The Transformation of a 19th Century Surname

My father, James Fabian Zweighaft, was born at home in Manhattan on November 22, 1898 to parents Blanche Sachs Zweighaft (1876-1932) and Dr. Bernard Zweighaft (1867-1907). By the time of James’ birth, all of his mother’s seven siblings except one were spelling their surname Saxe instead of Sachs.  While changes to the spelling of surnames was commonplace in the 19th century, it was nonetheless surprising to me to learn that, in 1898, both a cousin as well as a great uncle of James were still using the surname the family used when they entered the United States in the mid-1800’s – Kaliske.

Among the treasures my parents preserved is my father’s extraordinary, late 19th century baby book, The Baby’s Biography, by A.O. Kaplan. Remarkably, the evidence of the continued use of these three different surnames by a single family is recorded on one page of this book.

For decades, my grandmother, Blanche, a woman who died 17 years before my birth, meticulously kept a record of her son’s development in this baby book. Guided by the prompts in the table of contents, she saved a lock of my father’s hair, posted photos of James from infancy into his college years, and noted when James graduated from dresses to short pants to long trousers.

Some events are recorded in great detail such as the January 17, 1899 entry for "Baby’s First Outing”:

Weather clear and fine. temperature 44° F. outing lasted 15 minutes. Accompanied by mother and nurse. Route: from 54 West 71st, on South side of street eastward to 8th Ave, thence south on East side of 8th Ave to 68th st, retracing identical route. Effect of outing, favorable.

From a genealogical standpoint, one of the most significant entries is on page 15, “Naming of Baby”. Following traditional Jewish customs, on the eighth day following James’ birth, what presumably was a bris ceremony was performed at home. (And I write "presumably" as the term ‘bris’ is never used. Rather, exhibiting Victorian sensibilities, Blanche recorded the date in the entry for "Record of Religious Ceremonies" and described the event as “You Know!”)

At this religious ceremony, James formally received his name in the presence of 13 relatives. What is particularly striking about this page is the listing, on a single page, of the three variations of the maternal family surname: Kaliske, Sachs, and Saxe.

James’ maternal grandfather, Fabian Sachs (1833-1901), present at the bris, was born in Kalisz, Poland. At birth, his name was recorded Fabian Sax, although his father signed the birth register as S.H.Sachs (Szaja Hersz Sachs).  The baby's name, Fabian Sax, is decipherable in the fifth line from the bottom in this birth register, written in Polish. 

When Fabian immigrated to the United States about 1852, he and his brothers, Alexander (1835-1884) and Theodore (1827-1904), all used the surname Kaliske, a derivative of their birthplace, Kalisz. In an 1867 passport application, Fabian was using Sachs as a middle name, signing the application Fabian Sachs Kaliske.

 In 1895, three years before the birth of his grandson, Fabian, through a legal filing, finally dropped Kaliske from his name, becoming known simply as Fabian Sachs. And that is how his name appears on page 15 of James’ baby book – Fabian Sachs. At that time, in 1898, his older brother, Theodore, is still using the surname Kaliske, as is Alexander's son, Albert S. Kaliske (1867-1949).

The Kaliske/Sachs name was next transformed into Saxe. Fabian was married twice, first in 1860 to Minna Rochotsh (1837-1866). In 1873, seven years after Minna’s death in childbirth, Fabian married Theresa Helburn (1855-1946). His two marriages produced six sons and two daughters between 1861 and 1882. By 1901 when Fabian wrote his will, seven of his eight children were using Saxe as their surname. Only the second-born son, Henry, continued to use the spelling of Sachs. Attending the bris on November 30, 1898 were the four full siblings of James’s mother, Blanche: Julian, Arthur, Belle, and Martin, as well as two of Blanche’s three half-brothers, Eugene and Sigmond.

The Sachs/Saxe family in Haines Falls, N.Y., 1896. 

Front row, left to right:

     Arthur Saxe, Martin Saxe, Julian Saxe

Middle row, left to right:

     Blanche Sachs Zweighaft, Theresa Helburn Sachs, Fabian Sachs, Belle Saxe

Back row, left to right:

     Eugene Saxe, Sigmond Saxe, Henry Sachs

Coming to America - Simon Zweighaft and Sophia Hirschberg on the S.S. Denmark

On three different U.S. passport applications (1891, 1896 and 1910), my great grandfather, Simon Zweighaft, stated that he immigrated to the U.S. from Liverpool on the S.S. Denmark in September of 1867.  One might think that, with such specific information, it would be easy to find the family of Simon, his wife, Sophia Hirschberg, and son, Bernard on the ship manifest.  However that has not been the case.

