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When I was 13 I created my first tree along with a scrapbook of photographs for my grandmother; over time my mom told me the history of both sides of the family; from these stories came my family genealogy and my postion with JewishGen...but until recently, I never had a web site for my family; well, it's time! I'm delighted to begin this project and I would love to hear from anyone who has something to add.
I am grateful to those who came before me; who
battled the old world and the new to create a better life for
their children...this is really their story. They shall not be
forgotton...
Phyllis Kramer
Up until 2019, Phyllis Kramer (OBM) developed and maintained this KahilaLink. Phyllis did a wonderful job documenting and sharing information about this shtetl. Starting in July 2021 Jeff Alexander is trying to fill Phyllis’ shoes. Please contact Jeff Alexander for anything related to this shtetl
Copyright © (2022) Jeffrey Alexander. All rights reserved.
Leib is listed in the 1926 and 1930 Polish business directories under JaJa-handel (oeufs) - an egg dealer. Leib had two houses one of which was a shop (gevelb), mostly for grains, where he bartered with local farmers. After Golda died, Leib remarried a redhead around 1910 (never found out her name) but they had no children. She came to the U.S. with Leib, but stayed with her daughter when he returned to Poland.
In Europe they called my grandmother Gittaleh Shikah; she was being watched by older sisters Tillie and Zelda, but she managed to get to a cask of liquor. Drank so much they found her unconscious and thought she was dead. Golda came with a mirror (how clever); holding it under her nose she declared her daughter alive, and promptly put her in the bed. Gussie didn’t eat solid food for two years!
Why 
did my grandmother come here? The
story was that Gussie & Tillie came to US because the air
was better! But sisters knew that Tillie was in love with a
baker from 
Zmigród and this family didn't
have "nachas"; instead she followed him to America. They
married, lived in Hartford and raised 3 children.
Many celebrations were held in that huge hartford home with
the parquet floors that Tillie was so proud of. Here's a photo
of their 1948 anniversary. 
But where are you Genie? and Richie? I've looked
everywhere. Please contact me if you read this.
I won't put in the names, as privacy is important...but here
is a collection of photographs from the STECHER Family: 
Her parents were Herschel and Leah (Leie) Trachman, from Zmigród. Her siblings were Morris born 1865, Schmiel 1866, Sarah 1868, Jenny, Fanny 1860 and Lillie. (Details below).
Grandma Golda ran a big business in europe; grandpa Leib was busy riding around to all the rabbis, he was a student. Women didnt resent this, they were proud of husbands well learned; in the gevelb the polish peasants brought in grains, were paid off in barter, probably groceries.
SCHEINER 10/09 in NYC, --
the photograph at the left was taken in the 1920s. (The
SCHEINERS and KANDELS are discussed in detail below) 
married Ester
Guterman from Philadelphia and then Lillie GEIGER (a
distant cousin) from DUKLA. Boy was he a looker! Family
stories include lots of showgirls and a Stutz
Bearcat..Badish would dress up my my uncle Tully as a
chauffeur when going to his “amours”. Leib Stecher had a brother Hersch Stecher from the Zmigród area who married Pesche SCHUSS (the Schuss family was from nearby DUKLA): Herris and his wife emigrated to NYC, eventually settling in NEWARK NJ. They had 9 children: Samuel, born 6/3/86 (married Martha Rosenbaum); Hana born 10/6/97 (died young), Nathan born 9/26/88, Rose born 1885 (died young), Minnie born 8/27/95(married Max Shalet), Bertha born 2/2/81 (married Isidor Weiner), Salia/Sadie born 6/17/82 (married Samuel Ruskin), Jennie born 7/25/90 (married Jacob Rusinow). One last possibility (unverified) is Herman (born before 1890, in the reconditioned motors business in Philadelphia), I have contacted over 15 of Hersch's descendents (at least one from each branch). Lots of stories there too...Herris appears to have had 4 wives...and left a legacy of some broken dreams. But I've connected with Mary Rusinow and Beth Corets...and they have grown from fellow genealogists to good friends.
