#16 Rywka KATZ Siblings (Moszek/ Max Meillach & Raizel Rose BRODSKY)
- derek4440
- Sep 10, 2022
- 11 min read
Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill, great number as only he can play & sing
Rywka KATZ
Born 26/OCT1870
Married Peretz GARBER & had 6 Children.
Rywka or Regina in English was my much-loved Bobbie
Moszek Icek KATZ
Born 27/OCT1875 Single No Issue
I believe Moszek Icek aka Moishe Yitzak left LAGOW, (Yiddish LAGUEF) & went to TORONTO, CANADA, but came back to POLAND. Unfortunately, little else is known.
Raizel Rose KATZ Born 10/APR/1879 Married Morris BRODSKY had 7 Children
Mordechai & Sura’s Daughter Raizel Rose KATZ
Born 10/APR/1879 LAGOW, RUSSIA
Died 2/FEB/1977 TORONTO, CANADA Age 97 years old
Married bef 1906 TORONTO, CANADA Morris BRODSKY Had 7 Children
Born abt 1880 KIEV, UKRAINE
Died 17/FEB/1958 TORONTO, CANADA Age 78 years old
Morris BRODSKY MARRIAGE ABT 1906
Raizel Rose BRODSKY (nee KATZ) MARRIAGE ABT 1906
Morris & Raizel Rose & Family all lived 75 Baldwin Street, TORONTO in 1935 & he was a Pedlar at that time & he lived here until he Died in 1958. Raizel Rose lived until 1977. They are both buried Mount Sinai Memorial Park, 986 Wilson Avenue, TORONTO, ON, CANADA.
1. Tobe BRODSKY Born 1907 SINGLE Died TORONTO, Age 13 yrs
2. Leah BRODSKY Born 1/JUL/1910 Married Joseph BREGGER 2 Children
3. Sarah BRODSKY Born 1/JUN/1912 SINGLE Died TORONTO Age 52 yrs
4. Jean BRODSKY Born 1/JUL/1914 Married Samuel LEBOVITZ 3 Children
5. Max BRODSKY Born 28/OCT/1917 SINGLE Died TORONTO Age 80 yrs
6. May BRODSKY Born 10/SEP/1018 Married Nathan INWENTACH 3 Children
7. Hyman BRODSKY Born 19/SEP/1921 SINGLE Died 36 yrs
Tobe BRODSKY Died 19/JUL/1920 Aged 13 years old after being in a coma, following falling through a trap door & down concrete steps. She is Buried in Roselawn Cemetery, Pride of Israel Section Row Q Grave
Leah BRODSKY Born 1/JUL/1910 TORONTO, CANADA
Died 23/JAN/1993 BUFFALO, NY
Married 31/DEC/1929 BUFFALO, NY Joseph Matt BREGGER
Born 28/OCT/1909 BUFFALO, NY
Died 6/MAY/1971 PADUCAH, NY
Joseph & Lillian BREGGER with Beneta & Lenore
They had 2 Daughters Beneta Kayla BREGGER & Lenore Ann BREGGER. Leah used to write to my Mother during the war, & I remember she sent a Black & White photo of Beneta & Lenore each wearing a white fur jacket over a ball gown. I always thought this was so glamorous, as we had nothing like this in LEEDS during the war.
Many years later I spent time in BUFFALO trying to trace the Family, & just like in NEW YORK when I was trying to trace Edith, & though I spoke to the correct people, they said they didn’t know the family, which it later turned out they did.
When I later returned with Joan to NEW YORK I spoke to a distant relative I’d found who when asked about the BREGGER Family became very guarded & wouldn’t tell me anything. She said she would try & contact the family & get back to us.
We were staying at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NEW YORK at the time & a short while later Benita called me. So, we finally made contact & found that she had moved to ROCHESTER, NY which used to be a very prosperous city as KODAK, XEROX & BAUSCH & LOMB were all headquartered there, but had now either failed to exist, or were a shadow of their former self, leaving a rather depressed city.
We soon got to know Beneta & her Family, but never met Lenore, as there was some friction between the sisters, & Beneta made it clear she didn’t want us to contact Lenore.
