My ancestors come from the Ukraine, Belarus and Hungary. The Jewish communities in these countries date back to medieval times.
COLOR STEEL MAP EUROPEAN RUSSIA AND THE UKRAINE, PUBLISHER: LONDON; NEW YORK : ROUTLEDGE, WARNE, 1861.
Mapping my Ancestors
As the Jewish communities in these regions grew and the Jews prospered, anti-Semitism arose, time and time again. This often ended in violent pograms, violent riots aimed at the persecution of the Jews. A series of these pogroms happened throughout the regions from 1894 through 1905. Coupled with the economic prospects in the Americas, these circumstances led over a million Jewish people to emigrate. The majority of my relatives were part of this wave, emigrating to America in the first two decades of the 20th century.
There were nine main ports of departure during this period: Odessa, Hamburg, Bremen, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Liverpool, Southampton, Glasgow and Libau. Passage to New York cost up to 73 Russian rubles for adults (the equivalent today is $1,080), infants were 5 rubles and children under 12 paid half price. This didn't include the cost of train fare or food during the trip. For large families the cost was too much. So often the head of the family would travel first and raise the money for the rest of the family to follow. Because there was so much corruption at the Russian border, most Jewish immigrants would sneak across the border at night rather than go through proper channels. Once across the border they would proceed on foot, carriage or by train to their port of choice.
Sixth Generation
My Great Great Great Grandparents on my Mother's Father's side were Samuel Shapiro and Dora Bernstein and Mordechai Minkoff and Zina Schulman. These four families originally came from Minsk. Variations of all four family names appear in the Jewish Town Dwellers list for the Town of Minsk in 1894.
My Great Great Great Grandfathers on my Father's Mother's side were Morris Rovner and Abraham Travetsky. These two families came from neighboring towns in the Zhytomyr Oblast region of the Ukraine, V'yasovka and Narodychi. This region was devastated by the 1989 Chernobyl Nuclear crisis, making tracking down geneaological information more difficult.
Fifth Generation
On my Mother's Father's side there are the Minkoff, Shapiro, Nichamoff and Nickamov families.
Minkoff/Shapiro
The Minkoff and Shapiro families originally came from Minsk in Belarus. Minsk was one of the largest communities in Russia in the nineteenth century. By 1897, the city had 91,494 residents, and 50% of its population was Jewish. In 1904, there were over 6,000 Jewish craftsman in the city. They were primarily shoemakers, tailors, hatters and turners. At this time the city had 99 synagogues and prayer houses. The city was also the center for the Jewish Socialist and Zionist Movements.
My Great Great Grandparents were Sarah Hinda Shapiro (1862-1943) and Schmeil Zalman Minkoff (1857-1947). Their son, Samuel was my Great Grandfather. He was the eldest of 9 children: Samuel (1884-1947), Zhiska (1888-1955), Dora (1892-), Simcha (1894-1958), Anna (1896-1969), Yudel (1898-1942), Mirka (1900-1967), Ida (1902-1993) and Motele (1904-1942). Zhiska, Mirka and Yudel stayed behind in Minsk, while their siblings emigrated to America.
Seated Left to Right: Ida (Ada) Minkoff Eckman, Sarah Hinda Shapiro (mother), Schmeil Zalman (father), and Anna Minkoff Barishman. Standing in back Left to Right: Mirka (Miriam) Minkoff Nevelson, Zhiska Minkov Slavin and Yudel (Yehuda) Minkoff. Standing between his parents: Motele (Mordechai)
Most of Schmeil Zalman and Sarah Hinda's children emigrated to America in the first decade of the 20th century. In 1926, My Great Great Grandparents decided to leave Minsk and came to America to settle with one of their daughters in Ohio.
Schmeil Zalman and Sarah Hinda sailed from Southampton on March 17, 1926 on the SS Antonia and arrived in New York on March 30, 1926. According to the ship manifest, they settled in St. Biraard, Ohio.
