Tauba Ryfka’s parents were Nachman Lejb Rakower and Malka Mindla Kerszenbaum, as her 1937 death record states. Malka Mindla Rykower died at Maków in 1911, a widow of 67; her death act names her own parents, Boruch and Tauba Kerszenbaum. That reaches the great-great-great-grandparents of the three sisters.
Josek Gersz Kerszenbaum, who died at Maków the same year aged 78, was also a son of Boruch and Tauba, so very likely Malka’s brother. The names run down the line: Tauba Ryfka carried her grandmother Tauba’s name, and her brother Chaim Boruch his grandfather Boruch’s.
That brother, Chaim Boruch Rakower, married in Warsaw in 1894, was a shoemaker in Maków, and came to New York as Hyman Rakower. He and his wife Ida are buried in the same Makowa plot as Tauba.
The 1894 Warsaw marriage has now been read from the register page: on 10/22 July 1894 Chaim-Boruch Rakower, a bachelor of 21 from the town of Maków, staying at Franciszkańska 12, married Sura Katan(a) of Ciechanów. His parents, Nachman-Lejb and Malka-Mindla, are written without the word for “deceased”, so Nachman Lejb was probably still alive in 1894.
That settles a doubt. A Nachman Lejb Rakower “of Maków”, aged 34, son of Abram and Ita, died in Warsaw in 1878, leaving a widow named Fejga; that record has now been read too. A man who died in 1878 with a wife named Fejga cannot easily be the father of a groom in 1894 whose mother was Malka Mindla, so he was probably a namesake, possibly a cousin. Abram and Ita are now only possibly, and doubtfully, Tauba’s grandparents. Nachman Lejb’s own death, probably at Maków after 1894, has not been found.
One more step back on the Kerszenbaum side: Josek Gersz’s death act writes his mother as “Tauba Joskowna”, a daughter of a Josek. If he and Malka Mindla were brother and sister, as their shared parents suggest, then Malka Mindla’s grandfather was possibly a Josek, born about 1780–1800 (Possible). The Maków registers before 1898 are not indexed online, so the Kerszenbaums before 1850 cannot yet be reached.
At a glance
Nachman Lejb Rakower
great-great-grandfather of the three sisters (mother’s side) Confirmed
Malka Mindla Rakower (Rykower), née Kerszenbaum
b. c.1844 · d. 1911, Maków Confirmed
Boruch Kerszenbaum
3× great-grandfather of the three sisters (mother’s side) Confirmed
Tauba Kerszenbaum (“Joskowna”)
3× great-grandmother of the three sisters (mother’s side) Confirmed
Josek (father of Tauba Kerszenbaum)
b. c.1780–1800 Possible
Josek Gersz Kerszenbaum
b. c.1833 · d. 1911, Maków Likely
Sura Rywka Kerszenbaum, née Domb
b. c.1833 · d. 1910 Likely
Chaim Boruch (Hyman) Rakower
b. 14 Jul 1874, Maków · d. 16 Sep 1952 · Mount Lebanon Cemetery, Makowa plot Likely
Chaja Tauba (Ida) Rakower, née Kerszenbaum
d. 12 Dec 1947 Likely
Fay (Fannie) Idleberg, née Rakower
daughter of Hyman and Ida Rakower; likely a first cousin of Eva Schron Confirmed
Louis Rakower
b. 1 Jan 1918, New York · d. 30 Nov 1935, Manhattan Confirmed
Joseph Harold (Joe Harry) Rakower
b. 29 Mar 1919, New York · d. 14 Dec 2001 Likely
Abraham Rakower
son of Hyman and Ida Rakower Likely
Molly Rakower
daughter of Hyman and Ida Rakower Likely
Anna Rakower
daughter of Hyman and Ida Rakower Likely
Abram Rakower
possibly a 3× great-grandfather of the three sisters (now doubtful) Possible
Ita Rakower
possibly a 3× great-grandmother of the three sisters (now doubtful) Possible
b. c.1865–70 · d. 13 Dec 1937, Manhattan · Mount Lebanon Cemetery: Makowa society, R-22-4-10 Confirmed
Records and stones
Confirmed Maków, 1911, death act 62: Malka Mindla Rykower, widow, 67, daughter of Boruch and Tauba Kerszenbaum.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 643 (metryki.genealodzy.pl)Confirmed Maków, 1911, death act 30: Josek Gersz Kerszenbaum, 78, son of Boruch and Tauba.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 643 (metryki.genealodzy.pl)Confirmed Warsaw district V marriages 1894, entry 228: Chaim-Boruch Rakower, son of Nachman-Lejb and Malka-Mindla, of Maków.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 200 (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl)Possible Warsaw district IV deaths 1878, entry 609: a Nachman Lejb Rakower of Maków, son of Abram and Ita, leaving a widow Fejga.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 200 (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl)
Living relatives appear by name and relation only.
Labels — Confirmed, Likely, Possible — as the records support them. Tap any picture to enlarge it.
The people
Every person in this part, with each fact, its label and its source.