The S.S. Denmark, originally named the Chilean, was a 2870 gross ton ship built in Stockton, England in 1865.  At a length of 343 feet, the iron ship was slightly longer than a football field.  It had three masts rigged for sail with room for 70-1st class passengers and 200-3rd class passengers, with 3rd class capacity later increased to accomodate 850.

The Chilean was acquired by National Line in 1866 and renamed Denmark, sailing primarily between Liverpool and New York.  In 1867, prior to the establishment of Ellis Island as New York's immigration center,  the S.S. Denmark would have arrived at America's first official immigration center, the Emigrant Landing Depot at Castle Garden, more commonly referred to as Castle Garden.

         S.S. Denmark, Currier & Ives, publisher, courtesy of
The Mariners' Museum and Park
Newport News, VA

Below are snippets from Simon's three passport applications, all stating the the Zweighaft family immigrated to the United States on board the S.S. Denmark from Liverpool in September, 1867.

1891 U.S. passport application, arrived on September 15, 1867

1896 U.S. passport application, arrived on S.S. Denmark, September 1, 1867

1910 U.S. Passport Application, arrived on S.S. Denmark, September 3, 1867

The Steve Morse web site (www.stevemorse.org) allows searching for ships arriving in New York by date. That web site shows only one arrival of the S.S. Denmark in New York in September, 1867 - the 26th.   Eighteen arrivals were listed for the S.S. Denmark between 1866 and 1868, but only the one in 1867 arrived in the month of September.

More than twenty years had passed since his emigration from Poland, when Simon specified three different dates of arrival into the U.S., in September, 1867 - the 1st, 3rd and the 15th. With that passage of time, it is perhaps unsurprising that Simon may not have remembered his exact date of departure from Liverpool, or his exact date of arrival into New York.  Steamship travel had reduced the Atlantic crossing time from months to weeks so a departure from Liverpool in the first half of September with an arrival in New York on the 26th seems plausible.

Having the precise date of arrival, and using the catalog search feature, I was able to browse the 13-page ship manifest on Ancestry.com ("New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (Including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"), as well as on FamilySearch.org ("New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891").  The digitized image on FamilySearch.org was one page longer, including the original cover page for the manifest.  That cover page stated that there were 545 passengers in steerage with an additional 41 in cabins and 288 mates, close to the capacity of around 900 persons.

The manifest begins with the statement from the ship master - "I, A. Thomson, Master of the S.S. Denmark do solemnly, sincerely and truly swear that the following List... is a full and perfect list of all the passengers taken on board of the said S.S. Denmark at L'Pool, Queenstown...".

S.S. Denmark manifest, page 1

But the Zweighaft family is nowhere to be found in those 13 pages of names.   What might be the reason?  Possibly Simon had the wrong ship name, but it seems highly unlikely that he would have incorrectly specified the S.S. Denmark in three separate passport applications. Possibly he had the date of departure or arrival wrong, but browsing several other arrival dates for the S.S. Denmark also failed to show the Zweighaft family.

However, on the September 26, 1867 manifest is this interesting entry on page 2, lines 42, 43, 44 and 45:

Zh Horschberg, age 19, laborer, from Germany
Mrs Horschberg, age 19, wife, from Germany
Berch, 8-month old male infant
Anna, 8-month old female infant

Horschberg family, S.S. Denmark

Could this possibly be Simon Zweighaft, his wife, Sophia, and their son, Bernard?  There are several observations about this record that suggest these people could indeed be my ancestors: 

• Simon Zweighaft and Sophia Hirschberg married around 1866, likely in Pilica, Russian Poland, where Sophia was born.  At that time, the use of a wife's family name was not unusual for observant Jews in the Pilica area where there was a major Hasidic presence.  They may have been married in a Jewish religious ceremony, not a civil ceremony.  As further evidence that Simon sometimes used the Hirschberg name as his surname, there is an article in a Philadelphia newspaper which refers to Simon, the male proprietor of a jewelry store as "S. Hirschberg".

• An immigrant with a thick accent, might have been understood to have said "Horschberg" rather than "Hirschberg". 