In the 1940 Census, Schmeil Zalman is listed as Solomon and he and Sarah are living near their Daughter, Anna Barishman, and her son David. They were living in Cincinnati, Ohio in Hamilton County. They describe their occupation as being aged parents caring for the children.
Sarah Hinda passed away on September 4, 1943 and Schmeil Zalman passed away on March 16, 1947.
They are both buried at Covedale Cemetary in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Nichamoff/Nickamov
The Nichamoff and Nickamov families originally came from Mogliev in what is now Belarus. As in Minsk, half of the population of this city was Jewish by the end of the 1800s. Mogliev was about half the size of Minsk. In 1897, there were 21,539 Jews in the city. A pogrom took place in the city in October of 1904 and one man was killed and many buildings damaged.
My Great Great Grandparents were Feigel Nichamoff and Israel Baer Nickamov. Their daughter, Masha "Minnie" Minkoff, was my Great Grandmother. Minnie (1886-1961) was one of seven siblings. Her brothers and sisters were Morris (1872-1954), Sophia (1881), Sam Zelig (1882), Ida Chaika (1890), Mary Michla (1894), and Max Muta.
I have found no records yet for Feigel and Israel Baer. I know that Morris, Sophia, Ida, Minnie and Mary emigrated to America in the first decade of the 1900's possibly to escape the anti-Jewish sentiment in the region. I have not found records for Max Muta.
On my Mother's Mother's side there are the Zinkofsky, Chefez and Jonas families.
Zinkofsky/ Zinkowski
The Zinkofsky family originally came from Smila Kiev Gubernya in the Ukraine. In 1897, there were 7,475 Jews in Smila, which was 49% of the population. It was not a large city like Minsk, but it was a large country town with a sugar refinery and six factories. The streets were filled with factory workers and their was a large market place filled with traders. Most of the merchants in town were Jewish. There were several synagogues and a few private Jewish schools. There were anti-Jewish attacks in this region as well: a pogrom in May 1881 and another in the fall of 1904.
My Great Great Grandparents were Sura and Elihu Yonah Zinkofsky. I have no documentation on these relatives so far.
Their son, Abraham, was my Great Grandfather. He was born August 21, 1884. Abraham had three other brothers: Isadore (1894), Isaac (1888) and Usna. Abraham, Isadore and Isaac emigrated to America. I have not found records for Usna.
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Jonas/Chefez
The Jonas and Chefez families originally came from Odessa in what is now the Ukraine. Odessa was a major port city. In 1897, The Jewish population was about a 1/4 of the entire population in the city. There were 138,935 Jews out of the total population of 403,815.
My Great Great Grandparents were Slava Chefez (1862?) and Ephraim Jonas (1852?).
Ephraim and Slava were married circa 1876 in Odessa.
Their daughter, Anna, was my Great Grandmother. She was born in 1893. She had three siblings: Samuel (1880), Lena (1895) and Joseph (1899). All four were born in Odessa.
The Jonas family lived happily in Odessa until anti-Jewish sentiment in the region resulted in Pogroms.
In 1904, when Ephraim was 39? years old he left his family behind in Odessa and immigrated to America, hoping to find a safe place for them to settle.
He sailed on the SS Finland. It left the port of Antwerp on February 24, 1904 and arrived in the port of New York on March 1, 1904. His occupation was listed as Tailor.
While Ephraim was in America, things were getting worse for the Jewish people in Odessa.
There is a family legend about how my Great Great Grandmother Slava and my Great Grandmother, Anna, escaped the Pogrom and fled with her brother and sister to America to join their father.
"My mother Anna, your Great Grandmother, came to America from Russia when she was a girl. Her Father, Ephraim, came over first with his eldest son Samuel. He worked hard and raised the money for the rest of the family to follow. They were waiting for the visas and tickets to arrive when a very close friend warned them that there would be a pogrom attacking the village that day. The boys were already in town, so Slava gathered all her belongings and she and Anna ran from the village. On their way out they ran into the soldiers. Thinking on her feet, Slava threw the little money she had up in the air. The soldiers went for the money and Slava and Anna were able to escape. The friend who warned them hid the whole family in the cellar. They had only cabbage to eat. They waited there in hiding for the visas to arrive, but the visas never came. When Ephraim had heard that everyone in the village had been killed, he cancelled the visas and went into mourning. It was only after he came out of mourning that he heard the good news. He re-sent the visas and the tickets and the family was reunited in America!
