Tombstone Tuesday: Bernard and Lottie Goldberg, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York

While I have yet to locate passenger records for Bernard Goldberg, it is clear that his wife, Lottie and her children were from the Russian Empire community of Labun (Lubin in Yiddish). They were members of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association and were interred in the association's burial plot.

Here lies

A good and honest man Mr.

Avraham Dov son of Yekhiel Mikhel

Died 

16 Iyar 5685

May his soul be bound in the bonds of the living

Beloved Husband

And Dear Father

Bernard Goldberg

Died May 10, 1925

Age 60 Years

FATHER

While his gravestone indicates he was called Bernard, other records indicate that he adopted the name Bennie or Benjamin in the USA.[1] On their passenger manifest, his wife and children said they were going to Berko Goldberg in Brooklyn.[2] The name Berko is consistent with the Yiddish equivalent of his second Hebrew name, Dov.

Bennie's death certificate, lists his father as Michael Goldberg. His mother was Esther Cohen. The certificate also indicates that Bennie had been in the U.S.A for 14 years (estimated arrival in 1911) and had been working as a carpenter.

MOTHER

Here lies

Mrs. Zlate

daughter of Chaim

Died Erev Rosh Chodesh [29th] Iyar 5695 

May her soul be bound in the bonds of the living

OUR BELOVED

MOTHER

LOTTIE

GOLDBERG

DIED APRIL 30, 1938

AGED 60 YEARS

IN OUR HEARTS

SHE LIVES FOREVER

When Zlata and the children (Chaiko, Pinko, Minna, and Sonja) arrived in Boston in February 1921, they reported that they had been living in Lubin, Poland before immigration and had all been born in "Woylin," likely a reference to Volhynia Gubernia (the province in the Russian Empire).

According to her death certificate, Lottie's parents were Herman (anglicized from Chaim) Baratz and Sarah Greenberg.

While no earlier census record has been located for Bennie, it is possible that he had another son, Max, who came to the United States before the rest of the family. Lottie's death certificate was informed by a son, Max Goldberg, who lived at 2067 Harrison Street, Bronx, NY - Lottie's address in the 1930 census and at death in 1938.[3] I have located a World War I Draft Registration card for a Max Goldberg, who was born in 15 October 1894 in "Luben, Verlinski," Russia.[4] 

In June 1925, shortly after Bennie's death, Lottie lived with several of her children at 95 Ridge Street, New York, NY.[5]

Bennie and Lottie's children appear to have been:

• Max Goldberg, b. 15 October 1894 (old enough to possibly have been Bennie's son from a first marriage);
• Ida (Chaiko) Goldberg Dolgin, wife of Herman, b. 8 February 1901, d. September 1984;[6]
• Philip Goldberg, husband of Minnie Kopelov, b. 2 February 1902 or 1904, d. 24 June 1994;
• Minnie Goldberg, b. ca. 1907;
• Herman Goldberg, b. ca 1908;
• Sylvia (Sonja), b. ca. 1910.

Lottie was an active member of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association's Sisters.

Bernard/Bennie's grave is located in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot in block 89, gate 156N, Line 4R, grave 1, in Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York. Lottie's grave is in the same plot, line 5L, grave 2.

Notes:

1. New York County, New York, death certificate no. 12862, Bennie Goldberg, 10 May 1925; Municipal Archives, New York City.

    "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 June 2017); entry for Philip Goldberg, SSN 064-03-0167.

2. Manifest, S.S. Manchuria, 21 February 1921, stamped p. 286, lines 23-27, Zlata Goldberg (age 43), Chaiko (20), Pinko (17), Minna (13), and Sonja (10); images, "Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 June 2017).
3. New York, New York, death certificate no. 9642, Lottie Goldberg, 30 April 1938; Municipal Archives, New York City. 
    1930 U.S. Census, Bronx County, New York, population schedule, Bronx, enumeration district 3-605, sheet 5A, dwelling 2, family 99, Lottie Goldberg; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 February 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1486.
4. "U.S., World War I Draft Cards, 1917-1918," images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 February 2015), card for Max Goldberg, serial no. 281, Draft Board 152, New York, New York; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509.
5. 1925 New York State Census, New York County, New York, enumeration of inhabitants, Manhattan, assembly district 4, election district 15, Lotty Goldberg family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 February 2017); New York State Archives, Albany.
6. Ida Dolgin, naturalization file 474279, 14 February 1944, Southern District Court of New York; National Archives - NE Region, Record Group 21.
    "U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 February 2017), entry for Ida Dolgin, September 1984, SSN 055-16-9342.

