Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Three Wives of Shmuel Moshe Rutner

Shmuel Moshe Rutner was my great-great grandfather.  My great-great grandmother was his wife Rochel Fuchs/Fux, who he legally married in 1918 (although they already had children and grandchildren together after their religious wedding decades earlier).  But it seems that he was married at least twice before.

Rochel was born in 1866--and I have the birth record to know that is correct..  Her first known child with Shmuel Moshe was her son Burech Hersh, born 1881.
Burech Hersch Ruttner Birth Record

Number 86. Dated in Nyéresháza (today's Neresnytsa, Subcarpathian Ukraine), June 24, 1906. Per decree number 1742 dated June 14, 1906 of the Taraczviz circuit chief constable, it is hereby entered that on May 10, 1881 in Taraczujfalu (today's Novoselytsya, Subcarpathian Ukraine), Mózes [Moses] Ruttner and Ruchel Fuchsz parents had a boy-child named "Burech Hersel," whose religion is Jewish.

And it makes sense for this to be a child of Rochel, as her father was Boruch Hers.  But what about Shmuel Moshe's wives and children before he married Rochel?

Shmuel Moshe's first known wife was Henya Rochel Berger.  Shmuel Moshe and Henya Rochel had at least two children together.  One was Dovid Isaac (also known as "Isaac Dovid" or simply "Isaac" in various records):
Eizik Rutner Birth Registration
Eizik Rutner registered his 1874 birth in 1898.  He stated that his father was Mozes and his mother was the late Henye Rachel Berger.

The second child of Shmuel Moshe and Henya Rochel was....Burich Hers, born in 1871 in Darva (now Kolodne).  Yes, Shmuel Moshe had two children with two different wives who had the same name.
Burech Hers Rutner Birth, 1871
I have no further references to this child, so he likely died in childhood--before the age of 10 when the next Baruch Hers was born.

And then there's the mystery wife.
Marriage of Mozes Rutner and Gittel Junger, 1878
Mozes Rutner (son of Mendel--so this is my Shmuel Moshe) of Darva (Kolodne) married Gittel Junger of Sziget on June 5, 1878.  This is the only reference I've found to Gittel, so she must have died at some point before Shmuel Moshe's marriage to Rochel Fuchs.  So here's the timeline these documents suggest:
  1. Before 1871: Shmuel Moshe Rutner marries Henye Rochel Berger
  2. 1871: Burich Hers is born to Shmuel Moshe Rutner and Henye Rochel Berger
  3. 1874: (Dovid) Eizik is born to Shmuel Moshe Rutner and Henye Rochel Berger
  4. Between 1874-1878: Henye Rochel Berger dies
  5. 1878: Shmuel Moshe marries Gittel Junger
  6. Between 1878-1880: Gittel Junger dies
  7. Around 1880: Shmuel Moshe Rutner and Rochel Fuchs marry (couldn't have been much earlier because of her age)
  8. Before 1881: Shmuel Moshe Rutner & Henye Rochel Berger's son Burich Hers dies
  9. 1881: Boruch Hers is born to Shmuel Moshe Rutner and Rochel Fuchs
  10.  1889-1907: At least five other children are born to Shmuel Moshe Rutner and Rochel Fuchs

Note:  I'm on Twitter.  Feel free to follow me (@larasgenealogy).

Want to get future blog posts emailed to you automatically?
Enter your email address:

4 comments:

  1. Unasked question:
    If Baruch Hersz was Rachel Fux' father, what is the source of the first Baruch Hersz' name? Is it the same person, because perhaps the two wives are related? Of because Shemuel Moshe and Rachel are related and he had an interest in the name Baruch Hersz independent of her?

    Or coincidence? (Probably not.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thinking there may be a relationship between the two wives. But I have no proof. There are no other "Bergers" in the records I have, so Henye Rochel was from another town. I need to figure out where she was from to try to find a connection.

      Delete
  2. Fascinating post. I'm also trying to untangle multiple marriages and multiple children for some ancestors from Hungary/Ukraine. Thanks for highlighting this puzzle!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your scrutiny of these records is marvellous. I am going through the same headache with an ancestor who married maybe four times in Hungary in the early 1800's.

    ReplyDelete