ΓAΦT - V1.0 PDF

“O
cerca o lejos, todos estamos hermanados

por un pueblo que buscaba su destino de
libertad.”
-
“Whether near or far, we are all siblings by
people who sought their destiny of freedom.”

A quote told to me by Ester Chmielnicki,
who works at Cemetario Tablada in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Introduction

Over the last few years, I’ve ventured into genealogy. But, having two kids in two years
brought me out of the game and into the life of diapers and bottles, and working full time
while having a husband who is in the military, working long hours, and traveling quite
frequently. We’ve lived in Rhode Island, Florida, Washington, and Italy in the span of
just a few years, and we have a move to either New York, Massachusetts or Virginia on
the horizon. With my oldest now being in first grade, and my youngest attending
preschool a few days a week, it’s given me some valuable time to dive back into our
family’s history.

How to read this book

I’m working on the format. I’m hoping for it to be a living book that will continually be
updated as new research, pictures and stories come along. I am always open to
receiving new information and anecdotes to my email address, carlyslavin@gmail.com .
Please send me an email at any time. Even if it’s just a small story, a random picture
you found, or if you have a new family mystery you’d like me to research! I want this to
be something that we all enjoy looking at and re-reading, maybe even multiple times!
Please also feel free to forward this on to family members, but please do not distribute
this or upload this to any websites. This is to both protect the people mentioned in this
book, and to encourage relevant people to participate in it and help it grow. Please
consider submitting your DNA on one of the genealogy platforms (Ancestry, MyHeritage,
etc). They all run sales during major holidays. I’m happy to be a “manager” on your
account!

The pictures will be small at times, and you might not be able to read them
clearly. Zoom in on your computer or mobile device to see them better. I have active
subscriptions on Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, FamilyTreeDNA, GEDMatch,
Geni.com, JewishGen and FamilySearch.org. In addition to the stories provided by
family, I have found all my information on those websites and through searching the
actual Ukranian records (yes, I had to basically teach myself to identify the Russian
alphabet so I could read names. I’m horrible at it but I’ve also had a lot of help). It has
taken, literally, hundreds of hours. I am happy to forward on full sized, HD documents to
anyone interested. Just let me know!

3
There is a lot of blank space, but I do this for formatting. With different sized
pictures, and loads of information, the spaces allow me more room and ease for future
editing. I hope to eventually add information to the people who have a lot of blank
space. Some sections are larger than others, and some people are “highlighted” more
than others. This is simply because I have more documentation for them right now. If
you have a family member on here and you can provide information, pictures, etc, just
shoot me an email and I will add it for that family member. I will periodically send out
new versions of the book with a sheet showing what updates have been made.

I know it bounces all over the place. I’m not an expert on geneology, and certainly
not an expert on writing about geneology. I wrote it in the way that, for now, makes the
most sense for me. I tried to use headers, so if you’re feeling lost about where you are,
look at the header to remind you of where in the timeline you are. I also tried to add a
“lineage” descriptor for every person. I apologize, in advance, to your printers if you
choose to print this out, but it might help keep you organized since there is so much
content. One day I hope to re-edit it completely and do a top-bottom down book where
we start with the oldest ancestor known, and then branch downwards along the lines.

The reason I started off with my direct line, is because I never really intended to go as
far back as I did. I really wanted to showcase my immediate family, and delve a little
farther back, but not too far. I didn’t expect to be so interested in DNA results and that it
would even be possible to go back that far. I didn’t expect to basically re-teach myself
how to read Hebrew. I did not expect to actually speak to the Chernigov office of
records. I didn’t expect that random strangers on the internet would help me translate
old, precious documents that were combined Ukranian, Russian, Hebrew and Yiddish.
But here we are.

If I have any information wrong, please let me know. The names are repeated what
seems like a thousand times, and things start meshing together. There WILL be errors!
It’s not a perfect process. There are still some unknowns, which I will put at the end
of the book and I would appreciate it if anyone has any insight!

Many thanks to the “old” and newfound family members who have been instrumental in
the writing of this book. Without these special stories and pictures I’ve had the privilege
of receiving, this book would just be a whole bunch of words.

Lastly, I also have to give a shoutout to my husband and kids, who allowed and
supported my (often obsessive) desire to pursue this never ending journey.
Car
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Γ AΦ
T

The Haft Family

Growing up, I remember being told that our family was from “Russia”. It wasn’t until I
was older that I discovered just how fluid the borders were, and that a country one day
could be in “Russia”, then the next day it was in Ukraine. Priluki is in what we now know
as Ukraine, however if you asked our ancestors, they’d probably tell you they were from
Russia.

Poltava (the county Priluki was in),

was characterized by the Russian
Empire for quite some time. By 1930
it was considered part of the USSR,
and by 2000 it was considered to be
in Ukraine.

The Haft family was technically “Gaft”, but the way you pronounce it in Russian would
make it “Haft”. When researching the Haft family, you’ll see the family was very large.

A synagogue in Priluki

6
This next section is DIRECTLY COPIED (I did not write it and I take no credit)
from http://jewua.org/priluki/

Please give their website a look. They have wonderful pictures that accompany this
information. I added this because I could never replicate all this amazing information on
my own. It gives a great context to all the family members listed here.
______________________________________________________________________

In 1855, among Priluki Jews there were 124 merchants of the third guild and 690 of
lower middle-class citizens.
In 1859 there was a synagogue and a prayer house, in 1864 – 4 synagogues.
By the end of the XIX century, two private theaters existed in the city, called Jewish and
Intim, which belonged to A.M.Bukler.
By 1869 there were 4 brick factories in Priluki. In the early 20th century, the factory was
owned by Mariengof Beniamin Levinovich (the first brick factory on Algazina St., 60),
Smilyanskiy David-Itzhok Shlomovich used to own the second brick factory on Frynze
St., 42, not far from the Dolgin’s mill, nowadays a residential built-up area, the brothers
Shershevsky Neah-Israel and Yankel Izrailevich owned another brick factory on
Kievskaya St., 210; in 1910 the owners were Manilo Kopel Leibovich and Shershevskiy
Yankel Izrailevich), Kapara Vladimir Andeevich (Kievskaya St., 131).

In 1901, Priluki’s Iosef Flaivech Liapidus was appointed the official rabbi, in 1908 this
position was occupied by Leiba Movshev Tsirelson .
In 1901 and 1903 the official rabbi was Joseph P. Flavievich Lyapidus in 1907-09 – Leib
Movshev Tsirelson , in 1911 – Zelman Geselovich Tsifrinovich.
A spiritual rabbi Abram Joshua Heschel-Zamsky (1875, Starodub -?) led the community
after 1910.
Jews owned two tobacco factories, two flour mills, and two small oil refineries. Many
Jewish tailors sewed ready-made garments, which were sold in fairs in faraway towns.
Apart from hadarim there were schools for boys and girls, and from the beginning of the
20th century, there was a Hebrew-language school.
A Relief society to help Frid’s Jewish secondary school for men was founded. Over the
next two years, over 2,000 rubles were collected.
Difficult economic and political conditions caused a huge wave of Jewish emigration to
USA and other Western countries at the end of 19th – beginning of 20th century. The
US immigrants from Priluki founded a relief society called “Ershter Priluki”.
As a result of severe ethnic and political restrictions, the Jewish youth was very active in
the socialist revolutionary movement. In the summer of 1903, local “Bund” activists
7
organized a small traders meeting in support of a general strike in the southern part of
the Russian Empire. A branch of “Poalei Zion” existed in Priluki in 1905.
The 1908 Business Directory contains an entry for “The Jewish Relief Society for the
Poor” and listed the businessmen who were members and donors: Abram Berk.Dolgin ,
Samuel Morduch. Dunaevsky secretary Yevsei Isr. Yasnogradsky, S ham. Benyam.
Rabinovich, Mend. Zelman. Fratkin , merchant N. Ts.Zolotarev, Simon Isaac.
Boumshteyn, Morduch Zayneymork Moses Uriev. Kogon, Berko Itsk.Suponitsky,
Abraham Leib. Hirsch, Burko Morduch. Zapodinsky .
Perhaps, all Priluki photo studios, three or five at the time, were owned by the local
Jews in 1908. Their owners were Y.V. Vinshteyn (Konotopskaya St.), Solomon Leibov.
Krasnopolskiy (Gimnazicheskaya St.) and Evzer Ioselev. Rivkin.
The first commercial printing press in Priluki was set up in 1883 by Yankel Morduhovich
Linkov on the market square. Another one was founded in 1904 by Aaron Yakovich
Mirov in the building on Kievskaya St., 198a (the building survives nowadays). In 1908
they were the only two publishing houses in Priluki.

In 1910, there were six synagogues and a Talmud Torah, three private Jewish schools
for girls and one secondary school for boys. In 1910, 1,206 Jewish houses were
recorded.
Before the 1917 Revolution, 206 Priluki Jews and their family members were recorded
as members of the merchant class and 20 were designated as the noble citizens of
Priluki.
The first Priluki telecommunication station was built in 1910 by Baron Ginsberg. The
state station was built in 1912 only.
In 1913, a Jewish businessman Abraham Berkov Dolgin built a four-story high mill near
the railway station. It became a major trade point for corn in all of the Priluki region. The
mill burnt down during WWII and was demolished completely in 1990.

Before 1917, there was a Jewish Hospital in Priluki. For the first time it was mentioned
was in 1900. The construction of the hospital was funded by a tobacco factory owner
Benia Rabinovich.

Tobacco factories
Tobacco industry plays an important role in the economy of Priluki. Priluki’s tobacco
factories have been around for over 150 years. Before WWII, these factories were
employing hundreds of Jewish workers. The first tobacco factory was built in 1876, with
two more factories built within the next ten years.
The most famous tobacco factory in Priluki was founded by Benni Rabinovich and
Zalman Fratkin in January 22, 1889 on the right bank of Udai river in the village Brodki
8
(became part of Priluki in ~ 1900). In 1903 there were 447 workers. Among them was
my great-great grandfather Aizek Myasnikoff, who worked there his whole life.
In 1906 a synagogue was built for the Jewish factory workers.
Before 1917, the factory exported tobacco to Germany, Romania, China, Turkey and
other countries. It was the biggest enterprise in Priluki. The factory became a joint stock
company in 1916.

In 1920 the factory was nationalized and became the Second State Tobacco factory.
Until 1938, it was named after a revolutionary Christian Rakovsky. The Priluki tobacco
factory was among the biggest in Ukraine.

