Surprise: Great-Grandpa Had a First Wife!

Who knew? My great-grandfather, Meyer Elias Mahler (1855?-1910) was married and divorced before he married my great-grandmother, Tillie Rose Jacobs (185x?-1952). I was really surprised to learn about the first marriage when my kind gen friend Lara Diamond discovered this 1877 divorce document in the unindexed but browsable Riga records on Family Search.

The records are in Russian and Hebrew, and not yet transcribed. In the red rectangle above is my great-grandfather's name in Russian handwriting: Meer Eliyash, son of Dovid Akiva Mahler. The record indicates he was 21 at the time of the divorce, and his first wife Gita was 26. They were granted a divorce on the grounds of quarreling.

I'm not the only descendant who never heard this story. It only whetted my appetite to learn more about this branch of my family tree.

Siauliai or Sabile?

Meyer's town is shown as "Shavlin" on the Hebrew side of the document and "Shavel" on the Russian side, Lara told me. Using the JewishGen.org "Town Finder" database, I found two possibilities. One is Sabile, Latvia and the other is Siauliai, Lithuania. NOTE: A reader suggested possibly Siaulenai, Lithuania.

Looking through the JewishGen.org records for these two towns, I found entries for a David Mahler (or a surname variation like Meller) in both towns. The various entries didn't mention Meyer, only David, but there may be additional names and details on the documents that aren't listed in the extracts. I need both names on one document to determine whether any of these entries is my family and to confirm a hometown.

This research will focus on Lithuania and Latvia, so naturally I'm studying Lara Diamond's strategies for finding genealogical records in Eastern Europe.

In search of Meyer, David, Hinde, and more

I'll be on the lookout for Meyer's mother (Hinde Luria) on a birth record or on a document describing her marriage to David Akiva Mahler. This would be a real long-shot, but it's a possibility.

Meanwhile, I'm also going to browse the unindexed Riga records in search of entries that mention Meyer and/or his second wife and/or his two Latvian-born children. I have a rough idea of which years to search. Although Hebrew and Russian are definitely not my strength, I'm lucky enough to have some help!

My good friend "Is" enlarged the Russian handwriting on Meyer's divorce document and suggested hints for spotting names on these Riga documents. Also, I'm consulting the Family Search Russian genealogical word list as I search. And, given that I could be looking at Lithuanian records on Family Search, I'm reading the LitvakSIG guide to Family History Library films. 

Another important item on my to-do list is to find Meyer Elias Mahler on a ship manifest with an arrival in New York City on or around May 27, 1885. That's the date and port listed on his naturalization index and paperwork, but no ship is named. I've previously browsed passenger manifests for that date and the days before and after, with no success. Time for another look with fresh eyes.

Meyer and family won't be found in a day, but they're on my research list now, with sources to examine. A good start.

Wordless Wednesday: Meyer Mahler, d. 1910

Meyer Mahler, my paternal g-grandpa, was born in Kovno. As his death cert shows, he became ill in Dec 1909 and died of cancer in Jan 1910 in New York City.

I'm still trying to trace his parents, David Mahler (b. Riga, Latvia) and Hinde Luria (b. Kovno), who almost certainly never came to the US.

The names of Meyer's parents were passed down in the family. Meyer had a son, David, and the name Hilda is also among those later in the family tree.

Tombstone Tuesday - Meyer Mahler and Tillie Jacobs Mahler

Here are the tombstones of my great-grandparents, buried in Queens, New York. Meyer MAHLER's inscription, translated, suggests a connection to the famous Luria family (reputedly descended from King David):

Here lies the distinguished man from the branch of the fear of heaven, author of the sefer "Kanaf Ranannim," R' Meir Eliyahu son of R' Dovid Akiva, born in 5616 died 3 Shvat 5670.

The sefer mentioned here was written by Chanoch Zundel LURIA. 2022 update: This ancestor is mentioned in a footnote here, and his writings are available on antiquarian sites, among other sites.

According to Meyer's death cert, his mother was Hinde Luria. So far, I've found no other evidence of any direct link to the Lurias, but will keep looking. The Luria genealogist in Europe can't find a real connection, either (2022 update). 

Tillie JACOBS MAHLER's inscription, translated, says "Here lies Mrs. Taube Raize daughter of R'Yonah, died 11 Silvan 5712." Yonah might be Jonah, a clue to Tillie's father, Jonah Jacobs? 2022 update: Yes! 

Data Backup Day - Suspenders and Belt Edition

Having lived through several PC crashes that demolished my data in the bad old days, I now rely on the "suspenders and belt" strategy of ensuring that my stuff can be retrieved, even if my computer is a total loss.

First, I use and automatic backup that begins at 5 pm every day (this is my 2022 update).

Second, now that I've given up the PC world and become a Mac fan (remember, "fan" is short for "fanatic"), I have Apple's Time Machine backing up every hour to an external hard drive that sits right on my desk. Really worst case, I'll lose an hour. Who can beat that? This is the suspenders part, the extra bit of insurance that lets me feel secure about my data.

2022 update: I have another external hard drive for photos, videos, and other genealogical items I do not ever want to lose!

Great-grandpa Came from Kaunas (formerly Kovno)

Kovno was part of Russia when Great-grandpa was born (around 1861 or so). Today it's Kaunas, part of Lithuania. Lots of history to learn about there. Would Great-grandpa be pleased that I want to trace his roots, see where he was born and where he was married? For a virtual tour, see here. (2022 update)

Finding Kovno ancestors

My g-grandfather's death cert shows his birthplace as Kovno and his father's birthplace as Riga. It also gave his mother's maiden name as Luria, a name with a long heritage in Lithuania and surrounding areas. Tracing ancestors in these areas during the mid-1800s is no picnic. My cousin Amy is doing some of the historical research (thanks, Amy!) and has found a Davidic connection through the Lurias. Another source of ideas for researching in this area is Schelly Talalay Dardashti's Tracing the Tribe blog, which has NOW migrated to Facebook. (updated 2022)

Thank you, Shelly!