Amanuensis Monday: The Wedding of Harry Feinstein and Dora Serwinsky

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

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

Below I transcribe an article on the wedding of my great grandfather's brother, found at Newspapers.com

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St. Louis Republic, 16 Aug 1905, page 4.

ONE THOUSAND GUESTS AT ORTHODOX WEDDING

Harry S Feinstein Weds Miss Dora Serwinsky With Elaborate Ritual, at Westminster Hall Last Night.

Gayety characterized the wedding of Miss Dora Serwinsky of No. 826 Carr street and Harry S. Feinstein of No. 1122 North Eighth street, who were married last night at 8 o’clock at Westminster Hall, No. 3906 Olive street.

Rabbis Z. Rosenfeld and S. Rosenberg of Tpherish Israel Temple, Ninth and Wash streets, jointly performed the ceremony. More than 1,000 guests were present.

One hundred candles were burned during the ceremony, in accordance with the orthodox custom.

The hall was decorated for the event. Weil’s orchestra furnished the music and rendered the wedding march. The attendants were H.M. Feinstein, brother of the groom, best man; Miss Lillian Serwinsky, sister of the bride, maid of honor; the Misses Sarah Raskas, Jennie Masta and Anna Seigel, bridesmaids; M. L. Serwinsky, Louis Kaufman of Elizabeth, N.J., and Mose Kaufman, groomsmen.

After the wedding a reception and banquet were tendered to the bridal party at Westminster Hall, followed by dancing. In the festivities the entire membership of Tpherish Israel Congregation participated.

Miss Serwinsky is a daughter of A. Serwinsky and is an elocutionist. Mr. Feinstein is a young business man.

The couple were the recipients of many presents and several hundred telegrams. A present of $250 was given to them by the various lodges of which the groom’s father is a member. Among the guests were officials of the Franklin Bank and teachers from the faculty of the Jefferson and Shields schools. Mr. and Mrs. Feinstein departed at 2 a.m. for the East on their wedding trip. They will live at No. 5606 Garfield avenue.

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Notes:

1. The photograph above is from the wedding. Some family members had identified the five men as the five Feinstein brothers. I've known for awhile this isn't the case as the youngest Feinstein brother would have only been 7 years old in 1905. The Bridal Party was a complete unknown.

But now I have a list of the Groomsmen and Bridal Party. Harry Feinstein, the groom, is most likely in the center, behind his bride, Dora Serwinsky. I believe Herman Max Feinstein, my great grandfather, and Harry's best man, is to Harry's right (our left). The other three men are M.L Serwinsky, and Louis and Mose Kaufman. My suspicion is that Dora's sister, Lillian, the bridesmaid, is to her right. The other three women being Sarah Raskas, Jennie Masta, and Anna Sigel. The two young girls aren't identified in the news article.

2. "Weil's Orchestra" refers to an orchestra conducted by William Weil. There are references to the orchestra performing at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, as well as being the house orchestra for the St. Louis Browns baseball team in the late 1890s.

3. My second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, father of the groom, was elected President of the Tpheris Israel congregation in 1903, which could explain why the entire congregation showed up at his son's wedding. Or it's possible the entire congregation showed up at the wedding of every congregant.

4. "Elocutionist," is a surprising, and impressive job for the daughter of an immigrant family. Dora was born in Poland in 1884, but was only three when the family immigrated.

5. I was unaware that my second great grandfather was a member of any fraternal lodges. I will need to see if I can find out which ones, and check if there are any records. My great-grandfather's application for the Moolah Shrine Temple in 1927 is where I discovered his alleged birthplace. The most likely fraternal organizations for Selig Feinstein are B'nai B'rith (which still exists), Order of B'rith Abraham, and Progressive Order of the West.  Progressive Order of the West was headquartered in St. Louis.

