How does the Herzog branch connect to the Melamed branch?
Fate connected my Melamed and Shankman and Skolnick ancestors to my Herzog branch. The Herzog family in 1910 lived in Chicago . . . in the same apartment building as the Skolnick’s and my grandfather Harry Shankman. Cupid apparently put Abraham and Fannie Skolnick together and they married in 1919.
This is how the story unfolds. My ancestors left the Pale of Settlement – Russia – and arrived in America starting in 1910 when my maternal grandfather, Hershal Krasnitzkie arrived in 1910. Hershal changed his name to Harry Shankman, and went to Chicago to reside with his step-father, Max Skolnick, who had arrived in 1907. Harry’s mother, Bessie Kaplan, arrived in 1911 accompanied by her children who were born in Russia from her marriage to Max Skolnick. My paternal grandfather, Berel Melamed, arrived in 1914, changed his name to Benjamin Miller and went to Minnesota where his wife’s relatives lived then to Chicago.
Abraham Herzog, born Novograd, Poland, listed as Abraham Gerzawski on the ship manifest, was Julius’ son, and arrived in 1907 at the port of Baltimore, Maryland. Abraham’s father Julius Gerzawski (Herzog) arrived from Europe in 1909 with his wife Ida and some of his children, also at the port of Baltimore. Abraham, on the 1910 census, was listed as HERZOG. Julius’ ship manifest noted they were enroute to his son who had the surname HERZOG.
It is most probable that Julius’ son had changed his surname to HERZOG some time after arriving in 1906; Julius’ family took the name HERZOG when they arrived in 1909. The Gerzawski family members traveled on ships from Bremen Germany, and according to this article were provided religious accommodations.
It is not currently known if the Herzog family all traveled from the East Coast to Chicago as a group, or why they moved to Chicago. As stated above, the Herzog family in 1910 lived in Chicago . . . in the same apartment building as the Skolnick’s and my grandfather Harry Shankman. Abraham Herzog and Fannie Skolnick married in 1919.
This chart shows the ‘tree tops’ of our branches and how we connect.
Why did Julius Herzog leave the Pale of Settlement? What was the Pale of Settlement?
Julius, age 45 born 1865, and his wife Ida, age 44 born 1866, and their nine children left his birth town which was located in what was called The Pale of Settlement heading for America. Left behind were their parents who may have been deceased. Julius’ father was listed as Michael or Michel on documents. The home page of this website provides a good overview of the Pale. So, in what town in the Pale did Julius live? And why did Julius leave in December of 1907?
Various documents have a variety of spellings of Julius’ birthplace. His son Abraham’s Naturalization Petition stated he was born in Morogrodick, Minsk. This was actually Novogrudok, in the Minsk governmental region. But it has many other name variation alternate names: Navahrudak [Belarus], Novogrudok [Russian], Nowogródek [Polish], Navaredok [Yiddish], Naugardukas [Lithuanian], Novaredok, Novogrudek, Novohorodok, Novradok, Nowogrudok, Nowogradek, Navharadak, Nawahradak
Today it’s Navahrudak, Belarus; also called Novogrudok or Navaredok.
This explanation explains why all our ancestor’s documents have such a wide variety of names for the same location:
The challenge is to determine the last place of residence reported by each passenger and link it to an actual town in the Pale of Settlement.This identification faces daunting difficulties: the towns typically had Slavic names; they were reported by Yiddish-speaking passengers; hand-written by a German, British, or Dutch shipping company clerk; and finally a century later, deciphered and transcribed onto a file by a volunteer ignorant of the geography of the Pale. The strategy to address this problem was to tailor-fit a text condition for each and every town, matching each passenger based on the text of the “last place of residence” field, while taking into account the following difficulties: (a) phonetic variations and errors; (b) graphic errors; (c) different towns with similar names; and (d) towns with multiple names or various pronunciation of the same name.
