Once upon a time in America (rhymeswithplague chapter)

[Editor's note. A no-longer-active blogger, David Barlow a.k.a. Putz out in Utah, would be very complimentary regarding the family research that went into the creation of this post. Putz, if you are still around, I salute you even as you, I trust, are undoubtedly somewhere saluting me. I would say "It was nothing" but that would be untrue. A great deal of time and effort went into the creation of this post. --RWP]

Solomon Aarons, whose grave in Adath Jeshurun Cemetery in Philadelphia you see above, was my great-grandfather. He was born on August 11, 1847, in Spitalfields, Middlesex, England, the fourth child of five in the family of Noah Aarons (born about 1811) and his wife Mary (born about 1815). At the time of the 1851 British census Noah and Mary Aarons lived in Whitechapel, Middlesex, England with their children Nathaniel (born about 1836), Catherine and Rachel (possibly twins, born about 1846), Solomon (my great-grandfather), and Joseph (born in 1850).

I do not know when or how or why, but at some point before the U.S. Civil War, Solomon Aarons emigrated to the United Sttes as a child or young teenager (whether with or without his family I also do not know). As a young teenager he served as either a bugler or a drummer boy -- I'm not sure which -- in one of the Philadelphia (Irish) Brigades during the war even though he was Jewish, not Irish. He was 17 when the war ended. He married Rachael DeWolf after the war, had a large family, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 12, 1902. He was my mother's mother's father and he died eight years before my mother was born. His widow, Rachael DeWolf Aarons, lived until 1932, two years after my mother received a teaching certificate from West Chester State Teachers College.

Solomon and Rachael Aarons had a large family, nine children in all. There were Noah (born 1867), DeWolf (born about 1870), Mary (born July 1872), Sophia (born August 1873), Nathaniel (born November 1875), Rosetta (born October 16, 1878), Joseph (born November 1881), Elizabeth (born January 1883), and Augustus (born April 1886).

Noah Aarons married Bella and they had a daughter, Rae Aarons, who was born in October 1890. I remember hearing my mother and her sister speak of their Uncle Noah, who lived to be a very old man.

DeWolf Aarons was given his mother's maiden name. I know nothing else about him.

Mary Aarons, known in the family as Aunt Mamie, married a Mr. Beck and had one son, Solomon (born about 1892). When my mother and I visited Pennsylvania in the summer of 1955, I met Sol Beck and his wife Myrtle in their sixties when they drove up to Philadelphia from Baltimore, Maryland, to visit family (my grandfather, 80 at the time, was Sol's Uncle Nat). Sol and Myrtle Beck had no children.

Sophia Aarons, known in the family as Aunt Sophie, married Julius Peiser in 1899 and they had two daughters, Esther (born about 1901) and Rae (born June 20, 1909). Esther Peiser never married, but Rae Peiser married Amos Scotese and they had a son named Robert (born about 1938). Rae was my mother's favorite first cousin as they were about the same age. I met her on that same trip. Rae died in May 1994.

Nathaniel Aarons was born in November 1875. I know nothing else about him.

Rosetta Aarons was born October 16, 1878. She married Nathan Silberman in 1897 and had four children - Marion (born January 29, 1899), Solomon (born 1903), Jacob (born January 13, 1907) who was known in the family as Jack, and Ruth Elizabeth (born April 10, 1910), who was my mother. Rosetta, my maternal grandmother, died December 8, 1937.

Joseph Aarons was born in November 1881. I know nothing else about him.

Elizabeth Aarons, known in the family as Aunt Bessie, was my mother's favorite aunt. Bessie was born in January 1883 and married Joseph Singer in 1905. Their honeymoon was a trip by ship to China, where they bought pieces of furniture for their home. I saw some of that furniture when I met Joe Singer, a widower and a Philadelphia lawyer, on that same trip to Pennsylvania in 1955.

Augustus Aarons, known in the family as Uncle Gus, was born in January 1886. I know nothing else about him either.

On that trip to Pennsylvania with my mother in 1955, I met all of my maternal cousins. We were five in all. Aunt Marion's son was Philip Caracena, six years older than me. Uncle Jack’s son was Jack, Jr., a year older than Philip. Uncle Sol's two daughters were Eileen and Joan. Joan was the oldest cousin and Eileen was the same age as Philip. I was the youngest of the group.

My cousin Philip married Virginia Burquest of Sarasota, Florida, and had three children — two boys and a girl — Chris, Kurt, and Elise. My cousin Jack married Sylvia Funghi of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and had three daughters - the twins, Lisa and Anne, and their younger sister, Linda. Both marriages ended in divorce. Philip was married at least two more times and died at 81 in Edmond, Oklahoma, a couple of years ago. Jack died a couple of decades ago in New Port Richey, Florida. My cousin Joan married Herman Rush and moved to California, where they still live, 88 and 89 respectively, in Ventura County. Their children were James and Mandie. My cousin Eileen married Bud Stone and moved, I think, to Connecticut. After 1955, I saw Philip one more time, in 1958, when he was engaged to Virginia, and I saw Jack one more time, when he came through Texas on a post-college-graduation trip around the U.S. with a friend, but I never saw Joan or Eileen ever again.

Chris Caracena lives in Atlanta. Kurt lives in Colorado Springs. Elise is divorced and lives with her son in Tampa, Florida. Lisa Silberman lives in Seattle. Anne lives in New Mexico. Linda travels a lot and most recently has spent time in New York, Spain, and England. Mandie Rush lives in California.

We are a far-flung family. I have no contact with any of my maternal relatives except for an occasional comment on Facebook from Kurt or Lisa, two of my first cousins once removed.

Good gravy, Marie (as panelist Brett Somers on the old television show Match Game used to say), I didn't tell you anything at all about my mother's father's line (Silberman) or my bio-dad's (Minor) or my non-bio dad's (Brague).

Pick one:
A. Shame on me.
B. Thank God for small favors (British, favours).