Mystery of Documents
Mystery of Old Documents
by Martin Sasson and Ethan Rofe
Old papers and documents can be anything from immigration cards and naturalization records to marriage licences and letters. These artifacts remind us of the generations that came before us. They also represent important events that happened in our families’ history .
This gallery includes naturalization papers, immigration papers, passports, birth certificates, a driver’s license, and much more. Ariael and Albert brought in passports, Martin and Eli brought in Immigration documents, Ethan brought in a Birth Certificate, Isaac and Daniel brought in Naturalization papers. Henry brought in a Orange card, Lynda L. brought in letters written about a Torah, and Lori S. brought in a Driver’s license. We learned so much about the owners of these artifacts by reading them very carefully. From these documents we learned about our ancestors' appearances and their ages when they came to the U.S. and when they became citizens.
Document for Entry (Passport)
Aleppo, Syria
Grandpa Teddy B.
This document shows us when our ancestors first came to America to start a brand new community. The document is basically a passport, but they did not have passports then. Instead they had this paper that tells us a lot of information about my great great great grandfather. Using this document, my great great great grandfather was able to travel throughout the world.
The document was a sign that showed when the Syrian community established itself in the U.S.A. It proved that we first started in Aleppo and made the move to America. According to my family and myself, we now know that my great, great, great grandfather was the first Aleppo Jew to come to America.
Birth Certificate
Ottoman Empire
Rene R.
This document is my paternal great grandmother´s birth certificate. Her name was Rosa S. She was born in 1888 in Damascus, Syria which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. The seal of the empire is at the letterhead. It is interesting to note that in the box entitled ¨religion¨ in Arabic, the word ¨Moussawi¨ is written which means ¨follower of Moses.¨
The significance of my artifact to my Jewish heritage is that it shows that my family has continued to follow the Jewish religion since at least the 1880 ´s.
Immigration card
Aleppo,Syria
David S.
My Grandmother Margaret D.S. came into this country in September of 1930 on a steamship called Alesia. She entered America with this immigration record. She came here with her parents and eight of her siblings.
My Grandmother, Margaret D.S., came to this country from Aleppo, Syria when many Jews were coming to this country. She was on the ship with many Jews, since antisemitism was becoming a problem in Syria when Leon Solamaic was the president of Syria.
Letters for Buying a Torah
Los Angeles, California
Great Great Uncle Albert
My great great grandfather Nissim started a shul in Los Angeles. These papers are the letters between Rabbi Jacob Kassin (our Rabbi Kassin's father) and him. The cover page are the donors, and how much money they each donated. Donations varied between $0.50 to $25. The Torah cost $100, but he got it for $75.
These letters are about buying a Torah for a new shul. There were other shuls in the area, but they were Ashkenazi. They rented a room in the Ashkenazi shuls for the high holidays. This was the first Sephardic shul in the area.
Naturalization Record
New York
Grandma Diana
This is the Naturalization record that my Great Grandmother Pauline G. received from the US District court in Brooklyn, New York on April 20,1943. My great grandmother fled Syria in order to come to the United States to make opportunities for herself and others. My great grandma was 41 years old when she became a citizen.
Many Jews fled different countries. My Great Grandma Pauline fled Syria in order to make a better life for herself in the United States. When my Great Grandma got to this country she did a lot of hesed and supported many organizations such as The Infant home of Brooklyn, United Jewish Appeal, Magen David, Sephardic Community Center and more. That's why this naturalization record which marks my grandmother's citizenship to the country is important to me and Jewish history.
Orange Card
Camp Roeder, Austria
My Grandmother, Anita K.
This card was given to my grandmother when she was only 8 years old, when she was escaping from Hungary in 1956. This card allowed my grandmother, Anita, to go to America from Austria. With the help of a guide that led the way, she and her parents had to run through a forest to get to the border between Hungary and Austria. My grandmother and her parents had to figure out the amount of time it took for the two border guards to pass them so they could go through. Later, they arrived at Camp Roeder where my grandmother was given that orange card. The card had a 6-digit number on it. When that number was called, it was her turn to leave and depart to America. This artifact is very important to my family because it allowed my grandmother's side of the family to settle and start a new life in America.
Less than 10 years before the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, World War II was occurring. Both of my great grandparents survived the Holocaust. My great grandfather survived a labor camp and my great grandmother survived Auschwitz. When they were living in Hungary, they realized things were starting to get rough again, so they decided to escape. They wanted to be in a country where they knew they would be safe, so they went to America where some of their relatives had already settled. This artifact is important to my Jewish heritage because it symbolizes the hardship and troubles that the Jews in Europe faced even after the war.
Immigration Paper
Ellis Island (America)
Grandpa Eli K.
This artifact is significant because my Grandpa Eli K. got this immigration paper when he came to America. It is very special because he was the first person in his family to travel from Egypt to Italy and finally to America.
I can tell from this paper that he was 25 years old. It tells his height, weight, eye color and hair color. The name of the ship that he came on was the Julius Caesar.
Iran passport
Iran
My Grandmother
In 1962 the rights of the Jews were getting taken away in Beirut, Lebanon. My great grandpa wanted to get all of his children safely out of Beirut. He got illegal passports because he couldn't get them Beirut passports. His friend got him passports from Iran so this passport actually was given to my grandma even though she came from Beirut. My great grandmother's cousin convinced my grandma to come to America.
It was hard for the Jews in Beirut so my grandmother's family needed to leave. So they got passports from Iran, and were able to leave the country.
Naturalization paper
New York
Grandfather Eli S.
This is not just a paper. This is the paper that allowed my great, great grandfather to become a citizen of the United States of America. Without this paper, I would not be living here in New Jersey at this moment.
Eli S, my great, great grandfather, was born in Turkey and moved to Sixty Seventh Street in Brooklyn because there was a Jewish community there.
Marriage Contract
Egypt
Grandfather Alex
My great grandparents were married in Egypt and this is their marriage contract. It helps us remember my great grandparents, Mary and Isaac and their wedding. They were married for 33 years until my great grandfather passed away in 1980 and my great grandmother Mary in 1988. They emigrated from Egypt to America in 1965.
This ketubah is a marriage contract used in Jewish weddings.
Photograph
Brooklyn, NY
Leslie C.
This photograph shows my Grandfather Ralph M. while he was in junior high school. He went to Seth Low JHS in Brooklyn, N.Y. for grades 7,8 and 9.
Even though he was in a public school, his family was always religious.