Furmanovsky
Family
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The
Furmanovsky
family lived in Kupiskis from quite early on.
Depending on where they settled afterwards, their name has sometimes
changed over the years to Furman, Forman, and other such spellings.
The earliest known
member of the Furmanovsky family that is shown in the Kupiskis
records is Orel-Aron ben Leyba Furmanovsky, married to Rochel and
the father of Scheine, Berko Leyba, Rubin, Mere, Chaim, and Abel
(Abe).
His daughter Scheine
Furmanovsky married Joseph Blekher and had one known son, Kivel
Furmanovsky. Two of his children, Mary Furmanovsky Riback and Nachman
Blecher, settled in South Africa.
Son, Rubin Furmanovsky, married Chirle and
had two sons.
Their
eldest son was Aaron Furmanovsky, who married Sora Nechama, daughter
of Hirsh Padowitz.
The Padowitz family was also from Kupiskis
and, one of them, Harold Padow, was head of the Kupiskis
landsmannschaftn group that operated in New York City.
Aron and Sora Nechama had three daughters,
all of whom used the name Forman and lived in New York.
The
youngest son was Abe Furman, who died in Johannesburg in 1937.
Daughter, Mere Furmanovsky, born in 1842, married Shmuel Yuter and had
nine children in Kupiskis: Sora Gitka (Joffe), Rasa Leah (Snieg),
Lipsha, Beila (Zal), Chaya (Glezer), Leib, Abel, Moshe and Samuel
Solomon Yuter. Her son, Samuel Solomon Yuter, married Rose Levitz of
the well-known American furniture company. He settled in various
small towns in Pennsylvania, owned a newspaper and media corporation,
and changed the family name from Yuter to Etter. Mere's son, Moshe
Yuter, also changed his name to Etter and became a prominent rabbi in
Harrisburg, PA. He is mentioned in the book by
Berl Kagan which is entitled: Yidishe Shtet, shtetlekh
un dorfishe yishuvim in Lite: biz 1918.
Son, Chaim Furmanovsky,
born 1852, married Sheina-Rivka and had seven children: Berel
(Dov-Ber), Mira, Harry (Hillel), Ida (Chaya), Daniel, Aaron, and Joe
(Yehoshua Josef).
Discussion of some of the descendants of this branch of the
Furmanovsky family is discussed below.
The last child of Orel-Aron Furmanovsky was Abel (or Abe) Furmanovsky,
1855-1937, who settled in South Africa. His son was David Furmanovsky
who met his future wife Sarah Shribnick when he was coming over to
South Africa.
Upon arrival, he thereupon married her and changed his name to
Forman and settled in Johannesburg.
Their son was Lionel Forman, 1927-1959, who gained fame
and recognition as an anti-apartheid activist, brilliant lawyer and
journalist in South Africa. He died at age 31 while undergoing heart
surgery utilizing the new heart-lung by-pass machine developed by
Prof. Christiaan Barnard in 1959. His wife, Sadie Kril, was the
daughter of Rokiskis-born Yiddish poet Bunim-Idel Kril.
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Lionel
Forman, 1927-1959
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The
descendants of Yehoshua Josef "Josel" Furmanovsky ended up in
Zimbabwe. Known as Joe Furmanovsky, you can read more about him at Vignettes
from Africa.
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Ronnie
Furmanovsky and Avner Elkaim
Engagement,
September 28, 1954, Zimbabwe
As
you can see, the young couple, Ronnie and Avner, who were in the story
in Vignettes from
Africa, eventually got engaged and
married and lived in Zimbabwe. Ronnie's father was indeed Yehoshua Josef
"Joe" ben Chaim Furmanovsky the man on the train station
platform. He was born in Kupiskis on April 8, 1895. He left and went to
Zimbabwe where he passed away on May 12, 1961 in Bulawayo.
(Donated by
Ronnie Furmanovsky in memory of her beloved husband, Avner, who passed
away on November 11, 2006) |
Several of Joe Furmanovsky's accomplished and
talented grandchildren, Ilan Elkaim, Jill Furmanovsky and Michael
Furmanovsky can be seen at Kupishokers in the
Cultural,Entertainment,
and Performing Arts
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A Furmanovsky
family portrait. L to r, back row: Avner Elkaim, Joe
Furmanovsky, Chana Grill Furmanovsky, Lola Furmanovsky, Jane Furmanovsky
Lipschitz, Ilana Lipschitz, Ronnie Furmanovsky Elkaim, Eva Pribash
Furmanovsky.
L to r: front row: Jill Furmanovsky, Ilan Elkaim, Michael
Furmanovsky, David Lipschitz
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Photos
are contributed by Michael Furmanovsky in honor of his family. |
The wedding
of Eta Reiza “Rose” Klos and Zalman-Schneur Furmanovsky
Forman was a large and vibrant family affair. At the time of the
wedding, the groom, Zalman-Schneur Furmanovsky, who became known as
Forman in Africa, was living in Wankie (now Hwange), Zimbabwe. This was
not far from his paternal uncle and aunt Yehoshua "Joe" and
Chana "Annie" Furmanovsky, who lived in Livingston,
Zambia. The bride, Eta Reiza "Rose" Klos, the daughter
of Rabbi Moshe Klos and Leah Katz Klos, originally from Ukmerge,
Lithuania, was living in the small town of Gwanda, Zimbabwe, with her
maternal aunt Dreyze "Dora" Katz Lerman and her husband
Mause-Kalman Lerman.
Due to having many relatives in the area, a nice shul and larger
facilities for a family wedding, it was decided that the Furmanovsky
family would host the wedding at their home in Livingston, Zambia. The
wedding photo was taken in the garden of the home on Sunday, February
25, 1940.
You will note that several of the men do not appear to have wives with
them. For two of them, Herschel Mandel and Abe Esroch, this was due to
the fact that their wives and children were still in Kupiskis and were
caught there when the war came in 1941. They survived and settled in
Israel and their remarkable story will be told in another place.
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Eta-Reiza
“Rose” Klos and Zalman-Schneur Furmanovsky Forman
Garden of Yehoshua "Joe" and Chana "Annie" Furmanovsky,
Livingston, Zambia,
Sunday, February 25, 1940.
Left to Right
- Top Row: Herschel Mandel (husband of Sora bat Berel Furmanovsky), Shmuel-David
ben Berel Furmanovsky (brother of groom), Abe Esroch (husband of Mikhle
bat Berel Furmanovsky), David Golub (son of Yehoshua "Joe"
Furmanovsky’s sister, whose name is not known), Leiba ben Zacharia
Grossman (half-brother of Chana "Annie" Grill Furmanovsky).
Middle Row: Mause-Kalman Lerman (husband of Dreyze "Dora" Katz
Lerman), Dreyze "Dora" Katz Lerman (maternal aunt of bride),
Eta-Reiza “Rose” Klos (bride), Zalman-Schneur ben Berel Furmanovsky
Forman (groom), Chana "Annie" Grill Furmanovsky (wife of
Yehoshua "Joe" Furmanovsky), Yehoshua "Joe" ben Chaim
Furmanovsky (paternal uncle of groom).
Bottom Row: Jane Furmanovsky, Ronnie Furmanovsky and Lola Furmanovsky (all
daughters of Yehoshua "Joe" and Chana "Annie"
Furmanovsky).
(Note: The photo was donated by Jane Furmanovsky Lipschitz
, a cousin of the groom, and information on the family confirmed by the
daughter of the married couple, Dorothy Forman Fruman, and by Jane
Furmanovsky Lipschitz and Ronnie Furmanovsky Elkaim.) |
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