there was nine months difference between them.

2) The sisters in this document, while born a little over two years apart, were both enrolled in the school in October of 1893 and were both in the same class at admission. (Class doesn't necessarily refer to grade level.) With the last sibling of my great-grandfather born in Poland thought to have been born in 1892 and the first sibling born in London known to have been born in 1894, 1893 has long been the estimate for immigration. (Passenger manifests from Europe to the United Kingdom are not available.)

3) Below is a current map of the Soho area with the addresses marked where I now know my second great grandparents and their family lived between 1893 and 1908. They lived at 55 New Compton in 1894 and 1895, and at 56 Wells Street in 1901 and 1904. It's not clear from the above document whether they lived on Broad Street in 1893 when Nelly and Bella were enrolled, or 1898 when they left. Hanway Place is where the Westminster Jews Free School was located. Broad Street changed its name to Broadwick. #36 would have been on the corner of Poland Street. #28 Broad Street was the birthplace of poet, William Blake.

4) The book of records this page comes from lists only the girls admitted 1868-1896, in admission order. The order suggests the address would apply to admission date. If that is the case, the Newmark family didn't remain long on Broad Street, since they were at 55 New Compton Street by November of 1894 when Kate was born.

There doesn't appear to be a companion book online yet for boys. Though Ancestry notes that the records come from the London Metropolitan Archives, which could have additional records.

Memorial Day 2016

Below is my annual post for Memorial Day Weekend.

A post on what Memorial Day is for, besides barbecues.

The above image comes from a past version of the Memorial Day page at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, explaining that Memorial Day is a day for remembering those who died in the service of their country.  [Read the full text of the poem.]

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action. [source]

[More on the history of Memorial Day]


Unnamed Remains the Bravest Soldier - by Walt Whitman (From 'Specimen Days')

OF scenes like these, I say, who writes—whoe’er can write the story? Of many a score—aye, thousands, north and south, of unwrit heroes, unknown heroisms, incredible, impromptu, first-class desperations—who tells? No history ever—no poem sings, no music sounds, those bravest men of all—those deeds. No formal general’s report, nor book in the library, nor column in the paper, embalms the bravest, north or south, east or west. Unnamed, unknown, remain, and still remain, the bravest soldiers. Our manliest—our boys—our hardy darlings; no picture gives them. Likely, the typic one of them (standing, no doubt, for hundreds, thousands,) crawls aside to some bush-clump, or ferny tuft, on receiving his death-shot—there sheltering a little while, soaking roots, grass and soil, with red blood—the battle advances, retreats, flits from the scene, sweeps by—and there, haply with pain and suffering (yet less, far less, than is supposed,) the last lethargy winds like a serpent round him—the eyes glaze in death—none recks—perhaps the burial-squads, in truce, a week afterwards, search not the secluded spot—and there, at last, the Bravest Soldier crumbles in mother earth, unburied and unknown.

The cartoon above is by John T. McCutcheon - published circa 1900

I have many ancestors and kin who served in their nation's armed forces during war-time. I honor them on Veterans Day.
However, the closest relative who was killed in action was my grandfather's brother, my great-uncle, Mandell Newmark.

Some Mistakes I've Made

Elizabeth O'Neal over at Little Bytes of Life is trying to breathe some life into the old Carnival of Genealogy, rebranding it a Genealogy Blog Party. For May she asks:

For this month's Genealogy Blog Party, tell us about a mistake you've made in your genealogy research, how you discovered it, and ultimately, how you solved it.

The point, of course, is for others to learn from the mistakes you made, so they don't have to learn it the hard way.

Instead of just one, I'll admit to having made a handful of mistakes.

1) The first one is illustrated by two photographs of the same gravestone. Front and Back.



Do you notice anything unusual?

Yes! They were taken in different seasons. (Leaves had fallen in the photograph on the right.)
Just like a photograph, a tombstone has a backside. Make sure you look.

2) Here's another mistake I made in a cemetery. You may be searching for one tombstone in particular, but don't be in such a hurry that you don't look around at neighboring stones.

[My own camera alerted me to my mistake, but only after I got home. Cissie Newmark Gold was a daughter of Samuel and Rose.]