During WWII, the manufacturing equipment was evacuated, but the buildings were
destroyed by retreating German troops. The factory was rebuilt after the liberation of
Priluki.
Now the Priluki Tobacco company belongs to British Tobacco and is still the largest and
most profitable manufacturer in Priluki with the best conditions of employment. It
produces 30% of all cigarettes in Ukraine.
Civil War pogroms

The first Jewish pogrom occurred in October 1917. The second pogrom was instigated
by the soldiers of the Ukrainian Directorate (Semen Petlura government) in December
1918.
The White Russian army led by the General Denikin occupied Priluki from August 25,
1919 till December 1, 1919. This period marked the worst time for the Jews of Priluki
during the Russian Civil War.
In December 1919, the town’s Jewish community paid 200,000 rubles in a “contribution”
to prevent a serious pogrom.
The Chernigiv Archives house several petitions of Priluki citizens submitted in 1924 who
suffered during pogroms. These documents contain names, witnesses, and lists of
murdered and injured relatives and neighbors as well as looted property. The following
names were mentioned in the petitions: Elimeishe Gulinskiy, Blinkin Veniamin, Mendel
Berkovich Bruh (54 years old), Gleih Yankel Mendelevich (22 yeras old), Tantlevskiy
Boris Aizikovich, Rachinskiy Motya Israilevich (20 years old), Minya Israilevna
Kyznetsova and his three children of four and three years of age and a six months old
infant, Zolotnitskaya Gisya Avramovna.
These citizens were injured : Haya Danilovna Gurevskaya, Rudavskaya Tana
Beniaminovna (33 years old), Rivkin Yankel Nahmanovich (knocked eye), Haenko Vulf
(62 years old), Zolotnitskiy Abraham Morduhovich (65 years old), Dunaevskaya Sarra
9
Markovna (64 years old), Dunaevskiy Samuil Morduhovich (65 years old), Vcherashnya
Sima (64 years old), Agranov Gershel (53 years old).
Naturally, these two lists did not include the relatives of those who left Priluki between
1919 and 1924.
In October 1920, a pogrom was organized by the detachments of the Red Army.
In 1910s-1920s in the US, there was United Priluker Relief Landsmanschaft , which
helped Pruluki Jews during and after the Civil War.
Zionists
The Zionists remained active for a couple of years after the October Revolution. In 1921
a pioneer group went to Palestine, where they were among the founders of the kibbutz
Kiryat Anavim. Their names are Avraham (Ben-Nariya) Lichtroub, Zeta Goldstein,
Yehuda Levyatov, Efraim (Ben-Hayim ) Leibnsohn, Sonya Gershonovitz and Shalom
Kaushansky (official kibbutz web-site kiryatanavim.com )
After the Civil War

In 1920s, the life of Jews in Priluki and in the whole of the Soviet Union changed
drastically.
Due to the Korenization campaign the Jews from Priluki, Piryatin and Yagotin obtained
the right to communicate with the authorities in Yiddish. A Yiddish court was established
in Priluki.
A Jewish orphanage was established in the 1920s. These were mostly for the children
whose parents perished during pogroms in shtetls near Priluki like Piryatin, Lovitsa and
Varva. These children testimonies are stored in the Chernigov State Archive.
In the 1920s all big businesses were nationalized. Among them were the “Jewish”
Tobacco Factory owned by Rabinovich and Fratkin, Volodarskiy’s tobacco factory,
Shahin’s and Dolgin’s mills.
Before 1920, there were only two energy generators in the town, powering the Intim
theater and the local cinema, and both owned by the Jewish entrepreneurs, Abraham
Moiseevich Bukler and Zolotarev. Both generators were nationalized in 1920.

In 1920, among 273 district’s deputies, two represent “Paolei-Tzion” party.
In 1922, 1,510 people or 22.6% of all laborers in Priluki were Jewish.

In 1924-1925, the Jews from Priluki organized 7seven collective farms in the Kherson
region. Nearly 600 people resettled in the area.
10
Some 65% of Priluki Jews worked as factory laborers and artisans, and about 165 were
members of a Jewish kolkhoz named Nayer Shteyger (New way of life) . The local Jews
numbered 9,001 (31.4% of the total population) in 1926, decreasing to 6,140 in 1939
(16.65%).
In November, 1927, the main synagogue was closed, which was reportedly demanded
by the employees of the Second tobacco factory and was refurbished as a workers’
club. The building of the mikva was nationalized in 1920s and returned to the Jewish
community when it was completely derelict.

Holocaust
Priluki was occupied by the Germans on September 18, 1941.
In October 1941, the chief officer in charge of the medical service for the 331st Artillery
Regiment Khaim Kil was executed in the prisoners of war camp in Priluki.
Many of Priluki’s Jews succeeded in leaving before the occupation started. The
remaining Jews were ordered to wear a white armband with a yellow star and they were
prohibited from going to the market and the cinema. They were recruited for forced
labor, such as repairing roads, clearing demolished buildings, etc. On October 15, 1941
a murder operation that had several Jewish victims was carried out, probably by the
German Secret Field Police unit no. 730.
A ghetto was established at the beginning of 1942 in the building of School #4 (build by
merchant Shkuratov in 1912) and nearby streets. From January 1942, groups of 30-40
young healthy men were systematically taken from the ghetto and executed at an
unknown location. Most of the Jews of Priluki were killed in a mass murder operation in
May 1942.

Another mass murder was carried out by Germans in Priluki on September 10, 1942.
The victims were Jews who had hidden or escaped from the previous killing operation.
Jews from Polova, Ladan, and Linovitsa of Priluki region and from Kharitonovka, Podol,
Radkovka and Malaya Devitsa and other regions of the Chernigov region were
murdered in Priluki. Nearly 3,000 Jews were killed during German occupation. We know
the names of only of 430 civilians and 316 soldiers.
Meir Ofman was drafted to the Red Army but his detachment was encircled near Kiev.
He slipped away to find his family in Priluki and was murdered alongside the rest of the
local Jews.
Priluki was liberated by the Red Army on September 19, 1943.
After WWII
Many Jewish families returned from evacuation in 1944-1945.
11
In the post-war period local Jews played an important role in the economic and cultural
life of Priluki. For example, Rabinovich David Fridelevich was in charge of the textile
factory for 21 year from 1944 until 1965.
There were about 2,000 Jews in Priluki in 1959.
After the war, observant Jews gathered at the house of Magit for prayer on
Gimnazicheskaya St., 55 and at the Lev Ofman apartment on Kotlyarevskogo St., 199J.
The local police would disperse the meetings, especially on High holidays.
The last shoihet in Priluki was called Evelkin; he died in 1960s.
Jewish population of Priluki:

1825 – 316 Jews
1847 – 1007 Jews
1897 – 5722 (30,8%)
1910 – 9355 Jews
1920 – 9363 Jews
1939 – 6140 (16,7%)
1959 ~ 2000 (4,6%)
1979 ~ 1100 (1,6%)
2001 – 185 Jews
A Jewish community council was established again in the late 1980s when Leiderman
Moses Gdalievich (1928-2000s) founded “The Jewish Culture Society”. The next
chairman was Leonid Klugman who emigrated to Germany.
In the 1990s, most Priluki Jews left for Israel, Germany, and the US. It is estimated that
between 1,000 and 2,000 people left in that time.
In 2003-2013, Lipin Pavel Gershelevich was the Head of the Jewish Priluki Community.
After his death in 2013, Beis Irina Yakovlevna became the Head of the Community.
In June-July 2013, the old Jewish Cemetery was vandalized. Up to 20 tombstones were
brought down or destroyed. The local police promised to find the criminals but the
investigation is still ongoing…

Jewish education
Pre-1917, there were four private Jewish secondary schools in Priluki: Two schools
owned by Levin, one by Hazanov and one girls’ school owned by Frid.
There was a Jewish library in Priluki until 1920, mentioned for the first time in the
commercial records from 1901. It belonged to Beilin Gersh Abramovich.
12
After 1917, the Jewish schools were re-organized into three seven year schools and
one four year school.
Jewish school №5 was converted from a Russian school in 1923 under the name of
the October Revolution. Yiddish was used as the main language of education for the
first three years. After that, most lessons were taken in Russian. Goldin Lev
Abramovich, Zaks (first name unknown) and Novikov Boris Iosipovich are some of the
head masters of the Jewish school. Eleven teachers taught Year 1.
Pupils’ numbers in different years: 194 in 1923, 229 in 1924, 307 in 1926, 255 in 1927.
Jewish school №5 was turned into a Russian school in 1938. From 1925, the school
occupied a large building in the central town square. It was burned by the Germans in
1943.
Jewish school №8 was based on the private school, owned by Novogrudskiy in 1918.
250 Jewish children studied there in five year groups. The school occupied the building
of the former Bukler theater on Pereyaslavskaya St. (demolished in 1980s) and only
admitted paying students.
In 1919, Hebrew as a language of education was prohibited in the Soviet Union and the
school adopted Russian as its primary language.
In 1920, the school was nationalized. In 1921, 19 teachers were employed there.
Bashmachnikov Iliya Solomonovich was the director there.
Pupils’ numbers in different years: 250 in 1918, 280 in 1921, 216 in 1922, 245 in 1923,
266 in 1924.
In 1922, the following teachers were employed by the school: Demkov S.M.,
Zaslavskaya B.I., Kiselova M.P., Koiles Y.G., Krasin A.A., Krasina E.V., Mogilevskiy V.L.,
Preis A.E., Shkoropad O.P., Novikova S.B., Zapadinska G.I.
In 1924 and 1925, the school head masters were Slavina Sarra Iosifovna and Grishko
Vasyl Pilipovich. Jewish school №8 was closed in July 24, 1925 due to the derelict state
of the school building.
Jewish labor school was created in 1920 and was located in the building of Kislih’s
secondary school (the building survives on Vokzalnaya St., 35). Among 15 teachers
were Nahman Gold and Frederika Iosifovna Lyapidys.
Pupils’ numbers in different years: 317 in 1920, 224 in 1924.
In 1922, the first branch of the children’s Communist League, called “The Young
Spartans” was founded in Priluki. One year later, the organization was renamed the
Young Pioneers. Isaak Bruk (1908-1985) became the main organizer, with Krasin (the
son of the school’s history teacher) was in charge of the first brigade.
In 1923, the school moved to the building of a former Barsky hotel on Vokzalnaya St.
(ruined during the WWII). It was renamed as a Polytechnic College of the First of May.
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In 1931, the school was affiliated with the local electrical station where students were
trained in technical disciplines. The school pupils often helped at the Jewish collective
farm “Noviy Pobut”. After the WWII, the school was never re-opened.
Jewish collective farm “Noviy Pobut”

Jewish collective farm was organized in 1925. The first collective farm members where
12 poor Jews.
In 1930, the collective farm included 200 families and 650 members, who owned 445
acres of land, 58 horses, 177 sheep, 5 cows and a tractor. Local Jewish artisans also
joined the collective. They set up various workshops, a mill, a blacksmith’s, a
shoemaker’s and others.
In 1930s, “Noviy Pobut” became the largest collective farm in the Priluki region. In 1931,
several prospective collective farm members were assigned a plot of land outside of
Priluki and founded a small settlement, called “Noviy Pobut” (see map above). There
were 20 houses.
In the 1960s, the remaining settlers were moved to Priluki and the city cemetery was
established in that place. The offices of the collective farm were located in the building
of the former brick factory on Frunze St.
Pliskunovka ravine
On May 20, 1942 the inhabitants of the Priluki ghetto were ordered to assemble at the
bridge over the Pliskunovka River, ostensibly to be settled in a new area. Most Jewish
men had already been murdered before that date.
Only women, children, and the elderly remained. All those who arrived were taken to a
ravine near the bridge on the way to the village of Pliskunovka. They were lined up in
rows and shot. The number of victims amounted to 1,290, including some Jews from
neighboring villages who were shot together with about 1,150 Jews from Priluki itself.
The killings were carried out by a detachment of Sonderkommando Plath of the SD
under the command of the head of the Kremenchug security police, Karl Julius Plath.
The German field gendarmerie, local Ukrainian police, and a Cossack unit participated
in the mass killing of the local Jews. The adults who had to take off their clothes, were
beaten and then shot. The children were shot or buried alive.
The grave was fenced off and flowers were planted in June 1944 by the Jews who
returned from evacuation and the army. In 1948, all separate burials in the ravine were
combined in a joint grave.
he first attempt to put up a memorial to honor the murdered local Jews in the late 1940s
failed because the local authorities banned the construction.

