My Scher Family from Lodz, Poland (updated 3/26/2024)

Anna Scher, left, and her daughter Fannie Scher Davis 

"Scher der shneider / Shears the tailor." For Szmul Szer, a Jewish tailor living near Lodz, Poland in the late 1800s, identity and occupation were almost one and the same. Tailoring was one of the few trades Eastern European Jews were allowed to practice, and when the Prussians forced Szmul's grandfather or great-grandfather to take a surname in 1797, the whole family became known by the German/Yiddish word for "scissors" -- Scher (spelled "Szer" in Polish). Szmul's father, grandfathers, half-brothers, and most of his uncles were also tailors.

In the 1880s, the Schers moved from the small town of Stryków to the big city 12 miles away: Lodz, then a Russian-controlled center for silk manufacturing. One branch of the family immigrated to Paterson, NJ, which attracted many "Lodzers" as another major center of silk manufacturing. Even in America, tailoring dominated the Schers' lives, as all of Szmul's children and most of his American-born grandchildren either made cloth, sewed clothes, or sold clothing.

Unexpectedly, the Schers were haunted in America by an uglier remnant of Europe, the forced baptism and abduction of Jewish children. This horrid practice, approved by the Catholic Church since medieval times, forever altered the family of Morris Scher, Szmul's oldest son. By the summer of 1903, Morris had left Manhattan's Lower East Side and ran a tailoring shop on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, and his family lived a few blocks away on Jones Street.

A 40-year-old neighbor, a Frenchman named Jean Michel, grew fond of Morris's eldest boy, nine-year-old Samuel Scher. They went on outings, played in Central Park and visited nearby St. Joseph's Church. Things came to a head on Christmas, when Jean Michel gave Sammy a toolbox as a gift. Morris returned the gift and told the Frenchman never to play with his son again.

On January 2, 1904, Samuel and the Frenchman suddenly vanished. Morris desperately searched the streets in the wake of a blizzard, and policemen across the eastern seaboard searched in vain. The papers ran the kidnapping story two days later, but focused on a crazed autobiographical account left behind by Jean Michel that claimed he was a white slave in Africa, and papers commented on how the Frenchman was a "good Christian." Samuel's parents were never to lay eyes on their lost child again.

In 1955, Morris's sons in Paterson, NJ were contacted by a Catholic priest who turned out to be their long-lost brother! "Father Samuel," as he was now called, had been secretly baptized as a child when he ran a fever, and at the tender age of nine was convinced by Jean Michel to leave his family and journey to Quebec Province, Canada. At the tiny town of Mistassini, 14-year-old Samuel decided to enter the local Trappist monastery. By 1922 he was an ordained priest, and he lived the rest of his days in Mistassini (but in later years received occasional visits from American family).

Szmul Szer's last surviving grandchild, Charlie Feitlowitz (1912-2007), valued his family, preserved its history and generously shared many tales with me. He was the last first-generation American among the Schers and a brave WWII veteran. Charlie became fascinated with family history in 1930 when he met his paternal fourth cousin, Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch (born 1880 in Lodz; died 1955 in Jerusalem), who was raising money in New York City to aid the Ethiopian Jews. In Charlie's words, "He encouraged and guided me to keep the family history alive." Just as Dr. Faitlovitch helped the world's Jews remember their long-forgotten kin in Ethiopia, so did Charlie keep alive the Feitlowitz familial ties by carefully notating their common story.

Bud Schroers and Charlie Feitlowitz proudly show their giant Feitlowitz family tree, 2004.

OUR PREHISTORIC YIZKOR ZEITEN

Another important window into the family's distant past comes from genetic testing of mitochondrial DNA. Szmul Szer's wife, the bookseller Anna (Hana Brumer) Scher (1844-1923), seen in the above left picture, and all of her matrilineal descendants belong to mtDNA Haplogroup H26c. That means that a direct maternal ancestor left Africa for southwest Asia around 65,000 to 70,000 years ago, and a long line of daughters lived in western Asia for tens of thousands of years.

Our first maternal ancestor with the distinct mtDNA genetic mutations of Haplogroup H lived around 28,000 years ago in West Asia. Her daughters had descendants who probably farmed and spread in the Neolithic Period throughout Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa, and northern and central Asia. According to National Geographic's Genographic Project, about 40-60% of all European populations, 20% of people in southwest Asia, 15% of people in Central Asia, and about 5% of people in northern Asia belong to Haplogroup H, and descend from that first West Asian woman.

As part of Haplogroup H, my family shares direct ancestors from the Ice Age or Neolithic Period with two major maternal lines of European royalty. The maternal descendants of 12th-century German noblewoman Bertha von Putelendorf include Queen Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen Marie Antoinette of France, Napoleon II (the son of Bonaparte), and the heinous King Leopold II of Belgium. The maternal descendants of 13th-century Spanish noblewoman Teresa Díaz de Haro, daughter of the Lord of Vizcaya, include Queen Christina of Sweden, Kings Louis XIV and Louis XV of France, Queen Victoria of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Czarina Alexandra of Russia, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, and King Felipe VI of Spain.

Haplogroup H26 arose around 8000 BC (give or take a couple millennia), my particular subclade of H26c appeared around 2000 BC, and one genetic study (Costa et al., 2013) says haplogroup H26c is part of a "substantial prehistoric European ancestry" among Ashkenazi maternal lines. A distant, Neolithic relation of mine with the mtDNA haplogroup H26 was found in a site in Halberstadt, Germany dating from around 5400-4700 BC, representing the Linear Pottery (LBK) culture. Today, the H26 haplogroup and its subclades are found among families in central and eastern Europe. 

Reconstruction of Linear Pottery (LBK) longhouse, c.5500-4500 BC.

About 15% of Polish Jews and 25% of Russian Jews belong to Haplogroup H, compared to about half of Polish and Russian gentiles. But did Jewish families with mtDNA haplogroup H descend from European gentile women? Many researchers think so, saying that the first Jews in Europe were male traders of Middle Eastern descent who often took brides from local gentile populations. Historically, Jewish identity was originally determined through the father (like in Genesis) and then around Roman times Jewish identity became "passed down" through the mother.

A 2016 genetic study (Yacobi and Beford) challenges that theory, suggesting that the Haplogoup H lines could have entered the Jewish population in Israel or the larger Middle East, where the majority of Jews lived before the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70. There were also many converts to Judaism in the Middle East at that time. The Jewish presence in Western Europe and Germany was minimal before the 9th century AD, so the European Haplogroup H bloodlines dating back to the Neolithic Age may not have contributed to the Jewish population.

Another mathematical analysis of Ashkenazi, European, and Middle Eastern genes (Xue et al., 2017) suggests the original admixture between Ashkenazi Jews' ancestors and southern Europeans (most likely Italians) took place around the 10th century. Researchers also found there was a severe "bottleneck" around 1200-1400, meaning that all Ashkenazi Jews descend from a tiny founding population of about 350 people of "evenly mixed Middle Eastern and European descent." It's not clear what exactly happened, but the Medieval Era is full of massacres of Jews, such as during the First Crusade (1095-1099), the Black Death (1347-1353), and throughout Spain in 1391. After the bottleneck, researchers think there was a second, smaller admixture, probably with Eastern Europeans.

