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

My Family in Sassmacken

The following post was generously contributed by Randy Wasserstrom. The Michaelson/Michelsohn family photo above, taken in 1893, includes the following from left to right: Sam, Louis, Yetta, Harry, John, Aaron and Rose. My great grandmother, Yetta Hoffman, (1861-1916), was born in Sabile, Courland, Russia and was one of the fifteen children of Osser and Sarah

Leaving Courland

Among my collection of interviews is this story, told by Paula Thal Aminoff in 1974, of her brother Jacob, from Talsen, and his efforts to leave Courland (now Latvia) before being drafted into the Russian Army. Ted: You know about Abraham Blumberg.. well, I’ll tell you. His father, Abraham’s father [Jacob Blumberg] was fairly well‑to‑do,

The Thals of Sassmacken

From a 1981 interview between Rabbi Lennard Thal and my great-grandfather’s sister, Paula Thal Aminoff, I have this quote: “Sassmacken. There was full of Jews. And there were a bunch of Thals there – not related, another family, very fine people, but not related to us. Ours was a big family and they were a