The family of JewishGen researcher Sergio Josiowicz were among the many Kovliners who chose to immigrate to Argentina. His grandfather, Shlomo, a carpenter arrived in 1923 and his future wife, Chana Lubelski, came to the country from Brest-Litovsk. They were married in 1926. Members of branches of the family appeared to use alternate spellings, including Josewitz and Yesowitz.
Sergio's great-grandfather, Yosef Idel Josiowicz, remained in Kovel during World War 2. He had three brothers and a sister, Chana Basia. She also remained in Europe. Two of his brothers, Samuel and Morris, came to the United States and the third, Mattus, immigrated to Brazil.
A relative of Sergio's wrote to him:
In 1907 Morris came to the US for the purpose of earning money to bring his family over to the US, but he decided to instead return to Kowel and build a house. He was a carpenter. In early 1913, Sam came to the U.S. we believe because of the murder and Morris followed later in July. Then WWI broke out and Morris' family was trapped. Sara and her three children (the youngest was born while Morris was in the US) survived because she cooked for the Germans and she was able to bribe people with the links from her gold bracelet. My grandparents lost touch with each other after the war but they somehow found each other and my grandmother came to the US in 1920 with her mother-in-law Rachel and her three children-Yankil (Jack); Mazil (Max) and Chana (Hannah). (I have found Morris in the 1907 ship manifests, but I have not been able to find him or Sam in a 1913 manifest for the dates they say they arrived."
The gold bracelet was one that Morris had given to Sara when the two became engaged in Kovel before he came to the U.S. Sergio's relative continued the story:
It seems that a gold chain was the "in thing" to give to your girl friend when you became engaged. My pop didn't have the money so my mother prevailed upon her father (a coopersmith with a forge, etc.) to give her the money which she slipped to my father so convention was upheld.My mother became a seamstress and among those she served was the local brothel used by the troops stationed there. At one point she told me the story how she managed six months on the sale of her gold chain.
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Josiowicz Family Photos
Click on the photo for a larger version
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Three photos of Hannah Basia, a sister of Sergio's grandfather. |
Sergio's grandfather, Shlomo. |
Doba (r.), the sister of Shlomo Josiowicz. |
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D. Wolk, a cousin of Sergio's grandfather |
Hannah Basia, seated, with friends. |
Sergio's grandfather, seated, with his cousin Shlomo Sher. |
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From left to right: Samuel, Morris and their brother Yosef Idel, Sergio's great-grandfather. |
Mattus, the other brother of Sergio's great-grandfather. |
Sarah, a sister of Sergio's grandfather. |
Copyright © 2009 Bruce Drake