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Genealogy with Rabbi Scott, 201 West 92 Street, New York, NY (2026)

05/18/2026

I'm excited to be presenting at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan's overnight Tikkun Leil Shavuot celebration on May 21-22!

Ellis Island + Beyond: Discovering Your Family's Immigration Story
Learn how to trace your Jewish ancestors through ship manifests and naturalization records. Explore how passenger lists evolved and understand the immigration and citizenship process in the United States. Gain practical tools to uncover family histories and reconstruct the journeys that brought earlier generations to America.

12:30 am - 1:30 in in the Fourth Floor Fitness Studio.

Visit mmjccm.org/tikkun for more info.

05/11/2026

I'm excited to be facilitating my Jewish Genealogy Workshop at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan's overnight Tikkun Leil Shavuot celebration on May 21-22!
Visit mmjccm.org/tikkun for more info.

05/11/2026

Here are a few highlights from my day at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Research Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Larry wanted to learn more about his grandfather’s family. We began by locating his grandparents’ marriage certificate, which revealed that Joseph Budnick was the son of Jacob and Dora Budnick. We then found Joseph living with his parents and siblings in the 1920 U.S. Census, where the family was residing at 278 Madison Street in Manhattan. Jacob’s naturalization papers also confirmed the same address.

All of the Budnick records indicated that the family came from Kiev, Russia, and Larry had long been told that Kiev was their place of origin. Using details from Jacob’s Petition for Naturalization, we traced Jacob, Dora, and their younger children immigrating to the United States in 1912. They sailed from Liepāja, Latvia, aboard the SS Kursk and arrived at Ellis Island on February 5. The ship’s manifest listed the family’s prior residence as Zvenyhorodka, Ukraine. Further research in the JewishGen town database showed that Zvenyhorodka was located in the Kiev province of the Russian Empire, explaining why family records identified their hometown simply as Kiev. We were even able to locate the Budnick family in an 1893 list of residents of Zvenyhorodka.

Andy wanted to learn more about his maternal grandfather, Abraham Nesmowitz, for whom he was named. Since Abraham died before Andy was born, he knew very little about him. We found Abraham’s Petition for Naturalization, which stated that he was from Pinsk, Belarus. He immigrated to the United States in 1906, arriving at Ellis Island on July 3. His ship’s manifest recorded that he was single at the time and traveling to join his future brother-in-law, A. Perchuk, who was already living in New York City.

According to Abraham’s naturalization records, he married Andy’s grandmother, Esther, in New York City on November 28, 1906. However, no marriage record could initially be found. Further searching revealed that they were actually married on November 30, 1907, under the names Abram Niemzowich and Esther Perchuk. Their marriage certificate identified Abraham’s parents as Pinchas Nemsowitz and Annie Kot. With this information, we located a birth record in Pinsk for Abraham’s brother in 1882. Yankel Eliya Nemsowitz was born to Pinchas and Chana Gittel Nesmowitz. Pinchas was the son of Yankel, and Chana Gittel was the daughter of Asher—Andy’s great-great-grandfathers.

Abraham died on October 3, 1945. His death certificate lists his mother’s maiden name as Fishman, which conflicts with the information on his marriage certificate. When records conflict, it is important to consider the source of the information. In this case, Abraham himself likely provided the details recorded at the time of his marriage, while the information on his death certificate was supplied later by someone else. For that reason, it is more likely that his mother’s maiden name was Kot.

Debbie wanted to learn more about her grandfather, Jacob Rothenberg, and where he came from. We found his 1922 New York City marriage certificate, which recorded his marriage to Lillian Solomon. According to the certificate, Jacob was the son of Morris Rothenberg and Rebecca Goldin, and he was living at 132 Essex Street in Manhattan at the time of the wedding. We also located Jacob’s World War I Draft Registration Card, which listed the same address.

Further records showed that Jacob was inducted into military service on November 19, 1917, and honorably discharged on March 12, 1919. He never served overseas. His naturalization papers state that he served in the 37th Company of the 152nd Depot Brigade, a training and receiving unit of the United States Army during World War I, stationed at Camp Upton.