6. Harry's address is given as 1122 North Eighth. The Feinsteins hadn't yet moved out of the tenements in the Carr Square/Little Jerusalem neighborhood. 826 Carr, the address of the bride, is also in the same neighborhood.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2018

My Great-Grandfather, Barney Newmark, celebrated his birthday on March 17th, and claimed to have been born in Dublin, Ireland. It's significantly more likely that he was born in Warka, Poland - on the outskirts of Warsaw. The dates of March 25th and April 14th also appear on some documents as his date of birth, but no birth records have been uncovered, so anything is possible. There may be some significance to the fact that there are 20 days between March 25th and April 14th. (12 days adjustment between the Gregorian and Julian calendar, and 8 days between birth and circumcision.) There are also 8 days between March 17th and March 25th.

To the left, he is with his sister, Nellie, likely in 1907 or 1908.

While my Irish ancestry may be somewhat mythological, my wife's isn't. According to some sources, her 3rd great grandfather, Thomas Muldoon, was born in Ireland in 1817, in County Fermanagh.

After a holiday post in 2007, a friend introduced me to online genealogy, and the rest is family history.





Past St. Patrick's Day Posts
2017: Happy St. Patrick's Day 2017
2016: Corned Beef on Rye
2015: Corned Beef on Rye
2014: Happy St. Patrick's Day 2014
2013: Happy St. Patrick's Day
2012: Happy 126th Birthday to my Great Grandfather
2011: Happy St. Patrick's Day
2010: Barney's Birthday and Birthplace
2009: On St. Patrick's Day Everyone is Irish
2008: My 'Irish' Great Grandfather
2007: Corned Beef and Cabbage on Rye

I Know Jack! The Identification of my Maternal Grandmother's First Husband

Ockham's Razor is the problem-solving principle that, when presented with competing hypothetical answers to a problem, one should select the one that makes the fewest assumptions. The idea is attributed to William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347), who was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. (source)

Nine years ago I asked the question, "Do you know Jack?"

I knew that my grandmother had received letters in 1919 from her parents consoling her on her divorce from a man named, Jack.

In 2011 I learned she had divorced a man named Alfred Hancock Connevey in 1920.

Looking back, I know that I knew back then that Jack was a ubiquitous nickname that any man could use. I also knew back then that divorces take awhile between filing and finalization. How did I conclude there was another marriage in such a short span of time? My grandmother's marriage to Dale Bowlby Ridgely in 1927 only lasted three months, but her first marriage could have lasted longer.

I have found several pieces of evidence recently strongly suggesting Alfred Connevey was Jack.

From the 1919 El Paso City Directory. My grandmother is already using the address 'Miss,' even though she is still using the surname, Connevey. (It is interesting that Alfred Connevey is working at the same address, though for a different company. I am positive this is my grandmother, as she provided a letter of recommendation from China Palace to the St. Louis Post Office when she applied after her divorce was final in 1920.)

From the June 5, 1918 El Paso Herald - my grandmother is listed as Myrtle Connevey, and enrolling in the summer session of high school. She was 18 years old. I know from her application to the St. Louis Post Office that she had attended El Paso High School.

And the clincher: The 1910 Census record for a Jack Connevey residing as a boarder with a Diebel family. I am fairly certain Elsie Deibel was married to my grandmother's brother, Samuel O Van Every, for a period of time. I have not been able to find dates, however, an Elsa Diebel is listed as a wife in the family history notes left by one of my great grandfather's sisters. 

This census record indicates that Jack Connevey was born in 1889. My grandmother was born in 1900. If they were married in 1918, he would have been 29, and my grandmother 18. There is a possibility the marriage may have been in 1917. If Jack was boarding with the Diebels in 1910, there is a question of the ages of him and my grandmother when they first met. My grandmother's brother, Samuel, was born in 1886.

Returning to the question of a Vanevery Surname Non-Paternity Event

Back in 2016 I blogged about the possibility of a Van Every Surname Non-Paternity Event. Several researchers have questioned the parentage of McGregor Van Every (1723-1786). One theory being Martin Van Iveren and an unnamed McGregor mother. One theory being a McGregor father and an unnamed Van Iveren/Vanevery mother.

Either way, there would be Van Every DNA in the descent, so the only way to prove the theories would be through a Y-surname test of a multitude of Van Every male descendants. Which I am not one.