Source: http://www.beljews.info/Navagrudak.htm
The map below shows it’s location to the city of Minsk which is about 75 miles away. More detailed information about the town and region is available from the JewishGen.org website. LINK (Will open in new window or tab.)
A website dedicated to the city of Novogrudok has extensive information. LINK
In the Autumn of 1907 a fire destroyed a great portion of the city. This extract is informative:
In the beginning of the 20th century the majority of Navagudak Jews lived near the Central Square and Valeuskaya and Yaureiskaya (Jewish) streets. They lived in wooden houses. A great problem for Navagrudak was an absence of fire-brigade. Great fire was in Navagrudak in Autumn of 1907, in the day of Yom-Kipur. The fire began in the one of jewish houses. Navagrudak was in flames. More than one hundred houses were burnt. In New-York was created a special committee of Navagrudak born jews for help to their native town.
Source: http://www.beljews.info/Navagrudak.htm
Another factor in the Herzog migration were the Pogroms of 1903 – 1906 that terrorized and murdered Jews throughout the Pale of Settlement. A case could easily be made that the fire and resulting assistance by a New York Jewish Committee is what allowed the Herzog family to emigrate to America.
Julius most likely was assisted by the New York Navagrudak Jewish Committee in arranging for the family’s departure and eventual arrival in America on December 18, 1909. And, as the family patriarch he sent his 15 year old son Abraham ahead to check out the New World in preparation for the rest of the family to follow; which Abraham did. And it’s probable that Abraham was older due to the process for registering births. Sometimes there were long delays. In my extended family a couple had the same birthdates. A coincidence? No, they just picked the same day when they had to provide a birth month, day, and year.
This explanation from the JewishGen.org website is instructive:
Being a year or two off in age (or even a few more!) is not unusual — people were indifferent to accuracy when it came time to stating their age — they’re often only estimates. They’re definitely not consistent from record to record (i.e. in the successive birth registrations for one family) — they’re just approximations, so you shouldn’t take them literally. Again, this seems to be at the discretion of the town clerk — some were more careful than others. In the birth records of some towns which I’ve indexed, all of the parents’ ages were listed as “20”, “30”, “40” or “50”, i.e. all multiples of 10 — obviously approximations.
Many births were registered long after the event (“delayed registrations”), and it was only the word of the registrant and his/her witnesses that determined what was recorded. How often have we heard a grandparent say that his/her mother was never sure of the real birthday… She just said that it was “three days before Purim,” etc. This does not lend itself to accurate record-keeping.
This also represents the typical chain-migration pattern where families or family members, like Abraham, went to America with a destination of other family, friends, or the New York Committee contacts. This extract is informative:
The underlying claim is that chain-migration, or personal relations to friends and relatives who had already migrated, is not only a factor facilitating migration; it is rather a nearly necessary condition for migration. Individuals who do not have a forward link in the country of destination are generally unable to migrate even if they are fully incentivized to do so.
Source: http://eh.net/eha/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Spitzer.pdf
Abraham Herzog in America
Abraham arrived in America on the steam ship Cassel November 23, 1907 at the port of Baltimore, MD. <Passenger manifest research in process>
On the 1910 Chicago US Census Abraham was listed with his parents and siblings living at 1026 S. Halsted Street.
Julius age 45, and Ida age 44, had no occupation listed. <NEED PAX MANIFEST for all – Research in Process>. He filed Declaration of Intention to become a citizen March 29, 1922. Listing born Novogrudok, Russia, and residing at 710 S. Marshfield Ave, Chicago. Stated he emigrated from Bremen, Germany on the SS Brandenburg to Baltimore, MD about December 18, 1909.
Morris age 25, born c1885. Cutter in tailor shop
Louis age 21, born c1889. Cabinet maker in a factory
Meyer age 20, born c1890 Shoe maker in a shoe factory. Note: When Meyer applied for citizenship in 1941 the court also made his name change official.
