Category Archives: family history

Back from Hiatus

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Heather Dubnick

After a long hiatus (ProGen kept me quite busy over the past 18 months), I’m back and ready to blog, with a new focus and a renewed perspective on genealogy. I’ve been thinking a lot about what kind of content … Continue reading →

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Motherhood in Another Era: Life before Antibiotics

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Heather Dubnick

My cousin Bob Fitterman has written a fascinating account of the tribulations that my great great grandmother Rebecca Steinreich Maltz and great grandmother Fannie Maltz Zagon encountered when raising their large families: http://stories.theplanetzagon.com/150 The effects of medical progress are certainly evident from … Continue reading →

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Grandma Fannie’s Afghans (Guest Post by Mindy Fitterman)

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Heather Dubnick

Editor’s note: This guest post, contributed by Mindy Fitterman, my first cousin once removed on my mother’s father’s side, is about my great grandmother and Mindy’s grandmother Fannie Maltz Zagon (1888–1972). It’s probably my earliest textile memory: considerable weight, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Brooklyn, family history, family trees, guest posts, heirlooms, Maltz, New York, Zagon | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Grandma Fannie’s Afghans (Guest Post by Mindy Fitterman)

A Family Tragedy Unearthed in Newspaper Archives

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Heather Dubnick

Last week, I decide to search for instances of the surname Dubnick in the available online newspaper archives at Newspapers.com. I was hoping to shed some light on the lives of my great grandfather Jacob Dubnick and great grandmother Rose … Continue reading →

Posted in Brooklyn, Dubnick, family history, family trees, Finklestein, genealogy, Maine, newspaper archives | Comments Off on A Family Tragedy Unearthed in Newspaper Archives

Circular Genealogy, or Self-Discovery Through Social Media

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Heather Dubnick

An amusing anecdote: A number of genealogy groups now have Facebook pages. In some of these groups, people post the surnames they are seeking and the locations where these families lived. My mother’s mother’s family is from Pueblo, Colorado—also my … Continue reading →

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A Long-Lost Cousin from Kishinev

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Heather Dubnick

My father’s mother’s parents, David and Esther Aptekar, were both born in Kishinev (Chisinau), Moldova, and both came to the United States, where they met, before World War I broke out. David Aptekar, my great grandfather, came to the United … Continue reading →

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Finding Fera Citron, Part I

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Heather Dubnick

My paternal great grandmother Fera came to the United States under someone else’s name. Family lore has it that a cousin by the name of Ester had arranged passage and broke her leg the day before the trip, so Fera’s … Continue reading →

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Great video about journey of Sephardic Jews from Spain to the Balkans

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Heather Dubnick

I just ran across this excellent video tracing the history of Sephardic Jews from the expulsion to the modern-day Balkans (in Spanish with English subtitles). To me, this is the most fascinating chapters in Jewish history, as I am have … Continue reading →

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Genealogy: Earliest Encounters

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Heather Dubnick

My first encounter with genealogy when I was a child was, of course, likely in elementary school, where I’m sure I was asked at some point to construct a rudimentary family tree—a tree that was likely very simple and extended … Continue reading →

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