In the 1920 U.S. Census, Jacob was living with his mother, Rebecca, and his brother, Max, at 132 Essex Street. Also in the household was a lodger named Sam Golden, likely a relative, since Jacob’s mother’s maiden name was Golden. We then learned that Jacob and his mother immigrated to the United States in 1911. They sailed from Antwerp, Belgium, and arrived at Ellis Island on December 12, joining Jacob’s brother Max, who was already living in New York City.

Etti asked whether we could research her husband’s great-grandfather, Mordche Mendel Mendlovics. She knew that he had lived in Khust, Ukraine, before the war. Searching JewishGen.org, we located a transcript of his marriage record, showing that he married Leah Klein on December 23, 1907. While the family already knew Leah’s first name, they had not known that her maiden name was Klein. The record also identified Mordche Mendel as the son of Joseph Mendlovics and Feige Lax, and Leah as the daughter of Leib Klein and Esther Schwartz.

We then found a transcript of Mordche Mendel’s birth record, which revealed that he was not born in Khust. Instead, he was born in Felsővisó, Hungary, on March 6, 1885. This town is now Vișeu de Sus, Romania. We also learned that he had at least three sisters: Tzivie, Golda Zissel, and Hugye Rachel. Mordche Mendel died in Khust on October 22, 1914, at the young age of 29. Etti was especially grateful to learn this information so that the family could observe Mordche Mendel’s yahrzeit, the anniversary of his death.

05/04/2026

Here are a few highlights from my day at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Research Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Leah will be participating in a Holocaust-related trip to Poland this summer. In preparation for the trip, Leah wanted to learn if her family had any relatives who were killed in the Holocaust. To start, we focused on Leah’s maternal grandmother’s family. According to her Petition for Naturalization, Leah’s great grandmother, Mary Moga, was born in 1895 in Chisinau, Russia, which is now the capital city of Moldova. She immigrated to the US in 1909, sailing from Glasgow, Scotland on the SS Furnessia, arriving at Ellis Island under the name Miriam Gorman on July 13, 1909. We found Mary’s ship’s manifest which showed her immigrating to the US with her twin sister, Shprintze Gorman. They were traveling to Milwaukee, WI, where their father, Moshe Gorman, had already settled.

We learned that Moshe Gorman and his wife, Chantsa, changed their names to Morris and Anna Gorman. They are buried in Mound Zion Cemetery in Brookfield, Wisconsin. According to their headstone, Chantsa’s father was Yaakov and Moshe’s father was Michael. We then searched on JewishGen.org to see if we could find information about the Gorman family in Chisinau. We found Moshe and Chantsa in the Chisinau marriage index in 1890. We also learned that Moshe had at least two sisters: Nechama and Rivka Devora. Nechama married Shaya Hirsh Levitt in 1896 and Rivka Devora married Meyer Fanshel in 1903.

We wanted to see if we could find information about Nechama and Rivka Devora, their husbands and their children. We don’t know what became of Nechama and her family, but we learned that Rivka Devora survived the war and died in Chisinau in 1968. We found a picture of her grave in the Jewish cemetery in Chisinau. Inscribed on the stone was not only Rivka Devora’s name, but also the names of her relatives who were killed in the Holocaust, including her husband, Meyer Fanshel, as well as her daughter, Perl Fanshel Rivelis, her son-in-law, Israel Rivelis, and her granddaughter, Lida Rivelis.

Alan’s father and grandparents were German-Jewish refugees who immigrated to the US escaping N**i persecution. Alan wanted to see what we could learn about his family. He knew his father, Siegfried Oppenheim, was born in Rhina, Germany in 1922. We found Siegfried’s Declaration of Intention which taught us that Siegfried immigrated to the US in February of 1937. Siegfried’s parents, Isaak and Bertha Oppenheim, followed in December of 1939.

