How Genealogy Saved (or Significantly Changed) My Life

I've been quiet on my blog recently.  I've been a bit preoccupied with some other things that I'll explain below--all of which started with my genealogy addiction.

I wrote earlier how I found another whole branch of my family via DNA testing.  This was so exciting that I decided to test with the other large companies in case other lost cousins had tested with those.  One of those companies, 23AndMe, offered health information in addition to identifying potential cousins.  I viewed the health benefits as a side feature, but I checked my account daily to see if my results were back and if there would be more clues to help with my genealogy search.

And then the results came.  And my life changed forever.

Ancestor Deep Dive: Shmuel Moshe Rutner

(NOTE:  This post has been updated with much new information.  Read the updated version here.)

Shmuel Moshe Rutner was my great-great grandfather.  He was born in 1855 in the town of Kolodne (also called Darva) which was then in the Austria-Hungarian Empire and is now in Subcarpathian Ukraine.

Extract from Shmuel Moshe "Mosko" Rutner's birth Record--Extract from 1922, Birth in 1855

Shmuel Moshe (legal name Mosko) Rutner (also Ruttner)'s parents were Mendel and Yita (nee Farkas) Rutner.  So far as I know, he lived in Kolodne his entire life.

Tracking Mira's Children: Liba/Elizabeth

This is the fourth in a series tracking the children of Mira Halperin Lefand Marienhoff.You can see everything in this series to this point here.

Liba Marienhoff was born around 1890 or 1892 in Nezhin, Ukraine.  Her birth was not recorded in the Jewish metrical records--which seemed to be not unusual for girls, as there were almost double the number of boys as girls recorded in the town's birth records of the 1890s.

The first mention of her is when she came to America with her mother, sister, brother and half-nephew in 1906:

Liba Marienhoff Ship Manifest, 1906 (line 3)

The British Intrigue Continues

I wrote earlier about how I found a potential British connection for my family and how I got a copy of my grandmother's probable great uncle's marriage license in England.  Thanks to the advice of JGSGB, I contacted the Office of the Chief Rabbi in London to request of copy of Meyer and Rachel Fine's marriage authorisation.

Meyer and Rachel Fine Marriage Authorisation, Manchester, 1896

The Supkoff--um, Zubkis--Family

My great-great grandparents were Yeshaya and Zlata Tzipra (nee Sanshuck) Supkoff.  I've blogged earlier about how the Supkoffs were from the town of Shpikov, but I hadn't been able to find them in the metrical records that our Shpikov group obtained.  I knew that Yeshaya had at least one brother Yossel and three sisters who never left Europe and whose names were unknown, and that his father was Shaul Ber.

Recently, we got another batch of records, the largest part of which is a revision list from around 1895--basically a census of the Jewish residents of Shpikov.  They're being transcribed by volunteers, and that process is still ongoing.  However, the first pages of the records are an index to the heads of each family in the overall records.  I asked the volunteer transcribing the records if he was Supkoff or Zypkoff in the index--but he didn't.  Oh well.

But then Alexander sent the first half of the transcription of the index--and a quick glance through the names made me do a double-take--"Shoel-Ber Zubkis" was listed as a head of family.  The Zubkis name was familiar to me.

Elke & Malke Zupkin Boat Record, 1906

Tracking Mira's Children: Leib

This is the third in a series tracking the children of Mira Halperin Lefand Marienhoff.You can see everything in this series to this point here.

Leib Lefand was born in Nezhin, Russian Empire (now Nezhin, Ukraine) on April 10, 1882, to Mira Halperin Lefand.  His father Yehoshua Zev Lefand had died nearly 9 months earlier.

Leib Lefand birth record, Nezhin, Russian Empire, 1882

Leib had at least 4 older siblings.  His mother soon remarried, and by 1888, Leib was living with his siblings, step-siblings, and two new half-siblings.

The British Connection, Part 2

The British saga continues!  A couple of weeks ago, I found indications that my grandmother's great-uncle--and potentially her great-grandfather--had immigrated from the Russian Empire to England.  I ordered my great uncle Meyer's marriage record from England, and it came in the mail last night.  (I am very impressed with the speed of the UK's GRO office--less than 2 weeks to receive a certificate internationally, much faster than most US states!)

According to the certificate, "Myer Fien," aged 22, married Rachel Kaufman, aged 20 on August 2, 1896.  The married took place in Prestwick's Central Synagogue in Manchester & Lancaster Counties.  Myer's profession was that of a Journeyman cabinet maker, and Rachel was a Mantle Making Assistant.  (This reconfirms that the Meyer Fine found with his father "Hebel" in England's 1891 census was probably the same person, as Meyer was there a 16-year-old cabinet maker.)