Sarah age 19, born c1891. Dressmaker at home
Abraham age 18, born c1892. House painter
Hyman age 17, born c1893. No Occupation
*Aleck age 16, born c1894. No Occupation
*Ellen/Helen age 15, (Ellik?) born c1895. No Occupation *Need to verify given name.
Maxwell age 14, born c1896. No Occupation. Arrived as Mottel GERZOWSKY, Dec 2, 1909 on SS Brandenburg from Bremen to Baltimore, MD. Married Ida, born October 28, 1903, on June 18, 1927 in her birth town of Savannah, Georgia. Three children: Twins Betty & Sylvia, and Norma all born Chicago. Occupation 1940 Chicago Census: Pharmacist
Abraham married Fanny SKOLNICK September 14, 1919.
They had 4 children: Melvin; Adelle ‘Del’; Leon ‘Bucky’;, and Irwin. Abraham was a house painter. The 1940 census notes Abe was the owner of a paint store. His 1942 WWII draft registration shows he was self-employed at 1506 S. Pulaski Road in Chicago. Advertisements in 1957 and 1960 list his paint store location at 2108 West Devon Avenue, Chicago.
Abraham became a naturalized citizen in 1916.
Abraham registered for the WWI draft in 1917. He enlisted in the Army during WWI and served as a private from November 6, 1918 to January 9, 1919. His service number was 5570481. Enlisted Chicago, Nov 6, 1918 at the 23rd Company, 2nd Battalion. On Nov 8th he was assigned to the 23rd Provisional Recruit Battalion. Further assigned to the Engineer Corps (Unassigned to specific unit);. Was at Camp Forrest, Georgia when on Nov 20th he was hospitalized until Dec 25th for acute Influenza at General Hospital No 14, Fort Oglethorpe, GA. He returned to duty on Dec 12th. Rank: Private; 23rd Company. He was assigned to 2nd Recon Battalion, Camp Forrest, GA and transferred on Dec 30th to Camp Custer, MI where on Jan 9, 1919 he was honorably discharged due to demobilization. Enlistment character: Very Good. Annotations list 8 years grammar school. Five foot 3/4 inches. Grey eyes; brown hair. Sight corrected to 20/20 with Myopia right eye since childhood. Speaks English, Russian and Yiddish. Scar on nose, Broke 2 ribs about 1916 in auto accident. Weight 124 pounds. Seven brothers, three sisters, and parents Julius and Ida – all alive.
Abraham died in a car crash August 16, 1953 during a family vacation at South Haven, Michigan.
He is buried in Waldheim Cemetery, Forest Park, IL. Fannie Died November 15, 1969 and is buried next to Abraham.<NEED DEATH CERTIFICATES>
Julius died March 15, 1944, and Ida died July 26, 1944. Both are buried at Waldheim Cemetery, Forest Park, IL
HERZOG FAMILY TREE
Julius & Ida lived at these addresses:
1026 S. Halsted, Chicago – 1910 Census
710 S. Marshfield Ave, Chicago – 1920 Census
1314 S. Tripp, Chicago – 1930 Census
1314 S. Tripp, Chicago – 1940 Census
Abraham lived at these addresses:
1026 S. Halsted, Chicago – 1910 Census
710 S. Marshfield Ave, Chicago – born June 9, 1893 – 1917 WWI Draft Registration
1522 Kildare, Chicago – 1920 Census* Note: The SKOLNICKS & my grandfather Harry SHANKMAN lived in the same building. Abraham, age 26, married Fannie SKOLNICK, age 20, on September 14, 1919 in Chicago.
1522 Kildare, Chicago – born June 9, 1893 – 1920 Naturalization
1528 Kildare, Chicago – 1930 Census
4304 Adams – 1940 Census
4217 W. Van Buren, Chicago – born May 15, 1894 – 1942 WWII Draft Registration
Business address 1506 S. Pulaski, Chicago