Chelsea: City of Opportunity

[1] Of the approximately forty-five thousand people who lived in Chelsea in 1930, there were twenty-three to twenty-five thousand Jewish people. Cy Kassel found these statistics in the Library of Congress.

Sam Gass, Businessman

[1] Leb [sic] Guss, passenger arrival manifest (arrived 8 June 1903), SS. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY, 1897-1957, vol. 636, p. 123, line 8, NARA microfilm T715, reel 365 [at National Archives]. It is not clear why Shloime’s first name is listed as Leb, but the embarkation manifest for the SS Batavia from Hamburg gives the correct name.

[2] SS Batavia, embarkation manifest (embarking 25 May 1903), Hamburg, Germany Direct Emigration Passenger Lists, bd 144, list #1427, FHL microfilm #0472971 [at LDS Weston].

[3] Samuel may have left his home in Russia in 1898, but needed five or more years to make his way to Hamburg and raise the money to pay his passage to the United States.

[4] Written interview with Hyman M.Razin (Malden, Massachusetts), by Carole G. Vogel, 8 February 1993. Copy of questions and answers held in 2004 by Paul Gass (Gloucester, Massachusetts).

[5] Letter from Hyman M. Razin (Malden, Massachusetts) to Paul Gass, 26 June 1990; held by Gass (Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 2004).

[6] Ibid.

[7] Interview with Rabbi Baruch Korff (Providence Rhode Island) by Eleanor O’Bryon and Paul Gass, July 1990. Audiotape and transcript held in 2004 by Paul Gass (Gloucester, Massachusetts).

[8] Written interview, Hyman M. Razin, 8 Feb 1993.

Page 2

[1] Fish, Mona, “Jewish Shoe Manufacturers in Twentieth Century Lynn, Massachusetts: An Immigrant Success Story.” An undergraduate thesis submitted to the Department of History, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1981; p. 33. A copy can be found in Harvard University Archives’ Pusey Library.

[2] City Directories of Chelsea, MA, Jan. 1921 & Jan 1922 (Boston, MA: Union Publishing Co., 1921 and 1922), Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.

[3] City Directory of Lynn, MA, Jan. 1925 (Boston, MA: Sampson & Murdock, 1925); Massachusetts State Library, State House, Boston, MA.

[4] Letter from Hyman Razin, 26 June 1990;

[5] 1921-1925 Massachusetts Death Index: 1923, vol. 2, p. 271; Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Fish, Mona, Op.Cit. at pp. 24, 28, and 29.

[8] Whitney, Edward, compiler, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1921, Department of Commerce Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1924.

[9] ibid. pp.-42.

[10] Letter from Hyman Razin, 26 June 1990.

 

SAMUEL GASS AND LENA KESSEL

[1] Lena’s mother was Isaac’s sister, Rachel Razin Kessel.

[2] 1906-1910 Massachusetts Marriage Index: 1908, vol. 581, p. 310; Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA. According to their marriage record, Sam [sic] Gass and Lena Kasel [sic] were married March 23, 1908, in Chelsea. At the time of their marriage Samuel was 25 years old and lived at 27 Walnut Street. Lena was 22, lived at 182 Second Street and worked in a shoe shop.

[3] 1906-1926 U.S. District Court Naturalizations Index, admitted 6 Feb 1911; Petition #3436 C.C.; National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA. Witnesses: Alexander G. Gould and Hyman Kaplan.

[4] Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.; City Directories of Chelsea, MA, Jan. 1914, Jan.1916 & Jan. 1918 (Boston, MA: Union Publishing Co., 1914, 1916 and 1918); Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.

[5]1920 Massachusetts Federal Census Index, 88 Orange St., Chelsea, MA, Suffolk Cty, Microfilm Series T625, Soundex G200, reel 743, ED 640, sheet 1, line 19; vol 2, p.143; National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA.

[6]City Directories of Chelsea, MA, Jan. 1928 & Jan 1932 (Boston, MA: Union Publishing Co., 1928 and 1932); Massachusetts State Library, State House, Boston, MA. The 1928 City Directory shows the Samuel Gass still residing at 88 Orange Street. The 1932 City Directory shows him at 27 County Road. The directories for the intervening years are missing. Minnie Gootman Foreman thinks 1929 was the year Samuel moved to County Road.