Slava and her three children finally received their visas and tickets and boarded the SS. Lucania on January 6, 1906. They sailed from Liverpool and arrived in New York City on January 14, 1906.
At first I second-guessed this record. the names did not match exactly. But the dates and locations matched, and the names were close: Slawa for Slava, Nechame for Anna, Libe for Lena, Jossel for Joseph. The manifests notes that they will be staying in Brooklyn, NY with Slawa's husband, A. Jonas.
Some time between 1905 and 1910 Ephraim set up business as a custom Tailor. Though his name is Ephraim, he sets up business in America as Abraham.
The 1910 Census notes that Abraham is the owner of his own Tailor Shop. Lena and Annie are Sales Ladies. Their home was in the Jewish section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
On my Father's Mother's side there are the Rovner, Travetsky, Levitsky and Tucker families.
Rovner/Rooner/ Rowney Travetsky
My great grandparents were Leib Rovner (1860-1935) and Fruma Travetsky (1852?-1936). The Rovner family originally came from Wiasorka/Viasufra/Neosorka (which I believe to be known today as V'yazovka) in the Ukraine.
The Travetskys were from one town over in the Town of Narodici/Narodychi. The main occupations of the Jewish population in 19th-early 20th century were crafts and trade. Jews owned the only pharmacy, the two bakeries, all 9 hotels, a mill and 44 shops in Narodychi. They also owned all 24 grocery shops, all 3 butcher shops, all 9 light industry shops and the only shoe store. The only dentist in Narodychi was a Jew.
Leib and Fruma had six children: Meyer (1885), Ruby (1886-1953), Borach (1888), Sonya (1894), Jack (1894), and Louis (1897). All of them emigrated to the United States in the first two decades of the century.
The United States Quota Act of 1921, made it difficult for Jews from Russia to emigrate to the U.S. This resulted in a trend for some Russian Jews to emigrate first to Cuba and then to the states. 25,000 Jews migrated to Cuba between 1918 and 1947. Many stayed and made Cuba their home. In 1923, Leib and Fruma arrived in Cuba. They lived there for two years before heading on to America to join their family.
In the 1930 Census, Leib known as Louis and Fruma known as Frieda were living with their daughter Sonya, Son-in-Law, Sam Schuster, and their granddaughter Dorothy. This document notes that Leib and Fruma are the same age, while the shipping manifest indicates there is a four year difference in their ages.
Leib died on April 16, 1935 and Fruma died on July 13, 1936. Both were buried in Proviso, Illinois at Waldheim Cemetery.
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Levitsky/Lewitsky--Tucker
The Levitsky and Tucker families originally came from Chabna (now known as Poliske) in the Ukraine. In 1897 there were 1,721 Jews listed living in Chabna, roughly 63% of the population was Jewish. Of the 39 artisans listed in the town at this time 38 of them were Jewish.
My Great Grandparents were Michael Levitsky and Bayla Tucker. Michael and Bayla had 6 children: "Max" Oscar (1876), Shlayma, Jack (1883), Abraham "Abe" Aaron (1887), Manya (1886-1954), my Great Grandmother, and Ida (1890). I have been able to find records for all of these siblings in America except for Shlayma.
On my Father's Father's side there are the Hollander and Klein families. I hope to discover the missing great great grandparents on my father's side as I continue my research.
Hollander
The Hollander family originally came from Budapest, Hungary. I currently do not have any information about my Great Grandparents from this side of the family.
Budapest was originally two cities, Buda and Pest, separated by a river. In 1876, the cities were united. Each city had its own Jewish community. The Jews began arriving in both these cities in Medieval times. However by the middle of the 19th century most of the Jewish families had moved to Pest. In 1867, following the formation of the Austria-Hungarian monarchy, the Jews of Hungary were granted equal rights and in 1895 Judaism was officially recognized as one of the accepted religions. In 1900, 23% of the city was Jewish.