Lenore & Beneta BREGGER
Beneta Married Henry SILBERSTERN 7/SEP/1952 TORONTO, CANADA & they had two Daughters
Edith Rochelle SILBERSTERN
Born 25/SEP/1953 TORONTO, CANADA
Married 30/SEP/1978 BUFFALO, NY, USA David Stewart SILVER
CHILDREN
Jonathan Loren SILVER
Born 26/NOV/1982 BUFFALO, NY, USA
Married 20/MAR/2010 OXFORD HILL, MD, USA Paula CORREA
Children 2
Michael Alexander SILVER
Born 16/JAN/1961 BUFFALO, NY, USA
Jan Beth SILBERSTERN
Born 16/MAY/1955 BUFFALO, NY, USA
Married 16/AUG/1978 NIAGARA FALLS, NY USA Seth Martin ABRAMS
Children 2
Benetas’ Husband Henry was
Born 15/APR/1930 TEPLICE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Died OCT/2016 ROCHESTER, NY, USA Age 86 years old.
Henry SILBERSTERN
We knew the SILBERSTERN Family for some time before we found out that Henry was a “SURVIVOR” of the SHOAH, but at that time had no idea of the depth of his suffering. One evening the four of us were sat round after having dinner at Beneta’s when Henry started talking of his experiences during the war.
Henry came from a middle-class Jewish Family in TEPLICE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA close to the GERMAN Border when he & his family were deported to AUSCHWITZ, where Henry who was about 13 years old was separated from his Parents, & never saw them again. Henry together with a group of young boys all from the same “TRANSPORT” were taken to a barracks where they were inspected by ‘MENGELE” the Doctor of Death. MENGELE was known for his inhuman experiments on twins, & yet none of the children on this “TRANSPORT” were twins. Henry staid in this group until he was liberated by the SOVIET Troops on 27/JAN/1945, & though he suffered the degradation & forced labour, he was never subject to any experimentation, nor were any of the other boys in this barracks.
Henry made his way to LONDON, where he had a distant relative & shortly after moved to CANADA, where he met & Married Beneta, If the story finished there it would be more than enough, however Henry & Beneta were deeply involved in visiting schools in BUFFALO, when they lived there, & lecturing the children about racial hatred, & were a great success. So much so they were approached by the local TV station & asked if they were prepared to make a film which the station would broadcast about the work that they were doing. Over time this changed into the TV Station backing a film which depicted Henry & Beneta travelling to PRAGUE, where they met up with about 40 other “SURVIVORS” & their Families, from the same “TRANSPORT” & travelled by train over the same route to AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU that they had travelled on all those years before. The film then followed them through the camp where they all told their individual stories. They came from all over the world, obviously USA, CANADA, many EUROPEAN Countries, South America, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALND, & many from ISRAEL. The film was called the BOYS FROM BIRKENAU, & Henry gave me a copy.
Some years later Joan & I visited PRAGUE, & one day we hired a guide & visited THERIESENSTADT which was the camp the GERMANS setup to let the RED CROSS & other organisations visit to show how well the Jews were being looked after. We then drove onto TEPLICE where I called Henry in ROCHESTER & started a normal conversation, & then asked him where he was taking the call, when he then asked me where I was, I told him I was in TEPLICE, he couldn’t believe me until I described the buildings. I then went to look at the house where Henry lived.
Henry’s Home in TEPLICE
Jean BRODSKY
Born 1/JUL/1914 TORONTO, CANADA
Died 12/JUN/1987 TORONTO, CANADA Age 72 years old
Married 6/MAR/1938 TORONTO, CANADA Samuel LEBOVITZ 3 Children
Born 10/MAR/1910 TORONTO CANADA
Died 5/JUL/1980 TORONTO, CANADA Age 70 years old
We met their eldest child Marvin Irwin LEE Born 18/OCT/1940 Died 20/SEP/2021 FLORIDA, USA & his Wife Jo Ann KURZ in FLORIDA, when we lived in PALM BEACH GARDENS. They have 4 Children, though we haven’t met any of them. Their Son in Law Dewey Donato LoSASSO who is Married to their Daughter Dale Sherry LEE, is quite a well-known Chef & Restaurateur in FLORIDA.
