Tombstone Tuesday: Sarah Loveshak, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, NY

Researching the surname Loveshak does not produce easy Google search results. When one Googles on "Loveshak" one gets either information on the B-52's hit single or sites concerned with (uh-hum) interpersonal relations. 

Here lies

our beloved mother

Chaya Sarah Loveshak

daughter of Yisrael Alpern

Died 7 Adar 5696

May her soul be bound in eternal life

------------

OUR BELOVED MOTHER

SARAH

LUVESHAK

DIED MAR. 1, 1936

AGE 58 YEARS

  
Tombstone engravers seem to have gotten it wrong, as well. Once in the United States, Sarah and her children consistently spelled their new surname: "Loveshak" not, as it says on the tombstone "Luveshak." Even Montefiore Cemetery has it indexed incorrectly. If one searches on Loveshak or Luveshak, there are no hits. Try "Lushak."

In addition, the Gregorian calendar date of death on the tombstone is actually the date of burial. She died on 28 February 1936.[1] Since it was 7 PM (likely after dark), the Hebrew date, which starts at sundown, is correct.

This tombstone includes useful genealogical information not often included on Jewish tombstones, specifically Sarah's maiden name: Alpern. My research shows she is the sister of Jacob Alperin, and Morris and Milton Alpern, also from Labun. Their parents were Israel Alpern and (Anglicized) Katie or Clara Sporin.

Unlike her brothers, she likely arrived in the United States after WWI and the Russian Revolution. I have yet to locate her manifest, but the 1925 New York State census indicates an approximate arrival in 1920.[2]

Sarah was a widow before she emigrated. Her husband Baruch was from Gritsev, a community 8 miles west of Labun. They had four children who came to the United States: Lena, Meyer, Doris and Anna. 

Sarah is buried in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot in Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York: block 5, gate 567W, line 1L, grave 2.

Notes:
1. Bronx County, New York, death certificate no. 2346 (1936), Sarah Loveshak, 28 February 1936; Municipal Archives, New York.
2. Bronx County, New York, 1925 New York State Census, population schedule, the Bronx, assembly district 2, election district 74, page 21, Sarah Loveshak; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 May 2013); New York State Archives, Albany.

Tombstone Tuesday: Morris Halpern, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, NY

The First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association, a New York City landsmanshaft group for immigrants from the town of Lubin (Yiddish name), also known as Labun, Russian Empire, purchased two burial plots in Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, NY and one in Beth Moses Cemetery, Pinelawn, NY.

Because many of these people constituted my Lubin relatives' friends, acquaintances and neighbors, I have recorded these burials and submitted them to JewishGen where they are online in the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry. In posts about burials in these plots, I will provide additional information about those interred.

~~~~~~~~~~

 ALPERN

Here lies
our dear beloved father
an honest and upright man
who walked on the wholesome path and worked justly
God-fearing all his days
our teacher and rabbi
Moshe son of Yisrael
Alpern
Died
9 Tevet 5698
May his soul be bound in eternal life
Father
~~~~~~~~~~

Morris Halpern's (or Alperin or Alpern) epitaph surprised me.[1]  Considering what I'd heard about him from his family, I did not think I'd see such a glowing remembrance. He has also been difficult to track in records likely to yield genealogically relevant information. Sometimes I think this was by his design. I have not been able to locate any census records enumerating Morris or a marriage record for him and his wife, Esther.

Morris was one of those immigrants who came to the United States with intentions to send for his family and then did not do so. His son, Jack, paid his own way and arrived in the United States in 1911.[2] Jack then paid for a ticket for his mother. Rebeka arrived in the United States on 22 September 1913 and was met at the dock by her son.[3]  

Jack and his mother were from Staro Konstyatinyiv. His father, Morris and Morris' brother Jacob Alperin were originally from the community of Labun, Volhynia Gubernia, Russian Empire, about 20 miles to the north northeast. After some time in the United States, Jack decided that his mother, unhappy with her husband's philandering ways, would be happier if sent back to the Old Country. He sent her back to Russia and, I am told, regreted doing so for the rest of his life.

So, much of Morris' epitaph must be deemed hyperbole. Was he a beloved father? Perhaps. The text seems to indicate the possibility that he was father to more than one person. I do not yet have information about any additional children. And then, the epitaph identifies Morris as a father, but not as a husband. Interesting.

Morris was not a rabbi. "Walking the wholesome path" doesn't seem to track with Jack's stories about his father. It makes one wonder who wrote this and if they protest too much. 

Morris Halpern's death certificate was informed by his wife at the time, Esther.[4] Traditionally in the United States, tombstones on Jewish graves are installed 30 days to one year after death. So, we do not know who paid for the stone or provided guidance for the epitaph. The cemetery might be able to provide some clues in this regard.

Morris is buried in Montefiore Cemetery's First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot, block 5, gate 567W, line 1R, grave 4. 

Notes:

1. This translation and its interpretation have benefited from input from Lara Diamond, Robin Meltzer, Elan Caspi and Deb Morgen Stern on Tracing the Tribe FaceBook page. I own all mistakes.

2. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 26 May 2011), manifest, S.S. Berlin, Bermen to New York, arriving 5 September 1911, list 6 (handwritten), line 25, Jakow Galperin, citing NARA microfilm publication T715, roll 1732.

3. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 20 January 2014), manifest, S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam, Rotterdam to New York, arriving 22 September 1913, list 14 [handwritten], list 72 [stamped], line 29, Rebeka Halpern, citing NARA microfilm publication T715, roll 2181.