LIVE! in Orlando, Florida!: IAJGS, July 23-28, 2017

At last summer's International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference I was honored to be selected to present one of the LIVE! presentations: "Beyond the Manifest: Methods for Confirming One's Ancestral Origins." 

A few weeks ago I was trying to out-guess the program planners for this year's IAJGS 2017 in Orlando, Florida and determined that, based upon preliminary room assignments for my six (!) talks, I was not going to carried LIVE! Well, I just checked the 2017 conference schedule this morning and discovered that LIVE! sessions are now listed and they include two of my sessions. Yes!

More than 50 IAJGS LIVE! presentations (and handouts) will be available online as they are being presented. These videos will continue to be available on-demand via Internet connection through 1 November 2017. The entire LIVE! conference schedule will be available to those who pay $149. A single day of LIVE! is $89.

Information about LIVE! seems a bit hidden on the IAJGS conference website. If one starts at the conference homepage, enter live into the search box on the upper right. To actually see the list of LIVE! sessions right now, one must check the program schedule.

It seems that one must go into the conference registration area on the IAJGS conference webpage to register and pay for for access to presentations included in LIVE! 

My two LIVE! sessions will be:

• "Learning Our Craft: Online Opportunities for Improving Our research Skills," Wednesday, July 26, 11:15 AM - 12:30 PM; and
• "Blogging Family History: Reading, Writing, and Sharing," Thursday, July 27, 8:15 - 9:30 AM

In addition, I will be presenting:

• "Beyond the Manifest: Methods for Confirming One's Ancestral Origins," Tuesday, July 25, 11:15 AM - 12:30 PM;
• "When it Takes a Village: Applying Cluster Research Techniques," Wednesday, July 26, 2:00-3:15 PM;
• "Memory and Mystery: Breaking Down Family Lore," Wednesday, JUly 26, 3:30 - 4:45 PM; and
• "Where's the Beef? Well-Done Research and Evidence Analysis," Wednesday, July 26, 5:00 - 6:15 PM.

In addition to the videos included in LIVE!, there is an opportunity to purchase MP3s (audio) of most of the conference presentations. I always enjoy this package. I load them onto my iPod and listen to them as I exercise during the months between conferences.

I look forward to seeing you in Orlando! If not, see ya at the movies (er...on screen). 😁

Tombstone Tuesday: David and Mollie Kaby, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York

Last week I posted about Paul Lederman whose grave is within one of the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plots in Montefiore Cemetery. I determined, during research for that post, that Paul had, likely in the early 1940s, married Yvette Kaby, daughter of David and Mollie Kaby, who are also buried in the same Montefiore cemetery plot. 

Here lies

David son of Amran

May his soul be bound in the bonds of the living

DAVID

KABY

BELOVED FATHER

DEAR GRANDFATHER

GREAT GRANDFATHER

DIED SEPT. 2, 1972

85 YEARS YOUNG

ETERNAL LIFE

David arrived in the the port of New York on 20 May 1907.[1] He traveled from Naples on the S.S. Liguria and said he had been born in Jaffa, Palestine.

On 22 October 1909, David married fellow immigrant Mollie Levine.[2]

Here lies

Malkah daughter of Velvel ha-Levi

May her soul be bound in the bonds of the living

MOLLIE

KABY

BELOVED WIFE

DEVOTED MOTHER

AND GRANDMOTHER

DIED FEB. 19, 1966

AGE 73 YEARS

REST IN PEACE

While Levine was shown was Mollie's surname on her marriage record, it appears that it was the family surname adopted in the United States. The original family surname was Chajchuk. 

In Ancestry's "U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007" database, which reflects information provided in Social Security program applications (Form SS-5) and subsequent claims, Mollie's father's name is listed as Velvel Hychuk.[3] Her mother was Rifka Tartfofsky (a transcription that may be in error). On her indexed marriage record, her mother's last name was listed as Dostirosky
[I have not yet ordered copies of her SS-5 or marriage record. It will be interesting to see compare what is actually written on them.].