Back in 2016 I noted that in all of my matches, I had 2nd cousins, 3rd cousins, 4th cousins, and 5th cousins, all sharing a Van Every common ancestor. Nothing higher than 5th cousins. All descendants of McGregor's son, David. If there was no Non-Paternity-Event, or even if there was, and one of the prevailing theories was true, one would expect more distant Van Every cousins.

A Shared Ancestor Hint popped up at AncestryDNA recently. (Excerpt below)

This provided a lot of excitement. Though I knew even with the two prevailing theories, I should have a match with someone descended from Martin Van Iveren. So even though our Family Trees matched up, it didn't prove anything. It was nice to see.

And then I checked the individual's Shared Matches.

As I said above, I have DNA matches who are 2nd through 5th cousins, all descended from David Van Every. Not one of them is a shared match with this individual.

Martin Van Iveren is in both of our online family trees. I think I am fairly sure that's not where our shared DNA resides. All of our shared matches have Eastern European Jewish DNA. That's the 75% of my ancestry that doesn't come from my maternal grandmother, Myrtle Van Every Deutsch. [It is fun to see a cousin from that 75% also has Van Iveren/Van Every ancestry.]

Which raises the question again. If neither I, nor any of my Van Every DNA cousins, share any Van Every DNA with this descendant of Martin Van Iveren...is it possible there was a Non-Paternity Event that completely broke the DNA trail. (Like an adoption?) It's certainly possible. Of course, the lack of evidence isn't proof of anything. It just continues to raise the question.  

The Etymology of the Surname Dudelsack/Dudelczak/Dudelzak

When I began researching, all I could find on my ancestral surname, Dudelsack, was the German bagpipe.

Later, once I realized 'Dudel' was a Yiddish diminutive for 'David,' I realized the surname was likely 'Dudelczak' or 'Dudelzak,' and patronymic in origin.

A different etymology is provided in Dictionary of Jewish Surnames From the Russian Empire, by Alexander Bieder, Avotaynu, 1993.

Dudel'zak (Pinsk, Lutsk, Ostrog, Odessa, Rovno) O: from 'nudlzak' [Southeastern Yiddish] needle packing. 

This would make it an occupational surname. Needle packing is probably related to the profession of tailor. The entry also provides some locations where the surname could be found.

It's worth noting that there are several surnames in the dictionary that are based on the Yiddish diminutive, 'Dudel.'

Anna Yetta Babchik Blufston - 1873-1930

I wrote most of the below in 2016, but I put it aside, confused by the information I had. Now I know more. 

Several years ago I shared a passenger manifest from the TSS New Amsterdam, October 28, 1891.

The Feinsteins included Nechama (my 2nd great grandmother), Gitel (my 3rd great grandmother), and Nechama's children Hersch, Chaim (my great grandfather), Berl, and Pearl. There was also an 18 year old woman named Yetta Feinstein traveling with them. Who was she? I didn't know then. I know a lot more about her now, but I'm not really any closer to figuring out what I want to know. [I wrote that in 2016. I'm a lot closer now.]

My second great grandfather, Selig Dudelczak, immigrated a year earlier. Gitel was his mother. It was always known that the family changed their name to Feinstein in America. The popular story was that the person ahead of them in line at Ellis Island was named Feinstein. Of course, Ellis Island wasn't open yet. And beyond that, Selig traveled under the name Dudelczak, and nobody named Feinstein arrived at Castle Garden at the same time. (Or at least there are no Feinsteins in the Castle Garden database for that date.) Five years ago my first thought was that perhaps Yetta was the mystery Feinstein. It was just Nechama who changed the name, not Selig.

Recently, I believe, I have uncovered documents for Yetta.

In August of 1894 she married Samuel Blufstein in the City of St. Louis. (I have found the marriage certificate that confirms they did get married.) 

In the 1910 census, Samuel and Anna Y Blufston are residing in St. Louis

How do I know that Anna Y is Yetta, and Samuel Blufston is Samuel Blufstein?

Anna Y was born in 1873, which matches an 18 year old woman in 1891. She also immigrated in 1891 from Russia. It could be a coincidence. There's also the daughter Etta.

On June 9, 1929, Samuel Blufston's obituary appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch



This obituary suggests, if Anna Y was the passenger on the manifest, her real name wasn't Feinstein either. It was Babchik.  (Her death certificate states her father was Jacob Babchik.)

How was Yetta related to Sylvia Dudelczak Babchik Blufston, sister of my second great grandfather? She was born at about the same time as Sylvia. 

Her obituary (something I hadn't yet found in 2016) provides a possible answer. From the Aug 6, 1930 St. Louis Post Dispatch

The obituary states she is a sister of Bertha Rovin, Goldie Klein, Harry, Leo and Etta Buflston. These are the children of Sylvia. However, she is the same age as Sylvia, so Sylvia can't be her mother.

However, Sylvia's first husband could have had a prior wife, and a daughter. Having a significantly younger second wife isn't uncommon at that time. This would make Sylvia a step-mother of Anna Yetta, and Anna Yetta would be a step sister to Sylvia's children. While none of the obituaries for Bertha, Goldie, Harry, Leo or Etta mention Anna, this is the most likely solution to all the documents I have uncovered to date. More documents might suggest a different answer.

This theory still doesn't explain why the Feinstein surname was chosen, by the Dudelczaks, or Anna Yetta Babchik.

This is my last blog post related to the Dudelczak immigrants - until I discover more.

Bessie or Rebecca (Bella) Dudelczak Portnoy 1871-1916

Below is the 1900 census record for my second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein. He is actually recorded as Samuel Feinstein. In a city directory, his name appears one year as Salem Feinstein. However, on most records he used his Yiddish name, Selig. He lived at 1122 North 8th. This is part of the Carr Square tenement district I've written about several times. The Feinsteins were in the front of the building, and several families were in the rear. The census also indicates (in a column that isn't in the image below) that the Feinsteins were owners, and everyone else at the address rented. 

Others at the address: Sarah Freeman, the Finkelsteins, the Buchanans, the Shparbergs, and Ruben and Bessie Portnoy. I've had this census page downloaded since 2007, when I began my research. It didn't occur to me back then to research all the names of the people living at the same address as my ancestor. Now I know that Bessie Portnoy was Selig's sister.

Other things to note: Almost everyone on this page was from Russia. Ruben Portnoy is recorded as having filed his first papers, so I will have to see if I can find them. Ruben and Bessie are recorded as having immigrated in 1896, so hopefully that will help with locating their passenger manifests. In 1900 they've been in the US for 4 years, and have been married for 8 years. They have no children.

Bessie died on November 2, 1916. Her death certificate (PDF), under the name Rebecca Portnoy, records her father as Samuel Feinstein. I have no doubt that it is actually Shmuel Hirsch Dudelczak, but the informant (R Portnoy, likely her husband) used the surname my second great grandfather chose.

Related Posts:

• Sylvia Dudelczak Blufston Babchick 1874-1930
• Lottie Dudelczak Getz Goldstein - 1861-1939

Sylvia Dudelczak Blufston Babchick 1874-1930

A great great aunt wrote down the family information years ago. Selig Dudelczak, son of Samuel Harry (Schmuel Hersh) Dudelczak and Gertrude (Gitel) Slupsky, immigrated to America and changed his surname to Feinstein. He had two siblings who also immigrated, Julius and Tillie. We didn't have surnames for either one. Four siblings remained in Russia: Bella, Gershon, Selma, and Sprinsa.

That is how I began the post I wrote last month, where I described how I discovered Selig's sister Lottie (Ylota) Getz Goldstein. The 1900 census indicates Gitel/Gertrude had seven living children. The census doesn't indicate how many are living in the US. Since last month's post, I have learned at least six of the seven children immigrated.

Below is Lottie's obituary from The Modern View, June 22, 1939, page 10

GOLDSTEIN, LOTTIE - On Sunday, June 18, beloved mother of Mrs. Sarah Goodman of Tulsa, Okla., and Sam Getz, dear sister of the late Zelik Feinstein, Udil Odelsohn, Sprintza Babchick, Toba Oberman and Baila Portnoy, our dear aunt, mother-in-law, grandmother, and great-grandmother. 