According to his naturalization papers, Alan’s grandfather, Isaak, was born in Rhina on March 27, 1889. His grave told us that his father’s name was Joseph. Pulling this information together, we found Isaak’s birth record from Rhina in 1889, showing him being born on March 27, the son of Joseph Oppenheim and Rebecca Wohl. We also found Isaak Oppenheim and Bertha Bacharach’s marriage record, showing them being married on February 21, 1918 in Rhina.

We learned that Alan’s grandfather had a sister, Minna Oppenheim, who was married to Simon Cohen. They had two daughters: Ilse and Gerda Cohen. The Cohen family lived in Hamburg, Germany at Grindelallee 54. They were deported to Auschwitz and killed there. Stolpersteine were placed outside their former residence in their memory.

Karen asked if we would be able to learn more about her grandmother, Esther Gross. According to her daughters’ social security information, Esther’s maiden name was Geltzeiler. We found Esther in the 1915 NJ State Census living in Newark with her parents and siblings. We learned that Esther’s parents were Louis and Lena Geltzeiler. Esther’s siblings were Julius, Etta, Benny, and Abe. We found a number of the Geltzeiler children in the NJ birth index on Ancestry.com and learned that Karen’s great grandmother’s maiden name was Lichtenberg.

We then found the Geltzeiler family in the 1910 US Census, 1905 NJ State Census and the 1900 US Census. Based on the information in the censuses, we determined that Louis and Lena must have been married in the US. We then found them in the NJ State Marriage Index on FamilySearch.org. Levy Gelzeler married Rachel L. Lichtenberg on November 12, 1893 in Newark.

Louis died in 1931 and Lena died in 1951. They are buried in Union Field Cemetery in Newark. According to his grave, Louis’ Jewish name was Levy, son of Dov Ber, and Lena’s Jewish name was Rivka Leah, daughter of Yechiel HaLevi. We also learned that there were memorial plaques in memory of Louis and Lena in the The Hebrew Orphanage & Sheltering Home. According to her obituary, Lena was an organizer of the orphanage and was involved with many other Jewish organizations and causes. An advertisement from The Star Ledger printed on May 30, 1951 said of Lena: “It was a full life, more than the usual three-score-and-ten, for a wonderful woman, a charitable woman, good mother and friend—Mrs. Lena R. Geltzeiler. As on this Memorial Day there is a prayer on the lips of our citizenry, so, too, will the hundreds who knew her, mourn her passing.”

04/20/2026

Here are a few highlights from my day at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Research Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Mark is planning a trip to Lithuania this summer and wanted help learning more about his ancestors who came from there. He was named after his great grandfather, Rubin Kimmel, who, according to family tradition, came from Vilnius. We found Rubin’s naturalization papers which confirmed that he was from Vilnius. We then searched for the Kimmel family in Lithuania and learned that their surname was originally Kimels. We found Rubin’s birth record, teaching us he was born on September 13, 1874, the son of Hertz and Pesia Kimels. Rubin’s grandfathers were Moshe Kimels and Zalman, Mark’s great-great-great grandfathers.

We then found the Kimels family in conscription lists from 1895, 1897 and 1903 and learned that Rubin’s brothers were Moshe, Yonah, and Leizer. According to the 1895 conscription list, Rubin was living in Naujamiestis, Lithuania. Using this information, we learned that Rubin and his wife, Dora, had two children who had died prior to them immigrating to the US, a son named Chatzkel and a daughter named Rase. This was confirmed by the 1910 US Census which asked how many children were born to a woman and how many of those children were alive. In 1910, it said that Dora had given birth to six children but only four were living.

Miriam, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, returned to the center to continue researching her family tree. This time, she wanted to focus the research on her father’s side of the family, the Klapsteins. By conducting a quick search in the Yad Vashem Shoah Names Database, we found pages of testimony that had been submitted to Yad Vashem by her aunt, Rivka Klapstein Broom, in memory of her grandparents, Fishel and Miriam Klapstein. We learned that Fishel was the son of Yaakov and Roza Klapstein and that Miriam was the daughter of Zelig Koszerkiewicz, Miriam’s great grandparents.

We also found the Klapstein family on a list of Jews who were deported from Konin, Poland. We learned the Klapsteins were deported from Konin on March 10, 1941 and sent to Lublin, Poland. Fishel, Miriam and their children, Roza, Henia, Yaakov, Aron and Zelda were murdered at Majdanek Death Camp in Lublin. We also found the Klapsteins in the Konin Yizkor Book.

The last time she visited, we learned that Dana’s grandmother had siblings that she never knew about. Dana wanted to learn more about these siblings and their descendants and connect with living relatives. We focused our research on her grandmother’s brother, Benjamin Shapiro, and his wife, Bertha Sirota. We found the Shapiros in the 1920 US Census and learned that Benjamin and Bertha had two children, Estelle and Bernard. Bernard changed his last name from Shapiro to Selby. We found his marriage license from 1938 when he married Grace Arnold which said his parents were Benjamin Shapiro and Bertha Sirota. Estelle married Irving Schutz in NYC in 1929. They had two daughters, Phyllis and Jill, Dana’s second cousin. We learned that Jill was an award-winning author and illustrator. Her husband Daniel is also an author and Jill illustrated many of his books and collaborated with him on a number of them. Jill also wrote her own children’s books, mainly about animals.

04/14/2026

Today, on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, I remember by great grandfather’s sister, Chayke Kalmikov Chalipsky, who was murdered in Shklov, Belarus in September of 1941 with her children.

Below is a Yiddish letter she wrote to my great grandfather, Chaim Kalmikoff, and their brother, Leizer Kalmikoff, who were living in Brooklyn.

She signs the letter ״אייערע שווסטער חייקע Your sister, Chayke.״

May her memory be an eternal blessing.

04/13/2026

Here are a few highlights from my day at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Research Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Laurie was interested in learning about her maternal grandmother’s family. We found her grandparents’ marriage record which taught us that Esther Elfenbein was born Esther Knepfer, the daughter of Michael Knepfer and Julia Bierenbaum, Laurie’s great grandparents. We found Michael’s naturalization papers which said he was born in Lemberg, Austria, which is modern-day Lviv, Ukraine. According to the naturalization papers, he immigrated to the US through the port of Boston in 1902. His wife, Julia, was from Malco, Hungary which is modern-day Malcov, Slovakia. Despite finding his naturalization papers which had the date and ship Michael arrived on, we couldn’t find Michael’s ship’s manifest.

We then found Michael Knepfer and Julia Bierenbaum’s marriage record. They were married in NYC on June 7, 1904. Their marriage record said that Michael’s parents were Moses Knepfer and Chana Pins, Laurie’s great-great grandparents. According to his grave, Michael’s Jewish name was Elimelech, the son of Moshe Meir. Pulling all of this information together, we found records for the Knepfer/Pins family in Lviv and learned that Michael had a sister named Rosa Yarch who immigrated to the US as well.

We realized that Michael immigrated to the US under his mother’s name, Pins. Children born to parents who weren’t civilly married in the Austro-Hungarian Empire had to use their mother’s name. Many Jews were married according to Jewish tradition but were not civilly married. This is why Laurie’s great grandfather arrived as Meilech Pins instead of Meilech Knepfer.

Richard asked if we could find out where his grandparents were from. He knew his grandparents were Isaac and Mollie Krieger and that they lived in Maplewood, NJ. He also knew that his grandmother’s Jewish name was Chana Malka. He wasn’t sure if his grandmother’s maiden name was Wild or Wilk. We found the birth records for Richard’s aunts, F***y and Rose, who were born in Brooklyn in 1907 and 1909, respectively. Both of their birth records said that their mother’s maiden name was Wilk. We also found Isaac and Mollie’s marriage record which confirmed her maiden name was Wilk as well. According to the marriage record, Mollie’s parents were Moses Wilk and Katie Schiffs, Richard’s great grandparents.