Klein
The Klein Family also came from Budapest, Hungary. I currently do not have any information about my Great Grand Parents from this side of the family.
The Fourth Generation
Minkoff/Nichamoff
My Great Grandparents on my Mother's Father's side were Samuel "Sam" Minkoff (1884-1947) and Masha "Minnie" Nichamoff (1886-1961).
Minnie was born in Mogliev in 1886. In 1906, when Minnie was 20, she decided to leave Mogliev and emigrate to America. Her brother Morris and his wife, Ida, had sailed to America in 1904 on the SS. St. Paul. Minnie would initially join them in Brooklyn.
She sailed from Rotterdam on the SS. Nieuw Amsterdam, leaving port on June 16th and arriving in the port of New York on June 26, 1906. On the shipping manifest, Minnie described herself as a dressmaker.
My Great Grandfather, Samuel Lieb Minkoff was born June 5, 1884. In 1906, when he was 21 years old, he left his family behind in Minsk and also emigrated to America.
In 1910, Samuel was listed in the Census as a lodger in a boarding house in Ohio. At the time of the Census he was single. This is the first of many records in which he has listed his occupation as a House Painter.
By 1910, Minnie had gone to live with her sister Sophia and brother-in-law, Max Rabinowitz, in Hamilton, Ohio. She was working as a seamstress mending Men's Shirts.
Samuel met my Great Grandmother, Masha "Minnie" Nichamoff, and the two were married in 1910 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Samuel and Minnie had three children. Irving, Phillip and Martin. Irving (b.1911) and Phillip (b.1912) were born in Cincinnati, Ohio. The New York Census of 1915 shows that the family had moved to Brooklyn, NY sometime between 1912 and 1915. Martin was born in Brooklyn in 1917.
In 1918 Samuel registered for the Draft. He and Minnie were living at 471 Powell Street, in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn and Sam was working as a Painter for Gardiner Brothers, located at 4170 Jamaica Avenue, Woodhaven, NY.
Sam and Minnie were still living in Brownsville in 1920. Sam was still a painter and Minnie stayed home with the children.
In 1926, Samuel declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen. This documant shows him living at 186 Amboy Street, in the Brownsville neighborhood in Brooklyn and still lists his occupation as painter.
The 1930 census shows that Samuel and Minnie had moved to Queens with Samuel listed as a house painter and Minnie listed as the proprietor of a paint store. Their home was in Ozone Park. The Store was in the neighboring community of Woodhaven.
Minnie became a citizen on April 1, 1937 when she was 50 years old. She was living at 101-17 75th Street in Ozone Park.
By 1940, Samuel and Minnie were still living in Ozone Park with their two sons. Their youngest, Martin, was working in their paint store as a salesman.
Sam passed away on June 18, 1947 and Minnie continued to run the paint store.
"Staying with my Grandma Masha was a real high point for me. She still owned the paint store that had been hers and my grandfather’s, and she lived in an apartment above the store with a woman who I only knew as Tante Sarah. For a girl who had only known living in a house in an upper middle class neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, this new world was exciting. I was allowed to “help” in the store, and I was given pennies so I could walk down the street to buy goodies at the corner candy store. I loved this new found independence. I was pretty free to stop in at the grocer, the butcher, the shoe repair shop on my own. Grandma knew everyone, and they all encouraged me to visit. Sometimes, Grandma sent me on errands to pick up some meat or some fruit. I felt very important." Sallie Hollander
Minnie died on June 6, 1961. Both Sam and Minnie were buried at the Montefiore Cemetary in Springfield, Long Island. Both lived to see the next generation of Minkoffs being raised in America.