Nachman Lejb RakowerConfirmed
Great-great-grandfather of the three sisters (mother’s side)
A Nachman Lejb Rakower “of Maków” died in Warsaw on 4 Aug 1878, son of Abram and Ita, but the record names a wife “Fejga”; whether this is him is unresolved.PossibleWarsaw district IV deaths 1878, akt 609
Probably still alive in 1894: at his son Chaim-Boruch’s Warsaw wedding that July, he and Malka-Mindla are written without the word for “deceased”. That, and the widow Fejga, make the man who died in 1878 probably a namesake, possibly a cousin. His own death, probably at Maków after 1894, has not been found.ConfirmedWarsaw district V marriages 1894, akt 228: the register pageWarsaw district IV deaths 1878, akt 609
Possible Warsaw district IV deaths 1878, entry 609: a Nachman Lejb Rakower of Maków, son of Abram and Ita, leaving a widow Fejga.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 200 (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl)
Malka Mindla Rykower, a widow of 67, died at Maków in 1911; her death record names her parents Boruch and Tauba Kerszenbaum. Name, maiden name and town all match, so this is very likely Tauba’s mother.LikelyMaków Jewish deaths 1911, akt 62
Confirmed Maków, 1911, death act 62: Malka Mindla Rykower, widow, 67, daughter of Boruch and Tauba Kerszenbaum.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 643 (metryki.genealodzy.pl)
Boruch KerszenbaumConfirmed
3× great-grandfather of the three sisters (mother’s side)
Josek Gersz’s death act writes her “Tauba Joskowna”, a daughter of a Josek. Malka Mindla’s own act calls her mother’s maiden name unknown, so this rests on the two being siblings: possibly her father was a Josek.PossibleMaków Jewish deaths 1911, akt 30
Possibly a 4× great-grandfather of the three sisters (mother’s side)
Born c.1780–1800
Possibly Tauba Kerszenbaum’s father, from her name “Tauba Joskowna” in her son Josek Gersz’s 1911 death act. Josek Gersz may have carried his grandfather’s name.PossibleMaków Jewish deaths 1911, akt 30
Confirmed Maków, 1911, death act 30: Josek Gersz Kerszenbaum, 78, son of Boruch and Tauba.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 643 (metryki.genealodzy.pl)
Married Sura Katana in Warsaw in 1894; the index names his parents Nachman Lejb and Malka Mindla.LikelyChaim Boruch (Hyman) Rakower
The 1894 register page, now read: on 10/22 Jul 1894, Chaim-Boruch Rakower, bachelor, 21, son of Nachman-Lejb and Malka-Mindla, of the town of Maków, staying at Franciszkańska 12 in Warsaw, married Sura Katan(a), daughter of Abram-Icek, of Ciechanów.ConfirmedWarsaw district V marriages 1894, akt 228: the register page
Later a shoemaker in Maków with his wife Chaja Tauba Kerszenbaum; their daughter Maryjem Liba was born in 1904 and died in 1907.LikelyChaim Boruch (Hyman) Rakower
In New York as Hyman Rakower: naturalized 1912; in 1930 in Manhattan with children Fannie, Anna, Molly, Abraham, Louis and Joseph. Died 16 Sep 1952, buried in the Makowa plot.LikelyChaim Boruch (Hyman) Rakower
His naturalization gives his birth as 14 Jul 1874 in Łomża and his wife as Ida “Kerchensky”; his WWI draft card gives 25 May 1874.LikelyChaim Boruch (Hyman) Rakower
Confirmed Warsaw district V marriages 1894, entry 228: Chaim-Boruch Rakower, son of Nachman-Lejb and Malka-Mindla, of Maków.Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie, fond 200 (szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl)
Son of Hyman and Ida Rakower; likely a first cousin of Eva Schron
Born 1 Jan 1918, New York · Died 30 Nov 1935, Manhattan
Born 1 Jan 1918 in New York. A bookbinder, he died in Manhattan on 30 Nov 1935, aged 17 and single (certificate 2-25118), and was buried on 1 Dec 1935.ConfirmedDeath of Louis Rakower, 30 Nov 1935
Son of Hyman and Ida Rakower; likely a first cousin of Eva Schron
Born 29 Mar 1919, New York · Died 14 Dec 2001
Born 29 Mar 1919 in New York; died 14 Dec 2001. His Social Security record names his parents as Hyman Rakower and Ida Kirschenbaum.LikelySocial Security records: the Rakower family
Her death certificate, now saved (the medical section blanked): Toba R. Simkowitch, 72, of 26 Suffolk Street, a widow; her brother Hyman Rakower gave the details; buried at Mount Lebanon.ConfirmedDeath record of Tauba (Tillie) Simkowitz, 13 Dec 1937
Confirmed 1920 census, Manhattan ED 115, sheet 6B: “Tillie Simkowitch” and her daughter Freeda.FamilySearch / NARAConfirmed Death certificate of Toba R. (Tauba) Simkowitch, Manhattan, 13 Dec 1937, certificate 26532: of 26 Suffolk Street, a widow; father Nachmon Loeb Rakower, mother Malka Kirshenbaum; details given by her brother Hyman Rakower. The medical section is blanked out.NYC Municipal Archives, historical vital records
Generations
The direct line, generation by generation. Tap a name for dates, label and notes.