The following poem by Leah Rachel Clara Yoffie appears in Contemporary Verse, Volume 9 (1920), p. 144, as well as the St. Louis weekly newspaper, The Modern View, April 2, 1926, p. 27. While I originally found the poem browsing through the microfilm at the library, the Google Books scan of the 1920 volume is a lot clearer than the microfilm printout, so I will share that below.
I suspect from her references she may have grown up in the same slums that my Polish, Russian and Lithuanian ancestral immigrants to St. Louis did. Her plea rings strong today.
December 1937 advertisement. From The Modern View, a local community newspaper.
Edward Louis Oxenhandler was the brother-in-law of my great-grandfather, Herman Feinstein. Willard Z. Oxenhandler was Edward and Pearl (Feinstein) Oxenhandler's son. Aaron was another sibling of my great-grandfather.
Note: An agreement between the Chauffeur and Undertaker unions abolished Sunday funerals in St. Louis in 1928. In 1930 the Oxenhandlers created a non-union Orthodox Jewish funeral home.
In an online family tree, I found two alleged photographs of my great grandfather, Melvin Van Every. I communicated with the owner of the tree, and the photographs came from his grandmother's collection, and she was a niece of my great-grandfather. I would normally consider that a good source of identification, but my great-grandfather had about twenty siblings. It would have been easy for a niece to get confused.
There are three photographs below. The one in the middle is a definite photograph of my great-grandfather, taken in 1900, shortly after the birth of his daughter, and my grandmother, Myrtle. (It was colorized in the 1940s, but I have the original photograph as well, which contained my grandmother as an infant.)
My inexpert opinion is that the individual in the oldest photograph isn't the same as the individual in the middle. The shape of the head is different. However, the ear, mouth, and nose look identical. If it were my great-grandfather, it would likely have been taken in 1883, at the time of his wedding, when he was 20.
I am much more willing to believe the man in the last picture is my great-grandfather. He lived until 1929, age 66. Visually, I'd guess the picture is from his final decade.
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 transcription from a record at Ancestry.com. No image is available. The source information says it is from FamilySearch, but the record isn't there, either. At least, not yet.
Name: Salamon Deutsch
Gender: Male
Event Type: Szulettek (Birth)
Birth Date: dec. 1861
Birth Place: Vitka, Szabolcs, Hungary
Father: Abraham Deutsch
Mother: Sara
Original data: Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
Notes:
1) The database is labeled with the years 1895-1978. The year of birth is 1861. Without seeing the record, it is uncertain what record it is taken from. I am curious whether it might be a marriage record, which could have contained the names of his parents, and birth information, from which Ancestry created a 'birth record'.
2) This is my great grandfather. The date of birth matches family records, as do the names of his parents. It is nice to have documentation to back up their names. It's a shame the maiden name for the mother isn't indicated. We believe it was Weiss. My grandfather's application for a certificate of citizenship indicated his father was born in Vitka, so this is confirmed as well.
3) The existence of these records gives me hope that I may be able to break down some brick walls in my Transylvanian ancestry.
Caption for photo to left: Human Statue of Liberty. 18,000 Officers and Men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa. Colonel William Newman, Commanding. Colonel Rush S. Wells, Directing. Mole & Thomas, 09/1918. (source)
Below are the names of ancestors, and their siblings, who I know served their nation's military, either in a time of war, or in a time of peace. I am including my Loyalist ancestors; their nation was Great Britain. Canada became their country after the war. I am including my Confederate ancestors too, despite their desire to form a separate nation. I am also including a Conscientious Objector ancestor since the DAR counts him as a Patriot.
