More information! Earlier this year I hired a genealogical researcher in Poland named Tadeusz Przystojecki; I had gone about as far as I could using the Internet. Tadeusz has provided a lot of information taken from the Polish State Archives and from local Polish archives (anything under 100 years old stays in local archives). I’ve attached a tree so you can see Grandpa Sol’s mother’s and father’s sides. Click here to open the family tree of the newly identified ancestors; a PDF will open in another tab.
From the marriage record of Grandpa’s Sol’s parents, Berko Fayvel Goldshtern and Yachet Rozenzumen, I already knew the names of Berko’s and Yachet’s parents. Now we can take the family four generations past Sol!! This takes us to the mid or even early 18th century. The youngest among us, the grandchildren of Louise Goldstein and Maxine Eisner Pollack, are the NINTH generation!
A few details:
• The Goldshtern’s, as they were then called, seemed to have mostly lived in Piszczac, near Terespol (both in “Congress Poland”). Some of Berko and Yachet’s children were born in Piszczac, the rest in Terespol.
• Grandpa’s grandparents Wolf Szimon and Tyla had ten children; SIX of them died in infancy or early childhood. Yikes.
• Wolf Szimon died a month before the birth of his last child.
• Wolf Szimon and his father Heszel were salt traders.
• Uszer Goldsztern was married twice: he had three sons, including twins, with his first wife, Brandla Cham; she died sometime relatively soon after the birth of the twins (May 8, 1902). He married Dvoirah Ruchla Segal on January 13, 1903 and they had ten or 11 children, or perhaps that was the total of all of Uszer’s children. Sol did not tell me about the first wife.
A few hopefully helpful notes:
• When you see _____ , it stands for a name I do not know, such as a woman’s maiden name.
• People with double names (e.g., Berko Fayvel, Tila Freida, Yiddel Moshe) seem to have been called by both names, either name or both in reverse order. Documents reflect this inconsistency, with the birth record showing Fayvel Berko, for example, and marriage showing Berko Fayvel. Grandpa Sol said his father was “Berko.”
• Sz is pronounced Sh.
• J is pronounced Y.
• V is often pronounced F (Rivka=Ryfka)
• A in Yiddish was often pronounced U or Eh: Sarah=Sure, Asher=Uszer.
• W is pronounced V.
• Ber=Berl=Berko=Berka (ko, keh, ka are diminutives).
• Yudko=Yudka=Yehudah (Judah).
• Yankiel=Yaakov (Jacob)
• Szojel=Szoela=Sha’ul (Saul).