For more information read the following link
https://tasteofredland.com/chef-dewey-losasso
We know Frances Tobe LEBOVITZ Born 11/MAR/1944 TORONTO, CANADA & her Husband Gordon SHLANGER Born 24/APR/1941 TORONTO, CANADA, who Married 21/JUN/1964 TORONTO, CANADA.
We have met them & their Family on a number of occasions & had dinner with them & their family in their Apartment in Thornhill a number of times. We always liked Gordy & Frances & found them, & their family to be warm & welcoming.
Frances SHLANGER
Gordon SHLANGER, Molly INWENTASH, Francine EARL
We never met Jean & Samuels youngest Arlene Susan & her Husband Bernard GERMAN
Max BRODSKY Born 28/OCT/1916 TORONTO, CANADA Died 23/OCT/1997 TORONTO, CANADA Age 80 years old
Written by Sherri Goldberg
Max was known as Louis for most of his life. His friends in later years called him Max but family members always called him Louis. He was a very sweet, gentle person & I always had the greatest affection for him. The last time I saw him before he died, I was with my paternal grandmother in the Wagman Terrace (part of Baycrest Jewish Home for the Aged) in Toronto. She noticed Louis walking and asked me it that was Bubby's brother. I said yes and that I'd be right back. I went right up to Uncle Louis and said "Hi Uncle Louis, it's Sherri, Mollys's granddaughter." He smiled, shook my hand and said, "Pleased to meet you". It's
one of my most cherished memories of him.
May BRODSKY
Born 10/SEP/1918 TORONTO, CANADA
Died 23/DEC/2007 TORONTO, CANADA Age 89 years old Married 1/JAN/1949 TORONTO, CANADA Nathan INWENTACH 3 Children
Born 1/APR/1910 PULTUSK, POLAND
Died 23/SEP/2000 TORONTO, CANADA Age 90 years old
We knew May known as Molly, her Husband Nathan & their Three Children. We first met them when we went to their home, where Molly had the dining table literally covered with photos of our family, most we’d never seen before. Out of all the photos Joan immediately spotted this one taken of my Mother when she was a young woman
Rose GARBER as a young woman
Every time we went to TORONTO, which was quite often, we met up with Molly, Nathan & their Daughter Carol who at that time lived with them.
We also got to know their eldest daughter Francine, her Husband Michael EARLE, & her Children from her first Marriage Rochelle, known as Sherri & her Brother Stephen. Francine’s first Husband was called Morris GOLDBERG & he was Born in MUNICH, GERMANY on 17/MAY/1947 & both of his Parents were Survivors of the SHOAH, & they had Michael while they were still Displaced People in Europe. Francine & her Family run a Bakery & sell their products at various Markets, including PICKERING, where Bryan IBBOTSON lives.
May aka Molly & Carol INWENTASH
Nathan & May aka Molly INWENTASH & Derek GUINNESS
Nathan who was quite elderly when we first met was a quiet man, & we later learnt what had happened to him in POLAND. When the GERMANS invaded POLAND, on 1/SEP/1939 Nathan was in the POLISH Army. He was soon captured & taken to a POW camp, where he was denounced by his own men as a Jew & shipped off to a Concentration Camp. He eventually managed to escape & fought with the Partisans against the GERMANS. As the war progressed & the SOVIETS advanced into POLAND, they took him & all his group prisoner & shipped them off to RUSSIA as they did with most POLES who were Partisans. Fortunately for Nathan the camp that he was shipped to was near the border with PERSIA, & he escaped again & managed to find his way into PERSIA, which was occupied by the BRITISH & made his way first to the UK & eventually to TORONTO where he met & Married Molly.
We were staying at the Hotel with the best Chinese Restaurant (can’t remember its name) & had just gone up to our room, when we received a phone call informing us that sadly Nathan had Died & would I like to be a pall bearer at the funeral which was to be held the next day. We went the next day to STEELES MEMORIAL CHAPEL & from there drove in convoy to BATHHURST LAWN CEMETERY. I was amazed that the police were at every intersection the whole way holding up the traffic, so our convoy never stopped or slowed down the whole way to the cemetery. Again, something I’ve never seen before was that the cemetery was divided up into separate areas, so that people originating in the same SHETL would be buried together. Very moving service & eulogy delivered by Nathans’ Son Sheldon.
