The River Running
"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Grunia "Jennie" Richman and Nosun "Nathan" Gittelman
Nosun Gittelman was the youngest son of Mikhail and Sarah Gittelman of David-Gorodok. He was born in 1878-1880. All of the documentation that I have says that he was born in Turov, 39 km east of David-Gorodok. Sometime before 1908, he married Grunia Reichmann, whose mother was Hanie Reichmann. Grunia was born in Turov in 1882-1886. The couple had three children that I know of:
On June 30, 1914, Nosun arrived in NYC aboard the SS Dwinsk out of Libau. He listed Grunia as his home contact and his occupation as labourer. His contact in NYC was his "brother-in-law" Schloma Rabinsky at 63 East 13th Street. Who was Schloma Rabinsky? Grunia's brothers would have had the last name Reichmann. My aunt said that Nosun had five brothers, but she never mentioned any sisters. It's possible that Schloma may have been Nosun's brother-in-law in a looser sense, the brother of one of his brothers' wives or the husband of one of Grunia's sisters. I've been unable to find out anything more.
By 1918 Nosun - now Nathan Gittelman - was living at 298 Rowena Street in Detroit and working as a machine hand for Ford Motor Co. I know I've got the right Nathan Gittelman because he listed his nearest relative as "Grunia Gittelman, Turow, Russia." I'm not sure how Nathan ended up in Detroit, apart from the obvious attraction of the jobs available in the new automotive industry. I've been able to identify other Gittelman families from Turov and David-Gorodok in Detroit, but I don't know how closely any of them were connected to Nathan.
Grunia and the children arrived in NYC on May 10, 1921, aboard the SS Mount Carroll out of Hamburg. They were headed to join Nathan, now living at 956 Benton Street in Detroit. Grunia listed her mother Hanie Reichmann as her home contact. On all US documents (census records, marriage records) Grunia is referred to as Jennie or in one case Jane Richman.
Sonia Gittelman married Samuel Gold in Detroit on June 7, 1925. Samuel was born 1895-1897 in Russia, the son of Paul Gold and Bessie Zipperman.
The 1930 US Census found Nathan, Jennie, Rose and Max living at 15456 Petoskey Avenue. Also living with them was Jennie's brother Sol Richman, born in or about 1906. According to the census records, he immigrated in 1923. Nathan was working as a furnace attendant at an auto factory. Rose and Max were working as clerks in a ready-to-wear store, while Sol was working as a building painter.
Rose married Sam Schwartz in Ohio on February 18, 1940. Sam was the son of Morris Schwartz and Rachel Goldberg, born in Canada in 1911-1912.
Max also seems to have married or at least moved out on his own by the time of the 1940 US Census. He may be the Max Gittelman who was living with his wife Rose on Gladstone Street in Detroit and working as a general clerk at a wholesale dress store. Rose was born in Hungary in or about 1911 and was working as a saleslady in boys' clothing.
At the time of the 1940 US Census Nathan and Jennie were living at 2641 West Grand Avenue. Nathan was working as a peddler of scrap iron junk. He and Jennie were still living at the same address when he registered for the WWII draft in 1942.
Nathan passed away on March 4, 1947. His death certificate lists his parents as "Michael" and Sarah Gittelman. He's buried in the Workmen's Circle Cemetery. Jennie is also buried there. I don't know her date of death, but the Detroit Jewish News reported that her monument was to be unveiled July 15, 1956.