The "Social Security Applications and Claim Index" database lists Mollie's birth date as 16 January 1889. David Kaby's naturalization petition provides Mollie's birth date as 25 April 1891.[4] The 1920 U.S. census, taken in January 1920, indicates she was 28 years old (born between 1891 and 1892).[5] The 1940 U.S. census is consistent with 1920: Mollie was 47 (born about 1892).[6]

No manifest of arrival or naturalization papers have been located, thus far, for Mollie, so we cannot say, for sure when she immigrated to the United States or where she had lived before emigration. The 1920 U.S. Census indicates she arrived in the USA in 1907.  

However, Mollie's widowed mother Rywka, sister Jenta (later Helen) and brother, Moszko (Morris), arrived Philadelphia in 1921.[7] They reported that they were from Salnice, Russia. This likely Sal'nitsa, Ukraine (before World War I, in the Litin District of Podolia Gubernia), about 195 km WSW of Kiev (about 55 km SE of Lubin).

Mollie likely had another sister, Gussie Levine, who in 1925 lived at 354 South 2nd Street, Brooklyn, with her mother, Ray, brother Morris and sister Helen.[8]

David's naturalization petition in 1924 reported birth dates and birth locations for each of his and Mollie's children. The family moved around quite a bit. 

• Sarah, born 7 October 1910 in Connecticut
• Vera, 24 Nov 1911 in Rochester, NY
• Bertha 23 Nov 1915 in NY, NY
• Rose 19 Aug 1917 in Kings Co, NY

They had Yvette in New York in about 1925.[6]

In April 1940, David was not enumerated in the census with Mollie and Yvette. They were at 35 Brighton First Walk in Brooklyn. A 1942 Los Angeles City directory and the 1942 World War II Draft Registration card for David located him in Los Angeles. In his draft card, he notes that while his address is 329 1/4 North Mott Street, Los Angeles, CA, Mollie is at 3014 Bridge 8th Street in Brooklyn.[9]

For the most part, David was a tailor. When he was in Rochester, NY, the city directory identified him as a "moulder."

David Kaby's grave is located in Montefiore Cemetery in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot, block 5, gate 567W, line 3L, grave 1. Mollie is in grave 2.

I have been in contact with a family member to try to discern why the Kabys were associated with the Lubin landsmanshaft.  I learned a few things that were not immediately apparent in the records I located online:

• David had a sister also in the USA [I believe, based upon some records I have sine located, that her married name was Bessie Makowsky/Makoff and she was married to Meyer. They lived in several locations around the country, including DeKalb, IL; New Haven, CT; and Bakersfield, CA.]
• Yvette Kaby and Paul Lederman were divorced at some point. Paul's second marriage was to a non-Jewish woman. When Paul died, Yvette convinced her to have Paul buried in a Jewish cemetery. Yvette arranged for his burial in the plot near her parents. [I still don't know why her parents are in this plot, however.]

Notes:
1. Manifest, S.S. Liguria, 20 May 1907, stamped p. 21, line 4, David Kaby, age 20; images, "New York, Passenger Manifests, 1820-1957," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 April 2017).
2. New York County, New York, marriage certificate no. 21308, David Koby and Mollie Levine, 22 October 1909; index, "New York, New York City Marriage records, 1829-1940," Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 10 April 2017); citing Municipal Archives, New York City. [copy of original record will be ordered.] 
3. "U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 April 2017); entry for Mollie Kaby, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD. >
4. David Kaby naturalization file no. 86364, Kings County (New York) Supreme Court, vol. 347, p. 14; images, "New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 10 April 2017), Kings>image 48 of 766.
5. 1920 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, enumeration district 816, sheet 10B, dwelling 16, family 199, David and Mollie Kaby family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 April 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1165.  6. 1940 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, enumeration district 24-425, sheet 3A, household 80, Mollie Kaby; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 April 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 2557.   
7. Manifest, S.S. Samland, 2 July 1921, p. 36, lines 19-21, Rywka Chajczuk (age 50), Moszko Chajczuk (24), and Jenta Chajczuk (18); images, "Pennsylvania Passenger and Crew Lists, 1800-1962," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2017). This is known to be Mollie's family due to the shared surname (Chajczuk), as well as correlated records for her sister, Helen Milstein's, naturalization and marriage. In addition, destination of the Chajczuk family in the manifest correlates with an address close to that of the Kaby's in the 1920 census: 265 or 269 South 2nd Street, Brooklyn.  
8. 1925 New York State Census, Kings County, New York, enumeration of inhabitants, Brooklyn, assembly district 14, election district 23, p. 40, Gussie Levine; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 June 2017); New York State Archives, Albany. 9. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 April 2017); entry for David Kaby, serial no. U3493, Los Angeles, California. 