[7] Samuel Gass’s Yiddish name was Shloime.

Page 2

[1] Shiela Ullian was born on August 22, 1937. She attended Simmons College, majoring in psychology. In 1958, she married attorney Sam Fish, and they had two daughters, Mona Cheryl Fish Spitz and Amy Lynne Fish. Shiela died on March 25, at the age of 40

Page 3

[1] “Registry of Probate appointing Joseph Alter and Max Gass as administrators of Samuel Gass’s estate,” 13 Feb 1956, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Probate Court in Suffolk County (Boston). Document in possession of Paul Gass.

[2] The policy stated:
If born in 1882 the total value…$25,000.
If born in 1883 the total value…$25,635.
If born in 1884 the total value…$26,267.”

[3] Sam Gass’s sister Menya was born on January 6, 1883. Sam, according to family tradition, was the oldest child in his family, so it is likely that he had accurately reported his year of birth (1882) to the insurance company.

 

Morris Gass and Sarah Haefitz Gass

[1] 1920 Vermont Federal Census Index, 64 Canal, Bellows Falls, VT, Windham Cty, Microfilm Series T625, Soundex G200, reel 1876, ED 124, sheet 17, line 41; National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA. A quick review of Bellows Falls returns showed approx­imately six Jewish families living in the town in 1920.

[2] Meische Guss, passenger arrival manifest (arrived 1 Feb 1907) SS Pennsylvania, Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessel Arriving at New York, NY 1897-1957, vol. 1866, p. 74, line 18, NARA microfilm T715, reel 824 [at National Archives].

[3] 1911-1915 Massachusetts Marriage Index: 1911, vol 605, p. 356; Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA.

[4] According to the 1920 Census, op. cit., Sarah came to the United States in 1910. Sarah’s age was recorded as 28 at the time of this census, which equates to a birth date of 1892, making her four years older than she claimed. (The census was probably in error.)

[5] Harvey was listed as “Heiman.” on his birth certificate.

[6] Voter Registration Card for Morris Gass, at the Lynn, MA Board of Elections, Town Hall, Lynn, MA. Phone: 1-617-598-4000; Nancy Arbeit­er spoke with Donna who said Morris Gass was naturalized at the U.S. District Court in Brattleboro, VT on 25 Mar 1914. Records are in Book IV p. 71. (According to technicians at the National Archives in Waltham, MA, the county seat for Brattleboro was probably Newfane, VT.)

[7] City Directory of Lynn, MA, Jan. 1925 (Boston, MA: Sampson & Murdock, 1925); Mass. State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.

 

Nathan and Sonia Dorson Schorr Gass

[1] Passenger Manifest for Noachim Gus, SS Saxonia, 9 Dec 1904, Microfilm Series T843, reel 79, vol. 2, p. 52. National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA.

[2] Hyman [Harrison] was born on September 13, 1913. Harry Bennie was born on May 20, 1919 in Lynn.

[3] 1915-1940 Essex County Superior Court Naturalizations Index, admitted 30 June 1925; Petition #11682; Massachusetts State Archives, Columbia Point, Dorchester, MA. Witnesses: Rose Goldberg and Sonia Gass, both housekeepers from Lynn, MA. In this petition Nathan’s middle name was given as “Paul.” and the document also stated his wife,  “Sophie,” was born on May 15, 1886,and that a step daughter, Dorothy, born on October 1, 1910, in Marlborough, Massachu­setts, lived with the family.

[4] 1917 Chelsea, MA draft registrations; LDS Family History Library, Boston, MA Stake, Weston, MA. Note, Nathan  gave his birth date as December 20, 1888, which differed slightly from the date in other documents. The form also indicates that he wore glasses.[4]

[5] City Directory of Lynn, MA, Jan. 1918 (Boston, MA: Sampson & Murdock, 1918); Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.

[6] February 1918, Declaration of Intention found in 1915-1940 Essex County Superior Court Naturalizations Index, admitted 3 Jan 1924; Petition #11017; Massachusetts State Archives, Colum­bia Point, Dorchester, MA. Witnesses: Charles Eagleton and Lyman A. Furbish.

