Looking at my life and all that my family and I had to go through to get where I am now seems to have paid off. Such a difficult adjustment it is to move from one country to another, not knowing anyone but your close family, not knowing what traditions to hold onto and which ones to let go.
My name is Abraham Shapiro and I am from Annapol, Ukraine. I was born in 1885 and given the name Avrum Millhandler. My family and I are Jewish. I have four brothers including Samuel, Simon, Jacob, and Henry. My brother Samuel and I both came to America separately. We both moved away from the Ukraine because we didn’t want to be drafted into the war and we were treated poorly because of our Jewish heritage.
After coming to America my brother and his wife, Ida, arranged a marriage between Ida’s sister, Sarah, and I. Sarah and I got married in the spring of 1905 which was only two years after I immigrated to America. In 1909 our only child was born. She was named Mollie. When she was only a few months old we moved to Jefferson Street in Puddle Dock.
It was difficult having a daughter born straight into this culture. As she always wanted todo what all the others here her age who have been born into American families that have been here for generations. She always focused so strongly on wanting to celebrate things like Thanksgiving because everyone around would be celebrating it but her. Because of this my wife and I often had to deal with the dilemma of which Jewish holidays and which American holidays we should celebrate. We of course still celebrated things like the Sabbath every Saturday.
My brother, Samuel, and I stayed close and saw each other often. His children loved to play with Mollie. He and his wife stopped in often because Samuel and I are brothers and Sarah and Ida are sisters.
When I first came to America, I made my living working at shoe factories. I continued that until 1917. That’s when I opened my own pawnshop and with the money I make there my family and I are better off than some. At my pawnshop you could trade in some of your things and get money back for the item. There was a policy that I had to hold someone’s item for a certain amount of time so if they only needed the money for a short amount of time, would be able to buy it back, but of course with interest. I enjoyed my job very much. It let me get to know the people in my town.
A tragedy struck my family as I grew in age. In 1930 my only daughter, Mollie, died after giving birth to her only child. She was just out of college and only 21 years old. This deeply hurt my family and nothing hurts more than your child passing away and at such a young age.
Coming here completely changed my life, and for the better, I might add. Even though there are times that I miss my home in Annapol greatly and miss how strong our traditions were carried there, I love what I have been able to accomplish here. What I truly love most about being here is my freedom.
Comments are no longer available on this story