52 Ancestors Week36 - Work

The theme for Week 36 (September 3-9) was Work.

My maternal grandfather, Simon Lubowsky, owned a jewelry store in the Bronx. He was mostly a watchmaker, though on his passenger manifest when he came to the U.S. he described himself as a silversmith. I think a lot of the walk-in business was related to watch repairs, but I’m not really sure. Back in those days of mechanical watches, they needed to be cleaned regularly and we believe that the chemicals he used in cleaning them were what caused the leukemia he died of.

He also sold both fine and costume jewelry and he always had displays of personalized jewelry In the window. When my mother was growing up, all of the personalized jewelry always had her name. As I was his first granddaughter, I got pride of place for about 8 years. I have never completely forgiven my cousin, Ellen, for sharing the spotlight with me after that.

I guess he did well, but owning your own business is a huge constraint on your time. He had enough flexibility that he could close the store and take us to the Bronx Zoo, but it was hard for him to take vacations. What finally got him to retire, however, was a couple of robberies.

52 Ancestors Week37 – Closest to Your Birthday

The theme for week 37 (September 10-16) is Closest to Your Birthday.

I’m not really sure whose birthday is/was closest to mine. My best guess is my father. My birthday is September 4th. My father’s birthday was officially September 15, 1929, but he always said it was actually September 1, 1930. At some point during the Shoah (probably a selection at Dachau), he lied about his age and lied about the date to make it harder to disprove via whatever records might still exist.

He always celebrated both dates.

Also, I should do a better job of documenting information so I don’t struggle to answer questions like this one.