The Krieger family lived in Brooklyn prior to moving to New Jersey. Isaac became naturalized while living in Brooklyn. We found his petition for naturalization which taught us that he was born in Osiek, Poland and his wife, Mollie, was born in Nowy Zmigrod, Poland. We searched for records for the Wilk family in Nowy Zmigrod and learned that Mollie’s parents were not actually Moses Wilk and Katie Schiffs. Their names were really Michel Wilk and Keile Szyps. Their names were anglicized to Moses and Katie on the American marriage record.

Kathy and her family aren’t Jewish, so she didn’t think we would be able to find anything about her family. She wanted to know if her grandfather, William Ungvary, was born in the US or if he was born in Hungary. According to the 1950 US Census and William’s WW2 Draft Card, he was born in Pennsylvania. We then found earlier censuses showing William living with his parents and siblings in Cleveland, Ohio. According to those censuses, he was born in Hungary. So which was true?

William’s parents were Joseph Ungvary and Emma Kocsis. According to Joseph’s naturalization papers, both Joseph and Emma were born in Abony, Hungary. Joseph’s petition for naturalization said that his oldest child, William, was born in Hungary while the other children were born in Pennsylvania. I then found William and his mother immigrating to the US in 1905. Their father and husband, Joseph, had already settled in Uniontown. We concluded that William was born in Hungary, while his siblings were born in Uniontown. However, he reported that he himself was born in Pennsylvania. This discrepancy was not unusual among immigrants who arrived in the United States as children—many chose to identify as native-born Americans rather than admit their foreign birth.

04/06/2026

Here are a few highlights from my day at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Research Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Miriam, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, asked if we could research her mother’s family. By conducting a quick search, we learned that Miriam’s aunt Edith was interviewed by the USC Shoah Foundation. According to her testimony, Miriam’s maternal grandparents were David Szmajser and Cypa Luft and were from Lodz, Poland. We searched for Miriam’s family in the Books of Residents of Lodz from 1916-1921. We found Miriam’s great grandmother, Hinda Ruchel Luft and her nine children in the Book of Residents of Lodz which taught us that Hinda Ruchel was born in Nowy Korczyn in 1866 and that her maiden name was Berkowicz. A page of testimony at Yad Vashem taught us that her parents were Alter Berkowicz and Ethel.

We then found a transcript of Hinda Ruchel’s marriage record on JRI Poland. She married Miriam’s great grandfather, Alter Luft, in Nowy Korczyn in 1887. According to the marriage record, Alter Luft was the son of Aron Luft and Freidel Miodownik and Hinda Ruchel Berkowicz was the daughter of Alter Berkowicz and Ethel Malka Targownik. Using this information, we searched for the Berkowicz and Targownik families in Nowy Korczyn and traced Miriam’s family tree back to her great-great-great-great-great-great (six greats!) grandparents, Izrael and Blima Targownik.

Gayle visited the center wanting to know where exactly her great grandparents, Abraham and Rose Goodman, came from. She told me that the family changed their name from Volovsky to Goodman. According to the 1930 US Federal Census, Abraham immigrated to the US in 1913. I found Abraham coming to the US in 1913, sailing from Liverpool on the SS Canada and arriving at the port of Portland, Maine on November 29. According to the ship’s manifest, he was from “Jagrolick, Russia,” which is modern-day Iagorlîc, Moldova, a small village on the Dnister River.

Gayle told me that her grandmother and Batya Geffen, the mother of David Geffen, were first cousins. Batya’s maiden name was Volovsky, and her parents were Israel and Sarah Volovsky. Israel and Gayle’s great grandfather were brothers. I found Batya Geffen’s ship’s manifest when she came to the US in 1931. She was also from “Yagorlick, Russia.” We learned that Israel, Sarah and four of Batya’s siblings, Shmuel, Klara, Rosa, Mania, were killed in the Holocaust. Only one sister, Deena, survived.

We found a picture of Israel and Sarah Volovsky in the Yizkor Book for Dubăsari, a town very close to Iagorlic.

