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Current documents:
-- Posted August 27, 2004
Here are some of Steve's notes on the pictures:
"The cemetery is owned by several synagogues, not just BI. FYI, years ago (and perhaps today?) all jews were buried in W. Spfld, not in Spfld. I am not clear as to why this was done. The cemetery has five gates. The photo of the little brick building [CemeteryEntrance.jpg] has gate #3 on its left and gate #4 to its right, as seen from the street. Enter gate #4. The Lipman gravestone should be on the left, about 100 yards in from the street (this distance is a rough guess). The stone will be the second in from the edge of the road, as shown in the second photo [Gravestone1.jpg].
"I think the stone is marble and the inscriptions [Gravestone2.jpg] haven't held up well to the acid rain we get in New England (though it is now much reduced). Also, the inscriptions are on the north side of the stone, facing away from the street, and they take the brunt of the weather/climate. In addition, the shade of the north side also allows lichens (and the acids they produce) to attack the stone more readily. I may be in W. Spfld in mid-July. I'll try to stop in and clean the stone a little."
-- Posted July 8, 2004
This site contains scanned pictures of Lipman family members. There is also a map showing the location of Grajewo (larger copy) (sometimes spelled Grieveo), the family's town of origin in Europe; Grajewo was once in Russia (as indicated on family documents), but this area is now in Poland.
The family pictures are organized into subdirectories as follows:
Abe and Pearl:
Abraham and Pearl Lipman are the father and mother of Benjamin Lipman, who is the
maternal grandfather of Fran Rigberg Baker, Debbi Carlin Merrill, Bruce Carlin, Barb
Brooslin, Sandra Brooslin, Sharon Brooslin Chesley, and Judy Millman Kenton, and the
paternal grandfather of David Lipman, Jamie Lipman, Melinda Frandix, and Jonathan
Lipman. Abe was a bookbinder. Abraham's sister Elizabeth married Louis Nathan and
had 6 sons and a daughter. One of these sons, Charles S. Nathan (Zalman) and his wife,
Catherine Alice Walling, are Steve Nathan's paternal grandparents.
Abe+Pearl/Abe+Pearl50th_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Abe+Pearl/AbePearlBenLouis_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Abe+Pearl/PearlLipman1_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Abe+Pearl/PearlLipman2_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben's Siblings:
Ben was born in 1882 in Grajewo. At 12, he was apprenticed as a tailor to his Uncle
Henry in London and arrived in the US in February 1903 on the ship Ivernia. He settled
in Springfield, Mass., where his Aunt, Elizabeth Nathan, lived. He became a US citizen.
(Side note: There are still Lipmans in England, and there is a Rose Lipman Library in
London. It is named for Rose Stitfel Lipman, who founded and ran a school for Jewish
girls. She and her husband, Leonard Lipman, who was in the merchant marine and then
in textile marketing, were active Zionists and Socialists. The library archivist does not
know more about their family. Our Rose remembers US Lipmans visiting relatives in
England and being "treated like royalty.") Ben retained a bit of an English accent and
liked to sing English songs, such as "It's a Long Way to Tipperary."
Ben had 3 brothers (Louis, a physician; Hyman who settled in Baltimore and was in the
grocery business; and Sammy) and 4 sisters (Esther, Ben's favorite sister who lived with
him in England and may have traveled with him to the US, who married a Dr. Shaeffer;
Sadie Handelman, one of whose sons became a prominent Chicago architect; Jenny, a
widow with two boys; and Bertha, who I believe was the youngest). The entire family,
including Abraham, and Pearl, came to the US, most settling in Chicago. So far, we
cannot identify/distinguish the sisters pictured, aside from Esther. This family seems to
have enjoyed having their pictures taken.
BenSiblings/Ben+EstherLondon_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/DrLouisLipman_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/Esther+Family1_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/Esther+Family2_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/Esther+Husband_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/EstherLipman_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/EstherLondon_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/Sister1_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/Sister2_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
BenSiblings/Sister3_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben and Fannie:
Ben married Fannie Gorodetsky (sometimes spelled Gorodetski) around 1905. She was
born in 1884 in Yanova, in the same general area as Grejewo, in Grodno (Hrodno)
province in Belarus. She was the youngest of 4 children (3 girls and a boy). Her father
was a butcher. She came to the US at 16, settling in Springfield, where her married
sister, Shaina Chiah Silverman, lived. She also worked as a seamstress in New York's
garment district. Ben and Fannie met in Springfield. They were introduced by Fannie's
cousin, Mrs. Carlinsky (Maury Carlin's mother and Debbi's grandmother). Fannie died
in 1931, and Ben never remarried. He died in 1943. Rose (their oldest child) wrote a
short biography of both Ben and Fannie, which we have and which may be entered online
at some point.
