Beka Wolf's Family
Beka Wolf's Family
Beka's grandson George Wolf talked with Howard Stein by phone. Here is Howard's recollection of the phone call.
"I found notes of a January 17, 2011 conversation -- if you could call it that -- With George Wolf."
George said: "We are not from Lvov (Lemberg) but are from Podhajze (Leigeinst)". For him, this was Poland. He was there last year (2010?)!!!!Sure enough, Google Maps shows us where it is, but Google calls it "Pidhaitsi."
Beka's US Passport application (1923) confirms she was born in Pidhajce, in the Austrian Empire (Now Ukraine). Wikipedia has very nice photos and a history of Pidhaitsi.
This is Beka's passport photo.
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| Beka Stein's US Passport Photo New York, NY, 1923 |
In 1895 Beka married Abraham Stein, a Jewish butcher from Sasiv. Beka and Abe had two sons. In January 1900 Beka and Abe Stein traveled by ship from the Austrian (Habsburg) Empire to New York City with their two sons Morris, 3 and Jacob Zachary, 1. Imagine arriving in New York in the winter with a toddler and a baby!
Beka Wolf had two brothers, Jacob and Herman and one sister (name unknown).
Howard said: "My understanding is that Jacob never came to America (he may have come to visit, I have no idea about that) and that he perished during the WWII holocaust. His date of death and other aspects of his death would be unknown."
Herman Wolf was 16 years younger than Beka. An Ellis Island passenger list says he arrived, alone, in New York City from Rotterdam on the SS Ryndam, Holland America Lines, on November 25, 1920. He listed his occupation as "Spirit Merchant" and he gave Abraham Stein (Beka's husband) as a reference.
Howard commented: "Herman's immigration manifest is definitely his. While he did say Abram rather than Abraham, the address is the address we have otherwise verified for Abraham. (And while it is dated 1920 it at least supports a determination that Jacob Wolf remained in Poland.)
In 1924 Herman (38) married Regina Chachkes (35) from Austria (now Poland). They had 2 sons, George and Morris, and they lived at 493 East 170th St in The Bronx, New York. This is their New York City Marriage License.
Ellis Island does show a Regina arriving in 1920, but I'm not sure it is the same person.
Below is Herman Wolf's timeline. In the 1930 Census his name is listed a "Harry."
Morris was the younger son, and never married. In the 1980's he moved to New Haven, CT.
Herman's older son George married Fay and they had 2 children, Sylvia and a brother (name unknown). They lived at 1353 E 46th St, Brooklyn, NY.
Regina, Herman, George and Fay Wolf are buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, Queens, New York City.
Howard wrote: "Beka died Dec 18,1956 and is in grave number 1 in the Stein family plot at Union Fields cemetery. Abraham bought that plot on December 3, 1947 and I have the deed."
"Abraham bought it from Congregation Rodeph Sholom of the City of New York. Lot number 2790 - Section 8. 12 places; 6 are used. I have the deed. The six used plots are Beka, Abraham, Morris, J. Zachary, Adele and Rose. (I note that Rodeph Sholom is a very big synagogue on the west side of Manhattan and they are a Reformed congregation; George Wolf's cemetery is Rodef Scholem, which sounds the same but is definitely not the same, and he would not at all have approved of Reform Judiasm.) 
"George said at some point that it says on Beka's stone in Hebrew, that she is the daughter of Gedelia Wolf; that in the Yiddish dialect (his terminology) of Podhajze it is pronounced Ged-a-lonie."
More info is in our family tree here. (It's free, but you need to sign in). https://www.myheritage.com/site-family-tree-512353231/kordesch
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