Fifth Great Grandfathers
McGregory Van Every (1723-1786) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Michael Showers (1733-1796) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Mark Fretz (1750-1840) Patriot (Inactive Duty) Pennsylvania militia
Fourth Great Grandfather
David Van Every (1757-1820) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers (served briefly as a Patriot in the NY militia)
Fifth Great Uncle
Benjamin Van Every (1759-1795) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers (served briefly as a Patriot in the NY militia)
William Van Every (1765-1832) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Peter Van Every (1771-bef 1816) Loyalist/Fifth Lincoln and Second York regiments (War of 1812)
Fourth Great Uncles
David Van Every Jr. (1782-1847) Loyalist/Second York regiment (War of 1812)
Michael Van Every (1790-?) Loyalist/Fifth Lincoln and Second York regiments (War of 1812)
Second Great Grandfather
Ebenezer Denyer (1828-1872) (Mexican-American War) (Confederate Army)
Third Great Uncles
Samuel Jennings Denyer (1822-1861) (Gonzales County Minute Men - Republic of Texas -1841)
Samuel T Hartley (1830-1920) (Confederate Army)
Great Grandfather
Samuel Deutsch (1861-1938) (Franz Josef's Austro-Hungarian Army)
Second Great Uncle
Nelson D Van Every (1845-1926) (Union Army)
Grandfathers
Melvin L Newmark (1912-1992), WWII
Martin J Deutsch (1907-1991), WWII
Great Uncles
Jerry Deutsch (1909-1950), WWII
Allen Deutsch (1914-1988), WWII
Harold Newmark (1915-2003), WWII
Mandell Newmark (1923-1945), WWII (KIA)
Bernard Feinstin (1913-1968), WWII
Seymour Feinstein (1917-1999), WWII
Uncle
Stevan J Newmark (1942-1997) Army Reserves
Photographs of those who served in World War II
My grandfathers Melvin Newmark (1912-1992) and Martin Deutsch (1907-1991)
Allen Deutsch (1914-1988) and Maurice "Jerry" Deutsch (1909-1950).
Harold Newmark (1915-2003) and Mandell Newmark (1923-1945).
Bernard "Benny" Feinstein (1913-1968) and Seymour "Babe" Feinstein (1917-1999)
It's been a year since Ancestry released their We're Related mobile app.
The app has identified 151 celebrities who might be related to me.
If the alleged ancestry for me is correct.
If the alleged ancestry for the celebrity is correct.
It is based on Ancestry's collection of online family trees which are of highly variant accuracy.
Here is a selection of alleged kin Ancestry has identified for me. In the below cases, I have confirmed our alleged shared ancestor is actually my ancestor. (I haven't researched the alleged ancestries of the celebrity.) The alleged shared ancestor is emboldened.
Betts, Capt. Richard 1613-1713
1. Elizabeth Montgomery
2. Jim Varney
3. John Kerry
4. Johnny Depp
5. Mark Twain
6. Newt Gingrich
7. Tom Hanks
8. Truman Capote
Chamberlain, Joanna 1620-1711 [Note: Joanna Chamberlain married Capt. Richard Betts. Ancestry isn't consistent when choosing which spouse to list as the shared ancestor.]
9. Meryl Streep
10. Mitch McConnell
11. Bill Clinton
Chamberlain, Robert 1590-1639 [Note: Robert Chamberlain married Elizabeth Stoughton. See below]
12. Stephen King
13. Theodore Roosevelt
Frederickse, Myndert 1640-1706 (Son of Frederick Van Iveren)
14. Vincent Price
Horton, Barnabas 1600-1680
15. Henry Fonda
16. Humphrey Bogart
17. Norman Rockwell
Horton, Barnabas 1666-1705
18. Tobey Maguire
Horton, Penelope 1690-1746
19. Robin Williams
Magdalena, Anna 1679-1734
20. Lindsey Buckingham
Rosenberger, Heinrich 1680-1746
21. Blake Shelton
Schauer, Michael 1679-1710
22. Les Brown
Stoughton, Elizabeth 1600-1647
23. Ulysses S Grant
Swazey, John 1621-1692
24. Owen Hart
25. Amelia Earhart
26. Roy Orbison
Swazey, Joseph 1653-1717
27. Richard Gere
28. Warren Buffett
As I have noted in the past, I have not been able to research my ancestry back to John Lathrop, through his daughter Abigail, as the app alleges. However, John Lathrop's son, Samuel, married the daughter of my ancestor, Elizabeth Stoughton. Here are the celebrities that the app claims are Samuel's descendants. [While the app indicates our shared ancestor is John Lathrop, I know if the celebrity ancestry is accurate, we do share Elizabeth Stoughton as an ancestor, at an equal distance.]
