BRICK WALLS Updated November 2017 with comments and thoughts pertaining to researching and breaking them down

I had a Brick Wall in finding the name of the father of my great-grandmother Sophie; discovered that his name was Henry.  But then I had anotehr brick wall failure in finding her mother’s name, or the family connection to a relative living in her family home according to the 1894 Philadelphia City Directory.  As it turned out, he was not the connection.

This is a discussion of my brick walls and how I was able to break them with the help of my – at the time – unproven cousin Leslie.  This was a journey with lots of twists and turns.  Never thought I’d ever find the names of my great grandmother Sophie’s parents, much less her siblings and his.  Finding Henry was the beginning of the trail that ultimately resulted in breaking all the walls.  And I’m adding comments relating to how our research progressed.

The 2015 Brick Walls remaining after identifying Sophie’s father as Henry:

• What were Sophie’s parents ‘real’ names?
• Did they have other children besides Sophie?
• What happened to Sophie’s parents after her marriage in 1893?
• Where did they die?
• Where were Sophie’s parents buried? Were they divorced and buried in different cemeteries?
• Who is the relative living in Sophie’s house in 1894 as listed in the City Directory?
• How are Leslie and our two family tree branches connected? Who is our MRCA Most Recent Common Ancestor?

This is how I discovered Henry.  Sophie was 19 when she married and the law required her father to approve.  The key to solving the brick wall was Sophie’s father who was listed as Henry on her marriage license.  Here is the background on how I found her marriage license:

In 2008 Leslie emailed me, ”I was doing some research in Philadelphia and came across some information about Sophie Garfinkle.  She married Charles Goldenberg in 1893 and the license number in the Marriage index is #62136.  You can order a copy of the marriage record from the city of Philadelphia for $35.  If you are interested, let me know and I’ll look for the info in my files about where you should write.”  This correlated with the family stories I had heard from my mother, that her grandmother Sophie was born in Philadelphia and married Charles who was a businessman in Troy, Alabama. So, sent for a copy of the license and . . . . success!  The information regarding Charles was proven, and my great-great-grandfather’s name was Henry on Sophie’s 1893 marriage license.  His name was not Earl as my mother and Aunt believed, and there was no indication of Sophie’s mother’s name except ‘Millicent’ as remembered by my mother.

 

This is where Sophie and her family lived in 1893 when she got married.  It was built in 1812 on a lot 871 square feet.  The house was 1,524 square feet. It is listed on Zillow.com: 319 Catharine Street, a charming 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom colonial home in quaint Queen Village.  Step from the tree-lined street into a warm living room featuring hardwood flooring and an original fireplace.  However, I’m certain that in 1893 it had more than two bedrooms; probably 4 or 5 small ones.

 

 

Knowing Henry’s name, I was sure this would be a quickly resolved brick wall.  It should be easy to find Henry and his wife in the 1900 census, Philadelphia city directories, ship manifests, naturalizations records, death records, and in a cemetery:  WRONG . . . no trace of them existed.  I could not find any record of Henry.  I Searched through Philadelphia city directories and there is no Henry Garfinkle listed.  And no Henry in any of the many area Jewish cemeteries; I contacted all nineteen (19) of them.  And no census records. And no ship manifest record for Henry GARFINKEL.

Before discovering the 1893 marriage license – thanks to Leslie’s finding a potential marriage index for a Sophie GARFINKEL –  all I knew regarding Sophie’s parent’s names was the family lore:  Earl and Millicent.  So now I knew that ‘Earl’ was really ‘Henry’.  I also guessed that Millicent was probably not the name of Henry’s wife.

In January 2011 Leslie found a 1910 census record. While the census was not Leslie’s relatives, she always saved anything with the Garfinkel name even thought it was not her branch.   “ . . . here’s a 1910 census record I found in my files for Eli and Matilda Garfinkel.  The names are strikingly close to Eli (Earl) and Millicent.  There is a daughter, Reba and Nettie living with them.”   Leslie had recalled family conversations that included the name Nettie so this was another clue that Leslie and I were cousins.

In December 2015.  Leslie learned that Ancestry had added a new collection of probate records from Philadelphia.  I searched them and found a possible match. This was my email to Leslie:

“Just found a possible mother of my Sophie GARFINKEL who lived with your Jacob/Joe BANKS at 319 Catherine Street.  But I can’t find any death certificate or burial reference online.  I’ve attached relevant probate documents.  From your research, does this Mollie GARFINKEL fit into any of your research?  She died in Philadelphia August 20, 1915.  She had the following listed children: Charles, William, Sophia GOLDENBERG, Rose MANDEL, May RICE, and Rebecca FLOMENHOFT.  Since the documents do not mention her husband he must have already died. I’m guessing some document should list his name, perhaps her death certificate. I’m looking for any records such as an obituary, cemetery record, death certificate, marriage, census,  . . . anything that can help confirm or deny this potential source.  I can’t find any marriage record for Mollie, so I’m guessing he might have been married in Russia.  I’m planning on requesting marriage records of the children in hopes they can provide additional facts.”   Was Mollie my Millicent?  She was the Matilda on the 1910 census based on her children’s names and the probate record.  So where was Mollie buried?  Was her husband named Eli as on the 1910 census? Had she divorced or remarried?

In summer of 2016 I contacted the Philadelphia JGS and a volunteer took photos of the grave’s of Mollie.  She was buried next to and Ely (not Eli and Matilda recorded on the 1910 census).   The stones had their birth and death date information.  This enabled me to obtain Ely’s death certificate.  However, it did not have any definitive information.  Even his given name was virtually illegible: Iheill.  But I noticed that his home address was the home address on the 1910 census.  Sometime before 1910 they moved to 442 Emily Street and that was the address on the death certificate.  Later, when we translated the gravestone, it was ‘obvious’ that they had recorded his Hebrew name on the death certificate: Ikhel.

This was the last major piece of the puzzle.  It only took from 2005 to 2016 to discover my great grandmother’s parents were named Ely and Mollie.   Not Earl, not Eli, not Henry; and Not Millicent, not Matilda.

I had found my great-grandmother Sophie’s father and mother buried in Philadelphia, as well as their children’s names.   Her name was in probate records and on her tombstone was Mollie . . . not Millicent.  My Aunt Millicent thought she was named for an ancestor named Millicent.  She was close.  My Aunt was named for Mollie . . . . who was Malka on her 1882 ship manifest, and Matilda on a census form.   Henry was not Earl but Eli on a census form, and Ely on his tombstone with his Hebrew name listed too.  More on his Hebrew name later.

In November 2016 I had one major brick wall remaining.  How were Leslie and I related; who was our common ancestor?

RECAP: The 2015 Brick Walls now SOLVED . . . one Brick Wall remaining

• SOLVED What were Sophie’s parents ‘real’ names?  Ely and Mollie.
• SOLVED Did they have other children besides Sophie?  Seven total children and we know their names and spouses.
• SOLVED What happened to Sophie’s parents after her marriage in 1893?  They lived in Philadelphia, Ely died 1911, Sophie 1915.
• SOLVED Where did they die?  Philadelphia.
• SOLVED Where were Sophie’s parents buried? Were they divorced and buried in different cemeteries?  Not divorced; buried next to each other.
• SOLVED Who is the relative living in Sophie’s house in 1894 as listed in the City Directory?  A transient relative.

Ely and Mollie, who lived at 319 Catherine Street, had many relatives that lived with them or used their address in 1893-94 as a residence for ship manifests, giving birth, and passport applications . . . that we know of.

– Frank (Freink) GARFINKEL passport application in April 1894 listed he lived at 319 Catherine Street.

– Clare GARFINKEL born March 1894 in Sophie’s house, 319 Catherine Street. Clare’s father was Mollie’s brother William.

– Chaim RUBENSTEIN’s 1894 manifest card notes he was meeting his son Samuel (Schumle) at 319 Catherine Street.  My guess, still unproven, is that Chaim is the brother of Mollie.  Best evidence is that Chaim was born about 1849, and since Mollie was born about 1852 a sibling connection seems reasonable.  Still looking for documentation to validate this.

– William GARFINKEL, is Ely and Mollie’s child.  In 1893 William’s son Harry was born at 319 Catherine Street. Can’t help but think ‘Harry’ was named after the ancestor who was ‘Henry’ on the 1893 marriage license.

– And our ‘Jacob GARFINKEL’ who was listed in the 1894 City Directory as living at 319 Catherine Street with no Occupation and no Business Address?  I believe he was one of the many GARFINKEL relatives using the home address for whatever purpose needed.  We may never positively identify him since we believe we have accounted for all the known ‘Jacob GARFINKEL’s’, but it would appear that since he was not in the Directory in 1893 or 1895, is not an unidentified relative in a Philadelphia cemetery . . . that he was another extended relative temporarily living at 319 Catherine Street.

NOW SOLVED November 2017:

• How are Leslie’s and our two family tree branches connected; who is our MRCA Most Recent Common Ancestor?  

• Leslie and I are 4th cousins once removed (4C1R) and our common ancestor is Moshko GURFINKEL.

So how did we make this connection and break this last major Brick Wall?

 

This November, when the Chicago weather was bad by any definition and I could not play golf, I devoted time to these brick walls.   The result was that we crushed the brick wall.  However, the purpose of this article is not to provide the specifics of our success.  I hope the more interesting story is how these walls were crushed after my more than 20 years of searching, including the past 12 years with the collaboration of my cousin Leslie.

Please allow me to take a short side track relating to Brick Walls and how to burst them. Then I’ll get back to my story.

Perhaps those who have brick walls that seem hopeless and unsolvable may take solace in knowing that they may eventually break their walls down.  You may find information that solves brick walls, even brick walls that you didn’t know you would have.  New archive and document discoveries are made almost daily, and many are put online.  Unfortunately many archives are not indexed or accessible even to local residents.  Patience is difficult, but required.  For example, our Society has many cemetery, synagogue, and Jewish orphanage data projects underway.  Genealogical data is currently being collected, analyzed, compiled and put into our JJCD (JGSI Jewish Chicago Database).    And many organizations, like JewishGen, and Special Interest Groups (SIG’s), have projects underway or planned that will bring new as yet unknown records into the public domain.  Some projects will take years but they will be completed and most made available online.  And a recent trend is of people returning to the towns of their ancestors.  Their resulting explorations are uncovering new cemeteries and some thought totally destroyed.  They are being indexed and photographed (eventually added to JOWBR).  And the newly discovered archive records they find are being made public.

Today the Internet has made genealogy research almost easy.  But don’t be fooled, it takes time to learn how to use the online websites, tree programs, organizations, blogs, and other available resources.  If you are not a member of the social media genealogy related groups, on FaceBook for example, you are not taking advantage of great resources that will help your research.  And, you will not be able to keep up-to-date with the progress being made in every aspect of genealogy.   With DNA genealogy in its early stages, it takes a very long time to become proficient enough to convert a match to a documented family tree member.  New tools are being developed and made available, mostly through DNA related organizations, blogs and social media groups like FaceBook.

For anyone new to genealogy research you will often hear ‘old timers’ talk about how they had to make trips to regional archives, or go to Washington D.C. or Salt Lake (LDS), to access and view the rolls of microfilm and documents that were only available there; often waiting in line to access a microfilm or microfiche reader machine.  And then there was the requirement to convert surnames into SOUNDEX coding to obtain the correct index microfilm which would lead to ordering the desired microfilm which often took 2 weeks or more to arrive.  I could go on . . . times have changed.  The relevance is that as you delve into the various archives you will see references to SOUNDEX, microfilm, microfiche and other now arcane systems. Let’s get back to how you can crush your Brick Wall.

So whether you are new or an old hand at genealogy, you have to devote time to be successful.  If you belong to a JGS, like ours, there are many resources available to you.

