Jakob Steinberg (OR Shames?) - Deducing Jakob's name - Important

Adam, as I mentioned yesterday in pm, I began to suspect that Philip might have had a different surname at birth, after I could not find a similar person from the Lackava shtetl (as in the registration card) in the archives of Lithuania. As for the surname Shames, it is quite possible that Philip was a distant relative of Sheyna, since the surname Shames was Sheyna gr-grandfather's surname. As for the name Philip, I believe that in Lithuania he could have name Faivush or something similar... PS May I ask where the information about the surname Shames comes from?

Dear Andrey,

The story is standard lore in my family, shared by everyone: We had a different name before Philip ended up with a new one at Ellis Island. It was often told to me by all sorts of elders that the name came from a kindly Steinberg woman on the boat with him, though whether it was intentional is unknown. I would be willing to suggest that it is certain that Jakob was not a Steinberg. Hopefully, clearing this up in the listing will make it more possible to track his records down.

Andrey, I am strangely not able to find the place where we were communicating. Where do I click to see our PM conversations?

I am considering "joining" as a "Pro" member, if for no other reason than to merge all the multiple listings. But Ancestry.com charges you the entire year at once, so I am a little wary of trying out the "free two week trial."

-Adam-

Adam, I am very glad that you are interested in restoring the history of the family and would be glad to cooperate. I wrote you a message yesterday here on Geni. At the top ( right of the search field), there is a notification icon (by default, it is marked with a zero). By clicking on it, you can find messages. I also sent you a friend request on Facebook and on LinkedIn

Andrey

Adam, Philip’s name would not have been changed at Ellis Island - the names used at Ellis Island were taken from the papers submitted in the country of origin. That is a common myth, but it is never true. I cannot say whether the story about the woman on the boat is true, but the name change would have occurred after Philip left Ellis Island.

Thanks. Too bad, I guess; it means the story is a little more complex than the conventional Steinberg wisdom. Still, one version of the story is that this kind woman took him under her wing and he took her name. Maybe this happened after the journey; he was young and, as far as we know, alone.

Possible. I tend to trust firsthand accounts by relatives, and even mostly trust secondhand accounts. Once the family lore goes further out than that, there is a strong possibility that it is wrong. Family lore is truly a version of the telephone game, and it can send us down primrose paths. If Philip was naturalized after 1906, you might want to look into getting his naturalization file from the USCIS. I have put in a couple of orders on-line for my great-grandfather Max Shorris, who came here under an assumed name - the wait can be long, but if Philip’s name was changed, there might be some documents that explain (letters, affidavits, etc.). BTW, I put in a request for records pertaining to your Aunt Reva Leeb, who is shown as having been repatriated from Lithuania in 1940, despite having been born in the US. I am hoping there are some records that can explain what that was all about.

It looks like Philip was naturalized in 1898 after arriving in the US in 1893. So the records would not be kept in Washington. There is a possibility that once the genealogy division in the Cook County Courts opens again, you might be able to get records from them, but I would not expect much information.

One other thing I thought of. My late cousin Earl Shorris, who was a well-known social activist and author, wrote a book called “Jews Without Mercy”. In many of his books, he included family stories. In this one, he has a section talking about two of his uncles, one of which was Philip. There are some very interesting stories of Philip and Jennie, and your grandfather Meyer is referenced as well. The book is out of print, I believe, but I got a used one on-line, and I am guessing that you could still do that as well.

Too bad there's no "thumbs up" icon in here. I'll just say, Awesome, thanks! I will look into the book. I look forward to talking to you and learning more about what sorts of records and data are out there for this research; it is new to me.

Very interesting, Perry! is it possible to read it online? ""@he included family stories. In this one, he has a section talking about two of his uncles, one of which was Philip.///

Unfortunately, I don’t think it is available for reading online. I would also caution that while there is good information, he does get some things wrong. He only refers to Philip and Henry Nathan by their given names, and does not name several other relatives he refers to. In his section on Henry Nathan, he refers to Sarah Shorris as being Prussian (of course she was from Lithuania) and says that Henry was a Persian diplomat (very unlikely, as he came here at age 16). His discussion of what happened to Meyer and the clinic he and his partners were running is somewhat accurate, but a little off on the details. I think he largely gets the essence of these people correct, but some small details are wrong.

Slight correction - Earl says that Henry was a Persian diplomat when he came to the U.S. That was likely untrue, but Henry did later become the Persian consul in Chicago.