The search for roots

Preface:

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This document concludes three wonderful years of research. During that period I met people and visited places that otherwise I would never have done. I discovered people strange to my world: they were kind, pleasant and helpful.

 

My reward was the discovery of a very large family, scattered all over the globe. I know that I surprised many of you with my phone calls, some of you were suspicious at first, most of  you co-operated from the beginning, each with what he or she knew. Your answers helped to nearly complete my task.

 

I’m sure that many times I had got on your nerves asking questions again and again, but every bit of information was needed. Thank you for your patience and for putting up with my stubbornness.

 

I know that some of my questions opened up old wounds for some of you. To you I apologize.

 

Many thanks, to a wonderful lady from the Waldheim Cemetery who co-operated and helped. Without her this work could not have been done.

 

Last but not least, my wife Tzipa who helped me all those years. She deserves a salute for her patience with my work, for bearing with my trips to Jerusalem, with my endless phone calls, local and overseas, and for typing and retyping this work. She is great.

 

Many of you wrote to me. You mentioned names of people whom you thought are related to the family. So far I did not find the connection. Maybe someone would have an answer. 

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All those people were in the States:

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1. Joe Ralph: Isaak Jonas Raus (see page 82)

2. Ben Gross and his daughter Roslyne: (see page 34). 

3. The Rappaport family: Mrs. Rappaport was the sister of Sara Bloomberg and Rachel Grossbard.

4. The Mandel family

5. The Block family: Lena Block was sister of Jennie & Gertrude Blumberg (page 81). 

6. The Fisher family: (see page 71) 

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I’m certain that you’ll have many additions and corrections. Please send me every bit of information that you might come up with. I would also like to have the dates of arrival to the U.S.A for the Bloomberg, Bonner and Becker families, as well as copies of their naturalization certificates. They might contain valuable information about their parents and origins.

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I intend to continue my research in order to find information about the three sisters whose names I know, but have no knowledge of their whereabouts or of their descendents. I just read old Hebrew newspapers published in Russia. In Hamelitz of 1895, I found a list of donors in a local synagogue in Shavile, among them were Y. Shifman & A. Bloomberg. In Hamelitz of 1901, I found another list of donors from Shavile.  In the  list  I  found  Shlomo  Shifman  and  A. Bloomberg. Was Abraham Bloomberg in Shavile in 1901? Jack Blumberg thinks he was. So I’ll continue my search for the other relatives mentioned.

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The Archives of Lithuania are now open to researchers. With the knowledge about; Moshe Aharon and Bluma Chane Grossbard, as well as the names of their children. It might be possible to locate in the files some information about their ancestors and origin. I'll try to continue my search after that as well.

 

The Grossbard family tree 1800 - 2007.

 

The family tree was completed in May 2007 and was sent to all family members. 

The responses to the results of my long research were hearth warming, thank you all.