52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #2 - Rosa Marcovici

Here is my second post for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a challenge posed by Amy Johnson Crow.

Rosa would be my first cousin  - twice removed. Our common ancestor is Joseph Spiegel, Rosa's grandfather and my second great-grandfather.

Rosa Marcovici was born on January 1, 1900* in Iasi, Romania to Chuna Marcovici and Gitel "Gisella" Spiegel. In Iasi the first baby born in the New Year was given lots of gifts, etc. and written up in the newspapers. However, since Rosa was Jewish, the city didn't want a Jew to be their first New Year (and turn of the century) baby. So they made her birth certificate read that she was born at the end of 1899. Gisella said that as she was giving birth to Rosa, she heard the bells chiming in the New Year.

1903 - Iasi, Romania       Rosa looks older than 3 to me in this picture.

* Some of my information has been provided by Rosa's daughter-in-law, Sandy Klapper.

52 Ancestors Challenge - 52 New Blogs (for me to follow!)

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow and her challenge to blog about 52 ancestors in 52 weeks, I have spent the last few hours reading blogs of some of the participants. (I did finish the laundry and the ironing, but my students might not be happy tomorrow- didn't review any of their projects!)

I've now subscribed to/followed 8 new blogs!!! I particularly enjoyed reading a tribute to one blogger's grandfather (http://onecrazybranchatatime.blogspot.com/) which served to remind me to share not "just the facts ma'am" but also the human side of our ancestors.

Of interest to others may be the post about finding your "Genealogy Score"  http://www.randomrelatives.blogspot.com/

The idea is to arrive at a number that determines how "complete" your genealogy is.
Mine is a sad 5.86%. Here's the chart:

I could "spin" the numbers in my favor to make myself feel better. I could have 100% if I only include Generations 1-5!!

This is a pretty easy way to gauge progress from year-to-year. I hope I remember about this post 12 months from now.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #1 -Aaron L. Samuel

I have amended this post to reflect the new challenge presented by Amy Johnson Crow on her blog:  http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/




Her challenge is to blog about one ancestor each week for the entire year. The challenge fits in quite well with my Birthday Blog posts and will encourage me to "fill-in" missing weeks each  month.

BTW - you can find a listing of some of the participants on the blog: Tangled Roots and Trees 

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Aaron L. Samuel born January 4, 1824, is my third great-grandfather. Aaron’s name has been passed down to several of his descendants (My grandfather, Aaron Edgar later switched his name around, taking Edgar as his first name. My nephew’s middle name is also Aaron.) It is due to Aaron that our family is now living in the United States. He and his family immigrated to the USA in 1857 on board the packet ship Margaret Evans.

Aaron was the third of six children born to Lazarus Samuel and Sarasta (Sara) Nathan. His mother died ( or left the family??) somewhere between 1832 (Aaron’s sister Kitty may have been born that year) and 1841, as the 1841 UK Census listed Lazarus and four children living at 9 Marmon Street in London, England. (Older sisters Esther and Rachel were no longer living with the family.) This census lists him as working as a cigar maker.

1841England Census

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.