Chart by Razib Khan showing Jewish genetic history (2021)

No matter in which direction their genes flowed, it seems the Ashkenazi Jews first lived in the Rhineland (part of the region Jews called "Ashkenaz") in the 10th century, reached Poland by the 13th century, and then mostly settled in Poland by the 16th century, following persecutions and expulsions.

My earliest-known matrilineal ancestor, Hana Bendkowska (c.1770-before 1844), the grandmother of Anna Scher, has one more family history clue in her last name. This name derives from the town of Będków, 13 miles southeast of Lodz. Jews first came to Bendkov (as it was called in Yiddish) in the 1700s and leased an inn, but these Jewish innkepers were forced to leave once their lease expired. The Catholic Church owned Bendkov at the time, and did not allow Jews to settle again in the town until the early 1800s. It's possible that the original expelled Jews included Hana Bendkowska's family.

Hana Bendkowska married Gindalia Frum (c.1756-1819), who also appears in records as Froim Gindalia, in Glowno, a town 19 miles northeast of Lodz, in the 1780s. Hana outlived her husband and left her mark on the 1829 wedding record of her daughter Dyna, showing her literacy by signing "Hana Gindalia" in Hebrew.

Hebrew signature of Hana Gindalia (1829), my earliest-known matrilineal ancestor.

THE SCHER FAMILY

Scher & Brumer family tree. Click for larger view.

The incredible Jewish Recording Indexing - Poland project taught me that my earliest-known Scher ancestors were tailors. Stryków, Poland was home for the Scher/Szer family dating back to 1800, if not earlier in the 18th century. The Brumer family came from Głowno, a town about seven miles northeast of Stryków where Jews first settled in the mid-1700s (here is more town history). These towns were majority Jewish through World War II, and many of the Jews were Hasidic, like the famed "Strykower Rebbe" who was taught by disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. Sadly, both towns set up oppressive ghettos in 1940, and by 1942 Stryków's remaining Jews were sent to Brzeziny and Lodz Ghettos and Głowno's last Jews were sent to the Warsaw ghetto.

View Scher family documents and photographs.

1. The Głowno Ancestors (with my direct ancestors in bold text)

The market square in Głowno, 1928 (Glowno.pl)

The landowners of Głowno first allowed Jews to settle in the town in the late 1700s, and Jews soon made up a majority of the local artisans. Among that first generation of Jewish residents was a couple, Szaia Makower [or Markowicz?] and his wife Golda. Szaia’s Hebrew name was probably Yehoshua, and his last name suggests that he or his family came from Makow Mazowiecki, a town 43 miles north of Warsaw that had a Jewish community since at least the 1500s.

Szaia and Golda Makower had a daughter, Fayga Szaiów (c.1784-1831), who married the tailor Abram Brumer (c.1770-1847). The children of Abram and Fayga Brumer included:

1. Dwayre Brumer (born c.1802), who married Litman Szmirgield in 1822 in Głowno. The marriage record lists Litman by a patronym, “Litman Herszkowicz.” Their children included: 

1a. Izrael Gendalia Szmirgield (born 1825 in Głowno)

2. Szaywe Brumer (born c.1804), who married Uszer Grynbaum in 1825 in Głowno.

3. Szaia Brumer (born c.1805), whose family continues below.

4. Malka Brumer (born 1810 in Głowno)

5. Fałek Brumer (born 1812 in Głowno), who married Malka Krala in 1837 in Głowno, and their children included: 

5a. Fajge Taube Brumer (born 1839 in Glowno)

5b. Nysel / Nysla Brumer (1842-1843, born and died in Glowno)

5c. Ruche Brumer (born 1844 in Glowno)

5d. Estera Brumer (born 1846 in Glowno)

5e. Dobrys Brumer (1849-1852, born and died in Glowno) 

5f. Abraham Brumer (born 1852 in Glowno)

6. Ester Brumer (born 1814 in Głowno)

7. Hersz Jankiel Brumer (born 1816 Głowno; died 1820 in Głowno)

8. Josek Brumer (born 1819 in Głowno)

9. Szura Brumer (born 1821 in Głowno), who married Iciek Olstzein in 1840 in Głowno.

Another Głowno couple, Gindalia Frum aka Froim Gindalia (c.1756-1819) and Hana Bendkowska (born c.1770?; died between 1829-1844)  mentioned above, had several children who used a variation of the patronym "Gindalia" as a surname:

1. Dwayret Gindalia (born c.1788), who married Enzel Hasse / Gerszon in 1813 in Głowno. Their children included: 

1a. Hersz Gerszon (born c.1818; died 1820 in Głowno)

1b. Gindalia Hasse (born 1821 in Głowno)

2. Iciek Gendalia (born c.1789), who married Ryfka Sugacz in 1814 in Stryków. Their children included: 

2a. Dyne Gendalia (born 1822 in Głowno)

2b. Gendala Gendalia (born 1825 in Głowno)

3. (possibly) Golda Gindelaiowicz (born c.1793), who married Izrael Szliten / Szniten (aka Izrael Jakubowicz) in 1816 in Głowno. Golda's father is named "Gindalia Lewkowicz" on her marriage record, which could mean that Gindalia Frum's father was named Lewek. Their children included: 

3a. Jakub Szniten (born 1822 in Głowno), who married Ruchla Katz in 1844 in Tomaszow Mazowiecki.

3b. Gendalia Szniten (born 1825 in Głowno)

4. Sura Giendal (died 1815 in Głowno)

5. Dyna Gindalia (born c.1809), whose family continues below.

Szaia Brumer (born c.1805), another tailor, married Dyna Gindalia (born c.1809) in 1829 in Głowno. Their children included:

1. Szlama Brumer (born 1831 in Głowno), who married Baila Opatowska in 1849 in Głowno.

2. Fayga Sura Brumer (born 1833; died 1836)

3. Estera Dobrysz Brumer (born 1836 in Głowno; died 1895 in Lodz), who married Becalel Frum (died 1893 in Lodz). Among their children were: 

3a. Szaia Frum (c.1868-1935), whose grave in Częstochowa, Poland amazingly still survives. He married Rajzla Furberg in 1894 in Janów, Poland. There is more on their family in the last section of this blog post, "Anna's Sister: The Frum Family."

4. Yenta Brumer (born 1840 in Głowno; died 1908 in Lodz), who married Leyzer Sender (c.1820-1898) around 1862 in Stryków, and their family continues below.

5. Hana Brumer (born 1844 in Głowno; died 1923 in Paterson, NJ), Hebrew name Hana bat Yehoshua, whose family continues below.

5. Abram Mosiek Brumer (born 1848 in Głowno; died 1878 in Głowno), who married Celia Greenbaum and whose family continues below.

2. The Stryków Ancestors (with my direct ancestors in bold text)

Jewish cemetery in Stryków, which dated back to the 1700s. A concrete company was built on this site in 1946 (Facebook.com).

Stryków in the late 1930s, seen from the banks of the Moszczenica River (Facebook.com).

