Ancestor #15: Sura Doba, wife of Jankiel David WERTEL (c. 1823 – 09 Mar 1882)
Third-great-grandmother Sura Doba is something of a mysterious figure, given that few records exist about her or her life. She died 144 years ago.
Ancestor #14: Sam ABRAMS (10 Mar 1878 – 05 Jul 1934)
Great-grandfather Samuel Julius ABRAMS was born on this date 148 years ago.
Ancestor #13: Sydney ABRAMS (02 Mar 1910 – 19 Sep 1992)
Today we celebrate my grandfather Sydney, born 115 years ago.
Ancestor #12: Esri, patriarch of WOLFF family (c. 1710 – c. 1742)
6th great-grandfather Esri in honored on this day.
Ancestor #11: Jankiel David WERTEL (c. 1808 – 17 Feb 1868)
Third-great-grandfather Jankiel died on this date 158 years ago, in Kaluszyn, Poland.
Ancestor #10: Berko FINGERBREN (c. 1800 – c. 1855)
Posting on a week with no other known dates, to talk about what little I know of 4th-great-grandfather Berko FINGERBREN
Ancestor #9: Nechama, wife of Iosel MAGAT/SHTEINBOK (c. 1804 – 06 Feb 1875)
4th-great-grandmother Nechama died on this date 151 years ago. That far back, there are little details available, particularly for women, but I honor her today.
Ancestor #8: Khaim Leiba SHTEINBOK (c. 1825 – 04 Feb 1863)
3rd great-grandfather Khaim died on this date 163 years ago. While I know only a little of his life, I can pick out a few details from the records I have been able to access.
Ancestor #7: Julia LEVY ABRAMS (29 Jan 1878 – 09 Feb 1953)
Great-grandmother Julia was born on this date, 148 years ago.
Ancestor #6: Mordkhel Ovsey TUBILIS (25 Jan 1851 – 05 Apr 1935)
Second-great grandfather Mordkhel (a.k.a. Motel, and in Hebrew, Mordecai Ovsay) was born on this date in 1851. The date is somewhat in doubt; the only record it appears on is his death registration in 1935. By that point, Lithuania…
Ancestor #5: Scheine, wife of Mendel WOLFF (c. 1769 – 17 Jan 1820)
Fourth-great-grandmother, Scheine, died on this date in 1820. While I don't know much about her, her death registration is one of the earliest records I have of a direct ancestor.
Ancestor #4: Zysla (or Zylpa), wife of Berek CHAJKOWICZ/BRUKARZ (1752 – 11 Jan 1823)
Yesterday, I wrote about the life of my 2nd-great grandmother, Rachel. Zysla was Rachel's paternal grandmother, my 4th-great-grandmother, who died in Sejny, (now) Poland on New Year's Eve, 1822. As this date was…
Ancestor #3: Rachel CHAJKOWICZ/BRUKARZ OCHOROWICZ (10 Jan 1845 – 18 Sep 1917)
Her full name was quite a mouthful! Second-great-grandmother Rachel was born on this date 181 years ago, according to her grave. I honor her today with this post.
Ancestor #2: Gitla WEGROWSKI KUNA (~1816 – 08 Jan 1898)
I know about my 3rd-great grandmother, Gitla, only from related metrical records in her life, one of which is her death record: on 27 Dec 1897 on the Julian calendar. The equivalent Gregorian date is 08 Jan 1898, and so I honor her today.
Ancestor #1: Augusta, wife of Samuel HaLevi (~1813 – ~1870)
One of my genealogy goals for 2026 is to honor each of my direct ancestors on a day meaningful to their lives. For many, that day will be their birthday. Where there day of birth is lost to history, it is instead the day they passed. But…
Like, For SCHER! A New BLOCK line
Early on in this blog (2016), I wrote about my great-grandfather, Alex BLOCK, and how I came to be convinced that his birth name was Elias SCHNITZ. I could not (and cannot) explain why the change of surname was made, but it fit all the evidence.
CHAJKOWICZ in America
In my previous post, I reviewed the immigration of my great-grandparents, the OCHOROWICZs (OCHOWITZ, starting about 1911) in 1904. Abe OCHOROWICZ's mother, Rachel CHAJKOWICZ OCHOROWICZ, immigrated in 1906 and stayed with her son and daughter-in-law until her death in 1917. I…
Unraveling the Interconnections of DAVIS and REFSON Families
Taking a short break from the LENETSKY series, I talk today about how families intertwine. I see this a LOT on my maternal side, especially with the JACOBOWSKY / WOLFF group and other families that came from Sandberg, Prussia. This post…
Lenetsky, Part 3
In Part 1 of this series, I talked about genetic cousins descended from Boris LENETSKY, their origin in modern Ukraine (Kremenchuk and Krylov) and a little of their history in Canada and Philadelphia. Part 2 covered Boris's likely parents, Joseph and Schendel, who died in…
I love CA. If it weren't for the cost of living, winds, mudslides, fires, earthquakes, etc., it would be my home. The first people to arrive must have thought they found paradise, and they weren't far wrong.
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