• The husband's name is written 'Zh' which could indicate 'Zweighaft', 'husband'.  

• The birth record for Bernard, the first-born son of Simon and Sophia, has not been found.  The name "Berch" on the manifest may have been a shortened version of Baruch.  Bernard, the name my grandfather used in the U.S.,  may have been an anglicized version of Baruch.  Various U.S. records place  Bernard's birthdate between 1865 and 1867, making an age of 8 months at the time of sailing from Liverpool in 1867 a plausible age. 

• Germany did not exist as a unified nation until 1871, so the fact that his family was listed as from Germany and not Russian Poland, likely simply meant that they were German-speaking.  The passengers on the ship were listed as originally from America, England, Ireland and Germany - no one listed as from Russian Poland.  It seems likely that the German-speaking passengers made their way by train to Hamburg and from there to Liverpool and were all recorded as from Germany. 

• Simon's birthdate is stated on various records as December, 1845.  If that date is correct, in September, 1867, he would have been 21.  The stated age of 19 on the manifest is only two years off, not significant for a record of that time when birth dates were not deemed to be a crucial fact.  

• Sophia was born on March 6, 1844 according to her Pilica birth record, making her 22 at the time of this manifest recording, again, not a significant difference from the stated age of 19.  Indeed, Sophia incorrectly stated her birth year as 1847 rather than 1844 in her 1896 U.S. passport application, further proof that strict attention to accurate birth dates was not a priority. 

• The 1880 U.S. census lists only two children of Simon and Sophia - Bernard, age 14 and Helena, age 6.  There is no Anna.  Infant deaths were common in that era, so it is quite possible that Bernard's twin, Anna, died in childhood. 

Thus, I feel it is quite likely that this family of four, traveling from Liverpool to New York in 1867 with the family name of Horschberg, is indeed my Zweighaft family with great grandfther, Simon Zweighaft, great grandmother, Sophia Hirschberg, paternal grandfather, Bernard Zweighaft, and his twin sister, Anna Zweighaft.  

Simon Zweighaft

Sophia Hirschberg Zweighaft

Bernard Zweighaft

Civilian Conservation Corps Records

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal public works project designed to put millions of unemployed young men back to work during the Great Depression.  The program was open to men, aged 18-25, and provided two years of employment with housing and meals included.  The men were required to send a portion of their pay back home.  The men built roads to recreational areas which they also helped restore.  They also provided labor for forest preservation and school construction.  As with military service at that time, the CCC camps were segregated.  FDR, in a 1936 radio address, described the project, putting people to work, and said that the men would be engaged in "healthful, outdoor work on forest, park and soil conservation projects."

 My father, James F.B. Zweighaft, served as the camp physican in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), company 711 in Ely Minnesota, from November 13, 1939 to August 6, 1941.

James F.B.Zweighaft far right

Consider yourself very lucky if you have a relative who served in the CCC's as the personnel files can be  voluminous and are readily available for a copy fee from the National Archives in St. Louis.  Instructions as to how to order CCC records can be found here: https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel/ccc-holdings-access

James F.B. Zweighaft, right. A New York City native who, in this photo looks perfectly at home in the cold Minnesota winter, he eventually requested a transfer to "any climate warmer than Minnesota".

My father's Official Personnel File (OPF as per the National Archives) contains over 100 pages including his 1939 CCC application, payroll data ("$3200 per annum"), a photocopy of his birth certificate, performance reviews and results of physical examinations in vivid detail, even specifying which teeth were missing.   Documents seemingly unrelated to CCC service may also find their way into these files.  For example my father's OPF contains a series of letters pertaining to a 1935 lawsuit filed against my father for a $48.98 judgment. 

The Family of Szmul Zajnwel Cwajghaft

The Family of Szmul Zajnwel Cwajghaft

May 11, 2019

Szmul Zajnwel Cwajghaft was born in 1841 in Poland (likely Gostynin) to parents Jakob and Estera.  He was the older brother of Simon (b. 1845, Gostynin, Poland). His brother Morris (b. abt. 1860, Poland) was a generation younger.  Szmul probably had at least one more sibling, Lajzar (b. abt. 1849, d. 23 Mar 1881, Krakow).  Szmul married Laia Wasserman (aka Leah, Lia, b. 1842; marriage date unknown) and it appears they had four children together, possibly five or more.  Szmul died in Lublin, Poland in 1927.  It is unknown when Laia died.