SZER FAMILY

The tailor Aron Jakob Szer (c.1764-1836) first married Raca Uszerowna (c.1754?-1814) and then in 1814 married the widow Toba Aidel Lisinski, and had children with both wives.

Aron Jakob and Raca Szer's children included:

1. Mosiek Szer (born c.1790; died 1830 in Stryków)

2. Fayga Szer (born c.1793), who married Abram Hersz Benkiel (born c.1775) and their children included: 

2a. Zysa Benkiel (1811)

2b. Faytka Benkiel (c.1811-1875?), a tailor, married Glika Naparsztek (c.1824-1875?) in 1842 in Strykow.

Their children included: 

2b1. Sura Malka Benkiel (c.1844-1857)

2b2. Aron Benkiel (1846-1849)

2b3. Fewel Benkiel (1849) who married Sura Blatman in 1870 in Strykow.

2b4. Gitla Benkiel (1851)

2b5. Abram Mosiek Benkiel (1857-1859)

2b6. Majer Benkiel (1859-1863)

2b7. Nuchym Benkiel (1865)

2c. Ester Benkiel (c.1818-1888), the daughter of Fayga Szer Benkiel and the granddaughter of Aron Jakob Szer, married Mordka Fryc-Helman (c.1807-1871). They lived in Lodz, and their children included: 

2c1. Frymet Helman (1851), who married Abram Moszek Benkel.

2c2. Michail Helman (1852-1916) who first married Chawa Pulwermache (died 1874), and they had: 

2c2a. Fajga Hindla Helman (1874)

Michail Helman then married Gela Brajbart and their children included: 

2c2b. Mindla Laia Gelman (1876-1951), who married Simon Simkavitch [Simcha Szymovich] (1875-1937) and immigrated to England. 

2c2c. Abram Ber Helman (1877-1924) married in 1906 Alta Rajzla Grynbaum (1882-1942), who died in Chełmno extermination camp in March 1942. Abram and Alta had at least five daughters: 

2c2c1. Fajga Helman (1910)

2c2c2. Estera Helman (1913)

2c2c3. Sura Machla Helman (1915-1942), who died in Chełmno extermination camp in March 1942.

2c2c4. Chaja Helman (1920-1942), who died in Chełmno extermination camp in March 1942.

2c2c5. Rojza Helman (1922-1942), who died in Chełmno extermination camp in March 1942.

The Helman family was part of over 34,000 Jews who were deported to Chełmno, where they were murdered, between February 22 - April 2, 1942. Here's details on the Lodz Ghetto's history.

2c2d. Mejer Gelman (1890)

2c2e. Chana Gelman (1891), who married Mordka Benkel. 

2c2f. Ester Gelman (1893-1896)

2c2g. Mendel Gelman (1894-1916)

2c3. Rojza Helman (1855)

2d. Frumeta Benkiel (1821), who married Eliasz Rzepkowicz in 1844 in Strykow.

2e. Fiszel Benkiel (1823-1824)

2f. Raca Benkiel (1823-1824)

2g. Uszer Benkiel (1825-1894?), a tailor, who first married Rayzla Milich (c.1824-1851) in 1844 in Strykow. They had one son: 

2g1. Uryn Benkiel (1849), who married Mindla Szerla Glucha (c.1846) in 1869 in Strykow, and their children included:

2g1a. Moszek Mordka Benkiel (1868) 

2g1a. Abram Lajb Benkiel (1869).

Uszer Benkiel then married Ruchla Katz and their children included: 

2g2. Abram Moszek Benkiel (1853)

2g3. Sura Frymeta Benkiel (1856)

2g4. Nachman Benkiel (1856-1857)

2g5. Chaim Benkiel (1858)

2g6. Rafal Benkiel (1860-1863)

2g7. Fojwel Benkiel (1862)

2g8. Nuchym Benkiel (1864-1939), who according to Geni.com died in Lodz right before the outbreak of World War II. 

2h. Wolek Benkiel (1828-1874?), a tailor, married Brayna Lustro (c.1824-1890?) in 1846 in Strykow.

Their children included: 

2h1. Henoch Benkiel (born 1847 in Strykow; died 1919 in Lodz), whose children included Wolek Benkel (1878-1933) and Szmul Benkel (1888-1939). 

2h2. Sura Benkiel (1850-1851)

2h3. Alte Benkiel (c.1859-1860)

2h4. Fiszel Josek Benkiel (1860)

2h5. Mojsie Nuchem Benkiel (1863-1864)

2h6. Chaja Bina Benkiel (1865)

2h7. Chaim Benkiel (died 1901?) who married Chana Fajn and whose family stayed in Poland. Many of his children and grandchildren died in the Holocaust, according to Geni.com. The children of Chaim and Chana Benkiel included: 

2h7a. Wolek Benkiel (born 1891, died 1944 in Auschwitz), whose son Geniek Benkiel survived the Shoah and settled in Israel.

2h7b. Nacha Benkiel Hochszpiegiel (born 1890 in Stryków; died 1942) was killed by Nazis in the Lodz Ghetto streets. She was the second wife of the widower Abram Mojsze Hochszpiegiel (born 1873 in Stryków), and had seven children: 

2h7b1. Chaim Hochszpiegiel (born 1912 in Brzeziny)
2h7b2. Ester Brane Hochszpiegiel (born 1914 in Brzeziny; died 2012 in Florida, USA)

2h7b3. Hersz Hochszpiegiel (born 1917 in Brzeziny)

2h7b4. Jakob Hochszpiegiel (born 1919 in Brzeziny; died 1945 at KZ-Außenlager Hannover-Ahlem)

2h7b5. Raphael Hochszpiegiel (born c.1927)

2h7b6. Pearl Hochszpiegiel (born 1928)

2h7b7. Hinda Hochszpiegiel (born 1930)

The only Shoah survivors from Nacha Hochszpiegiel's family were a daughter named Esther Spiegel (1914-2012) and her husband Juda (1912-1983), and two step-grandchildren, including Sala Newton-Katz (born 1929). Both Esther and Sala gave testimonies to the USC Shoah Foundation, and a short film also shares Sala's experiences in the Holocaust. They both endured four years in the Lodz Ghetto before being deported to Auschwitz. From Auschwitz, Esther spent time in Kristianstad and Kratzau concentration camps, and Sala went to Oederan and Theresienstadt concentration camps.

Esther shared haunting stories of the brief life of her son, Leiser Szpiegel (born November 3, 1940; died 1944), who was born in the Lodz Ghetto, given reprieve from deportation at age 1, and then sent at age 3 with his parents to Auschwitz. There, Nazis ripped Leiser out of the arms of his father, Juda Spiegel, and killed him. 

After the war, Esther and Juda Spiegel spent four years in Landsberg displaced persons camp in Germany and then settled in the United States. They had two more children, including Dr. Allen Spiegel, an NIH researcher and dean emeritus of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 

Sala Newton-Katz was one of the 732 Jewish children airlifted to the Windermere camp in Great Britain. She became a nurse and raised a family, and in later years settled in Israel.

