Interesting Article by Reporter
July 15th, 2011 . by adminI love reading articles by people who trace their family trees. Here is an interesting article by a reporter, Linda D. Epstein, from Sunday, July 10 issue of the San Jose Mercury news. I will copy in the first couple of paragraphs so it gives you the flavor and then link to the Mercury’s website. That way I won’t violate any copywrite laws. The article is titled Following Family Footsteps and is about her experiences.
Jewish American explores her family’s past in Eastern Europe
By Linda D. Epstein
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
My aunt showed me this quote by German philosopher Martin Buber she had written on the front page of her travel diary as we boarded our plane in New York City for Eastern Europe. We didn’t realize how true it would be to our own voyage.
More than a year ago, plans were made between my dad’s sister and our mutual paternal cousin to travel
back to “the old country” and see where our ancestors had lived before coming to America. (The first to come over on my father’s paternal side was my grandfather’s uncle in 1871; he changed our family name from Tikotzinski to Epstein.) I have been working on my family’s tree for many years, so my aunt and cousin decided I should be a part of the trip as well.
We would travel to Grodno, Belarus (then part of Russia), where my grandfather was born; and Sokolka, Poland, where his father was born. We would travel to Minsk, Belarus (also then part of Russia), home of my father’s maternal grandparents. Our cousin’s mother’s side of the family was known to have perished outside Panevezys, Lithuania, in World War II, so we would make a pilgrimage there as well.
(The article continues on the Mercury’s website: http://www.mercurynews.com/travel/ci_18421336)
I hope you enjoy the article.
Betty