Monday, December 25, 2017

My 4th Great Grandmother's Maiden Name (aka I'm My Own Grandpa)

My great-great-great-great grandparents were Gershon and Tobe-Rifka Fuchs.  Tobe-Rifka died at some point between 1850 and 1869, and I've not found her death record; records relating to her use both the names Toba-Rifka as well as just Rifka.  I had records relating to several of her children, but none included her maiden name.
1919 Death Record of David Fuchs--mother is simply "Toba Rifka"

But then yesterday I was indexing a batch of records for JewishGen's Subcarpathian SIG when I found a new death record.
1936 Death Record of Esther Fuchs
Esther Fuchs died in 1936.  Her parents were "Gerson Fuchs" and "Rifka nee Muller."

Well, I know the Muller family.  In fact, my great-great-great grandmother (who was married to Gershon & Toba-Rifka's son Baruch Tzvi) was the granddaughter of Mendel Volf Muller.

It turns out that my great-great-great grandparents, Baruch Tzvi & Malka (nee Vizel) Fuchs were first cousins to one another.  Their mothers Toba-Rifka and Eidel Muller/Miller were daughters of Mendel Volf Muller/Miller of Bilovartsi.  (I haven't yet discovered the name of Mendel Volf's wife.)

This now makes two sets of 5th great grandparents that are 5th great grandparents of mine in at least two ways--the Mullers and the Vizels.

Most people's trees tend to branch out as you go up, kind of like a triangle.  Mine keeps bending in on itself, forming more of a diamond--which I suppose makes sense, given my last name!

Note:  I'm on Twitter.  Follow me (@larasgenealogy).

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5 comments:

  1. Fuchs is the family name of my great grandparents. They came from Lithuainia in the early 1900. I have not been able to find them on any ship manifest. Could there be a connection between our families? Barbara Putney bhputney@gmail.com

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    1. Unfortunately Fuchs is a very common name (it means "Fox"), and my Fuchs family is from what is now right on the Ukraine/Romania border, so quite far from Lithuania.

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  2. My grand-grandfather and grand-grandmother were also first cousins, and it seems that their parents were 2 brothers that were married to 2 sisters. Even cooler! :-)

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  3. My maternal grandmother's last name was Diamond. She had three brothers and four sisters and they came from Belarus (Grodno). I know she was the product of a second marriage. Her father's name was Pesach (Philip) Diamond. He had at least three children from an earlier marriage.

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    1. My grandfather was Pesach Diamond. However, he was from further south, outside of what is now Lutsk, Ukraine.

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