[7] 1920 Massachusetts Federal Census Index, 205 Shurtleff, Chelsea, MA, Suffolk Cty, Microfilm Series T625, Soundex G200, reel 743, ED 630, sheet 38, line 55; p. 37; National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA.

[8] City Directory of Lynn, MA, Jan. 1923 (Boston, MA: Sampson & Murdock, 1923); Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA. Note: The Lynn City Directories for 1919-1922 were not available.

[9] City Directory of Lynn, MA, Jan. 1924 (Boston, MA: Sampson & Murdock, 1924); Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.

[10] City Directory of Lynn, MA, Jan. 1925 (Boston, MA: Sampson & Murdock, 1925); Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.

[11] Sophie’s papers indicate that she was born in Glukov, Russia, and that she ar­rived at the Port of Boston on November 11, 1906 aboard the S.S. Cymric. She lists her children by Nathan and her daughter by her first husband but she didn’t mention her son by her first husband. One of the two witnesses who signed the document was a Sonia Gass who was a housekeeper in Lynn. Perhaps she was Nathan’s cousin, the daugh­ter of Sheptel Gass of Bangor, Maine.

 

George (Gershon) Gass

[1] Gershon Guss, passenger arrival manifest (arrived 20 July 1906) SS Patrica, Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessel Arriving at New York, NY 1897-1957, vol. 1664, p. 35, line 11, NARA microfilm T715, reel 744, FHL Microfilm #1399428 [LDS Weston].

[2] City Directory of Chelsea, MA, Jan. 1918 (Boston, MA: Union Publishing Co., 1918); Massachusetts State Library, Statehouse, Boston, MA.

[3] 1920 Massachusetts Federal Census Index, 205 Shurtleff, Chelsea, MA, Suffolk Cty, Microfilm Series T625, Soundex G200, reel 743, ED 630, sheet 38, line 55; p. 37; National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA.

[4] Boston Post, Tuesday, October 16, 1923, p. 11. No call number, Microtext Dept., Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Boston, MA.

[5] Apparent­ly, his signature was misread and Gass became Gunn.

[6] Chelsea Evening Record, Wed., October 17, 1923, p. 1. Call #AN2.M4C5177, Microtext Dept., Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Boston, MA.

[7] According to Paul Gass, the ring could have been a Mason ring.

[8] 1921-1925 Massachusetts Death Index: 1923, vol. 2, p. 271; Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA.

 

Menya Goos Naimark and Jacob Naimark

[1] This may explain discrepancies in dates of other family members as well.

 

Grand Rabbi Jacob Israel Korff

[1] The term rebbe denotes a Hasidic grand rabbi. The term rebbe is often synonymous with tzaddik. (A tzaddik is a righteous man, a mediator between God and ordinary people. The Hasidic faithful believe that they can achieve salvation of their souls through their tzaddik.)

[2] Sefer Zvhil edited by Azriel Ori, Mordechai Boneh, and Yonatan Shelein. (Tel Aviv: Association of Former Residents of Zvhil and Environs, 1962).   This yizkor(memorial book) book was written by various authors in Hebrew and Yiddish. Excerpts translated from the Hebrew by Edna Levy-Schreiber.

[3] Lithuania was the center of Jewish scholarship in the nineteenth century.

[4] Rabbi Epstein’s treatise, Aruch Hashulchan, provided the “final word” in Halacha at the end of the 1800s. He surveyed the major sources of Jewish law back to the Talmud and showed how the principles of the law evolved over time, and how he came to his own interpretations.