03/30/2026

Here are a few highlights from my day at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Research Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Nick’s family has been conducting research on their family tree for a number of years. Nick asked if we could focus on a specific branch of his family tree to find more information about these ancestors. According to records we found, Nick’s great-great grandparents were Bernard Deutsch and Mary Adelberg. We found Bernard living in NYC in the 1910 US Census, but his wife was listed as Bertha. The census taught us that this was Bernard’s second marriage and Bertha’s first. Based on all of the information we found, we concluded that Mary Adelberg was the mother of all of Bernard’s children. Bernard did not have any children with his second wife.

We also found an Emergency Passport Application for Bernard which taught us a lot about him. He was born in Baracska, Hungary. He immigrated to the US in 1900 and lived there until 1913 when he and Bertha moved back to Hungary due to Bertha’s health. Bertha passed away on November 29, 1919 in Hungary. After her death, Bernard, a naturalized American citizen, applied for an emergency passport in order to return to the US. He returned to the US in early 1920, arriving at New York on February 7.

We then learned that Bernard married for a third time on January 6, 1921. According to the marriage certificate, he was 59 years old. This didn’t make sense since he said in many records that he was born in 1952. We then found a marriage certificate for Bernard which said he was married for the fourth time on November 4, 1922. This time, the marriage certificate said he was 70 years old. We wondered what happened to his third wife. We found a newspaper article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from February 3, 1922 which said he third wife had applied for an annulment of their marriage because Bernard had lied about his age. She was under the impression he was in his 50s when in reality he was 70 years old or even more.

Rebecca was raised in an interfaith family and wants to connect with her Jewish roots. She visited the center to learn more about her Jewish ancestors. She asked if we would be able to focus our research on her great grandfather, Samuel Sklar. We found Samuel’s naturalization papers that said he immigrated to the US in 1910, arriving at Ellis Island on September 26 on the SS Lituania. According to his naturalization records, he was born in Schedrene, Russia which we identified as Shchadryn, Belarus. We found Samuel’s ship’s manifest and saw that he immigrated with his mother, Malka, and 7 of his siblings. His father, Max Sklar, was already living at 116 Eldridge Street in Manhattan with 4 more of Samuel’s siblings.

Rebecca’s great-great grandparents, Max (Mordechai) Sklar and Mollie (Malka) Kaplan, had a total of 12 children. We knew when Malka immigrated to the US, but couldn’t find Max’s ship’s manifest. We looked at their children’s graves which taught us that Max’s full Jewish name was Mordechai Yehudah. We then found Max immigrating to the US in 1909, arriving at Ellis Island on May 6 under the name Judko Sklar. Judko is a Yiddish nickname for Yehudah, Max’s middle name.

Yvonne asked if we could look into her maternal grandfather’s family. Siegfried Hacker was born in Vienna. By conducting a quick search on JewishGen.org, we found a transcript of Sigfried’s birth record. We learned that he was born in Vienna on July 21, 1880, the son of Max Hacker and Josefa Neurath. We then found many records for Yvonne’s great grandparents which said that their last name was Schleml but they were commonly known as Hacker. Yvonne’s great grandparents, Max and Josefa, died in Vienna and are buried in the city’s main Jewish cemetery. We found a picture of their grave on FindAGrave.

We also discovered a transcript of Max and Josefa’s marriage record which taught us that Max’s father was Samuel Schleml/Hacker and his mother was Maria Bauer and Josefa was the daughter of Isak and Katharina Neurath, Yvonne’s great-great grandparents. The marriage record said that Max was born in the town of Kobersdorf, Austria. We then searched for Yvonne’s family in Kobersdorf and found them using the name Schleml. Yvonne’s great-great grandparents, Samuel Schleml and Maria Bauer were married in Kobersdorf on October 22, 1833. Yvonne was surprised to learn that her mother’s family’s original name was Schleml, not Hacker.

03/17/2026

Saint Patrick’s Day is special to our family because my grandparents met on this day in 1951.