Racetrack
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Nearly 1,500 Jews were murdered on the Priluki racetrack, close to the local prison,
together with non-Jewish locals, at different times between 1941 and 1943. Local Jews
were systematically arrested by the Germans in small groups, imprisoned in the Priluki
prison, and then shot on the racetrack. In the winter of 1942 a group of 100 Jewish men
from the ghetto.

The murders were apparently carried out between October 1941 and February 1942 by
the German Secret Field Police unit no. 730 and from February 1942 — by the Secret
Field Police unit no. 721. Before being shot, the Jews were forced to take off their
clothes. Some of them, including many children, were buried alive. Many Jews from the
Priluki region were murdered at the racetrack in Priluki: documents report the killing of
Jews from Ladan (at least 15 Jews were shot on May 20, 1941), Linovitsa (at least 6
Jews were shot on March 1, 1943), and Polova (at least 2 Jews were shot on March 1,
1943). Some Jews from the Chernigov region were also murdered on the racetrack:
documents report the killing of Jews from Radkovka in Malaya Devitsa region (at least 3
Jews, who were arrested in 1943 and sent to the Priluki prison) and Malaya Devitsa (at
least 1 Jew, who was arrested on February 25, 1943 and sent to the Priluki prison).

Memorial was erected on May 7, 1978 (architect V.G. Shtolko and sculptor V.P. Lutsak).
Ghetto during WWII

A ghetto was established for the local Jews in the autumn 1941 in the building of school
No.4 and the streets nearby. All Jews housed in the ghetto were killed on May 20, 1942
in the Pliskunovka ravine.
The Old Jewish cemetery

According to the census, we can assume that the Jewish cemetery appeared in Priluki
in the early 19th century. It wasn’t marked on city plan by 1802 and appeared only when
the 1859 city plan was published. Also, it was mentioned on the plans of 1863 and
1888. It was located on the western outskirts of the city, near the road to Rudivka village
(see map above), between the roads to Nezhin and the Udai river. The first Priluki
Jewish cemetery was closed in the late 19th century. It was not possible to identify any
records of when it happened. Sheptovitskiy Lev Mihailovich (1921-2000) said that he
remembered the old cemetery on the banks of the Udai river. It can be assumed that it
was still in existence before the Second World War.
The cemetery is located on the former outskirts of the town of Kvashyntsi in
Partyzans’ka Steet, near the bus stop marked «Hospital». The estimated number of
graves is 2,600. The cemetery is partly fenced in. Trees have been planted around the
perimeter but it is open to all. Jews from the towns of Linivitsa, Ladan (10 km away) ,
15
Gusynya and Malaya Divits (10 km away) also used this cemetery. The cemetery was
established in 1905 when local Jews raised some money and purchased land.
The latest graves are dated between 1970-1980. The cemetery consists of two parts:
the older section and the new section. The graves of the new section date from the mid
to late 20th century. The local Jewish community continues to maintain this new section.
The older section is completely overgrown and is in a state of disrepair, with tombstones
only visible in winter and spring. There are a number of photos of the older tombstones.
It is impossible to fit them here, but if required, they could be emailed by request.
According to the testimony by Vladimir Entin, the Jews from the Priluki ghetto were
buried here. However, the location of the graves is unknown.
After 1974, local Jews were buried in other cemeteries and at the Jewish part of the
Noviy Pobut cemetery. In 2010, the Jews received permission to use this cemetery
again but no new burials appeared here.

______________________________________________________________________

Yad Veshem has posted some testimony from reisdents of Priluki about the mass
murders:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SLfIHqOyZI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQgoXoF9J0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbPdQGhCKgs

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Entrance to the Jewish Cemetary in Priluki

Inside of the Jewish Cemetery

17
Tobacco Factory from the early 1900s
Mass grave for the Jews murdered on a bridge over the Pliskunovka River
18

Schoolhouse #4, where all the Jews were kept in Priluki in September 1941 to May 1942

The Oldest Known Ancestors
19

I will get more into depth on how I got this information, but I wanted to put this in here.
This next page might be a good page to print out, if any, so you can reference more
easily the people I write about. It will be horizontal, is the image is rather wide.

Please remember, I have done the best I can hypothesizing with the information I have,
but there are bound to be errors and this shouldn’t be taken as cannon.

20

Most Recently
21
Most Recently

I’m starting everything with the set of siblings who immigrated to the United States from
London on 13 June 1914: Benjamin Haft (1907-1929), Maurice Haft (1908-1999),
Louis Haft (1910-2003), and Shirley Haft (1915-1993) that are closest to me. The only
reason I am starting with them is because they are the closest to me, and I
acknowledge this would not be everyone else’s starting point.

Ben, Maurice, Louis and Shirley were born in London, but at some point before 1904
when their parents Rose and Solomon married, the family was from Priluki, Ukraine.

1911 census from London showing their family

First Immigrants
First Immigrants

Solomon, the father of Benjamin, Maurice, Louis and Shirley, came earlier to set up a
life in the United States in November of 1911. He came with several relatives (which we
will get to later). Of note, he is a tailor and his wife is “Beckie Haft” who is still in
London.

I later learned that Rose’s (their mother) real name was Rebecca, and she changed it to
Rose after immigrating to the United States. I then learned that her name was actually
Reve Bella and that is what family would refer to her as, occasionally.

Ben, Maurice and Louis came with their mother Rose in 1914.

Rose and the children’s ship manifest

The following pages are about Solomon and Rose’s children. I will go more into depth
about Solomon and Rose in the upcoming sections.

Children of Rose and Solomon Haft
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Benjamin Haft (1906-1929)

Father: Solomon > Moishe > Shlioma > Smuil > Shlioma

Ben was presumably named after Rose’s father, whose
name was Boruch. He came to the United States with his
mother in 1914 at the age of 7. His birthdate was officially
listed as 15 June 1906.

Unfortunately, Benjamin died at the age of 23. This
picture must have been taken shortly before he passed
away, as it’s labeled “Benjamin age 23”.

He was a machine operator at the time of his death and
was not married.

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Maurice Charles Haft (1908-1999)


Maurice, or how I know him, Grandpa, was born in
London in 1908. His birthdate is listed as May 15,
1908 on his WW2 draft registration. He lived until
he was at or close to 90.

He started Alliance Advantage and Letter Service
in Chicago, Illinois. My uncle Richard Haft now
runs this business as Alliance Graphics.

His eventual wife, my grandmother Ida Pasternak,
was from Wysokie Mazowieckie, Poland. They
probably both met while living at 1221 Millard
Street, in Chicago, IL.

My grandpa was absolutely hilarious and a
goldmine for stories. I asked my family for their
favorite Grandpa stories.

This was written by Jeremy Haft, son of Richard Haft and grandson of Maurice:

“THE HEARING AID

Grandpa's hearing was suspect, but he would happily turn off his hearing aid if he
was bored and/or didn't want to listen.

HARRIS LIONS

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Arlie [Jeremy’s sister] and I grew up getting tons and tons of stuffed lions from
Grandpa and Grandma from the Harris bank -- I think we still have one! These
lions were giant, and I remember them at one point being larger than I was.

FIGHTING

Arlie and I used to beat the living hell out of each other in the back of Grandpa's
car. We would often drive to McDonald's and we'd fight each other like crazy in
the backseat. One time I shoved Arlie so far under the front seat she hit Grandpa
Maury's feet!

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES

Whenever we'd visit Grandpa he'd be watching monster movies and eating
chocolate covered cherries. He'd tease Arlie and I by telling us we looked like the
monsters, and we'd eat tons of cherries. I still love monster movies and chocolate
covered cherries to this day.

PANCAKE HOUSE

Grandpa would take Arlie and I very often to the pancake house across the street
from 1960 Lincoln Park West. He'd let me get the German Apple pancake and
the chocolate chip pancakes! He was not that into healthy eating....

ONLY RED MEAT

Grandpa smoked cigars non-stop and only ate red-meat... Ironically when the
paramedics came to help him when he was 89 years old and asked for all his
prescription medications, he was on zero meds!

I remember asking him why he only ate red meat, and he told me he worked at a
chicken factory and was so grossed out, he could not eat it.

FLYING NUNS

This was before my time, but I have heard a story of Grandpa Maury hitting a
flock of nuns and Grandma Ida bringing salamis to the hospital to appease them.

RUMORS
26

I heard a story about Grandpa trying to corner the wheat market????
I heard that Grandpa Maury invented a game that was like and pre-dated
Battleship”

Sherri, daughter of Barbara Haft and granddaughter of Maurice, also agreed that when
Grandpa didn’t want to listen to her mother Barbara and my mom, Carol, he’d turn his
hearing aids off. She also mentioned brisket, steak, hot dogs and his favorite – corned
beef or pastrami. And don’t forget the cigars. She says, “I remember Mike Ramsey (his
doctor) telling us he had a tumor on his lung, but he suspected all the cigar smoke killed
any cancer!”

Here are my memories, granddaughter of Maurice, copied directly from an email:

How has no one mentioned the DOLLS!!! I remember walking in his apartment
and thinking the dolls were going to come alive and murder me. When grandpa
died I think auntie Barbara inherited all the dolls. I don't know what happened to
them, but she either gave me or I picked out a doll that was in this velvet red
dress with white fur, and had little black patent leather shoes on (I LOVED black
patent leather Mary Jane shoes as a child). but the doll absolutely creeped me
out. I couldn't go to sleep in my room with it in there, but I loved it at the same
time because I knew it was grandpas. I'd turn it around every night so that it
wasn't facing me while I was sleeping!!!

I remember walking into one of his apartments and to the left, you'd see his
kitchen. I could draw it in detail still. His fridge was all to the way to the left after
walking in the door, straight on, and between the tiny dining area and the kitchen
there was a cut out window. I remember seeing salami hanging from the cutout
and opening his fridge and all that was in there was more salami and cigars! My
mom took me out to lunch with grandpa and I think uncle Richie was there too. I
think at this point he was living in Lincolnshire??? in a retirement community.
Grandpa ordered cabbage soup and I thought it was the most disgusting thing (I
love it now though!) My mom joked with me that somehow cabbage soup, cigars
and salami were the reason he lived so long (who knew grandpa was into the
keto diet way before it was a fad, lol!)

Grandpa once took his teeth out in the back seat of the car. I don't remember
who was driving, but it was my mom to the right in the back seat, me in the
middle and grandpa to the left of me. We were at a right light and he said "Carly,
27
look at this" and he took his teeth out and gave me this huge toothless grin and I
just started screaming at the top of my lungs. I remember my mom screaming at
him to put his teeth back in and he just was howling with laughter.

Of course - one of my favorite grandpa stories is at my bat mitzvah, when his
watch went off in the middle of the heart felt speech from the mother of the other
bat mitzvah. "cock a doodle do, it's 12:00!!!" Richie absolutely could not figure
out how to turn it off and I remember turning to look at what the heck was going
on, and uncle Richie was standing up and stepping on the watch to get it to stop.
I imagine at this point grandpa was too old and would take too long to usher him
out of there (he died less than a year later) so Richie had to resort to stomping on
it [Richie ultimately said he never stepped on it but I have very vivid memories of
it! ha!]. My dad and I were laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee all over
the bimah and my mom was absolutely livid at my dad and I because we could
not stop laughing. It is one of my most favorite moments and I think I have never
laughed so hard. The mother of the other girl ended up saying she didn't even
notice a thing!!!

