Category: Becoming Olej and Besser

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Appendix C – Nili Olay’s Memior

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Life in Israel: I was born in Tel-Aviv on October 25, 1944, to Cypora Besser Olej and Leon (Aryei) Olej (I later changed the spelling from Olej to Olay).  When I was born, Israel was not yet a country, the land was called Palestine, and it was ruled by Britain.  Therefore, my birth certificate is actually in English rather than Hebrew.  When my mom and dad were first married, in 1939, they lived with my grandmother, Mindle (my dad’s mom) and my dad’s two unmarried sisters (Sara and Esther).  All five adults lived in a 2-bedroom apartment.  I believe that … Continue reading Appendix C – Nili Olay’s Memior

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Part IV: Chapter 9: The Saltz Leave Poland

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Shlomo Saltz, Ruchla Chana Dvora Olej,, Baila Saltz, Hershel Saltz, Chaia Saltz, Pinchas Saltz, Echeil Saltz, Machel Saltz, Sarah Saltz, Benjamin Saltz, Abraham Morris Saltz, Berish Dov Saltz After Avram Moshe Olej’s wife, Baila Horowicz passed away in 1871, he moved to Zdunska Wola where he met the widow Chana Glevitsky Saltz. In 1872 they were married, bringing together the Olej and Saltz families. Shlomo Saltz and Chana Dvora Olej, who probably met through their parents, were married on the 21st of January 1880. They lived in Pabianice where Shlomo had already opened a Bakery. [i] Shlomo and Chana Dvora … Continue reading Part IV: Chapter 9: The Saltz Leave Poland

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Part IV: The Last Diaspora

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Introduction: “The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his … Continue reading Part IV: The Last Diaspora

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Part III: Besser & Popaver in Warsaw

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Chapter Seven: Besser and Popaver in Warsaw & Otwock Avram Zamvel Besser, Menucha Yaakov , Shlomo Popaver, Rachel Leia (surname unknown) The Polish archives have been especially stingy in providing information on the Popavers and Bessers. Because of this we only see back into the mid to late 1800s. Even worse, we do not know the birth surname of many of your author’s 2nd great-grandparents. As a result, we are not able to look directly at our ancestors before the birth of Kalman Besser and Frayda Popaver. Fortunately, many members of my family took the time to interview their parents … Continue reading Part III: Besser & Popaver in Warsaw

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Chapter Six: 1820-1900, Avram Moshe Olej

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Avram Moshe Olej, Baila Horowicz, and Chana Glevistsky A Wedding It happened in the city of Zgierz, March 10th, 1845, at 3pm. Local Orthodox [Rabbi] Herz Kohn appeared together with Orthodox Oli Liverant, a bachelor age 28. Living in the city of Łask also born of Michal & Sury… and the Orthodox Bajla Horowitz a young lady aged 18 residing in Zgierz born to Berek and Haia Horowitz (spouses whose mother is deceased and whose father lives in Płock)…. He declared that today a religious marriage was concluded before him. … Nevertheless, there was an extra permission from the groom’s … Continue reading Chapter Six: 1820-1900, Avram Moshe Olej

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Chapter Five: 1750-1900, The Levins

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Mendel Levin, Mindel Aronowna, Ludwick Levin, Estera Siennicka, Jakub Levin, and Malka Hinda Lichtensztejn Quick notes on the Levins For those of you who are descended from Avram Moshe Olej, but not from Yosef, you are not likely related to the Levins. However, you may still find this chapter interesting as it describes Jewish life in these small towns where the Olej’s lived. For those of you with sharp vision, you will note that the chart above seems to replicate itself That is because Yosef Moshe Levin married his first cousin Masza Levin. Mendel Levin in Szadek On the 10th … Continue reading Chapter Five: 1750-1900, The Levins

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Part 1: Beyond Our Family Tree

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Chapter Three: Life in Europe We, Boleslaw, by the grace of God the Duke of Wielkopolska, hereby make it known to both those of the present and of the future, to whose notice the present write shall come, that to our Jews living all across the lands of our Dominion, We have resolved to declare word-for-word the statutes and privileges that they have obtained from us. The Statute of Kalisz, 9 September 1264 The Ashkenazi Though we don’t know exactly when our ancestors came into Europe, it is very likely that it happened prior to 1000 CE. Starting in the … Continue reading Part 1: Beyond Our Family Tree

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Part 1: Beyond Our Family Tree

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Chapter One: From Nomads to the Jewish KingdomAdam & Eve, approximately 200,000 years ago in modern day Botswana At an unknown date, an unnamed tribe of ancient Humans lived in the Makgadikgadi Basin. Within this tribe was the mother of all living humans. This woman, our ~8,000th great grandmother[1] is known as the “Mitochondrial Eve”. Strictly speaking “Eve” is not a single or a specific woman but a group of closely related women who have given all who live today, our mitochondrial DNA.[i] Around this time[2], in an unknown location in Africa lived the father of all living men, the … Continue reading Part 1: Beyond Our Family Tree

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Acknowledgements

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This book was only made possible thanks to those who had spent years researching our family. I remain eternally grateful for their generosity in time in sharing their findings. I am sure I am missing some people, and if you are one of them, please let me know, so I can give you proper credit, oh and accept my sincere apology for this oversite! Keith Olive, whose curiosity got all of this started. To better understand his relatives, Keith interviewed his parents, cousins, aunts and uncles to find who was who. He even had his parents, Leon and Cypora, interview … Continue reading Acknowledgements

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Introduction

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Many years ago, my aunt Silvana Olive interviewed my grandparents, Leon and Cypora Olive. That interview provided a brief glimpse into their early life. We learned how they escaped the Holocaust going to Israel and eventually settling in the United States. It is this interview that piqued my interest in our family’s story and inspired me to research our history. The more I learned the more I wanted to share these findings with our extended family. As a result, you are now reading this book. My goal in writing this book was to connect our personal lineage with the broader … Continue reading Introduction

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Table of Contents

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Introduction – About this book Acknowledgements: – A special thanks to all who contributed Preface – Introductions: Meet Leon Olej and Cypora Besser as they arrive in the Promised Land. Part I Beyond Our Family Tree Chapter One – From Nomads to the Jewish Kingdom: Exploring how our ancestors got the Levant and life in the Biblical Era. Chapter Two – Diaspora: What caused our ancestors to leave ancient Israel. Chapter Three – Life in Europe: From the establishment of the Ashkenazi Jews to settlement in Poland. Part II: Olej & Levin in Industrial Poland Chapter Four – 1750 to … Continue reading Table of Contents