Judith STECHER, Leibs' older sister, married Mendel DEUTSCHMAN in Zmigród. They had 5 children, Rifka (born 9/25/1867), Schmeil "Sam" (born 1/15/70, married Sophie HOCHNER), Ben (born 1879 married Maisminal KORN), Majer (born 11/12/88), Tcheite (born 6/21/81, married ZELL). Sam and Ben settled in Easton, Pa. I've visited with granddaughter Catie DEUTSCHMAN who lives in Ashville, North Carolina.
I looked in vain for years for the family of 
Zanvil Stecher with whom my
grandmother had stayed with in 1900 (from the census). I never
found Zanvil Stecher again. He seemed to have disappeared from
the earth. But I broke through this brick wall when i
contacted a fellow researcher on JewishGen's Family Finder,
who was looking for STECKLER from the same
shtetl...Zmigrod...and when we exchanged trees, it appeared
that Zanvil had changed his name to Steckler (we never found
out why). That's how i met my good friend, and STECHER
descendant Jonathan COHEN. Together we tracked down the 1929
hand drawn tree. And that is how Jonathan and I became aware
of the Stecher Family Circle.
Turns out that Leib's father, Samuel, had a brother Feichel.
Feichel's children came here too. 
And I was able to attend their STECHER reunion in 1999 in
Florida, representing Leib's side of the family!
Just recently i met the patriarch of the LEHR family (one of the branches of the tree above). Dr. LEHR is very interested in going back in time before this tree; but alas, we have not been able to do that. The vital records which our researcher uncovered don't go back further than the 1870s...maybe someday! Can anyone out there help?
Golda TRACHMAN's brothers and sisters emigrated earlier to the US and settled in Chicago and Joliet, Illinois. When my grandmother first came here, she stayed with them:
Great Grandfather Abraham KRAMER (~
1863--~1942) lived in Jasienica.
My two grandfathers, Jacob Kramer and Abraham Scheiner, came from the same area; it was said that at the wedding...Abraham embraced a Kramer cousin, as they had last seen each other in Chaydah, 40 some years before. At that wedding too, they celebrated by remembered Jasienica, known to the Jews as Yashnitz, a dairy town, for which Yashnitzers (omelets) were named.
Annie and Jacob had 4 children:
Rubin (my dad), Daniel, Carrie (married Morris Sobel) and
Emanual (Mickey). That's Ruby and Denny on the
right>>. All raised wonderful families in the New York
area. We even have a famous descendent, the drummer of
Aerosmith, Joey Kramer.
There were other Kramers who emigrated from Jasienica, and it took over 10 years to make the connections: they include Dora KRAMER (born 1889, married Samuel KLEVE), Fani (born 1895) married Efroim SPEVAK, and Amelia (born 1897).
I knew from my sister's memories, that aunt Ella HOFFMAN visited KRAMER cousins in the Bronx. Many years later I met a lady who remembered Aunt Ella, as she had lived with them in JASIENICA after her mother died and her father remarried.
I won't put in the names, as privacy is important...but
here is a collection of photographs from the KRAMER Family:
Want to know about this shtetl? Go to YASHNITZ
1880 and settled in her shtetl, Strzyzow.Joseph had beautiful voice; neighbors would listen to sedar through the window; one pesach it was cold, and neighbors called to ask window be opened. His sons Sam abe Abe were tenors. Abe made two records with Belle Baker but i've never been able to locate them.
Josef SCHEINER (Born 1858)was the eldest son of Naphtuli SCHEINER and Sarah GREENBERG. His siblings were Channuch (born 1868) who emigrated to Israel, and Tsipora (born 1870) who came to New York. (details below)
---- Frieda KANDEL, b. Nov, 1860 Strzyzow, Galicia, d. Oct
15, 1931 NY, NY
---- +Josef Scheiner, b. 1858 Dubiecko, Galicia, m. 1880
Strzyzow, Galicia, d. Jul 02, 1930 224 E 4th St; NYC. The
Scheiners settled in NYC where Josef indeed became a
schochet. They raised 3 children, Abe, Sam and Sarah. 