1. Alec Baldwin
2. Billy the Kid
3. Carrie Underwood
4. Edgar Allan Poe
5. George H.W. Bush
6. George W Bush
7. Mitt Romney
8. Paul E Brown
There are a total of 36 individuals listed above. The other 115 allege an ancestor for me that I haven't yet been able to confirm. Nor have I found a workaround similar to the Lathrop-Stoughton connection. (It doesn't mean the app is wrong. I'm not claiming that my end-of-line research is anywhere near complete, but it does suggest a lot of the allegations are based on family trees where the researcher has made leaps without documentation.)
What would be an appropriate topic, albeit perhaps a little afield from the subject of genealogy, for a blog post combining the two?
How about Jean Lafitte, the possibly Jewish Pirate?
[image - late 19th century artist's conception. [source]
The facts of his origins, and those of his demise as well, depend upon whether you believe the "Journal of Jean Lafitte" is a forgery or not. Discovered in the possession of a claimed descendant.
"My grandmother was a Spanish-Israelite. ... Grandmother told me repeatedly of the trials and tribulations her ancestors had endured at the time of the Spanish Inquisition. ... Grandmother's teachings ... inspired in me a hatred of the Spanish Crown and all the persecutions for which it was responsible -- not only against Jews." [source]
According to one account, Jean Lafitte was killed upon the General Santander, an armed private vessel in the service of Columbia, on Feb. 5, 1823, at the age of 41. In the Gulf of Honduras, the General Santander encountered two Spanish privateers or warships, and was mortally wounded in a brief battle with the vessels and buried at sea ...
According to Lafitte's Journal ( which many believe to be a hoax, claimed to have been found by a great grand son of Lafitte) written by Lafitte himself in 1851, he took the name John Lafflin and died in St. Louis in his 70s. [source]
As a St. Louisan, this last definitely interests me. Though I have been unable to determine where John Lafflin (whether or not in reality Jean Lafitte) is supposed to be buried. Mysteries tend to surround pirates, don't they?
However, while the origins of Jean Lafitte are controversial, in Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, author Edward Kritzler makes the claim for several others. Some of the earlier ones are said to have gone into the piracy business as revenge against the inquisition.
One such pirate was Moses Cohen Henriques, who helped plan one of history's largest heists against Spain. In 1628, Henriques set sail with Dutch West India Co. Admiral Piet Hein, whose own hatred of Spain was fueled by four years spent as a galley slave aboard a Spanish ship. Henriques and Hein boarded Spanish ships off Cuba and seized shipments of New World gold and silver worth in today's dollars about the same as Disney's total box office for "Dead Man's Chest." [source]
Of course, pirates tend to break a few commandments in their daily routine. Ends rarely justify the means, and revenge isn't generally considered a morally appropriate explanation for deeds. One wonders if the above Jewish pirates recited the Al Chet (confession of sins) yearly on Yom Kippur.
As you light up your barbecues this weekend and enjoy your day off from work Monday (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.
Yesterday I received the below press release from Tina Sansone, Competition Coordinator at The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors. However, the information was going to be officially announced today at the FGS Conference, so she asked that it not be shared until this morning. I have added links where I could find them.
Congratulations to all winners!
The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors is proud to announce the winners of the Excellence-in-Writing Competition. All entries were exceptional this year. Submission details for 2018 will be announced soon. For any questions on the competition, email competition@isfhwe.org.
Category 2 – Articles
1st Place – Martin Fischer: “How the Gogolinsky Family of Warsaw Became the Barney Family of St. Louis, Missouri”
2nd Place – Joseph F. Martin: “Apolonia Lewicka and the Priest”
3rd Place - Mari Margaret McLean, PhD: “Unintended Family History: Thomas Scholfield’s Letter to His Brother”
HM - Fred Delcomyn: “A Danish Lad in America”
HM - Karen Brattesani: “A Soldier's Stories of World War II as Told to his Daughter”
HM - Sherri Panchaud Onorati: “Lucky to Be Here”
Category 3 – Newsletters
1st Place – Michelle D. Novak: “Genealogical Society of Bergen County, NJ - The Archivist”
2nd Place – Patricia Mansfield Phelan: “Newsletter of the Irish Family History Forum” Category 4 – Unpublished Material, Unpublished Authors
1st Place – Joan F. Vitale: “The Messenger”
2nd Place – Bonnie Dodge: “Getting to Know Grandmother, A Step Back in Time”
3rd Place – Robbin M. Smith: “I Have an Aunt Alice?”
