Poppich Family

Shmuel Leib Poppich, son of Itzhak, lived from 1816 to sometime before 1898, in Poninka, Russia (now Ukraine). He and his wife Sura had the following children that we know about: Rivka, born in 1847; Mordechai, 1852 to about 1920; and Mariam Breina, about 1861 to 1917. There are very few extant records from Poninka, so we know little about this family before memory and family anecdotes come into play.

Mordechai and his wife Chaya Buffer had eleven children that we know about. Two, Morris (Manes) and Benny (Berel) came to America; three who remained in Poninka -- Dina, Shmuel Leib, and Perel -- survived the Holocaust; the remainder - Genedel, Pinya, Sheindel, Chava, Srul, and Yosef -- all died during the war.

This is the earliest photo that we have from Poninka. It is probably taken in the early 1920's and on the back was a greeting to son Manes from his mother.

From l to r: Probably Shmuel Leib Poppich (1898-1983), unknown, Chaya Buffer Poppich (about 1865 - about 1930), Chava Poppich (about 1903-1941), Iosif Poppich (1909-1942)

L to R:

Katya Drel, daughter of Dina Poppich and Joseph Drel, birth year unknown, died in Poninka in 1979

Sonya Bekesh, daughter of Sheindel Poppich and Mechl Bekesh, 1928-1941

(This photo survived in the photograph album of Poppich neighbor Sofya Ilinichna Sharko in Poninka. When your webmaster visited in 2001, she visited with Sofya's widower and family and photographed the photo in the album.)

Joseph and Dina Drel

Joseph and daughter Manya were killed in Poninka in 1941 and Dina and her other two daughters, Polya and Katya, managed to escape. Dina died in Poninka in 1972.

Manya Drel, died in Poninka in 1941

Chava Poppich Grinberg, about 1903 to 1941.

Polya Drel Voynarovsky, daughter of Dina Poppich and Joseph Drel, 1914-1985, in Poninka in the 1950's

Mariam Breina Poppich Franzel (about 1861 - 1917). She was the wife of Avram Franzel, who died in 1894 while Mariam was pregnant with her last child, Abraham. She and all her children came to the US by 1907 and she died in Lawrence, MA in 1917.

Manes Poppich (Morris Pepper in the U.S.)

December, 1914 - wedding photo, New York, NY

These photos are courtesy of your webmaster, Linda Cantor. Linda is the granddaughter of Manes Poppich and the great granddaugher of Chaya Buffer and Mordechai Poppich.