Family Migration History – From Russia with Love
In the late 1800s, in Russia, during the reign of Czar Alexander III, the persecution of Russian Jews became much worse. Laws limiting the number of Jewish students admitted to schools and universities were passed and Jews were no longer allowed to own land outside of towns. Pogroms against Jews left entire villages burned to the ground. Hundreds of Jews fled to America, including my relatives.
I recently conversed with my parents to make sense of our family’s heritage. They gave me several unlabeled photo albums and documents to review, and I have been trying to put the pieces together with the assistance of www.Ancestry.com.
One common theme I found in both of my parent’s backgrounds was the love for music. Their relatives were artists, actors, sheep farmers, peddlers, a Baron, woolen mill owners, a Colonel, an ambassador, dry goods merchants, grocers, inn proprietors and musicians.
The artwork of Chagall has always fascinated me in that it typifies the shtetl life of 1800’s Eastern European Jews where my ancestors had lived. The image of the violin is frequently used in Chagall’s paintings. My father told me that violins were very popular instruments and easy to transport.
My father’s ancestors had an inn on the western border of Russia where my great grandfather Morris (b. 1869) entertained soldiers and travelers by playing violin. After his marriage to Mary (b. 1875), they emigrated to America in 1891 (Philadelphia) and had six children, one of whom was my grandfather, Albert, born 1899. Albert married Yetta Ball, one of Russian born Jacob and Ida Ball’s four children.
My mother’s family came from Lithuania. My mother’s great great great grandfather’s name was Tzvi Hersh Weblofsky. Her great great grandfather was Baruch Reuven Bialablocki . Her great grandfather, Jacob Blotcky, came to Des Moines with his family. Jacob Blotcky lived from 1845-1919 and married Mary Werblosky. Their son Harry was born in 1868 in Lithuania. Harry had attended one of the original wooden synagogues that survived in Bialystok. Harry had a sister, Sara Biala Blotcky Cohen, a famous actress on the British stage. His father operated a chain of stores based out of Harlin, IA. Harry opened what was to become the biggest Midwestern department store in Des Moines, and eventually my grandfather Bert and his brothers ran this store until it burned to the ground.
Harry married Russian born Sarah Hershkowitz (a.k.a. Harris). Her father had been a sheep farmer in Poland and had a woolen mill. Her father invented a tool to use in wool processing that required less need for laborers and was asked to leave his country. He settled in Scotland (before coming to America) where he manufactured what was thought to be Harris Tweed. Her brother became a famous Colonel and another brother owned a circus. Sarah also counted Baron de Hersh as one of her relatives. My grandfather Bert Blotcky (Harry’s son) married Ruth Leiserowitz whose parents were from Lithuania. Her father Ellis (for whom I am named) was a wholesale grocer who married Lena Clamowski (a.k.a. Chapman). They had six children.
I am third generation American but on my mother’s side our family has been here for five generations. Although I did not spend much time in the places where my parents were raised, I carry memories from my visits such as my Aunt Estee’s kichel (fried dough dusted with powdered sugar), fireflies, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, my elegant Aunt Sarah in a blue dress, my Great Aunt Fannie’s Atlantic City beach house, and a Goldberg family reunion in Philadelphia. And now I can only imagine through photos and stories what my European ancestors' lives were like, much like a Chagall painting or scene from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. My children will inherit this legacy and pass it to their children hopefully with the appreciation for our forefathers who came to this country over 125 years ago to begin a new life in order to create a future for their many descendants.
In the late 1800s, in Russia, during the reign of Czar Alexander III, the persecution of Russian Jews became much worse. Laws limiting the number of Jewish students admitted to schools and universities were passed and Jews were no longer allowed to own land outside of towns. Pogroms against Jews left entire villages burned to the ground. Hundreds of Jews fled to America, including my relatives.
I recently conversed with my parents to make sense of our family’s heritage. They gave me several unlabeled photo albums and documents to review, and I have been trying to put the pieces together with the assistance of www.Ancestry.com.
One common theme I found in both of my parent’s backgrounds was the love for music. Their relatives were artists, actors, sheep farmers, peddlers, a Baron, woolen mill owners, a Colonel, an ambassador, dry goods merchants, grocers, inn proprietors and musicians.
The artwork of Chagall has always fascinated me in that it typifies the shtetl life of 1800’s Eastern European Jews where my ancestors had lived. The image of the violin is frequently used in Chagall’s paintings. My father told me that violins were very popular instruments and easy to transport.
My father’s ancestors had an inn on the western border of Russia where my great grandfather Morris (b. 1869) entertained soldiers and travelers by playing violin. After his marriage to Mary (b. 1875), they emigrated to America in 1891 (Philadelphia) and had six children, one of whom was my grandfather, Albert, born 1899. Albert married Yetta Ball, one of Russian born Jacob and Ida Ball’s four children.
My mother’s family came from Lithuania. My mother’s great great great grandfather’s name was Tzvi Hersh Weblofsky. Her great great grandfather was Baruch Reuven Bialablocki . Her great grandfather, Jacob Blotcky, came to Des Moines with his family. Jacob Blotcky lived from 1845-1919 and married Mary Werblosky. Their son Harry was born in 1868 in Lithuania. Harry had attended one of the original wooden synagogues that survived in Bialystok. Harry had a sister, Sara Biala Blotcky Cohen, a famous actress on the British stage. His father operated a chain of stores based out of Harlin, IA. Harry opened what was to become the biggest Midwestern department store in Des Moines, and eventually my grandfather Bert and his brothers ran this store until it burned to the ground.
Harry married Russian born Sarah Hershkowitz (a.k.a. Harris). Her father had been a sheep farmer in Poland and had a woolen mill. Her father invented a tool to use in wool processing that required less need for laborers and was asked to leave his country. He settled in Scotland (before coming to America) where he manufactured what was thought to be Harris Tweed. Her brother became a famous Colonel and another brother owned a circus. Sarah also counted Baron de Hersh as one of her relatives. My grandfather Bert Blotcky (Harry’s son) married Ruth Leiserowitz whose parents were from Lithuania. Her father Ellis (for whom I am named) was a wholesale grocer who married Lena Clamowski (a.k.a. Chapman). They had six children.
I am third generation American but on my mother’s side our family has been here for five generations. Although I did not spend much time in the places where my parents were raised, I carry memories from my visits such as my Aunt Estee’s kichel (fried dough dusted with powdered sugar), fireflies, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, my elegant Aunt Sarah in a blue dress, my Great Aunt Fannie’s Atlantic City beach house, and a Goldberg family reunion in Philadelphia. And now I can only imagine through photos and stories what my European ancestors' lives were like, much like a Chagall painting or scene from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. My children will inherit this legacy and pass it to their children hopefully with the appreciation for our forefathers who came to this country over 125 years ago to begin a new life in order to create a future for their many descendants.