From Canadian Jewish News, 2003 He was a British soldier and she was a Jewish nurse in British-mandate Palestine: they met in Egypt about 1940. She was killed in an accident and he vowed to let her family know. But how to find them? He — the British soldier — knew that she had been…
Tag: genealogy
How Toronto’s city directory is compiled (1913)
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From the Toronto Star Weekly, September 1913 ◊ Note: This article describes the very diligent efforts that went into producing Toronto’s city directories of a century ago. This is good news for genealogists because it assures us of the reliability of the directory information. However, individuals of Chinese, Macedonian and other “foreign” ancestry were not always…
Finding an unclaimed fortune in the family tree
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My uncles, aunts and cousins on the Glicenstein [Gladstone] side always perk up when I mention the huge unclaimed fortune that is supposedly hidden somewhere in our extended family tree. Their eyes grow big when they hear that an alleged distant cousin of ours, a wealthy brewery owner, supposedly died intestate (without an heir) in…
When Ancestry.com fails: a Toronto street guide to the 1911 census
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Problem: you know your Jewish ancestors or relatives lived in Toronto in 1911 — you even know their street address — yet you can’t find them in the 1911 census. No matter how many times you search, they do not show up in Ancestry.com’s database of the 1911 census. Frequently the problem occurs because a family…
Oppenheimer-Marks “Rainbow Wedding,” 1902
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From the Toronto Star, September 24, 1902 A fashionable audience of guests gathered this afternoon in Holy Blossom Synagogue to witness the marriage of Mr. Joseph Oppenheimer of New Orleans to Miss Lottie Marks, daughter of Mrs. D. Marks of 526 Euclid Avenue. The bride entered leaning on the arm of her grandfather, Mr. N.…
List of European Jews seeking relatives in Canada, 1922
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The Canadian Jewish Immigrant Aid Society published the following list of names in the Canadian Jewish Review in 1922 under the heading, “List of Letters from Europe for Relatives in Canada.” See the list below for full details. Butshatsky – Frazek Boxer – Praber from Taravize, Kiever Chia Dviore Grinspoon from Veinberg, Benderske, Chersaner Kvitko,…
List of Negev Dinner Patrons, Toronto, 1956
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This list of names appears in the program of a Negev Dinner Tribute that took place at the Royal York Hotel, November 1956. The list may help genealogists determine the presence of an ancestor or relative in Toronto at that time. The list is five pages long; a thumbnail of each page appears below; please…
Shaarei Shomayim Membership Lists, 1949 and 1978
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For the genealogist, these membership lists from Toronto’s Shaarei Shomayim synagogue may help establish the presence or confirm the identity of a relative or ancestor. The pages have been copied from the 50-year history of the synagogue, published in 1978. The synagogue is located on Glencairn Avenue east of Bathurst Street in midtown Toronto. The…
Lists of Holy Blossom members, donors & pupils, 1937-38
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The following lists originate in the 1938 Dedication Booklet of the Holy Blossom Temple on Bathurst Street, Toronto. (Cover of the booklet is shown at right.) The lists could prove useful for genealogists researching Jewish families in Toronto in the late 1930s. Holy Blossom was then the best-known and probably the largest congregation in Toronto.…
Toronto merchant leaves stores to sons (1919)
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Barnett Danson Left Estate of $22,450 From The Toronto Star, March 20, 1919 Barnett Danson, a merchant, who died November 6 last, left an estate of $22,450, which has been probated on application of Isaac, Joseph and Leopold Danson. Realty totals $22,250 and includes 179 Jameson ave., $4,000; 992 and 994 Queen street west, $4,000;…