Funeral from the Jewish Old Folks' Home on Monday, June 19. Oxenhandler service.

I'm working my way backwards through the Modern View microfilm at the library. When I discovered Lottie mentioned in Tillie's 1935 obituary, I had already scanned the 1939 microfilm for surnames I recognized. I should have seen and recognized Zelik, Udil, and Toba - right? Browsing pages and pages of newspapers on microfilm searching for surnames isn't an easy task. And I will admit that in the obituary section, my eyes are attracted to the deceased's name more quickly than all the names mentioned in the obituary. So I missed it.

Lottie's obituary mentions five pre-deceased siblings, including Sprintza Babchick and Baila Portnoy. Two surnames that were new for me. However, in this case, the given names were names my great great aunt had mentioned.  Had they immigrated, or had they stayed in the Old Country, and Lottie had just remained in contact with them? The first obvious place for me to research was the Missouri digitized death certificates.

Here's Sprinza Babchick's death certificate (PDF). Under 'Name of Father' it says: Shmeel Hersch Doodelock. The name of the mother is unknown. The informant is Jake Rovin, who research suggests was a son-in-law.

It seems the father's name was passed down in every branch of the family, even though the spelling became fuzzy. The given name of the mother appears on the death certificate of only two of her children, and her maiden name on none. Our family records suggest it was Slupsky, but I have found no supporting documentation.

Here's Sylvia's obituary from the St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 2, 1930, p. 29

On Monday, June 3, 1930, dear mother of Mrs. Bertha Rovin, Mrs. Goldie Klein, Harry, Leo and Etta Blufston, dear grandmother and mother-in-law.  

Funeral from residence, 1285A Amherst place. Notice of time later. Oxenhandler service. Omit flowers.

Bertha and Goldie, research suggests, were Blufstons as well. There is no evidence, yet, that either of Sylvia's husbands immigrated, or that any of the children were born in the US. Though I have not yet uncovered the passenger manifests.

What about Baila Portnoy?
I've found her, too, and she will get her own post.

Lottie Dudelczak Getz Goldstein - 1861-1939

A Great Great Aunt wrote down the family information years ago. Selig Dudelczak, son of Samuel Harry (Schmuel Hersh) Dudelczak and Gertrude (Gitel) Slupsky, immigrated to America and changed his surname to Feinstein. He had two siblings who also immigrated, Julius and Tillie. We didn't have surnames for either one. Four siblings remained in Russia: Belle, Gershon, Selma, and Sprinsa.

In my early research I confirmed all the information except for the four who remained. Julius changed his surname to Odelson, and moved to Chicago. Tillie had married an Aaron Oberman, and they remained in St. Louis. Recently I was going through the library microfilm of The Modern View (a St. Louis Jewish weekly newspaper), and I came across Tillie's 1935 obituary.

Oberman, Tillie - On Thursday, August 8, beloved mother of Mrs. Minnie Felman, Ben Joe and Oscar Oberman, dear sister of Mrs. Lottie Goldstein of Tulsa, Okla., our dear aunt, mother-in-law and grandmother. Funeral from Oxenhandler Chapel.

My first thought was: This has to be a sister-in-law. That happens often in obituaries - spousal siblings being described as 'brother' or 'sister.' Even if my great great aunt had been unaware of one of the other siblings immigrating, "Lottie" bore no resemblance to "Belle" "Selma" or "Sprinsa." She had been correct on the other names. "I bet this is a sister-in-law," I thought to myself.

I lost the bet.

The tombstone on the left is at Chesed Shel Emeth. She is not far from her brother, Selig, and her sister, Tillie.