Tombstone Tuesday: Paul Lederman, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York

Paul Lederman was born to immigrant parents, Dave Lederman and Fannie Alterman in Chicago on 12 July 1924.[1] The Ledermans likely moved to New York City in January 1925.[2]

Here lies

Pesach son of David

PAUL

LEDERMAN

ARTIST

JULY 12, 1924

JAN. 21, 1987

BELOVED HUSBAND

LOVING FATHER

AND GRANDFATHER

DEVOTED SON

BROTHER AND VETERAN

FOREVER

IN OUR HEARTS 

Neither of the Paul's parents are from the town associated with the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association cemetery plots: Labun, Ukraine. 

David Lederman appears to have been from Slawatycze (in Yiddish, Slovotitch), 55 miles northeast of Lublin in Poland.[3] According to his naturalization record, David arrived in New York in August 1910. Fannie Alterman arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in July 1912.[4] She was born and raised in Rezekne (Rezhitze in Yiddish), 52 miles NE of Daugavpils (Dvinsk), Latvia.

In 1930, Paul lived with his parents and elder sister,  Elizabeth (Betty Resnick) and his half-sister Ida (from David's first marriage), at 987 Blake Street, Brooklyn.[5] Another half-sister, from David's first marriage, Anna, lived in Chicago.[6] Paul's father was a tailor.

Paul married Yvette Kaby, daughter of David and Mollie Levine Kaby, in about 1924. I have located a marriage record for them in neither New York City nor Maryland. But, in 1942, Paul registered for the military draft in Baltimore, Maryland.[7] He was 18, married to Yvette, living at 4201 Pennington Avenue and working at the Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard in Maryland. 

Paul served in the U.S. Army from 4 March 1943 to 27 January 1946.[8]

Paul and Yvette had at least one son.[9]

According to the Social Security Death Index and a U.S. Public Records Index, Paul spend his last years in Jamaica, Queens County, New York.[10]

It is not clear, at this point, why Paul's grave is located within a First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association burial plot. Yvette's parents' graves are also located within this plot. I have not yet completed genealogical analysis of the Kaby family, but, thus far, I have not determined the family's relationship to this group.

Paul Lederman's grave is located in Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York, First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot, block 5, gate 567W,line 3L, grave 7.

Notes:
1. Cook County, Illinois, birth certificate no. 29331, Paul Lederman, 12 July 1924; Cook County Clerk, Chicago.
2. David Lederman, naturalization file 122939 (7 May 1929), Eastern District Court of New York, Goldie Lederman deposition of 7 March 1929; images, "New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1940," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2017); citing NARA, Records of the District Courts of the United States, RG 21.
3. David Lederman, naturalization file 122939 (7 May 1929), Eastern District Court of New York.
4. Border crossing/manifest, S.S. Czar, 19 July 1912 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), p. 2, line 9, Faja Alterman [indexed as Alberman], age 18; images, "U.S., Border Crossing from Canada to U.S., 1825-1960," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2017).
5. 1930 U.S. Census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, enumeration district 514, sheet 7A, dwelling 65, family 142, David and Fannie Lederman family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2017); NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1541.
6. David Lederman, naturalization file 122939 (7 May 1929), Eastern District Court of New York.
7. Paul Lederman World War II Draft Registration Card
8. "U.S. . Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2017); entry for Paul Lederman, SSN 096-18-8444; citing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.
9. "Michael R. Lederman," death notices, The Daily Times (Salisbury, MD), 20 February 1999, p. 16, col. 6; images, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 June 2017).
10. "U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2017); entry for Paul Lederman, SSN 096-18-8444, January 1987.
  "U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2017); entry for Paul Lederman.

FamilySearch, JewishGen and Litvak SIG: What are they hiding?

I like to keep up with records newly digitized by FamilySearch. A couple of years ago I posted an article about locating new record listings on a variety of websites - including FamilySearch. I assumed that their list accurately reflected their online holdings. Guess again!

