Berman Family

Boruch Elya, son of Meir, from Shavel

His matzeivah names him ברוך אליה ב"ר מאיר, Boruch Elya son of Meir. In America he was known as Barney Berman.

In his 1913 declaration of intention he wrote that he was born in "Savrl, Russia" on 4 July 1890, and that this was also his last home before emigrating. The town is Shavel, known today as Šiauliai, Lithuania. Its Yiddish name is Shavl, and it was in Kovno province. His 1942 draft card gives the same day, 4 July, but the year 1891.

The 1907 crossing

Boruch Elya sailed from Liverpool on the Cunard ship Saxonia and arrived at Boston on 15 March 1907. The ship's passenger list names him Boruch Berkman, 18, a tradesman whose last home was Schawli. He was going to his brother in Philadelphia. The brother's name is not settled - the handwriting on the manifest has three competing readings, on the Questions page. He became a citizen in Philadelphia as Barney Berman. The naturalization index card, filed 14 May 1915, gives both names.

In 1913 he lived at 722 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, and worked as a junk dealer. A 1910 census entry is a possible match: a Barney Berman, 21, single, born in Russia and Yiddish-speaking, arrived 1907, a retail grocery dealer at 309 South 4th Street (Ward 5). It is unconfirmed - the age is slightly off and the trade differs from his later junk work. His 1915 naturalization petition gives his work as liquor salesman and names his wife, Celia, and their first child, Ethel, born 29 October 1913. By 1942 he lived at 1841 South 54th Street and was in business for himself.

Shula and the Philadelphia household

The Philadelphia marriage license index lists Barney Berman and a bride named Karkle, license 285435, in 1912. Barney's wife was Shula, called Celia. Her matzeivah names her שולע בת ליב הענוך, Shula daughter of Leib Hanoch.

Shula came to America earlier that year. The S.S. Barbarossa sailed from Bremen on 4 September 1912 and arrived in Philadelphia later that month. Its passenger list includes Sile Karkel, 21, single, a seamstress. Her nearest relative at home was Leibe Karkel, in a Kovno province town whose name reads like Szavlany. She was going to her bridegroom, Berish Berman, on Franklin Street in Philadelphia. Barney's 1915 petition gives Celia's birthplace as "Savlan, Russia."

In the 1930 census the household had Barney, 43; Cylia, 37; Etyl, 16; Miriam, 14; Edward, 12; David, 11; and Minnie, 4. It also had a nephew, Charles, 18, born in Russia. The family knows him as Cousin Charlie Schwartzman, son of Barney's sister Rochel Leah. He and his mother were separated during the First World War and later found each other, came to America, and moved in with Barney and Shula.

Their son Julius died in Philadelphia on 28 April 1926. The family remembers that Charles David had a brother who died young.

Charles David "Dave" Berman

Charles David Berman, Boruch Ber's grandfather, was born in Philadelphia on 13 August 1924. He died on 13 July 2004, aged 79, just short of his 80th birthday. His matzeivah names him יחזקאל דוד בן ברוך אליה, Yechezkel Dovid son of Boruch Elya, and gives the Hebrew date of death as 24 Tammuz 5764. He is buried at Mount Sharon Cemetery, Springfield, Pennsylvania. His obituary names his wife, Cecile, and his siblings Miriam Novick, Minnie Nissman and Edward Berman.

He served in the U.S. Army from 6 December 1942 to 4 January 1946, including service overseas from 10 October 1944 to 28 December 1945. He entered the Army from the family home at 1841 South 54th Street.

As a small boy he was called Charles. When his cousin Charlie came to live with the family, "Charlie" became the cousin's name in the house and the younger Charles became Dave.

His wife, Cecile Saphir Berman, was the daughter of Philip Saphir. Her family's story is on the Safir page.

Barney and Shula's last years

Barney Berman died on 12 January 1967. His stone gives his age as 79. Shula died on 20 June 1983, and her stone gives her age as 90. They share a stone at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Shula's sisters

A hand-drawn family chart shows Shula with at least two sisters. Chasia Golda married Benyomin Kopelansky. Fannie's husband is not named. The top of the page is torn, and there may have been another sibling. The chart does not name the sisters' parents.

Chasia Golda's children include Yehuda (written יהודה ברוק) and Chana, both marked "d. 1941?", and a child whose name is not written, marked "died 1941." Chaya Liba is marked "died 1988."

The earlier commissioned family chart

A family chart and scrapbook were made for the family some years ago. The chart does not give any sources. Several of its claims do not match the family's own records:

• It names Barney's father as Bisach. His matzeivah names his father as Meir, and a family chart drawn in 2022 also shows Meyer Berman. No Bisach, or any similar name, turns up in the Lithuanian record indexes for Shavel.
• It shows Barney's 1907 arrival as Philadelphia on the Barbarossa from Bremen. Barney's own papers and the Saxonia passenger list say Boston, on the Saxonia from Liverpool. The Barbarossa was Shula's ship, in 1912.
• It gives Shula's death as 28 April 1926 at Mount Lebanon Cemetery. Her stone gives 20 June 1983. 28 April 1926 is the day her son Julius died.

The chart's other claims have not yet been checked against records. These are that Julius died of Hodgkin's disease, that Shula's parents died at Auschwitz in 1941, and that Barney had a brother named Samuel, born about 1880. Its birth and marriage dates for Barney agree with his own papers.