We went to Yudie’s [a relative on the other side of the family] funeral in Indiana
and I was getting ancy. I had to have been 12 or 13. Grandpa walked around
the hotel with me and took me to the gift shop and bought me a little doll that
looked like little bo peep. It spun in circles and had this frilly purple dress on and
one of the arms was broken, but I wanted it anyway. I think my mom and dad
told him not to buy me anything, but he bought it anyway. I didn't know Yudie
very well but I do remember her, and I remember it was one of the first funerals I
went to (or at least that I was old enough to remember). I was pretty sad and the
doll helped me cope with all the sadness around me.

I always remember feeling very doted on by him, I think probably because before
my sister I was the baby of the group. He was well into his 70s when I was born
but I always remember him acting like he was young - always doing things he
shouldn't be given his age. I also remember my mom telling me that, perhaps
during the nun chase, or maybe another time, he drove a car into a pool
somewhere. I remember him fighting when mom, Barbara and Richie wanted to
take away his license because he wanted to drive his car until the day he died.

Grandpa died on 2/21/1999. His birth year varies based on the records.

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When I was in school, I had this bizarre habit. I was convinced that if I woke up
earlier in the morning, got up and turned off my alarm, and set it again for 630,
that it would be easier for me to wake up when it was time to get ready for
school. I don't know why I thought that, but I did. I'd set my alarm for 3 am every
day, it would go off, and I'd get up and turn it off, reset it for 630, and then would
start my day.

On the day grandpa died, I woke up randomly at something like 2:17 (I can't
remember the time exactly). I checked my clock from across the room to see
why it hadn't gone off and thought I'd overslept my ridiculous 3 am alarm.
However, I saw that it was too early for it to go off. I got up anyway, and reset the
clock for 6:30.

We got the call later that day that grandpa had died at the very time that I had
woken up. Like, exactly. And I knew it because I specifically looked at the clock
to see why my 3 am alarm hadn't gone off.

It has stuck with me to this day.

Dylan's middle name is after grandpa (Matthew). His Hebrew name is David
Moshe. I imagine Grandpa was named after his grandfather, who was Moishe
and I feel proud that Dylan is named after his great grandpa, and his great great
great grandpa. I always joke that it was grandpa who sent us to live here in Italy
- the country famous for salami!

Some from Laura, daughter of Barbara Haft, and granddaughter of Maurice Haft:

Grandpa burned his condo down while my parents were in Hawaii and I was
staying at their house. Carol was having a party and Richard, who had plans that
night, picked up a soot-covered Grandpa and dropped him off in the lobby of
Carol and Craig's condo. Needless to say, Carol went ballistic. Our parents came
home the next day. Grandpa told Mom that he was fine and the condo was a little
damaged. When Mom and I went to see him there the condo, which was "slightly
damaged", looked like it was in the London Blitz.

Speaking of the reclining chair, need I say anything other than "loose bird"?

When Carol was still living with her parents, she went out one night. Grandma put
a roast in the oven and went to bed; she told Grandpa to turn off the oven before
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he went to bed. He forgot and went to sleep. Carol came home to fire trucks and
a smoky apartment; the firemen had chopped the door down. Grandma and
Grandpa slept through the whole thing.

At [a family member’s] second wedding Grandpa got up and gave an impromptu
speech since he was the family patriarch. He referred to the groom, as "What's
his name"

From Arlie, a granddaughter of Maurice:

I also remember Grandpa would watch his monster or Godzilla shows while
sitting in his lounge chair with an ashtray full of cigars and a box of chocolate
covered cherries. And he would tell me and Jeremy we were like the monsters.
Lol

Another one from one of his birthday parties at Barbara’s and Jerry’s house and
Grandpa and his friends arrived in cars from the retirement home. A few of the
friends drank so much Uncle Jerry and some of them had to help them all get to
the car.

Also can’t forget when Grandpas car was finally taken away from him. And then
maybe Dad (?) got a call from a friend that said they just saw his Father at
Grossmans buying a new car!

But his driving stories, hysterical!

And I totally remember Grandpa taking us to Long John silvers. He loved that
place!

From Carol, Maurice’s daughter:

Barb and Jerry were always out of town when there was a catastrophe with
grandpa! When he burned his condo down, Craig, Carly and I were at [a friend’s]
birthday party at 1100 Lake Shore Dr where we no longer lived. The doorman
called up and asked to speak to me. He said, “ Mrs. Slavin there’s a man here
covered in soot who claims to be your father. He’s with another man who wants
you to come down now.”

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Well it was uncle Richie who wanted me to take Grandpa to my place and give
him a bath while he went to meet his friends!!!!! Well needless to say that didn’t
happen as I made Richie come to 3260 Lake Shore Dr where we lived, and give
him a bath. Grandpa then stayed with us for a while. Days later when Jerry and
barb came back from their travels, I remember Laura greeting them with “ Now
don’t get upset but Uncle Bernie died and grandpa burned his condo down!” Next
day we all went to see his condo and yes Laura is correct, like a bomb went off.
The fire department had come earlier that day and threw a burning chair out of
the apt from the balcony! Later that night auntie Barb found out that another
resident told her daughter (whose daughter thought she was getting dementia)
that she saw a burning chair fly in the sky from her condo!! The daughter, auntie
Laurie’s [from the other side of the family] good friend, put her mom in a nursing
home shortly after that!!!!!

Also while grandpa stayed with us he broke his leg!!!!

Another bird story: grandpa was evicted from his apt. Barb and I went there to
find out why. He had flooded the place with his washing machine 2. I looked at
the ceiling and told my sister to do the same. She looked but said so, it’s a stucco
ceiling where I replied,”Barb the stucco is moving!!!” Sure enough it was lice or
whatever covering the ceiling and it was from all the uncovered birdseed and
poop the bird, named Carly, left from flying around the whole apt!!! The apt was
exterminated by men in hazmats and I took Carly to have her wings clipped while
my father was so mad at me.

Who wants to finish this story about what happened to the poor bird when she
could no longer fly high and sat in grandpas lazy boy chair!!!

Grandpa was a quiet man who didn't talk all that much so when he did it
was usually quite inappropriate or funny. They were at a wedding sitting
outside in the foyer of the wedding venue while the wedding was going on
with music and dancing. Sam and Morrie sat in their chairs smoking their
cigars for an hour or so not saying a word as Sam was just like Morrie. At
the end of the evening, Morrie got up and said: "nice talking to you, Sam!"

Everyone was worried about grandpa's chest x-ray as it showed what
looked like was lung cancer. When the doctors went in for a biopsy they
were surprised to find something else. It looked like lung cancer but it was
31
usually detected in farmers and it was determined that it was from his
cigars.

Grandpa had especially the driest skin I have ever seen. Probably one time
when he was evicted or burned his condo down, or whatever he did, he
moved into our Riverwoods house when Carly was at camp. He slept in her
bed. One day I came into her room and he was sitting on her bed wearing
his pajama shorts and I saw his legs peeling and dry. I immediately got
some cream and rubbed it all over his legs while his skin from his legs was
flying all over the place! I screamed, "Dad you're a lizard!. Carly was
coming home from camp so I quickly had to vacuum up the skin and
change the linens!

He loved eating the smelliest awful fish called kippers and Jerry and all of
us would cringe when we went to brunch and he ordered that as he picked
them up and ate those kippers like corn on the cob!

When my mom died, I took my dad to Florida. I dressed him up to the
nines. He had white pants, a cool shirt, shoes, and a cool hat. He sat in the
sun with me at the hotel pool looking like dapper Dan smoking his cigar and
people thought he was my sugar daddy.

Barbara was engaged to Jerry and they were coming to Chicago to meet
us. Grandma had never seen grandpa without his trademark mustache but
he marches out of the bathroom and announces, "Look at me and tell me
what's different?" I looked at him and screamed and cried, grandma,
screamed, Barbara screamed, and not sure what Richie did. Here we were
going to Sheboygan to meet Jerry's family and Grandpa decides this is a
good time to shave off his mustache!!! Barbara was mortified. Grandpa
loved it! He thought it was funny. This particular weekend Richie was
Deposited on the hallway stairs drunk by his boyfriends where Grandpa
had to pick him up and drag him into the apt. This was the same weekend
grandpa thought it was a great idea to shave off his mustache and I
screamed and cried the whole time, grandma and Barbara were crazed!!!!

When I was probably around 9 years old, I wanted a dog. My parents
weren't keen on this idea and we lived on the third floor of an apartment
building. One day grandpa came home with a surprise. He bought a
parakeet! We named him Malarky. We all loved Malarky especially
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Grandpa. On Sunday mornings, at breakfast, Grandpa let Malarky out of
his cage and he always flew to grandpa's bald spot on top of his head and
perched himself there throughout breakfast. just talking up a storm and
tweeting.

Richard, son of Maurice Haft, chimes in:

Buying that white Seville: Yes, my friend Al called me to say he saw Dad at
Grossingers, which was right next door to the retirement house that he was
living at. (Barbara, Carol and I refused to take him car shopping) I got there as
soon as I could, but it was too late, Dad was the proud owner of a used Cadillac
Seville. Unfortunately for Dad, his driving time with that car did not last long. Car
was so low, that he could not get out once he got to where he was going. I ended
up with that car!

The Fire: Got a call from one of dad’s neighbors, that there was a fire in dad’s
apartment. I got there as soon as possible, dad was walking around in what
seemed like a daze, and didn’t seem to think it was too bad! Front door was gone
if I remember correctly and there was broken glass all over the carpeting. Major
damage was in his study, which luckily, he got up off of his recliner to get
something from another room. Somehow a cigar he was smoking, and left on the
recliner went up in flames, and the firemen broke the patio glass door and threw
the chair out. Ask Barbara about that chair.

I convinced dad that he could not stay there, so off we went to find Carol who
was at a friend’s party. So, in the lobby, I’m telling the doorman that we need
Carol to come down to the lobby. Once there, and somewhat over the shock, I
tried to say goodbye, and explain that I had someplace to go. That didn’t work, so
the three of us ended up at Carol’s, I went home later and dad stayed there for a
year or so!

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Grandpa with me, his granddaughter Carly

Grandpa with my sister, Samantha, his granddaughter

From Barbara, daughter of Maurice:
When grandpa came home from the hospital he had home health care 2
times a week, and I called him one afternoon to see if anyone came and he
said not only one but 2 came! The first one came gave me a bath, took my
blood pressure and left and another health aid came later and knocked on
my door and said he was here to give me a bath and I said I already had a
34
bath I don't need another bath and if I did, I would have ordered a tall
blonde not an old black man like you!. The health care worker laughed out
loud and left!

No drugs for grandpa!!
A resident asked about his meds grandpa said none, He doesn't take any.
Resident asks when you open your medicine cabinet what do you see? I
see my dentures, bandages, and the resident asks, “don't you take aspirin
everyday?” and Grandpa said “why would I take aspirin, I never have a
headache!”