Left: Esther Spiegel, 1995. Right: Sala Newton-Katz, 1998. (USC Shoah Foundation)

3. Abram Szer (born c.1798; died 1877 in Stryków), whose family continues below.

4. Szyia Szer (born c.1803; died 1809 in Stryków)

Aron Jakob Szer then married Toba Aidel Lisinski (c.1784), the widow of the furrier Hersz Fraimand, in 1814 in Strykow. Their children included: 

1. Jankiew Szer (1815)

2. Szymsia Szer (c.1816), a tailor, married Malka Lejzer (c.1815-1847) and their children included:

2a. Chana Szer (1840), who married the widower Wolek Naparsztek (c.1830) in 1862 in Strykow. Their children included: 

2a1. Estera Malka Naparsztek (1863)

2a2. Gitla Laja Naparsztek (1864-1867)

2a3. Lajzer Naparsztek (1868)

2b. Aron Szer (1842-1846)

2c. Gitkind Szer (1844-1847)

RAYMAN FAMILY

Moszek Szmul Rayman (c.1783-1855), a tailor, and Hana Haskiel / Michal (c.1777?-1847) married and their children included:

1. Laia Rayman (born c.1813; died April 16, 1880 in Zgierz) first married Mendel Tusz (c.1814) in 1837 in Strykow. Then, widowed, she married the tailor Abram Szer (c.1798-1877) in 1843 in Strykow. The family of Laia and Abram Szer continues below.

2. Szmul Rayman (born 1814 in Stryków; died 1873 in Stryków), who married Perl Trypa in 1837 in Stryków, and their children included:

2a. Chaia Rayman (1840) who married Mendel Miedzinski (c.1835) and their children included:

2a1. Mosiek Majer Miedzinski (1861-1864)

2a2. Symela Miedzinski (1862)

2a3. Abram Miedzinski (1865)

2a4. Chaja Miedzinski (1865)

2b. Pessa Rayman (c.1842-1851)

2c. Sura Toba Rayman (1845)

2d. Abram Rajman (born 1848 in Stryków; died 1885 in Zgierz), who married Chaja Gitla Gliksman (1845), had their children included:

2d1. Chana Ester Rajman (born 1869 in Stryków; died 1872 in Zgierz)

2d2. Gela Dwojra Rajman (born 1871 in Zgierz; died 1872 in Zgierz)

2d3. Moszek Szmul Rajman (born 1873 in Zgierz; died 1875 in Zgierz)

2d4. Alta Rajman (born 1875 in Zgierz), who married Abraham Reichman / Rajchman (1878-1920), lived in Lodz, and had at least four children:

2d4a. Cybora Golda Reichman (c.1904-1906)

2d4b. Chaskiel Reichman (born 1905 in Lodz)

2d4c. Chaim Reichman (born 1908 in Lodz)

2d4d. Mojszez Reichman (1919-1920)

2d5. Pessa Rajman (born 1878 in Zgierz; died 1926?), who married Bendet Rajbenbach (1877-1920?) in 1908 in Lodz, and had at least three children:

2d5a. Abram Reibenbach (1911-1945) married Czarna Reibenbach (1907-1943?), and they were deported from Lodz Ghetto in January 1943. Abram Reibenbach died in Dachau concentration camp on March 2, 1945, weeks before Dachau was liberated on April 29, 1945. Roughly 41,500 people died in Dachau. Abram and Czarna had at least a daughter: 

2d5a1. Alta Chaja Rajbenbach (1937-1943), who was deported from the Lodz Ghetto in January 1943.

2d5b. Roza Reibenbach (born 1914 in Lodz; died 1941 in the Lodz Ghetto) 

2d5c. Chana Reibenbach (born 1916 in Lodz; lived in the Lodz Ghetto)

2e. Pinkus Rajman (1859-1910), who married Gitla Szejwa Widzinska (c.1861-1940), who died as a widow in the Lodz Ghetto. Their children included: 

2e1. Szmul Rajman (1888)

2e2. Ignacy Rayman (1892)

2e3. Modrka Josef Rajman (1894-1941), who died in the Lodz Ghetto. His wife Doris (1896-1942?) and daughter Chana (1927) also lived in the Lodz Ghetto. 

2e4. Pola Rajman (1897)

2e5. Chaja Sura Rajman (1905), who lived in the Lodz Ghetto. 

2e6. Chaim Rajman (1906)

3. Gela Rayman (born c.1824; died 1862 in Stryków), who married the tanner Leyzer Sender (c.1820-1898) in 1844 in Stryków, and their family continues below.

4. Josef Michal Rayman (born 1826 in Stryków)

5. Mordka Rayman (born 1829 in Stryków; died 1859 in Stryków)

ABRAM SZER'S FAMILY

Abram Szer (c.1798-1877), a tailor, first married Laia Lewkowna (c.1798-1843) and their children included: 

1. Jakob Szer (1823-1827)

2. Moszek Szer (1823), a tailor, who married Rywka Hosszpigel (c.1825-1849) in 1843 in Strykow and they had at least one son: 

2a. Laib Manel Szer (1844-1848)

3. Fiszel Szer (c.1825), a tailor, who married Toba Ruchla Bliboym (c.1824) in 1844 in Strykow. Their children included: 

3a. Laia Szer (born 1846 in Strykow), who married Abram Mosiek Klajman in 1868 in Strykow.

3b. Wigdor Lajb Szer (1853-1856)

3c. Chaia Sura Szer (1853-1854)

3d. Hersz Layb Szer (1855-1857)

3e. Kalma Szer (1856-1857)

3f. Jsrael Szer (1861-1864)

3g. Frajda Szer (1861-1862)

3h. Liba Szer (died 1867)

4. Hersz Szer (1828-1829)

5. Raca Szer (c.1830), who married the tailor Jakob Kujawski (c.1834) in 1853 in Strykow. Their children included: 

5a. Hersz Lajb Kujawski (1855-1857)

5b. Szmul Kujawski (1859-1938?), who probably died in Lodz.

5c. Aron Kujawski (1860)

5d. Szlama Kujawski (1862-1941), who married Estera Rajzla Kutas (1863-c.1941) in 1885 in Strykow. They both died in the Lodz Ghetto. Their children included: 

5d1. Sanna Jankiel / Jakob Sana Kujawski (1893-1941) and his wife Tauba Rajzla Bochin (1898-c.1941) both died in the Lodz Ghetto. Their children included:

 
5d1a. Sura Dwojra Kujawksa (1918-c.1941), whose married name was Kraievski / Krajewski, died in the Lodz Ghetto.

5d1b. Chana Raca Kujawska (born April 26, 1922 in Lodz; died 1943 in Lodz Ghetto), who died of tuberculosis. Her death record listed her occupation as Wäschenäherin (laundry seamstress).

5d1c. Mindla Kujawska (1924-c.1941), who died in the Lodz Ghetto. 

5d1d. Rywka Kujawska (1925-1944), who was transported to Chełmno extermination camp on June 30, 1944.

5d1e. Rachla Kujawski (1931-1942), who was transported to Chełmno extermination camp on September 25, 1942, mere weeks after nearly all Lodz Ghetto children under age 10 were deported to Chełmno.

