Lawrence Samuel

Margaret Evans - Packet ship built in 1846

Lawrence A. Samuel is my second great-grand-uncle, the third child of my third great-grandfather, Aaron Samuel. Lawrence was born on Dec. 27, 1846 in Whitechapel, England. In 1851 he lived with his family at 47 Green Street in Stepney, England. By 1857, Aaron and his wife, the former Phoebe Levy had 8 children in total. The youngest child, John, had just been born in February of 1857. John would become my second-great-grandfather.

By August of 1857, Aaron and his family were sailing to America on board the Margaret Evans. (More about this in the post on Aaron’s birthday January 4) Lawrence was 11 years old when he arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Paul Lichtenthal - December 10, 1900- my Maternal Grandfather

Normally, I would have a long, wordy post all prepared to go. Truth be told I do have a long, wordy post prepared.....too wordy! I really need to trim it down and determine a focus. Trust me, you'll appreciate that! So - in honor of my grandfather's 113th birthday, I am posting this series of portraits. Just looking at his face throughout the years will give you some insight into his life until I can get the article posted.

Happy Birthday, Pop-Pop Paul!!!

1901

John Winchester Holman, Jr. - December 6, 1904

Having just had a lovely chat with my sister-in-law, I am making some edits to this post :-)

John Winchester Holman Jr. was born on December 6, 1904 in the family home at 418

Oakdale Avenue Chicago, Illinois. He was the second child of JohnWinchester Holman and Katherine Pearl Seeley. His younger brother, William Winchester would become my father-in-law. I met Uncle John in 1987 when my husband and I traveled to California with our oldest daughter who was then 2 years old. My impression of John at that time was that he once must have been a rather imposing gentleman. At 82, John was living in one room in what I remember to be a retirement home. After our meeting, I remember feeling quite sad for him – his shirt was stained and rumpled, his room had a small cooking area which was not in great shapes – it just seemed to me to be to be a lonely life. As the years passed, I have learned more about Uncle John. “Sad” is not an adjective that most family members use when describing him. (Actually my sister-in-law did use that adjective during our conversation today! So I guess my instincts were right on.)

There are several stories, often shared at family functions, illustrating John’s boisterous, off-putting manner. Apparently, John was not one to keep his opinions to himself and this often caused some tension within the family. I won’t share those stories here as it is probably not appropriate to do so. Plus, I can’t really remember all the details!

Estelle Byk - My paternal great-grandmother

Nanny and Alan (my dad)
February 24, 1933

Estelle Byk was my father’s beloved grandmother. He loved her so much that, when he was just three years old he boarded a train in Long Island and headed for Nanny’s house in Brooklyn!

Later in life, he wrote a wonderful tribute to her titled “A Grandmother’s Love.” My sister, Elizabeth, is the main recipient of our father’s love of his grandmother. She has two middle names, “Rose” after our maternal grandmother and “Byk” in honor of Estelle.