Turns out that JewishGen and the Lithuanian-Jewish Special Interest Group (LitvakSIG) have some options for seeing indexed digitized records in their All Lithuania Database. They link to records digitized by FamilySearch from Family History Library microfilm. But, if one tries to locate the digitized records from the Historic Record Collections list on FamilySearch, one will not find them.

The All Lithuania Database

The All Lithuania Database is a cooperative venture between JewishGen and LitvakSIG). LitvakSIG, an independent  organization, works with researchers and archives in Lithuania to locate and index Jewish records. They also identify and index Lithuanian Jewish records that the Family History Library has on microfilm. Once LitvakSIG uploads indexes, they are available only to paid members of a one of their district groups for 18 months. After 18 months the records become available - for free - in the All Lithuania Database, which may be accessed via LitvakSIG and JewishGen.

The key concept behind LitvakSIG - and much of JewishGen - is that they provide indexes, but usually not digitized original records. Database summaries associated with each collection of indexed records should provide enough information for researchers to independently access the originals. Fortunate researchers who find indexed family records may have to contact archives in Lithuania or order microfilm from the Family History Library.

But recently, JewishGen and LitvakSIG seem to be following in the innovative footsteps of Jewish Records Indexing-Poland. During the last few years, this last group has worked cooperatively with Polish Archives to index and link to records that have been placed online by Polish archives. With just a few  clicks, one may be sitting in one's jammies looking, virtually, at records in Warsaw. Very slick.

So, Here's the Rub!

With regard to JewishGen and LitvakSIG, some records in the All Lithuania Database that were indexed from FamilySearch microfilm are now linked to records digitized and online at FamilySearch [I understand from Marion Werle that similar links may be found for LatviaSIG records on JewishGen.]. This great news! Unfortunately, one is unlikely to know about this unless one searches via the All Lithuania Database portal. 

For some reason, FamilySearch does not include these records on the long list of those collections that have been digitized. So, if one goes to their Historical Record Collections list, one will not see them. It ought to be listed between Liechtenstein and Louisiana, below - but, no.



To locate the Jewish Lithuanian records on FamilySearch  one must search their catalog for Lithuania and Jewish records. Metrical Books from Kovno show many film rolls. The vast majority have been digitized, as indicated by a little camera icon on the right side of the page. Those that have not been digitized are indicated by a microfilm roll icon.
 

Access via the All Lithuania database (JewishGen and LitvakSIG)

I located the All Lithuania Database by clicking the Databases tab on the JewishGen home page.

This took me to JewishGen's long list of databases. Scrolling down to Lithuania, I clicked on LitvakSIG "All Lithuania" Database. This took me to a search page on the LitvakSIG webpage.

For the case I was researching, I entered a surname as well as a community. Since I was searching a common name (Levin), I reasoned that specifying a town would limit results to those Levins most relevant to my research interest. 

I also specified phonetic search in both cases. This took into account the fact that original records were likely written in a different alphabet and that the town name may have been slightly different, as well. 

Results included records in several component databases within the All Lithuania Database. The following listing was included in the LitvakSIG "Lithuania Marriages and Divorces" list. 

To my joy, I found, not just an indexed record and a reference to a collection in a Lithuanian archive and a Family History Library microfilm, but, on the far left (red arrow), a hot link to FamilySearch (the website associated with the Family History Library). Note the information shown for the record number and year (blue arrow) as well as the microfilm item number and image number (red arrow). This information may be useful for finding the FamilySearch digital image of the original record.

Family History Library microfilms often contain more than one collection or collections that have been subdivided into "items." In this case, the far right column of the indexed record entry provides the microfilm number (2,291,760), item number (2), and image number (691). LVIA and Fond numbers in the last line would be terrific information if one decided to try to acquire the record directly from the Lithuanian archive. But, no need for that here. While on the All Lithuania Database results page, click the hot link (red arrow) and head directly to FamilySearch.

Note a few things:

• the film number (004221369) shown, above, in the image thumbnail area and also in the detail, below, does not match the actual Family History Library microfilm number. The microfilm number (2291760) is acknowledged in the first image of the digitized roll.

• from the FamilySearch thumbnail screen, one may look at thumbnails or switch to different views by clicking on one of the symbols on the right. The plus (+) will increase the size of the view. Minus (-) will decrease it. The solid square within a small frame allows one to toggle between numerous thumbnails and a single image. The broken square allows for full screen view.