Khana Barber, the niece of Szlama Kujawski and Estera Rajzla Kutas, and the daughter of Kadish Barber and Ruchla Kutas, submitted pages of testimony to Yad Vashem for Szlama, Estera Rajzla, Sana, Tauba, Sura, Chana, and Mindla Kujawski. She also submitted the photo of her cousin, Chana Kujawski. 

Chana Kujawska / Khana Kujawski (Source: Yad Vashem, from her cousin Chana Barber)

5d2. Mindla Kujawski, a.k.a. Minnie Gerry (1899-1970), who immigrated to the United States in 1920 and married Saul Gerry (1897-1958) in Paterson, NJ in 1922. Minnie spent the last 16 years of her life in Fontana, CA, where she managed a furniture store. Minnie and Saul Gerry had two sons: 

5d2a. Harry Gerry (1923)

5d2b. Herman Lester Gerry (1929-2000)

5d3. Marja Kujawski (1904) 

5e. Abram Kujawski (1864-1865)

5f. Izrael Kujawski (1869)

6. Sura Jta Szer (c.1839), who married the shoemaker Abram Josef Kaminski in 1861 in Strykow.

Abram Szer then married the young widow Laia Rayman (c.1813-1880) in 1843 in Strykow. Their children included: 

1. Szmul Michail Szer (1846-1880), a tailor, whose family continues below. 

2. Aron Szer (c.1847-1850)

SZMUL SZER'S FAMILY

Szmul Michal Szer (1846-1880), a tailor who was born, lived, and died in Stryków. In 1866, Szmul married Hana Brumer (born June 12, 1844 in Głowno, Poland; died February 20, 1923 in Paterson, NJ) in Hana's hometown of Głowno.

Szmul and Hana Szer raised their children in Stryków, but after Szmul's untimely death, the widow Hana moved to Lodz, where by the 1890s she ran a bookstore. She came to the United States aboard the S.S. Amsterdam in December 1899, and helped raise her grandchildren in New York and New Jersey. Anna Scher, as Hana was known in the US, is buried in the Congregation Emanuel section of Passaic Junction Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ.

Grave of Anna Scher (1844-1923), z"l, Temple Emanuel of North Jersey Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ (FindAGrave.com).

Szmul and Anna Scher had four children:

1. Morris [Moszek Lejb] Scher (born 1867 in Stryków, Poland; died September 29, 1943 in Paterson, NJ)

2. Dina Gela [Diana Gertrude] Scher (born 1871 in Stryków, Poland; died November 27, 1936 in Paterson, NJ)

3. Fannie [Feige] Scher (born c.1876 in Poland; died December 19, 1956 in Miami, FL)

4. Abraham Scher (born June 15, 1881 in Lodz, Poland; probably died 1949 in New York)


SZMUL & ANNA'S CHILDREN

The last family picture in Poland, c.1899. 
Left to right: Dina Feitlowitz, Gershon Feitlowitz, Samuel Feitlowitz, Anna Scher, baby Abram Feitlowitz.

Morris [Moszek Lejb] Scher (1867-1943) married Esther [Estera Chaia] Kaltz (1871-1945) in 1891 in Zgierz, Poland. He immigrated later that year, and his wife and daughter came to New York abroad the S.S. America on September 6, 1893. The family lived first in Manhattan, but within a year of the kidnapping of the eldest son Samuel, the remaining family moved to Paterson, NJ. From 1905 to around 1930, Morris was a silk manufacturer and ran the Scher Silk Company. Morris and Esther are buried in Mount Nebo Cemetery in Totowa, NJ. 

Morris Scher (far left) and his daughter Lillie (far right) take a car ride, c.1910.

The children of Morris and Esther Scher were:

1. Lillian "Lillie" Fiber (born 1892 in Poland; died 1971 in New York City) married the silk manufacturer Larry L. Fiber (born c.1883 in Russia; died 1960 in Tucson, AZ) in 1914 in New Jersey and had two daughters, Audre Mulvaney (1915-1995) and Mona Mason (1919-2005). In later years, Lillie lived in a Manhattan townhouse next door to the old Whitney Museum on East 75th Street.

2. Father Samuel Scher (born 1894 in Manhattan; died 1974 in Mistassini, QC, Canada) was kidnapped in 1904, joined the Trappists at Monastère Notre-Dame de Mistassini in 1908, was ordained as a priest in 1922, and reunited with his siblings and family in 1955.

Father Samuel Scher (1894-1974), Source: ChocolaterieDesPeres.com

3. Edward [Aaron] Scher (born 1897 in Manhattan; died 1964 in New Jersey) ran the Scher Brothers Chemical Company with his brothers from the 1930s onward. He married Frances Fox (1902-1996) and had a daughter and son, Cecile Kaplan (1923-2015) and Alan Scher (1929-1981).

4. Robert [Abraham] Scher (born 1900 in Manhattan; died 1968 in Miami, FL) co-owned Scher Brothers, married Ann Filtzer in 1938 and had a daughter, Barbara (born c.1939).

5. Martin Scher (born 1901 in Manhattan; died 1973) studied chemistry in college before joining his brothers' business. He was the sole president of Scher Brothers (renamed Scher Chemicals Corp.) from the 1950s until his death. He married Mina Wolf in 1930 and had a son, Stephen, and two daughters, Judith and Sylvia Barbara. 

Stephen K. Scher inherited the chemical business from his father and controlled it until it was acquired by Noveon. Stephen also became a renowned collector of portrait medallions and donated his collection to the Frick Museum in 2016.

Stephen K. Scher

Graves of Morris and Esther Scher, z"l, in Mount Nebo Cemetery in Totowa, NJ

Dina Gela Scher (born 1871 in Stryków, Poland; died November 27, 1936 in Paterson, NJ) met her husband Gershon "Gustave" Feitlowitz (born March 28, 1875 in Lodz, Poland; died August 16, 1951 in Paterson, NJ) in her mother's bookstore and they married in Lodz in 1894. Gershon was the son of Moshe Kopel Feitlowitz (c.1853-1928) and Necha Abramowitz (died 1880), and the great-grandson of Mojzesz Fajtlowicz (1767-1837), one of the founders of Lodz's Jewish community. Gershon immigrated in 1900 and Dina and the children came over in 1903. They lived briefly in NYC's Lower East Side and then moved to Paterson, when Gershon worked as a tailor, then owned a soda fountain, and then worked for the local silk industry. Dina and Gershon were buried in the United Brotherhood Section of Passaic Junction Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ. 

Feitlowitz family photo, c.1925. Standing, left to right: Bertha Rosenstock, Sam Feitlowitz, Abe Feitlowitz, Sadie Feitlowitz. Sitting, left to right: Charlie Feitlowitz, Dina Feitlowitz, Nat Feitlowitz, Gershon Feitlowitz, Fritzi Feitlowitz.

Gershon and Dina Feitlowitz had seven children:

1. Sam [Samuel] Feitlowitz (born 1896 in Lodz; died 1967 in Haledon, NJ) was an insurance broker who married Bertha Rosenstock (1902-2000), and had a son, Robert Feitlowitz (1926-2016).

2. Abe [Abram] Feitlowitz (born 1898 in Lodz; died 1962 in New Jersey) was a silk warper who married Ruth Biber (1902-1982), and their children were Daniel Lewis (1926-2019) and Harvey Lewis (1930-2006). Abe and Ruth are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ.

