Home Sweet Home
Coming to our new home and the objects that make it feel like home.
Mortar and Pestle
Europe
Joan Harris Fine
My grandma, Joan Harris Fine’s grandmother, who lived in Lublin, Poland got the mortar and pestle and brought it to New York.
This artifact is a memory for all of us of our origins in Europe, connecting my mother Allison Fine to me, and her mother Joan Harris Fine to her.
Carriage Clock
France
Meryl K
My grandma’s grandfather, whose name was Selig Fishman collected and made clocks. Making clocks helped him to focus when his only son was killed in the Second World War.
It is something special to me and my family.
Passport
Poland
Jason's grandmother
This passport was my great-grandfather’s. He came from Poland. It was made in 1921 and it is what allowed my family to live in the United States. My great grandfather’s name is Jack Levine and Levine is my grandma’s maiden name. In the passport you can see the changes to the family name from Lewy to Lewin to Levine.
This passport shows my family's origins in Poland and when we moved to the U.S. through Ellis Island.
Sewing Machine
United States
Karen H
My great-great-grandfather emigrated from Poland to the United States. He was a tailor. When he came here he purchased this Singer sewing machine and started earning his living. It has an iron table which it is rested on with a peddle so it can work. It does not use electricity.
This sewing machine is significant to my family because after my great-great-grandfather died we have something of his to hold on to. His name was Harry Gold. This is the most important and only thing we have from him.
Russian Box
Russia
Marianne L
Olga Sharko’s (my great-grandma) father got this traditional Russian box when they were moving to the United States. It is from a place in Russia that my ancestors are from.
This traditional Russian box tells a story through the pictures painted on the lid and the sides. There is a princess in captivity and a prince on a horse. In the final picture on the lid, he has rescued her, and they are riding off on the horse together.
Passport
Lithuania
Jack A
This is Anna Lipchits passport from Lithuania. She used it to emigrate to the USA after World War 1. She was born in Lithuania in 1894.
From this we know that our family’s origins are in Europe and that we emigrated to the USA.