My great-great-great Uncle, Solomon Hoffman

by Randy Wasserstrom, Cary, North Carolina In 2004, I went on a genealogical trip to Latvia. In Talsi, I discovered the gravestones of my maternal great great great uncle Solomon (Zalman) Hoffman (1829-1906) and his wife, Chasse (1832-1908). It was a very serendipitous discovery as I had actually been visiting nearby Sassmacken and only stayed

The Hosiassons of Sabile

The photograph above was sent to my great-grandmother, Clara Thal, from her Hosiasson cousins in Riga in 1910. It has always been one of my favorite pictures, and for years was the only evidence I had of Clara’s mother’s family. I knew from what was written on the card that Josef and Sigismund Hosiasson were