4. Kings County, New York, death certificate no. 24804 (12 December 1937), Morris Halpern, Municipal Archives, New York City.

Tombstone Tuesday: Selma Alperin, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, NY

The First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association, a New York City landsmanshaft group for immigrants from the town of Lubin (Yiddish name), also known as Labun, Russian Empire, purchased two burial plots in Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, NY and one in Beth Moses Cemetery, Pinelawn, NY.[1]

Because many of these people constituted my Lubin relatives' friends, acquaintances and neighbors, I have recorded these burials and submitted them to JewishGen where they are online in the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry. For inclusion in that database, I translated the Hebrew names on the tombstones. I did not, however, translate any epitaphs. In posts about burials in these plots, I will provide translations of any epitaphs and information about those interred.

~~~~~~~~~~

I hate seeing burials for those who died young. One can only imagine the pain this brought to their families and friends - pain, doubt and guilt about whether more could have been done to keep this person alive.

Our Dear Child

-----

Here lies

Kayla Hentze

Sussie Rivka daughter of Yakov

Died 1st day of Rosh Chodesh Adar 1 5700

May her soul be bound in eternal life

SELMA

ALPERIN

Died Feb 9, 1940

Age 18 yrs

 -----

Beloved

DAUGHTER

and SISTER

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Selma was the only daughter and youngest child of Jacob and Dora Waxenberg Myers Alperin. This tombstone is interesting because it provides four Hebrew/Yiddish names for Selma: Kayla Hentze Sussie Rivka. Usually people have a maximum of two of these names. 

Dora's grandson, Peter, has told me that he recollects Dora as superstitious and wary of modern medicine. His take is that Selma had pneumonia and Dora did not provide enough medical care for her daughter. It is only fair to note, however, that penicillin, the preferred treatment for pneumonia, was still being researched in 1940 and was likely not available for treatment.

Selma's four Hebrew/Yiddish names, however, fit with Dora's allegedly superstitious nature. In "Jewish Given Names," an article in the Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy, Warren Blatt discusses names given in light of Jewish superstition that began during medieval times and continues to the present day. The Angel of Death apparently maintains a list of names. If he seeks a child with that name and cannot locate them, the child might be spared.[2] Additional names might be added to a child's name to help them hide from the Angel of Death.

Sometimes the additional names have amuletic qualities. That is, they have meanings that are tied to long life and good health (for example, Chaim and Chaya - meaning "life").  Whether Selma's names were all given at birth or whether some were added later when she became ill is not known. None of them appear to have intrinsic meaning regarding health or life. 

My guess is that Sussie was her original name. Since Askenazi Jewish people in the United States often gave their children American names that started with the same or a similar sound, Sussie and Selma are likely a match.

I have not been able to locate a death certificate for Selma in any online New York City indexes. It is possible she died outside of New York City - which could be a story in itself since the family lived in the Bronx at the time of Selma's death. 
______________________________________
Special thanks to Israel Pickholtz, Adam Brown, Esther Chanie Dushinsky, Deb Morgan Stern, Fred Leserowitz, Sondra Shira Robins Gold, Robin Meltzer, Brooke Schreier Ganz, Hanita Kossowsky, and Peter L. Myers for the spirited Tracing the Tribe (FaceBook) discussion of the names on this tombstone and when they might have been selected. Of course, any errors in selecting from among the several opinions expressed are my own. 

Notes:
1. Earlier posts about the FLPBA may be found at:
First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association incorporation papers
First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association 25th anniversary publication, Part 1
First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association 25th anniversary publication, Part 2
2.Warren Blatt, "Jewish Given Names," Avotaynu Guilde to Jewish Genealogy (Avotaynu: Bergenfield, New Jersey, 2004), 35-36,

Tombstone Tuesday: Jacob and Dora Alperin

Jacob Alperin and Dora Waxenberg Myers were married on 12 April 1913 after Dora's first marriage to Louis Myers ended in divorce.[1] Both Jacob Alperin and Louis Myers were glaziers from the same European community: Lubin (aka Labun, Russuan Empire and Yurovshchina, Ukraine).

Photo By Emily Garber, 7 September 2008

 

ALPERIN

Here lies

Yakov son of Yisrael

BELOVED HUSBAND

FATHER

GRANDFATHER

JACOB

DIED MAY 12, 1960

AGE 72 YEARS

-------------

Here lies

Devorah daughter of Yakov

BELOVED WIFE

MOTHER

GRANDMOTHER

DORA

DIED MAY 12, 1967

AGE 80 YEARS 

Jacobs parents were Yisrael Alperin and Sadie Sporin. Dora's were Jacob Waxenberg and Fanny Echture (at least those are the names written on Jacob and Dora's marriage certificate). 

Dora had one child, Bernard Myers (4 May 1908 - 28 February 1993), with Louis Myers. With Jacob, she had Irving (22 January 1914), Seymour (26 December 1915) and Selma (ca. 1921 - 9 February 1940). 

Jacob and Dora are buried in the First Lubiner Progressive Benevolent Association plot at Montefiore Cemetery, Block 89, Gate 156N, Line 6L, Graves 4 and 5. 

Notes:

1. New York County, New York, Certificate and Record of Marriage no. 9282 (12 April 1913), Jacob Alperin and Dora Myers, New York City Municipal Archives, New York.