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HISTORY OF THE FAMILY PERMAN
The project was initiated years ago by Yoav Epelman who lives in Israel (grandson of Dorita daughter of Nahum Moshe, born in 1885 in Novopoltavka and died in Argentina in 1931) and Sylvia Walowitz, who lives in New York (granddaughter of Nahum Perman, born in Novopoltavka in 1904 and died in Jerusalem Israel in 1985).
The first ancestor of whom we know was Yakov (Yankel) Perman, who was born approximately 1785-1800, possibly in the area of Latvia/Lithuania. Yakov had at least 3 children: Nahum Moshe (born in 1822) and a pair of twins: Ber and Tavel (born in 1828). Ber died childless in Novopoltavka in1854.
In the nineteenth century the Russian Empire promoted Jewish immigration from the Baltic area (Latvia/Lithuania) to Ukraine to create agricultural colonies. We believe that our family was one of the first to relocate to Novopoltavka in 1842, the year it was created. We assume that they remained there for 70-80 years and raised a large family.
Nahum Moshe married Fruma Debora and had at least 6 children according to a copy of the census of 1858. Their children were: Yakov (1843), Isaac (1844), Perla (1850), Menashe (1852), Ze'ev-Adolfo (1854) and Yehuda Leib - Leon (1857). Since the 1858 census is the year of that census, we cannot confirm whether there were more children.
Yoav is a descendant of Yehuda Leib, Sylvia is a descendent of Isaac. Most of the family is descendants of Yehuda Leib, Isaac and Menashe. Of these 3 brothers, most of their scattered family emigrated to Argentina and Israel, though there were some branches that stayed in Russia and came to Israel in the twentieth century. The descendants of Yakov, the eldest brother, went directly to Israel, bypassing Argentina or the United States. Tavel, the brother of Nahum, married Deborah and had at least 2 children: Jacob (1853) and Israel (1870)
Emigration to Argentina:
In the early twentieth century the situation deteriorated in Novopoltavka with the rise of bloody pogroms. The Russo-Japanese War, 1904 - 1905 and economic crises in Russia resulted in the largest emigration figures in the period 1900 to 1914. In Argentina two institutions were created: the Baron Hirsch Fund and the JCA (Jewish Colonization Association). Their mission was to assist the emigration of the Jews by establishing agricultural colonies. Our families were given land, seeds, and tools. The first years were very difficult as they did not speak Spanish and had to become accustomed to a new way of life. Most settled in the same settlements keeping their nuclear family. As time progressed most moved to the cities of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Rosario and Cordoba.
So far we have identified more than 1000 relatives. Most live in Argentina, Israel and the United States. A significant percentage of the offspring are religious and are active in Chabad movement. Many are scattered throughout the world (as the Chief Rabbi of Venezuela, Chile, also in Brooklyn, Argentina and Israel).
Yoav Epelman yepelman@vmware.com
Sylvia Walowitz ruthw95@yahoo.com
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