The Broitman Family


The Broitman Family c. 1924 - Anita, Aaron, Rose, and Chaika

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History of the Broitman Family
Facts about the Broitman Family
Mysteries that Remained to be Solved
Surnames related to the Broitman Family
Links

History

Abram Broitman, the son of Shulum and Sarah Broitman, was born around 1881 in Savran, Ukraine. In 1898, he married Chaika Darish (b. ~1883), the daughter of Hershel and Pearl Darish of Olgapol, Ukraine. Making a good living as a lumber merchant, they had several children, including: Anita (b. 1906), Aaron (b.1907), and Rose (b. 1918 or 1920). The older children were well educated, and the family was fairly well off.

During the terrors of the Bolshovik revolution, the Broitman family fled their small village, and were smuggled into Romania. After several years there, they wished to travel to the US (1924). However, immigration quotas had been filled, and they wound up going to Canada. Above is the oldest photo we have of the Broitman family, taken from their passport. The stamps from their passports detail the journey that Chaika Broitman and her children made on the S.S. President- from Bucharest, Romania to Serbia to Italy, and finally to Halifax, Canada more than a month later. In Canada, the family lived in Toronto. It was there that Joseph Broitman was born in January, 1925.

Sponsored by cousins in Philadelphia, the family moved again in 1927. By 1929, the family was living in Brooklyn. Aaron stayed in Toronto until 1929, where he was involved with the clothing unions. In Brooklyn, Abram sold fruit - fist from a cart, and then from a small stand.

Abram and Chaika lived there until they both passed away around 1960. The family is now spread across the US, with members in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

 

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Facts about the Broitman Family

  • The Broitman family fled Russia with nothing but the shirts on their backs. To get to North America, they had to get passports. Click here to see one of the original Russian passports.

  • The Broitman's passage from Romania was probably subsidized by the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA) - an organization that attempted to resettle European Jews in farms. Upon his entrance to the US, Aaron Broitman declared that he was going to be a farmer. Click here to see those documents.

  • Because the Broitman family came to the United States via Canada, there are records both of their arrival in Halifax, and into the US. I have been able to find these records via the Canadian National Archives and the US National Archives (M1480, Roll 16/17). Below is their record of crossing into the US, as transcribed by a NARA volunteer. My corrections are in italics:

Abram Broitman; POE; Niagara Falls, NY; Born: 11/1/1881; DOE: 11/19/1927; Russian Passport #5769; Accompanied by daughter MALIA [Anita?]; Occupation: Dry Cleaning Prop.; Place of Birth: Savran, Russia; Nationality: Russian; Race: Hebrew; reads & writes; Language: Hebrew & English; Money carried: $30; Coming from: Toronto, Can: Destination: Philadelphia, PA; Time remaining in US: Permanent; Hgt: 5'5"; Brn hair; Brn eyes; Medium complexion; Name & Address of nearest relation in Canada: Wife; Chaika, 60 Major St, Toronto, Can. [Rest is unreadable]

Aron Broitman POE: Buffalo, NY; DOE: 5/12/1929; 19 yrs old; Occupation: Dressmaker; Nationality: Russian; Race: Hebrew; Reads & writes; Language of passenger: English; Money carried: $50; Passage paid by self; Never before in US; Reason for entry: seeking work; Time remaining in US: permanently; Name & Address of person going to: Father, Abram, 145 Amboy St, Ny, NY; Hgt: 5'3"; Medium Complexion; Brn hair; Blu eyes; Name & Address of nearest relative: Uncle, Dave Broitman, Savran, Russia; Landed at Halifax 8/?/1925; SS President Wilson

Chaika Broitman DOE: 12/27/1927; Accopanied by daughter Raisel and son Joseph; No occupation; 44 yrs old; Reasds & writes; Language of passenger: English & Hebrew; money carried: $75; Passage paid by self; Never before in US; Reason for coming to US; to reside; Time remaining in US; permanently; Going to: Husband Abram Broitman, 2552 N. Napa St., Phil, Pa; Hgt 5'3"; Medium complexion; Lt Br hair; Blue eyes; Name & Address of nearest relative in old country: Mother Pearl Duris(?), Savran, Russia; Arrived: Halifax, 11/15/1923, SS President Wilson; Russian quota

Joseph Broitman 2 yrs old; accopanied by sister, Chaika [?, ! - Raisel, probably], brother, Joseph [?, !]; DOE, 12/17/1927; Passage pd my mother; going to father, Abram Broitman, 2552 N. Napa St., Phil, PA; Reason for entry: to reside permanently; Medium complexion; Br hair; Bl eyes; Name & Address of nearest relative in old country: Grandmother Pearl Derib (?), Savran, Russia.

Most likely, Joseph has an entry because he was a Canadian citizen

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Mysteries to be Solved

  • What happened to the Glantz family? In 1927, the Glantz family of Philadelphia, PA, sponsored the Broitman family's immigration to the US. We have lost contact with this family, which included Samuel, Lipa, Minnie, Nathan, Sarah, and Ida Glantz. Sarah and Ida were teachers with the Philadelphia School system.

  • How are we related? Both Abram and Chaika had family in the US. However, it is unclear just how we are related. These families include the Reingold family of New York, the Shames family of Boston, and the Glantz family of Philadelphia.

  • When did Abram Broitman come to Canada? I have been not been able to find records of Abram's trip to Canada. When and on what ship did he arrive?

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Surnames

Below is a list of many of the surnames associated with the Broitman family.

First Generation:

Broitman, Darish

Second Generation:

Schechtman, Telles

Third Generation:

Riseman, Badanes, Weil

Fourth Generation

Badanes-Katzman

Other names

Reingold, Pollock

 

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Links

To find out about the Broitman family, I used a variety of sources - both on-line and real world.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) - New York Branch held the citizenship papers for Abram, Aaron, Rose, and Joseph Broitman, as well as the immigration cards from Niagara Falls and Buffalo, NY.

The Canadian National Archives hold the passenger records for the S.S. President Wilson, on which the Broitman Family traveled.

JewishGen.org - an invaluable resource for Jewish Genealogy. Please support them.

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Last Updated 8/2002