Last time I wrote about my ancestor’s brother, Louis Weintraub, and how thanks to a surprising find I learned how he was connected to early labor activism. There is another remarkable story, this time from my quest to learn about my direct ancestor, Jacob Weintraub (1879-1936).
Genealogy can be an incredible endeavor, as we learn about our roots, where our names come from, and why our life is the way it is today. It is in a sense a trip back in time, which is why my favorite finds are the most immersive, such as first-hand accounts, pictures, and film.
It was a few months into my family history journey, which began during the beginnings of Covid-19 in February of 2020. I was particularly interested in learning more about my paternal line, because that is of course where my surname comes from, and it also contained many mysteries even to my Zaide, who hardly knew about his father Morris’s side.
As much as I appreciate a ready-made report or memoir from a relative — which for some branches of my family I thankfully have — there is something so compelling about the unknown, an entire history essentially being a question mark. The harder it is to find new material, the more rewarding it feels when it is found.
We at least knew the names of Morris’s siblings. From there, thanks to some detective work following the paper trail on genealogy research websites, I was able to find much more information on that side, including about Jacob and Goldie Weintraub, my great-great grandparents.
Having learned so much through sources such as ship manifests, census records, and the like, something was still needed to complete the picture. A picture.
By this point, I had at least one photo of most of my ancestors in Jacob’s generation. It was great to be able to know what so many of them looked like. But so far, nothing of Jacob or Goldie. My family did not have anything.
There was another avenue available — reaching out to distant cousins who also descend from Jacob and Goldie. There is a catch though. My Zaide and his brother, Uncle Marvin, had not been in contact with the extended cousins on that side of the family for 50 years.
So, I combined my use of genealogy websites with public records available before coming across Judy, who I am almost certain is indeed a cousin. I email Uncle Marvin to get his thoughts on contacting the long-lost relative. “If you have a phone number, I will call,” he tells me.
Uncle Marvin left a voicemail for this potential cousin, and a few days later emailed back. “Alan, please note Judy is CC’d on this email. I was able to contact Judy.” He continued: “It was wonderful hearing from her. We started conversing about our family, so many years ago.”
It was amazing being able to connect cousins who had not spoken since they were so much younger.
I sent Judy what I found so far in my research. “Alan, wow, that’s a lot of info to digest!” she exclaimed. “I have notes, cemetery info, photos which I will go through and forward to you.”
The very next day, Judy’s sister Eileen was looped into the email chain. “Hello cousins, here is a photo I have,” she wrote. “If you haven’t seen it you might be interested.”
There it was. A picture of the Weintraub family, 100 years ago. Eileen speculated that it was taken “when the family first united in the New World.” Morris is on the lower left. Goldie Weintraub can be seen on the rightmost side. The other three siblings are in the photo as well. And in the top row, second from the left, holding the shoulder of Judy and Eileen’s father, is a man with a Charlie Chaplin style hat and a mustache, and one might say a familiar face. Jacob Weintraub.
“Thank you so much for that picture,” I replied. “I had no clue what Jacob or Goldie looked like.” I would continue to correspond and share notes and pictures with the cousins, and get to know even more of them on various sides of the extended Weintraub family. They would even send a picture of what is believed to be Jacob’s father.
Apparently, family legend has it that Jacob was supposed to board the Lusitania — the ill-fated ship sunk by the Germans in 1915 — but missed the sailing. I could not find evidence to support that.
Jacob and his brother Louis were shoemakers in Poland before coming to the United States, where they would continue working in the trade. They lived just a couple of doors from one another, boarding with other families as they hustled to earn a living and eventually brought their own families to the United States.
Around this time Jacob may or may not have been involved as his brother Louis picketed for better wages and working conditions. Jacob would very soon switch to the tailoring industry, as would Louis within a few years.
Following an accident that led to long-term illness, Jacob passed away in 1936. My Zaide, Jack, is named after him, as are a few other cousins.
This picture remains the only one I have that includes Jacob (I would obtain a few more of Goldie later). Eventually I would complete my collection from that generation, being fortunate to know what all great-great grandparents of mine looked like. I even have some pictures of great x3 grandparents as well.
I encourage readers to take on genealogy. It can guarantee a wealth of new information, surprises, and stories to tell, and reminds us that we are part of a much bigger story than ourselves, with several dozen traceable ancestors shaping who we are.