When Carol was in 6th grade, there was a sale on baby chicks at the store
near her school on the old west side of Chicago. It was Easter so the chicks
were on sale. So Billy (Carol named him after Uncle Jerry's brother, Billy)
came home with Carol and ran around the apartment eventually getting
trapped in the old fashioned radiato r in those old apartments. Barbara, Richard
and Carol and grandpa all tried to get him out and the heat was on too! No
one could get him out! Grandma called the fire department and said,"Please
come over here as fast as you can there's a chicken caught in my radiator!"
where the operator then shouted, "Lady are you drunk!?" But they came
over and took apart the radiator to get Billy out. The next day Grandpa took
Billy and told Carol he was taking him to a farm to have a good life and then
Uncle Richie would tell Carol for weeks every time they had chicken for
dinner, that it was Billy!

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Maurice with his wife, Ida

36
Louis Haft (1910-2003)


Louis Haft married Anne Tennenbaum.

Mike, son of Louis Haft , notes:

My dad and I were both smokers. I decided to quit in 1986
and told my dad he should stop also which he agreed to do. At
that time he was in a nursing home but agreed to stop. For
the next few weeks I questioned him regarding his non
smoking and he kept saying he no longer smoked. After a
number of months while visiting him the nurse told me he was sitting outside.
When I went out, there he was smoking and I said "Dad, you stopped smoking
months ago and his reply "I did"?

We took Louie to Vegas and put him in a wheel chair while he watched Mike at a
table, as Mike reached for his winnings, Louie had gotten up from the chair and
lost himself in the crowd. The hotel police helped us look for him and after an
hour we found Louie sitting and listening to music. Did you know you were lost
we asked? And the answer, “I wasn't lost I knew exactly where I was.”

So I said to my cousin Barbara, “let's arrange for a cruise for our fathers.” While
we knew they would have their differences on an ocean voyage, we felt it would
be nice for the brothers to go on a trip together. After 10 days at sea and various
islands they came home with these stories.
Morrie- I like to sleep late Louie gets up too early
Louie- I like to go to bed early Morrie stays up too late
Morrie- I don't like to go off the ship and see the islands
Louie- I like going on the different islands but Morrie just stayed on the ship
Morrie- Louie liked to gamble I liked the shows we never were together
Both said what a waste of money.”

He was a silk screen printer who made decals. Always said that Jack The Ripper
was from his neighborhood in White Chapel in England. Never talked much
about his childhood. Talked about the family taking the ship Luisitania from
England to America but it was torpedoed on the way to England.

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Shirley Haft (1915-1993)


Shirley was the only one not born outside of the country.
Shirley was born on 6 May 1915 in Illinois. She married
Harry Gordon and had two sons, Barry and Richard
(Rick).

Rick, the son of Shirley Haft , shares:

“My mother (Shirley) was born with a malformed
hip/spine and as a school girl had to wear a full brace for
years. When she was done she became a tomboy. She
played baseball, rode horses and even owned her own horse that was stabled in
Lincoln Park here in Chicago. She was the first to own a car and after high
school she drove it down to Florida with her boyfriend (no, not my dad) where
they went deep sea fishing...Scandalous!”

Carol, daughter of Maurice and niece of Shirley, remembers:

She was a fun aunt always willing to go and do. It was
summer and I wanted to go somewhere but I had no one
to go with. I was young, maybe 16, I don't know. but my
mom said go somewhere with Auntie Shirley so I did. We
went on a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis for The Indy
500. We stayed at a nice place and one night I went to the
lobby and met Hoss Cartright from the hit tv show
Bonanza! That was fun. The races were fun and we had
a good time. Cousin Rick (her son) still talks about this trip
his mom and I took. It was fun!

38

39
The siblings
Solomon and Rose Haft
40
Solomon Haft

Father: Moishe > Shlioma > Smuil > Shlioma
Rose Haft
Father: Boruch > Shlioma > Smuil > Shlioma

Solomon and Rose married in London
in 1904. If you take note, Rose’s name
appears as Rebecca on the ketubah.
In fact, the name she was born with
was Reve Bella.

You’ll notice that her name appears as
Rebecca Wasserman. While I’m not
sure of the exact reason, it wasn’t
uncommon for Jews to have to take the
surname of their mother. Often times,
there were heavy fees and taxes
imposed upon Jews to marry. Because
of this, many Jews had religious
marriages that weren’t legally
recognized. When a child was born,
and their parents weren’t “legally” married, the child had to take the surname of the
mother. However, this is most likely not the case, as there is a record of Rose’s parents
getting married in the Ukranian records.

It is also possible, that since they got married in London and had the same last name,
that Rose used the maiden name of her mother.
41


42
Solomon died in 1960. My grandfather Maurice was the informant on the death record.
Solomon died on 16 May 1960 at 78 years old. He was described as a “cloak maker”,
which was a common occupation for Jews back then. Solomon’s parents were
reported as Moishe Haft and Sarah. It’s likely that Moishe’s full name was Mordechai
and perhaps Sarah was Sara or Sura, but it’s unknown at this time.

Rose died 16 Jan 1973 at 90 years old, and she was listed as a homemaker. Her
birthdate is listed as 01 Jan 1883, but often times their birthdays were made up so I’m
unsure if this is her exact birthday. Her parents were listed as Boruch Haft and Miriam.

43
Rick, Shirley’s son and Solomon’s grandson , shares these tidbits about Solomon:

According to my mother (Shirley), Zadie Haft's father [this would have been
Solomon Haft’s father, Moishe) was a wagon master in Russia. During a trek
"across" the country the wagons were attacked by highwaymen. In the course of
the robbery my great grandfather banged the heads of the two robbers together
and disarmed them. He was considered a hero.

Granted, this is hearsay only but maybe your research can confirm or deny its
accuracy.

Zadie (Solomon) deserted the Russian army and fled with Bubby (Rose) on foot
across Russia and settled in London. According to my mother, Zadie, during his
final few days before passing, half consciously, repeatedly recited the serial
number on his rifle for the army.

Zadie Haft was near death at the hospital (I was not allowed to visit for whatever
reason at the time). My mom told me that before he passed, in addition to the
rifle serial # comment, he said words to the effect [of] “ it’s a terrible world but I
don’t want to leave it”.

Carol, daughter of Maurice and granddaughter of Solomon:
Barbara was a little girl and at that time all of them were living with bubbie and
zadie. One day Zadie took Barb who was like 3 with him to buy new shoes and
they had to walk quite a distance for a little girl. Well zadie had his feet measured
with a ruler and ended up buying a pair of shoes. They started on home getting
halfway there when Zadie noticed that barb had taken the ruler! He told her it
wasn’t right to keep the ruler as it wasn’t hers to keep so they walked all way
back to the store to return it and this was the lesson on honesty that she still
remembers.

Zadie was the most handsome, sweetest man ever!!!

Rose Haft’s parents: Boruch Haft and Miriam
44
Exploring Boruch Haft and Miriam

Robin, the granddaughter of Sophie Haft mentions about Miriam and Boruch:

“The story I heard was that Miriam had about 11 children spread out over 30
years - but that may be an exaggeration. Abraham could well have been only 16
to 20 years older than Sophie. He was married and had children in England - at
least some of them came to the U.S. (via Canada) some with him and some after
him. Some of his children and siblings may have stayed in England temporarily
or long-term.

Sophie told me that her father ran a tobacco factory, which was rare for a Jew.
And that because of that, she was able to attend school and even gymnasium.
Miriam/Mary was a midwife and also had a poultry shop in Priluk Poltava.”

Miriam must have made it to Chicago, IL to live out her final years. There is a Mary Haft
buried at Waldheim that had originally piqued my interest. Her gravestone has her
dying 24 Dec 1928. After doing some digging for other people who died on the same
day, I came across a death record for a Mary Tureff. Not having heard that name
before, I figured it couldn’t be the same person. Until I saw that the Mary Tureff that
died on the same day was also buried at Waldheim, and had a father with the last name
Wasserman.

It had to be her!

This information was eventually corroborated by several people. Miriam was, in fact,
married twice. Boruch must have died, and she re-married Phillip Tureff. His last name
was actually probably Turewsky, as that was another large family from Pryluky. When
Miriam came to the US, both of her husbands had presumably passed away as there is
no record of any Phillip Tureff. Unfortunately, I can also find no information about her in
the US either.
45
Miriam (Wasserman) Haft Tureff and her second husband, Phillip.

A younger Phillip Tureff Miriam’s death record

46
The informant is Abraham Tureff. When researching Abraham Tureff, not much comes
up, but if you look up Turewsky, you’ll find an Abraham Turewsky from Piratin, Russia
(Ukraine), which is where many Haft family members were from, about 40 minutes
south of Priluki.

After digging a little, most likely this Abraham Tureff is one whose father is “Joseph” and
mother “Minnie”. He was born in 1905, while Joseph was born in 1871.

Joseph is actually “Jossel”. He came over to the US with his 18 year old daughter
Freide and 16 year old daughter Elke on 10 June 1913. He lists his wife, “Minsche”
(spelling is unclear) as someone back in his home country. He presumably came with
his wife staying back with their son, Abraham. He lists his residence as Mogilev, and
that him and his daughters were born in Priluki. They listed a cousin “B Kaminsky” as
the person they were going to in the US.

Minsche came with 11 year old Liebe, 7 year old Abram Schliome, and 4 year old Gode
from Priluki on 27 March 1914.

The “B Kaminsky” mentioned in the first ship manifest is Benjamin Kaminsky, original
name Boruch. He lived at 43 Bartlett Street and his WW2 card says he is from Poltava,
Russia.

There were many, many Turewsky’s that ended up in the US, so why would a Turewsky
living in New York be the informant? Perhaps it is because Jossel/Joseph was Phillip
Tureff’s son, and Miriam was Abraham’s step grandmother. As of right now, that
remains a mystery.

47
As for Miriam, the same picture above, with her second husband Phillip, is used on her
gravestone.

Most Jewish gravestones state the father of the deceased on there, and this fits
perfectly with the death record that Miriam’s father was Louis (Leib)

Given this information, I was able to find the marriage record of Miriam and Boruch. I’m
confident this is the correct record for several reasons: Borukh (Boruch), and Mirka
(Mary/Miriam), surname Vaserman (Wasserman) and father Lejb (Louis), the location
matches (Priluki) and the dates match the approximate times that Boruch and Miriam
would be alive and would get married.

48

A copy of the actual marriage record

Knowing that Boruch’s father’s name was Shlioma, I was amazed to find a revision list
for a Borukh Gaft who had a father named Shlioma.

The revision list that our family appears on (a revision list is a list of taxpayers - which
often the Jews were apart of) has them living in Kostyukovichi in the subdivision
Klimovichi, which was in the gubernia of Mogilev.
49

This is how I got the information of our oldest ancestor, Shlioma. There’s a lot of really
similar names here, so I color coded them to make them easier to manage.

Shlioma had several children, one of them being Smuil Gaft. Smuil was born in 1797
and one of his older children was Shlioma . With the younger Shlioma being born in
1822, with Jewish naming practices, it’s likely that the elder Shlioma had died before
then. Shlioma’s wife was named Merim and they had a daughter named Estra (b. 1848)
and a son named Borukh -- this is our Boruch! (b. 1851). Smuil also had a son Yankel (b.
1841) and Girsha (b. 1833). Girsha’s wife was named Pesya. It’s likely there are more
descendents, however on this list these are the ones mentioned. They were all listed as
petty bourgeois which meant they were likely lower middle class.

50

Miriam Haft

Miriam Haft with granddaughter Sophie Haft

51

Rose Haft’s grandmother, Merim (b. 1822)
Children of Boruch Haft and Miriam - and their descendents
52
Children of Boruch and Miriam Haft

Rose’s parents were Boruch and Miriam. There were stories my mother heard growing
up about how Solomon and Rose were cousins, and this seems to be true based on the
surnames given in their death reports. Both of them have fathers with the last name
Haft.