3. Nellie [Necha] Feitlowitz (born 1900 in Lodz; died 1901 in Lodz)

4. Sadie [Hannah Suda Frimma] Feitlowitz (born 1904 in Manhattan; died 1950 in Paterson, NJ) married Nathan J. Hiller in 1936 in Paterson and their children were Deanna and Herbert.

5. Nathan [Nussan] Feitlowitz (born 1906 in Manhattan; died 2000 in West Orange, NJ) ran a printing shop for many years in Paterson. He married Pearl Fisher (1909-1996) in 1932 in Manhattan and their children were Martin and Diane.

6. Frieda "Fritzi" Feitlowitz (born 1909 in Paterson, NJ; died 2001 in Westwood, NJ) married Harvey Feinberg (1908-1973) in 1929 in New Jersey and their children were Anita Morosohk (1930-2005) and Gerald (1936-2022). Fritzi then divorced and married Benjamin Holsman (1907-1986).

7. Charles [Shai] Feitlowitz (born 1912 in Paterson, NJ; died 2007 in Deerfield Beach, FL) was a window dresser. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945, as an engineer and military policeman, who earned a Bronze Star for his service in World War II. He was partners with Erwin "Bud" Schroers, Jr. (1923-2009) from the early 1950s until his death. Charlie is buried in King Solomon Memorial Park in Clifton, NJ.

Graves of Dina and Gustave Feitlowitz, z"l, United Brotherhood Section of Passaic Junction Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ (FindAGrave.com).

Fannie [Feige] Scher (born c.1876 in Poland; died December 19, 1956 in Miami, FL) arrived at New York with her sister-in-law Esther and niece Lillie aboard the S.S. America on September 6, 1893. Fannie was 17 years old, but to seem older she used the passport of her 20-year-old sister Dina, who was about to get married back in Lodz. Young Fannie worked in the sweatshops of Hester Street, then in 1896 married the young widower housepainter Paul Davis (born c.1867 in Russia; died 1926 in Spokane, WA). They moved to Milwaukee in 1904 and Spokane, WA in 1909. Details on their life together and their children are in the previous blog entry. Fannie clearly loved Paul and never remarried. She moved to Miami in 1952 to live with her daughter Dorothy, but when she died her body was flown back to Spokane to be buried next to Paul in Mount Nebo Cemetery. View Fannie Davis's obituary in the Spokane Daily Chronicle. 

Paul Davis's family in Spokane, WA, c.1910. Back row, left to right: Jack Davis, Moe Davis, Jennie Davis. Front row, left to right: Florence Davis, Fannie Davis, Bessie Davis, Paul Davis, Dorothy Davis. 

The children of Paul and Fannie Davis were:

1. Jennie Wexler (born 1893 in Manhattan; died 1984 in Portland, OR) [Fannie's stepdaughter]

2. Jack [Samuel] Davis (born 1896 in Manhattan; died 1951 in Spokane, WA), a World War I veteran, insurance salesman and real estate agent in Bend, OR.

3. Morris Davis (born 1898 in Manhattan; died 1989 in Bainbridge Island, WA), a clothing store owner in Spokane and later Portland.

4. Bessie Lillian [Rebecca] Davis (born 1900 in Manhattan; died 1995 in Miami, FL), an outspoken saleswoman, who first eloped and married Nathaniel Karasov (1895-1977), a British-born salesman, in 1918 in Coeur d'Alene, ID. Then in 1978, she married Lou Krutt, a retired pots and pans manufacturer.

5. Florence Fraser Daly (born 1904 in Manhattan; died 2001 in San Francisco, CA)

6. Dorothy Berg (born 1905 in Milwaukee; died 1991 in Santa Ana, CA)

7. Esther Kaplan (born 1913 in Spokane, WA; died 2002 in Queens, NY)

Graves of Paul and Fannie Davis, z"l, Mount Nebo Cemetery in Spokane, WA (FindAGrave.com).

Abraham "Abe" Scher (born June 15, 1881 in Lodz, Poland; died 1949 in New York), a clothes fitter and then a grocery store worker, was married at Manhattan's City Hall in 1910 to Regina Epstein (born 1885; died 1949 in New York; daughter of Samuel and Esther Epstein). They lived in the Bronx and then White Plains, NY. They are buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, Queens, NY. 

Left: Abe Scher in Poland, wearing Russian military uniform, c.1900. Right: Regina and Gertrude Scher, c.1911.

The children of Abe and Regina Scher were:

1. Gertrude Scher (1910-1951), who attended college and was first married in 1930 to William Pollack (born 1900). She got divorced and then married in 1942 the chemist Jack J. Bulloff (1914-2002) and had one son, Eric Bulloff (1946-1991).

2. Seymour Scher (1922-1976), who married Ruth Stone in 1945 and had a family.


ANNA'S NEPHEWS

Brumer family tree: Brummer, Greenbaum, Sanders, Frum, and Scher. Click for larger view.

Three nephews of Anna Scher lived in Paterson, according to her grandson, Charlie Feitlowitz. These men, who Charlie called his "uncles," were probably Samuel Brummer, Nathan Greenbaum, and Samuel Sanders.

Warpers in silk mill in Paterson, NJ, early 1900s (Source).

1. Brummer

Abram Mosiek Brumer (1848-1878), the younger brother of Anna Brumer Scher, married Celia Greenbaum, and they had at least one son:

Samuel [Shy-Schluma] Brummer (1874-1945), a housepainter who lived in the Bronx. He married Katie [Keile] Sandberg (1879-1956) in Poland, lived in England by 1902 and the USA by 1905. They are buried in Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Queens. Samuel and Katie Brummer had four children:

1. Thelma "Debbie" Brummer (1900-2000), who married Bernard Moroz (1892-1972), and they had two sons: 

1a. Winton Moroz (1925-1955)

1b. Saul Moroz (1932-2018), whose first day of work as a glazier took him to the top spire of the Empire State Building and is memorialized in the short documentary Saul's 108th Story (2017). He was also an amateur astronomer.

Saul Moroz in the film "Saul's 108th Story"

2. Abraham "Al" Brummer (1902-1978), who married Mathilda Hess (1907-2000), and they had: 

2a. Ira Brummer (1934)

2b. Jerome Brummer (1939)

3. Mildred Brummer (1905-1965), who died unmarried.

4. Ceil Brummer (born 1908), who married in 1941 a longshoreman, Catello Santaniello (1911-1987), and had a daughter, Susan. She was outlived by her husband. 


2. Greenbaum

Abraham B. Greenbaum married Rebecca Brumer (or Rachel Brumer), probably a sister or close relative of Anna Brumer Scher, and had at least five children:

1. Solomon Greenbaum (born c.1876 in Lodz) was a peddler who lived in England by 1903. In 1907, Solomon immigrated to join his brother Nathan Greenbaum in Paterson, NJ, then lived in Massachusetts by 1912 and Cleveland, Ohio by 1916. Anna Greenbaum (c.1879-1916), Solomon's first wife, died from an ectopic pregnancy in Cleveland. Solomon and Anna Greenbaum had at least three children: 

1a. Sarah Greenbaum (c.1903), born in England 

1b. Anna Greenbaum (c.1908), born in England

1c. Rosella Greenbaum (c.1912), born in Massachusetts

Solomon then married twice more in Cleveland: first to Mary Siegel (born c.1893) in 1916, and then to Ida Mashinsky (c.1878) in 1918. I have yet to find sources on Solomon after 1920.