HM - Linda D. Fritz-Langston: “Grandpa & His Puzzle”
Category 5 - Unpublished Material – Published Authors
1st Place – Dave Strausfeld: “Gus Cloepfil and his Migration Westward”
2nd Place – Wevonneda Minis: “DNA Decision”
3rd Place – Elaine Thomas: “Boyhood Tales from the Great Depression”
HM - Wendy Wilson Spooner, Lic. G, LCoT: “The Relevance of Genetic Knowledge to Genealogical Research
HM - Andrea Butler Ramsey: “The Nickel Man”
HM - Emilee Marks: “The Tale of Two Wilhelmina Gogollas”
Category 6 – Poetry & Song
1st Place – Kavya Srikanth: “An Ode to Time Lost”
2nd Place – Lori Lynn Price: “Virden, New Mexico”
3rd Place – John Newmark: “Cause of Death”
HM - Anthony Proctor – “The Great Wave”
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: 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.
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.
There has been a lot of discussion about the acquisition on genealogy blogs in the past few days. As is the case with all mergers and acquisitions that impact the things we care about, there are those with fearful pessimism, and those with hopeful optimism.
I've been surprised by those who have implied MyHeritage didn't already have a software program of its own. Or have implied their software program was entirely online. My FamilyTreeBuilder database is on my computer, and isn't synched with any MyHeritage account. (I have a free account, but my database isn't online.)
Legacy Family Tree doesn't have a Mac version of their software, so I can only base any opinion on the tutorial and help screens on their website, but at first glance, I am confident MyHeritage will not simply develop a Mac version of Legacy Family Tree, as it is lacking in adaptability to MyHeritage's international consumer-base. Whereas I was surprised to see MyHeritage only accommodated the Gregorian, Hebrew, and French Revolutionary calendars, and not Julian, I saw no references to date conversion at all in Legacy's help pages. (Possibly I missed it.) No references to multiple language interfaces, either. Hopefully the software team will combine the best features of both programs and create something both sets of users will see as an improvement.
Both Legacy Family Tree and MyHeritage use the Freemium marketing technique where they offer free basic services, and offer additional benefits for paid users. So that's unlikely to change. (I've seen some bloggers imply Legacy Family Tree didn't, but they do have a free standard version of their software. I just can't download it to test it since I don't have a PC.)
I'll admit in my first interaction with MyHeritage a decade ago, I didn't consider them a very serious website. It appeared they were focused primarily on games, such as their Face Recognition Software. I had fun with that software, but the company has grown tremendously since then. They are still growing, and I am in the set of people with hopeful optimism.
There is a huge debate over how to pronounce the letter “G” in the acronym "GIF." GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, and is the filetype for many images on your computer. (Other common image filetypes are JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group, and TIFF - Tagged Image File Format.)
Since GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format, #TeamGiff argues the “G” should be hard like the “G” in "Graphics."
Members of #TeamJiff follow the advice of Steve Wilhite, the engineering Lead of the team that developed the format. He says it is supposed to be pronounced with a soft "G" – to mirror the peanut butter brand, "Jif." (“Choosy developers choose GIF.”)
#TeamGiff responds that once a word or acronym enters the language, the inventor has no say in the matter. And a hard "G" makes more sense linguistically.
I say, computer images aren't only used by speakers of English. In Spanish, when the letter "G" is followed by an "I," it is pronounced with the hard “Ch” sound, as in the German composer's name, "Bach." This is also the case for the Spanish, "J."
1) I am a big supporter of this phoneme in whatever language it appears in.
2) Furthermore, since in Spanish "Gif" and "Jif" would be pronounced identically, this should satisfy the peanut butter fans in #TeamJiff, as well as the linguistic purists in #TeamGiff. So I am in #TeamKhiff
***
In the Genealogy world, I have heard there is some discussion on how to pronounce GEDCOM. GEDCOM is an acronym for Genealogical Data Communication and is used for the file format for genealogy databases.
