Family lore is that Ben Miller’s brother arrived in the US and then returned to Russia.When he arrived, he stayed with the Kapust family in NY. In researching this ‘missing brother’ I have found information on the Kapust family that may be germain. While it does not solve the mystery by identifying the missing brother, it does offer some insights. Also, I propose one possible ‘missing brother’ manifest to consider as a possiblity. Further research is obviously needed, but perhaps more eyes on the documents may help.

My hypothesis:

1. In 1906 Morris KAPUST, about 1 year older than Ben, arrives in NY from the area where Ben & Lena lived in Russia.

2. In 1911 Ben’s brother Moische MELAMED arrives from Kiev enroute to NY. (Ben was married in Kiev 1913 and probably lived in the area some years prior). There are a lot of MELAMED’s who arrived from Russia to NY, and I’ve found one that seemed like a good match. This is a link to a list of Melamed NY Arrivals 1906-1914

3. Morris KAPUST moves from NY to Chicago between 1910 and 1920. His occupation in Chicago is Soda Fountain related . . . just like Ben MILLER.

4. Morris KAPUST dies in 1930, at age 46, and with him went the posible verification regarding the facts of Ben’s brother living with his family in NY.

So . . . if you see anything of interest or have any comments please let me know.

-Ron