• in this roll, as shown in the thumbnail view above, the fourth image with a large numeral 1 indicates the start of item 1 on the roll. Item 1 will also end with a similar image and item 2 will start immediately after that. One may scroll through the images seeking those item numbers (as shown, below). 

Finding the record - Alternative 1

In this case, the easiest option is to search via the date of the record (1893) and record number (5). In the digitized record book, look at the first few pages after FamilySearch item 2. It includes images of the original book's index.

The index indicates that marriage records from 1893 will be found in record book pages 131 through 140. Navigating to page 131 (on FamilySearch, see image 682), finds a title page for 1893 records. Continue scrolling to record number 5 (circled in green, below) to find the Levin record. It is on record book page 136 (blue oval). Note that this image is number 691 (I've circled it in red). You may recall that the assigned number 691 was the image number identified in the right column of the All Lithuania Database search result for this record.

This alternative for record access may be a bit easier that alternative 2. But, one will not always be so fortunate to work with a metrical record book that contains an index. One may have to punt. So, here is an alternative browse strategy.

Finding the record - Alternative 2

As noted above, the database provided the film image number: 691. The image number, unfortunately, does not coincide with the FamilySearch digital image number because the digital images also count the microfilm roll number image and several administrative images at the start of each film. So, one may enter 691 to get close to the image on the roll, but one will still need to do a bit of browsing to find the correct page.

Above, I entered 691 and hit <new line>, which took me to an image showing 695. No "Levin" on this page. If I scroll back four images, I find a page imaged with the target number 691. Image 691 is actually on FamilySearch digitized image number 687. Levin, underlined in pencil on the page (and circled in red by me), is on this page. The first two letters are on one line and the last three on on the next. It helps, in this case to know what the name Левин [Levin] will look like in Cyrillic script.

The Up-shot

Why are these online digitized Lithuanian Jewish records not listed in the FamilySearch Historic Record Collections list? I have no idea (I will have to send a query to them, I guess). 

I have always assumed that past a certain point, as the digitized Historic Records Collection list gets larger,  FamilySearch would have to ditch the list and find a more elegant solution. Perhaps that is in the offing. But, right now it appears that some digitized records have not made the existing list. 

Bottom line? 

• It is important to know how to search a website's catalog. That is true whether one is using FamilySearch, Ancestry, JewishGen, or any genealogy website. And don't just check it once and be done with it. Particularly with FamilySearch, it seems they are picking up the pace of digitization. One doesn't want to miss anything and ... one may be pleasantly surprised. 

• Learn how to browse FamilySearch digitized microfilm for records of interest. FamilySearch is uploading digitized records at a fantastic pace and, in most cases, indexing has not kept up. Be flexible in one's browsing strategy. Each collection will have it's own peculiarities.

• And, of course, note that indexing activities by Jewish genealogy groups are allowing us to locate our family records within newly online data sets. Don't forget to thank them with monetary contributions (JewishGen donation page; LitvakSIG donation page).

Tombstone Tuesday: Louis and Bessie Feltzin, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York

So far, I have not been able to discern exactly why Louis and Bessie Feltzin associated with the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association. Their graves are in one of the landsmanshaft's plots in Montefiore Cemetery. I have determined Louis' town of origin (which is nowhere near Lubin), but I have been unable to determine Bessie's - except that she was born in the Russian Empire.

Here lies

Yehudah Leib

son of Yeshiah

Died 5 Nisan 5708

May his soul be bound in the bonds of the living

DEVOTED HUSBAND

AND DEAR FATHER

LOUIS

DIED APRIL 14, 1948

AGED 68 YEARS

Leib Felszyn was born to Shia (short for Yeshiah) and Rachel Felszyn. His Social Security record indicates he was born 15 January 1879.[1]

He emigrated in 1913, leaving his first wife, Ester, and children behind in Borshchagovka (today, Borshchahivka, Ukraine).[2] The community is about 150 kilometers SW of Kiev. Like many immigrants who left their families behind just prior to the start of World War I, Leib's family could not join him until the early 1920s. 

By that time, Ester had, likely, passed away and Leib's children Josef and Chave Feltzin made the trip without their mother in 1921.[3] Upon arrival in the United States, Chave took the name Evelyn.