#TeamJedcom argues that the "G" is for "Genealogical," so should be a soft "J."
#TeamGedcom prefers a hard "G" for some reason. [Members of #TeamGedcom are welcome to leave their explanation in the comments.]
I do not know how the developers of the GEDCOM pronounce it. This may be a closely held secret of the LDS church.
As you might have guessed, once again I fall back upon Spanish pronunciation, because, why not? In Spanish, when the letter "G" is followed by an "e" it is also pronounced with the hard “Ch” sound. I am in #TeamKhedcom
***
Hopefully, this post has been helpful. It's time for me to find a tall glass of iced chai.
Back in 2007 I downloaded a trial version of iFamily genealogy software, and fell in love with it. Despite some deficiencies in reports and charts, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) was much superior in my view to anything else I experimented with. Also, instead of being the product of a company, it was the product of an individual, who responded quickly with new updates fixing bugs, and adding features. The developer, Keith Wilson, passed way in December of 2008. His son took over, but maintaining his father's program wasn't his full-time job, and updates became less frequent.
I still haven't found a competitor with a GUI that I like as much. But I have found a competitor with a GUI I can accept, and with additional features that make it very attractive. (Including its price - Free.) FamilyTreeBuilder from MyHeritage. It is true that they want you to sync your tree with a premium MyHeritage account. But it isn't required for most of the offline features to be fully functional.
I could continue to update in iFamily, and whenever I wanted to create a report/chart export a GED and open it with FamilyTreeBuilder. But that becomes a hassle, and I rather like how FamilyTreeBuilder handles Hebrew-Gregorian date conversion and a handful of other features.
I noticed when I transferred the data, for individuals with both natural and step parents, both sets of parents got labeled as natural. I've had to manually fix a few entries. However, I also like that two sets of parents can be set as 'natural.' It allows an easy way for children to be included in reports that they wouldn't be if they were recorded as 'step-children.' And with a growing number of parental options in today's society, how an individual might define 'natural' may vary depending on the situation.
I will miss the iFamily GUI. But after almost 10 years it is time for me to change software programs.
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 is a newspaper article mentioning my maternal great-grandfather, Melvin Van Every.
El Paso Herald – Nov 28, 1919, page 7. Cotton Growers Purchase Seed in Pecos Valley El Paso County Farmers Will Not Plant Seed Grown Here.
Farmers of El Paso County, who, according to reports from over the district and from implement men, are going to grow 10,000 acres of cotton next year, will not plant local seed. Instead, the 10,000 bushels of seed needed will be brought from the Pecos valley. The purchase will be financed by the State National bank, C.N. Bassett said Friday.
Local cotton seed will not be used, at the request of officials of the federal horticulture board. This request arises from the fact that the federal horticulture agents were unable to scout the field properly for pink boll worm. No evidence of pink boll worm has been found here, the agents say, but because of the proximity to the border, a source of infection, the farmers of the valley have agreed with the federal agents that no chances should be taken.
This year about 1500 acres of cotton were grown in the valley. About 1,500,000 pounds of seed was produced. This will be crushed by a local refinery. The farmers, in order to get the seed for the 8500 acres more which will be planted next year than this, will put up a guarantee of $1 or $1.50 a bushel an acre for what they will need. The committee will then buy the seed where it can, and sell it to the farmers at cost, making delivery within a few weeks. The probable cost of the seed will be $2 or more a bushel. The Lone Star variety will be bought.
L.J. Ivy and M.E. Van Every, of Tornillo, have been named on the committee of five to supervise the purchase and distribution of cotton seed. Roland Harwell, county farm agent, said Friday. A meeting will be held at Clint to discuss further plans for getting the seed. Three other members of the committee will be named within a few days.
The committee will leave next week to hunt the seed. Notes 1) Melvin and his family had moved to the El Paso area from San Marcos in 1917. It's nice to see references to the multiple businesses he had a hand in. Apparently, in addition to beekeeping, and a cheese creamery, my great grandfather grew cotton. (I'm sure he had other crops as well.)
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 is a newspaper article on, and photograph of, my paternal grandfather, Melvin Newmark.
St. Louis Jewish Light – July 19 1963, p. 8.