3) Don't upload private information to a public database

That pretty much goes without saying, but I did so without realizing it, and correcting the mistake wasn't simple. Not only did I have to remove the data from the entry, I had to remove the cached pages on multiple search engines. Each search engine has different procedures for removing a page.

4) Keep an open mind to the possibility that you have transcribed a document incorrectly

I originally read the manifest clipping above to indicate the passengers (a great grandfather, and a great great grandfather) landed in Quebec in May of 1904 on the Tunisian, and crossed the Canadian border into the US on July 15, 1907. I knew that 4s and 7s often look similar, but the document is in a single individual's handwriting. The year in column 31 is definitely a different number than the year in column 33. Well, it looks that way. But, no. I found the manifest for the Tunisian from May of 1907. My ancestors were only in Quebec for two months.

I've made other mistakes, but that's enough for now.

Amanuensis Monday: Melvin Newmark on Being a Judge

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 a quote from my grandfather, Melvin Newmark, which appeared in a much longer news article that interviewed several local municipal judges. (The image is from family records, and not the newspaper.)

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb 22, 1972, page 5.

Once a municipality has obtained a good judge, it may have a problem keeping him.

Melvin L. Newmark, a lawyer who resigned after several years on the municipal bench in Olivette, did so because he had become discouraged about the public’s attitude toward the lower courts.

“I quit because being a judge got to be a problem, “ Newmark says. “Friends expected me to do favors for them. I thought my job was to enforce the ordinances, but some of my neighbors wouldn’t talk to me because I wouldn’t fix a ticket.”

“I’m disappointed about the attitude of the public towards traffic courts,” Newmark said. “Often the people who yell and scream for strict law enforcement are the same people who would not hesitate to get a ticket fixed.”

---

Notes:

1. My grandfather was municipal court judge from 1962-1967, so this quote  is from five years after he resigned. It's great to have 'on record' the reason he left the position.

The Amen Stone - by Yehuda Amichai

In honor of Israeli Independence Day and Jewish Heritage Month, here is part of a poem by Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000) - considered by many to be one of Israel's greatest modern poets.

The Amen Stone

By Yehuda Amichai
Translated by Chana Bloch

On my desk there is a stone with the word “Amen” on it,
a triangular fragment of stone from a Jewish graveyard destroyed
many generations ago. The other fragments, hundreds upon hundreds,
were scattered helter-skelter, and a great yearning,
a longing without end, fills them all:
first name in search of family name, date of death seeks
dead man’s birthplace, son’s name wishes to locate
name of father, date of birth seeks reunion with soul
that wishes to rest in peace. And until they have found
one another, they will not find a perfect rest.
Only this stone lies calmly on my desk and says “Amen.”

The rest of the poem

Amanuensis Monday: Minnie Van Every Visits Her Uncle - June 1898

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.

---

I transcribed several letters back in 2010 which my great-aunt, Minnie Van Every, wrote to the Houston Post's Children's Section 1897-1902. I discovered a handful of other letters at ChroniclingAmerica which hadn't turned up in my earlier searches. (They still don't, if I only search for her surname. But each letter's byline had the town along with the name, and searching for the towns I knew she lived in, I uncovered  the additional letters.)

From the earlier letters, I knew the Van Every family had left Maxwell, Texas in November of 1897 for Ganado, Texas, and was back in Maxwell by May 1899. These new letters narrow that gap down.

---

June 19, 1898, Houston Daily Post

CAUGHT PLENTY OF FISH

Maxwell Texas 

Dear Happyhanmers: After an absence ever since February, I will endeavor to wrlte to our growing band. Last April about Easter time, papa, my brother, and 1 went to my uncle's. I intended to tell

the Haps of our trip down here but as space is precious I will just tell about going fishing on Green lake while we were there.

My uncle and family and ourselves went on Easter Monday We got there by dinner. We fished until nearly sundown and by that time had caught one fish weighing about two pounds and another about twenty-five pounds. Then my aunt and I set our hooks and went to get supper. Papa and Uncle Willlie were busy taking care of the hooks. By bedtime we had five fish weighing about twenty pounds each and five more which weighed about five pounds each. I saw some alligators but

would not go near them.