"The (Minkoff) family members that stayed in Minsk, did not fare so well. Zhiska, Mirka and her husband Boris and their two sons, were transferred to the Ural Mountains from Minsk. They stayed there until the end of the war. After the war they returned to Minsk which had been completely destroyed. They had a very hard time until the Government was able to build new apartments. In the Meantime Yudel, the only Minkoff to register as a Communist, was sent by the Soviets to the Crimea where he died of Typhus. Yudel's wife and son, Mischa, were left behind in Minsk. They were captured by the German. His mother died trying to escape the camps. Mischa escaped with an uncle and hid in an abandoned farmhouse for 2 years until the Russians took the region back. The family in the U.S. sent packages of food and clothing back to those left in Minsk until the Iron Curtain came down and we lost touch." Ruth Sokol
Zinkofsky/Jonas
My Great Grandparents on my Mother's Mother's side of the family were Abraham Zinkofsky (1884-1932) and Anna Jonas (1893-1952).
Abraham was born on August 21, 1884 in Smila Kiev Gubernya in the Ukraine
In 1904, like in other regions of Russia, violence erupted in Smila Kiev. Russian soldiers attacked the Jewish population damaging hundreds of Jewish shops and homes. A Jewish pogrom was committed. Perhaps this is why, when Abraham Zinkofsky was 21 years old, He decided to emigrate to the the United States by way of Canada.
After arriving in Canada he made his way to the United States by way of Montreal on the Canada Pacific Railroad on January 6, 1905
His Border Crossing Card indicates that he crossed into the country at the St. Albans- Vermont Border, and that he was heading to Philadelphia to stay with his cousin Chiam Ostrowsky who lived at 926 Pemberton Street.
McKibbin was in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was a newer neighborhood, which became popular with European immigrants after the Williamsburg Bridge was opened in 1903. Soon Williamsburg became the most densely populated neighborhood in NYC.
Annie and Abraham had three children. All three were born in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn New York. My Grandmother, Lillian, was born in 1911. She had two brothers: Alexander "Alfred" (1914) and Ephraim (1917).
Abraham registered for the draft in 1916
By 1920 Annie and Abraham were still living in the Williamsbur neighborhood of Brooklyn and Abraham was working at a Dress Shop.
Abraham became a U.S. Citizen in 1924. At this time he was still residing in Williamsburg but had moved a few blocks north west to 379 S. 5th Street.
Anna became a U.S. citizen in 1927.
Abraham died on April 24th in 1932 and was buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery.
Anna lived for another 20 years.
Anna passed away on April 4, 1952 and was also buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in New York.
Rovner/Levitsky
My great grandparents were Marin-Ruwin "Ruby" Rowney and Manya Levitsky. Ruby was born on December 15, 1886 in V'ysovka in the Ukraine and Manya was born in December of 1886. She was from the neighboring town of Chabna.
Ruby and Manya were married in Chabna in January of 1906.
When he was 24, Ruby sailed to America on the SS. Lituania. He left from the port of Libaua, Latvia on September 15 and arrived in the port of New York on September 25, 1910.
On the shipping manifest his name was noted as Mariin-Ruwin Rowney. He was listed as a Tailor from Chabno on his way to Chicago, Illinois.
My Grandmother Ann told me the story about how she and her mother came to America. Of course she was an infant so this was told to her by her mother. Ruby and Mania already had a baby girl when Ruby left for America. Mania had discovered that she was pregnant with my grandmother, but was afraid that if she told Ruby he would not leave. So she kept the baby a secret and Ruby left to make a home for them in America. Then the baby girl got sick and died. My Grandma was born and Mania brought my Grandma Ann to America with the visa and tickets Ruby sent for her and her first daughter Chinke. When Mania and Ann finally arrived, Ruby thought that Ann was the baby girl he had left behind a year before. It was some time before Mania got the nerve to tell him the truth.
Mania and my Grandma Ann sailed from Libau, Latvia on August 15 of 1911 and arrived in New York on the same ship Ruby had sailed on one year earlier, the SS Lituania.
On the Shipping manifest, Mania is listed as a housewife and my Grandma Ann's name appears to be Chinke.