Lottie
Getz Goldstein
1861-1939

Zlota
Daughter of Reb Shmuel Zvi 

Died on the second day of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz in the year 5699

Below, from left to right:

1) Lottie's parents, according to her death certificate. The informant was her son, Sam Getz.
Father: Schmuel Hersh Dudelczak (I've edited the spelling to my preference. Hersh is Yiddish, and Zvi is Hebrew. Both mean 'deer.')
Mother: Gitel

2) Sam Getz's parents according to his death certificate. The informant was the nursing home.
Father: Aaron Getz
Mother: Lottie Feinstein

3) Sarah Getz Goodman's parents, according to her registration for Social Security.
Father: Harry Getz
Mother: Lottie Ohtalson (Odelson)


It appears that Lottie (like her sister) never changed her 'maiden' name. Both sisters were married in Russia, and their father appears with a variant spelling of the Dudelczak surname on their death certificates. However, both of Lottie's children, at some point, changed Lottie's maiden name in their minds, choosing between the two different surnames their uncles had chosen. Proving that they at least were aware of them.

In a fashion, these documents provide a nice wraparound, incorporating all of the surnames.

I have found no evidence that either of Lottie's husbands made the trip to America. I have no way to judge which document is more likely correct with the first name of their father. (Both could be correct. His Hebrew name could have been Aaron, and Sarah may only have been Anglicizing it with Harry.)

(I've updated this chart outlining the Dudelczak descendants for three generations.)

Here's some of the new names I've added:

Children of Lottie and Aaron/Harry Getz: Samuel, Sarah
Children of Frank and Sarah (Getz) Goodman: Harry Goodman, Gertrude (Goodman) Naron, Frances Goodman, Edrea Ann (Goodman) Appleton

This Week in Family History

Happy New Year!

In 1942 Woody Guthrie wrote these 33 New Year Rulin's.
For those stuck on writing resolutions, there are some good ones in the list.

My Selections:
#19: Keep Hoping Machine Running
#20: Dream Good
#31: Love Everyone
#33: Wake Up and Fight

Selected events from my family history databases

Jan 1

• Henry Dexheimer (1831-1884) – d. Jan 1 1884 (wife's 3rd great grandfather)
• Sol Cruvant (1893-1972) – b. Jan 1, 1893 (brother of great grandmother, Bertha Cruvant Newmark)

Jan 2

• Ida Elizabeth Sammie Denyer (1859-1899) – b. Jan 2 1859 (1st cousin of great grandmother, Margaret Jane Denyer Van Every. She wrote this poem, about her mother.)

Jan 3

• Benjamin Cruvant (1882-1960) – b.m. Jan 3 1883 (Brit Milah for brother of great grandmother, Bertha Cruvant Newmark) [Three dates have been given for his birth, but they can all be explained with the Gregorian and Julian calendar, and a confirmed Polish/Lithuanian Jewish custom of of observing the Brit Milah anniversary instead of the birthday.]

Jan 5

• Marvyn Stern (1914-1993) – b. Jan 5 1914 (1st cousin of grandfather, Melvin Newmark)

Jan 6

• Louis Pleas Gober and Annie May Taylor – m. Jan 6, 1891 (wife's 2nd great grandparents)

Jan 7

• Sol Cruvand (1877-1942) – d. Jan 7, 1942 (1st cousin of great grandmother, Bertha Cruvant Newmark)
• Aaron Cruvant Stern (1908-1981) – d. Jan 7 1981 (1st cousin of grandfather, Melvin Newmark)
• Louis Mayer Wyman (1905-1997) – d. Jan 7 1997 (1st cousin of grandmother, Belle "Sissie" Feinstein Newmark)

The Marriage Certificate for Myrtle Vanevery and Dale Bowlby Ridgely - April 1927

Several years ago I discovered the divorce complaint from my grandmother's second or third husband. The marriage lasted less than three months. I made the comment then that if my grandmother hadn't kept a copy of the complaint, it would never have occurred to me to look in California records for a marriage or divorce.

However, as records get digitized, such things matter less. The record to the left turned up for me on Ancestry this past week. It is the marriage license and certificate for my grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery, and her second husband, Dale Bowlby Ridgely.

It's a legible and quite detailed certificate, with names of parents for both bride and groom, as well as occupations for bride and groom.