[5] In those days, many Hasidim avoided sending their sons to learn Torah at yeshivas because most yeshivas were under the control of the rabbis of Litta, who opposed the Hasidic movement. The yeshiva where Rabbi Jacob Korff was ordained under the great rabbi, Yishiel Michal Halevy Epstein, apparently was an exception.  (Yizkor bookSefer Zvhil)

[6] Anonymous, untitled press release written near the end of Rabbi Jacob Korff’s life in 1952. A notation on the manuscript indicates that it is a copy of a document held by the Boston Public Library.  The document bears a stamped date, August 20, 1952 (presumably placed there by the library). The press release described the serious of Korff’s illness, his recent admission to Deaconess Hospital, and anxiety about his future. It then provided the rabbi’s biography. Paul Gass, the grandson of Rabbi Korff, believed that the press release was prepared by a group of rabbis outside Rabbi Korff’s hospital room after he was admitted for major surgery during his final illness. However, portions of it were adapted from the yizkor book Sefer Zvhil and the writing style is quite similar to that found in Flight from Fear, the autobiography of Korff’s son Baruch Korff. It may be that the group of rabbis was actually Baruch, who by this time had extensive experience writing press releases.

[7] Sefer Zvhil

[8] 1952 press release

[9] In Flight from Fear, Baruch Korff states that the population of Zvil (circa 1919) was 30,000. Flight From Fear by Baruch Korff (New York: Elmar Publishers, 1953).

[10] Flight from Fear

[11] Sefer Zvhil

[12]1952 press release

[13] Rabbi Jacob Korff and his wife Gittele had four children, all born in Zvil: Samuel 1. Korff (1911-1974), Baruch Korff (1914-1995), Adele Korff Gass (1918-1993) and Nathan (Nachum) Korff (born in 1919). All three of their sons became rabbis.

[14] See also, Korff, Baruch, Flight from Fear, pp. 1-6 and The President and I: Richard Nixon’s Rabbi Reveals His Role in the Saga that Traumatized the Nation(Providence: R.I.: Baruch Korff Foundation, 1995) pp 208 – 212, which record Baruch’s memories of the pogrom and his mother’s murder.

[15] Note: Yet another obituary stated that the rabbi was in hiding when Gittele was killed by Soviet bandits because he had a price on his head.

[16] 1952 Press Release.

[17] Documentation to be supplied.

[18] 1926-1966 U.S. District Court Boston Naturalizations Index, admitted 9 Nov 1931; Petition #133709; U.S. District Court Boston; National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA. Witnesses: Jacob Kardonick, cantor, and Izzo Goray Glickstein, cantor.

[19] 1926-1966 U.S. District Court Boston Naturalizations Index, admitted 7 Dec 1953; Petition #316795 ; U.S. District Court Boston; National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA. Witnesses: Barney Gittleman and Aron Baru.

[20] 1952 Press Release

[21] 1952 Press Release.

[22] It is possible that Adele may have misremembered part of this incident. The tradition on the eves of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, and especially on erev Yom Kippur morning, is for the rebbe to distribute pieces of honey cake along with a blessing to those who line up for it. Since the rebbe’s family often had sponge cake and honey cake in the home, Adele may have confused the common event of her serving her father honey cake with the Yom Kippur tradition.

[23] Ibid.

[24] Shalom Aleichem: Shalom aleichem, malachei hasharet, malachei elyon, mi melechmalchei ham- lachim, Hakodosh Baruch Hu.  (Peace be yours, angels of peace. Angels of the most high. Angel of the King who is King of Kings. The holy blessed One.)

[25] Need exact date and cite.

[26] Ohel means “tent” in Hebrew. An ohel is a building that covers a below-ground grave. It is not a mausoleum, which is an elaborate tomb that holds the remains of the deceased in coffins or urns, which are not buried in the ground.

[27] Zvil Yizkor Book

 

Rabbi Samuel I. Korff

[1] A rebbitzen is the wife of a rabbi.

[2] Nesha was born on November 20, 1912 in Machnovka, Russia.

[3] According to her naturalization papers, Nesha arrived in New York on December 10, 1928, after sailing from Hamburg, Germany.

[4] David Korff was born in New York City on January 16, 1936.

[5] Novakof, Janice. “To Whom Honor is Due,” The Jewish Advocate, Boston, April 24, 1958. Reprinted in the booklet “Testimonial Dinner in honor of Rabbi Samuel I. Korff, Sunday May 4, 1958” (Mattapan, Massachusetts: Congregation Kehillath Jacob, 1958).

[6] The Vaad Harabonim  is an organization of Orthodox rabbis that serves a Jewish community by providing religious advice or services.