2. Anna [Greenbaum] Blatt (born c.1877 in Lodz; died April 5, 1944 in Brooklyn, NY) married Jacob Blatt (c.1874-1941) in Poland. First they immigrated to England, and then Anna immigrated in 1905 to join her husband in New York City. Their children included: 

2a. Benjamin Blatt (born 1895 in Poland; died 1979 in New York City), who married Dora Sigler (c.1903) in 1929. 

2b. Louis Blatt (born 1905 in England)

2c. Minnie Blatt Lieberman (born 1906 in Manhattan)

2d. Rachael Blatt (born 1908 in Manhattan)

2e. Joseph Blatt (born 1912 in Brooklyn)

3. Nathan [Nachem] Greenbaum (born July 30, 1878 in Lodz, Poland; died March 2, 1944 in Brooklyn, NY), a silk worker and metal fabric maker who married Lillian Miller [Leye Mulchatski] (born 1882 in Poland; died June 5, 1976 in New Jersey) in Lodz in 1904, and immigrated later that year. They lived many years in Paterson, NJ but briefly lived in Los Angeles in 1942, and are buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Queens. Nathan and Lillian had five children:

2a. Isabel Greenbaum (1905-1991), who married Jack Aretsky.
2b. Dorothy Greenbaum (1906-2010), who married Arnold Korman.
2c. Ruth Greenbaum (1911-1985), who married Irving Harelick.
2d. Abraham Greenbaum (1917-2010)
2e. Shirley Greenbaum (1922-2015)

3. Hanna [Greenbaum] Denna (born 1882)

4. Frieda [Greenbaum] Goldberg (born September 25, 1885 in Lodz; died 1974), who immigrated in 1906. She married the tailor Jacob Goldberg (born c.1887) on June 2, 1912 in Brooklyn, NY. Her parents are listed on the marriage record as Solomon Greenbaum and Frimet Laschinsky and his parents are listed as Abraham Goldberg and Rifka Brumer, but that seems like their mothers' names are switched. Jacob was naturalized in 1927 and Frieda became a citizen the following year. They lived in Brooklyn and had four children:

4a. Ruth Goldberg (born 1917)
4b. Allan Godfrey [who changed his name from Abraham Goldberg] (1918-2010)
4c. Frances Goldberg Ferrara (1922-1994)
4d. Donald [Seymour] Goldberg (born 1929)

5. Ida Roback [Shava Chia Greenbaum] (born 1895 in Poland; died 1988 in Los Angeles), whose immigration record in 1909 clearly states that Nathan Greenbaum in Paterson, NJ was her brother. She married Max Roback (c.1889/1894-1944) in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio, and gave her parents' names as "Ben Greenbaum" and "Rose Brumer." By 1915 they lived in New York City, by 1926 they lived in San Francisco, and by 1930 they lived in Berkeley, CA. Ida, who was naturalized in 1930, spent her last years in Los Angeles. Ida and Max had four children: 

5a. Ruth Roback Rubin (1915-1955)

5b. Martin Roback (1916-2000)

5c. Robert Roback (born 1920)

5d. George Roback (1921-2015), the father of alternative rock musicians David Roback (1958-2020) and Steven Roback. David and Steven first formed a band named Unconscious with Susanna Hoffs, who later co-founded The Bangles. Later, David Roback paired with Hope Sandoval, and performed as the band Mazzy Star for over 30 years.

Mazzy Star bandmates David Roback and Hope Sandoval.

3. Sender / Sanders

A carter named Lajb Sender (born c.1759; died 1823 in Stryków) was possibly the father of Mordke Leyb Sender (born c.1788; died 1836 in Stryków), the husband of Liba Manele (born c.1788).

Among the children of Mordke and Liba Sender was the tanner Leyzer Sender (born c.1820; died 1898 in Lodz), who married twice. Leyzer's first wife, Gela Rayman (born c.1824; died 1862 in Stryków), was the aunt of Szmul Szer. Leyzer's second wife, Yenta Brumer (born 1840 in Głowno; died 1908 in Lodz), was the older sister of Anna Brumer Scher.

The children of Leyzer Sender and Gela Rayman included:

1. Mortke Sender (born 1845 in Stryków; died 1849 in Zgierz)

2. Hana Sender (born and died 1848 in Stryków)

3. Michal Leyb Sender (born 1849 in Stryków; died 1850 in Stryków)

4. Pinkus Dawid Sender (born 1853 in Stryków; died 1862 in Stryków)

5. Mosiek Hersz Sender (born 1856 in Stryków), who married Chaja Ryfka Wislicka (1859) in 1894 in Stryków, and their children included:

5a. Michal Sender (born 1886 in Stryków), who married Ester Lencyzcka (1887) in 1906 in Lodz. 

6. Liba Sender Bruks (born c.1858)

7. Pessa Chaja Sender (born c.1860)

8. Chaim Sender (born 1862 in Stryków) was a merchant who lived in Czestochowa. His first wife was Rywka Mindla Frum (died 1903), and their children included: 

8a. Dyna Gela Sender (born 1887 in Lodz)

8b. Calel Sender (born 1897 in Lodz)

8c. Fajgla Laja Sender (born 1901 in Lodz)

Chaim Sender then married Laja Zalcberg (born 1880; died 1932 in Czestochowa), and their children included: 

8d. Mindla Sender (1906-1944) was imprisoned in the Lodz Ghetto, worked in a German factory, and died in Chełmno extermination camp in July 1944.

8e. Aron Sender (born 1909 in Czestochowa), a weaver, survived World War II and lived in Paris, France. A surviving visa shows Aron visited Brazil in 1953. 

8f. Perla Sender (born 1914 in Czestochowa)

 Aron Sender (1953), son of Chaim Sender (1st cousin of Szmul Szer)

The children of Leyzer Sender and Yenta Brumer included:

1. Ryfka Sender (born c.1862; died 1864 in Stryków)

2. Gedaly Sender (born and died 1864 in Stryków)

3. Abram Icek Sender (born 1866 in Stryków)

4. Simon Sanders [Szaia Jakob Sender] (born 1867 in Stryków; died 1942 in New Jersey) was a tailor who married Katie [Yetta] Brandt (born 1869 in Poland; died 1959 in Clifton, NJ) in Lask, Poland in 1890. They first immigrated to London around 1902, then came to Paterson, NJ in 1929. Simon and Yetta Sanders are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ. They had five surviving children:

4a. Abraham Sanders (1891-1953), who married his wife Esther in 1921 in London, England and immigrated to New York in 1928. They had two children, Jeanette Sanders (1922) and Samuel Sanders (1933). 

4b. William Wolf Sanders (1896-1940)

4c. Hyman Sanders (born 1896)

4d. Leslie [Lazarus] Sanders (1899-1993)

4e. Sarah Sanders (born 1903 in London, England; died 2002 in New Jersey), who married Abraham Rosen, and they had a son, Harold Rosen (1927).