Uncle Bennie's parents
owned Hennington Hall, on 2nd Street, where they were
married in 1936. I got lucky; I stopped by the Hall
last year; after introducing myself, the current owner
invited me to look inside; it is still fabulous; the
main floor, crowned with a marvelous metal ceiling, is
three stories high! The current owner asked why there
were kitchens on both floors; i explained they often
had more than one reception at a time in the Hall.
NOTE: INSERT PHOTO I won't put in the names, as privacy is important...but
here is a collection of photographs from the Scheiner
Family: 
Joseph's sister, Tsipora SCHEINER married Yechial
ROTHAUS from Dubiecko (they kept the Scheiner surname) and
emigrated; here she celebrates her 
50th
wedding anniversary with her family in 1936.
I remember my sister and i (on the right) meeting her
grandchildren 
and seeing the home
made films from this celebration, and recognizing my
grandparents. But the story told to me was that they weren't
happy, seated in the back, and left after the ceremony.
Another interesting note is that two of Tsipora's sons,
Jack and Louis, fought in World War I...but on opposite
sides!
Want to know about this shtetl? Go to DUBIECKO
Freida's father had a hebrew school (Chaydah) in Strzyzow; Freida had a sister, Rose/Ruchel KANDEL, b. 1867, Strzyzow who married Micheal SCHIMMEL (1857Strzyzow--1942 Bronx); Their children were:
My great grandmother Dora EICHEL was born in Rohatyn in 1862. She married Reuven LINDNER (but I've never been able to discover where he was born); the photo is circa 1893-my aren't they a handsome couple! I know the first two children were born in Burshtyn, the third claimed Budapest, and many of the others were born in the US, as the couple came back and forth many times; Charles was even born on the boat! He's the adorable child on the seat.
Reuven, it was thought, was a "dayan"? or a travelling rabbi and we do know that Izzi's bar mitzvah was moved up to 1904, as Reuven had to return to Europe, supposidly seeking a cure for his ailments. I don't know where he died either, but Dora returned to the States in 1906, with the children.
Dora's father, Anschel EICHEL was a tailor who specialized in making uniforms for the Pravoslav priests and monks. We can trace the Eichels back to Yitzhak Eichel, who lived in Hamburg at the end of the 18th century; he was a scholar who published a textbook of the Yiddish language and was a pupil of the German philosopher Kant.
Here is the family tree: Anschel EICHEL married Beile BERLIN in Rohatyn around 1850. Their children were:
Reuven LINDNER and Dworsha EICHEL
had 9 children; unfortuantely the first two, born in
Burshtyn, Galicia (now Ukraine) did not live past infancy,
and died in nearby Rohatyn. The surviving 7 children are
pictured from the left at a 1944 celebration: 
Mark, Pauline, Jack, Sadie, Izzie, Annie
(my gm) & Charlie. The photograph on the right is the
following generation; the American children of these
immigrants. Berl LINDNER's parents were Jacob and Rebecca GUEMAN LINDNER (my ggg gp). I have found four of their children and traced them to the United States.
Reuven Lindner had 2 brothers who were very close; my
aunt Carrie told me that as children, all the cousins
lived at 1103 Washington Avenue in the Bronx. (quote): We
each lived on a different floor: Auntie Chipper lived on
ground floor, Izzie on another, Charlie on another. Long
narrow halls, big rooms. 
The family gave support to Dora when she returned in 1906 after Reuven died.
I won't put in the names, as privacy is
important...but here is a collection of photographs
from the LINDNER and EICHEL Families: 
Want to know about this shtetl? Go to ROHATYN
So you want to do family research? Where do you start? Try these wonderful websites:
