Season’s Greetings!

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With my last post I completed the stories I’ve been able to find about all the children and descendants of my three-times great-grandparents Seligmann Goldschmidt and Hinka Alexander as well as those of Seligmann’s brother Lehmann Goldschmidt and his wife Ranchen Frank. It has been a full year since I started blogging about the Goldschmidts, and I am not nearly done. Now I need to sort out what to write about next regarding  the remaining Goldschmidt relatives.

In the meantime, I will be taking a break from blogging for the next couple of weeks. So for now, I wish all who celebrate Christmas a joyous and happy holiday, and my hope for everyone is that 2019 will bring good health, happiness, and a world that is less filled with hate and corruption and more filled with love and justice.

Before I go for 2018, here are three short updates about other family history matters that happened this fall while I was focusing on my Goldschmidt/Goldsmith relatives.

Last month I had lunch with two of my Katzenstein cousins, my fourth cousins Marsha and Carl. Marsha and Carl are third cousins to each other and are descendants of Rahel Katzenstein and Jacob Katz. Rahel was the sister of my great-great-grandfather Gerson Katzenstein. We are all three-times great-grandchildren of Scholem Katzenstein and Breine Blumenfeld.  We spent three hours, along with Carl’s wife and my husband, eating and mostly talking and laughing and sharing our stories—past and present. Even though I did not know Carl or Marsha growing up nor did they know each other growing up, we definitely have bonded and are more than just cousins.  We are friends.

My cousins Carl and Marsha

Three descendants of Scholem Katzenstein and Breine Blumenfeld

I also recently heard from my cousin Jean. Jean is my third cousin. We are both great-great-granddaughters of David Rosenzweig and Esther Gelberman. Jean is descended from their daughter Tillie Rosenzweig and her husband Yankel Srulovici (later Strolowitz, then Adler), and I am descended from their daughter Ghitla Rosenzweig and her husband Moritz Goldschlager. Jean sent me this beautiful photograph of her great-aunt and my grandfather’s first cousin, Bertha Adler. I wrote about Bertha here and here. Bertha had been married to Benjamin Bloom, but the marriage did not last, and Bertha did not have any children. I am so delighted that I now know what she looked like. I love how simply elegant she looks. She was 71 years old when this picture was taken and died just four years later.

Bertha Adler Bloom, 1956. Courtesy of Jean Cohen

This is my great-grandmother Ghitla Rosenzweig Goldschlager, Bertha’s aunt. I definitely see a slight family resemblance. Do you?

Ghitla Rosenzweig Goldschlager

Finally, another amazing small world story. I recently posted about my cousin Arthur Mansbach Dannnenberg, the son of Hannah Mansbach Dannenberg and grandson of Sarah Goldschmidt Mansbach, my great-great-grandmother Eva Goldschmidt Katzenstein’s sister. He was a pediatrician in Philadelphia, and his obituary described in detail what a dedicated doctor he had been.

I received a comment on that post from my fourth cousin Meg, who is a descendant of Abraham Goldschmidt/Goldsmith, who was also a sibling of Eva Goldschmidt and Sarah Goldschmidt. Meg commented that  Dr. Arthur Dannenberg  was the pediatrician who saved her sister’s life in 1946 when she was 10 months old and had meningitis.

What we don’t know is whether Meg’s mother Jean realized that their pediatrician was also her second cousin, once removed. Meg certainly did not know that.

Once again, merry Christmas to all who celebrate and happy New Year! Thank you all for continuing to follow me on my journey!

 

 

 

28 thoughts on “Season’s Greetings!”

  1. I definitely see the resemblance Amy…amazingly so! Wonderful ‘family’ gathering together and Bertha’s photo is amazing. She does look elegant but I was thinking ‘regal’ too. I so enjoyed following you this year; enjoy your break and see you soon! Happy healthy coming year to you and your family ~ Sharon

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  3. Hi Amy, I can see the similarity too between aunt and niece. Great photo’s with your distant cousins. You all look very happy! Wishing you a peaceful and healthy 2019.

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  4. All the best to you and yours, Amy. I just had a “small world” story yesterday – I found a 3rd cousin, once removed. Not only are we cousins but we grew up less than a mile apart, graduated from the same high school, and attended the same Temple. I’m not quite sure why we never knew about each other but we do now! See you when you get back.

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    • Wow, that’s great, Debi, and also so strange, isn’t it? I often think that someday I am going to find that one of my dearest friends is also related to me and we never knew.

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  7. Good for you to take a break, Amy. I hope your New Year holiday is enjoyable and your time off restorative. Bright blessings for good health, prosperity and loving kindness in your life and the lives of your friends and family. Here’s to 2019!

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  8. Yes, we all need to take breaks as I well know. You deserve a rest after all you’ve researched and blogged about this year. To a joyful present and a well-remembered past. May peace, love, and prosperity follow you always. Best wishes for the Holiday Season. Happy New Year, Amy.

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  10. Happy Holidays to you and the family! I’m somewhat behind on my holiday greetings, but you are always in my thoughts. Enjoy your time off and have a healthy year in 2019. Love, Joann, Zach and Jessie

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  13. Pingback: Simon Goldschmidt: From German Criminal to American Grandfather | Brotmanblog: A Family Journey

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