I’m recapping my genealogy journey alluding to the research aspects and archived sources that may lead to eventual success.  Ultimately, the key to our success was a combination of all the efforts discussed below.  As a result of using all of these resources, we were able to use grave stones (Hebrew names) and an 1854 Revision List – these are census records.  We used the source Revision List document, translated, to verify the transcribed data that is on JewishGen.

Thought the years we collaborated, exchanged ideas and theories, connected our oral histories, births, deaths, cemetery records, marriages, probate, census, passenger manifests, naturalizations, newspapers, and other sources.  These were the records that our years of notes, records collecting, researching and analysis that made the last connection seem almost easy. Everything was validated during one week in November.

Some additional thoughts that may help solve your brick walls.  And we all do have brick walls!

One of the dangers of online genealogy is the ease at which false family connects can be made.  Before you put a relative on your tree be sure to view the source documents.  If they are not available, then you will have to compile enough secondary sources to make the connection.  When in doubt . . . annotate the potential non-connection and what is needed to convert it to ‘confirmed’.  There are many online genealogy trees online that allow anyone to make additions and changes to your tree.  And if you find someone with a tree branch that connects to your branch, you have no way of knowing if it’s a valid connection until you can verify it.

No DNA was used in our research . . .  although we wish we had some to compare.   However, we are now in the process of trying to connect a recently discovered family named DNA match to one of our branches.  We’re still in the beginnings of this research which will, of course, require documents.

The resources Leslie and I used during our search for our MRCA – Most Recent Common Ancestor – are many.  Some are listed for those who may not have considered them in their research.

-JewishGen.com Family Finder: Leslie and I connected on our common ancestors surname.

-Family tree names supported by vital records. Knowing or constructing birth, death, towns, addresses, family members, events from documents which include census, ship manifests, naturalizations, cemetery records, marriage, birth, death, family stories, City Directories, Rosenbaum Bank tickets, JewishData.com, Find-A-Grave, newspaper articles (Tryit! IL), FamilySearch.org (free), Ancestry.com (free at library),  footnote.com, FHC microfilm of birth & death & marriages (free), Revision Lists (census records in Europe), ViewMate on JewishGen, FaceBook, Linkedin, local Jewish Genealogy Society resources, and the outreach of strangers taking photos and finding documents.

Computer tree programs:  NO:

Sometimes a genealogy tree program is not needed. Leslie did not use one.  She has not selected a software program to create a tree . . . yet.  And she still has not decided on DNA.

Computer tree programs: YES:

I have been using computers since 1984.  While I didn’t use a tree program until 1995, I created a family history  website, and used paper and computer saved records.  The software programs were both PC & Mac based until support for the Mac tree software was ended.  I now primarily use Reunion for Mac as my family tree program, and FamilyTreeMaker-8 on my iPhone.  That’s handy when I don’t have my laptop with me.  There are PRO’s & CON’s to all software:  Great features but steep learning curves which are very time consuming.  I learned only what I needed to do what I wanted to do.  It was easier to keep paper records and charts until I had so many family branches that I kept getting lost.  The software programs were very helpful in keeping me on the proper branch, and make corrections when I determined a connection was incorrect.  And software allows creating trees that can be easily shared and put on the internet when appropriate using GEDCOM files.

 

JewishGen.com Family Finder: Leslie and I initially made Email contact using the JewishGen.com Family Finder system (Registration is free – you list all the surnames and geographic areas you are researching).  We didn’t find a surname connection until 2 years after our initial contact when I had followed every lead I knew and still could not get past my brick walls.  So I recontacted everyone I had in my records, including all the Family Finder’s researching my family surnames.

The emails and snail mail letters I sent included additional information I had found during the intervening 2 years.  The takeaway:  Keep contacting potential researchers and relatives without being too intrusive.