[7] Kashrut is a Hebrew word meaning “ritually correct.” Kosher is the anglicized version of kashrut. Kashrut not only applies to the preparation or koshering of food from animals, but also to the utensils used in cooking and eating.

[8] Blau, Eleanor. “An Unusual Rabbinic Court Judges Social Issues,” New York Times, Feb. 6, 1973.

[9] Levine, Hillel and Harmon, Lawrence, The Death of an American Jewish Community: A Tragedy of Good Intentions (New York:  Free Press, 1992) pp. 191-193.

[10] Fein, Leonard. “In Appreciation of Rabbi Samuel Korff,” The Jewish Advocate, Boston, December 26, 1974.

[11] Levine  and Harmon. The Death of an American Jewish Community, p.193.

[12] Hillel is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world with 500 regional centers, campus foundations and student organizations. Its mission is to “maximize the number of Jews doing Jewish [activities] with other Jews. Hillel actively seeks to engage uninvolved Jewish students on their own terms to provide them with opportunities to do Jewish [activities] that are meaningful and appealing to them.” For more information, visit the Hillel web site at http://www.hillel.org/.

[13] Novakof, Janice. “To Whom Honor is Due.”

[14] ibid.

[15] Judenrein is a German word meaning “free of Jews” and refers to the Nazi policy of eliminating Jews from towns and cities either by forced emigration, imprisonment, and/or murder during the Holocaust.

[16] Levine  and Harmon. The Death of an American Jewish Community, pp. 320-321, 324-325.

[17] By the 1950s Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, was considered to be the leader of modern Orthodoxy. He may at one point have been appointed Chief Rabbi of Israel. Soloveitchik lived in Roxbury but never had a permanent congregation. He commuted back and forth to Yeshiva University in New York to teach advanced rabbinic students, and developed a following of thousands of devotees nationwide.

[18] According to David’s wife, Harriet Korff, David’s step-grandmother Etta, would lament his career choice by exclaiming, Dovid was so smart he could have been a rabbi!

[19] Axelrad, Rabbi Albert S. “An Appreciation of Rabbi Samuel I. Korff,” The Jewish Advocate, Boston, March 13, 1975.

[20] Letter from Rabbi Harold S. Kushner (Natick, MA); to Carole G. Vogel, January 5, 1994; held by Paul S. Gass in 2004.

Rabbi Baruch Korff

[1] Korff, Baruch, The President and I: Richard Nixon’s Rabbi Reveals His Role in the Saga that Traumatized the Nation (Providence: R.I.: Baruch Korff Foundation, 1995) p. 156.

[2] After their mother was slain it is likely that the Korff children were rescued by their family’s Christian housekeeper. (See: “A full life of battles and politics: Rabbi Korff reflects on regrets, childhood,” by Richard C. Dujardin, The Providence Journal-Bulletin, Providence, Rhode Island, 3 June 1995, p. C-7.)

[3]The President and I, p.134.

[4] Hunt, George N., Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Rabbi Baruch Korff Archives at the John Hay Library, Brown University, November 4-29, 1985  (Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University Library, 1985) p. vi.

[5] “War Refugee Board, Rescue Operations in 1944,” U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, website http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/wboarchr.htm. Downloaded 8 September 2004.

[6] On a personal note: Two of the Jews who received Swedish passports from Raoul Wallenberg were my grandfather’s first cousin Johanna Rosenberger Spiegel and her daughter, Regina Spiegel. [Carole G. Vogel, editor of the Paul Gass Family website.]

[7] PBS website for The American Experience: “John Pehle on Establishing the War Refugee Board”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/holocaust/filmmore/reference/interview/pehle02.html.

[8] Flight from Fear, p. 42.

[9] Morgenthau, Henry, III, Mostly Morgenthaus (New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1991) pp. 328-329.

[10] Flight from Fear, p. 45.

[11] Mostly Morgenthaus, p.323, 328-330.

[12] Ibid., p. 330.

[13] Flight from Fear, pp 79-81.

[14] “First Jewish Convoy Reaches Swiss Haven,” New York Times (8 Feb 1945). Reprinted in the Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Rabbi Baruch Korff Archives, p.73

[15] The Haganah, was an underground Jewish military organization, formed by Jews living in Palestine, and dedicated to the establishment of a Jewish state.

