Mom was born in Chicago in 1922. That's her, second from the left. Her family consisted of, from left to right, sister Irene, Mom, sister Jean, mother Jenny, brother Bill, father Peter, and "Uncle Pete", not really an uncle but a friend of Peter's who came over from Belarus with him. He paid to have the picture taken, which is why he's in it.
Mom's mother came from Warsaw, Poland. I've seen the ship manifest in which Jenny and her family are listed as being on board the S.S. Brandenburg, sailing from Bremen and arriving at the Port of Baltimore in November of 1905. Jenny was 11 years old. She only lived until 1938.
I've yet to find much on Peter's arrival, after years of searching.
My interest in Russian history stems from Peter. I never knew him; he died years before Mom even married. So why the interest? I suppose it's the mystery; why did he leave Belarus (in pre-Soviet days it was called White Russia)? Did it have something to do with the Bolshevik Revolution? Or the civil war that erupted between the Reds and the Whites afterwards? Was it to escape being conscripted into the Russian Army during World War 2? I may never know the answers. But it's something I'll keep searching for, always. Maybe I'll get lucky someday!
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