Last update of this page 2023 APR 11
The missing piece of the Simon family story has always been our patriarch, Jacob Simon.
The told few stories, and the details therein never provided a clear picture.
It’s been very hard to trace Jacob Simon’s origins. He had eight children, seven living to adulthood, but provided no deep information to them. There are few hard details. We know that his family was from Odessa or a nearby town and that his parents were Nusin-Meir and Dvorah (or Dora). We are not certain that his last name was Simon.
When was Jacob born? We seem to settle on 1872, but we do not know this for sure.
1a On his marriage application November 30, 1899, he gave his age as 28 — and thus birth year 1871 or 1872 (depending on his month and day of birth).
1b On the United States census June 5, 1900, he gave his birth date as September 1873.
1c On his first naturalization application February 24, 1902, he gave his birth date as August 24, 1873.
1d On his second naturalization application December 6, 1904, he gave his birth date as September 28, 1872.
1e On the United States census April 29-30, 1910, he gave his age as 38 — and thus birth year 1872 or 1873 (depending on his month and day of birth).
1f On the United States census January 27, 1920, he gave his age as 47 — and thus birth year 1872 or 1873 (depending on his month and day of birth).
1g His cemetery marker has 1872 as his year of birth.
When did Jacob come to the United States?
2a May 29, 1884 ‑‑ from the National Archives ship passenger arrival records. See also item 3g. The boat was the Bohemia from Hamburg. Jacob would have been eleven years old. We are uncertain about this finding. The name is common enough for us to believe this was someone else. However, at one point Jacob told his son Abe Simon that he was sent to a family (plausibly a relative) in Newark, New Jersey. As part of that story, money ran out after Jacob’s bar Mitzvah, and he was sent elsewhere. There is an enticing link to records of Jewish agricultural colonies in southern New Jersey. Details appear below in item 6.
2b April 9, 1886 ‑‑ according to Jacob’s second naturalization petition of December 6, 1904.
2c December 26, 1889 ‑‑ according to Jacob’s first naturalization petition of February 4, 1902.
2d 1891 ‑‑ according to Jacob’s response to the 1900 census.
2e 1891 ‑‑ according to Jacob’s response to the 1920 census. (This question did not appear on the 1910 census.)
The possible dates are 1884, 1886, 1889, and 1891.
We have bits of hearsay about his origins.
3a His mother Dora died during his birth. [This would raise questions as to how he was nursed during infancy.]
3b He lived with his father, Nusin-Meir until Nusin-Meir died in the early 1880s. [There is no firm data on Nusin-Meir.]
3c Jacob was sent to the United States about 1884 at age about twelve and never again had contact with his family. [There exists a steamship record showing a Jacob Simon immigrating in 1884, but this may not be our Jacob; moreover this record may be the origin of the 1884 story. However, on multiple U.S. census documents, he listed his date of immigration as 1891.]
3d The surname was not Simon. Jacob may, or may not, have suggested that the surname was Steinberg, or something similar, in Odessa. Please see item 6 below.
3e Nusin‑Meir had a candy factory in Odessa that made marmalade. Marmalade was often described as a kind of candy.
3f Jacob’s older brothers emigrated to Africa. [This would almost certainly mean Johannesburg in South Africa or Salisbury in Rhodesia. Jews would have made those journeys through London. Archives of “Temporary Shelters for Poor Jews” in London have yielded no clues.]
3g Jacob was sent before his bar Mitzvah to board with a family in Newark. This family then kicked him out after the bar Mitzvah. The timing would require Jacob’s arrive in the United States in 1884, and this remains a possibility. Thorough examination of the New Jersey census fails to affirm this story. See item 2a.
Some of this hearsay may be truth.
What route did Jacob take to the United States?
4a Hamburg to New York – based on his first naturalization petition, February 24, 1902, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
4b Rotterdam to New York – based on his second naturalization petition, December 6, 1904, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.
4c Hamburg to New York – based on the National Archives ship passenger arrival records, but we believe this may not be our Jacob Simon.
Judy Simon has done very extensive searches on a variety of archival sources. Doubts about Jacob’s origin name have made the search process very difficult.
The best hope for solving the puzzle is DNA. Gary Simon has been in DNA data bases since 2005. There have been no solid results – until now.
As you read on, please be aware that Judy uncovered some very helpful new information in March, 2023. The story is not complete, but we know a lot more.
DNA data bases find matches to remote relatives frequently. But these are generally distant matches, with links to common ancestors five or six generations ago.
A genealogical chart appears below. Rectangles are used for males, and ovals are used for females. In accordance with current practice, living people are not identified by name.
Within the last few months, there was a suggested relationship with person <3> at a level possibly 2C1R, second cousin once removed. This person is in England. This is close enough to be interesting. She was contacted but did not respond. Also found was person <1>, possibly 2C2R, second cousin twice removed. He’s also in England and also did not respond to queries.
Then in March, 2023, a match was found with person <2> in England. She did respond, and she gave us details on her family tree. All three of these people are near relatives. The matches coming from the same family is assurance this is a genuine connection.
Persons <1> and <2> are first cousins, suggesting that Chester Miller or Norma Lennard Miller could be the link to Jacob Simon. But there is also a match to <3>, who is not a descendent of Chester and Norma. This moves the linkage back to Charles Ludsky/Lennard or Annie Litwein Lennard.
Please note that spellings are uncertain and names have changed. Lutsky has also been spelled Ludsky. The Lutsky name was changed to Lennard. Litwein appears also as Letwin.
The link could be through Charles Lennard back to his parents, Nathan and Sarah Ludsky. Could Nathan Ludsky have been Jacob’s brother? Could Sarah Ludsky have been Jacob’s sister? Each of these would be about ten years older than Jacob.