5. Fałek Sender (born April 25, 1871 in Stryków; died March 25, 1941 in Lodz Ghetto), who was a shoemaker and whose (second?) wife was Gela Rozewska (born 1887). Fałek had at least four children: 

5a. Mordka Sender (born 1901 in Lodz)

5b. Bajla Sender (born 1904 in Lodz)

5c. Lajzer Sender (born 1909 in Lodz)

5d. Jenta Sender (born 1913 in Lodz)

6. Barnett Sanders (born c.1874; died 1936 in London) and his wife Eva (born c.1878; died 1961 in London) married around 1894 in Poland, and they lived in London by 1902. They are buried in Adath Yisroel Cemetery, aka Carterhatch Lane Cemetery, in Enfield, North London. They had seven children:

6a. Samuel Sanders (born 1895)

6b. Lillian Sanders (born 1901)
6c. Annie Sanders (born 1902)
6d. Janie Sanders (born 1904)
6e. Leslie (Lazarus) Sanders (born 1907 in London; possibly died 1983 in California), who immigrated to the United States in 1929 and settled in Chicago by 1940.
6f. Yetta Sanders (born 1909)

6g. Lennox Sanders (1911)

7. Samuel Sanders (born 1875 in Stryków; died 1931 in Paterson, NJ), a silk warper, married Molly Berlach (c.1877-1942), a.k.a. Millie, and immigrated from Poland to England around 1903. Samuel came to the United States in 1904, and Millie / Molly and their two older children followed in 1905. Samuel and Molly settled in Paterson, NJ, and are buried in the Paterson Workmen’s Benefit Association Cemetery in Elmwood Park, NJ. They had a total of four children:

7a. Maurice Sanders (1902-1967), an assistant district attorney who became a federal probation chief, married Elizabeth "Betty" White (1906-1991) and had a son, Samuel. They are also buried in the Paterson Workmen's Benefit Association Cemetery.
7b. Dina Sanders (1903-1953), who died unmarried.
7c. Anna Sanders (maybe 1907-1986?), who died unmarried. 
7d. Joseph Sanders (1909-1968), who ran a sweet shop and married Charlotte Gradstein.

8. George [Gedaly] Sanders (born c.1880 in Lodz; died 1953 in New Jersey), a silk warper, married his wife Golde (1880-1932) in Poland. Gedaly immigrated to the United States in 1909, and Golde and their child came soon after. Following the death of Golde, George married the widow Jennie Shanblum (born Friedman) in 1934 and they lived in the Bronx. George and Golde Sanders, who are buried in Workmen's Circle Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ, had one daughter:

8a. Nettie Sanders Taub (1907-1981), who married Paul Taub (c.1899-1968) and had two daughters.

ANNA'S SISTER: THE FRUM FAMILY

In August 2021 I had the honor of being contacted by descendants of Anna Scher's older sister, Estera Dobrysz Frum. This branch of the family stayed in Poland, a majority were killed in the Holocaust, but a few relatives survived and immigrated to the United States. 

Moszek Frum (2nd from right), his wife Hanka (left), their daughter (2nd from left), and other Jewish displaced persons aboard a train to Bremen, Germany, starting their trip to the USA in 1951. (US Holocaust Memorial Museum).

Estera Dobrysz Brumer (born 1836 in Głowno; died 1895 in Lodz), an older sister of Anna Scher, married Becalel Frum (died 1893 in Lodz). Among their children were: 

1. Szaja Frum (born c.1868 in Lodz; died 1935 in Częstochowa), whose grave in Częstochowa, Poland amazingly still survives. He was a very observant Orthodox Jew who lived next door to a synagogue and worked as a butcher (shochet) and a Hebrew teacher (melamed). Szaja married Rajzla Furberg (born 1874 in Olsztyn, Poland, daughter of Ajzyk Furberg and Gitla Librowicz) in 1894 in Janów, Poland. They had 10 children, including two sons who died young (one of typhus), and a stillborn child. The seven surviving children were: 

1a. Zalma Hersz Frum (1901-1942), who married Rachel Leah Fersztenfeld (1902-1942). They and most of their children died in the Holocaust, but one son survived: 

1a1. Michael (Moszek) Frum (1925-2017), a concentration camp survivor liberated at Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945, met Ann (Hanka) Wolkowicz (1925-2003) in a munitions factory in Czestochowa in 1943. Ann Frum, who lived in the Lodz Ghetto before working in Czestochowa, was transferred to Ravensbrück concentration camp in 1944 and was later forced to march to four other camps. American soldiers liberated her on May 1, 1945 at Allach concentration camp near Dachau. 

Mike and Ann Frum reunited and married in Feldafing displaced persons camp, then immigrated to the United States in 1951. They moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1953, joining a growing community of Shoah survivors and opening Mike's Service Station in Cleveland Heights in 1957. Mike and Ann Frum hosted in their home in 1959 the first meeting of the Kol Israel Foundation, a community group for Shoah survivors of the Cleveland area. Kol Israel Foundation raised money for the construction of the Holocaust Memorial in Bedford Heights, Ohio, the first free-standing community Holocaust memorial in the United States. During the memorial's official dedication on May 28, 1961, six coffins filled with ashes of victims of three concentration camps and other remains of Holocaust victims were buried at the foot of the memorial, to represent the 6 million Jews killed in the Shoah. 

1b. Estera Dobrysz Frum (born 1901 in Czestochowa), who was named after her paternal grandmother. 

1c. Szandla Frum (born 1904 in Czestochowa)

1d. Rywka Mindl Frum (born 1904 in Czestochowa), who married Herszlik Demba (1903)

1e. Avrum Moisze Frum (born 1908 in Czestochowa)

1f. Mirl Frum (born 1911 in Czestochowa)

1g. Dina Frum Nord (1919-1998), the youngest Frum sibling, was born after Szaja returned from serving in World War I. Around 1940, Dina, most of her siblings, and her mother were brought from Czestochowa to Buchenwald concentration camp, where probably most of them died. Incredibly, Dina managed to escape Buchenwald and fled into Soviet territory. Dina married Jacob (Yankel) Key in 1941 in Soviet-controlled Lemberg, shortly before they were deported to a Soviet POW camp in Siberia. Jacob died in Siberia in 1943, and then Dina met her second husband, Ruben Najmaister (1916-1968).

After the war, Ruben and Dina immigrated to Sweden, learned that Dina's nephew Mike Frum had survived, and then left for the United States. They settled in Atlanta, Georgia and changed their names to Ruben and Dina Nord. 

In later years, Dina dedicated herself to volunteering, and people called her "The Bagel Lady" for bringing bagels, bread, and other baked goods to those in need. One Atlanta paper quoted her as saying, "I was hungry in my life. I realized people need to eat. Maybe I help someone to live."

Left: Dina Nord, 1997 (USC Shoah Foundation), Right: Ann "Hanka" Frum, 1984 (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Dedication of the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial in Zion Memorial Park in Bedford Heights, Ohio (1961). Note the casket in the front. (Source) 

The Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial today (Source).

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