My family history website was helpful as I could provide the URL (Website address) along with the pertinent new information which was enough to generate interest. Potential and actual relatives could easily review my family information and documents at their leisure.  And some relatives, even thought not directly in my surnamed branch, provided me with family documents and stories that they had for their parents and grandparents.  Not only were these interesting historical records, but added ‘meat’ to the ‘bones’ of ‘names & date’ genealogy. And these are making it helpful when further researching and expanding those branches.  Recently a 3rd cousin contacted me as he has decided to do family genealogy.  He noted that he didn’t need his mother’s branch because I had completed that.  He wanted to find his father’s branch.  A new genealogist joining the fray!  And what he discovers may help my research.

Exchange information: Names, Dates, Relatives children, Addresses, Occupations. Some data will validate or invalidate each person’s tree; some data fills voids; and some data is new to each person or to both branches;.  VERIFY with documentation.  Can’t say this enough. Because WRONG information and documents cause you to perpetuate false relatives. E.g. Be sure that names, dates and address are consistent.

Privacy is an issue that impacts all genealogy researchers, their families, and friends.  Don’t put family tree data into the public space if you don’t want it made public.  Don’t exchange personal data until you know who you are sharing with.  Sounds obvious, but if you don’t fully understand how GEDCOM files are created you may inadvertently make public your private information.  And don’t take a DNA test and use your real name and email address if you want your DNA profile kept private.  You can use a false name or nickname or initials, and create a new email address only for use with your DNA so no one knows it’s you. Anyone who is a potential connection will contact you at your DNA email address; you don’t have to respond.  Who would do this?  Anyone who takes a DNA test to see what their heritage groups were.

Wild Goose Chases:  A Wild Goose Chase I followed for a year was based was on names that fit family lore, documents (marriage 1893), and time frame (1908), and location (Philadelphia). Millicent & Henry GARFINKEL in 1908 in Philadelphia purchased tickets at the Rosenbaum Bank used by immigrants for booking passage to and from Europe.  My assumption was that these were ‘my’ Henry and Millicent.  When I accessed the actual documents I was able to prove they were not ‘my’ relatives.  I obtained source documents from the Rosenbaum Bank, their ship manifest, England census records, England marriage license, and England voting records.  End result was that these were the wrong folks.  But even dead ends are helpful.  Nothing worse than connecting ‘bad’ branches . . . . they can ruin an otherwise good tree unless annotated as possible or unproven. And I learned a lot about archives that I didn’t know existed until I was forced to seek and obtain source documents.

That sums up my journey into busting these brick walls; I have more.  But for those who just can’t wait to view my family history website to see all the details . . . .  Leslie and my MRCA – Most Recent Common Ancestor – is Moshko GURFINEKL.  We know because we documented our family tree branches until they joined. See the tree above.  Of course we also have documented the descendants of the branches shown down to our parents.

My Ely A. GARFINKEL is Ikhel Avrum, as listed in the 1854 Bessarabia Revision (Census) List.  He was living in the town of Lyublin.  He is Simon’s son Yechiel = my Ikhel.  So we have finally confirmed for sure how we are related.  Moses Shimon was Eli’s first cousin since their fathers (Geinikh and Simon were brothers living in the same household in the Russian Empire (Pale of Settlement) in the town of Lyublin, county (Uyzed) of Soroki  in the Province of Bessarabia which is today Moldova. The city of Lyublin is now called Nimereuca.

Leslie and I took from 2005 to 2017 to prove our family connection.  We are 4th cousins once removed (4C1R). Our great GGG Grandfather’s were brothers.  Ely and Moses headstones reference different paternal names (bar Geinikh = Enoch in Leslie’s case. and bar Yakov = Jacob in Ron’s.).  Their father, my GGGG Grandfather was Moshko GURFINKEL (born about 1790 and died prior to the 1854 census.  Moshko was married to Enta SOROKOVA (1791 – XXXX).  For my grandchildren, Moshko is their GGGGGG Grandfather.  WOW!  I wish success to all those seeking to break their brick walls.

DETAILS:

http://ronaldimiller.com/wp/garfinkel-family-connection/

 

http://ronaldimiller.com/wp/garfinkel-family-connection/gurfinkel-1790-descendants/