Ben+Fannie/Ben+Fannie_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/BenFannieRose_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/BenLipman1_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/BenLipman2_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/BenLipman3_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/BenLipman4_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/BenLipman5_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/Fannie+UnidentifiedCousin_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+Fannie/Fannie1920.jpg
Ben and Fannie's Children:
Ben and Fannie always lived in Springfield, where he was a tailor. After five years of
marriage, they feared they might not have any children, but they eventually had 6: Rose
L. Rigberg (1910-2000), Dorothy (1914-1920), Leo (1916-) of Yonkers, NY, Jeannette L.
Carlin Block (1918-2001), Elizabeth L. Millman Schwartz (1920-) of
San Antonio, TX, and Shirley L. Brooslin (1928-) of Ft. Myers, FL.
Ben+FannieChildren/Ben+Shirley1941_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/Betty+Shirley1930_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/BettyBenRoseShirley1935_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/LeoLipmanHS_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/LeoRoseBettyShirley1943_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/Rose1920_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/Rose6mo_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/Shirley+Milton_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/SistersApr1940_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/SixPortraits/Betty_sm.JPG
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/SixPortraits/Dorothy_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/SixPortraits/Jeannette_sm.JPG
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/SixPortraits/Leo_sm.JPG
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/SixPortraits/Rose_sm.JPG
(larger copy)
Ben+FannieChildren/SixPortraits/Shirley_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Gorodetskys:
Fannie's sister Shaina Chiah (also called Jenny or Jeannette) Silverman died young, in
1917 (her death picture is in this directory). She had 6 children: Dora Raymond, Gertie
Anders, Rose Epstein, Ida, and Leo. Celia Cohen was a cousin who was raised by
Fannie's mother and was very close to Fannie. Some Gorodetskys chose their family
name Gordon in the US, including Fannie. There are few pictures of this family, though
Rose vaguely recalls seeing a photo of her grandmother, "an old woman in black clothes,
with a babushka, and hard-working hands." Fannie's brother (Zalman) and sister (Hinda
Leah) remained in Europe, as did Fannie's parents.
Gorodetskys/CeliaCohen.JPG
Gorodetskys/DoraRaymond_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Gorodetskys/Rose+Gertie_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Gorodetskys/Rose+LouEpstein_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Gorodetskys/ShainaChaiah1917_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Group Pictures:
The picture taken in Russia does not include the older siblings (Ben, Esther, Louis), but
does include Abe, Pearl, Sadie, Jenny, Bertha, and Sammy. The other picture is a
Lipman reunion, which is quite faded but does seem to include Abe and Pearl, and Esther
and her family; Ben and Fannie are not there.
GroupPictures/Reunion_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
GroupPictures/Russia_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Nathans:
Elizabeth Lipman Nathan (Mrs. Louis Nathan) is Abe's sister and Steve Nathan's
great-grandmother. The two boys, Al/Alfred and Max/Maxie Taylor Nathan, are probably
grandsons of Elizabeth and Louis; their picture is inscribed on the back to
"Dear Cousin Ben." Chickie is a son of Elizabeth and Louis.
Nathans/Al+MaxNathan_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Nathans/Al+MaxWriting_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Nathans/ChickieNathan_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Nathans/ElizNathan1920_sm.JPG
(larger copy)
Others:
These are people whose names are known, but whose relationship we don't currently
know.
Others/ASeligsman_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Others/HaroldLipman_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Others/IdaZimmerman_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Unknowns:
These are pictures of people who may be Lipman relatives but who have not yet been
identified.
Unknowns/BeardedMan_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Unknowns/Bride_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Unknowns/Child_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Unknowns/Couple_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Unknowns/Girl_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Unknowns/YoungWoman1_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
Unknowns/YoungWoman2_sm.jpg
(larger copy)
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