JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF TORONTO

BRICK WALLS AND BREAKTHROUGHS

VIRTUAL MEETING: View from home

Wednesday, 16 June 2021, 7:30 p.m. ET.

Four members of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto give a brief report to their fellow Society members and guests on their recent successes. 

Kenneth Golish raises the question: “Why Did My Grandfather Return to Poland After Settling in America”?  Before his father’s death, Kenneth heard the story of his grandfather’s return to the Kielce area of Poland.  Never knowing the real reason behind the return, he spent several years researching this question until the truth was finally revealed.
 
Kenneth is the son of Holocaust survivors, Chaim and Miriam, who emigrated to the Bathurst Manor neighbourhood in Toronto.  He has been working on his family tree for over twenty years.  Kenneth is a lawyer who lives in Windsor with his family. 
 

Howard Goldstein presents “From Silver to Slapak”, a very recent discovery that was forty years in the making. One document finally pulled all of the pieces together, providing evidence of the original surname, the town of origin and connections to family in Montreal and Massachusetts. 
 
Howard is a third generation Montrealer who began his research in 2013 in the areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Romania.  He serves both as Secretary of the JGS Hamilton and Co-ordinator of the JGS Toronto Cemetery Project.

Marla Waltman shares “A Twenty Year Question Mark Resolved”, a major breakthrough on her maternal line, the Organik-Organkiewicz-Organ family from small towns in the Kielce-Radom region of Poland.  Marla recently discovered a DNA link that could not be connected with the necessary paper trail. After working on her family tree for decades she has now found proof that led her to discover a large maternal branch in the USA. 

Marla is an active researcher and writer who has served on the Executive Committee and the Board of JGS Toronto.  She has also served as President of our Society. 

Henry Blumberg tells the story, “The “Elusive” Crazy Uncle”, a deep dive into a rabbit hole, taking five years to emerge and discover the true relationship.
 
Henry is a barrister in Toronto and has been an avid genealogist searching and connecting with family all over Europe, America, the UK and South Africa.  He has presented at a dozen conference and JGS meetings.  Henry is a Board member of JGS Toronto and has served as convener of the international Latvia SIG for three terms.

  
  

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Jerry Scherer

Vice President, Communications

jscherer@...

Zhitomir name

Dear Genners, I've been searching for my maternal ggm's maiden name for decades, with no results. She was known in the family as Riva the Booba (meaning midwife). She married my ggf Yishea/Ovshiy Berensohn and they then lived in Krasnoye, Podolia Gubernia, Their son, my gf Shmuel/Sam Berenson was born there in 1880. I know she delivered Harry Loigman(1892), Ida Loigman (1893), and Victor Loigman (1904) in Krasnoye. There was a large group in Philadelphia, the Gershmans, who attended all our family functions. I never knew how we were related. They came from Zhitomir and the farthest back I've gotten was Leib Gershman. In Pennsylvania, my aunt Rive/Rebecca Berenson was born in 1915, so I assume she was named after my ggm Riva -- who presumably died between 1905 (when an older sibling was born) and my aunt's birth. Does anyone who is researching Zhitomir find any of this familiar?
Many thanks, Molly Arost Staub 

Searching
BERENSON (Krasnoye, Ukraine)
GROFFMAN/GRAFFMAN (Ukraine)
AROST/HARAST/JAROST (Bessarabia)
SHTOFMAN (Bessarabia)

Molly Arost Staub

Boca Raton, FL

Molly Staub

E-mail staubmolly@...