I was most intrigued by the surname of the minister, and two witnesses. It matched my grandmother's. However, I was unfamiliar with these relatives.

Some quick research in Ancestry's family trees suggest that the minister, John M Vanevery, was the son of a John Vanevery and Louise Bartlett, and grandson of my third great grandparents, Andrew Vanevery and Nancy Lucinda Vansellas. (I'd have to do some research to truly verify the family trees, but it seems likely.) That would mean the minister was first cousins with the bride's father. The two witnesses were the minister's wife, Fanny, and their daughter, Irene.

I still suspect the marriage was in California primarily because the groom was stationed in the army in San Francisco, but my grandmother did have 'family' in the Bay Area. She returned to St. Louis after the marriage ended.

The certificate states that it was my grandmother's second marriage. I have records of one prior divorce from an Alfred Connevey in 1920. Letters from her parents imply an earlier marriage with a man named, Jack, that ended in 1919.

Thanksgiving Poetry

Below are several poems for the holiday

Gratitude - by Edgar A. Guest (©1917)

Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way;
Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day;
Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do,
For round about you there are men less fortunate than you.

Be grateful for the growing trees, the roses soon to bloom,
The tenderness of kindly hearts that shared your days of gloom;
Be grateful for the morning dew, the grass beneath your feet,
The soft caresses of your babes and all their laughter sweet.

Acquire the grateful habit, learn to see how blest you are,
How much there is to gladden life, how little life to mar!
And what if rain shall fall to-day and you with grief are sad;
Be grateful that you can recall the joys that you have had.

---

Thanksgiving - by Edgar A. Guest (©1917)

Gettin' together to smile an' rejoice,
An' eatin' an' laughin' with folks of your choice;
An' kissin' the girls an' declarin' that they
Are growin' more beautiful day after day;
Chattin' an' braggin' a bit with the men,
Buildin' the old family circle again;
Livin' the wholesome an' old-fashioned cheer,
Just for awhile at the end of the year.

Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother's a little bit grayer, that's all.
Father's a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an' to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin' our stories as women an' men.

Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we're grateful an' glad to be there.
Home from the east land an' home from the west,
Home with the folks that are dearest an' best.
Out of the sham of the cities afar
We've come for a time to be just what we are.
Here we can talk of ourselves an' be frank,
Forgettin' position an' station an' rank.

Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.

---

Looking Back - by Edgar Guest (©1921)

I might have been rich if I'd wanted the gold instead of the friendships I've made.
I might have had fame if I'd sought for renown in the hours when I purposely played.
Now I'm standing to-day on the far edge of life, and I'm just looking backward to see
What I've done with the years and the days that were mine, and all that has happened to me.

I haven't built much of a fortune to leave to those who shall carry my name,
And nothing I've done shall entitle me now to a place on the tablets of fame.
But I've loved the great sky and its spaces of blue; I've lived with the birds and the trees;
I've turned from the splendor of silver and gold to share in such pleasures as these.

I've given my time to the children who came; together we've romped and we've played,
And I wouldn't exchange the glad hours spent with them for the money that I might have made.
I chose to be known and be loved by the few, and was deaf to the plaudits of men;
And I'd make the same choice should the chance come to me to live my life over again.

I've lived with my friends and I've shared in their joys, known sorrow with all of its tears;
I have harvested much from my acres of life, though some say I've squandered my years.
For much that is fine has been mine to enjoy, and I think I have lived to my best,
And I have no regret, as I'm nearing the end, for the gold that I might have possessed.