It is not known when and why Szmul and Laia moved from Gostynin to the Lublin area, a significant distance to cover in the 19^th century.  Gostynin is about 80 miles northwest of Warsaw and Lublin is 110 miles southeast of Warsaw.  Transportation to Lublin was made considerably easier from Warsaw in 1877 and Lublin’s population was expanding rapidly, so a move for increased economic opportunity is likely.  Wikipedia states, “At the beginning of the 19th century new squares, streets and public buildings were built. In 1877 a railway connection to Warsaw and Kovel and Lublin Station were constructed, spurring industrial development. Lublin's population grew from 28,900 in 1873 to 50,150 in 1897 (including 24,000 Jews).”     In any event, the family appears to have been living in Lublin by the time of Sura’s marriage in 1900. 

Simon Zweighaft clearly maintained contact with his older brother, Szmul, as he bequeathed an annuity to him in his 1911 will, ordering this payment:

The sum of Two jundred Rubles per annum, payable in equal semi-annual instalments (sic) on the Frist day of April and October in each year, unto my brother, SAMUEL ZANWEL ZWEIGHAFT, of Nalentchow, near Lublin, Poland, Russia for and during all the term of his natural life, and from and after his decease, I direct that said annuity of Two hundred Rubles per annum shall be likewise paid to his wife, LEAH ZWEIGHAFT, for and during all the term of her natural life.

Simon traveled abroad at least 4 times after arriving in the U.S. in 1867 – 1877, 1891, 1896 and 1910.  It is likely that he visited his brother Szmul on some of these trips.

Szmul and Laia’s Children

Sura Jochweta Cwajghaft

Szmul and Laia’s eldest daughter was Sura Jochweta Cwajghaft, born about 1872 in Gostynin, Poland.  By 1900 when Sura married Mendel Rafjman, she had moved to Lublin.  It is not known whether Sura and Mendel had any children.  Sura died in the Lublin ghetto in January, 1942, likely of disease or starvation.  She was preceded in death by her husband.  While the “Lublin Death Incidents Register” on JewishGen.org lists Sura’s age at the time of her death as 84, that would have meant her birth date was 1858 rather than 1872.  Sura’s 1900 marriage record in the Polish State Archives states she was born in 1872.  As that record is closer to her birth date, it is presumed that 1872 is her correct birth date making her 70 years old, rather than the recorded 84, at the time of her death. 

Just months after Sura died the Lublin ghetto in January 1942, more than 34,000 Jews from the ghetto were sent to their deaths at Nazi extermination camps.

Mendel Cwajghaft

On his 1906 Polish marriage record, Mendel Cwajghaft stated that he was born in Gostynin in 1874. He married Sura Bajla Zylberman (aka Liberman) in Lublin in 1906 and they had at least one son, Gersz Cwajghaft, who was born in 1907 and died in infancy the following year.

Rywka Cwajghaft

Rywka Cwajghaft was born in 1886 in Gostynin.  In 1907 when she was 30, Rywka married Josef Erlich in Lublin.  Rywka and Josef had at least two children – Mojsze Erlich (b. 27 Dec 1907, Lublin) and Jakow Isaak (b. 1909, Lublin).  In 1940, Rywka was 54 and among the 163,000 Jews who were living in the Łodz ghetto.  Conditions were brutally harsh in the ghetto and within two years, according to Łodz hospital records, Rywka was dead of starvation.

Gitla Cwajghaft

There is not yet definitive evidence that Gitla Cwajghaft is the daughter of Szmul Zanjnwel and Laia, but fairly convincing circumstantial evidence exists.  The only other Cwajghafts listed in JRI-Poland Lublin indices are the children and grandchildren of Szmul and Laia.  Gitla, born around 1890, would have been four years younger than Szmul’s youngest documented daughter, Rywka.  Gitla Cwajghaft married Falik Ajnsztajn and gave birth to two children in Lublin in 1912 and 1914, a girl,  Liba Raca Ajnsztajn and a boy, Abraham Jehuda Ajnsztajn. 

Szmul and Laia’s Grandchildren

Gersz Cwajghaft (b. 1907, d. 1908, Lublin) was the son of Mendel Cwajghaft and Sura Bajla Zylbernam.  Gersz died in infancy.

