Subject: Genealogy (#6)
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 13:43:51 +0200

I hope you are all having a fine new year and holiday season.
There is an important item near the end of this message, so 
please don't delete until you have had a look.

Last week, an active genealogist here in Israel (born in LA) 
learned that her great-grandmother was a Pickholz.  Her name 
was Rose and she married Jack Lipschultz.  Their daughter Sylvia 
was born in Kharkov, which is definitely not Galicia, and went to 
the US.  (Married name Arshinoff.)  Anyway we have enough of this 
family to count six generations (no connection yet to anyone else) 
and we welcome Shoshana to our forum.

Speaking of which, a new item on the web site is a list of back 
mailings which you can download as text files.  that way, new 
people can catch up without being inundated.

Robert P. in Connecticut (I have to keep saying that so my own 
branch doesn't think I mean my uncle) has sent out letters to a list 
of NY and NJ cemeteries and has done well in responses.  In 
several cases the information received has allowed up to connect 
people to other families.

Among the new connections is one within the Marenus family 
(called "Dora" on the web site) and we now have a brother for 
Dora and probably a father's name once we get to see the graves 
themselves.

Recently (you may recall) we recorded the brothers Otto, Siegfreid 
and Freidrich, Viennese born who lived in Europe and South 
America.  Now we learned the the recently discovered Haifa grave 
of Ernst is a brother to these three and we have attched them to 
their parents, who had been listed on Red Cross cards and were 
killed.  Ernst has a son in NJ who does not go by Pickholz and 
does not have email.  Progress will be made here, but slowly.

We often think of old-time Europe to be a mess regarding 
documents, but here is a modern USA problem you might find 
curious.  My daughter Merav was born in Israel and has citizenship 
here and in the US.  Two years ago she married Aharon Tsvi 
Brand, born in England, raised here and the US and with several 
different citizenships.  They were married in Chicago after which 
they went through the formal machinations of aliyah, as returning 
minors.  The Jewish Agency emissary, knew they were married 
and changed Merav's name on her Israeli documents accordingly. 
 For some reason they didn't submit their documents to Cook 
County within the required time and the Chicago marriage was 
declared invalid so Merav's US passport says Pickholtz.  A year 
later they had a daughter here in Israel and she is registered as 
Miriam Brand.  Then they went to Holland for two years and had 
another child, but the local authorities refused to acknowledge the 
marriage and registered Moshe as Pickholtz, with no father's 
name.  They will be in the US soon - Miriam and Aharon Tsvi 
Brand and Merav and Moshe Pickholtz - where they will get 
married again in a civil ceremony and hopefully get the names 
straightened out.  Someday some unsuspecting genealogist will 
find documents and be confused.

We are still hanging with three NY addresses with only initials.  I 
don't know if they are current, but surely someone will recognize 
some of them:
S, 914 44th Street, Brooklym
R, 991 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn
J (male) 30 Nassau Drive, Great Neck NY

(Else from Poukeepsie has been identified from her late husband's 
cemetery record and Robert spoke with her.)

NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT, so please a moment of your attention.  It's a 
question of policy and I don't want to do anything that will get anyone 
annoyed.  Until now, the stated policy has been to avoid all problems of 
privacy by sticking to information about dead relatives on the website.

Several people have asked that we say more about those who are living.  
That request has come from both Israel and the US here is what Jerry P in 
NY wrote:

> While the history of the Pickholz family is fascinating, I would be still 
> more interested in their current activities.
> I'm not suggesting that each member of the family submit a Dun &
> Bradstreet rating  of himself.  It would be intiguing to learn of any 
>accomplishment by a  member of the family.  
> [name deleted} Pickholz' accomplishments are
> extraordinarily well-known. I've met countless people who ask if I'm
> related to him and they're impressed, and I"m proud, when I say yes. I
> helped start a sysagogue. I chaired a local UJA drive. There are lots of
> accomplishments other than those related to a prime occupation.

When I asked for a more specific game plan, he said:

>I would move in the direction of a simple question to all who
> you can reach relatively easily asking how they would describe 
> themselves,
> either in terms of their occupation, their charitable work, community
> work, sports (are there any athletic Pickholz's?)

So folks, what do you think - if, how etc?

Frances and I will be away for a few days right after the holidays 
so I'll be virtually off-line (is that in oxymoron) from Friday afternoon 
1 October until the following Thursday evening.

In the spirit of the season, I hope that you have all enjoyed the 
comings and goings of this project over the past year and ask you 
to excuse me if I have done anything to offend or slight.

Gemar hatima tova.

Israel P.

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