Melvin L Newmark (above) St. Louis attorney, has been elected president of the Washington University Alumni Federation for 1963-1964. The Alumni Federation consists of presidents and past presidents of the alumni associations of individual schools at the University. Newmark, who resides at 701 Payson, Dr., Olivette, earned his LLB degree from Washington U. in 1936. He is a past president of the Alumni Association of Washington U., past president of the Missouri Lodge No. 22, B’nai B’rith, and has served in many community service positions. Presently he is a judge on the Municipal Bench of Olivette, a member of the board of the St. Louis Jewish Light, and is active in many other organizations. Mr. and Mrs. Newmark are the parents of three children.
Notes:
1. My grandfather was a municipal court judge from 1962-1967. He was quoted several years later on why he resigned from the position.
2. While I am not short of photographs of my grandfather, I enjoy seeing what he looked like before my recollections.
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 is a newspaper article on, and photograph of, my paternal grandfather, Melvin Newmark. St. Louis Jewish Light, Dec 1, 1971, p. 26.
Melvin Newmark Elected United Hebrew President
Melvin L. Newmark, an attorney, has been re-elected for a second term as President of United Hebrew Congregation.
Newmark is President of the St. Louis Jewish Light Board of Trustees, a member of the Jewish Federation Board of Directors, and a former president of the Missouri-Illinois Regional Anti-Defamation League Board.
He was re-elected at the recent annual meeting of the congregation, which was addressed by Dr. Louis Schwartzman, Executive Director of the Central Agency for Jewish Education, who discussed, “What We Hope to Achieve for Reform Jewish Education in St. Louis.”
Also elected to office at the same meeting were: Echeal Feinstein, Barnett Goodman and Peter Lurie, vice presidents; George Nemon, secretary, and Joseph Goldstein, treasurer.
Elected to the Board of Directors were: Dan Bogard, Lee Demba, Morris Feldman, Earl Fishgall, Grank Friedman, Joseph C. Friedman, Ralph Friedman, Herman Friedman, Allen Furfine, Elmer Gidlow, Edward Golde, Emil Green, Harold Greenberg, Dr. Milton Jasper, Stanley Laiderman, Sidney Librach, Sam Michelson, I.E. Millstone, Max Orenstein, Morris Rosenthal, Harry T. Schukar, Dr. Irwin Schultz, Dr. Nathan Simon and Eugene Wolff. Notes:
1. I believe the photograph that accompanied the article is slightly older than the article. Here is a photo from four months earlier, in which his trademark mustache is much more defined. (The wig he is wearing here, is not in the August 1971 photo, though I've seen it in photographs both earlier and later. It is possible he wore it less frequently in the summer.)
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. Several articles from Sikeston, Missouri area newspapers tell the story of two deaths in a family a few days apart. Sikeston Standard Oct 21, 1932, p. 5
Oscar Blackman, who has been visiting with his sister, Mrs. Newt Fulkerson for the past month, accompanied them to his home in Carrier Mills, Ill. We are glad to report that Mr. Fulkerson's conditions is somewhat improved. He has been suffering for some time with heart trouble.
Benton Scott County Democrat, January 19, 1933, p. 1
NEWT FULKERSON DEAD AT McMULLIN
Newt Fulkerson, aged and respected citizen of McMullin, died at his home there Sunday and burial was made at Blodgett Monday. He was sick three or four weeks and was about 80 years of age. Several children survive, among whom are Mrs. Robert Gober of Vanduser and Will Fulkerson of near Sikeston.
The Sikeston Standard, Jan 24, 1933, p. 1
RITES FOR VANDUSER CHILDS HELD SATURDAY
Funeral services were conducted Saturday afternoon from the residence of Mrs. Robert Gober of Vanduser, for her 4-year-old son, Jerry Wayne Usrey, who died Friday of a throat infection. Rev. D. M. Margraves officiated.
The child was buried beside the grave of his grandfather, Newton Fulkerson, who died January 15. Besides his mother and step-father, Robert Gober, he is survived by the following half-sisters and brothers: James W. Usrey, Mrs. Jean Berry and Miss Anna Lee Gober of Vanduser, Raymond Usrey of Cape Girardeau, and Harold and Miss Melba Usrey of Morehouse.