Haps, I have the sweetest little brother you ever saw. 1 think we will name him Melvin Theodore.

Guy Fagen's death is surely a blow to the club for he was loved by all. His name was

mentioned so much in the letters that papa asked me If he wasn't the leader ouf our band.

I agree with Mrs. Lewls about putting a monument over his grave. I now contribute 10 cents to help pay for n monument. A true and faithful Hap. 

Minnie Van Every

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Notes:

1. It's not completely clear whether Minnie means April 1898 or April 1897 by her phrase "Last April." Regardless, the family is back in Maxwell by June of 1898. I know from the Dawes Testimony filed by Minnie's father that Minnie's grandmother, Sarah Hartley Denyer Foster, died in 1898 while she was living with her daughter and grandchildren. My conclusion that they were in Ganado when she died is put into question since I don't know the month of her death.

So, I now know that they left Maxwell for Ganado in November of 1897, were still there in February of 1898 (due to another letter), and were back in Maxwell by June of 1898. Possibly spending April of 1898 near Green Lake in Calhoun County.

2. Minnie's "Uncle Willie" would be Samuel William Denyer, the brother of her mother Margaret Denyer Van Every. While it seems she went with her father on the trip, her father had no brothers named William who survived infancy.

3) Melvin Theodore died in 1899.

Amanuensis Monday: Mandell Newmark Comes Home - 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.

---

This week I look at newspaper articles concerning the death and burial of my great uncle, Mandell Newmark.

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1945, page 5.

Sgt. Mandell Newmark, 21, medical corpsman, died April 15 of wounds suffered in action in the Philippines. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Barney Newmark, live at 5573 Delmar Boulevard.



St. Louis Post Disptach, Aug 14, 1948, page 8

BODIES OF WAR DEAD BEING BROUGHT HERE
34 From This Area, Originally Interred in Philippine Cemeteries.

Bodies of 34 service men from the St. Louis area who lost their lives during World War II are being brought here. They are aboard the United States Army transport Dalton Victory, which will dock at San Francisco. Most of the dead originally were interred in temporary cemeteries in the Philippine Islands.

The names, branch of service and names and addresses of next of kin were announced by the Army as follows:

St. Louis

….Cpl. Mandell Newmark, Army, Barney Newmark, 5573 Delmar boulevard.



St. Louis Post-Disptach, Aug 29, 1948, page 33.

NEWMARK, MANDELL, Technician 5th Grade; killed in action Apr. 15, 1945 at Jolo Island, dear son of Barney and Bertha Newmark, dear brother of Melvin and Harold Newmark, our dear brother-in-law, cousin, uncle and nephew.

Graveside service Sun., 12 noon, at Mt. Olive Cemetery. OXENHANDLER Service.

Notes:

1) Before the Post Dispatch put their digital archives online recently, I only knew of the 1945 notice. I had found a copy of the form my great grandfather filled out in 1948 to order a headstone, so I had a good idea when the body was transferred, but I hadn't searched the microfilm archives yet to verify.

Amanuensis Monday: Arson at 1106 North Eighth Street - 1892

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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My second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, first appears in the St. Louis City Directories in 1892. He is recorded as a Shoer, working at 1106 North Eighth Street.

He arrived in America in 1890, but his wife and children didn't arrive until October of 1891. It's possible they migrated to St. Louis after that. When did they arrive? When did he start working at 1106 North Eighth? The 1892 directory was published in April of 1892.

The below newspaper article, dated Feb 11, 1892, describes a fire at 1106 North Eighth Street.