Mojsze Erlich (b. 27 Dec 1907) was the son of Josef Erlich and Rywka Cwajgchaft.  There is evidence that Mojsze Erlich survived the Holocaust.  The JewishGen collection, “Jewish Holocaust Register of survivors printed in Pinkas HaNitzolim I & II” lists a Mojsze Erlich born to Rywka.  A second source is the JewishGen database, “The 1948 Warsaw Survivors List”.  In that index entry, Mojsze Erhlich (note variant spelling of surname) is listed as living at Zamenjofa 17, Lublin in 1939 and in Gauting, Germany in 1948. This index entry lists his parents as Josef Erhlich and Rywka Cwajghaft. 

Gauting, Germany was the location of a WWII displaced persons camp, housed in a former tuberculosis hospital.

No further information about Moysze Erlich’s fate has yet been discovered.

Jakow Isaak Erlich (b. 1909, Lublin) was the younger son of Josef Erlich and Rywka Cwajghaft.  His fate during the Holocaust is unknown.

Liba Raca Ajnsztajn (b. 1912, Lublin) was the first-born child of Falik Ajnsztajz and Gitla Cwajghaft.  Her fate during the Holocaust is unknown.

Abraham Jehuda Ajnsztajn (b. 1914, Lublin) was the second-born child of Falik Ajnsztajz and Gitla Cwajghaft. His fate during the Holocaust is unknown.

Anna Olette Anundsen's Emigration and Birth Records at the Norwegian Digital Archives

Anna Olette Anundsen, abt. 1900, in Brooklyn

Anna Olette with her family in Norway, from left:
 Ingeborg, Ingeborg (mother), Gunda, Lovise, Anund (father), Anna Olette, Anna Oline

Three of my four grandparents were immigrants, so as my genealogy research has progressed back into the 19th century, by necessity I've become somewhat acquainted with reviewing records in Norwegian, Swedish and Polish.  

But navigating foreign national archives online can be quite challenging with a steep learning curve.   Even though English translations may be provided, frequently they are not available consistently throughout a foreign web site, so that clicking on a link may land you on a non-English page.  Also, researching ancestors from several different foreign countries means that, even though you may become comfortable navigating a foreign-based web site for one ancestor, it may be months or even years before you return to that web site, necessitating re-education as to how to find the records needed.

Emigration Records

So it was with some reluctance and trepidation that I returned to a post I started six years ago about finding my Norwegian grandmother's emigration and parish records in the Norwegian Digital Archives.  

Much to my surprise, one of the two links saved years ago for the emigration record is still valid.  One click and I'm at the record:

http://digitalarkivet.arkivverket.no/gen/vis/8/pe00000000512314

  As I already had my grandmother's passenger ship record showing her arrival in the U.S. in 1897 (see image below), the Norwegian Digital Archives record is a very nice complement, showing her departure from Norway.

21-year-old Anna Anundsen arriving in New York with $2.50 to visit her uncle Andreas Roberg

Parish Records

The path I followed years ago to the parish records no longer worked, but it was pretty straightforward to locate Anna Olette's birth record with the information I had saved (county, parish, birth year, page number).  Once I found the record, I was having trouble downloading it without logging in, but a quick post to the Norwegian Genealogy Facebook page resolved that problem (just right-click and 'save image as...').  And even better, another FB user in that group explained how to find the permanent link to the birth record.  Once on the page with the birth record, click on the icon with the three vertical dots on the far right ('References').  The 'Permanent image ID', 'Quick link' and 'Permanent image-link' information will be listed.  Here is the permanent image-link for Anna Olette's birth record:

http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20060629040447.jpg

Entry 71, 2nd from bottom is for Anna Olette

And here is how I navigated to find the image initially:

1.  Go to  https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/

2.  Go to Explore Digitised Archive Material, then Church Books, then Browse Norwegian Church Books

3.  In the left panel, fill out the fields in 'Search for church books' and press return:

• For County, select Telemark
• For Parish, select Sannidal
• For Church book type, select Parish register (official)
• For From year and To year, enter 1876

4.  Select the first result:   Sannidal kirkebøker and then click on First page

5.  At the top of the image at the front of the book, on the right, you'll see 'Page' followed by 'mangler' which translates to 'missing' as the first two pages of the book are not numbered.  Either page forward to page 34 or simply enter '34' in the box labelled 'mangler'. Anne Olette's entry,  with a birth date of September 17th,  is the second from the bottom of the page.

Anna and Axel Strom