---

A Song of Thanks - by Edward Smyth Jones (©1922)

FOR the sun that shone at the dawn of spring,
For the flowers which bloom and the birds that sing,
For the verdant robe of the gray old earth,
For her coffers filled with their countless worth,
For the flocks which feed on a thousand hills,
For the rippling streams which turn the mills,
For the lowing herds in the lovely vale,
For the songs of gladness on the gale,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

For the farmer reaping his whitened fields,
For the bounty which the rich soil yields,
For the cooling dews and refreshing rains,
For the sun which ripens the golden grains,
For the bearded wheat and the fattened swine,
For the stalled ox and the fruitful vine,
For the tubers large and cotton white,
For the kid and the lambkin frisk and blithe,
For the swan which floats near the river-banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks

For the pumpkin sweet and the yellow yam,
For the corn and beans and the sugared ham,
For the plum and the peach and the apple red,
For the dear old press where the wine is tread,
For the cock which crows at the breaking dawn,
And the proud old “turk” of the farmer’s barn,
For the fish which swim in the babbling brooks,
For the game which hide in the shady nooks,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

For the sturdy oaks and the stately pines,
For the lead and the coal from the deep,
dark mines, For the silver ores of a thousand fold,
For the diamond bright and the yellow gold,
For the river boat and the flying train,
For the fleecy sail of the rolling main,
For the velvet sponge and the glossy pearl,
For the flag of peace which we now unfurl,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

For the lowly cot and the mansion fair,
For the peace and plenty together share,
For the Hand which guides us from above,
For Thy tender mercies, abiding love,
For the blessed home with its children gay,
For returnings of Thanksgiving Day,
For the bearing toils and the sharing cares,
We lift up our hearts in our songs and our prayers,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

Amanuensis Monday: The "Engagement" of Belle Feinstein and Melvin Newmark

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 two December 1936 clippings from The Modern Voice, a St. Louis Jewish weekly newspaper. The second one appeared a week after the first, reporting the same event, but with a few corrections.

---

Dec 6, 1936 - page 14

Newmark-Feinstein

Mr. and Mrs. H.M. Feinstein of 6422 San Sonita Ave., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Miss Belle Feinstein, and Melvin I. Newmark, son of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Newmark, of Kingsbury Avenue. Mr. Newmark attended Washington University and is a graduate of the school of law of that institution. The wedding date has been set for June 10

Dec 10, 1936 - page 24

Newmark-Feinstein

Miss Belle Feinstein, daughter of Mr.and Mrs. H.M. Feinstein, of 6422 San Bonita Ave., has chosen January 10 as the date of her marriage to Melvin L. Newmark, son of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Newmark, of Kingsbury. Mr. Newmark is a graduate of the Washington University school of law.

---

Notes:

1) My grandparents, Melvin Newmark and Belle Feinstein, were married in Waterloo, Illinois on May 10, 1936, in the middle of the night, and told no one. In an interview in the 1980s my grandfather explained they were unwilling to wait. My grandmother's older brother was married on November 1, 1936, so I suspect they felt they had to wait until after that to announce their intentions to their families. May 10th, 1936 was one month prior to my grandfather receiving his diploma from Washington University law school.

2) It's unclear whether the June 10th in the first clipping was a mistake on the part of the newspaper, that was corrected the following week, along with a couple spelling errors, or whether my great-grandparents thought the date was June 10th, and my grandmother corrected them. It occurs to me to wonder what my great-grandparents thought when my grandmother told them she wanted to get married in a month. They had been a couple for several years, so it's a good chance everyone knew they were simply waiting, first for my grandfather to have his degree, and second for the older sibling to be married first, but still, a one-month engagement may have raised a few eyebrows. Their first child wouldn't arrive until 1938.

Poem: A Cry of the Foreign Born - by St. Louis poet, Leah Rachel Yoffie (1883-1956)

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.

Posted for the Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge

Wordful Wednesday: Oxenhandler Funeral Home advertisement - with photographs

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.

Alleged photographs of my great grandfather, Melvin Van Every

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 Monday: Birth Record for Salamon Deutsch - Dec 1861

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

Source Information: Ancestry.com. Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1978 (database on-line), Provo, UT, USA. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

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.

Veterans Day/Remembrance Day 2017

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)

November 11 is Veterans Day in the US, and Remembrance Day in the UK, Canada, Australia, France and Belgium. In Poland it is celebrated as National Independence Day.

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)

We're Related Notable Kin Update

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.)

Jewish Pirates: Ahoy Vey!

Repost with slight changes

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The Jewish New Year begins tomorrow night at sundown.

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.