The link could be through Annie Litwein’s parents, Abraham and Leah Litwein. One of these could perhaps be Jacob’s sibling.
And there is one more clue, which has been hiding in plain sight. On MocanaquaSimon.com is an account of Jacob’s wedding. This event was shocking, as revealed on the website, and it attracted newspaper attention. From the Reading (Pennsylvania) Times on January 3, 1900, was a detailed account, including this sentence:
Mr. Simon came originally from England and came to this city from New York.
There had been no mention of Jacob’s connection to England on any previous document!
This leads to many possible conjectures. NONE of these can be proven true, based on what we know now. Moreover, none will supply Jacob’s true surname.
5a Nathan Ludsky was Jacob’s brother. He’s ten years older than Jacob and may have left Odessa before Jacob. He would give Jacob a reason to go to England. Moreover, Jacob selected Nathan as the name of his first child. This could have meant that Jacob’s original surname was Ludsky. There’s a complication with the names. Were Nathan actually Jacob’s brother, then Nathan’s father would have been Nusin Meir, and it’s not likely a Jewish father would have given such a similar name to his son.
5b Sarah Ludsky was Jacob’s sister. This would make no suggestion as to Jacob’s original surname.
5c Abraham Litwein was Jacob’s brother. He’s six years older than Jacob and may have left Odessa before Jacob. He would give Jacob a reason to go to England. Working against this conjecture is the name of Abraham’s father Hyman. Jacob had always identified his father as Nusin Meir.
5d Leah Litwein was Jacob’s sister. This would make no suggestions as to Jacob’s original surname.
5e Charles Lennard or Annie Litwein Lennard could be an out-of-wedlock child, sired by Jacob or one of his brothers. It may be impolite or imprudent to make such a suggestion, but such situations occur with surprising frequency in genealogical work.
Another set of tantalizing facts concerns the movement of Jews to farm colonies in the United States. Ellen Eisenberg’s “Jewish Agricultural Colonies in New Jersey 1882-1920” is a major source of information. Some points to consider:
6a The Jews who ended up in Odessa were more integrated into the Russian population. Tsar Alexander II, whose rule began in 1859, liberalized policies. Jews became regular citizens, spoke Russian, and utilized the public schools. Jews participated as equals in university life.
6b Alexander II was assassinated in 1881, and tolerant policies were revoked. Pogroms followed.
6c As a consequence of dissolution of hopes of equality within Russia grew, Jews in many areas, especially Odessa, formed the Am Olam movement in the early 1880s. This had among its objectives the establishment of Jewish agricultural colonies in the western hemisphere.
6d It must be stressed that the previous points are a very superficial summary of the situation in Odessa.
6e If we take 1872 as Jacob’s birth year, he would have been nine years old at the time of the pogroms.
6f Jewish agricultural colonies were formed in a number of places, but the one in New Jersey lasted longest.
This tabulation gives some details on three families who ended up in the colony at Pittsgrove, Salem County, New Jersey. The surnames were Steinberg, Simon, and Silberstein. All were from Odessa.
The first column has names from the passenger list of a boat from Hamburg to Liverpool to New York. The information was written in German. The middle and right columns were taken from New Jersey censuses. The 1885 census used age ranges, rather than exact ages.
| Passenger list 1885 | New Jersey census 1885 | New Jersey census 1915 |
| Chaim Steinberg, 38 | Herschel [a] Steinberg, 20-60 | |
| Sarah Steinberg, 38 | Sarah Steinberg, 20-60 | |
| Se … <illegible> Steinberg, 18 | Se … <illegible> Steinberg, 5-20 | |
| Moses Steinberg, 11 | Moses Steinberg, 5-20 | |
| Edda Steinberg, 5-20 | ||
| Isaac Steinberg, 8 | ||
| Samuel Steinberg, 6 | Samuel Steinberg, 5-20 | |
| Aaron Steinberg, 5 and under | ||
| Golde Steinberg, 5 | Golde [b] Steinberg, 5-20 | |
| Abraham Steinberg, 1 | ||
| Rachel Steinberg, 5 and under | ||
| David Steinberg, 40 | David Steinberg, 67 [c] | |
| Rebecca Steinberg, 30 | ||
| John Steinberg, 17 | ||
| Scheine Steinberg, 15 | ||
| Ruven Steinberg, 10 | ||
| Hirsch Steinberg, 8 | ||
| Bernard Simon, 48 [d] | ||
| Sarah Simon, 48 [d] | ||
| Ida Simon, 15 [d] | ||
| Dora Simon, 12 [d] | ||
| Abraham Simon, 7 [e] | ||
| Netta Simon, 5 [e] | ||
| Chaim Silbertstein, 30 | ||
| Breina Silberstein, 30 | ||
| Se … <illegible> Silberstein, 18 | ||
| Rebecca Silberstein, 1 |
[a] It’s plausible that the name Chaim became Herschel.
[b] Golde is identified as male, but this may be a mistake.
[c] David Steinberg, based on the 1885 passenger list, would have been 70 in 1915. It may be that the numbers were only casually recorded. It was noted also that he had been widowed and that he was in the United States for 29 years. This suggests that he was living in the Simon household.
[d] Noted as being in the United States for 12 years.
[e] Almost certainly born in the United States.
Again, it must be said that nothing here constitutes a link to Jacob Simon. But note that the 1915 census listed Simon children Ida, Dora, Abraham, and Netta. Jacob’s children bore the names Ida, Dora, Abe, and Nate. (The others were Edith, Pete, Esther, and Ruth.)
Was there a family linkage to these names?
Return to first Jacob Simon page
Return to home page