My great grandparents, immigrants from Greece, owned a restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan called The Dandy Shop, located at 1908 Broadway. My grandmother, Angelica Paidoussis, grew up working in her family's restaurant with her parents, two brothers, grandmother and great uncle. As a young adult, my grandmother helped her father run the restaurant and tend the bar. My grandfather, Ed Schaefer, came to the restaurant on Saint Patrick’s Day while on a date with a woman named Adelaide. They sat at the bar to have a drink. When the woman went to the restroom my grandfather asked the bartender who my grandmother was. The bartender said that she was the boss' daughter. My grandfather approached my grandmother and asked her if he could take her out on a date. My grandmother thought he was joking because he was on a date with another woman. She jokingly agreed to go out with him. A few days later my grandfather returned to the restaurant and asked my grandmother if she was still interested in going out with him. He had made dinner reservations and purchased tickets to the theatre.
My grandparents were married 10 months later on January 20, 1952.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! ☘️

03/16/2026

Here are a few highlights from my day at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Research Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Michele heard that visitors to the museum can research their family trees, so she and her daughter made a special trip to learn about their family history. Michele wanted to conduct genealogical research on her grandparents, Jonas and Annie Liebman. Michelle told me that her grandparents were first cousins, which was very common at the time. The records we found taught us that Annie Liebman’s maiden name was Liebman, so we knew that Jonas’s father and Annie’s father were brothers. According to their marriage certificate, Jonas was the son of Hirsh and Yetta Liebman and Annie was the daughter of Moses and Mollie Liebman. They were married in NYC on January 26, 1918.

According to her naturalization papers, Annie immigrated to the US in 1912, sailing on the SS Amerika from Hamburg, Germany and arriving at Ellis Island on November 16, 1912. After reviewing the manifest, we realized that Annie and Jonas traveled on the ship together. Annie was going to her father, Moses Liebman, who was already living in NYC and Jonas was going to his uncle, Moses Liebman, Annie’s father. By finding their naturalization records and ships’ manifests, we learned that Annie’s father immigrated to the US in May of 1912, just a few months before his daughter, and Annie’s mother, Mollie Liebman, immigrated to the US nine years later in April of 1921.

We found the entire Liebman family buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery with the Erste Uscieczker Kranken Unt. Verein, a society for Jews from Ustechko, Ukraine. By searching on FindAGrave, we found pictures of the graves of Michele’s grandparents and great grandparents. According to their headstones, Moses’ father was Yehudah and Mollie’s father was Pinchas Mordechai, Michele’s great-great grandfathers.

Michele’s nieces, Stephanie and Wendy, joined us later in the morning and asked if we could look into their grandfather’s family. His name was Irving Cohen and he had two brothers, Abraham and Seymour Cohen. We found the Cohen family in the 1940 US Census. According to the census, Irving’s parents were Louis and Sophie Cohen. Irving’s paternal grandmother, Bertha Cohen, was also living with them. The Cohen family resided at 2167 East 8th Street in Brooklyn. By searching the 1940 NYC Tax Photos database, we were able to find a picture of 2167 East 8th Street in 1940 when the Cohen family was living there.

We then found the Cohen family in the 1925 NY State Census which showed Louis, Sophie, Abraham and Irving living at 718 Avenue L in Brooklyn. Seymour wasn’t listed because he wasn’t born yet. Next door lived Louis’ parents, David and Bertha Cohen who were residing at 716 Avenue L. We knew that David had to have died before 1940 because Bertha was listed as a widow in the 1940 US Census. We learned that David Cohen died on December 12, 1933. Cohen is the most common Jewish surname in the world, so we needed a lot of evidence that this David Cohen was the correct David Cohen. The death certificate said that his wife’s name was Bertha and that he lived at 718 Avenue L, proving we had the correct David Cohen.