53
Simcha Haft (?-?)


Simcha was a very
handsome man who died
young while in Priluki. Not
much else is known about
him at this time

54

Reve Bella / Rebecca / Rose Haft (1882-1973)

Rose Haft, who lived in London for a few years before
immigrating with her children, Ben, Maurice, Louis and
Shirley in 1914 to Chicago, IL.

55

56
Abraham Haft (1880-1829)


Abraham Haft came in on 22 March 1910. He lists his wife, Rose
(Rosa Leah), as his contact in the departing country and she lived
at 11 Princes St. Rose came 10 April 1911 with the children. They
lived in Chicago, IL.

Abraham’s border crossing from Canada to the US
Rose and the children’s ship manifest

Abraham Haft
57

58
Mildred “Rachel” Haft (1902-?)
Father: Abraham > Boruch / Shlioma / Smuil / Shlioma

Morris Haft’s granddaughter, Sharon ,
shares:

“Mildred is remembered as having a
beautiful voice and even sang at
events for US Savings Bonds. She
lost her hearing with the birth of her
son, Allan. She has another son
named Saul who was an esteemed
Psychiatrist.”

59
Morris Haft (1903-1985)

Morris’ granddaughter, Sharon , shares:
“Morris was sponsored by a wealthy Jewish
family when he immigrated to the United
States. In his later years, Morris and his
daughter Judy lived in Rancho Mirage,
California. He spent summers in Newport
Beach near his son, Edward. Morris is
remembered as an exceptional lawyer.

His granddaughter Sharon remembers that
most of the Chicago attorneys had heard of
him.

Her father, and
Morris’s son Howard
was also a lawyer and worked with him. One of their
clients was selling an industrial lighting company and
Howard bought it and owned it until the 2000s. Morris
was the lawyer for the Showman’s League and ran all
the circuses! All the cousins would get together to the
Medina Temple, where the Showman’s League would
have a huge Christmas party. Sharon remembers
getting big bags of toys. Jewish holidays were always
spent at Morris’s house, and Sharon has fond
memories of her grandmother Mary always cooking
and putting the small marshmallows on the sweet
potatoes and sweetening all the fruit. Her
grandmother Mary was a beautiful piano player.”

60
Solomon Haft (1906-1920) (not pictured?)

Solomon obviously died young, and no information was found about him, other than he
appears on the 1920 census.

61
Sarah/Shirley Haft (1907-2013)

Shirley’s daughter, Miriam, notes:
“ I wish my mother (Shirley) were still alive - she would have loved
this. She lived to be 105 years old, the last of the Abraham and
Rose Haft clan. When she turned 100 years old, we had a party
for her at the nursing home she was living in. I had gotten on the
Ellis Island site and found the manifest of the ship she, her
siblings, and mother came over on (the Coronia from Liverpool).

Of course, my grandfather
had come here first and sent
for the family later. At that
time there were four children
- two subsequently being
born in the United States.
Sad to say, I never knew my
grandfather since he passed
away while I was very young.
I understand that he owned a
grocery store in Chicago.”

62
Bernard “Benjamin” Haft (1913-1934)

63
Samuel Allen Haft (1916-1995)

64

Left picture: Abraham and his wife Rose

Right picture: Shirley and brothers Bernard (lower left child) and Sam (upper right child)

65
Mendel / “Max” Haft (1890-1968)


Max came to the US on 1 July 1911. He married
Rosie Strom in 1916 and had Edith Haft (1918-?)
and Betty June Haft (1925-2003). The child in these
pictures is Edith Haft.

66

Both pictures are Max Haft

67
Sonia / “Sophie” Haft (1896-1989)


Sonia / “Sophie” Haft, who lived in Chicago. She came to the US on 1 Sept 1913. She
married Benjamin Silver in 1916. She had three children: Ruth Silver (1917-?), Jerome
Silver (1922-2001) and Leonard Silver (1928)

Possibly Rose Haft on the left with Sophie on the right Sophie with husband Ben Silver

Robin, Sophie’s granddaughter, recalls this story:

“The story my grandmother told me was that She and her sister left Ukraine
when she was around 16 and first went to England to join their eldest brother's
family in Manchester (Abraham, known affectionately as Avram the Bear). Avram
was married and had children at least as old as Sophie. He was the eldest child
and approximately 30 years older than my grandmother.”

68

Above: Immigration card for Sophie, showing Baruch as her father

Left: an older Sophie

Children of Moishe Haft and Sarah - and their descendents
69
Children of Moishe and Sarah Haft

I couldn’t find any information on a Moishe Haft or Sarah, specifically, in the records. If
Moishe and Boruch were brothers (since we knew that they were at least cousins), that
would mean that Moishe’s father is also Shlioma. He doesn’t appear on the revision list,
but that just might mean that he was born after 1858 when the information was
compiled. If anyone has any information on them, please pass it my way and I will
amend this section.
70

71
Solomon Haft (1882-1960)


Around 1901, Solomon moved to London. There are
many other Hafts who also lived in that area before
immigrating. They lived in an area called St George in the
East, which was a predominantly Jewish area at the time.

Here you can see the family on an English census in 1911.

Solomon came to the US with a slew of Hafts. Solomon, his brother Lewis, his cousins
Abraham and Solomon, and his uncle Harris Haft, left Liverpool, England 16 Nov 1911
and arrived in Nova Scotia, Canada on 24 November 1911.

Here you can see the relationships more clearly between the people that arrived
together. The following is the ship manifest coming out of London. Solomon was on his
own ticket, Harris, Abraham and Solomon were on another, and Lewis was on his own.

72

Solomon lists his wife Beckie Haft as the person in his previous country, Lewis lists
Rebecca Haft as his sister in law, and Harris notes Rebecca (Rose) is his niece.

Interestingly, his uncle Harris and cousins Solomon and Abraham list their previous
residence as France. We will touch on them later.

73

Solomon appears on a list of border crossings from Canada to the US. It shows that he
had been in London for 10 years at that time in 1911.

He lists his brother in law, Abe Haft, who lived on Taylor street, as the person he knew
in the United States.

74
Lewis Haft ( 1885-?)


Solomon came over in 1911 with his brother Lewis. No information has been found
about what happened to him after moving to the US.

75

Abraham Haft (1895-?)

I couldn’t find much information about him. However, these pictures handed down to
family state that this is Abraham, “Solomon’s brother in New York.” Abraham arrived
with his brother David in July of 1913.

In addition to these family members listed, thanks to DNA and hours and hours of
research, I’ve been able to find several more relatives.

76
Mollie Haft ( 1892-?)


Mendel (“Max”) Lesh came to the US on 30 March 1911. He was already married to his
wife, who went by Mollie or Millie. We now know that his wife was a Haft. Here is Max’s
ship manifest showing his brother in law as Solomon Haft at 11 Princes St. in London.

Mollie/Millie came to the US with her oldest son Louis in 1911; the rest of the children
were born in New York. She lists her brother “S Haft” at 11 Princes in London as the
person in her departing country - we know this is Solomon Haft, confirming (again) that
Mollie is Solomon’s brother.

A descendent of Mollie Haft , notes:
Mollie Haft was my grandmother on my father's side. I believe Mollie was born in
Poltava, Russia near Ukraine and left for London with her her sisters when she was
about 13 years old to escape the pogroms. She met and married my grandfather, Max
Lesh in London before coming to the US. An interesting tidbit - she was supposed to
take the Titanic to meet my grandfather who was already in the US, but my uncle got
sick and she couldn't travel (lucky us!). …. I do believe there were quite a lot of siblings -
maybe a couple of sets of twins as well.

77

78
Tewie “David” Haft ( 1896-?)


Tewie “David” was born in Dec 1896 in Pryluky. He arrived in 1913, according to his
immigration paperwork and stayed in New York.

79
Taking a look at his ship manifest, which I found, it shows he came to the US with his
brother Abraham. He lists a sister Scheindel Haft back in Ukraine. It also states his
brother in law, Max Lesch, as his contact in the United states.

80
Lena Haft ( 1895-?)


I was provided a picture of a Murray Unger and the family had never heard this name
before. I immediately knew who this was, as I had discovered that when David came to
the US, he stayed with Isadore and Lena Unger and was labeled as a brother in law.

Lena Unger is actually Lena Haft. She came to the US
around 1913. I cannot find any imnmigration information for
her at this time, except she is seen in a census record living
with Mollie and Max Lesch in 1915. She eventually married
Isadore Unger, an immigrant from Austria.

To the left is Murray Unger, Lena’s son.

The last line shows Lena living with Max and Mollie

81
Scheindel Haft (? - ?)


David Haft and Abraham Haft mention a sister Scheindel Haft still living in Russia when
they came in 1913. No information has been found about her. It’s possible that
Sheindel stayed in Priluki, or it may be who we know as Lena (Mollie was already in the
US by 1913).

82
The 3 Murdered Children (? - ?)


Unfortunately, three of the children from this family were murdered in a raid in Ukraine.
No one knows their names, their date of birth, or their date of death.

Boruch and Moishe’s Possible Siblings - and their descendents
83
Boruch and Moishe’s Possible Siblings

We know about Baruch and Moishe, but it’s unclear whether they were brothers or
cousins. Moishe does not appear in the family revision list which may mean that he was
not a part of that specific family branch, or it could mean that he was simply born after
1858 when the list was put together.

That obviously changes the possible relationships here. These are presumably Moishe
and Boruch’s siblings, but they might be cousins. I have requested gravestone photos
of everyone I can to see if their father is listed on the headstone, but until then, what we
can conclude is they at least came from the same generation.

84
Hersch / Harris Haft (1859 - ?)

Father: Shlioma > Smuil > Shlioma

Hersch was born around 1859. The first time I see him arriving in the US is in August of
1904. He is listed as being born around 1862, which fits the general year he could have
been born. Back then, as I learned, people were often illiterate, and didn’t keep dates
like we do now. What they did was base their age around special or historical events.
So, when asked their birth date, they often made up years. Very rarely will you see
people consistently list a birth date.

His occupation is a cape maker - this might mean he made jackets, or is just an error in
spelling and he is a cap maker. He’s traveling to Brooklyn, NY from Poltava (the county
Priluki is in), and is visiting his cousin Abraham Kaufman. It looks like it says 32 Work
Str but I can’t make out the words.

Ship manifest from 1904

The next time we see him coming to the US is with his two sons and 2 nephews. Take
note that in 1911, he had his location listed as living in France and he was a cap maker.
While it’s possible, since everyone seemed to have repeated names in their families,
that there were two Hirsch’s that were cap makers, it’s also safe to assume that it’s
probably the same person.

Immigration ship manifest from 1911

Harris made it to Canada, with the rest of his fellow travelers, on 24 November 1911.

85

While Solomon went to Chicago, however, Harris went to New York.

Harris’s wife, Sarah (nee Basansky) came over 1 Mar 1916 with their youngest sons,
Schmuel, Zelman and David.

Harris and Sarah had several children, who would have potentially been been Moishe
and Baruch’s first cousins

86

87
Abraham Haft ( 1891-1973)
Father: Hersch > Shlioma > Smuil > Shlioma

Abraham was born in Piratin, Russia (Ukraine), which is about 40 minutes south of
Pryluky in Poltava county. He arrived on 30 July 1915 from Paris, France and was listed
as a “hat maker” just like his father, Harris. He lists his address as 10 Rue in Paris and
he will be received in the US by his uncle “M. Siegel” who lived at what looks like 1574
Lexington.