[16] “Eretz Israel” means the land of Israel.

[17] For more information about the Exodus 1947, go to the “Exodus 1947”entry in the online Holocaust Encyclopedia  sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005419.

[18] Flight from Fear, pp. 106-108.

[19] Ibid., p. 31.

[20] Catalogue of an Exhibition, p. 44.

[21] The President and I, pp. 3-6.

[22] Nixon, Richard: RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlop, 1978.

[23] Interview with Rabbi Baruch Korff; 133 Brown Street, Providence, R.I., by Susan Sekuler, July 1995. Transcript held in 2004 by Paul Gass, Gloucester, MA.

[24] “Baruch Korff, 81, Rabbi and Defender of Nixon” by Eric Pace, The New York Times, New York, 27 January 1995.

[25] “Korff was as loyal as they come” by Marc Fisher, Washington Post, Washington DC, printed in the Attleboro Sun Times, Attleboro, Vermont, July 30, 1995.

[26] “World: Africa: Ethiopia’s Jews: The last exodus,” BBC News website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/376225.stm. Downloaded 9 September 2004.

[27] Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Rabbi Baruch Korff Archives p. i.

[28] Translated from the Ukrainian by Mikhail Khazin of Boston, Massachusetts, 5 August 2004.

 

THE KESSEL (KIESEL) FAMILY

[1] Death record of Rachel Kessel, 1941-1945 Massachusetts Death Index: 1945, vol 17, p. 413. Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA. The mother’s name is listed as Mollie.

[2] 1790-1906 New England Naturalizations Index, National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA. Admitted 12 Sept 1906 in Chelsea District Court, vol 3. #182-8.

[3] Israel Kasel, Petition for Naturalization Papers.

[4] The death certificate was signed by Israel’s son-in-law, Harry Maltzman. At his death Israel  lived at 8 Maverick Street and was married to Alice Rovner. Death Record of Israel Kasel conclusively established the kinship between Samuel and Israel. The record showed they had the same parents. 1936-1940 Massachusetts Death Index: 1936, vol 33, p. 305; Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA.

[5] 1936-1940 Massachusetts Death Index: 1940, vol 20, p. 506; Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA.

[6] Mary Kasel married Jacob Harry Rovner on November 3, 1917, in Chelsea. He was probably a cousin on her mother’s side. 1916-1920 Massachusetts Marriage Index: 1917, vol. 645, p. 330. Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA. Edythe Kasel married Simon Louis Kotzen on June 25, 1922, at age 25. 1921-1925 Massachusetts Marriage Index: 1922, vol. 11, p. 489. Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA.

[7] Family members believed that Samuel and  Rachel’s eldest daughter, Lena, had im­migrated with Samuel, but a copy of the ship’s manifest documenting Samuel’s voyage shows that Lena was not on board.  She may have come earlier. The ship manifest also reveals that Samuel’s brother, Israel Kesel [sic]–Israel Kasel–paid the passage for Samuel, Harry and Mary. Israel’s address is listed as “c/o of the Chelsea Woolen Company, 255 Second Street.”   Passenger Manifest for Schmul Kesel [sic] and Osher [sic] and Mattel Kesel [sic]. SS Cymric, sailing from Liverpool, England on 10 May 1907, arriving Port of Boston 20 May 1907. National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA. Microfilm series T843, reel 107, p. 48, vol. 189, lines 14-16.

[8] 1917-1919 Index to U.S. District Court Declarations of Intention, vol 203, p. 145. Filed on November 16, 1919. National Archives, New England Region, Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA.

[9] Samuel’s death certificate lists his age as 78 years. This would indicate a birth year of 1858. However, according to his Declaration of Intention, for which Samuel provided the information on November 26, 1919, his birthday was given as December 15, 1867, and his age was listed as 51.  This data is probably more accurate than the information on the death certificate, and would make his age at death 68 years.

[10] 1941-1945 Massachusetts Death Index: 1945, vol 17, p. 413. Massachusetts Vital Registry, Tremont St., Boston, MA.