Why Milwaukee?

It's been driving me crazy for about a year now. Why did Max and Sophie Scherper go to Milwaukee? It had to be because they knew someone there. It had to be family. I've been putting it off too long. Take the time Ara. Sit down and really analyze who was in Milwaukee when Max and Sophie got there in 1900. Do I look for Scherper or Sherper? Look for both.

Hmmmm. The 1900 Federal Census has an Abraham G. Scherper on it living in Milwaukee. I've seen this info before, but just didn't take the time to look into it. Abraham G. Scherper. Why does the name sound familiar? Think Ara, think. Abraham G. Scherper. Oh my G-d! Could Abraham G. Scherper be Avram Goetzel Scherper--that picture Daddy gave me from Sophie? Let's see. He's from Russia. They all say Russia. Couldn't they give me a city or shtetl? He has a wife Eva. He has 2 boys, Meyer and David. He's a milk dealer. Meyer's a tailor. At least they give me month and year of birth. They got to the US around 1890. His age in 1900 would make him either a much older brother or an uncle of Max's. Let me pull out the picture. What does it say on the back again? He's Max's uncle. Does this fit? It's got to. How do I know for sure?

Look for the 1910 Census. No Abraham G. Scherper. Drop the G. and look for Abraham. Look for Avram. Try Sherper instead of Scherper. Nothing. Don't put in the first name and try Scherper again. There he is! Abram Scherper on the 1905 Wisconsin State Census. Same children. Same wife. Keep going. Find a living relative. Meyer disappears. Where did he go? David E. Sherper. Myron Sherper. Did Meyer change his name to Myron? They're in Minnesota. Minnesota? Where the heck is Minnesota? I wish I'd paid more attention in Geography class. Oh, right next door to Wisconsin. It's possible. Be sure Ara. Keep going.

A birth certificate for a child named Abraham Daniel Sherper. Order it. Fabulous - the Minnesota Historical Society let's you download the birth certificates immediately. Instant gratification for $8. He's Myron Sherper's son. A death certificate for Abraham Sherper in 1915. Order it. A death certificate for David E. Sherper in 1938. Order it. What does the E. in David E. stand for? Earl? Maybe they're not related. Is Earl Jewish? Keep going Ara. They've got to be related.

Where did Eva go? Wait. I know that name. Eva Sherper. Eva Sherper. I have an Eva L. Sherper who died in the Bronx in 1941. Everyone else is in Minnesota. Is this the same Eva Sherper? Hmmmm. Order the death certificate. Who knows?

David E. Sherper's wife was Julia. Who were their children? Kenneth and Keith. They're twins. Phone numbers in Virginia and Minnesota. They've got to be related. Do I call? I hate making cold calls. How else do you find living relatives though? Calling the number listed for Keith. No answer. Calling the number listed for Kenneth. An answering machine! It says it's the Sherper residence. I giggle. Hot damn. I'm making progress. Call back tomorrow.

Calling Kenneth back. Answering machine again. I leave a message. Poor people on the other end. What a weird message. "Hello. My name is Ara Morenberg and I'm working on my family tree. My great grandparents were Scherpers. You don't have to call me back if you don't want, but my number is ... I'll try calling you again."

My phone is ringing. It's a D.C. number. It must be my cousin Burt (another Scherper). Nope. It's Kenneth Sherper. We talk. Yes, Abraham was Avram Goetzel and they were from Pinsk. The Scherpers were from Pinsk! I've done it! I've found more family. It has to be why Max and Sophie moved to Milwaukee. Kenneth says to call his brother Keith and his sister Naomi. I call Daddy first and let him know that I've found the Scherpers and they're from Pinsk not Minsk where Sophie's family is from.

Call Keith. Chat for a while. Keith says to call Naomi. She's the family genealogist. Call Daddy again. I'm so excited. My heart's pounding. Call Naomi. She's a fountain of information. Avram Goetzel was a vegetarian, I assume because he didn't think the kosher food in the US was kosher enough. He had auburn hair. Yes, he's buried in Minnesota. Yes, Eva L. Sherper is Eva Leah and she died in New York. I ordered the right death certificates. Yes, she thinks she remembers something about a Max Scherper. She'll have to look through her papers and she's got a picture of Avram Goetzel's headstone. That will give me another generation because his headstone should say who his father was. Myron has got to be Meyer, though she's not heard him called that before. He moved to New Jersey and changed his last name to Shepard. Wait. Myron Shepard was a doctor. Why do I know that name? Aunt Ethel just gave me an envelope with old papers. In it is a piece of stationery from Dr. M. Shepard in New Jersey. The note is written in Yiddish. I've got to get that translated. A light bulb goes off. Dr. M. Shepard is the doctor who wrote a letter to Aunt Ethel's school in New York to tell them they might cause her emotional damage if they didn't quit trying to force her to be right-handed when she was left-handed. They kept smacking her knuckles. He told them he'd go to the State if they didn't quit. Aunt Ethel remembers Sophie calling him Dr. Scherper. But that's what Sophie would have known him as in Milwaukee. Meyer Scherper. Naomi and I will trade information and we'll all keep in touch.

Sophie, I've found another branch of your family.