Bertha passed away on April 29, 1944. According to her death record, Bertha’s parents were Ber and Nechama Weinchelbaum, Stephanie and Wendy’s great-great-great grandparents. David and Bertha are buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery with the First Berezner Woliner Benevolent Association, a society for Jews from Berezne, Ukraine. Using this information, we found Bertha’s parents in an 1858 Revision List in Korets, Ukraine. Bertha’s parents’ full names were Khuna Ber and Chana Nechama Veynshelbeym (Weinchelbaum). Khuna Ber’s parents were Michel and Vichna Veynshelbeym and Michel’s father was Khuna Ber, Stephanie and Wendy’s great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

Joan visited the center with a specific goal. Her grandmother, Bessie, told Joan that Bessie’s mother, Clara Klein, died when she was a little girl. Joan wanted to find out when Clara died and where she is buried. We found the Klein family in the 1910 US Census. Joan’s great grandfather, Henry Klein, was living in Newark, NJ with his second wife, F***y, his two daughters from his first marriage, Bessie and Celia, and his son from his second marriage, Morris. According to the census, Bessie and Celia were both born in New Jersey, sometime around 1892 and 1894, respectively. I then found Bessie in the 1900 US Census. She was living in the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of Newark which was located at 536 Clinton Ave. Joan told me that her great grandfather placed his daughters in the orphanage after their mother passed away.

New Jersey took its own census in 1895. I hoped to find the Klein family living in Newark in the 1895 NJ State Census. I found Henry, Clara, Bessie and Celia in the census, which narrowed down the year of death for Clara. She had to have died in between the 1895 NJ State Census and the 1900 US Federal Census. We searched the NJ Death Index on Ancestry.com and found Clara listed as Clara Klien. She died on July 5, 1896. We submitted a request to the NJ State Archives to receive a copy of her death certificate which will provide us with the name of the cemetery she is buried in.

Steve, visiting from Atlanta, wanted to learn exactly where his grandfather, Joseph Levitan, came from. We found Joseph’s naturalization papers which taught us he was born in Linkuva, Lithuania and that he immigrated to the US in 1906/07, arriving at Ellis Island on January 4, 1907. We found his ship’s manifest showing him arriving as Josel Benzel Lewitan.

Using this information, I found the Levitan family in a list of residents in Linkuva from 1908. Joseph was listed as Iosel Bentsel, the son of Hirsh David and Chaya Pesa Levtian, Steve’s great grandparents. According to this list, Hirsh David was the son of Chonel Levitan and Chonel was the son of Mendel Levitan, Steve’s great-great-great grandfather. We found Hirsh David’s death record which showed he died in Linkuva on February 13, 1929. The death record provided us with his mother’s name: Mina Gita.

I then found the Levitan family in a Revision List from 1883 in Linkuva and learned that the Levitan family originally came from Seduva, Lithuania, leading me to find records for the family there as well. We found the Levitan family in a Revision List in Seduva from 1852. This revision list included Steve’s great-great-great grandfather, Mendel Levitan, and his wife, Chana Levitan. The revision list taught us that Mendel was the son of Chaim Levitan and Chana was the daughter of Moshe, Steve’s great-great-great-great grandfathers.

Joseph Levitan - grandfather
Hirsh David and Chaya Pessa Levitan - great grandparents
Chonel and Mina Gita Levitan - great-great grandparents
Mendel and Chana Levitan - great-great-great grandparents
Chaim Levitan - great-great-great-great grandfather

Barbara, also visiting from Atlanta, wanted to learn more about her grandmother, Clara Newman Gruberg. She knew that her grandfather came from Tulcea, Romania and that he was a waiter at Ratner’s, a legendary kosher dairy restaurant on New York City's Lower East Side (138 Delancey St), operating from 1905 to 2004. We actually found her grandfather’s WW2 draft card which said that he was a waiter at Ratner’s. She didn’t know anything about her grandmother or where she came from.

By finding her naturalization records, we found out that Clara was also born in Tulcea, Romania. She arrived at Ellis Island on November 30, 1920. According to the manifest, she was going to her brother, David Newman who was already living in NYC. We also found Clara’s marriage certificate from 1922 when she married Barbara’s grandfather, Louis Gruberg. According to the marriage certificate, Clara’s parents were Abraham Newman and Goldie Schmal. Using the information from the marriage record, we identified three of Clara’s siblings: Eva Newman Pfeffer Lehman, David Newman, Harry Newman.

Genealogy with Rabbi Scott

05/18/2026

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