---

ACCUSED OF ARSON
Two Men Charged With Burning Stable and Horses
WARRANTS ISSUED AGAINST SAM BANKS AND HENRY STERNS
They Are Alleged to Have Set Fire to the Place of Rival Junk Dealers – Both Men Assert Their Innocence – An Insane Butcher’s Deed – Other Police News of the Day

Six horses perished in a stable in the rear of 1106 North Eighth street which was destroyed by fire early this morning and Henry Sterns and Sam Banks are locked up at the Four Courts accused of setting fire to the place. Sam Banks, who has been arrested before on charges of arson, is a junk dealer, in business at 616 Lucas avenue, formerly Christy avenue, and lives with his wife and several children in a suite of rooms over his shop. His is about 80 year of age and has been in the junk business about eight years. He was taught the business by Wm. Welsman, whose stable was burned and who owns another junk shop in partnership with William Larner at 607 Lucas avenue, a few doors further east on the same street. Harry Sterns is about 2? Years of age, in the employ of Banks, and lives with his parents at Seventh and Wash streets. There is an intense business rivalry between Banks, his man Stern and Welsman and Larner, but Banks claims it was only business rivalry and not prejudice or unfriendly feelings.

Welsman and Larner kept six horses, their harness, feed and other belongings in a stable in the rear of 1108 North Eighth street. Every morning very early Moses Welsman and Charles Slinsky in the employ of Welsman and Larner, go to the stables to groom and feed the horses and prepare for the day’s work. When they reached the stable this morning they saw flames breaking out of the structure in several places and at the same time noticed two men sneaking away. They chased the men some distance, but the fellows were more fleet on foot than their pursuers and escaped.. Slinsky ran to the engine house on Eighth street and gave the alarm. When the firemen arrived the stable was one great flame in which the fire was too hot for the firemen to attempt any rescue, and they saw the horses fall one by one before the water thrown on the fire had any perceptible effect on the flames. The stable and outhouses were completely destroyed, causing a loss of $100 to the structure and $400 to the horses, harness and feed. There was no insurance on either the building or contents.

Notes:

1) There is more to the news story, but I haven't transcribed it all, since my ancestor isn't mentioned. According to a later news article, Sam Banks was acquitted of the charge. I do not know about Henry Sterns. What interests me is that we know there was a stable, and horses, which might mean there were shoers employed as well as groomers.

2) In 1900, when Selig finished his career as a shoer/blacksmith, he entered into the junk store business himself.

Amanuensis Monday: Selig Feinstein Elected President of Tpheris Israel Congregation

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 the newspaper article concerning the congregation my second great grandfather helped found in 1899. In 1899 he was the initial vice president.

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November 22, 1903, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Israel Congregation Elections

At the fifth annual election of the Tpheris Israel congregation, Ninth and Wash streets, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: S. Feinstein, president; F. Yedlin, first vice-president; D. Yavitz, second vice-president; M. Rich, secretary; S. Weisberg, financial secretary; J. Ellman, treasurer; L. Kaupman, M. Rubenstein, S. Siegel, trustees; D. Goldberg sexton; M. Shapiro, first gabi; H. Spector, second gabi; S. Rosenberg, reverend.

---

Notes:

1) This is another instance where searching for a surname is unhelpful, because the search engine at Newspapers.com returns no matches for 'Feinstein' on this page. Why not? Probably another instance of Optical Character Recognition failure. But I knew my ancestor helped found the congregation, so I conducted a search on 'Tpheris."

2) It is still difficult for me to get used to seeing Rabbis referred to as 'reverend,' as apparently it was a custom at the time. 'Gabi' is likely an alternate spelling for 'gabbai', which may have performed multiple roles.

Amanuensis Monday: Obituary for Morris Blatt - 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.

---

This week I look at the obituary from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for my second great grandfather, Morris Blatt.

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BLATT- Entered into rest Tuesday, April 13, 1926 at 3 a.m., Morris Blatt, age 61, husband of Mollie Blatt, dear father of Mrs. J. Wyman, Mrs. H. Feinstein, Henry Blatt, Mrs. Dankner.
Funeral Tuesday, April 13, at 2:30 p.m.

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Notes:

1) I do not like the old style of identifying women by their husband's name/initial, either from the perspective of equality, or genealogical helpfulness. However, I already know the identities of my ancestors' children, so this doesn't yield any confusion.

Mrs. J(acob) Wyman is Blanche (Blatt) Wyman. Mrs. H(erman) Feinstein is Anna (Blatt) Feinstein. Mrs. Dankner is Pearl (Blatt) Dankner. The mother of Blanche and Anna died in Poland. Henry and Pearl were born in Missouri, the children of Morris and Mollie (Kellner Katz) Blatt.

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.