Have to say I always liked Francine, Michael & Sherri & got on well with them all. I didn’t really know Stephen or Carol, but I never got on with Sheldon. One day Molly said Sheldon would like to meet me, & would I meet him at his office in TORONTO. I turned up at the appointed time, & was kept waiting at least 15 minutes. I was then shown in to his office & it was obvious Sheldon was on some sort of power trip, & wanted to establish that he was the Alpha Dog. Later on, I learned that he rarely saw his Parents & was ashamed of his Father who spoke English with a thick East European accent. He was Mollys’ Golden Boy & could do no wrong.
Cemetery with PULTUSKER sign & next to it the INWENTASH Headstone
1. Mordechai & Sura’s Son Max Mellach KATZ
Born abt 1880 LAGOW, RUSSIA
Died14/MAY/1961 TORONTO, CANADA Age 81 years old
Married abt 1900 TORONTO, CANADA Annie BROWN Had 5 Children
Born abt 1881 UNKNOWN, POLAND
Died 8/JUN/1959 TORONTO, CANADA Age 76 years old
Headstones Max & Annie KATZ
Their 5 Children were
1) Mae KATZ Born abt 1910 Married Max WAYLEN aft 1939 & had 2 Children
May & Max & their Children lived at 31 Aldburn Road, TORONTO, ONT, CANADA in 1949 & Max was in the Auto Business, he later became President of the Beth Shalom Synagogue. Though Max Died in 1957, Mae lived for nearly another 50 years. Their eldest child Sheila Married Jack ROTH, whereas their son Samuel remained a Batchelor & Died in 2003 aged 56 years old.
2) Adelaide KATZ Born 25/DEC/1909 Married David PERLMUTTER aft 1920 & had 2 Children. Adelaide & David together with their Children Charlotte & Gary in 1940 lived at 320 Londsdale Road, TORONTO, ONT, CANADA & David was a Baker by trade. Both Adelaide & David Died in 1996, Adelaide on 3rd April & David 7th November, they were 86 & 87 years respectively.
3) Sarah KATZ Born 11/JUL/1911 Married Sam GREENBERG MAY/1938 & had 1 Child. Sam was Born in RUSSIA whilst Sarah & all the KATZ Children were Born in TORONTO. Sarah was a Book-keeper. Their Daughter Marilyn Married Bernard CERESNE & they had 3 Daughters. Sam Died 19/DEC/1998 & Sarah 27/JAN/2005
4) Beatrice KATZ Born 15/JUL/1913 Married Irving TENNEY aft 1933 & they had 3 Children. The Family lived at 23 Denton Street, NORTH YORK, ONT, CANADA IN 1952 & Beatrice was employed earlier as a Stenographer. Marty their middle child went to live in LOS ANGELES, CA, USA. IRVING Died in 1997, whilst Beatrice lived until she was 99 years old & Died in 2012, both Deaths in TORONTO.
5) Sylvia KATZ Born aft 1919 Married Harry ALTER aft 1940 & they had Twins Happy & Joseph. In 1952 the Family lived in TORONTO, 83 Rosebury Avenue, before moving later in life to FLORIDA. Harry Died after 1996 & & Sylvia after 2001, both in MIAMI. FL, USA
As you can see, I’ve not found a lot of information regarding this branch of the KATZ Family, marked by the fact that many of the dates are approximate rather than definite. One of the problems with researching family in CANADA is that it isn’t easy to find details of people, unlike the UK or even the USA. Even professional Genealogists who I’ve employed have had great difficulty in finding the correct details. Unfortunately, other branches of the family in CANADA who I’ve spoken to, don’t know this branch well enough to either speak to their descendants to ask for details or to put me in touch with them.
I did in fact trace one of the Grandchildren who at first was interested & was going to supply me with information on the family, but after a few weeks & having not heard from her, when I did reach her again, said she’d discussed it with her family & they decided I wasn’t a member of the family & they refused to give me any information. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only time this has happened & even though I’ve supplied them with definite proof of who I am in relation to themselves, they’ve still not accepted who I am.
Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me- Smooch time version makes this my favourite Nina track
s
Comments