The Sikeston Standard – Jan 24, 1933 p.4
CARD OF THANKS
We wish to thank our many friends for their great kindness during the illness and death of our loved one, Newton Fulkerson. We especially desire to express appreciation to Rev. Margraves and the singers, also the undertaker, Geo. Dempster, and all those who sent floral offering. May God bless each and every one.
Mrs. Newton Fulkerson and Children
The Grandchildren
The Sikeston Standard – Jan 24, 1933 p.8.
Those from Illinois who attended the funeral of Newton Fulkerson were R.S. Hart, Mr. and Mrs. Hosie Blackman, Mrs. Pear King, Mrs. Ella Spears, Mrs. Veda Fulkerson, Lem Fulkerson and daughter, and Oscar Blackman. Notes:
1) My wife's grandmother, Anna Lee Gober, is mentioned as Jerry Usrey's half-sister.
2) The Sikeston Standard was published twice a week. I checked the January 17th and January 20th issues, but there was no obituary. My general search for "Fulkerson" in January 1933 papers turned up the Benton obituary using the nickname, 'Newt.' I hadn't seen that nickname before; another search retrieved the October article indicating that he had been suffering heart troubles.
3) I didn't make any changes to spelling and grammar. I believe there are a couple misspelled given names in the last article.
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. A couple articles concerning the death of James Herman Fulkerson, brother of my wife's great- grandmother, Mabel Fulkerson Gober. Sikeston Standard, March 31, 1931, page 1.
FARMER NEAR MOREHOUSE SUCCUMBS TO TUBERCULOSIS
James Herman Fulkerson, 36 years old, died Sunday evening about 5:00 o’clock, following an illness with tuberculosis. Mr. Fulkerson has been bedfast for about five weeks gradually becoming weaker. He leaves his wife and seven children, all of the home place, to mourn his death.
Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday morning at 10’oclock at the family residence near Morehouse, with Rev. A.C. Rudloff of the First Baptist Church of Sikeston officiating. Interment will be in the Dexter Cemetery with Dempster in charge.
In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Fulkerson is survived by his brother, Willie, of near McMullin, and five sisters, Mrs. Virgil Williams and Mrs. John Healey of Sikeston, Mrs. Ellis Alcorn and Mrs. Sam Usrey of McMullin and Mrs. E.P. Huey of Mountain Grove.
Sikeston Standard, April 4, 1944, page 6
IN MEMORIAM
Gone but not forgotten, though it’s thirteen years, dear brother Jim, since you left us waiting here. We miss your sweet smiles more each day. The voice we loved so well we can hear no more. God knew you were one of the best, so he called you home to rest. God bless you, Brother, in your home above are the prayers from those you loved. Until some fair sweet morn when our hands shall join.
Sadly missed by a sister,
Mrs. Robert Gober. Notes:
1) In 1931, Mabel was a widow, as her husband Samuel Usrey had died in 1929. She would marry Robert Gober shortly thereafter, as their daughter Anna was born in June of 1932.
Transylvania, Holland, Alsace, Poland, England, Germany, Lithuania and Texas all contain soil upon which ancestors dwelt; Farmers, beekeepers, shepherds, tailors, blacksmiths, salesmen, clergy, judges, and doctors.
As I research ancestral lines I discover some ancestors celebrated Hanuka, others Christmas, and still others the Green Corn Ceremony; Jewish, Methodist Episcopalian, Puritan, Christian Scientist, Mennonite, Choctaw, and Cherokee.
I shall never find the records for my distant ancestors who either came to this continent by crossing the Land Bridge, or originally emerged from the Nanih Waiya in Mississippi.
I delve through obituaries, microfilm depositories, internet databases; I interview relatives, and rummage through attics.
What I find doesn't alter who I am; It illuminates the divergent, yet still intersecting paths of my ancestors.
Caption for photo to left: Human Statue of Liberty. 18,000 Officers and Men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa. Colonel William Newman, Commanding. Colonel Rush S. Wells, Directing. Mole & Thomas, 09/1918. (source)
Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The Jewish New Year begins tomorrow night at sundown.
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?
St. Louis Jewish Light, Dec 1, 1971, p. 26.
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