Over the next ten years Ruby and Mania had three more children: Ben (1913), Abe (1915) and Harry (1917). All of the boys were born in Chicago, Illinois.
Ruby (Rubey Rovener) registered for the draft from 1917-1918. At the time he is working for Greenberg and Sapkin located at 1375 Milwaukee Ave, Chicago on a machine hand-tailoring line. He and his family are living at 2630 Iowa Street in Cook County Illinois.
Some time between 1918 and 1923, the family moved to 3006 Montrose Ave in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. Albany Park grew rapidly in he early 1900s. The population tripled in this neighborhood between 1910 and 1920 to 26,676 people. By 1930 the population had doubled again. The majority of people living in this neighborhood were Russian Jews.
On January 14, 1929 Ruby was granted citizenship.
In the 1930 census, Ruby is listed as the shop Proprietor and Mania is a seamstress. Anna is working as well as a stenographer for a Rag Cleaning Company.
In Albany Park, there was a large community of immigrants from Mania's home town in Russia, Chabno. They met regularly and even formed the Chabnor Ladies Relief Aid Society in the 1930's.
In 1932 Mania and Ruby, eldest daughter Ann ( My Grandmother) got married to Harry Hollander. At the time of the wedding Mania and Ruby had moved a few blocks away and were living at 4415 North Albany Avenue in Albany Park, Chicago.
By 1940, the Census indicates that Ann has moved out and the boys are working.
Mania was granted citizenship in January 14, 1947.
Ruby died February 8, 1953. Manya died September 26, 1954. They were both buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Norwood Park, Illinois
Hollander/Klein
My Great Grandparents on my Father's Father's side were Joseph Hollander and Lena Klein. They were both born in Budapest Hungary. Joseph in 1866 and Lena in 1871. They met and married in Budapest as well circa 1889.
Two years later on August 12, 1891, Joseph emigrated to America. He sailed from Glasgow on the SS. Nebraska into the port of New York.
Joseph is listed as a shoemaker on the ship manifest
Lena is supposed to have come to America in 1892. I have not yet found her shipping manifest.
By 1900 the whole family is living in Chicago. They have four children, all of whom were born in Chicago: Mary (1893), Oscar (1894), Sarah (1897), and Abe (1898). Joseph is still listed as a shoemaker.
Josef and Lena have 5 more children in the next 7 years: Ignatz, Syrell, Emanuel, Dorothy and Harry. When Joseph dies in 1907, Lena can not care for all the children herself so she places all but the youngest and the oldest in a Jewish orphanage. Joseph was buried at Westlawn Cemetery
Marks Nathan opened as the first Orthodox Jewish orphanage in Chicago with 29 residents in 1906 on North Wood Street in the Wicker Park neighborhood. In 1912, the home relocated at 15th and Albany on the West Side, now able to accommodate more than 300 residents. The home would stay open until 1948, when Jews began moving away from the West Side and the social-welfare system began to supplant orphanages.
In the 1910 census, only Oscar, Manny and Dora are living with Lena. Their home is located in the West Town area known today as the Ukranian Village Neighborhood. Ukrainian and Russian immigrants settled in this neighborhood from 1880 to 1910. In contrast to Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village began as a predominately working-class neighborhood. Many of the area's first residents were craftsmen employed to build the mansions of their wealthy Wicker Park neighbors
By the 1920 Census, Lena is still living in the Ukranian Village neighborhood, living with five of her children, Abe, Syrell, Manuel, Dorothy and Harry. The census indicates that she had 15 children. Among her children were three sets of twins and a set of triplets, but only 6 survived (I know the names of three of the children who passed away (Mary, Ignotz and Sarah).
They are all working. Abe is a travelling Salesman. Harry and Manuel are Clerks and Dorothy is a Candymaker.
Eventually Oscar, his sons and grandsons all worked for the Board of Trade. Al "Abe" was in the radio business and Many had a furniture shop on the Southside of Chicago. Syrell and Dorothy were both housewives.
Lena dies on March 13, 1938 and is buried at Westlawn Cemetary
Third Generation
Minkoff/Mines-Zinkoff
My Grandparents on my Mother's side were Larry and Lillian Mines. Grandpa Larry was born on March 19, 1911 as Irving Minkoff in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lillian was born July 4th, 1911 in Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York.
Irving was born in Ohio, but moved to the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn when he was a toddler. He was a track star at Boys High School in Brooklyn, NY and at Ohio State University. He even once raced Jessie Owens.
He also played football and pool. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1933.
Lillian
My Grandmother grew up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
When they were married Grandpa was a Cab Driver.
Irving was also a Physical Ed Teacher.
Irving and Lillian had three children by 1945: Alan, Deborah "Debbie", and Sallie. All three were born in Ozone Park, Long Island.
In 1947, Irving had been hired by Rothmoore Clothing Manufacturing Company as a Salesman, the same company his brother-in-law, Al Zink, worked for. He moved his family from New York to Chicago for this job. They got a house at 1623 Chase Avenue in Rogers Park.
Larry sold women's coats and suits to large stores. When he wasn't at the Chicago Office, he was travelling throughout the south selling his wares. Because of anti-Jewish sentiment in the south, it was suggested that Irving change his name to something less Jewish sounding. He became Larry Mines.
"I adored my Father, and was told by Mother that I was his favorite. I hated the long business trips he took. Sometimes he was gone for six weeks at a time. He always drove a black Cadillac limousine which was filled out with racks in the back to hold all of his samples. I loved being driven to school by him and having everyone stare." Sallie Hollander
"Even though my family had moved to Chicago, we still visited the family in New York City twice a year. I also spent time in Massapequa with my Uncle Phil, Aunt Ann, cousin Alice and her three brothers, Richie, Sandy and Peter. Life was much different in Massapequa than it was in the Rogers Park area of Chicago where I lived. The kids walked down the middle of the streets, played ball in the streets, roller-skated in the streets – there were no sidewalks. There were very few cars and even fewer worries. Massapequa was suburbia. Rogers Park was city living. One time while I was visiting in Masssapequa, Uncle Phil had a visitor. He introduced me as his niece while explaining to the man, “You know, my brother Irving’s daughter”. I looked at him with great puzzlement and said that my Daddy’s name was Larry, not Irving. Apparently, since he was going to be selling women’s clothing in the Southeast of the United States, the company suggested that he change his name from Irving Minkoff to Larry Mines to avoid the stigma of being Jewish. Many years later, after my Mother died in the late 1990’s, we were going through papers. That’s when I saw my original birth certificate with the last name of Minkoff. I had never put two and two together to realize that I wasn’t always a Mines. I was born a Minkoff." Sallie Hollander
In the 1960s, Larry and Lillian moved to an apartment on Sheridan Road, overlooking Lake Michigan.
"I remember visiting Grandma and Grandpa in this apartment. It was where I had my first real experience with the winds that make Chicago's nickname of the Windy City. Rebecca was just starting to walk so I must have been about five years old and Marla was seven. We got out of the car and the wind was so strong that Mom insisted that we each had to hold onto each other. Mom led the way. She held Marla's hand and Marla held mine and I had to pull Rebecca close to my side so she wouldn't slip from my grasp. Then slowly we inched are way up the sidewalk to the front door." Amy Hollander
In the 1970s they retired to Aragon in the Sunrise Community near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Larry played a great deal of golf and Lillian took art classes and occasionally were visited by their grandchildren, Wendy, Russell, Marla, Amy and Rebecca.
Larry died in October of 1986 in Florida.
After a few years, Lillian moved to the Applewood facility in Freehold, New Jersey to be closer to her Daughter, Sallie and her grandchildren. She died on December 25 in 1997 in Ewing New Jersey.
Hollander/Rovner
Harry was born in Chicago in 1901. His father died when he was a small child. He had 5 siblings, and his mother could not care for the whole family. From 1907 until 1920, at various times several of the children were placed at the Marks Nathan Jewish Orphanage.
