Last edit 2022.FEB.02
Jacob Simon left a confusing trail of information. It’s believed that he was born in Odessa in 1872 or 1873. He came to the United States in 1886 or perhaps 1889 (responses are not consistent), landing in New York.
There is a misleading clue, and it is useful to report it here. Below is the passenger list for the 1884 voyage of the Bohemia from Hamburg to New York. The page heading and the line with a “Jacob Simon” are shown.
This shows a Jacob Simon, age 11. This is consistent with Jacob’s birth in 1873, however it shows his origin as Mariampol. Jacob claimed a later arrival in the United States, and we believe that the person listed here is NOT our Jacob Simon.
He ended up in Reading, Pennsylvania, for unknown reasons. He worked in Reading as a “hat pouncer.” He met Kate Swiersky of Shamokin; the circumstances of their meeting are not known. Jacob and Kate were married in 1899.
Their first two children, Nathan (1900) and Edith (1901), were born in Reading. The date of the family’s relocation to Mocanaqua is not certain, but it was likely 1904 or 1905. The remaining children were born in Mocanaqua (or perhaps Shickshinny; this remains to be checked).
Jacob joined the Independent Order of Brith Abraham in 1904 with the Reading chapter. This Jewish fraternal organization had a number of helpful features, including a $500 death benefit.
The “Independent” is an offshoot of the original Brith Abraham. It is plausible that the previous mutual benefit was merged into this one.
His suicide note mentions the $500, almost certainly the payout from Brith Abraham.
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