1930 Census

Abraham died in 1973 in Brooklyn, NY.

88
Solomon Haft / “Sam” ( 1894-?)

Solomon “Sam” Haft came over with his brother Abraham on 30 July 1915.

Solomon changed his name to Sam according to his immigration paperwork.

Sam married Itke “Ida” Schein and had at least one son, Leon Arnold Haft (1926-2001).
He seems to have stayed in the family business, and as of 1940 has his occupation as
cap maker. It’s unknown when he died. He had at least one son, Leon Arnold Haft.

89
Marie Haft (1897-?)

Hirsch must have gone back to Paris at some point because he comes with his
daughter Marie on 7 November 1915. She was listed as a dressmaker and similarly,
departed from Bordeaux, France. Hirsh’s wife is listed as still being in Paris.

The person they are meeting in the US is Abraham Haft, Hirsh’s son and Marie’s
brother. He was living at 2114 Douglas St at the time. Abraham had only been in the
US for a few months when Marie came and met him. M. Siegel, was also once a
resident of 2114 Douglas St, but unfortunately i can find no information about this
address.

90
Rachel Lea / “Lena” Haft (1895-?)

Often, women came separately from the rest of their family because they were sent to
the US to find a husband, or because they were already married and came with their
husbands.

Lena married Samuel Gelman. I’m not sure when or where they married, but her ship
manifest to the US has her leaving out of the same port that he father and brothers
departed from in Bordeaux, France.

Lena arrived on 1 March 1916 with her husband and her young child, Jacques Haft
(remember, they lived in Paris). Samuel Gelman’s father in law “Haft” was listed as
living at “10 Rue” in Paris, so we know that Lena’s father is Harris Haft. Harris must
have left at some point for several years while the rest of his family was in the states.

Much like the others, they are being met by someone with the last name “Siegel”

Also important to note, when Sarah came over, she listed her children at 10 Rue as a
contact in her departing country - notice the name “Guelman”(Gelman! This is Lena she
is referencing).

Lena and and Samuel had two children: Jacques (mentioned) who went by Jack in the
US, and Morris Gellman (1920-2012)

91

Pictured above is likely registration for Lena Haft and Samuel Gelman in France. It is
possible this is Harris Haft and his wife, Sarah. There are no names on it. It is from
the “Department de la Seine” allowing them to visit the United States, valid for 1 year.
The stamp at the top, at the lower ridge of it, says “4 eme” means it’s from the 4th
arrondissement of Paris - which is considered the Jewish quarters there.

92

Marriage certificate for Samuel (Solomon) Gelman and Lena Haft. You can see Lena (Rachel Leah) is the
daughter of Hersh and Sheine (Sarah)

93

94
Schmuel / “Samuel” Haft (1900-?)

Schmuel went by Samuel in the US. He arrived with his mother in 1916. By 1920, it
seems like everyone had settled in NY.
Census record from 1920 showing everyone in the same household

Samuel married Ray Saeger and they had two sons, Jack Haft (1930-2006) and a son
born in 1937.

95
Zelman / “William” Haft ( 1903-?)

Zelman went by William. He also arrived with his mother in 1916. He married someone
named Regina Haber.

96
David Haft ( 1906-?)

David arrived with his mother in 1916. He married Betty Pernick and had two children
born in 1935 and 1939.

97
Chaje Doba / Anna / Doris Haft (1859 - 1943)


Unlike the rest of the family, Chaje settled in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Anna married Fala/Feiwel Leib (“Phillip”) Poley. His actual last name is not consistent:
he shoes up as Poley, Paleach, Paliew, etc. However, in the states it was Poley.

Anna was born around 1859 in Priluki, Ukraine. She arrived on 3 Dec 1908 to meet her
husband who had already come to settle a few years earlier. She married her husband
at some point in Ukraine and had three children, Schliome/Samuel, Kopel and Meier.
Chaje/Anna’s ship manifest, arriving with her son Meier

Anna died on 24 Dec 1943 and is buried in Cincinnati. Her death record shows her
parents as Samuel and Miriam, which all but confirms that her parents were Shlioma
and Miriam Gaft (see family revision list on page 11) and that at the very least, Boruch
was her brother.

98

99
Estra / Ester Haft (1848 - ?)


Not much is known is known about Estra/Esther. I am not sure if she ever made it to
the United States. She presumably married someone with the last name Krezewshky,
as when her sister Chaja/Anna came she listed the person in her departing country as
“Ester Krezewshky”

Muddy Waters
100
Muddy Waters

This is where we start looking further back with DNA.

DNA “disintegrates” as the generations move on. For example, two full siblings might
share 3400 cm (centimorgans), and first cousins might share 1000 cm. This is because
one person has around 6800 cm of “data” stored in their chromosomes. As children, we
inherit half of each parent. Therefore, you will share approximately half of your genetic
makeup with your sibling.

Now if you think about first cousins, you’d essentially divide that 6800 by four, because
each of you inherit ½ of 4 different parents. So, on average, a first cousin might share
between 800 and 1200 cm (it will vary depending on what is inherited from who and this
is normal).

Moving on to second cousins (which means you share great grandparents), you’d
essentially take that 3800 and divide it by 16 because of how many times those original
chromosomes have divided, recombined and distributed their cm. Therefore, research
has shown the average amount of DNA shared between second cousins is around 212
cm .

The average DNA shared between third cousins (sharing great great grandparents) is
79 cm.

The average DNA shared between fourth cousins (sharing great great great
grandparents) is lower, then fifth cousins and so on…

Some argue that the summer the number, the smaller the significance of the match. In
my novice experience, I find this to probably be true, except when the match leads to a
common surname in a common location and a paper trail supports it.

In Judaism, there is a lot of “endogamy” because Jews stayed within their populations
for marriage. Therefore, some matches really are untraceable in small values because
your DNA at some point might be so mixed and you won’t be able to tell which line it
came from without some type of a paper trail.

Distant Family Uncovered Through DNA
101
Distant family discovered through DNA

There are connections leading up to a Mordechai Haft and his wife Sarah Kukalov.

We know this because one of his sons, Levy Itzhak Haft made it to the United States
and died in New York.

Distant Family Uncovered Through DNA
102
Mordecai Haft (? - ?)
Father: Shlioma

Through descendents linked through DNA, I’ve discovered a Mordecai Haft. Mordecai
married Sarah Kukalov and had at least one child, Levy Itzhak Haft.

**It is very likely there were more children.

Distant Family Discovered Through DNA : Mordecai Haft and his descendents
103
Levy Itzhak Haft ( 1840-1916)

Father: Mordecai > Shlioma

Levy Itzhak married Eva Kukalor.

Both Levy and Eva made it to the United States and settled in NY.

In typical Jewish tradition, it states who his father is.
Translated, this literally says “son of Mordechai Haft”.

As of 1901, Levy and his wife Eva were living in
London, like many of the other Hafts at the time. You
can see below they appear in the 1901 census in
England. They are Russian foreign subjects.

By 1910, Levy and Eva had immigrated to the US. They were living with their son
Jacob and appear on the census.

Levy died in 1916. Following is a copy of a death record from a home for “the aged and
inferm”. The informant on it is Max Haft, his son.

104

The following pages are children of Levy Itzhak Haft, and his wife, Eva.

105
Mordechai / “Max” Haft (1861-1939)
Father: Levy Itzhak > Mordecai > Shlioma

Mordechai’s paperwork says that he came around 1903. Here he appears on a census
record with his wife Jennie. Mordechai and Jennie had many children: Joseph Haft
(1884-1943), Morris William Haft (1886-1968), Harry George Haft (1888-1964).
Abraham Haft (1890-1982), Samuel Haft (1894-1968), Henrietta Haft (1898-1977) and
Julius Gerard Haft (1898-1977).

106
Joseph Haft (1870-1913)

Joseph appears in a 1901 England census with his wife Leah/Lena and children.

Joseph and his wife had several children: Israel Haft (1894-?), David Haft (1896-?) and
Etty Haft (1897-?)

By 1911, Joseph was a patient in a hospital. He was presumably sick, and he died 2
years later in England.

107
Moses Haft (1871-1936)

Moses married Sarah Epstein in England.

Here they are in a 1901 census in England

And again in 1911

Moses arrived in the United States on 9 April 1921.

108

109
Solomon Gershon Haft (1894-1917)
Father: Moses > Levy Itzhak > Mordecai > Shlioma

Solomon’s birth registrar

Solomon was born in 1894. He was in the British military for only a few years before
dying from wounds during WW1. His parents, Moses and Sarah, were already in the
US at that point.

He served with the Highland Light Infantry and is buried in West Vlaanderen, Belgium.

110
Israel Haft (1878-1950)

Israel came to the US in 1906. Him and his wife Sophie had several children:

Left: Emma Haft
Right: Dorothy Haft

They appear in the following census from 1920.

111
Back row, left to right: Israel Haft, Isadore Geen (Sally’s husband), Sally Haft, Sarah Haft
Front row: unknown, possibly Levy Itzhak and his wife, Eva

Sally Haft and her husband Isadore Geen
112

113
Annie Haft (1879-1939)

Annie Haft married Samuel Freidman. They had several children.

Here they are on an England census in 1911:

114
Mary Haft (1884-1944)

Marry married Isaac Levitt.

115
Sarah Haft (1887-1941)

Sarah immigrated to the US on 20 July 1907 from London. She lists her brother,
Moses, as the person still in her departing country. She lists her parent, Levy Haft, as
the person she is meeting in the US.

Sarah married Usher/Oscar Abramowitz on 16 Nov 1912. They had several children:
Jules Abramowitz (1913-1928), Aulins Abramowitz (1914-?), Moses Jacob Abromowitz
(1915-1973), Libby Abramowitz (1919-2000), Hannah Ann Abramowitz (1920-2004),
and Eva Abramowitz (1923-2006).

Sarah Haft and husband Usher Abramowitz

Distant Family Discovered Through DNA - Abram Leibov Haft and his descendents
116
Family List - Abram Leibov Haft

The image to the left is
referencing a family list that
was compiled.

Much like the revision list I
found, this “family list” that
documents all the births
from this particular line.

#427 says “Abram Leibov”,
which means “Abram, son
of Leib”

The following two pages
are the information from
#427, and it’s the source of
information for our next
section.

117

118

119
Special thanks to Yezekiel Schatz, a researcher also interested in Priluki records, and
Alexander Tretyakov, both members of the Jewish Genology Portal who helped me
translate this document.

Here, propose that Abram’s father Leib was a son of the oldest known Haft ancestor,
Shlioma Gaft (see family list on page 6), and a possible brother to Mordechai Haft
(father of Levy Itzhak)... but I don’t really know where he fits in other than there are
genetic links to Leib and Abram’s descendents. It’s just a hypothesis.

120
Abram Leibov (1836-1894)

Father: Leib > Shlioma

Abram Leibov’s name on the family list

Abram was born around 1836 and died around 1894 in Priluki. He married Sarah Bella
Suponitsky. Sarah made it to the United States, with her son Jankel/Yossel/Joseph, in
October of 1906. Also aboard with them was her daughter Czerna/Jenny and her three
children. She died in 1916

The following pages are children of Abram, son of Leib, and his wife Sarah.

