In honor of St. Patrick's Day...

Dear Miriam and Sarah,

Well, you can just tell by looking at your mom that you've got a bit of the Irish in ya.  Lucky girls!  Where does all that fabulous Irishness come from? Well, let's see. Where to start. My grandmother and your great-grandma (Grandma Dorothy's mom) was named Margaret Mary Sweeney (you don't get more Irish than that!).  She was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1924.  She died when I was twelve, but I remember her vividly. 

Her mom and dad, Frank Sweeney and Isabelle McGoldrick, were both born in Nebraska in the late 1890s.  Frank's parents, Thomas Sweeney and Margaret Hefferman, were born in Illinois and Isabelle's parents, Peter McGoldrick and Johana (last name unknown) were born in New York and Illinois respectively. One more generation back and you find a whole lot of ancestors that emigrated from Ireland during or just after the Great Famine.

I like the story of Peter McGoldrick. His father, Thomas, came to Canada in 1850 or so and moved down into upstate New York, where he married Margaret Ann Loftus (another Irish gal) in Highmarket, Lewis County . Around 1880, the family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania (where lots of Irish immigrants lived), I assume to work the coal mines.  Thomas and Margaret, in good Irish Catholic fashion, had 13 children. Peter, your great-great-grandfather, worked for a while as a slate picker in the coal mines when he was young, but he got out of Scranton around 1890 or so and moved to Omaha, where he established himself as a grocer. A step up, I would say! Good for him.  If I have learned one thing from this genealogy business it is that your ancestors were mostly not afraid to head off west in search of better things. I am afraid you are as far west as this land will take you, but maybe you don't have to be so literal about it.  Go West in your minds and spirits.

Your Grandpa James (my dad) has also imparted some good Irish genes to you.  His grandmother was a woman named Ellen Marnin. Ellen's father, Michael, was born in Ireland in 1820. Ellen's mother, Ellen Hearn, was born in Fermanaugh, Ireland in 1834.

There's more, but I think you get the point.  Like it or not, the Irish is runnin through your blood.  Enjoy!  You can always use it to excuse your wild side. Just say, "It's the Irish in me."  Everybody will understand.

Love,
Mom

Ancestor(s) of the Week: Great-Grandfather Saul White

Dear Miriam and Sarah,

I posted a childhood photograph of your great grandfather, Saul White, a few days ago. Let me tell you a little more about him. I never met Saul, so all I have to go on is what I have heard about him and the bits I was able to piece together from research. Your dad and Grandma Linda can fill out these bits and pieces and give you a better sense of who he really was. But, let me tell you what I know.

Saul Witkievicz was born in 1908 in Kolno, Poland. Kolno is in Northeastern Poland in the the Podlaskie Province.


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You can read a bit more about the Kolno shtetl here.  Saul's father was Efraim Witkievicz and his mother was Chava Bachrach. Efraim, I think, was from Kolno (there were quite a few Witkieviczes in Kolno at the time) and his mother and father were Velvel and Sara (whose maiden name may have been Borkowski). Efraim's grandfather (Velvel's father) was named David Witkievicz.

Here is Velvel and Sara:

These are Saul's grandparents (maybe David Witkievicz and his wife):

Chava, Saul's mother, was from a town called Grajewo, which was only 50 kilometers from Kolno. I know a little about Chava, like that she came from a long line of rabbis. Chava's grandfather was Rabbi Aryeh Leib Bachrach (the Rabbi of Grajewo) and the rabbis in the family go back generations. The Bachrach genealogy is pretty interesting and well-developed and I will share that with you some other time.  

Now, Saul's father, Efraim, died young (in his late thirties). It looks like Saul was only about 3 years old when Ephraim died.  This would explain the absence of Efraim in the photograph of the Witkiewicz family.  I assume from that ages of the children that the photograph was take shortly after Efraim's death. Saul and his siblings were raised in Kolno by Chava, who, according to Saul's oral history transcript, made a living running a shop and a laundry business. Saul remembered the barrells of pickles in the family shop, but he did not seem to remember too many details of life in Kolno (or, at least, many he was willing to share in his oral history interview). I think Chava must have been a strong woman to have raised 5 kids on her own back then.

In 1915, Henrietta, Saul's oldest sister, left for America. She was sent to live with Efraim's sister, Nellie, who had come to America back in the 1890s, married Morris Diamond, and settled in Buffalo, New York. The rest of Saul's immediate family, including Saul himself, came to America in 1920-1921 and settled in Buffalo briefly before making their way to New York City.

So, that's a little about your great-grandfather. There is more to tell.  Stay tuned.

Love,

Mom

White (Witkievicz) family photo

Dear Miriam and Sarah,

I know, I know. I have been slacking on the blog here. But the research into your family tree continues and I have lots more information to share with  you. Let's start with this lovely photograph of your great-grandfather Papa Saul as a child. He is second from the right. Also pictured here are Saul's mother, Chava, his sisters, Henrietta, Faye, and Hilda and his brother, William. Saul came to the United States from his home in Kolno, Poland in 1920 or so.  Henrietta had arrived 5 years earlier and stayed with Saul's paternal aunt, Nellie Diamond, in Buffalo.  I borrowed this photograph from your great-grandmother, Mama Ruth.

More soon.

Love, 

Mom