Later that year, Louis married Bessie (or Beckie) Salman who was also widowed.[4] 

Here lies

Basye daughter of Mordechai

Died the fifth day of Passover 5717

May her soul be bound in the bonds of the living

BELOVED AUNT

BESSIE FELTZIN

DIED APRIL 20, 1957

AGED 85 YEARS 

 
Bessie's first name on records in the United States is variously Bessie or Beckie (short for Rebecca). Joseph Feltzin, Louis' son from his first marriage to Ester, reported his "mother" as Reva Polischluk on his marriage certificate.[5] On his "California, Death Index" record on Ancestry his mother's maiden name is listed as "Polashuk."[6] Reva or Rivka is the equivalent of Rebecca. So, possibly, Polischluk was Bessie's maiden name. 

In 1920, before his family arrived, Louis worked as a blacksmith at a wagon works and lived with his nephew Irving Feltzin and Irving's family at 404 25th Street in Manhattan.[7]

Louis and Beckie were at 221 E. 3rd Street, New York, New York during the June 1925 New York State census. Louis was still a blacksmith and his 17-year old daughter Evelyn was working as a doll maker.[8]

By 1930, both Louis' children were married and living elsewhere. Louis and Beckie/Bessie lived at 257 E. 2nd Street, New York, New York. Louis had moved from a dying industry to one with a future: he worked as a mechanic in the motion picture industry.[9]

While Louis naturalized in 1928, Bessie, if she became a citizen at all, did not do so until after the April 1940 U.S. census enumeration.[10] In 1940 the couple lived at 108-10 E. 2nd Street in Manhattan. Louis worked as a laborer for the highway department.

Detail from Louis Feltzin and Beckie Salman marriage certificate

I have not located any indexed naturalization file for Beckie/Bessie. I have not determined from where or when she immigrated and I have not located information regarding who her first husband may have been. Her marriage certificate with Louis reports both her surname and maiden name as Salman.

Her father's name is not discernable, but it is definitely not Mordechai, on Louis and Beckie's marriage certificate. Beckie's mother, on the marriage certificate, is Sarah.  

Joseph Feltzin married Jennie Shmit in Manhattan on 24 April 1923.[11] If his California death index record is correct, he later changed his surname to Felton.

Evelyn married Samuel Appel on 27 March 1927 in Manhattan. Evelyn (sometimes called Eva) reported that her mother's name had been Esther Borden.[12]

Both Louis' and Bessie's grave are located in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot at block 89, gate 156N in Montefiore Cemetery. Louis' grave is in line 7R, grave 2. Bessie's is in line 12L, grave 3.

Notes:

1. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 November 2016; entry for Louis Feltzin, claim date 19 September 1947.
2. Manifest, S.S. Montezuma, 9 October 1913, list 5, line 15, Leib Felszyn, age 35; images, "U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1825-1960," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 March 2015).

3. Manifest, S.S. Samland, 17 March 1921, list 18, lines 6-7, Josef Feltin, age 15, and Chave Feltin, age 9; images, "Pennsylvania, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1800-1962," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 May 2017).

4. New York County, New York, marriage certificate no. 22842 (1921), Louis Feltzin and Beckie Salman, 21 August 1921; Municipal Archives, New York City.
5. New York County, New York, marriage certificate no. 15577 (1923), Joseph Feltzin and Jennie Shmit, 24 April 1923; Municipal Archives, New York City. 
6. "California, Death Index, 1940-1997," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 June 2017); entry for Joseph Felton, 27 April 1991, Los Angeles, California; citing California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
7. 1920 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Manhattan, enumeration district 870, sheet 3A, dwelling 13, family 63, Louis Feltzin; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 March 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1206.
8. 1925 New York State Census, New York County, New York, enumeration of inhabitants, Manhattan, assembly district 6, election district 9, p. 8, entries 38-40, Louis and Beckie Felzden family; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 June 2017); New York State Archives, Albany.
9. 1930 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Manhattan, enumeration district 31-172, sheet 7B, dwelling 29, family 215, Louis and Beckie Feltzin; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 March 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1551.
10. 1940 U.S. census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Manhattan, enumeration district 31-704, sheet 2B, household 65, Louis and Bessie Feltzin; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 May 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 2640.
11. New York County, New York, marriage certificate no. 15577, Joseph Feltzin and Jennie Shmit, 24 April 1923; Municipal Archives, New York City.
12. New York County, New York, marriage certificate no. 8449, Sam Appel and Evelyn Feltzin, 24 March 1927; Municipal Archives, New York City.