Sarah’s name on the family list

121

122
Leib / Louis Haft (1860 - 1910)
Father: Abram Leibov > Leib > Shlioma

Louis married Kreine Katze.

123
Jankiel / “Jacob” Haft (1881-1964)
Father: Leib/Louis > Abram Leibov > Leib > Shlioma

Jankiel / Jacob Haft married Sarah Podolsky.

J

Jacob came to the US in September, and Sarah came on 29 Dec 1907 with two of their
sons.
124
Abraham Haft (1902-1978)
Father: Jankiel/Jacob Haft > Leib/Louis > Abram Leibov > Leib > Shlioma

Left: Abraham and his
four sons

Right: Abraham and his
four children as young
boys

A great, great grandson of Jacob, and great grandson of Abe Haft, Jason, notes:

“The first of the Hafts from this line to immigrate were Fannie Haft and husband
William Cohon in 1904. They joined their cousins, the Sapadin's (aka
Zapadinsky's, also from Priluki), in Brooklyn upon arrival and soon moved to 180
Moore Street in East Williamsburg, where they were the arrival contact for a
whole slew of Hafts and cousins to arrive over the following years.

My great-great-grandfather, Jankel "Jacob" Haft (Fannie's nephew), arrived in
Brooklyn in September 1906, followed soon after by his grandma Sarah Bella
Haft (the matriarch of the family and the eldest of this line to leave Europe) and
various aunts, uncles, and cousins. Jacob's wife, Sarah Podolsky Haft, arrived a
year later with sons Abe (my great-grandfather) and Nathan.
125
The number of Hafts from this line who immigrated to Brooklyn is rather vast;
Jacob had numerous siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins who lived nearby. My
grandpa Bob remembers during his childhood hearing of a cousins club called,
"The Cohens, Krissoffs, and Hafts." He doesn't recall meeting the extended
family, but even if it was just the adults, they must have all kept in touch to a
certain point.

If not anything else, many of the Cohens, Krissoffs, and Hafts went to the same
synagogue. Zemach Zedek was an orthodox synagogue organized in 1887 at
125 Moore Street, in walking distance to those who lived in Williamsburg. Seating
capacity was 1500, and services were conducted in Hebrew and Yiddish. (The
synagogue no longer exists.) Zemach Zedek has dedicated sections at Mt. Zion
and Mt. Carmel Cemeteries in Queens, where much of the family is buried. (The
remainder of the family is primarily in a Priluki section of Mt. Hebron Cemetery,
also in Queens.)

Jacob and Sarah would go to temple every Saturday, and they were generally
devout. Sarah would wear headscarves regularly, and they kept a kosher home.
With succeeding generations, dedication to religion slowly faded. My
great-grandfather Abe married Jean Liebowitz, whose parents were similarly
devout. However, Abe and Jean generally went to temple just for holidays. Jean
didn't wear headscarves, but they did keep a kosher home. By the time I was
around, my parents and grandparents did not belong to a particular temple,
except when I attended Hebrew school to have a bar mitzvah, and none of us
kept kosher.

In 1925, Jacob's widowed mom Kreine, who couldn't read or write, came to New
York and moved in with Jacob and Sarah. That same year, Abe and Jean married
at Crystal Palace in Williamsburg (no longer in existence) before moving down to
Flatbush and then Brownsville, different neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

Throughout the 1930s and possibly into the '40s and beyond, Jacob and Sarah
lived at 437C Pulaski Street in southeast Williamsburg near Bushwick. It was a
two-family home that Jacob and Sarah shared with Sarah's brother, Sam
Podolsky, and his family. Every Passover, Jacob and Sarah would open up their
home to their six children and their many grandchildren, my grandfather being
one of them. There would be a long dining table that took up much of the living
room, and Sarah would play guitar and sing songs. My grandpa Bob vaguely
remembers "Bubby Kreine" being sick upstairs in bed, but that's all he
126
remembers of her, which is no surprise since she passed away in 1939 when he
was only 9 years old.

Music carried on in the family. My great-grandfather Abe played violin beautifully.
He would play weddings as a side job, something my grandpa Bob also did but
on the drums. I don't remember the full story, but Abe's violin sadly was lost in a
fire. My grandpa played all kinds of drum gigs throughout his life and only very
recently stopped playing. He ran various senior bands down in South Florida
since I was a kid. And I think music skipped a generation, as I don't remember
my dad or aunts playing anything, but I play piano and sing.

Jacob and Sarah passed away when my dad was a kid. Everyone parted ways a
bit at that point. My grandparents Bob and Shirlee moved to Merrick on Long
Island in the 1950s, where my dad and aunts grew up. Abe and Jean moved
down to Florida, along with my grandparents and dad, in the 1970s.”

127

Jankiel/Jacob Haft and his wife on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1951
The Haft family members at a party

128
Bob, Shirlee, Abe, & Jean
Abraham, Jean, and their grandson at his Bar Mitzvah

129
Robert and Milton Haft (sons of Abraham and Sarah) at their Bar Mitzvahs

130
Jacob & Sarah at same party with their children and their spouses (top row: Louis & Sylvia Haft, Joe
Newman & Lillian Haft Newman, Nathan & Ethel Haft, Ben Shiffer, Ada Haft; bottom row: Abe & Jean
Haft, Sarah and Jacob Haft, Mary Haft Shiffer)

131
Basareva / Rose / Rebecca Haft (1861 - 1949)

Father: Abram Leibov Haft > Leib > Shlioma

Rebecca married Henach/Jacob Krczewitz/Krisoff

132
Freida Haft (1866 - 1946)


There is some confusion on my end about who her husband was and who her children
were, she may have been married twice. I’m working on this still. She may have been
married twice.

133
Czerna / Jennie Haft (1879 - 1915)


Jennie married Isaac Cohen

134
Feige / Fannie Haft ( 1886 - 1956)


Fannie married Wolf/William Kahan/Cohen

135
Bertha Haft (1891 - 1946)


Bertha married Benjamin Cohen

There is some confusion on my end about who her children are. I’m working on this.
There is a surname here that appears for another Haft member: Grinberg/Grimberg. I’m
hoping to decipher this in the future.

136
Mendel Haft (? - ?)

Mendel married Cyna Esther.

Distant Family Based on Research - Descendents of Leib Haft 137

Distant Family Based on Research

In addition to Abram Leibov, Leib also had several other children. I haven’t found any
descendents of them, however. When we are looking that far back, the DNA may have
disintigrated so much that there’s it’s difficult to find matches, or it’s simply because
none of their descendents have DNA tested. However, I tend to thing it’s because it’s
so hard to match DNA that far back.

Mera Haft (? - ?)

It is unknown at this time when Mera was born and when she died, but we do know that
she married Leizer Suponitsky because we have record of her marriage.

Basia/Batya Haft (1845-1932)


Basia made it to the US around 1902 or 1903 according to her US census records. She
married Simcha-Yossel Sambursky. They changed their name, at least unofficially, to
Samburg. Her husband does not appear with her or her children in the 1910 census
and she is listed as a widow.

Basia is buried in Mount Zion Cemetary in NY.

Sara Haft ( 1845-1875)


Sara married Shakna-Leib Turewsky. You might remember that surname from the
husband of Mirka/Miriam’s second husband, Phillip Tureff (Turewsky).

Nothing else is known about her. She died young.

Yankel Haft (? - ?)

Nothing is known about him either.

Remaining Mysteries

Una w
Qu s o s

Remaining Mysteries
The following pictures were given to me by Rick, descendent of Shirley Haft (parents
Solomon and Rose Haft). Does anyone know the relation of any of these people?

Remaining Mysteries

Remaining Mysteries

Remaining Mysteries

Remaining Mysteries

Remaining Mysteries
The following pictures were given to me by Sarah, a descendant of Levy Itzhak Haft.
Does anyone recognize these people? One couple might be Levy Itzhak and Eva.

Remaining Mysteries
There is a Harris Haft, wife Hannah, and children Morris, Leah, and Sarah living in
London in 1891. They were born in Konotop, and the children were born in Priluki, but I
can’t figure out where to place them in our tree.
It is not the same Harris that is Solomon’s potential brother, because he was married to
Sara and Morris, Leah and Sarah were not his children.
Joseph, the son of Levy Itzhak Haft, had a wife named Leah. Could Harris be a son of
Levy Itzhak as well? Who is the cousin “Morris”? Could this be Solomon’s father, Moishe
Haft?

Remaining Mysteries
This picture was sent to me by Stacey, a descendant of Hersch Haft. Does anyone
recognize who this is?

Remaining Mysteries
The marriage record for Borukh Haft and Mirka (Miriam/Mary Wasserman) shows that
he was a widow. Does anyone know about this? Who was his first wife?

Remaining Mysteries
There is another Haft family that immigrated to the US from Priluki. I do not know where
they fit into any of the family trees and there are no DNA links as of right now to this
family. Does anyone recognize these names?
Samuel married Flora Sambursky and had many children:

Remaining Mysteries
(cont’d)
Just for fun…

MyHeritage just released a program to colorize
black and white photos.

**these are just estimates on what they’d look like in color**

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“O

cerca o lejos, todos estamos hermanados

How to read this book

The Haft Family

Poltava (the county Priluki was in),

Civil War pogroms

After the Civil War

Jewish population of Priluki:

Jewish collective farm “Noviy Pobut”

Ghetto during WWII

The Old Jewish cemetery

Entrance to the Jewish Cemetary in Priluki

Tobacco Factory from the early 1900s

The Oldest Known Ancestors

Rose and the children’s ship manifest

Benjamin Haft (1906-1929)

Maurice Charles Haft (1908-1999)

Louis Haft (1910-2003)

Shirley Haft (1915-1993)

Exploring Boruch Haft and Miriam

Miriam (Wasserman) Haft Tureff and her second husband, Phillip.

A copy of the actual marriage record

Children of Boruch and Miriam Haft

Simcha Haft (?-?)

Abraham Haft (1880-1829)

Rose and the children’s ship manifest

Left picture: Abraham and his wife Rose

Mendel / “Max” Haft (1890-1968)

Sonia / “Sophie” Haft (1896-1989)

Children of Moishe and Sarah Haft

Solomon Haft (1882-1960)

Lewis Haft ( 1885-?)

Mollie Haft ( 1892-?)

Tewie “David” Haft ( 1896-?)

Lena Haft ( 1895-?)

The 3 Murdered Children (? - ?)

Boruch and Moishe’s Possible Siblings

Hersch / Harris Haft (1859 - ?)

Census record from 1920 showing everyone in the same household

Chaje Doba / Anna / Doris Haft (1859 - 1943)

Chaje/Anna’s ship manifest, arriving with her son Meier

Estra / Ester Haft (1848 - ?)

Distant family discovered through DNA

Levy Itzhak Haft ( 1840-1916)

Family List - Abram Leibov Haft

Abram Leibov (1836-1894)

The Haft family members at a party

Bob, Shirlee, Abe, & Jean

Abraham, Jean, and their grandson at his Bar Mitzvah

Basareva / Rose / Rebecca Haft (1861 - 1949)

Freida Haft (1866 - 1946)

Czerna / Jennie Haft (1879 - 1915)

Feige / Fannie Haft ( 1886 - 1956)

Bertha Haft (1891 - 1946)

Basia/Batya Haft (1845-1932)

Sara Haft ( 1845-1875)

Samuel married Flora Sambursky and had many children:

Just for fun…

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