According to the 1920 Census, when Harry was 18, he was living with his mother and several of his siblings and he was working as a Clerk in an office.
In the 1930 Census, Harry is living with his sister Dorothy and his brother-in-law Charles Greenberg. At this time he was listed as the Manager of the Foreign Department of the Freight House.
Ann was born in Chabno, Russia in 1911. She traveled to America as an infant with her Mother, Mania Rovner. They arrived in the port of New York and joined Ann's father, Ruby, in Chicago.
Ann grew up in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. She and her brothers went to Roosevelt Highschool.
In the 1930 Census, Ann was 19 years old. She was still living with her parents and working as a Stenographer at a Rug Cleaning Company.
My Grandma Ann used to tell me the story of how she and Grandpa Harry met. They were at a community dance. Grandma was with her cousin Blanche. Blanche was beautiful and Grandma told me that when Blanche was around she always felt invisible. So when Grandpa Harry came up and asked her to dance, she could not figure out why this handsome man was talking to her.
Ann Rovner and Harry Hollander were married on September 4, 1932
Harry and Ann went on their Honeymoon to Bermuda in September of 1932. They sailed home on the SS. Franconia. At the time they were living at 53 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois.
Two years later, in June of 1934, Harry and Ann took a cruise to Honolulu, Hawaii.
Ship Manifest for the SS. Malolo
Three months later, just when Harry had been promoted to Vice President of the Universal Carloading Company, tragedy struck. He was on his way home from New York State on the Lake Shore Limited. It left New York at 6:50 pm on April 20th and was derailed at 11 pm at Gulf Curve, Little Falls. The Engine, Tender and first 9 cars were derailed. The accident took the lives of 31 people including my grandfather. Another 100 people were injured. An investigation into the accident concluded that it was caused by excessive speeds on a curve.
Harry was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Chicago.
Ann raised the three boys on her own. They lived in Albany Park, Chicago. At first they lived in a house at 4500 North Lawndale Avenue in Chicago.
"The boys were a handful, but Ann was up to the challenge. I remember her telling me about the time they were fighting over who got the biggest piece of cake. Her solution was to tell them whoever cut the cake was the last to pick his piece. She would wink when she said that, and say it was the only way you make sure they cut the slices evenly." Amy Hollander
Then Ann and the boys family moved a few blocks to a four flat apartment building on 4643 North Avers Avenue, still in Albany Park.
In the 1960s, Ann went to work as the manager of an Art Gallery on Devon Avenue in West Rogers Park, Chicago, and moved to an apartment around the corner on Talman Avenue. George and Arnie were married by this time, but Larry lived with her there while he was in college. The Jewish population of West Rogers Park peaked in the early 1960's, with approximately 47,000 Jewish residents.
In the 1970's, Ann moved into an apartment in Skokie, Illinois. She was close to all her grandchildren. George and his wife Devy lived in Northbrook with their three children Mike, Betsy and Karen and Arnie lived in Glenview with his wife Bev, son Mark and daughter Lynn. Larry was living in Wilmette with my Sallie and his three daughters, Marla, Amy and Rebecca.
"I remember visiting Grandma Ann there as a child. She had a large open living room and dining room with lots of windows, a small kitchen and one bedroom. Her bedroom set was antique wood. It had a bed, a low dresser and a highboy dresser. There was a piece of glass covering the top of the low dresser, protecting a dozen black and white photographs of her children and family. I remember I would point to them one at a time, and she would tell me stories about my dad and his brothers. The bottom drawer of the highboy was filled with treasures, that she allowed us to play with. Beautiful scarves, jewelry and clothes for dress up. On nice days we would go to the zoo or for walks to a nearby pond. we would collect leaves and flowers and make posters with whatever we found. Once we collected a bunch of cattails and brought them home. Mom put them in the basement and we forgot about them. One morning we walked down and they had exploded. Their were seeds everywhere. it looked like it had snowed." Amy Hollander
Ann died in December of 1994. She is buried in Westlawn Cemetery.
Thank You for Taking this Journey with Me